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Greeks and Romans

Andreas Osiander

in Before the State: Systemic Political Change in the West from the Greeks to the French Revolution

Following an analysis of the economic and ecological bases of society in the pre-Christian Mediterranean world, this chapter studies how and why the pre-Persian Greek pólis-world evolved — charting ... More

Following an analysis of the economic and ecological bases of society in the pre-Christian Mediterranean world, this chapter studies how and why the pre-Persian Greek pólis-world evolved — charting the rise of Athens, the rise of Persian Greek kingship, then the rise of Rome and the gradual absorption of the entire Mediterranean region into the Roman empire. It discusses what pre-Christian Greek and Roman authors — such as Plátôn (Plato), Aristotle, Isokrátês (Isocrates), Polýbios (Polybius), Sallust, Seneca, and Tacitus — had to say on the mutual relations of autonomous actors in the Mediterranean world. A special section is dedicated to an analysis of Thukydídês (Thucydides), showing that contrary to received wisdom he was far from an ancestor of Realist International Relations thought. In particular, he did not believe and never said that the ‘Peloponnesian War’ broke out because of a shift in the ‘balance of power’.Less

Pliny, Tacitus, and the Dialogus de oratoribus

William A. Johnson

in Readers and Reading Culture in the High Roman Empire: A Study of Elite Communities

Tacitus and Pliny were fellow orators of distinction with apparently close connections between their communities. Tacitus’s Dialogus purports to show us the inner workings and debates of a tight ... More

Tacitus and Pliny were fellow orators of distinction with apparently close connections between their communities. Tacitus’s Dialogus purports to show us the inner workings and debates of a tight literary community, set dramatically in AD 75 but reflecting at least in part the community in which Pliny and Tacitus engaged. This chapter explores the ways in which, in the Dialogus, Tacitus explores the question of the connection between literary culture, elite society, and politics, particularly as it relates to the traditional Roman pursuit of gloria.Less

Seven Passages of the Annals (and One of Manilius)

Edward Courtney

in Ancient Historiography and its Contexts: Studies in Honour of A. J. Woodman

This chapter offers corrections of Tacitus, Annals 11.14, 11.23, 12.5, 12.65, 14.61, 15.63, 15.65, and, incidentally, of Manilius 2.898; places in which the transmitted text appears to be corrupt.

The Great Escape: Tacitus on the Mutiny of the Usipi (Agricola 28)

Rhiannon Ash

in Ancient Historiography and its Contexts: Studies in Honour of A. J. Woodman

This chapter considers an extraordinary passage from Tacitus's Agricola, his excursus on the mutinous adventures of a disaffected auxiliary cohort of Usipi. While accidentally circumnavigating ... More

This chapter considers an extraordinary passage from Tacitus's Agricola, his excursus on the mutinous adventures of a disaffected auxiliary cohort of Usipi. While accidentally circumnavigating Britain, they are reduced to cannibalism and the survivors are captured and sold as slaves (Agricola 28). The episode forms a lively hiatus between Agricola's sixth season of campaigning (Agricola 25-7) and the climactic campaign of Mons Graupius (Agricola 29-38), but there is more at stake here than entertainment: Tacitus makes some telling points about imperial power and establishes some suggestive interconnections between this incident of cannibalism on the margins and the violent, self-destructive activities happening in Rome under the bloodthirsty Domitian. On the margins, these one-time auxiliaries are driven to cannibalism, but still retain some degree of integrity. Yet the Roman princeps at the centre seems to relish the taste of aristocratic blood (even if this serves as a prelude to his own assassination).Less

Pompeius Trogus in Tacitus' Annals

David Levene

in Ancient Historiography and its Contexts: Studies in Honour of A. J. Woodman

There is a long-standing controversy over how far Tacitus's Annals drew on the work of the Augustan historian Pompeius Trogus. Various parallels in language have been observed, but this may be the ... More

