Product Description

This book explores the significance of Julius Caesar to different periods, societies and people from the 50s BC through to the twenty-first century.

• This interdisciplinary volume explores the significance of Julius Caesar to different periods, societies and people.
  
• Ranges over the fields of religious, military, and political history, archaeology, architecture and urban planning, the visual arts, and literary, film, theatre and cultural studies.
  
• Examines representations of Caesar in Italy, France, Germany, Britain, and the United States in particular.
  
• Objects of analysis range from Caesar’s own commentaries on the Gallic wars, through Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, and images of Caesar in Italian fascist popular culture, to contemporary cinema and current debates about American empire.
  
• Edited by a leading expert on the reception of ancient Rome.
  
• Includes original contributions by international experts on Caesar and his reception.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #537585 in Books
• Published on: 2006-03-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

Review
“This is reception criticism at its best … Caesar does not invite but rather demands reaction and reflection, a demand admirably met in this collection. Important, influential, and timely deployments of Caesar’s legacy are creatively analyzed here, in essays none of which (I am pleased to say) is afraid of speaking its mind.”
W. Jeffrey Tatum, Florida State University

“An exciting collection of papers by a truly international team of scholars. This richly illustrated and documented volume explores the significance of Caesar’s memory in the discourses of art, literature, nationalism, and empire.”
Christina S. Kraus, Yale University

"A fascinating read which should appeal to a wide variety of readers not just in the classics, but throughout the humanities."
Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"There is a remarkable diversity of discipline and methodology – not to mention nationality – on display here, and it reflects well on (Wykes’) choice of contributors and unintrusive editorial style."
Llewelyn Morgan, Brasenose College, Oxford

"Appealing both to a reader possibly unfamiliar with the material, but also being of much interest to fellow specialists in this field." Scholia Reviews

Review
“This is reception criticism at its best … Caesar does not invite but rather demands reaction and reflection, a demand admirably met in this collection. Important, influential, and timely deployments of Caesar’s legacy are creatively analyzed here, in essays none of which (I am pleased to say) is afraid of speaking its mind.”
–W. Jeffrey Tatum, Florida State University

“An exciting collection of papers by a truly international team of scholars. This richly illustrated and documented volume explores the significance of Caesar’s memory in the discourses of art, literature, nationalism, and empire.”
–Christina S. Kraus, Yale University

"There is a remarkable diversity of discipline and methodology – not to mention nationality – on display here, and it reflects well on (Wykes’) choice of contributors and unintrusive editorial style."
–Llewelyn Morgan, Brasenose College, Oxford

From the Back Cover
Julius Caesar is not only the most famous Roman of them all. He has also been surprisingly relevant in many different periods, for many different societies and people. Edited by a leading expert on the reception of ancient Rome, this interdisciplinary volume examines Caesar’s role in Western culture across a wide chronological range and diverse media.

Ranging over the fields of religious, military, and political history, archaeology, architecture and urban planning, the visual arts, and literary, film, theatre and cultural studies, contributors examine the Caesars of Italy, France, Germany, Britain, and the United States. Their objects of analysis extend from Caesar’s own commentaries on the Gallic wars composed in the 50s bce through Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, on to images of Caesar in twentieth-century Fascist Italy’s popular culture right up to contemporary cinema’s Caesar and twenty-first century debates about American empire.