Romulus' Asylum : Roman Identities From the Age of Alexander to the Age of Hadrian

## Abstract Modern treatments of Rome have projected in highly emotive terms the perceived problems or the aspirations of the present: ‘race-mixture’ has been blamed for the collapse of the Roman empire. More recently, Rome and Roman society have been depicted as ‘multicultural’. Moving beyond these and beyond more traditional, juridical approaches to Roman identity, this book focuses on ancient modes of thinking about selves and relationships with other peoples, including descent-myths, history, and ethnographies. It explores the relative importance of sometimes closely interconnected categories of blood descent, language, culture and clothes, and territoriality. Rome's creation of a distinctive imperial shape is understood in the context of the broader ancient Mediterranean world within which the Romans self-consciously situated themselves, and whose modes of thought they appropriated and transformed. "Modern treatments of Rome have projected in highly emotive terms the perceived problems, or the aspirations, of the present: 'race-mixture' has been blamed for the collapse of the Roman empire; more recently, Rome and Roman society have been depicted as 'multicultural'. Moving beyond these and more traditional, juridical approaches to Roman identity, Emma Dench focuses on ancient modes of thinking about selves and relationships with other peoples, including descent-myths, history, and ethnographies. She explores the relative importance of sometimes closely interconnected categories of blood descent, language, culture and clothes, and territoriality. Rome's creation of a distinctive imperial shape is understood in the context of the ancient Mediterranean world within which the Romans self-consciously situated themselves, and whose modes of thought they appropriated and transformed. The changing relationship with the Greek world and Greek culture is not the only significant one : the articulation of local and Roman identities in Italy is of profound importance for the distinctive articulation of being Roman."--Jacket.

Modern treatments of Rome have projected in highly emotive terms the perceived problems, or the aspirations, of the present: race-mixture has been blamed for the collapse of the Roman empire; more recently, Rome and Roman society have been depicted as multicultural. Moving beyond these and beyond more traditional, juridical approaches to Roman identity, Emma Dench focuses on ancient modes of thinking about selves and relationships with other peoples, including descent-myths, history, and ethnographies. She explores the relative importance of sometimes closely interconnected categories of blood descent, language, culture and clothes, and territoriality. Rome's creation of a distinctive imperial shape is understood in the context of the broader ancient Mediterranean world within which the Romans self-consciously situated themselves, and whose modes of thought they appropriated and transformed.

Who did the Romans think they were? They were a people scattered round the ancient Mediterranean world, yet they imagined a common identity for themselves, particularly through shared myths and history. This book shows how ancient means of constructing identity compare with modern means, especially that of `race'. Who did the Romans think they were? They were a people scattered round the ancient Mediterranean world, yet they imagined a common identity for themselves, particularly through shared myths and history. This book shows how ancient means of constructing identity compares with modern means