Synopses & Reviews
What did the city of Rome mean to ancient Romans? Roman writers, Cicero, Virgil, Juvenal and others, described their city in many different ways: they marveled at its beauty, they despaired of its dirt, they explored its history, they lamented its absence. Their writings have played a vital part in determining responses to the city both in their own time and in later centuries. This book explores a wide range of descriptions of the city from later periods as well as from antiquity.
Review
"...[a] rich volume..." New York Sun
Review
"...this stimulating book....led me to think in fresh ways about the peculiar dynamic of Roman literature in which global assertations are intimately connected to specific persons and places." Lee T. Pearcy, Bryn Mawr Classical Review
Synopsis
"The city of Rome is built not only of bricks and marble but also of the words of its writers." Through the words of classical authors, the myths and memory of the place, and later writers such as Gibbon and Goethe, Edwards examines the literary topography of Rome. The author achieves a balance between minute details of life in the city with discussion of its mythic aspects reflected in literature. A little book but full of interesting material.
Synopsis
This book explores a wide range of descriptions of the city of Rome from later periods as well as from antiquity.
Table of Contents
Introduction: the city of words; 1. The city of memories; 2. The city of gods; 3. The city of empire; 4. The city of marvels; 5. The city of exiles; Epilogue: the transcendent city.