Description
The princeps Augustus (63 BCE - 14 CE), recognized as the first of the Roman emperors, looms large in the teaching and writing of Roman history. Major political, literary, and artistic developments alike are attributed to him. This book deliberately and provocatively shifts the focus off Augustus while still looking at events of his time. Contributors uncover the perspectives and contributions of a range of individuals other than the princeps. Not all thought they were living in the "Augustan Age." Not all took their cues from Augustus. In their self-display or ideas for reform, some anticipated Augustus. Others found ways to oppose him that also helped to shape the future of their community. The volume challenges the very idea of an "Augustan Age" by breaking down traditional turning points and showing the continuous experimentation and development of these years to be in continuity with earlier Roman culture. In showcasing absences of Augustus and giving other figures their due, the papers here make a seemingly familiar period startlingly new.
Table of Contents
PrefaceList of contributorsTable of figures1. The alternative Augustan age Hannah Mitchell, Kit Morrell, Josiah Osgood, and Kathryn Welch2. Augustus as magpie Kit Morrell3. Hopes and aspirations: res publica, leges et iura, and alternatives at RomeEleanor Cowan4. Rebuilding Romulus' Senate: The lectio senatus of 18 BCEAndrew Pettinger5. The good wife: fate, fortune, and familia in Augustan RomeBronwyn Hopwood6. At magnus Caesar, and Yet! Social resistance against Augustan legislationWerner Eck7. C. Asinius Pollio and the politics of cosmopolitanismJoel Allen8. For Rome or for Augustus? Triumphs beyond the imperial family in the post-civil war periodCarsten Hjort Lange9. Egyptian victories: the praefectus Aegypti and the presentation of military success in the age of AugustusWolfgang Havener10. African alternativesJosiah Osgood11. The reputation of L. Munatius Plancus and the idea of "serving the times"Hannah Mitchell12. How do you solve a problem like Marcus Agrippa?James Tan13. Acting "republican" under Augustus: the coin types of the gens AntistiaMegan Goldman-Petri14. Saecular discourse: qualitative periodization in first century BCE RomePaul Hay15. Maecenas and the Augustan poets: the background of a cultural ambitionPhilippe Le Doze16. Gauls on top: provincials ruling Rome on the shield of AeneasGeraldine Herbert-Brown17. The rise of the centumviral court in the Augustan age: an alternative arena of aristocratic competitionMatthew Roller18. Shields of Virtue(s)Kathryn Welch19. The popular reception of Augustus and the self-infantilization of Rome's citizenryTom Hillard20. Inventing the imperial SenateAmy RussellBibliography
