Imperium Romanum - jego rozkwit i upadek w ujęciu Sydoniusza Apolinarego
Roman Empire – the Rise and Fall as in Sidonius Apollinaris

Summary/Abstract: The present article tackles the problem of a vision of Rome as presented in the works by Sidonius Apollinaris (430-486), who was inspired on the other hand by the works of poets: Quintus Ennius, Virgil and Ausonius. Enchanted by the power of Rome Sidonius wrote panegyrics to honour the emperors: Avitus, Majorian and Anthemius. As the Prefect of the Eternal City, he also observed the ruling political incompetence that led to the decline of the Empire. Attached to the Greco-Latin culture, Sidonius was convinced that the ancient and Roman culture would survive much longer than the Empire itself. History judged similarly. In the Middle Ages, the studies of the works of Christian and pagan classics were conducted; the research of ancient culture reached its apogee during the Renaissance. The idea to create in Europe an international political entity which would base on the model of the old Roman Empire already dawned in the minds of Charlemagne, Otto I, Otto III and Napoleon. Is the European Union an echo of the eternal ambition of the Roman Empire? John Paul II urged all the Member States to build the continental order on the foundation of Christianity.

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