Ancient texts did not survive because they were written. They survived because people with money, scribes, libraries, and power kept them alive. The same problem applies to how early Christian texts were written and preserved. Writing a book in the Roman Empire was hard. Getting it into circulation was harder. That may sound obvious, but ancient texts are often discussed as if they simply appeared. Someone wrote a history, a speech, a biography, a poem, a philosophical essay,

How Ronald Syme showed how power worked in ancient Rome through texts, inscriptions, and coins.

A Reading From Homer A friend sent me Lawrence Alma-Tadema's (1836-1912) The Triumph of Titus: AD 71, The Flavians (1885). At first glance it looks like exactly what you’d expect from him: immaculate surfaces, the crisp pleasure of antique detail, and a Roman world that feels less “ancient history” than “walk straight into it.” Then you look again. Because what Alma-Tadema gives us here is not merely a well-researched slice of antiquity. It’s a visual theology of Roman power