Imagining the Roman Emperor
Perceptions of Rulers in the High Empire

Explores how Roman emperors were perceived by their subjects in the first two centuries after Augustus.

Panayiotis Christoforou (Author)

9781009362498, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 31 July 2023

320 pages
28 x 19 x 2.4 cm, 0.689 kg

How was the Roman emperor viewed by his subjects? How strongly did their perception of his role shape his behaviour? Adopting a fresh approach, Panayiotis Christoforou focuses on the emperor from the perspective of his subjects across the Roman Empire. Stress lies on the imagination: the emperor was who he seemed, or was imagined, to be. Through various vignettes employing a wide range of sources, he analyses the emperor through the concerns and expectations of his subjects, which range from intercessory justice to fears of the monstrosities associated with absolute power. The book posits that mythical and fictional stories about the Roman emperor form the substance of what people thought about him, which underlines their importance for the historical and political discourse that formed around him as a figure. The emperor emerges as an ambiguous figure. Loved and hated, feared and revered, he was an object of contradiction and curiosity.

1. A History of the Roman Emperor
2. The Emperor as an Arbiter of Justice
3. The Generosity of the Roman Emperor
4. Wonder Tales
5. Wisdom and Wit: Making Fun of the Emperor
6. The Permanence of an Emperor through Time, or the Emperor as a Temporal Figure.

Subject Areas: Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA]