Consensus, Concordia, and the Formation of Roman Imperial Ideology

John Alexander Lobur

Routledge, 2008 - Literary Criticism - 322 pages

This book concerns the relationship between ideas and power in the genesis of the Roman empire. The self-justification of the first emperor through the consensus of the citizen body constrained him to adhere to 'legitimate' and 'traditional' forms of self-presentation. Lobur explores how these notions become explicated and reconfigured by the upper and mostly non-political classes of Italy and Rome. The chronic turmoil experienced in the late republic shaped the values and program of the imperial system; it molded the comprehensive and authoritative accounts of Roman tradition and history in a way that allowed the system to appear both traditional and historical. This book also examines how shifts in rhetorical and historiographical practices facilitated the spreading and assimilation of shared ideas that allowed the empire to cohere.

About the author

Dr. John Alexander Lobur is an assistant Professor at the University of Mississippi. His interests include Early Imperial History, Literature and Rhetoric, Roman Political and Social Ideology and Roman Historiography.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Consensus, Concordia, and the Formation of Roman Imperial Ideology; Studies in classics (Routledge (Firm)) (Unnumbered); Studies in classics
• Author: John Alexander Lobur
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: Routledge, 2008
• ISBN: 0415977886, 9780415977883
• Length: 322 pages
• Subjects: Literary Criticism / Ancient & Classical