Rome and Italy

Rome and Italy presents Livy’s account of the Republic’s struggle for dominance within the Italian peninsula. The narrative follows wars, alliances, political crises and military expansion as Rome confronts neighbouring peoples and gradually turns a city-state into the leading power of Italy. Livy combines annalistic history with speeches, moral examples and legendary material, making the volume both a source for early Roman expansion and a Roman reflection on the character of the Republic.

The surviving books also reveal how Romans of Livy's own age imagined the creation of Italian supremacy. Legendary speeches and exemplary deeds are used to explain why Rome deserved success, while defeats become moral lessons about discipline and civic unity. The volume is therefore evidence both for early republican traditions and for Augustan-era reflection on the qualities believed to have built Roman power.