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Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2005.06.04

Marcel Le Glay, Jean-Louis Voisin, Yann Le Bohec, A History of Rome.

Translated by Antonia Nevill; preface and new material by David Cherry;
additional material by Donald Kyle. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2005. Pp. 592.
ISBN 1-4051-1083-X. $34.95.

Reviewed by Eleni Manolaraki, Washington University in St. Louis

(emanolar@artsci.wustl.edu)
Word count: 1977 words

Teachers and students of Roman history know how difficult it is to integrate social and cultural
institutions within the political narrative of Rome from its beginning to (roughly) the mid-4th
century C.E., the typical end point for most such surveys. The third edition of A History of
Rome (hereafter E3), a substantial and much welcome revision of the 2001 edition (hereafter
E2), is an important contribution to this end. There are entirely new essays on Roman
spectacles, the Romanization of the provinces, and the sources for Roman history. The coverage
of the Late Republic has been expanded significantly, and a section dealing with the early
history of the city of Rome has been revised to incorporate new interpretations of the
archaeological record. Finally, the bibliography has been updated, retaining the convenient
thematic groups of the previous two editions. E3 successfully walks the line between the needs
of undergraduates and more advanced students of Roman history. Despite shortcomings that are
unavoidable in a work of such a large scope, E3 holds its own among other important surveys
such as A. Ward's A History of the Roman People (2002 edition), M.Cary and H. Scullard's A
History of Rome Down to the Reign of Constantine (1975), and M. Grant's classic History of
Rome (1978).

The book is divided into three main parts, each including various chapters and subdivisions.
Part I, 'From the Origins to the Empire' (3-160), begins with Italy before Rome and ends with
the immediate aftermath of Actium. Part II, 'Rome Master of the World' (163-397), in many
ways the core of the book, covers the period from Augustus to the murder of Severus Alexander
in 235 C.E. Part III, 'Another Roman World' (400-512), is a brief survey of the 3rd to 5th
centuries, ending with the Ostrogoth Theodoric in Rome, and Byzantium as the surviving and
transformed version of the Roman Empire. Since the second edition has been discussed in great
detail by B. Lowe in BMCR 2001.03.29, I focus here on the new and revised materials by D.
Cherry and D. Kyle, which add greatly to the usefulness of the volume.

Acknowledging the modern fascination with Roman spectacles, 'even after Superbowls and
World Cups' (345), E3 provides extensive essays on Roman public entertainment (triumphs,
festivals, celebrations, games) with emphasis on gladiatorial combats. It traces the development
of spectacular violence (esp. gladiatorial violence) from its Etruscan funerary origins to its wide
popularity after the battle of Cannae (78-83), discusses diverse spectacles (gladiators, triumphs,
chariot racing, beast hunts, etc.) as tools of political advancement in the Middle and Late
Republic (103-107; 140-148), their institutionalization by Augustus and later emperors (214-
221; 345-357), and concludes with their decline in the wake of Christian influences (357). This
excellent survey adopts multiple perspectives, examining the Roman fascination with bloodshed
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as a complex anthropological, sociological, political, and psychological phenomenon. The

authors suggest that the intense militarism of Roman society throughout the Republic, the
cultural adaptation of Romans to earlier rituals of sacrifice and condemnation, the gladiatorial
ideology planted by the participation of slaves in the battle of Cannae, and the use of war
captives as performers lie beneath the allure of gladiatorial and other brutal (for our standards)
entertainment. The notion of spectacular violence as ingrained already in 'the military and
political context of the Middle and Late Republic' (83), rectifies the automatic connection
between cruel spectacles and sadistic emperors popularized by Hollywood toga dramas or, more
recently, by R. Scott's Gladiator (2000). Perhaps spectacles of naval warfare, particular to the
empire, could be added to this discussion. K. Coleman's 1993 article 'Launching into History:
Aquatic Displays in the Early Empire' (JRS 83: 48-74) can be recommended as a starting point
for the costly and imaginative re-enactments of historic naval battles.

Another significant revision of E2 is the new and/or expanded discussion on topics of the Late
Republic, including the imperialist policies of Rome in the Balkans, Germany, northern Africa,
and central Asia Minor (97-100), the reforms of the Gracchi (111-114), the war between
Pompey and Caesar, and the latter's dictatorship (130-140). E3 provides additional information
and detail missing from E2 and edits the existing narrative for style and, consequently,
interpretation. For example, all titles containing the word 'intervention' (e.g. 'intervention in
Africa against Iugurtha', E2, 93) have been simplified (e.g. 'the war against Iugurtha', E3, 97).
The most notable shift to a moderate viewpoint is the discussion of the Gracchi. The decidedly
hostile take against them in E2 has been replaced by a more balanced interpretation. The E2 title
'The Gracchan crisis' (E2, 100) has become 'The Gracchi' (E3, 111). Strong statements such as
'Tiberius became a dangerous revolutionary' and 'downright provocative' (E2, 102) have been
excised. E3 presents both the view of the Gracchi as 'demagogues and careerists', and that in
which their motives are considered 'a genuine desire to improve the welfare of the Roman
people' (113). Similarly, the previous presentation of Mithridates as a villain, in 11 lines (E2,
93), is now a two-page discussion including his invited expedition to Athens and the pact
between him and Sulla at Dardanus (E3, 99-100).

