Romans were raised to think about the past as something they not only learned about but participated in through school exercises, literary compositions, and rituals that had them take on the personae of historical or pseudo-historical figures. This lecture explains how this practice encouraged Romans to use the lens of the past to understand the present and to imagine ways to address current problems. It then offers a new way to understand the Altar of Victory controversy in 384 AD.

Edward Watts, Alkiviadis Vassiliadis Endowed Chair and Professor of History at UC San Diego, was born at Princeton Hospital and grew up in Kingston. He is the author of 7 books including The Romans: A 2000 Year History (Basic Books, fall 2025), a work that traces the history of the Roman state from its foundation through the fall of Constantinople in 1204 AD.

Image: Wings of a statue of Victory modeled on that placed by Augustus in the Curia Julia in 29 BC. (Museo Palatino)