There is a long-standing controversy over how far Tacitus's Annals drew on the work of the Augustan historian Pompeius Trogus. Various parallels in language have been observed, but this may be the result of Trogus's epitomator Justin imitating Tacitus rather than of Tacitus imitating Trogus. This chapter argues that where there is a congruence of theme, especially when allied to linguistic parallels, there are strong reasons for seeing allusions to Trogus by Tacitus. It argues further that Tacitus, while drawing on Trogus, also reworks his ideas in an ironic and critical way, seeing (for example) Augustus as a perverted recreation of Trogus' idealized primitive monarchs, or Tiberius as the embodiment of Trogus' suggestion that the true threat to the Roman empire is from within itself.Less

Voices of Resistance

Richard Rutherford

in Ancient Historiography and its Contexts: Studies in Honour of A. J. Woodman

This chapter makes a sustained comparison between the speeches of Calgacus and Agricola in Tacitus's Agricola, and the longer sequence in the narrative of the Batavian revolt in Tacitus, Histories ... More

This chapter makes a sustained comparison between the speeches of Calgacus and Agricola in Tacitus's Agricola, and the longer sequence in the narrative of the Batavian revolt in Tacitus, Histories iv, involving orations by Julius Civilis, Petilius Cerealis, and others. Both works use rhetorical topoi current in the tradition of criticism of Roman imperialism; something is also said by way of defence of empire. These rhetorical arguments are deployed in complicated ways and as always, the speeches must be seen in relation to the narrative. The aim is not to reach facile conclusions about Tacitus's view of empire, but to examine the complexities of conflicting views in the texts, both in the speeches and in the authorial narrative.Less

The Art of Losing: Tacitus and the Disaster Narrative

Elizabeth Keitel

in Ancient Historiography and its Contexts: Studies in Honour of A. J. Woodman

This chapter analyses Tacitus's narratives of natural and man-made disasters, with special emphasis on those perpetrated by the principes against their own people. Tacitus consistently shows ... More

This chapter analyses Tacitus's narratives of natural and man-made disasters, with special emphasis on those perpetrated by the principes against their own people. Tacitus consistently shows compassion towards Romans of all classes and does not stress the breakdown of social order among the masses during such disasters. He repeatedly evokes the sack of cities, the quintessential man-made disaster, when describing the tyrannical behaviour of principes such as Tiberius and Nero. Through allusions to Aeneid 2, Tacitus creates a portable, repeatable sack of Troy during the civil wars of AD 69 to underline the gravity of the situation as Italy and Rome suffer serial abuse from various contenders; the common motives of all leaders and armies in making war on their own country; the vicissitudes of fortune during civil war, and the profanation of Rome itself.Less

The Historian's Presence, or, There and Back Again

Cynthia Damon

in Ancient Historiography and its Contexts: Studies in Honour of A. J. Woodman

This chapter is an investigation of a Tacitean metaphor for historiography and its implications for the historian's role in history. The metaphor of the historian's physical proximity to his subject ... More

This chapter is an investigation of a Tacitean metaphor for historiography and its implications for the historian's role in history. The metaphor of the historian's physical proximity to his subject matter, which is found in the Annals 4 digression contrasting Tacitus's work with that of historians of earlier periods, is an offshoot of the enargeia that often enlivens a narrative. It is also one of the many connections between this digression and both Tacitus's account of the trial of the historian Cremutius Cordus (4.34-35) and what he suggests about his own work as historian.Less

The Spur of Fame: Annals 4.37–8

Christopher Pelling

in Ancient Historiography and its Contexts: Studies in Honour of A. J. Woodman

This chapter gives a close reading of a famous speech in Tacitus, where the emperor Tiberius rejects a request to allow a temple to be built to him in Spain. The reasons he gives seem exemplary, in ... More

This chapter gives a close reading of a famous speech in Tacitus, where the emperor Tiberius rejects a request to allow a temple to be built to him in Spain. The reasons he gives seem exemplary, in particular the priority he gives to genuine respect in the eyes of posterity rather than empty divine honours; and yet, Tacitus goes on to say, he was viciously criticized by contemporary observers. This episode is suggestively juxtaposed with others, with subtle verbal echoing. Just before, the accusation of Cremutius Cordus has highlighted the importance of memory, and the role of the historian in ensuring the permanence of one's fame, whether good or bad. Just after, an exchange between Tiberius and Sejanus emphasizes the difficulty of reading Tiberius's words and intentions. Taken together, the sequence helps the reader both to see the unfairness of the criticisms of Tiberius, and to understand the atmosphere of unease and mistrust in which they were not unnatural. It is too simple to ask whether Tacitus is for or against Tiberius in this passage, but such good-and-bad judgements nevertheless play a part in the reconstruction of contemporary responses, and therefore contribute substantially to the work's historical interpretation.Less

