Roman Masculinity and Politics from Republic to Empire

This book explores the role of republican political participation in forging elite Roman masculinity, situating manly traits within a system based on power sharing and cooperation. It demonstrates how the vir bonus, or good man, modulated imperatives for personal distinction, military and sexual violence, and political cooperation with moral exemplarity. Despite the advent of one-man rule in the Empire, enduring ideals of male self-fashioning provided a coherent model of masculinity for emperor and senator alike.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 204 pages
Publication date: 29 January 2024
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This comprehensive volume delves into the profound influence of republican political participation on the formation of elite Roman masculinity. It situates commonly perceived masculine qualities, such as militarism, assertive sexuality, and the pursuit of power, within a political framework characterized by power-sharing and cooperation.

In the halls of the Senate, at social gatherings, and on military campaigns, displays of consensus with other men facilitated the smooth flow of social discourse and fostered elite camaraderie. Through literary sources and inscriptions that offer critical or affirmative assessments of male behavior from the Middle and Late Republic (ca. 300–31 BCE) to the Principate or Early Empire (ca. 100 CE), this book reveals how the virtus bonus, or "good man," the Roman persona of male aristocratic excellence, harmonized imperatives for personal distinction, military and sexual violence, with political cooperation and moral exemplarity.

While the advent of one-man rule in the Empire brought about significant changes in political power relations, the ideals forged in the Republic adapted to the new climate and provided a coherent model of masculinity for emperors and senators alike. Scholars often perceive the Republic and Principate as distinct landscapes, but the enduring ideals of male self-fashioning constitute a vital continuity.

Roman Masculinity and Politics from Republic to Empire offers a captivating exploration into the intricate relationship between masculinity and political power for scholars interested in Roman political and social history, as well as those studying gender in the ancient world.

Weight: 400g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367646950