The Republican Aventine and Rome’s Social Order

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Archaeology, History, Ancient History, Rome
Cover of the book The Republican Aventine and Rome’s Social Order by Lisa Mignone, University of Michigan Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Lisa Mignone ISBN: 9780472121939
Publisher: University of Michigan Press Publication: June 3, 2016
Imprint: University of Michigan Press Language: English
Author: Lisa Mignone
ISBN: 9780472121939
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Publication: June 3, 2016
Imprint: University of Michigan Press
Language: English

The Aventine—one of Rome’s canonical seven hills—has long been identified as the city’s plebeian district, which housed the lower orders of society and served as the political headquarters, religious citadel, and social bastion of those seeking radical reform of the Republican constitution. Lisa Marie Mignone challenges the plebeian-Aventine paradigm through a multidisciplinary review of the ancient evidence, demonstrating that this construct proves to be a modern creation. Mignone uses ancient literary accounts, material evidence, and legal and semantic developments to reconstruct and reexamine the history of the Aventine Hill. Through comparative studies of premodern urban planning and development, combined with an assessment of gang violence and ancient neighborhood practices in the latter half of the first century BCE, she argues that there was no concentration of the disadvantaged in a “plebeian ghetto.” Thus residency patterns everywhere in the caput mundi, including the Aventine Hill, likely incorporated the full spectrum of Roman society.

The myth of the “plebeian Aventine” became embedded not only in classical scholarship, but also in modern political and cultural consciousness; it has even been used by modern figures to support their political agenda. Yet The Republican Aventine and Rome’s Social Order makes bold new claims regarding the urban design and social history of ancient Rome and raises a significant question about ancient urbanism and social stability more generally: Did social integration reduce violence in premodern cities and promote urban concord?

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The Aventine—one of Rome’s canonical seven hills—has long been identified as the city’s plebeian district, which housed the lower orders of society and served as the political headquarters, religious citadel, and social bastion of those seeking radical reform of the Republican constitution. Lisa Marie Mignone challenges the plebeian-Aventine paradigm through a multidisciplinary review of the ancient evidence, demonstrating that this construct proves to be a modern creation. Mignone uses ancient literary accounts, material evidence, and legal and semantic developments to reconstruct and reexamine the history of the Aventine Hill. Through comparative studies of premodern urban planning and development, combined with an assessment of gang violence and ancient neighborhood practices in the latter half of the first century BCE, she argues that there was no concentration of the disadvantaged in a “plebeian ghetto.” Thus residency patterns everywhere in the caput mundi, including the Aventine Hill, likely incorporated the full spectrum of Roman society.

The myth of the “plebeian Aventine” became embedded not only in classical scholarship, but also in modern political and cultural consciousness; it has even been used by modern figures to support their political agenda. Yet The Republican Aventine and Rome’s Social Order makes bold new claims regarding the urban design and social history of ancient Rome and raises a significant question about ancient urbanism and social stability more generally: Did social integration reduce violence in premodern cities and promote urban concord?

More books from University of Michigan Press

Cover of the book The Media Players by Lisa Mignone
Cover of the book The Black Musician and the White City by Lisa Mignone
Cover of the book The Postwar Transformation of Germany by Lisa Mignone
Cover of the book Transforming Gender and Emotion by Lisa Mignone
Cover of the book Bridging the Information Gap by Lisa Mignone
Cover of the book Mad Heart Be Brave by Lisa Mignone
Cover of the book Party Discipline in the U.S. House of Representatives by Lisa Mignone
Cover of the book Beyond Notation by Lisa Mignone
Cover of the book A Good Quarrel by Lisa Mignone
Cover of the book The Cultural Politics of Slam Poetry by Lisa Mignone
Cover of the book Treaty Politics and the Rise of Executive Agreements by Lisa Mignone
Cover of the book A Setting For Excellence by Lisa Mignone
Cover of the book The Holocaust, Corporations, and the Law by Lisa Mignone
Cover of the book Social Dimensions of U.S. Trade Policies by Lisa Mignone
Cover of the book African Print Cultures by Lisa Mignone
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy