Ceremony and Power
Performing Politics in Rome between Republic and Empire
Nonfiction, History, Ancient History, Rome
| Author: | Geoffrey Sumi | ISBN: | 9780472025923 |
| Publisher: | University of Michigan Press | Publication: | February 24, 2010 |
| Imprint: | University of Michigan Press | Language: | English |
| Author: | Geoffrey Sumi |
| ISBN: | 9780472025923 |
| Publisher: | University of Michigan Press |
| Publication: | February 24, 2010 |
| Imprint: | University of Michigan Press |
| Language: | English |
In Ceremony and Power, Geoffrey Sumi is concerned with the relationship between political power and public ceremonial in the Roman Republic, with particular focus on the critical months following Caesar's assassination and later as Augustus became the first emperor of Rome. The book traces the use of a variety of public ceremonies, including assemblies of the people, triumphs, funerals, and games, as a means for politicians in this period of instability and transition to shape their public images and consolidate their power and prestige. Ultimately, Sumi shows that the will of the people, whether they were the electorate assembled at the comitia, the citizen body at the contio, the spectators at the theater, the crowd at the triumph, or mourners at a funeral, strongly influenced the decisions and actions of Roman aristocrats.
In Ceremony and Power, Geoffrey Sumi is concerned with the relationship between political power and public ceremonial in the Roman Republic, with particular focus on the critical months following Caesar's assassination and later as Augustus became the first emperor of Rome. The book traces the use of a variety of public ceremonies, including assemblies of the people, triumphs, funerals, and games, as a means for politicians in this period of instability and transition to shape their public images and consolidate their power and prestige. Ultimately, Sumi shows that the will of the people, whether they were the electorate assembled at the comitia, the citizen body at the contio, the spectators at the theater, the crowd at the triumph, or mourners at a funeral, strongly influenced the decisions and actions of Roman aristocrats.
