"Cassius Dio (c. 160-c. 230) is a familiar name to Roman historians, but still an enigmatic one. His text has shaped our understanding of his own period and earlier eras, but basic questions remain about his Greek and Roman cultural identities and his literary and intellectual influences. Contributors to this volume read Dio against different backgrounds including the politics of the Severan court, the cultural milieu of the Second Sophistic and Roman traditions of historiography and political theory. Dio emerges as not just a recounter of events, but a representative of his times in all their complexity"--
From the May 2018 conference "Greek and Roman Pasts in the Long Second Century" in Banff, Alberta, 18 papers explore the intellectual climate of Greek-speaking Roman historian Cassius Dio (155-235 AD) in sections on political theory and commentary, Rome and the imperial court, literary heritage, and Hellenic culture. Among the topics are Dio and Pompey: explaining the failure of the Republic, contested constructions: Dio and the framing of female participation as builders, Dio and the ritual of the imperial admission, telling tales of Macrinus: strategies of fiction in Dio's contemporary history, and Cassius Dio's Asia Minor: biography and historiography. Annotation ©2022 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
This volume addresses the intellectual and political contexts that produced Cassius Dio's (c. 160c. 230 CE) massive and indispensable synthesis of Roman history. Contributors examine the literary influences, cultural identity and political ideologies of this much read but enigmatic author.
