Associate Professor Tom Stevenson
Associate Professor in Classics and Ancient History

Researcher biography
Dr Tom Stevenson's research interests include Roman politics and political ideology of the late Republic and early Empire, the careers of Cicero and Caesar, the first two centuries of emperor worship at Rome.
His current research projects include a book on the history and significance of the idea of the Roman emperor as Pater Patriae (Father of the Fatherland), and an edited collection of conference papers on the ancient Olympic Games.
He is a member of the Australasian Society for Classical Studies (ASCS).
Publications
Book
Stevenson, Tom (2015). Julius Caesar and the transformation of the Roman Republic. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315746173
Book Chapters
Stevenson, Tom (2022). Greek and Roman writers on the virtues of good rulers: praise, instruction, and constraint. A critical companion to the 'Mirrors for Princes' literature. (pp. 44-73) edited by Noëlle-Laetitia Perret and Stéphane Péquignot. Leiden, Netherlands: Brill. doi: 10.1163/9789004523067_004
Stevenson, Tom (2022). The Forum of Augustus: reshaping collective memory about war and the state. Making and unmaking ancient memory. (pp. 73-94) edited by Martine De Marre and Rajiv K. Bhola. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780429352843-6
Stevenson, Tom (2021). Venus Genetrix and Caesar’s theory of Rome’. Theorising Rome. (pp. 33-48) edited by Rhiannon Evans and Sonya Wurster. Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Press.
Stevenson, Tom (2018). Scipio Aemilianus (Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus Numantinus). The encyclopedia of ancient history. (pp. *-*) London, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons. doi: 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah20043.pub2
Stevenson, Tom (2018). Patria Potestas. The encyclopedia of ancient history. (pp. *-*) London, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons. doi: 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah20097.pub2
Stevenson, Tom (2018). Reception in historical novels. Oxford classical dictionary. (pp. 00-00) Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.8050
Stevenson, Tom (2017). Julius Caesar in Xena: Warrior Princess. Athens to Aotearoa: Greece and Rome in New Zealand Literature and Society. (pp. 154-169) edited by Diana Burton, Simon Perris and Jeff Tatum. Wellington, New Zealand: Victoria University of Wellington Press.
Stevenson, Tom (2015). Appian on the Pharsalus campaign: civil wars 2.48-91. Appian’s Roman History: Empire and Civil War. (pp. 257-275) edited by Kathryn Welch. Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom: Classical Press of Wales.
Stevenson, Tom (2015). Andreas Alföldi on the Roman Emperor as Pater Patriae. Andreas Alföldi in the Twenty-First Century. (pp. 187-200) edited by James H. Richardson and Federico Santangelo. Stuttgart, Germany: Franz Steiner.
Stevenson, Tom (2013). Reverberations of empire: Cicero, Caesar and the post-Sulan empire. A Companion to Roman Imperialism. (pp. 181-193) edited by Dexter Hoyos. Netherlands: Brill. doi: 10.1163/9789004236462
Stevenson, Tom (2013). Patria potestas. Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Ancient History. (pp. 5085-5086) edited by Roger S. Bagnall, Kai Brodersen, Craige B. Champion, Andrew Erskine and Sabine R. Huebner. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing. doi: 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah2009
Stevenson, Tom (2013). Scipio Aemilianus (Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus Africanus Numantinus). Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Ancient History. (pp. 6076-6078) edited by Roger S. Bagnall, Kai Brodersen, Craige B. Champion, Andrew Erskine and Sabine R. Huebner. Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing. doi: 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah20043
McWilliam, Janette, Puttock, Sonia, Stevenson, Tom and Taraporewalla, Rashna (2011). Introduction. The statue of Zeus at Olympia: New approaches. (pp. 1-8) Newcastle upon Tyne, England: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Stevenson, Tom (2011). The fate of the statue of Zeus at Olympia. The statue of Zeus at Olympia: New approaches. (pp. 155-171) edited by Janette McWilliam, Sonia Puttock, Tom Stevenson and Rashna Taraporewalla. Newcastle upon Tyne, England: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
Stevenson, Thomas Reginald (2009). Julius Caesar. The literary encyclopedia. edited by Robert Clark. [United Kingdom]: The Literary Dictionary Company.
