The Importance of Being Gorgeous

Overview & Synopsis

In this book, Susanna Elm radically changes our understanding of imperial rule in the later Roman Empire. As she shows, the so-called eastern decadence of the Emperor Theodosius and his successors was in fact a calculated revolution in masculinity and the representation of imperial power. Here, the emperor’s hard yet soft, mature yet youthfully gorgeous beauty was central. Because the Theodosian emperors were divine—gods one could see—so was their beauty: their manliness was the face and body of God. The emperors’ gorgeousness, their sparkling regalia, and how they wished their bodies to be seen by their elite subjects were as important as laws, taxes, and armies. Their vir-ness strategically deployed male same-sex erotic desire to enhance the unity of the realm in times of tension, incorporate the signifying potency of child emperors, and create a flexible yet stable model of Christian sovereignty. “A wonderful, sophisticated book that combines a sensitive reading of ancient source materials with intense creativity. This is a humanistic triumph, in the fullest sense.” — Edward Watts, author of The Romans: A 2,000-Year History “With erudition and élan, Susanna Elm enters the thicket of complex issues surrounding Roman imperial power, gender performativity, and the late antique child emperor. She emerges with a powerful new interpretation of ancient masculinity and a compelling new story of what beauty meant in the ancient world.” — Catherine Michael Chin, author of Life: The Natural History of an Early Christian Universe