Construction of Authority in Ancient Rome and Byzantium - Takacs, Sarolta A. (Professor and Dean, Rutgers University, New Jersey)

This book examines the role of the Roman emperor and how political rhetoric shaped the ancients' reality and played a part in the upkeep of their political structures. Takács isolates a reccurring cultural pattern, a conscious appropriation of symbols and signs (verbal and visual) belonging to the Roman Empire.