Stevenson, T. (2009). 'Visual Images of Augustus'. Res romanae : Essays on Roman history. (pp. 153-180) Sydney: Macquarie Ancient History Association.
Stevenson, Thomas Reginald (2009). Julius Caesar: Commentarii de Bello Civili [Commentaries on the Civil War]. The literary encyclopedia. (pp. 1) edited by Robert Clark. [London], U.K.: Literary Dictionary.
Stevenson, Thomas Reginald (2009). Julius Caesar: Commentarii de Bello Gallico [Commentaries on the Gallic War]. The literary encyclopedia. (pp. 1) edited by Robert Clark. [London], U.K.: Literary Dictionary.
Stevenson, Thomas R. (2008). Tyrants, kings and fathers in the Philippics. Cicero's Philippics: History, rhetoric and ideology. (pp. 95-113) edited by Thomas R. Stevenson and Marcus Wilson. Auckland, New Zealand: Polygraphia.
Stevenson, Thomas R. and Wilson, Marcus (2008). Cicero’s Philippics: History, rhetoric and ideology. Cicero's Philippics: History, rhetoric and ideology. (pp. 1-21) edited by Thomas R. Stevenson and Marcus Wilson. Auckland, New Zealand: Polygraphia Ltd.
Stevenson, Tom (2003). The Parthenon Frieze as an Idealised, Contemporary Panathenaic Festival. Sport and Festival in the Ancient Greek World. (pp. 233-280) edited by Phillips, David and Pritchard, David. Swansea: The Classical Press of Wales.
Journal Articles
Charles, Michael B. and Stevenson, Tom (2024). Polyaenus (Strat. 8.23.5) and Caesar's British Elephant. Britannia, 55, 1-15. doi: 10.1017/S0068113X24000278
Stevenson, Tom (2022). Caesar’s military reputation in Gaul: attacking generalship or the quality of his legions?. Qhistory: Journal of the Queensland History Teachers’ Association.
Stevenson, Tom (2022). The Novel of Neronian Rome and its Multimedial Transformations. Sienkiewicz's Quo vadis. The Classical Review, 72 (2), 728-731. doi: 10.1017/s0009840x2200018x
Stevenson, Tom (2021). On interpreting sources for the reign of Augustus: honours and flattery. Qhistory: Journal of the Queensland History Teachers’ Association, 4-12.
Stevenson, Tom (2021). The triumphs of Pompey and Caesar: spectacle and competition in the Late Roman Republic. Qhistory: Journal of the Queensland History Teachers’ Association, 13-15.
Stevenson, Tom (2019). Roman State and Julian Family: the development of the Augustan Principate. Qhistory: Journal of the Queensland History Teachers’ Association, 12-17.
Stevenson, Tom (2019). Review of Goodman (P.J.) (ed.) Afterlives of Augustus, AD 14–2014. Pp. xvi
+ 418, ills, map. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. Classical Review, 69 (1), 233-236. doi: 10.1017/S0009840X18002433
Stevenson, Tom (2018). The Forum Augustum in Ancient Rome: Augustus lays claim to Roman War. Qhistory: Journal of the Queensland History Teachers’ Association, 10-15.
Stevenson, Tom (2018). Pax and the Politics of Peace. Republic to Principate. Classical Review, 68 (2), 512-514. doi: 10.1017/S0009840X18000331
Stevenson, Tom (2017). Boundaries broken: Herodotus invents history. QHistory: Journal of the Queensland History Teachers’ Association, December (2017), 10-16.
Stevenson, Tom (2017). Mass migration from Europe to the Near East: the experience of the Early Hellenistic Age (4th to 3rd century BC). Nova: The Journal of the Friends of Antiquity, October (2017), 11-13.
Stevenson, Tom (2016). Mass Migration from Europe to the Near East: The Experience of the Early Hellenistic Age (4th to 3rd Century BC). Qhistory: Journal of the Queensland History Teachers’ Association, 7-14.
Stevenson, Tom (2016). Julius Caesar in Film. Qhistory: Journal of the Queensland History Teachers’ Association, 46-51.
Stevenson, Tom (2015). Change or Continuity? Fall or Transformation? What Happened to the Roman Republic?. Qhistory: Journal of the Queensland History Teachers’ Association, 22-30.
