BEYOND POPULARES AND OPTIMATES Political Language in the Late Republic

Robb, M. A.

ISBN 10: 3515096434 / ISBN 13: 9783515096430

Verlag: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2010

Beschreibung

Historia - Einzelschriften 213; 225 pages; Modern interpretations of the late Roman Republic have been dominated by the twin concepts of 'populares' and 'optimates', commonly assumed to refer to two antithetical political categories. However, the definition of these groups is much debated: some historians see them as ideological movements or traditions, others as differences of political style and method. This book asks whether this debate may in fact be chasing a mirage. Through a detailed analysis of the usage of the two terms in Cicero and his close contemporaries, it is argued that they carried no clear political meaning. What emerges instead is a political language focused on the elite's fundamental concerns about internal divisions and the maintenance of aristocratic consensus.

Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 7446

Bibliografische Details

• Titel: BEYOND POPULARES AND OPTIMATES Political Language in the Late Republic
• Verlag: Franz Steiner Verlag
• Erscheinungsjahr: 2010
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN-10: 3515096434
• ISBN-13: 9783515096430
• Einband: Hardcover
• Zustand: Fine
• Zustand des Schutzumschlags: No Dust Jacket
• Verkäuferkataloge:
  • Roman History
  • Political Science

Über diesen Titel

Inhaltsangabe

Modern interpretations of the late Roman Republic have been dominated by the twin concepts of 'populares' and 'optimates', commonly assumed to refer to two antithetical political categories. However, the definition of these groups is much debated: some historians see them as ideological movements or traditions, others as differences of political style and method. This book asks whether this debate may in fact be chasing a mirage. Through a detailed analysis of the usage of the two terms in Cicero and his close contemporaries, it is argued that they carried no clear political meaning. What emerges instead is a political language focused on the elite's fundamental concerns about internal divisions and the maintenance of aristocratic consensus.

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

M. Robb is a visiting research fellow in the Department of Classics, King's College, London. Field of research: Roman Republican history.