Conclusion

Abstract

In this book I set out to answer the question: What, within our time frame of the late nineteenth century to the present day, does the representation of the decline and fall of Rome tell us about the societies that produced these cultural texts? Exploring the ranging answers to this meant probing a second, and somewhat deeper, query: Are these representations of Rome transient and unique to their specific period, or do they possess universal qualities? Approaching these questions has been essential to coming to grips with the pervasive cultural presence of the decline and fall of Rome. In an academic context, the word myth is clearly and demonstrably the most appropriate term to describe this, and I have demonstrated how the myth-model of Lévi-Strauss is a potent means to understand the peculiarities of this type of historical transmission.