In this study, Meyers combines an investigation of visual representations with imperial ideology to learn more about provincial towns in the Spanish provinces of the Roman Empire. Portrait statues played a major role in the creation and reinforcement of imperial ideology.
The ubiquity of portraits of the emperor and his family ensured that local inhabitants of cities across the empire came into contact with the imperial image on a regular basis. Through a close examination of the portrait statues of one ruling family, the practice of benefaction can also be explored.
This article concludes that, unlike in other areas of the empire where private donors were more active, the town or its assembly financed most of the statutes of the imperial family in Roman Spain.