Abstract
On one occasion in the reign and presence of the emperor Antoninus Pius, the Greek orator Aelius Aristides dispensed with direct adulation of the ciuilis princeps and instead addressed an encomium to a personified Rome.He commented on the opportunities the Empire offered all its inhabitants, regardless of ethnic background (Rom., 70): “a common democracy (δηµοκρατία) of the earth has been established under a single, best ruler and organizer (ἄρχοντι καὶ κοσµητῇ) and, as though gathered in a c...