Security and the Charismatic Leader in Rome

The idea of a close connection between the safety of the leader and that of the state characterizes autocratic regimes. As power became more concentrated in a single person during the transition in ancient Rome from Republic to Empire, contemporary literature shows a parallel progression in the ways leaders embodied group safety. During the time of Caesar and Cicero, multiple leaders stood for the safety of the state; by the time of Horace and Ovid, Augustus not only stood for security at all levels, but was the only one to do so. Modern parallels abound.