Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons^™

Sulla Imperator Iterum : The Samnites And Roman Republican Coin Propaganda, Thomas R. Martin

Classics Department Faculty Scholarship

A large number of inscriptions surviving from the late Roman Republic testify to the abiding interest that public figures of the time had in publicizing themselves. By proclaiming their own achievements and those of their families in inscribed texts, displayed as conspicuously as possible, Romans with ambitions could create the kind of personal publicity which apparently helped to advance their status and careers. The most conspicuous publicity was generated by inscriptions placed on public monuments; the most widely circulated publicity, however, was generated by the inscriptions and small relief sculptures which appeared on coins. Since people at all levels of …