The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic (Cambridge Companions to the Ancient World) [Paperback]

Harriet I. Flower (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 19, 2004 | ISBN-10: 0521003903 | ISBN-13: 978-0521003902

Examining all aspects of Roman history and civilization from 509-49 BC., this Companion spans the development of the classic republican political system and the growth of a world empire. It also documents the ultimate disintegration of the system under the relentless pressure of internal dissension and the boundless ambition of leading politicians. Distinguished European and American scholars present a variety of current approaches towards understanding the political, military, and social aspects of Roman history, as well as its literary and visual culture.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"[This collection] will lend almost any reader an enhanced sense of the creativity, motility, ferment and diversity that currently mark the study of Ancient Rome." -Rory B. Egan, University of Manitoba

"This is a first rate and across the board introduction to the Roman Republic. All articles are written in clear and easy to read language, and all authors are mindful of the fact that they should be addressing a reading public that may be non-expert but is certainly genuinely interested in Roman things."
Ordia Prima, Sophia Papaioannou, The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Book Description

The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic examines all aspects of Roman history and civilization from 509-49 BC. These centuries produced the classic republican political system and the growth of a world empire. They also witnessed the ultimate disintegration of this system under the relentless pressure of internal dissention and boundless ambition of its leading politicians. In this Companion volume, distinguished European and American scholars present a variety of lively, current approaches to understanding the political, military, and social aspects of Roman history, as well as its literary and visual culture.

Product Details

• Paperback: 424 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (January 19, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521003903
• ISBN-13: 978-0521003902
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #888,950 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars good for military and politics; not good for culture, November 29, 2009

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Wyote (Seoul) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Republic (Cambridge Companions to the Ancient World) (Paperback)

This was one of the better Cambridge Companions that I've read. Usually I only find 2-3 interesting submissions in a CC volume, but here more than half of them were very interesting. The articles on political and military history are generally superb; the articles on cultural history are unacceptably weak. I haven't read the social history essays yet, and I probably won't for quite a while, so for now I'm reviewing the articles that I have read.

The binding of the book is excellent - this book took a beating but held together beautifully.

1. "The Early Republic" by Stephen P. Oakley. A very simple and brief introduction to the main issues of the Roman political organization and military conquests, constructed around the history presented by Livy and the uncertainties modern scholars have about it.

2. "Power and Process under the Republican 'Constitution'" by T. Corey Brennan. I only read about 1/3 of it. The essay tries to make sense of the various offices (magistracies) that existed in the republic, what powers they had, and so on. It is fairly technical; obviously some people will find it more interesting than I do.

3. "The Roman Army and Navy" by David Potter. A very nice, short introduction to Roman military techniques, how they evolved, and how modern scholars figure out that history. Military history is particularly interesting to me, and I'd have been happy with a longer essay, but there's nothing wrong with this one.

4. "The Crisis of the Republic" by Jurgen von Ungern-Sternberg. The shortest account you can imagine of the events between the attempted reforms of the Gracchi and Caesar's crossing of the Rubicon. I really enjoyed this as it clarified a few things I'd wondered about or misunderstood previously.

5. "Under Roman Roofs: Family, House, and Household" by Karl-J. Holkeskamp. Haven't read this yet.

6. "Women in the Roman Republic" by Phyllis Culham. Haven't read this yet.

7. "The Republican Economy and Roman Law: Regulation, Promotion or Reflection?" by Jean-Jacques Aubert. Suprisingly much more informative than its title suggests, and I wish it had been longer. After a terribly brief introduction, he explores a few laws and what we can infer from them about the economy. Initially I wasn't looking forward to reading this essay, but I found it wonderfly informative and wouldn't have minded it being twice as long.

8. "Roman Religion" by Jorg Rupke. Surely this is the worst contribution in the book. Of course I haven't read all the others, but it would be a real accomplishment to do worse than this. Rupke excels at writing much and saying little. You'd better already know what the Vestal Virgins were, what the auspices were and how they worked, as well as the other rituals of the civic cult, what happened in Roman temples, who the gods were, and so on - because you won't learn squat about any of that from this essay. Fortunately Mary Beard et. al. have written a book on the subject - Religions of Rome: Volume 1: A History - that appears to be very informative.

9. "Italy during the Roman Republic, 338-31 BC" by Kathryn Lomas. Another essay I wasn't really looking forward to, but then learned quite a bit from. The title is a little misleading as the essay tells very little about anything after the Social War (90 BC), and that is really a shame; but she explores the history up to that time very informatively. The interactions between the Romans and other peoples of the peninsula are a more interesting phenomenon than I'd realized. I'd like to learn more about this in the future.

10. "Rome and Carthage" by John F. Lazenby. An excellent but slightly too brief history of the Punic Wars. I learned a bit from it, and if I hadn't already known a bit I'd have learned a lot. Unfortunately very little space was spent on any particular battle or tactics, but the larger themes were well covered: the motivations of Rome and Carthage, the reasons for Rome's victories. There were a few unfortunate comparisons between Carthage and the German Empire, and I'd advise the reader not to take them seriously.

11. "Rome and the Greek World" by Erich S. Gruen. Another excellent essay. I knew a bit about the wars and political development discussed here, but I still learned a lot from this essay and enjoyed reading it. Unlike several of the other essays here, Gruen does not much discuss the sources he uses to tell this history, with the exception of Polybius. Also, the essay sometims seems to be a summary of his book The Hellenistic World and the Coming of Rome, though I haven't read that book so I can't tell with certainty. Anyway, it is certainly another excellent contribution to this volume.

12. "Literature and the Roman Republic" by Elaine Fantham. Reads like a recommendation to various Roman authors (of the Republican period of course) and a very brief introduction to some of them. It is not a deep essay at all, just a brief history of literature in this period, with very, very little analysis. (I originally bought the book in order to read this article, but I was very disappointed with it.)

13. "Roman Art During the Republic" by Ann L. Kuttner. Hard for me to say anything nice about this one. I learned a little from it, but it was not up to the standard of the rest of the submissions here.

14. "Spectacle and Political Culture in the Roman Republic" by Harriet I. Flower. Haven't read this yet.

15. "The Roman Republic and the French and American Revolutions" by Mortimer N. S. Seller. Not as interesting as it should've been. I learned a little about John Adams from it, and something about the difference between the "republicanism" of the American Revolution and that of the French Revolution.