The era of Diocletian and Constantine--when the Christian church passed from persecution to imperial favor--saw far-reaching administrative changes that established the structure of government in the Roman Empire for three hundred years. This was a complex period of cooperation and rivalry between co-emperors, the result of Diocletian's experiment in government by four rulers, the tetrarchs. Drawing together material from a wide variety of sources, Corcoran studies the vast range of documents issued by the emperors and their officials, and assesses how effectively the machinery of government...

This book offers a sophisticated analysis of the pervasive use of historical myth in some of the best-known writers of the Late Republic and Augustan periods, including Cicero, Livy, Virgil, Propertius, and Ovid. Looking at these writers' use of narrative, Fox uncovers an uneasy tension between the desire for accurate historical representation and the legendary character of traditional stories. In this way, the accounts of Rome's regal period in both prose and verse bear witness to the uncertainties and upheavals at the end of the republic.

The Central Appennine peoples, alternatively represented as decadent and dangerous barbarians or as personifications of manly wisdom and virtue, were important figures in Greek and Roman ideology. This unique study considers the ways in which these perceptions developed--reflecting both the shifting needs of Greek and Roman societies and the character of interaction between the various cultures of ancient Italy--to illuminate the development of a specifically Roman identity through the creation of an ideology of incorporation.

Fear explores the cultural interaction between Rome and the various native groups found in Baetica (ancient Andalusia). It examines the degree to which Rome wished to change the area, how far our available evidence will allow us to see the outcome of such attempts, and the varied reactions of the native populations to the Roman presence. Fear concludes that the traditional model of "Romanization and resistance" is deficient for understanding the Baetican province and argues that Roman Imperialism is best seen through a model which emphasizes "the creation of new synthetic cultural...

What was happening in Rome when Homer was writing the Iliad in Greece? In this book, Christopher Smith fully details the archaeological and literary evidence from early Rome and the surrounding region of Latium, spanning from the Late Bronze Age to the end of the sixth century. He attempts to set the region of Latium in its proper context as participant, witness, and, ultimately, victim of the radical transformation of civilization in central Italy and in the Mediterranean as a whole.

How did an Athenian citizen address his wife, his children, his dog? How did they address him? The only evidence we have is in the form of written texts, but how close are these to spoken ancient Greek? Based on a corpus of 11,891 vocatives from 25 authors, Dickey uses sociolinguistic techniques and evidence to answer these questions.

The Pharsalia is Lucan's epic on the civil wars between Caesar and Pompey. It is a poem of immense energy and intelligence in which spectacle and spectatorship are prominent. Leigh shows that by transforming certain Virgilian narrative devices Lucan launches an attack on the Augustan ideology of the Aeneid where Virgil writes the foundation myth for the new regime and celebrates the connections between Augustus and Aeneas, Lucan produces a savagely republican anti-Aeneid which represents the civil wars as the death of Rome.

This study presents a comprehensive treatment of a crucial aspect of Greek religion hitherto largely neglected in the English language. Pulleyn draws on all of the relevant literary and epigraphic material available in order both to describe ancient Greek practices and to explain their significance.

Goldsworthy examines how the Roman army operated on campaign and in battle. He compares the army's organization and strategic doctrine with those of its chief opponents and explores in detail the reality of battle: tactics, weaponry, leadership, and, most of all, the important issue of morale.

Madness features in many ancient epics: not only do characters go mad, but madness often plays an important thematic role. This book examines the representation and poetic function of madness in epic poetry (including the work of Homer, Virgil, and Ovid), addresses the difficulty of defining madness, and discusses how each epic explores the theme in a unique way.