This dissertation discusses the interaction of mythology and power in the Roman Republic and early Principate. It identifies a mythological paradigm that has not been recognized in previous scholarship ("pairs") and traces the use of this paradigm by Roman writers of the second and first centuries BCE. It argues that pair stories problematize the relationship between Roman elite ambition and the Republic's political ideals of equality and cooperation among magistrates. It further argues that these stories evolve over the course of the two centuries under discussion, from tales that are relatively optimistic about the potential of reconciling the tension between individual ambition and elite collegiality to tales that are extremely pessimistic. This evolution is tied to the political turmoil visible at Rome in this period. Several stories are identified as pair stories. The first and most well-attested is the foundation myth of the city, which is discussed at length in chapters two through six. In chapters seven and eight, the pattern is established through the analysis of Amulius and Numitor, Brutus and Collatinus, and the men known as affectatores regni. The historical development of these tales is discussed as thoroughly as possible. The argument throughout is that narratives from second-century writers depict pairs as representatives of productive rivalry. This rivalry encourages the elite to achieve beneficial results for the city, and can be set aside for the public good. Such depictions become less prevalent by the later first century, when the pair narratives instead tend to illustrate destructive competition. This destruction must be understood in the context of its times; the third quarter of the first century BCE saw the establishment of Rome's first monarchy in centuries. It is under the Principate that the tales again become clearly different: competition disappears. Soon afterwards, so does the use of these stories as a tool to think with.

This dissertation seeks to demonstrate Lucan's profound engagement and conflict with two ancient intellectual and literary traditions that can both be regarded as escapist, that is, as promising or postulating a sanctuary (whether physical or spiritual) from the world's troubles, and that were both active in Lucan's own day: utopian writing about science, exemplified in Latin by Lucan's uncle Seneca the Younger, as well as by the astronomical poet Manilius, and utopian Egyptology, as reflected in a wide variety of texts ranging from Herodotus, through Diodorus Siculus, to Lucan's contemporary, the Alexandrian polymath Chaeremon. To this end, I have examined two closely related sequences in the De Bello Civili that have received little attention from scholars of Lucan, namely Pompey's journey to Egypt in Book Eight and Caesar's Egyptian sojourn in Book Ten, during which Lucan's two main characters are each shown attempting to take refuge from the poem's ubiquitous violence through the double avenue of travel to Egypt (to which the defeated Pompey flees, and where his pursuer Caesar hopes to leave the civil war behind) and the practice of natural science (with Pompey's astronomical inquiry and Caesar's investigation of the Nile). In this context, I have also considered Cato's Libyan adventures, from the intervening Book Nine. Both Pompey and Caesar discover that escape through either method is impossible, for the fabled Egyptian Shangri-La is now embroiled in the political, social, and economic crisis of the outside world, while not only the natural universe but even the very act of inquiry into nature are alike contaminated by the ethos of civil war. The virtuous Cato, on the other hand, does not even make the attempt, maintaining a single-minded focus on his civic duties. By revealing such escape to be both immoral (through Cato's example) and impossible (through the examples of Pompey and Caesar), Lucan signals his decisive rejection of the escapist predilections of many of his contemporaries (including his uncle Seneca and his own father Annaeus Mela), who tried to distance themselves from the vicissitudes of political life under the later Julio-Claudians through retirement into a state of philosophical otium.

This dissertation seeks to demonstrate Lucan's profound engagement and conflict with two ancient intellectual and literary traditions that can both be regarded as escapist, that is, as promising or postulating a sanctuary (whether physical or spiritual) from the world's troubles, and that were both active in Lucan's own day: utopian writing about science, exemplified in Latin by Lucan's uncle Seneca the Younger, as well as by the astronomical poet Manilius, and utopian Egyptology, as reflected in a wide variety of texts ranging from Herodotus, through Diodorus Siculus, to Lucan's contemporary, the Alexandrian polymath Chaeremon. To this end, I have examined two closely related sequences in the De Bello Civili that have received little attention from scholars of Lucan, namely Pompey's journey to Egypt in Book Eight and Caesar's Egyptian sojourn in Book Ten, during which Lucan's two main characters are each shown attempting to take refuge from the poem's ubiquitous violence through the double avenue of travel to Egypt (to which the defeated Pompey flees, and where his pursuer Caesar hopes to leave the civil war behind) and the practice of natural science (with Pompey's astronomical inquiry and Caesar's investigation of the Nile). In this context, I have also considered Cato's Libyan adventures, from the intervening Book Nine. Both Pompey and Caesar discover that escape through either method is impossible, for the fabled Egyptian Shangri-La is now embroiled in the political, social, and economic crisis of the outside world, while not only the natural universe but even the very act of inquiry into nature are alike contaminated by the ethos of civil war. The virtuous Cato, on the other hand, does not even make the attempt, maintaining a single-minded focus on his civic duties. By revealing such escape to be both immoral (through Cato's example) and impossible (through the examples of Pompey and Caesar), Lucan signals his decisive rejection of the escapist predilections of many of his contemporaries (including his uncle Seneca and his own father Annaeus Mela), who tried to distance themselves from the vicissitudes of political life under the later Julio-Claudians through retirement into a state of philosophical otium.

