Sulla and the gods : religion, politics and propaganda in the autobiography of Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla wrote an autobiographical account of his controversial career which, although it was left incomplete on his death in 78 BC, nonetheless had an incalculably significant influence on writers during the subsequent centuries. The Autobiography has not survived intact, but the twenty-three remaining fragments reveal a great deal about the original structure and contents of the work. Through the medium of commentaries on each of the fragments, this thesis considers the function and role of this lost text in Sullaâs self-representation strategy. Sulla was a man who was intensely interested in and concerned with managing the ways in which he was perceived both by his contemporaries and by posterity; although the evidence for this strategy is diverse and problematic, it is nevertheless possible to reconstruct the most important ways in which Sulla engaged with different groups. Through coinage, inscriptions, monuments, and nomenclature, Sulla exerted great effort in establishing a public image of himself as a man favoured by the gods, justified in his actions, and whose actions had brought great prosperity to Rome; this was so intricate and thorough that it can be termed âpropagandaâ. It
Noble, Fiona Mary
Sulla and the gods : religion, politics and propaganda in the autobiography of Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Lucius Cornelius Sulla wrote an autobiographical account of his controversial career which, although it was left incomplete on his death in 78 BC, nonetheless had an incalculably significant influence on writers during the subsequent centuries. The Autobiography has not survived intact, but the twenty-three remaining fragments reveal a great deal about the original structure and contents of the work. Through the medium of commentaries on each of the fragments, this thesis considers the function and role of this lost text in Sullaâs self-representation strategy. Sulla was a man who was intensely interested in and concerned with managing the ways in which he was perceived both by his contemporaries and by posterity; although the evidence for this strategy is diverse and problematic, it is nevertheless possible to reconstruct the most important ways in which Sulla engaged with different groups. Through coinage, inscriptions, monuments, and nomenclature, Sulla exerted great effort in establishing a public image of himself as a man favoured by the gods, justified in his actions, and whose actions had brought great prosperity to Rome; this was so intricate and thorough that it can be termed âpropagandaâ. It
sulla god religion_politics propaganda autobiography sulla sulla write autobiographical account controversial career although left incomplete death nonetheless significant_influence writer subsequent century autobiography survive intact twenty_three remain fragment reveal_great deal original structure_content work medium commentary fragment considers function role lose text sulla self_representation strategy sulla man intensely interested concerned manage way perceive contemporary although evidence strategy diverse problematic nevertheless possible_reconstruct important way sulla engage different_group coinage inscription monument nomenclature sulla exert great effort establish public image man favour god justified action whose action bring_great prosperity rome intricate thorough termed propaganda