Priesthood and Augustan Imperial Power (I AEC - I EC) through the analysis of the political-religious representations of Livy in the work Ab Vrbe Condita (Books I-V)

• Grant number: 25/09674-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: October 15, 2025
• End date: December 14, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - Ancient and Medieval History
• Principal Investigator: Margarida Maria de Carvalho
• Grantee: João Pedro de Almeida Castro
• Supervisor: Giacomo Fedeli
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais (FCHS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Franca. Franca , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Exeter, Exeter, England
• Associated to the scholarship: 24/06405-7 - Priesthood and Augustan Imperial Power (I AEC - I EC) through the analysis of the political-religious representations of Livy in the work Ab Urbe Condita (Books I-V), BP.MS

Abstract

This research project is set in the context of Classical Antiquity between the 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE-a crucial period in Roman history marked by the transition of the Republic into a new power structure, the Principate, centered on the figure of princeps Augustus (63 BCE - 14 CE). Within this historical framework, we encounter Livy (64/59 BCE - 17/12 CE), a Latin Historian from Patavium. He is the author of Ab Vrbe Condita, a monumental work that chronicles Rome's past in an exemplary manner by presenting moral lessons through the actions and virtues of its ancestors. A notable feature of Livy's narrative is his emphasis on priestly figures and their offices, which serve as primary sources of authority and tradition in his account. Simultaneously, the princeps placed great importance on the priesthood and the Roman traditions inherited from the ancestors. Accordingly, the central hypothesis of this research is that there may be convergences between Livy's political-religious representations and the Augustan policies that shaped imperial power, particularly through the roles and actions of the priesthood. To investigate this hypothesis, we will analyze the first pentad of books in Ab Vrbe Condita, which recount the Monarchical period and the Early Republic. Through this analysis, we aim to identify how Livy's portrayal of Rome's past and the Augustan Policies might have been interrelated with the political and cultural issues of that era.