roman sources Flashcards
(35 cards)
who was quintus cicero?
allegedly wrote com. pet. in 64 bc, general who served under caesar during gallic wars, married to atticus’ sister and brother of M cicero
Who was marcus cicero (as author)
lived 106 - 43, wrote private letters detailing political views to atticus, prolific speechwriter, lawyer and politician - spoke on many issues in recorded speeches
a novus homo, aspiring optimate - disliked populares
What was cicero’s ideal rome?
- concordia ordinum - clear social orders that know their place
- cum dignitate otium - leisure with prestige
- dignitas - moral and intellectual strength of boni
- Values: duty, libertas, dignitas, stoicism
what legal defences/prosecutions was cicero part of?
- sextus roscius (patricide), 80
- verres (vs hortensius), 70
- M. fonteius (senator), 69
- rabrius (show trial, murder of saturninus), 63
- cataline
- against clodius (bona dea), 62
- sestius (frienc, cov of violence), 56
- Milo (def. of killing clod.), 52
politically, what does cicero speak for/ against?
- for lex manilia 66
- against rullus’ land bill 63
- refuses to join 1st trium 60
- against antony in Phillipics
Which offices does cicero hold and when?
- military service 90
- quaestor (sicily) 75
- aedile 69
- praetor 66
- consul 63
- exiled 58
- proconsul (cilicia) 51
who was sallust?
lived 86 - 35 bc, tribune in 52 (clod death, milo exile) where he supported bill to let caesar run in absentia.
served under caesar in illyricum
writes bell cat in 42, bel jug in 30 and the histories which is mostly lost
Who was sallust influenced by?
thucydides, focussing on the moral and eventual political decline of rome (pessimistic but thorough?)
as well as using archaic words and strange phrasing which lead to reverence from tacitus
who was caesar as an author?
he provided war commentaries of the civil wars and gallic wars as a kind of yearly dispaches series and served as a kind of propaganda to endear himself to the people and win support as the “good guy”
Points on plutarch as a source?
delphic priest, biographer, 50-120 AD who was a dramatic morralist. highly anti caesar view, access to sullan autobiography
writes parallels with famous greeks so some details may be engineered to better suit this
DERIVATIVE AND DOESN’T TELL YOU!!
Who is appian?
Alexandrian greek, lived 95-165 and moved to rome c. 120 under Hadrian(?) with roman history being finished before 162.
member of the equestrian class, becomes procurator
works focus on provinces as well Rome, sometimes omits large details
why is appian reliable?
work contains latinisms in his creek (read and wrote both) and is shown to have used multiple (unnamed) sources
he acknowledges that external factors cause misfortunes - not just individuals
What is appian’s chronology and theme like?
imprecise but relatively ordered and focusses chiefly on the rise of rome as a superpower and her relations with the provinces
what casts doubt on appian’s reliability?
- imperial bias (writing in 2nd C.),
- moralising and dramatic tone,
- unnamed sources,
- simplified/gaps in content (semantics sometimes missed),
- pro roman, favouring stability over republic,
- overplays relationship breakdowns as falls of republic (ie between oct and ant rather than socio economic problems),
- hyperfocus on the proscriptions.
what were the strengths of tacitus?
- personal experience of govt. and palace politics
- great writer with good techniques, vivid
- wrote “without anger or impartiality”
- lots of sources, cites some sources: “where historians agree, i will follow their views; when they differ, i will name them and record their views
- writing without threat (no sycophancy)
What were the weaknesses of tac?
- had poor sources
- biased: hated empire, presented as corrupt and evil
- used good writing style to present opinion as fact
- forced facts to fit theories and parallels (Tib-Ger)
- hated women, particularly powerful ones
what were tac.s methods?
- annals written chronologically
- used allusions, parallels, sententia to push content
- style more important than historical method to him
When did tacitus write?
under domitian, 81 - 96 AD
Strengths of suet.?
- used contemporary sources but rarely credits them. Acc relays info
- personal exp. of govt. and palace politics
- Was a priest so understood roman religion
- somewhat impartial? (pro emp,. but defended senate)
what were the weaknesses of suet?
- writing instructional biography, not explanatory hist.
- writing 2C in retrospect
- recites bitchy gossip and anecdotes opposed to fact
- very poor sources
- no admittance to archives post 119 - slept with hadrians wife?
- no judgement of sources
- focus on personality/character not events/explanation
- Writing to portray good and bad emperors; bised MO
- focus solely on emperors - not others
What were the methods of suet?
- wrote lives as thematic biography, not as a chronology
- selects anecdotes (rather than fact) to show character
- sometimes gives alt. accounts - few named sources
- very interesting/ scandalous/ smutty…
- herd persuasion “everyone agrees…” persuasive devices
“mechanical collector of gossip”
Who was suetonius?
Aspiring politician, writing under trajan and hadrian (served as archivist and secretary respectively)
Slept with hadrian’s wife and expelled from court
provides prominent pictures of emperors, widely known today.
What is the res gest and what does it detail?
originally inscribed on mausoleum of augustus (now lost), but copies found elsewhere we have butchered together it was written by aug at end of life (was 76)
shows:
- early career achievements (44-42 BC)
- military/civil honours and achievements
- donatives
- external success in war and diplomacy
- position and honors
in style of scipio barbatus’ tomb
what are aims of res gest?
- overwhelm reader
- preserve truth (that aug intends to tell - is selective but doesn’t lie
- less militarily/butchery focussed - more civil virtue
