NOTES ON ANTIQUITY IN WESTERN LATE MODERNITY THROUGH NOVEL AND FILM

This paper is about some aspects of the late-modern representation of antiquity in Western countries. The timeframe is mostly the decades since the 1980s, but some works are also mentioned from previous phases. Some information is given on the late-modern historical novel, characterized by mixture of genres and intertextual references to historical events and contemporary varieties of discourse. Eclecticism would seem to be a characteristic feature, and it mainly consists of a mixture of real events and imagination, cohabitation of ancient settings and modernized characters, and interaction between high and low culture. Commercialization often accompanies novels on antiquity in the $21^{st}$ century. And ideologies such as romanness, germanism and barbarianism are employed by some authors to refer to contemporary realities. A number of films and novels are mentioned. More specific analysis focuses on Valerio Manfredi's The Last Legion and the film based on the book; Simon Scarrow's Gladiator: The Fight for Freedom; and Robert Harris's Pompeii.