From the second half of the third century BCE onwards, Rome was inundated with ‘non-local’ objects. The great Roman conquests of the period, like the sack of Syracuse in 211 BCE, brought objects... Show moreFrom the second half of the third century BCE onwards, Rome was inundated with ‘non-local’ objects. The great Roman conquests of the period, like the sack of Syracuse in 211 BCE, brought objects from all the conquered regions to the city of Rome. Among these objects was a vast number of ‘non-local’ statues that moved from the Greek world to Rome. In the city, they were put on display in public locations and became an integrated part of the Roman cultural environment and daily life. Such statues changed Rome on multiple levels – and this was also perceived as such by the Romans themselves.This dissertation investigates the introduction and impact of Greek statues in Republican Rome through an archaeological perspective. It attempts to study the appropriation of such ‘non-local’ statues, and the shock of the new that society experienced, from an object perspective, by analysing the biographies of some specifically selected individual statues. As such, this research explores how Greek statues became integrated into the city of Rome and how their appropriation was connected to change and innovation in Roman society. Show less
In the liminal area of southern Latium and northern Campania Rome founded three neighbouring colonies with different citizenship status in the 4th-3rd c. BC. The dissertation re-examines the... Show moreIn the liminal area of southern Latium and northern Campania Rome founded three neighbouring colonies with different citizenship status in the 4th-3rd c. BC. The dissertation re-examines the historical and archaeological sources within this micro-region and focuses on local-regional characteristics and pre-Roman structures that influenced the colonies. Thereby, this research argues for a local colonial material culture and discusses the impact of cultural and economic factors on the colonial foundations. These support their multi-layered integration into supra-regional trade and production networks as well as spatial and individual connectivity in late Republican times. In contrary to traditional conceptions limited to citizenship status and military purpose, this research emphasizes the heterogenous socio-political, economic, religious, and cultural developments of the colonies. Show less
This thesis discusses ager publicus, a kind of public land specific to the Roman Republic. Although many works have been devoted to this kind of land, there is as yet no book which investigates in... Show moreThis thesis discusses ager publicus, a kind of public land specific to the Roman Republic. Although many works have been devoted to this kind of land, there is as yet no book which investigates in depth its role in the society, economy, and politics of the Roman Republic. Many aspects of the history of this type of land are still hotly debated, from its development in the early Republic and the legal rights that could be held on it by Roman citizens and allies, to its role in the developments of the second century BC and the Gracchan period. This book aims to fill the gaps in our knowledge by giving a comprehensive overview of the history of ager publicus in the Roman Republic. By discussing ager publicus in its wider context and connecting it to such themes as population growth and proletarianization, its importance in the Republic will become clear. At the same time the legal developments concerning this land will be discussed in a new light, by putting the relevant laws in their social context. The thesis shows that the privatization of this land in the late third and second centuries BC was direct result of growing pressure on the land as a result of population growth and an increase in agricultural production for the market. Show less
