The book attempts to establish exactly how Zbigniew Herbert constructs his own mythological image of Rome and how this myth changes within the boundaries of his poetic work. It should be emphasized that the Roman theme in Herbert appears in connection with the historical and political realities of the second half of the 20th century. This means that it is associated with such vital topics for a citizen of a totalitarian state as despotism and the republic, independence and subordination, personal and social ethics, as well as citizenship, dignity and human rights. The disclosure of this topic involves the study of poetic works that mention the events and characters of Roman history. The author clarifies their metaphorical or allegorical meaning, bearing in mind the poet's attitude to Roman civilization as an exemplary model of European culture, or even a symbol of civilization as a whole.

The publication is a translation of some chapters of the monograph: Józef Maria Ruszar. Slońce republiki. Cywilizacja rzymska w twórczości Z. Herberta. (Krakow, 2014). This publication is the first in a series of publications planned within the framework of cooperation between the Ivan Limbach Publishing House and Instytut Literatury, established in 2019 by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland. One of the main goals of the institute is to promote high Polish culture and literature.

“The mythological image of Rome in the poet’s work appears in connection with the historical and political realities of the second half of the 20th century. This means that it is associated with such vital topics for a citizen of a totalitarian state as opposition to power and civil liberties, despotism and the republic, independence and subordination, personal and social ethics, as well as citizenship, dignity and human rights. The main theme of the book is the image of Roman civilization as one of the important aspects of the vision of the world presented in the work of Zbigniew Herbert. The disclosure of this topic involves the study of poetic works that mention events and characters that appear on the pages of Roman history. I will demonstrate their literal, as well as metaphorical or allegorical meaning, bearing in mind Herbert's attitude to Roman civilization as an exemplary model of European culture, or even a symbol of civilization in general. Józef Maria Ruszar

Józef Maria Ruszar – Candidate of Humanities, Acting director of the recently opened Institute of Literature (Krakow). Editor-in-chief of Nowy napis ("New Inscription") magazine, literary critic, literary historian and publisher. Author of several works on Zbigniew Herbert. Since 2004 he has been the organizer of the international conferences Warsztaty Herbertowskie (“Herbert Readings”).

The book was prepared and published in cooperation with the Institute of Literature (Krakow, Poland).