In arto et inglorius labor: Tacitus’s Anti-history

KATHERINE CLARKE

in Representations of Empire: Rome and the Mediterranean World

In his Todd Memorial Lecture given in Sydney in 1997, Fergus Millar not only questioned the value of Tacitus as a source for the Principate, but also professed difficulty in discerning ‘what the ... More

In his Todd Memorial Lecture given in Sydney in 1997, Fergus Millar not only questioned the value of Tacitus as a source for the Principate, but also professed difficulty in discerning ‘what the purpose and subject of Tacitus's Annales really is’. This chapter responds to some of the issues raised by Millar both in his undergraduate lectures on Tacitus and in his Todd paper. It argues that one of Tacitus's preoccupations, particularly in the Annales, is a profound concern with the task in hand, a self-referential preoccupation not so much with the history of the Principate as an explicit theme, though that is undeniably one of Tacitus's self-imposed tasks, as with the writing of the history itself, the task of the imperial historian, and the possibilities for and limitations on historiography at this period.Less

History and Memory

Matthew Fox

in Cicero's Philosophy of History

This chapter places Cicero's use of ironic history within its cultural context. Several different areas of Roman approaches to the past are discussed: the use of historical exempla, the use of ... More

This chapter places Cicero's use of ironic history within its cultural context. Several different areas of Roman approaches to the past are discussed: the use of historical exempla, the use of funeral masks and the veneration of ancestors, and the Annalistic tradition of historical record-keeping. These are brought together in a discussion of Cicero's attitude to memory, and the intersection between memory and identity. The evidence from Cicero suggests an awareness of the symbolic power of history over its factual basis. The Roman interest in historical revival is explored. The chapter concludes that Cicero's use of history to explore rather than reinforce identity was characteristic of his times. His philosophical tendencies prompted him to exploit history's flexibility.Less

Ironic History in the Roman Tradition

Matthew Fox

in Cicero's Philosophy of History

This chapter integrates the readings of earlier chapters to consider the place of Cicero's ironic treatment of historical representation in the light of mainstream Latin historiography. First, the ... More

This chapter integrates the readings of earlier chapters to consider the place of Cicero's ironic treatment of historical representation in the light of mainstream Latin historiography. First, the question of how far the past can actually be known is explored from treading texts that illustrate both historiographical and philosophical approaches. For Cicero, history is predominantly a form of representation. Cicero's Letter to Lucceius is explored, in which he asks shamelessly for his own historical glorification. The letter is taken as further evidence for Cicero's ironic approach to the past, and to his own relationship to it. A brief discussion of Sallust, Livy, and Tacitus follows, and the chapter concludes that all these writers shared an awareness of the literary and educational potential of presenting conflicting accounts of Rome's past.Less

Tarda Moles Civilis Belli : The Weight of the Past in Tacitus' Histories

Rhiannon Ash

in Citizens of Discord: Rome and Its Civil Wars

This chapter examines three conspicuous instances of historiographical synkrisis in Tacitus' Histories (Histories 1.50.2–3; 2.38; 3.51) in which the republican civil wars are the lens through which ... More

This chapter examines three conspicuous instances of historiographical synkrisis in Tacitus' Histories (Histories 1.50.2–3; 2.38; 3.51) in which the republican civil wars are the lens through which Tacitus invites his readers to respond to the wars of ad 69: the republican past, these digressions suggest, is trumped by the morally bankrupt narrative present. By foregrounding the act of analysis Tacitus also demonstrates the value of the historian's work for his contemporaries and for posterity.Less

From Exempla to Exemplar? Writing History around the Emperor in Imperial Rom e

Christina Shuttleworth Kraus

in Flavius Josephus and Flavian Rome

This chapter focuses on 1st-century CE Roman historical narrative, with a view to understanding to what extent Josephus may have been influenced by such writing. It is argued that works such as ... More

