Book Review of Die Frauen des römischen Kaiserhauses. Eine Untersuchung ihrer bildlichen Darstellung von Livia bis Julia Domna, by Annetta Alexandridis

Abstract

This comprehensive study is a much-expanded version of the author’s dissertation of 1996/1997 at the University of Munich. It is the result of an extensive investigation of the issues of the depiction of Roman imperial women and of previous scholarship, as reflected in the long footnotes. Here, the author thoroughly debates the various scholarly opinions of particular aspects of the topic. The introduction addresses the various methods used to date Roman portraiture. This is followed by a chapter on propaganda and the atmosphere that affected the creation of those portraits in antiquity.