Synopses & Reviews
Dictionaries of classical mythology have long been the province of the Greek tradition—any mention of the Romans is often by contrast, painting a portrait of a people without gods, heroes, or a true mythology of their own. This two-hundred-year-old prejudice, born of the Romantic movement and nourished by the classical scholarship of the nineteenth century, portrayed the Romans as merely practical—a race of engineers, jurists, and empire-builders—in stark contrast to the authentically creative poets, dramatists, and philosophers of ancient Greece.
Widely reviewed and celebrated on its initial publication three years ago, Peter Wisemans The Myths of Rome dismantles those entrenched prejudices and ambitiously explores the neglected evidence for a uniquely Roman mythology. Inspiring writers, artists, and statesmen throughout the ages, the myths of Rome—iconographic and literary—have enjoyed a rich afterlife in Western culture, from the works of Botticelli and Shakespeare to the emblems of higher learning. This lavishly illustrated volume presents the Roman myths in all their glory, each presented in a format both accessible and appealing to the modern reader. Tracing the development of the world of Roman stories over time and imaginatively reconstructing our picture of early Roman civilization, this major reevaluation of Roman history and its influence on Western culture uses the mediums of myth and art to change our vision of the ancient republic.
Review
“This is a book… that will send reviewers into rage or rapture; it will tread a path of idiosyncratic theoretical non-theory… and I think I will hate it; but it will be a memorable book all the same.” -Mary Beard, Fellow of Newnham College, Cambridge, and Classics Editor of the
Times Literary Supplement Mary Beard
Review
“Classical myth, meaning really “Greek myth”, is an enormously popular course in American universities… Wisemans book will cater for a corresponding “Roman myth” course, not possible currently because of the lack of a text.” -Barry Powell, Halls-Bascom Professor of Classics, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Barry Powell
Review
“A major contribution to the current re-evaluation of Roman culture…” -John Bodel, Professor of Classics, Brown University, Rhode Island
John Bodel
Review
“By an imaginative effort of reconstruction [Wiseman presents] to the reader the history of Rome… “from the Peoples point of view”. This has never been done before by anyone using the full panoply of modern scholarship and the full range of available material… of which Wisemans knowledge is unrivalled.” -Professor Tim Cornell, Professor of Ancient History, University of Manchester
Professor Tim Cornell
Review
"A richly produced work for the general reader, by a specialist in rarely visited corners of the theme; but its seductive illustrations, tables and chronologies should not disguise the book's passionate polemic." Times Literary Supplement
Review
"I recommend The Myths of Rome to students and teachers of Roman history, art and myth at undergraduate and graduate level, specialists in these fields, and anyone interested in a potent and provocative re-interpretation of the Roman historical tradition." Bryn Mawr Classical Review
Review
"... this brilliant book will create a storm of argument, raising again the old question: what do we mean by myth?"--BBC History
"The Myths of Rome is a richly produced work for the general reader, by a specialist in rarely visited corners of the theme; but its seductive illustrations, tables and chronologies should not disguise the book's passionate polemic, which places flagons of wine in the hands, and garlands of roses on the heads, of those beaky-nosed pieces of virtue who formed the Republic."--TLS
a splendidly civilized and civilizing work, ... He succeeds brilliantly, necessarily throwing light on shifts in modern perceptions of the Romans. As it uses painting, notably that of Tiepolo, to demonstrate earlier interest in Roman myth, the book is lavishly illustrated, the more so because unearthing the stories involves archaeological finds. [...] Piquant and illuminating observations from well outside Roman literature and Renaissance and Baroque painting, as well as friendly style, will retain the interest aroused in younger readers when they open the volume".--Greece and Rome
"The scope of this book is enormous and the subject matter potentially daunting in its complexity; yet every effort has been made to make the material accessible and illuminating for the non-specialist and classical scholar alike. In addition to a useful time-chart and uncluttered maps, the text is entirely free of diversionary numbered notes; instead, a wealth of additional details and references to sources and modern discussions is provided at the end of the book."--The Classical Review
"... it is a marvellous advertisement for what the best professional classicists can actually do these days, and for the pleasure and profit that Classics can accordingly offer its own students and those of the humanities in general. I recommend W's Myths of Rome with complete confidence to public libraries as well as to those of schools and universities that offer classical courses at any level."--The Journal of Classics Teaching
"... this eloquently written, artfully crafted, and highly original book... Everyone professionally engaged in the study of ancient Rome, or in myths of the ancient world, should read this book, even if, according to Wiseman, The Myths or Rome was written for a non-specialist audience."--Scholia
"In The Myths of Rome Wiseman gives us his most comprehensive account to date of the development of Roman myth or, as he calls it, the Roman 'story-world'. This brief selection hardly does justice to the elegance and breadth of this beautifully produced volume, which contains a further forty-one single and two-page divertimenti taking up themes in the main text, which is wonderfully illustrated. W.'s prose is engaging and committed. The fact that one looks for W.'s approach to be extended and refined, in spite of disagreement concerning the political interpretation of some of these stories, is an index of the importance of The Myths of Rome. Its readers will return to it repeatedly as both an inspiring and thought-provoking piece of innovative scholarship, and an engaging and vibrant piece of historical writing.--Journal of Roman Studies
Synopsis
There was once a dream that was Rome. So says the old emperor Marcus Aurelius in Ridley Scott's epic Gladiator. It was a Rome of free citizens, brave, incorruptible, loved by the gods. It had its own myths, the stories that defined what the Romans were, and in due course it achieved mythic status itself. The myths of Rome have inspired artists, writers and statesmen throughout the ages: from Botticelli's Primavera and Shakespeare's Roman plays to Machiavelli's Discourses and Addison's Cato - a key text for the founding fathers of the American revolution. And yet, while a wealth of material dealing with Greek myth exists, the myths of Rome are a neglected topic. Some authorities have even claimed that the Romans had no mythology at all. Wiseman's remarkable new contribution to this almost totally unexplored field is highly illustrated and characteristically ambitious in its threefold purpose: to collect, and present in readable and accessible form, the neglected evidence for Roman myths, both iconographical and literary; to attempt to trace the development of the Roman story-world over time, from the sixth century BC to the second AD; to explore its afterlife in western culture from the Renaissance to the present day, with generous illustration of the visual evidence from ancient and post-Renaissance sources. Peter Wiseman is Professor of Classics at the University of Exeter and a Fellow of the British Academy.
