Saeculum

Paul Hay is a visiting assistant professor in Classics at Hampden-Sydney College. He has published articles in Classical Journal, New England Classical Journal, and Syllecta Classica.

Acknowledgments Introduction: A New Order of the Ages 1. Omen History: Sulla and the Etruscans on Periodization 2. Eternal Returns: Cataclysmic Destruction in Greek and Roman Thought 3. Inflection Points: Progress and Decline Narratives with Periodization 4. Beyond the Metallic Ages: Technical Histories and Culture Heroes 5. Acting Your Age: Periodization in Roman Politics after Sulla 6. Pyramids and Fish Wrappers: Roman Literary Periodization Conclusion: Spaces after Periods Notes Bibliography Index Locorum General Index

There is much more in the book that cannot be covered in this review . . . It is well written with a clear argument that temporal periodisation mattered to the Romans in the first century BCE, prefiguring the 'Augustan Age' (on which there is much discussion) . . . The book is worth reading to open your mind to the concept of the Romans taking action with a view to a future that would last beyond their own lifetime. (The Classical Review) Saeculum covers a wealth of passages and themes, drawing on that is impressively wide-ranging in time and medium... In one of the most original and suggestive parts of the book, Hay uncovers how Agrippa used his renovation of Rome's sewers to associate himself with the culture hero Hercules mucking out the stables of Augeas...a well-produced volume. (Bryn Mawr Classical Review)