Stevenson, Tom (2015). Online Coins of the Roman Empire (OCRE): A New Database for Teachers and Researchers. History Teacher, 53 (1).
Stevenson, Tom (2015). The Banquet of Trimalchio (Cena Trimalchionis) in Petronius’ Satyricon. Nova, April, 12-17.
Stevenson, Tom (2015). Distortions of Ancient History for Present Purposes. Nova, January (Part 2), 12-15.
Stevenson, Tom (2014). Distortions of ancient history for present purposes. Nova (Part 1), 10-12.
Stevenson, Tom (2013). The succession planning of Augustus. Antichthon, 47, 118-139. doi: 10.1017/s0066477400000290
Stevenson, Tom (2012). Hypatia: heroine or witch?. The History Teacher eJournal, 50 (3).
Stevenson, Tom (2012). The crime of parricide and the 'Punishment of the Sack' (Poena Cullei) in Ancient Rome. Nova, November, 16-17.
Stevenson, Tom (2012). The ‘succession policy’ of Augustus. The History Teacher eJournal, 50 (1).
Stevenson, Tom (2012). The leadership of Augustus. The History Teacher eJournal, 50 (1).
Stevenson, Tom (2012). Olympic athletes: ancient and modern. Nikephoros, 25, 207-208.
Stevenson, Tom (2012). The saturnalia. Nova, 7-8.
Stevenson, Tom (2012). Simonides and Pausanias on the Olympic victories of Milo of Croton. Nikephoros, 25, 253-262.
Stevenson, Tom (2011). Women of early Rome as Exempla in Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, Book 1. Classical World, 104 (2), 175-189. doi: 10.1353/clw.2011.0042
Stevenson, Tom (2011). Imaginations of ancient Rome in 19th century historical novels. Ancient History: resources for teachers, 41-44, 93-126.
Stevenson, T. (2010). Personifications on the Coinage of Vespasian, AD 69-79. Acta Classica, 53, 181-205.
Stevenson, Tom (2010). On interpreting the eclectic nature of Roman sculpture. Scholia, 19, 37-62.
Stevenson, Thomas Reginald (2009). Julius Caesar: commentarii de Bello Civili [commentaries on the Civil War]. The literary encyclopedia
Stevenson, Tom (2009). Antony as ‘tyrant’ in Cicero’s First Philippic. Ramus: Critical studies in Greek and Roman literature, 38 (2), 174-186. doi: 10.1017/S0048671X00000576
Stevenson, Tom (2009). Acceptance of the title Pater Patriae in 2 BC. Antichthon, 43, 97-108. doi: 10.1017/s0066477400001970
Stevenson, Tom (2008). Review of Cicero's Philippics I-II, (ed.) J.T. Ramsey, Cambridge, 2003. Classical Review, 58 (2), 448-450. doi: 10.1017/S0009840X08000607
Stevenson, T. R. (2008). On dating the frieze of Trajan's column. Mediterranean Archaeology, 21, 43-58.
Stevenson, T. R. (2007). Roman coins and refusals of the title Pater Patriae. The Numismatic Chronicle, 167, 119-141.
Stevenson, T. R. (2007). Review of: The decline of the Roman Empire: The Laws of the Roman People. Public Law in the Expansion and Decline of the Roman Republic, By Williamson (C.). The Classical Review, 57 (1), 170-172. doi: 10.1017/S0009840X06003751
Stevenson, T. (2007). What happened to the Zeus of Olympia?. Ancient History Bulletin, 21. (1-2), 65-88.
Stevenson, Tom (2005). Readings of Scipio's dictatorship in Cicero's 'De Re Publica' (6.12). Classical Quarterly, 55 (1), 140-152. doi: 10.1093/cq/bmi010
Stevenson, T. (2005). Review of Statues in Roman society: Representation and response by P Stewart. Ancient History: Resource for teachers, 34 (2), 196-198.
Stevenson, T. (2005). Review of Roman art, Greece and Rome new surveys in the Classics by P Stewart. Ancient History: Resources for teachers, 34 (2), 198-201.
Stevenson, T. R. (2005). Robert Hannah, Greek and Roman calendars: Constructions of time in the classical world. Ancient History: Resources for Teachers, 35 (2), 183-186.
Stevenson, Tom (2004). P. Holliday, The Origins of Roman Historical Commemoration in the Visual Arts. Classical Bulletin, 79 (2), 330-334.