Synopsis
Winner of American Philological Association: C.J. Goodwin Award of Merit 2005. Shortlisted for British Academy Book Prize 2005. Widely reviewed and celebrated in hardback on publication in 2004, "The Myths of Rome" is now available in a paperback edition.This major re-evaluation of Roman history and its afterlife in western culture through the mediums of myth and art is fast becoming the standard popular account of the Roman story-world. It triumphantly redresses the popular perception of classical myth as a predominantly Greek invention; and builds a cohesive narrative from the mass of mythical and historical tales that cluster around the nexus of Rome. It is set to become a sourcebook for students of Roman myth and history in this country and around the world at undergraduate and graduate level.
About the Author
Peter Wiseman is Emeritus Professor of Roman History at Exeter University and a Fellow of the British Academy. He came to Exeter in 1977, and was Head of Department from 1977 to 1990. Although he retired in 2001, he is still involved in graduate teaching at both MA and PhD levels. ‘I've been obsessed with the history and literature of Rome for nearly half a century’, he says. Among the results of that obsession have been books on Catullus (Catullan Questions 1969, Catullus and his World 1985), on Roman political history (New Men in the Roman Senate 1971, Flavius Josephus: Death of an Emperor 1991), on Roman historiography (Clio's Cosmetics: Three Studies in Greco-Roman Literature 1979, Historiography and Imagination: Eight Essays on Roman Culture 1994), and on Roman myth and legend (Remus: a Roman Myth 1995, Roman Drama and Roman History 1998). Reviews of T.P. Wiseman books include the following comments: 'quite simply brilliant' (Times Literary Supplement), 'enthralling' (London Review of Books), 'stylistic elegance and wit, dazzling erudition and imaginative flair' (Classical Review), 'exceptional analytical skill and creative imagination' (Bryn Mawr Classical Review).
Table of Contents
List of illustrations
Acknowledgments
User's guide
Time-chart
Maps
Mythic Rome
Historical Rome
Latium and northern Campania
The central and eastern Mediterranean
1 The triumph of Flora
1.1 Tiepolo in California
1.2 Ovid, Bellini and Titian
1.3 Ovid and Botticelli
1.4 Roman myths
2 Latins and Greeks
2.1 euoin and Euboians
2.2 Trojan stories
2.3 Argonauts
2.4 Argives
2.5 Hercules and Evander
2.6 Saturnus and Liber
3 Kings (and after)
3.1 The exile's treasure
3.2 The Etruscan angle
3.3 The slave king
3.4 Gods and men
3.5 The vultures, the snake and the dog
3.6 The barons' stories
4 The god of liberty and licence
4.1 A story in the calendar
4.2 Freedom and the Republic
4.3 Athens in Rome
4.4 The wilderness valley
4.5 Fun and games
5 What Novius knew
5.1 The workplace
5.2 The Ficoroni cista
5.3 Gods, goddesses and gorgeous girls
5.4 Naming names
5.5 The twins
6 History and myth
6.1 The crucible
6.2 Camillus
6.3 Dynasty and liberty
6.4 The foundation legend
7 Facing both ways
7.1 What the gods demand
7.2 Honesty and turnips
7.3 Janus and his friends
7.4 Surviving the worst
7.5 Apollo's authority
7.6 Welcoming the Mother
8 Power and the people
8.1 New ways
8.2 The catastrophe
8.3 Sallust, Cicero and civil war
8.4 The People's historian
8.5 Caesar and son
8.6 Apollo's agent
8.7 The father of his country
9 Caesars
9.1 Liber's revenge
9.2 So many deaths
9.3 The world's a stage
9.4 The blood of Augustus
9.5 At last, a play-text
9.6 Grand opera
9.7 Soldiers on the rampage
10 The dream that was Rome
10.1 Long perspectives
10.2 Romulus and Remulus
10.3 Republics
10.4 Empires
10.5 Back to Flora
References
Bibliography
Illustration credits
Index