by Catalina Balmaceda (Author)

"Late Roman historians sought to respond to the present through the evaluation of the past. Historiography was, therefore, a prime site for defining Roman identity. One of the key concepts for historians was virtus (roughly, "manly courage"). As a political and moral concept, virtus worked as a key idea in the complex system of Roman socio-cultural values, attitudes, and norms and was constantly being redefined and reinterpreted"--