Tacitus

Tacitus, a senator who eventually rose to be governor of the Roman province of Asia, wrote several works, including ones on Roman history, in which he criticized the rule of the emperors. He himself had some experience on Rome's frontier with the Germans, as well as access to earlier accounts written by the Romans, some of which is now lost. His De Germania (Concerning Germany) is the fullest early written account of the Germanic people to survive. According to De Germania, the were many differences between the Romans and the non-Romans. Roman society was more effective over longer periods of time at maintaining political cohesion. Greece during the time of its independence was not very good. There were many conflicts between most of its cities.…

In the speech Boudica states that she is ‘avenging lost freedom’ and the unjust acts done onto the Celts by the corrupt Romans. The speech is significant as it is unlikely that these words were ever Boudica’s. The atmosphere of the Celts before battle has been described by other sources as a loud and chaotic atmosphere in which any speech would be ‘disturbed by the ornaments and battle noise of the Celts’ . The general consensus is that Tacitus created this speech to voice his political agenda;…

of Rome. Some believe that it was arson, ordered by Nero to clear room for his palace, as he took much of the burnt city to build a Domus Aurea (Golden palace) for himself. Tacitus, an ancient Roman historian, claims in the Tacitus Annals that Nero purposely set the city alight, to clear space for his Domus Aurea. Tacitus believed Nero blamed and persecuted the Christians for the beginning of the fire, in order to avoid of his arson being revealed. In Tacitus book, Annals, Tacitus stated…

Some authors (Tacitus, Ammianus), have described social revolts (Tacitus in the army, Ammianus in regular people). Tacitus doesn’t want to give voice to the rebels, he invents what could be their discourse in detail but for rhetorical purposes. However, he is more humane than Ammianus. Ammianus shows a grotesque, sadistic, superstitious and ambitious ruling class world. None of them let them think, sense, act or speak: that’s why neither of them are mimesis. Both see action from above and…

Tacitus is a Roman historian who has written several, important historical documents. Included with the plethora of historical documents he has written is Germania. Tacitus lived from 56 CE to 120 CE, and he completed Germania ¬around the year 98 CE. Germania serves as a study to the lives of the Germanic Tribes that had lived outside the rule of the Romans during the time. However, it can also serve another purpose. The introductory paragraph of this text described Tacitus’s distaste of the…

Who was Gaius Plinius Luci fulius Caecilius Secundus? He was the Younger Pliny, for short, a lawyer, senator, consul, governor, and a passionate writer. He went to Rome to get a better education, but he also developed a stronger relationship with his uncle the Elder Pliny, his mother’s brother. After his uncle's death from the volcanic eruption of Vesuvius, Elder Pliny’s will allowed Younger Pliny to inherit Elder Pliny’s property. Through his will, Elder Pliny also legally adopted Younger Pliny…

at all leadership courses. It is taught as a quote from Tacitus. However, many sources give the quote to Heraclitus. Regardless of who is the original author, it is significant that the importance of the Roman army in modern times centuries later. The commander of the United States Army is the President. Tacitus in The Annals of Imperial Rome, illustrated the effects of the relationship between the Roman emperor and the Roman army. Tacitus…

The text begins with the death of Augustus followed by Tiberius’s reign, a period of Roman Republic. The Senate played a huge part in this aristocratic government, leading to competition for control of the Republic; With the assassination of Julius Caesar, Augustus began to modify the system. He discussed important matters with other senators although it was obvious that only his decisions counted. Tacitus, however, decided to write about the period after Augustus’s death, when the rule of…

In this essay, I will explain how the unambiguous strife and chaos derived from civil war as shown by Tacitus in Histories leads him to believe that the intervention of Vespasian a necessity. Tacitus’ view that civil war has on a society is a clear and negative one. It not only splits the people of a nation into two factions, but also has the opposite effect of a foreign war, which can bring two factions together and unite them for one common cause. Tacitus sees the civil wars occurring as an…

In Book 16 of The Annals, Tacitus constructs a list of suicides and deaths. The deaths are all structured similarly: Tacitus gives context for the punishment before describing the death itself. Though following this formulaic structure, the depiction of Petronius’s death strays from the somberness expected from suicides. Petronius, instead, spends his moments between life and death talking to friends on frivolous topics. He carries on with his daily affairs, preparing dinner and sleeping. We…