Heroes, Saints, and Gods: Foundation Legends and Propaganda in Ancient and Renaissance Rome

The paper investigates the way in which Roman leaders, during the classical and Renaissance periods, used foundation myths as a form of personal propaganda. It shows that men like Julius Caesar used the supposed founders of the city to promote their own claims to power through art and architecture. It not only explains how men like Augustus would build upon this by including not only the city's founders, but also Caesar to legitimize their own claims though art, architecture, and literature. And finally, it provides a look into how the princes of the Renaissance---especially the papal princes---took ancient, imperial, and biblical founders to uphold the papacy's power over Rome and Christendom, through art, architecture, literature, and art collecting.