Dying in the Republic

For those who witnessed the bloody violence and brutal butchering of the late Republic, death and dying were everywhere. What did these Romans believe happened to the dead? Was there an afterlife? This course explores two texts (Virgil and Cicero) that deal with visions from and of the spheres beyond the realm of the living. Discussion of supplementary material from other authors, religious studies, and material evidence further develop our notions of what it meant to die in the Republic.