Dionysius and the City of Rome

This book investigates Dionysius of Halicarnassus’ description of Rome’s ‘founders’ and situates Dionysius’ historical work in the cultural and political contexts of Augustan Rome. Beatrice Poletti examines Dionysius’ methods and engagement with his sources to illustrate the significance of his work in his contemporary intellectual milieu.

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In Dionysius and the City of Rome: Portraits of Founders in the Roman Antiquities, Beatrice Poletti examines Dionysius of Halicarnassus’ description of figures traditionally regarded as the founders of the political and religious institutions of Rome, namely, Aeneas, Romulus, Numa Pompilius, L. Junius Brutus, and M. Furius Camillus. She considers the function of each of them in the narrative development of the Roman Antiquities to show how Dionysius portrayed legendary Roman characters for an empire-wide, Greek-speaking audience, and how such portraits served his historiographical and pedagogical aims. The literary work of Dionysius represents a milestone in the contemporary discourse about Greek and Roman identities. A Greek from Caria, he lived over twenty years in Rome under Augustus (r. 31 BCE-14 CE), where he composed a history of Rome from the aftermath of the Trojan War to the outbreak of the First Punic War. Dionysius’ purpose was to reconcile Greek intellectual opposition to Rome with Roman domination by demonstrating that the Romans were originally Greek and lived by Greek moral principles. He also intended his history as ‘exemplary’ by offering his readers models of good leadership through his characters. The author contextualizes Dionysius’ effort within the cultural and political climate of Augustan Rome to illustrate the extent of contemporary influences on Dionysius’ project.