Virtus Romana: Politics And Morality In The Rom... May 2026

Uses virtus as a nostalgic tool, presenting legendary figures from Rome’s past as moral exemplars for his contemporary audience to emulate.

Catalina Balmaceda , Associate Professor at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (2017). Virtus Romana: Politics and Morality in the Rom...

Definitions of political and moral terms are not fixed; they are reinterpreted by historians to fit or challenge contemporary political realities. Uses virtus as a nostalgic tool, presenting legendary

The term virtus is famously difficult to translate, shifting between "military courage" and "ethical virtue". Balmaceda traces this progression across different eras: Definitions of political and moral terms are not

Historians served as "promoters of change," using the concept of virtus to help Romans redefine their identity as they moved from citizen-soldiers of a Republic to subjects of an Emperor.

In her book , Catalina Balmaceda explores how the core Roman concept of virtus (manliness or virtue) evolved as Rome shifted from a Republic to an Empire. By analyzing the works of four major historians—Sallust, Livy, Velleius Paterculus, and Tacitus—she demonstrates that these writers did not just record history, but actively shaped Roman identity and morality through their changing definitions of what it meant to be a "good" Roman. Core Themes & Evolution of Virtus

Reclaims virtus for the new imperial system, manifesting it in the person of the Emperor (Tiberius) himself rather than just the collective Roman people.