Power couples in antiquity : transversal perspectives / edited by Anne Bielman Sánchez.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Bielman, Anne, 1960- editor.

Series:

Routledge monographs in classical studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Power (Social sciences).

History.

Couples.

Kings and rulers.

Greece--Kings and rulers--Biography.

Greece.

Rome (Empire).

Rome--Kings and rulers--Biography.

Rome.

Couples--Greece--History--To 1500.

Couples--Rome--History.

Power (Social sciences)--Greece--History--To 1500.

Power (Social sciences)--Rome--History.

Greece--Politics and government--To 146 B.C.

Politics and government.

Greece--Politics and government--146 B.C.-323 A.D.

Rome--Politics and government.

Genre:

Biographies.

History.

Physical Description:

xii, 214 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2019.

Summary:

"Everyone can name a couple made up of famous, rich or powerful partners, who cultivate a joint media image which is stronger than either of their individual identities. Since the eighties they have been known as "power couples". Yet while the term is recent, the concept is not. More than 2000 years ago, Greeks and Romans became aware of the media potential of couples and used it as an instrument to reinforce political power. Notable examples are Philip II of Macedonia and Olympias, Cleopatra and Mark Antony, or the Emperor Augustus and his wife Livia. Power Couples in Antiquity brings together the reflections of ten specialists on Greek and Roman power couples from the 4th century BC to the 1st century AD. It is focused on the birth and the development of the "ruling couple" in the Hellenistic Greek kingdoms and in Rome between the end of the Republic and the beginning of the Empire. By taking some emblematic cases, this book analyses the redistribution of public and private roles within these couples, examines the sentimental bonds or the relations of domination established between partners, explores how these relationships played out in private, and highlights the many common points between ancient and contemporary power couples. This book offers a fascinating insight into power dynamics in the ancient world, exploring not only the subtleties within these often complex relationships, but also their relationships with their subjects through the cultivation and manipulation of their joint public image"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction. Power couples : from antiquity to the contemporary world / Anne Bielman Sánchez

An exceptional Argead couple : Philip II and Olympias / Elizabeth Carney

Looking for the Seleucid couple / Marie Widmer

A change of husband : Cleopatra Thea, stability and dynamism of Hellenistic royal couples (150-129 BC) / Monica D'Agostini

Marital crises or institutional crises? Two Ptolemaic couples under the spotlight / Anne Bielman Sánchez and Virginie Joliton

The magistrate and the queen : Antony and Cleopatra / Marie-Claire Ferriès

Mark Antony and the women at his side / Ann-Cathrin Harders

An exceptional and eternal couple : Augustus and Livia / Francesca Cenerini

A love poet's script for an Augustan power couple : Propertius 4.11 / Judith P. Hallett

Claudius and his wives : the normality of the exceptional? / Thomas Späth

Power couples in antiquity : an initial survey / Anne Bielman Sánchez.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Other Format:

Online version: Power couples in antiquity

ISBN:

9781138575264

1138575267

OCLC:

1065736140