History and Silence

“ It is so rare and refreshing to read a Roman history book which recognizes and celebrates the sheer difficulty of writing history” ( The Times Literary Supplement ). The ruling elite in ancient Rome sought to eradicate even the memory of their deceased opponents through a process now known as damnatio memoriae. These formal and traditional practices included removing the person’s name and image from public monuments and inscriptions, making it illegal to speak of him, and forbidding funeral ob