No other monumental art form was so widely disseminated throughout the Roman Empire as the portrait statue, and its impact on city life was crucial. By combining a wide socio-historical perspective with a close reading of individual images, their setting, and their inscribed texts, this book suggests how to read the meaning of portraits, even the ones which have been irrevocably isolated from their original context and now adorn museum galleries. Key Features: start of a new series unique photographic material explanation of the social and political rhetorics of Roman portraits