The Foundation of Rome: Myth and History / Edition 1

by Alexandre Grandazzi, Jane Marie Todd

Overview

At once a historical essay and a self-conscious meditation on the writing of history, The Foundation of Rome takes as its starting point a series of accounts of Rome's origins offered over the course of centuries. Alexandre Grandazzi places these accounts in their contemporary contexts and shows how the growing sophistication in methodology gradually changed the accepted views of the city's origins. He looks, for example, at the hypercritical philology of the nineteenth century which cast aside everything that could not be verified. He then explains how the increase in archaeological discoveries and changing archaeological techniques influenced the story of Rome's birth.

Grandazzi produces a depiction of Rome's origins that is both up-to-date and provocative. His use of scientific parallels in describing changes in the ways texts were analyzed and his broad familiarity with comparative material make his synthesis particularly illuminating, and he writes with clarity, verve, and wit.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801482472
Publisher:	Cornell University Press
Publication date:	10/07/1997
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	1,050,184
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.69(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Alexandre Grandazzi is Professor of Classics at the University of Paris-Sorbonne. Jane Marie Todd is a freelance translator living in Oregon.

What People are Saying About This

Jerzy Linderski

The Foundation of Rome is one of the few intelligent books on the subject, neither hypercritical nor visionary; its particular strength lies in the skillful interweaving of modern historiography and ideology with ancient history.

Editorial Reviews

This is an enjoyable contribution to the debates about early Rome.

-- "The Journal of Roman Studies"

From the Publisher

This is an enjoyable contribution to the debates about early Rome.

The Journal of Roman Studies

"The Foundation of Rome is one of the few intelligent books on the subject, neither hypercritical nor visionary; its particular strength lies in the skillful interweaving of modern historiography and ideology with ancient history."

Jerzy Linderski

"This is an enjoyable contribution to the debates about early Rome."

The Journal of Roman Studies - Christopher Smith