This chapter focuses on 1st-century CE Roman historical narrative, with a view to understanding to what extent Josephus may have been influenced by such writing. It is argued that works such as Valerius Maximus’ Memorable Words and Deeds, Tacitus’ Annales, and Frontinus’ Strategemata all displayed a similar tendency towards the use of exemplarity (exempla) as a principal technique of understanding the past. The increasing emphasis on ‘great figures’ by 1st-century Roman historians, a phenomenon catalyzed by and pulled towards the figure of the Emperor, was a literary tactic which underlined individuals as unique actors in history. It also, however, portrayed individuals’ actions and behaviours as relatively fixed paradigms, to be imitated or eschewed by posterity. This chapter maintains that this technique of exemplarity is to be seen as inextricably linked with the increasing influence of biography on Roman historical writing, sometimes, as in the case of Tertullian’s and Jerome’s references to Tacitus’ work, actually becoming conflated with it.Less

Intestinum Scelus: Preemptive Execution in Tacitus' Annals

Cynthia Damon

in Citizens of Discord: Rome and Its Civil Wars

This chapter examines Tacitus' representation of the legacy of civil war in his history of the Julio‐Claudian period, the Annals, arguing that civil war persists during the pax Augusta as a kind of ... More

This chapter examines Tacitus' representation of the legacy of civil war in his history of the Julio‐Claudian period, the Annals, arguing that civil war persists during the pax Augusta as a kind of banalization of state violence against citizens, a political system that consumes its own. It studies Tacitus' multi‐episode account of Nero's paranoid, possibly cynical, and ultimately self‐defeating appropriation of civil war exempla to motivate the suppression of potential dissent.Less

Atheism under Cover: Esoteric Communication on Hume's Title Pages

Paul Russell

in The Riddle of Hume's Treatise: Skepticism, Naturalism, and Irreligion

Both the epigrams that Hume uses on the title‐pages of the Treatise of Human Nature are very significant and reveal his freethinking and irreligious aims and intentions.. More specifically, the ... More

Both the epigrams that Hume uses on the title‐pages of the Treatise of Human Nature are very significant and reveal his freethinking and irreligious aims and intentions.. More specifically, the epigram from Tacitus that appears in Books I and II was used not only by Spinoza, but also by his followers in the Collins‐Toland circle to proclaim their bold defense of freethinking. At the same time, the Lucan epigram that appears in Book III also appears prominently in Collins's Freethinking and carries the message of Cato, a model of stoic virtue and the oracle of pantheism, freedom of thought, and anti‐superstition. Beyond this, these two epigrams are also intimately connected with Hume's Hobbist title and plan for his Treatise. In this way, Hume's use of epigrams on the title page of the Treatise is a notable and illuminating example of “esoteric” communication.Less

Tacitus' Agricola and the Conquest of Britain: Representations of Empire in Victorian and Edwardian Englan d

Mark Bradley

in Classics and Imperialism in the British Empire

This chapter examines the reception in Victorian and Edwardian Britain of Tacitus' Agricola, an encomiastic biography of the historian's father‐in‐law Agricola, governor, subjugator, and ... More

This chapter examines the reception in Victorian and Edwardian Britain of Tacitus' Agricola, an encomiastic biography of the historian's father‐in‐law Agricola, governor, subjugator, and arch‐Romanizer of Britain. The Agricola set Britain on the receiving end of imperial conquest and scrutinized the moral and ethical ambivalence of empire that also permeated British intellectual and popular debates in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This chapter explores the impact of Tacitus' provocative text on the formation of nationalist attitudes and experiences in the context of contemporary political, social, and educational developments, as well as how imperial culture influenced editions, translations, and interpretations of Tacitus' work.Less

Three Descriptions

James Ker

in The Deaths of Seneca

This chapter gives texts and translations of the three earliest versions of Seneca's death narrative. A discursive commentary is given for each, noting distinctive features and signaling interpretive ... More

This chapter gives texts and translations of the three earliest versions of Seneca's death narrative. A discursive commentary is given for each, noting distinctive features and signaling interpretive dilemmas. The goal is to show that these versions together established a basic anatomy of the death narrative, but each also offered ambiguous starting points for future adaptation in more than one interpretive direction.Less