Another entirely new section discusses the social and cultural process of Romanization (326-
329). E3 cautions against sweeping definitions of Romanization as a spontaneous and collective
assimilation of provincials into Roman culture, and makes sensitive distinctions between
degrees of Romanization in the city and country, the upper and lower classes, and the solid
material record and the elusive 'provincial sentiment' (326). It proposes that cultural patterns in
the provinces were transformed mainly among 'the wealthy urban elites' (328), while rural life
must have changed little or not at all. Finally, the very term 'Romanization' is questioned,
because it assumes a unilateral absorption of Roman culture as opposed to the more complex
reality of interplay between Rome and its provinces, particularly after the 2nd century C.E.
Nowadays, with issues such as globalization, international assimilation, and cultural supremacy
heatedly debated, this opportune discussion provides ample ground for reflecting on the
continuing relevance of Roman history, inside and outside the campus. Because this informed
discussion relates to provinces throughout Roman history, it could be relocated earlier in the
book (perhaps before the conquests of the 2nd and 1st century B.C.E., 85-102) instead of its
present place (the provinces during the Antonine Empire, 312-326).

Smaller revisions are found in a section on the archaeology of early Rome (17-36). This chapter
is prefaced by an expanded introduction stating that recent discoveries lend more credibility to
the literary record than has been commonly assumed (17). Here, entire paragraphs or sentences
have been interjected into the previous narrative, dating the earliest huts on the Palatine in the
first half of the 8th century (19), discussing the presence of 10th and 9th century burial sites in
Latium compared with their absence from Rome (19), and underlining the cultural impact of the
Etruscans on religion, politics, and material culture (29-30). E3 integrates Livy's account of
Roman topography with modern land survey (20) more extensively and persuasively than E2.

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Completely new is also a three-page introduction (xxi-xxiii) categorizing our sources

(inscriptions, papyri, documents etc.), a section particularly useful to new students of Roman
history. Finally, explanatory notes have been added to the figures photocopied from other books
(58, 132, 211, 315, 402, 477, 488). This is a most welcome addition, since the reader of E2 was
provided with a map of Rome or the floor plan of a building with numbered sections but
without a key. All these new materials are clearly organized, insightfully argued, and eloquently
articulated, improving significantly the overarching historical perspective of the book.

On the other hand, organizational and stylistic shortcomings remaining from E2 render E3 a
somewhat uneven read. The book often discusses material culture (art, architecture, inscriptions
etc.), claiming its importance for the argument in question but without providing images of the
relevant materials. Without illustrations, however, references to works such as the warrior of
Capestrano (7), bucchero vases, (22), the Pyrgi Tablets (48), the Maison Carrée at Nîmes (227),
the Great Cameo of France, (240, 249), the Sarcophagus of Portonaccio (308), the Table of
Banasa (309), the bronze tables of Vipasca (333), the Lambaesis inscriptions, (295, 343), the
four-façaded arch of Leptis Magna, (381, 383), the bas-relief of Bishapur (420), the Scaptopara
inscription (422), the house with the cachette (475), or the ivory diptych of Monza (507)
become little more than onerous or trivial details. Instead of these items, interesting but often
irrelevant illustrations are presented. For example, the picture of a 1st century C.E. tombstone
(244) is set squarely between two separate discussions of the Great Cameo of France featuring
Tiberius and Livia (240, 249). This leads to extensive image searching, not an easy task since
there is rarely reference to a museum or a CIL number. Conversely, omission of important
artifacts can also create confusion. Claudius' speech for the introduction of Gallic chieftains in
the senate, surviving in both the bronze 'Lyon Tablets' (CIL 13.1668) and Tacitus' Annals 11.24,
is referred to as a 'speech, known through a papyrus, in which Claudius urges the senators not to
be puppets' (242). Claudius' request to the senate regarding the Gallic chieftains is briefly
touched later (254), without a hint that the text of this request is the speech mentioned a few
pages earlier.

Another misstep is that often terms are introduced without definition, or are explained much
later in the narrative. Thus for example, technical words such as condottiere (23, 25)
cappellaccio (25), cippus (30), ius auxilii (189) subsiciva (271) or concepts such as Gnosticism
(475) and theurgy (482) are never explained. Others, such as Donatism and henotheism, are
explained long after they have been introduced (Donatism: 438 and 492-3; henotheism: 438 and
484). More experienced readers can probably work out these meanings from the context, but it
is distracting to search in vain the glossary and indexes for these definitions. Equally puzzling
are the numerous phrases in quotation marks which have no sources cited (e.g. 39, 86, 87, 169,
187, 241, 271), and the attributed quotations that make obvious points, e.g. 'The foundation of
the Empire produced considerable changes' (C. Nicolet) (180).

Finally, this reader was often under the impression that the English sounds unnatural or vague.
One reads that political transformations in early Rome occurred 'with events as their
handmaiden or midwife' (39), that the Second Macedonian war 'signed the birth certificate of
Roman imperialism' (87), that Roman literature in the 2nd century B.C.E. was 'lustily
proclaiming and refining the virtues and vices of Rome' (121), and that the traditional
institutions of the Republic 'lay prostrate, their vigor spent' (183). Throughout the book, the
equestrians are referred to in the rather antiquated term 'knights', and the word 'lese-majesty' is
used to denote the trials of maiestas, or treason trials (238, 243, 270). Such instances are
explicable given that the book is translated from French, which is rich in subclauses and idioms.
However, these flaws now become more marked because they contrast with the new materials
in E3, where the text flows with great clarity of thought and precision of expression.

E3 is aesthetically improved from E2. Artwork, feature boxes, plans, and maps appear lighter,
accentuating the details in the black and white images. The capital letters of the introductions to

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the individual chapters have been replaced with small script italics, saving space and adding
uniformity to the page. The typographical errors identified in E2 by Lowe have been corrected,
except anciet for ancient (183).

In spite of its difficulties, E3 maintains a good balance between a general survey and a deeper
analysis of Roman history, combining a traditional biographical and factual approach with
thematic discussions of socio-political developments and institutions. I highly recommend all
the new materials for both personal research and classroom use, and I am looking forward to a
more normalized version of the remaining sections.

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