Includes bibliographical references (pages 455-492) and index.

"The period of Rome's imperial expansion, the late republic and earlier empire, saw transformations of its society, culture and identity. Drawing equally on archaeological and literary evidence, this book offers an original and provocative interpretation of these changes. Moving from recent debates about colonialism and cultural identity, both in the Roman world and more broadly, and challenging the traditional picture of 'romanisation' and 'hellenisation', it offers instead a model of overlapping cultural identities in dialogue with one another. It attributes a central role to cultural change in the process of redefinition of Roman identity, represented politically by the crisis of the republican system and the establishment of the new Augustan order."--Jacket.

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