Literature and Politics: Construction and Dissemination of the Portrayal of Public Figures in the Ancient World

PROJECT REFERENCE: FCT 2417 and CAPES 10396/13-0

Portraiture served as a significant form of political intervention in Greco-Roman antiquity. Through the elements of realism, distortion, or idealisation, portraits reflect an ethical-ideological stance which underpins the civic conscience of the Western world, a tradition that was carried over to the New World in the modern era. The literary forms of these portraits remain in contemporary biographies, whether authorised or not, of politicians and other public figures. They continue to represent a mode of civic intervention, albeit one that is often controversial and manipulative.

Modern biographies, therefore, continue to adhere to the topics and structures established since antiquity in various forms of literature, including biographical, historiographic, epigraphic, rhetorical, philosophical, and poetic texts, among others. Throughout both antiquity and modern times, literary portraits have circulated alongside other forms of imagery.

In ancient societies, images circulated through mediums such as coins, statues, paintings, reliefs, mosaics, busts, and more. These images could be both in line and in contradiction with literary representations. Therefore, studying the construction of ancient portraits helps us understand the origins of certain political invectives or encomiastic narratives consolidated in the Portuguese-Brazilian cultural memory, as well as the conflicts and changes that happen over time.

In our case, these constructions span centuries, reflecting dynamics that allow us to better understand both ancient societies and the contemporary world.