Roman Luxuria - A Literary and Cultural History

This book examines the etymological and semantic origins of luxuria in key Latin texts. It discusses the influence of Greek culture on the Roman concept and examines a wide array of classical authors and genres to trace how luxuria becomes one of the Seven Capital Sins in late antiquity, representing the vice of lust.

List of contents

• Preface and acknowledgements


• Abbreviations


• 1: What does luxuria mean?


• 2: Luxuria: A short history


• 3: Seneca's luxuria


• 4: Seneca against luxuria


• 5: From luxuria to lust


• Bibliography


• Index of Passages


• General Index

About the author

Francesca Romana Berno is Associate Professor of Latin Language and Literature, Sapienza University of Rome. Her interests lie in prose writers, especially Seneca and Cicero, and in the semantics and expression of philosophical concepts, with special reference to ethics. She has also written previously on Senecan tragedies and Ovid. In 2021, she founded the open access international review "Lucius Annaeus Seneca".

Summary

This book examines the etymological and semantic origins of luxuria in key Latin texts. It discusses the influence of Greek culture on the Roman concept and examines a wide array of classical authors and genres to trace how luxuria becomes one of the Seven Capital Sins in late antiquity, representing the vice of lust.

Additional text

Berno's new book is a very useful point of reference for scholars interested in the history of the concept of luxuria in Roman antiquity. Full of stimulating interpretations of different authors and texts dating from the early second century BCE to the end of the fourth century CE, it offers the reader a substantial and well-structured study of the gradual semantic development of luxuria from 'material luxury' to 'sexual desire'. By compiling this convenient handbook, Berno has done all students of Roman virtue ethics a great service.

Product details

• Authors: Francesca Romana Berno, Francesca Romana (Associate Professor of La Berno, Francesca Romana (Associate Professor of Latin Language and Literature Berno
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 17.03.2023
• EAN: 9780192846402
• ISBN: 978-0-19-284640-2
• No. of pages: 298
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature; Humanities, art, music > History > Antiquity; HISTORY / Ancient / Rome, Latin, LITERARY CRITICISM / Ancient & Classical, HISTORY / Social History, Social & cultural history, LITERARY COLLECTIONS / Ancient & Classical, Classical texts, Literary studies: classical, early & medieval, Ancient Rome, Social and cultural history, Ancient History, Classical history / classical civilisation, Literary studies: ancient, classical and medieval, Ancient Greek and Roman literature