Document Type

Honors Paper

Advisor

Darryl Phillips

Publication Date

2026

Abstract

History, especially Classical history, is not as objective as it is often made out to be. Classical scholarship is not immune to the influence of politics, even if and when a scholar does not explicitly reference it or intend for the scholarship to be political. To explore this influence, this thesis examines two case studies: Edmund Buchner’s work from the 20th century on the so-called “ Horologium Augusti, ” and the rise of regime transition scholarship in the 21st century. Both case studies examine the impact of contemporary politics on a scholar’s perception of a contentious period of Roman history: the late first century B.C.E. to the early first century C.E., a period of transition from the period of democracy known as the Roman Republic to the period of rule by one man known as the Imperial Period. These two case studies illustrate a wider pattern of political influence on Classical scholars, and highlight the importance of being aware of this influence.

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The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the author.