Sacred Founders : Women, Men, and Gods in the Discourse of Imperial Founding, Rome Through Early Byzantium.

Cover -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- Introduction -- PART I. THE FOUNDING DISCOURSE OF IMPERIAL ROME -- 1. Founding, Power, and Authority: Mediterranean History and Augustan Innovations -- 2. The Founder's Tomb and Posthumous Honors -- 3. Women and Founding from Livia to Helena -- PART II. CHRISTIAN TRANSFORMATIONS -- 4. The Christian Founders Constantine and Helena -- 5. Constantine's and Helena's Legacy in the Organization of Public Space -- 6. Imperial Women and Civic Founding -- 7. Koinōnia: The Christian Founders' Legacy in the Symbolism of Authority -- PART III. CHRISTIANITY AND THE FOUNDING DISCOURSE -- 8. Christian Piety and the Making of a Christian Discourse of Imperial Founding -- 9. Church Building and Founding -- 10. The Virgin Mary, Christ, and the Discourse of Imperial Founding -- Conclusion: Sacredness, Partnership, and Founding in the San Vitale Mosaics -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- V -- W -- Z.

Diliana Angelova argues that from the time of Augustus through early Byzantium, a discourse of "sacred founders"--articulated in artwork, literature, imperial honors, and the built environment--helped legitimize the authority of the emperor and his family. The discourse coalesced around the central idea, bound to a myth of origins, that imperial men and women were sacred founders of the land, mirror images of the empire's divine founders. When Constantine and his formidable mother Helena established a new capital for the Roman Empire, they initiated the Christian transformation of this discourse by brilliantly reformulating the founding myth. Over time, this transformation empowered imperial women, strengthened the cult of the Virgin Mary, fueled contests between church and state, and provoked an arresting synthesis of imperial and Christian art. Sacred Founders presents a bold interpretive framework that unearths deep continuities between the ancient and medieval worlds, recovers a forgotten transformation in female imperial power, and offers a striking reinterpretation of early Christian art.

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Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, 2024. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries.