Writing Rome

The city of Rome is built not only of bricks and marble but also of the words of its writers. For the ancient inhabitant or visitor, the buildings of Rome, the public spaces of the city, were crowded with meanings and associations. These meanings were generated partly through activities associated with particular places, but Rome also took on meanings from literature written about the city: stories of its foundation, praise of its splendid buildings, laments composed by those obliged to leave it. Ancient writers made use of the city to explore the complexities of Roman history, power and identity. This book aims to chart selected aspects of Rome’s resonance in literature and the literary resonance of Rome. A wide range of texts are explored, from later periods as well as from antiquity, since, as the author hopes to show, Gibbon, Goethe and others can be revealing guides to the literary topography of ancient Rome.

• Interesting slant on Roman literature combining literature, history and ideas of place and space • Uses more recent writing, such as Gibbon and Goethe, to throw light on ancient discussions of the city • First addition for three years to the much-discussed Roman Literature and its Contexts series • More accessible/less theoretical than other titles in the series

Introduction: the city of words; 1. The city of memories; 2. The city of gods; 3. The city of empire; 4. The city of marvels; 5. The city of exiles; Epilogue: the transcendent city.