Fides in Flavian Literature

Review "An illuminating volume, Fides in Flavian Literature showcases a number of issues and arguments, illustrated with pertinent, original, and literary examples which are bound to provoke further discussion." -- Joy Littlewood, independent scholar, Oxford, UK"This book is a major contribution to research on Flavian literature, and excellently unpacks the extraordinary semantic and cultural range of fides, while also tying it to its peculiarly Flavian context." -- Jean-Michel Hulls, Department of Classics, Dulwich College Product Description Fides in Flavian Literature explores the ideology of "good faith" (fides) during the time of the emperors Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian (69–96 CE), the new imperial dynasty that gained power in the wake of the civil wars of the period. The contributors to this volume consider the significance and semantic range of this Roman value in works that deal in myth, contemporary poetry, and history in both prose and verse. Though it does not claim to offer the comprehensive "last word" on fides in Flavian Rome, the book aims to show that fides in this period was subjected to a particularly striking and special brand of contestation and reconceptualization, used to interrogate the broad cultural changes and anxieties of the Flavian period as well as connect to a republican and imperial past. The editors argue that fides was both a vehicle for reconciliation and a means to test the nature of "good faith" in the wake of a devastating and divisive period in Roman history. About the Author Antony Augoustakis is a professor in the Department of the Classics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.Emma Buckley is a senior lecturer in the School of Classics at the University of St Andrews.Claire Stocks is a lecturer in the School of History, Classics, and Archaeology at Newcastle University.