Images of Power in the Roman Empire: Mass Media and the Cult of Emperors

当代领导人明白形象对公众舆论的影响力，但他们是在走罗马皇帝走过的老路吗？该项目旨在阐明大众媒体和图像在从弗拉维亚到狄奥多西（公元69-450年）的后期罗马帝国期间在确保和维持皇权方面所起的作用。硬币、雕像和纪念碑的对比将揭示大众媒体被用来在皇帝、官员、地方精英和更广泛的民众之间进行调解的动态方式，并展示罗马世界的领导人如何使用大众媒体。社会和文化方面的好处包括更好地理解当今领导人处理这类媒体以影响公众舆论的方式。

Contemporary leaders understand the power of an image to influence public opinion, but are they following a path well-trodden by Roman emperors? This project aims to illuminate the role that mass media and images played in securing and sustaining imperial power during the Later Roman empire from the Flavians to the Theodosians (69-450 CE). The comparison of coins, statues and monuments will shed new light on the dynamic ways that popular media were used to mediate between emperors, their officials, provincial elites and the wider populace, and show how leaders used mass media in the Roman world. Social and cultural benefits include a better understanding of the ways that leaders today handle such media to influence public opinion.