This open access edited volume offers an understanding of how ancient texts, ranging from the historical and biographical to the oratorical and epistolary, demonstrate the negotiation and renegotiation of the concepts of otherness, identity and culture. Drawing together new research from emerging and senior scholars from across the world, Confronting Identities in the Roman Empire presents an up-to-date insight into notions of identity and otherness, both at the level of the individual and community, in the ancient world.

Roman identity is perceived as the result of the multiple interactions with the Other. The contributors analyse specific ancient case studies in order to define the network of inclusion and transformation that appear in concepts of unity, otherness and cultural identity. In part one, a selection of texts is presented which address the topic of Roman perception in relation to the identity of communities, while taking into account the ethnic, geographical, religious, occupational and social issues. Part two goes further in examining the ancient texts from the perspectives of famous foreigners, role models, enemies and even illustrious Romans who deviate from traditional identity models. This book brings together discussions of the perception of the Other, from the Roman point of view and that of foreign intellectuals in the empire, in specific contexts and situations.

The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P., under the project Rome our Home: (Auto)biographical Tradition and the Shaping of Identity(ies) (PTDC/LLT-OUT/28431/2017).