Book contents
- The Future of Rome
- The Future of Rome
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Some Remarks on Cicero’s Perception of the Future of Rome
- Chapter 2 Eclogue 4 and the Futures of Rome
- Chapter 3 Imperium sine fine: Rome’s Future in Augustan Epic
- Chapter 4 Posterity in the Arval Acta
- Chapter 5 The Future of Rome in Three Greek Historians of Rome
- Chapter 6 Philo on the Impermanence of Empires
- Chapter 7 From Human Freedom to Divine Intervention
- Chapter 8 Josephus, Caligula and the Future of Rome
- Chapter 9 “Will This One Never Be Brought Down?”
- Chapter 10 The Sibylline Oracles and Resistance to Rome
- Chapter 11 Revelation 17.1–19.10: A Prophetic Vision of the Destruction of Rome
- Chapter 12 Cicero and Vergil in the Catacombs: Pagan Messianism and Monarchic Propaganda in Constantine’s Oration to the Assembly of Saints
- Chapter 13 The Future of Rome after 410 CE
- Appendix
- Bibliography
- Index Locorum
- Index of Names and Places
Chapter 6 - Philo on the Impermanence of Empires
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 September 2020
- The Future of Rome
- The Future of Rome
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Contributors
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- Chapter 1 Some Remarks on Cicero’s Perception of the Future of Rome
- Chapter 2 Eclogue 4 and the Futures of Rome
- Chapter 3 Imperium sine fine: Rome’s Future in Augustan Epic
- Chapter 4 Posterity in the Arval Acta
- Chapter 5 The Future of Rome in Three Greek Historians of Rome
- Chapter 6 Philo on the Impermanence of Empires
- Chapter 7 From Human Freedom to Divine Intervention
- Chapter 8 Josephus, Caligula and the Future of Rome
- Chapter 9 “Will This One Never Be Brought Down?”
- Chapter 10 The Sibylline Oracles and Resistance to Rome
- Chapter 11 Revelation 17.1–19.10: A Prophetic Vision of the Destruction of Rome
- Chapter 12 Cicero and Vergil in the Catacombs: Pagan Messianism and Monarchic Propaganda in Constantine’s Oration to the Assembly of Saints
- Chapter 13 The Future of Rome after 410 CE
- Appendix
- Bibliography
- Index Locorum
- Index of Names and Places
Summary
Reflections on empires among ancient writers can take different directions. Some focus on the succession of specific empires and speculate about the number of empires destined to rule the world, as does the author of the Book of Daniel, for example.1 Such writers are in various ways concerned with history and how it continues from the past, through the present, and into the future. In some cases, this leads them to speculate about the end of time.2 Other authors are interested in comparing the empires of the past to the one(s) of their own day. In the Roman period, for example, many orators praise the Romans for establishing an empire that has surpassed all others. This type of comparison is not restricted to orations and can be found in various literary genres. Finally, there are writers who are prone to more philosophical reflections on empires and what causes their rise or decline, their intrinsic instability, or the political factors that help certain ones endure.
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- The Future of RomeRoman, Greek, Jewish and Christian Visions, pp. 112 - 129Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2020