Tacitus

160 Pages·2006·3.355 MB·English

by  Rhiannon Ash

TACITUS
ANCIENTS IN ACTION
Also available
Catullus
Amanda Hurley
Cleopatra
Susan Walker and Sally-Ann Ashton
Horace
Philip Hills
Lucretius
John Godwin
Ovid: love songs
Genevieve Liveley
Ovid: myth and metamorphosis
Sarah Annes Brown
Spartacus
Theresa Urbainczyk
ANCIENTS IN ACTION
TACITUS
RhiannonA sh
BRISTOL CLASSICALP RESS
First published in 2006 by
Bristol Classical Press
an imprint of
Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd.
90-93 Cowcross Street, London EClM 6BF
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
[email protected]. uk
www.ducknet.co.uk
© 2006 by Rhiannon Ash
All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the publisher.
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
ISBN 1 85399 687 4
EAN 9781853996870
Typeset bye-type
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
CPI Bath
Contents
Preface 6
List of Illustrations 8
1. Tacitus before 'History': The So-called 'Minor Works' 9
2. The Peak of Creativity: Tacitus' Historiesa nd Annals 52
3. From Hellraisers to Heroes: The Afterlife of Julius
Civilis and Arminius 96
Envoi 148
Further Reading 151
Index 156
Preface
When John Betts, the original driving force behind 'Ancients in
Action', first approached me about the possibility of
contributing a volume on Tacitus to the series, he memorably
explained to me that it was designed for 'the man on the
Clapham omnibus'. If you do happen to be reading this book
on a bus, then I will have satisfied the letter, if not the spirit, of
the series. Still, writing a clear and accessible book for the non
specialist can be a notoriously difficult thing to do. We have all
come across books purporting to be helpful introductions to a
topic, which in fact are filled with impenetrable prose and irrel
evant detail. My hope is that this study will prove engaging for
anyone with broad interests in the ancient world, but that it will
particularly interest readers who are reluctant for Tacitus to exist
in a vacuum, and who also want to get a sense of an ancient
author's continuing significance in the twenty-first century.
Many classical authors are surprisingly relevant when it comes
to contemporary issues, and indeed at times they can seem
alarmingly prescient, perhaps Tacitus above all. If you have
heard of Tacitus, but not yet read him, then this book is
intended to make you want to do precisely that, perhaps even in
the original Latin.
You will see that, in keeping with the format of this series,
this is a book uncluttered by footnotes. This allowed me a
6
Preface
freedom not often available to modern scholars in the
University system writing about the Classical world, but it does
mean that it was not possible to acknowledge earlier discussions,
or to direct readers to other works on points of detail. I hope
that in being let off the leash, I have not strayed too far from the
path of common sense and clarity. Readers will at least find
directions to more substantial discussions by modern scholars at
the end of the book. All translations are my own, except where
otherwise stated.
I owe John Betts a particularly big debt of gratitude for asking
me to write this book in the first place. His energy and deter
mination, particularly in the world of publishing, has done an
enormous amount to keep Classics alive (and lively) during
times when prevailing fashions did not always favour the disci
pline. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank my
editor, Deborah Blake, who patiently allowed me additional
time to complete the project; my partner Gervase Wood, who
cheerfully volunteered to be a guinea-pig and read a draft of the
entire book; my former colleague Herwig Maehler, who intro
duced me to the delightful satire of Heinrich Heine; and my
former tutors, Barbara Levick and Chris Pelling, both humane,
perceptive and witty scholars and teachers. I was exceptionally
lucky to be exposed to Tacitus' historiography under their guid
ance. Last but by no means least, my students, past and present,
at University College London and at Cornell, have all helped to
shape my thinking over the years.
7
Illustrations
1. Battle at Bonn, from Cornelius Aurelius, Chronicles
of Holland,Z eelanda nd Fries/and( 1517). 109
2. Civilis and William of Orange on the title-page of
Pontanus' Historyo f Gu.elder(s1 639). 113
3. Otto van Veen, Civilish as his Hair Cut (before 1612};
Tacitus Histories4 .61. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. 114
4. Rembrandt, The Oath of Civilis( 1661).
Nationalmuseum, Stockholm. 116
5. Arminius in battle armour, holding a tankard, from
Daniel Casper von Lohenstein, The Great-hearteGd eneral
Arminius (1689). 137
6. Karl von Piloty, Thusnelaain the TriumphaPl rocessioonf
Germanicus(1 873}; Bayerische Staatsgemaldesammlungen,
Munich. 138
7. Cavalry mask, Kalkriese Museum, Germany. 146
8
1
Tacitusb efore 'History':
The So-called' Minor Works'
Introduction
A happy vicar I might have been
Two hundred years ago
To preach upon eternal doom
And watch my walnuts grow;
But born, alas, in an evil time,
I missed that pleasant haven,
For the hair has grown on my upper lip
And the clergy are all dean-shaven.
George Orwell, 1935
To produce extraordinary literature, music or poetry, it often
helps the process if you have someone to react against or hard
ships to overcome. Oppressive political or social conditions, if
imposed on writers with sufficient talent and determination, can
generate just the sort of inspiration and creativity that content
ment and safetys imply will not foster in the same way. It sounds
perverse, and of course, it does not always apply: an individual's
creative spirit has to be pretty deeply embedded for it to find
expression in arduous circumstances. Yet the personal experience
of adversity can turn a potentially good writer into a great one.
9