Gaius Julius Caesar remains one of the most studied characters of antiquity. His personality, political career, and military campaigns have garnered numerous scholarly treatments, as have his alleged aspirations to monarchy and divinity. However, comparatively little detailed work has been done to examine his own personal religiosity and even less attention has been paid to his religion in the context of his military conquests. I argue that Caesar has wrongly been deemed irreligious or skeptical and that his conduct while on campaign demonstrates that he was a religious man. Within the Roman system of religion, ritual participation was more important than faith or belief. Caesar pragmatically manipulated the Romans' flexible religious framework to secure military advantage almost entirely within the accepted bounds of religious conduct. If strict observance of ritual was the measure of Roman religiosity, then Caesar exceeded the religious expectations of his rank and office. The evidence reveals that he was an exemplar of Roman religio throughout both the Gallic Wars (58-51BC) and the subsequent Civil Wars (49-45BC).

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Delaware, 2008. / Principal faculty advisor: Primo V. Toccafondi, School of Education. Includes bibliographical references.

Texte remanié de: Diss.--Philosophisch-Historische Fakultät--Heidelberg, 1993. / Sources manuscrites p. 173-176. Bibliogr. et sources p. 177-205. Table des ill.

A revision of the author's thesis, Heidelberg. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis--New York University, 1912 / Bibliography: p. 126-130 Also available in digital form on the Internet Archive Web site.

Programm--Königliches Katholisches Gymnasium zu Leobschütz, 1884. / Part I of a work that was originally issued as an inaugural dissertation, Breslau, 1863. "1884. Progr. Nr. 175." Includes bibliographical references.

O estudo analisa a influência dos boatos na vitória de César sobre Pompeu, ocorrida nas guerras civis de 49 e 48 a.C. Apesar do breve período de disputas, tem como recorte temporal os anos de 54 a 48 a.C., pois foi aí que apareceram os primeiros boatos das lutas entre os generais. Para tanto, toma como fontes obras de gêneros literários variados, situadas entre os séculos I a.C. e IV d.C. Dentro de tal corpus, destacam-se os Comentários sobre as Guerras Civis, redigidos por César, as Cartas a Ático e as Cartas aos Amigos, escritas por Cícero, e a Farsália, composta por Lucano. O referencial teórico abrange os conceitos de boato, janelas de oportunidades, ação coletiva e memória social. O objetivo geral é compreender a relação entre uma stasis, a propagação de boatos e a mobilização dos grupos. Seguem-no os objetivos específicos, por meio dos quais o estudo analisa de que modo as ações coletivas oportunizavam vantagens ou desvantagens militares, e também precisa como a formação de alianças tornou César o favorito ao sucesso. Considera que os boatos foram decisivos para o triunfo cesariano, pois contribuíram para a conquista de apoio, a rendição de cidades e a aquisição de recursos. / This work analyses the influence of rumours concerning the victory of Caesar over Pompey during the civil wars in 49 and 48 BC. Despite the brief period of disputes, this study considers a time frame that encompasses the years from 54 to 48 BC, for it was during this period that appeared the first rumours about the dispute between these generals. For this end, the study takes as sources works of varied literary genres from the 1st Century BC to the 4th Century AD. Within such a corpus, we highlight the Commentaries on the Civil War, written by Caesar, the Letters to Atticus and the Letters to Friends, authored by Cicero, and the Pharsalia, written by Lucan. The theoretical references embrace the concepts of rumour, windows of opportunity, collective action and social memory. The general purpose of this research is to understand the relation between a stasis, rumour spread and the mobilization of groups. The specific objectives concern the understanding of how the collective actions propitiated military advantages and disadvantages; also they specify how the formation of alliances made Caesar the favourite to succeed. It is considered that the rumours were decisive for the triumph of Caesar, due to their contribution regarding the obtainment of support, the surrender of cities and the acquisition of resources.