The Politics of Immorality in Ancient Rome
2nd Edition
£22.99
Part of Cambridge Classical Classics
- Author: Catharine Edwards, Birkbeck College, University of London
- Date Published: March 2025
- availability: Available
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9781009464116
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The question this book addresses is not how immoral the ancient Romans were, but why the literature they produced is so preoccupied with immorality. The modern image of immoral Rome derives from ancient accounts which are largely critical rather than celebratory. Far from being empty commonplaces, these accusations constituted a powerful discourse through which Romans negotiated conflicts and tensions in their social and political order. This study proceeds by a detailed examination of a wide range of translated ancient texts, exploring the dynamics of their rhetoric, as well as the ends to which they were deployed. Roman moralising discourse, Edwards suggests, may be seen as especially concerned with the articulation of anxieties about gender, social status and political power. This revised edition contains a substantial new Introduction which engages with critical and scholarly developments in the study of Roman culture since the original publication.
Read more- Individual chapters focus on specific topics such as adultery, effeminacy, the immorality of the Roman theatre, luxurious buildings and the dangers of pleasure
- Assumes no prior specialist knowledge of Latin and presents all texts in translation
- Contains a substantial new Introduction engaging with critical and scholarly developments since the original publication
Reviews & endorsements
'Highly original in its exploration of the Roman tradition of moralising … a first-class book.' Peter Walcot, Emeritus Professor in the Cardiff School of History and Archaeology
See more reviews'Shows how central the theme of sexual immorality was to political discourse in ancient Rome.' Rebecca Langlands, Professor of Classics, University of Exeter
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×Product details
- Edition: 2nd Edition
- Date Published: March 2025
- format: Paperback
- isbn: 9781009464116
- length: 274 pages
- dimensions: 229 x 152 x 15 mm
- weight: 0.403kg
- availability: Available
Table of Contents
Foreword
Preface
Introduction to the Cambridge Classical Classics edition
Introduction
1. A moral revolution? The law against adultery
2. Mollitia: reading the body
3. Playing Romans: representations of actors and the theatre
4. Structures of immorality: rhetoric, building and social hierarchy
5. Prodigal pleasures
Bibliography
Index locorum
Index of subjects and proper names.
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