Representations of War in Ancient Rome

How Romans represented war, in both visual imagery and in literary accounts.

Sheila Dillon (Edited by), Katherine E. Welch (Edited by)

9780521130837, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 15 June 2009

380 pages
25.6 x 17.8 x 2.2 cm, 0.94 kg

'… a set of interesting and thought-provoking studies on the subject which demonstrate the depth and breadth possible in an important and burgeoning field.' Journal of Roman Studies

War suffused Roman life to a degree unparalleled in other ancient societies. Through a combination of obsessive discipline and frenzied (though carefully orchestrated) brutality, Rome's armies conquered most of the lands stretching from Scotland to Syria, and the Black Sea to Gibraltar. The place of war in Roman culture has been studied in historical terms, but this is the first book to examine the ways in which Romans represented war, in both visual imagery and in literary accounts. Audience reception and the reconstruction of display contexts are recurrent themes here, as is the language of images: a language that is sometimes explicit and at other times allusive in its representation of war. The chapters encompass a wide variety of art media (architecture, painting, sculpture, building, relief, coin), and they focus on the towering period of Roman power and international influence: the 3rd century B.C. to the 2nd century A.D.

Introduction Katherine E. Welch
1. The transformation of victory into power: from event to structure Tonio Holscher
2. Siege narrative in Livy: representation and reality Jonathan P. Roth
3. Roman aesthetics and the spoils of Syracuse Myles McDonnell
4. Domi Militiaeque: Roman domestic aesthetics and war booty in the Republic Katherine E. Welch
5. The origins of the Roman Scaenae Frons and the architecture of triumphal games in the second century B.C. Laura S. Klar
6. The bringer of victory: imagery and institutions at the advent of empire Michael Koortbojian
7. Conquest and desire: Roman Victoria in public and provincial sculpture Rachel Kousser
8. Women on the columns of Trajan and Marcus Aurelius and the visual language of Roman victory Sheila Dillon
9. Battle imagery and politics on the Severan arch in the Roman Forum Susann Lusnia
10. Readings in the narrative literature of Roman courage William V. Harris.

Subject Areas: Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1], History of art: ancient & classical art,BCE to c 500 CE [ACG]