Origin Stories: Plundered Libraries and Theories of Appropriation in Greek and Roman Imperial Literature

abstract:

This article argues that anecdotes about Roman generals plundering foreign libraries were a type of Roman origin story that gained traction among imperial authors writing about the republican past. Scholars have traditionally treated these anecdotes as historical sources that document not only the beginnings of Roman literary, scientific, and book history, but also Rome's ability to transform military victory into cultural and intellectual conquest. Adopting a different approach, I argue that anecdotes about plundered libraries were a means by which imperial authors contested the extent and nature of foreign cultural influence on Rome and hence the makeup of Romanness itself.