BEYOND POPULARES AND OPTIMATES Political Language in the Late Republic

Robb, M. A.

ISBN 10: 3515096434 / ISBN 13: 9783515096430

Editore: Franz Steiner Verlag, 2010

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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.

Codice articolo 7446

Dati bibliografici

• Titolo: BEYOND POPULARES AND OPTIMATES Political Language in the Late Republic
• Editore: Franz Steiner Verlag
• Data di pubblicazione: 2010
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 3515096434
• ISBN 13: 9783515096430
• Rilegatura: Hardcover
• Condizione: Fine
• Condizione della sovraccoperta: No Dust Jacket
• Cataloghi dei venditori:
  • Roman History
  • Political Science

Descrizione articolo

Riassunto

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.

Informazioni sull?autore

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