Kirjahaku

Recent scholarship has emphasised that ancient oratory was primarily a performance art. At Rome during the Republican period, public speaking was one of the most important ways in which politicians created support for themselves among the citizen body. The change of political system to a monarchy transformed the functions of oratory but left its importance as an elite skill intact. This New Survey offers an introduction to the topic, and the modern scholarship on it, which emphasises the fact that the occasions of speaking were prior to subsequent written texts. Without ignoring Cicero as the major surviving textual exemplar of a Roman orator, this book establishes a context for his achievement within the preoccupation with public speaking common to the Roman elite as a whole and considers what oratorical education and practice at Rome can say about wider norms of elite behaviour.

A crucial and turbulent centuryBy 146, Rome had established itself as the leading Mediterranean power.Over the next century, it consolidated its power into an immense territorial empire. At the same time, the internal balance of power shifted dramatically, as a narrow ruling elite was challenged first by the rest of Italy, and then by military commanders, a process which culminated in the civil war between Pompey and Caesar and the re-establishment of monarchy. Catherine Steel tells the history of this crucial and turbulent century, focussing on the issues of freedom, honour, power, greed and ambition, and the cherished but abused institutions of the Republic which were central to events then and which have preoccupied historians ever since.Key features:" traces the processes of change which transformed Rome from a republic to a monarchy" explores a period of political crisis in relation to its military and cultural dynamism" analyses the political culture of the Roman Republic as a dynamic and evolving system which reflected changes in citizenship and in the ruling elite

This title deals with a crucial and turbulent century for the Roman Republic. By 146, Rome had established itself as the leading Mediterranean power. Over the next century, it consolidated its power into an immense territorial empire. At the same time, the internal balance of power shifted dramatically, as a narrow ruling elite was challenged first by the rest of Italy, and then by military commanders, a process which culminated in the civil war between Pompeii and Caesar and the re-establishment of monarchy. Catherine Steel tells the history of this crucial and turbulent century, focussing on the issues of freedom, honour, power, greed and ambition, and the cherished but abused institutions of the Republic which were central to events then and which have preoccupied historians ever since. It traces the processes of change which transformed Rome from a republic to a monarchy. It explores a period of political crisis in relation to its military and cultural dynamism. It analyses the political culture of the Roman Republic as a dynamic and evolving system which reflected changes in citizenship and in the ruling elite. It is suitable for undergraduates, postgraduates and academics working on the history of Rome and the Roman Republic.