Börm Henning, Mattheis Marco, Wienand Johannes (eds.). Civil War in Ancient Greece and Rome: Contexts of Disintegration and Reintegration

Franz Steiner Verlag, 2015. — 437 p. — (Heidelberger althistorische Beiträge und epigraphische Studien (HABES) 58).Civil war is the most radical form of political conflict. This volume analyses the impact of civil war on society and culture in Greco-Roman antiquity. The collected papers examine phenomena such as tyrannicide, stasis and usurpations from the classical age to late antiquity. The focus lies on the lasting impact violence and disorder had on political discourse and memory culture. In particular, the contributions explore how internal conflicts were staged and performed. Beyond spectacular triumphal celebrations there existed a broad range of symbolic forms of communication pertaining to civil war: rituals of reconciliation, reintegration and restoration as well as acts of commemoration and condemnation. The multidisciplinary volume aims at contributing to a better understanding of the performative and communicative logic of civil conflict within the ancient societies of Greece and Rome.