Imaginary Kings

This volume looks at various ways in which royal images functioned within different ideological frameworks in the ancient Near East, Greece and Rome. It argues that visibility lies at the heart of power, especially under monarchic rule. The contributions highlight how, throughout the ancient Mediterranean, patterns can be detected in the use of royal images. There seem to have been continuous (re)negotiations between innovation and tradition, East and West, and between 'real' and 'imaginary' kings.

Contents
Richard Fowler / Olivier Hekster: Imagining kings: From Persia to Rome Lindsay Allen: Le roi imaginaire: An audience with the Achaemenid king
Peter Thonemann: The tragic king: Demetrios Poliorketes and the city of Athens
Margherita Facella: Roman perception of Commagenian royalty
Matthew Gisborne: A curia of kings: Sulla and royal imagery
Richard Fowler: 'Most fortunate roots': Tradition and legitimacy in Parthian royal ideology
Olivier Hekster: Captured in the gaze of power: Visibility, games and Roman imperial representation
Ted Kaizer: Kingly priests in the Roman Near East?
Bibliography
Index