Stevenson, Tom (2004). I. Gradel, Emperor worship and Roman religion. Prudentia, 35 (2), 221-226.
Stevenson, T. (2004). R.J. Evans, Questioning reputations: Essays on Nine Roman Republican Politicians. Scholia Reviews, 13 (6), 1-7.
Stevenson, Tom (2004). D. Shotter: Rome and her empire. Classical Review, 54 (2), 572-573. doi: 10.1093/cr/54.2.572
Stevenson, T. R. (2003). Cavalry uniforms on the Parthenon frieze?. American Journal of Archaeology, 107 (4), 629-654. doi: 10.3764/aja.107.4.629
Stevenson, Tom (2003). J. Elsner, Imperial Rome and Christian Triumph: The Art of the Roman Empire AD 100-450. Ancient History: Resources for Teachers, 31 (2), 161-168.
Stevenson, Tom (2003). Review of The Parthenon Frieze, by Jenifer Neils, Cambridge, 2001. Electronic Antiquity, 7 (1)
Stevenson, Tom (2003). Theresa Urbainczyk, Spartacus. Ancient History: Resources for Teachers, 33 (2), 167-169.
Stevenson, Tom (2003). Beth Cohen (ed.), Not the Classical Ideal: Athens and the Construction of the Other in Greek Art. Classicum, 29 (1), 24-26.
Stevenson, Tom (2003). Review of Roman imperialism: Readings and Sources. Scholia Reviews, 13 (18), 1-7.
Stevenson, Tom (2002). Cornelia Hadziaslani, Parthenon Promenades. Classicum, 28 (2), 27-27.
Stevenson, Tom (2002). Enlightened imperialism or oppression?. Scholia: Studies in Classical Antiquity, 11, 122-128.
Stevenson, Tom (2002). R. Hingley (ed.), Images of Rome: Perceptions of ancient Rome in Europe and the United States in the modern age. Prudentia, 34 (2), 252-257.
Stevenson, T. (2002). E. Bispham and C. Smith (eds.), Religion in archaic and Republican Rome and Italy: Evidence and experience. Prudentia, 34 (1), 69-76.
Stevenson, T (2002). J. E. Packer, The forum of Trajan in Rome: A study of the monuments in brief. Prudentia, 34 (1), 101-105.
Stevenson, T (2002). M. Roller, Constructing autocracy: Aristocrats and emperors in Julio-Claudian Rome. Prudentia, 34 (1), 109-114.
Stevenson, T. (2001). Classical Art: From Greece to Rome, M. Beard and J. Henderson. Electronic Antiquity, 6 (1)
Stevenson, T. (2001). Roman Religion (Greece and Rome New Surveys in the Classics No. 30), J. A. North. Electronic Antiquity, 6 (1)
Stevenson, T. (2001). D. Tarn Steiner, Images in Mind: Statues in Archaic and Classical Greek Literature and Thought. Classicum, 27 (2), 29-31.
Stevenson, T. (2001). M. Clauss, Kaiser und Gott: Herrscherkult im römischen Reich. Prudentia, 33 (2), 152-154.
Stevenson, T. (2001). C. Rowe and M. Schofield (eds.), The Cambridge History of Greek and Roman Political Thought. Classicum, 27 (2), 28-29.
Stevenson, Tom (2001). On Trajan's Column: Readings, Functions and Symbolism. Ancient History: Resources for Teachers, 31 (1), 28-68.
Stevenson, Tom (2001). J. Campbell, Roman Art and Architecture: From Augustus to Constantine. Scholia Reviews, 10 (11), 1-1.
Stevenson, Tom (2001). The Classical in Greek Art, review of M.D. Fullerton, Greek Art. Scholia, 10, 125-129.
Conference Papers
Stevenson, Tom (2012). Milo of Croton: heptaki[s]?. The 33rd Annual Conference of the Australasian Society for Classical Studies, Melbourne, Australia, 5-9 February 2012. Australia: The Australasian Society for Classical Studies.
Stevenson, T. (2010). Vespasian: Power and presentation. Pretoria, South Africa: Classical Association of South Africa.
Newspaper Article
Stevenson, Tom (2020, 03 03). Guide to the classics: Petronius’s Satyricon – sex, satire and naughty boys The Conversation