Ghosts of the Past Latin Literature, the Dead, and Rome's Transition to a Principate

"Dufallo shows how the Roman dead are used as guarantors of authority when all the longstanding cultural institutions of Rome were in violent upheaval. A republic of several hundred years' standing was becoming a de facto monarchy, and negotiating the transition meant claim and counterclaim to authority on the basis of 'the way our ancestors did things' (mos maiorum). This book will appeal widely to humanists interested in how cultures negotiate profound historical change while preserving a sense of identity and continuity." -Micaela Janan, Duke UniversityDufallo, Basil is the author of 'Ghosts of the Past Latin Literature, the Dead, and Rome's Transition to a Principate', published 2007 under ISBN 9780814210444 and ISBN 0814210449.