SIMON PRICE first drew my attention to the Fasti as an unmined source for the late Augustan regime. During the years that at followed he patiently supervised my excavations, cast a critical eye over my findings, and often rescued me from bottomless pits and quicksands which threatened to engulf me. To him go my heartfelt thanks. I am also deeply indebted to Barbara Levick, who has been unfailingly generous with putting her great scholarship at my disposal, and who, in the midst of her own work, has found time to read and comment on every page of the draft. Sincere thanks go to Fergus Millar, Robin Nisbet, Peter Parsons, and Nicholas Purcell, who have been most generous in giving me the benefit of their comments and constructive criticism. The late Elizabeth Rawson's encouragement and helpful insights in the initial stages have not been forgotten. She has been, and still is, sorely missed. Very special thanks go also to the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, without which I would not have been able to study at Oxford.
It is impossible to enumerate all those scholars whom I encountered and who offered insight and challenge during the years of my research. However, mention must be made of Alessandro Barchiesi, Mary Beard, Ian Du Quesnay, Janet Fairweather, Elaine Fantham, Stephen Harrison, Carole Newlands, John North, C. Robert Phillips, Michael Reeve, John Scheid, the late Sir Ronald Syme, Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, and Peter Wiseman, all of whom gave me, in varying degree, the benefit of their views and great learning.
In the course of writing my thesis at Oxford I also received constant stimulus from discussions with some of my postgraduate colleagues, and as a token of my appreciation I would like to name them here: Tim Bateson, Eugenia Bolognesi, Richard Burgess, Margaretha Debrunner-Hall, Marie Diaz, Hugh Elton, Susan Fischler, Nicholas Hardwick, Margaret O'Hea, Tim Parkin, and Louise Stephens. The staff of the Ashmolean reading room, notably Jane Jakeman and Danny Darwish, have my
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