The Idealized Rome in the Romanian Historical Imaginary before 1918

Mariana EGRI

doi:10.24193/subbhist.2019.2.02

Authors

Mariana EGRI Institute of Archaeology and Art History, Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Email: marianaegri@yahoo.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0729-9338

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24193/subbhist.2019.2.02

Keywords:

heritage of the Classical world, founding myths, national identity, ideal ancestor, modernization.

Abstract

By the time when Transylvania became part of Romania in 1918, the idealized image of ancient Rome became a defining element of the Romanian historical imaginary. An important factor in this evolution was the gradual emergence of the modern national identity constructs in the context of several internal and external social-political and cultural transformations which shaped the ways in which various social groups integrated the past into their collective memory. As a consequence, the idealized ancient Rome was gradually transformed from an intellectual ideal to an ideal ancestor to a driving force in the nation’s quest for modernization.

Rezumat: Roma ideală în imaginarul istoric românesc înainte de 1918. La data la care Transilvania a ajuns să facă parte din România, în 1918, imaginea idealizată a Romei antice a devenit un element definitoriu al imaginarului istoric românesc. Un factor important al acestei evoluţii a constat în emergenţa graduală a constructelor identităţii naţionale moderne, în contextul transformărilor social-politice şi culturale interne şi externe, care au conturat modalităţile în care diferite grupuri sociale au integrat trecutul în memoria lor colectivă. Ca urmare, imaginea Romei antice a fost transformată treptat, dintr-un ideal intelectual al strămoşului exemplar într-o forţă conducătoare a procesului de modernizare naţională.

Cuvinte-cheie: moştenirea antichităţii clasice, mituri fondatoare, identitate naţională, strămoş exemplar, modernizare.

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