Tacitus Reading Notes for 15 & 16

NB: Some of the People and Terms overlap with the reading notes for books 13 & 14. NB: Items or notes below in square-brackets [ ] contain specialized information and are less essential to the reading of the text.

People and Terms: Nero Poppaea Corbulo L. Annaeus Seneca G. Calpurnius Piso and the ‘Pisonian Conspiracy’ Tigellinus Thrasea Paetus Stoicism Freedom (libertas) Servitude/servility (servitus, servitium, and many other Latin terms) Flattery: adulation, obsequiousness, sycophancy Savagery or cruelty (crudelitas), leniency (clementia) Suicides, especially: Epicharis, Seneca, Subrius Flavus (execution), Lucan, Triple suicide (16.11):Lucius Vetus, Sextia, Pollita), Petronius, Thrasea Paetus

Book 15 15.1-17: Corbulo and Parthia/Armenia 18: ‘false’ arches for victory in Parthia 20: ban on awarding of votes of thanks for promagistrates in the provinces by the provincials 23: 63 BCE. Nero Poppaea have a daughter, who dies; divine honors 24-31: Corbulo/Parthians 33: Nero’s increasing desire to appear on stage ‘Greek’ performance context; performance in Neapolis, i.e. Naples, a former Greek colony. [15.34 Vatinius (cf. Maternus in Tacitus’s Dialogus)]

35: no let up in crime(s) Torquatus Silanus commits suicide 37: Tigellinus’s “exemplary” feast, prodigality, followed by a description of Nero’s marriage to Pythagoras; Nero the bride. Note Greek name of ‘groom’. 38: Great fire of Rome, 64 BCE [38: Interesting, but not entirely clear details on the Circus Maximus (cf. 15.53, the Circus portion of the games of Ceres during Pisonian conspiracy)] 39: Nero, stage, singing. VERY FAMOUS DESCRIPTION (Nero singing about the ills of Troy while Rome is burning). 40: New outbreak of the fire, begun in Tigellinus’s gardens, provoked the ire of many Romans (because rumored to be intentional). Rumors about Nero’s desire to rebuild the city of ‘Neropolis’ 41: Loss of numerous very important temples. Temporal comparisons to 19th July, 390 (sack of Rome by Gauls or Senones). First day of fire same as day of sack of Rome. Also computation of equal years, months, days: 418 + 418 + 418 between the two fires.

[44: sellisternia and lectisternia; Vulcan, Ceres, Proserpina]

Christians and Neros persecution of them. VERY FAMOUS PASSAGE. Sign of Nero’s cruelty.

48: 65 BCE The year of the Pisonian conspiracy. Gaius Calpurnius Piso 19th April, Circus Games to Ceres [Festival of the Cerealia, 12th to 19th April, 19th games in Circus]

56: Natalis confesses the plot, followed by Scaevinus, others follow in naming other conspirators, e.g. Lucan names his mother.

57: Torture of Epicharis. Freedwoman who endured considerable torture. Exemplum underscoring both good and bad values (she embodies the good values that others were not able to uphold)

Her suicide, vividly told by Tacitus: After torture, she takes a band from her chest, ties it up on a chair as a noose and hung herself. Very vivid. Tacitus explicitly remarks that her exemplum was better than that of other men who betraying their accomplices.

59: Piso’s suicide. Obsequiousness in his will. 60: Plautius Lateranus murdered.

62: Seneca’s suicide. Stages himself as a ‘model’.

63: Seneca to his wife on ‘the glory of death’. S. ut both arms, legs, backs of knees. S. dictates a ‘long work’. Tacitus says he will not quote or summarize it. S. asks Statius Annaeus for the ‘poison of Athens’ [hemlock] S. drinks it in vain, goes into hot water. ‘Libation’ to Jupiter Liberator (cf. Thrasea Paetus in Book 15) S. suffocates in steam bath. How much are we to believe Tacitus’ reason for not citing Seneca at all?

67: T. gives the words of Subrius Flavus and his executioner. ‘I hated you, but none of your soldiers was jmore loyal to you while you deserved our affection. I started to hate you when you became the murderer of your mother and wife, and a charioteer, actor, and arsonist.’ [tr. Yardley, 2008] Excellent section, and a good foil to Seneca’s death and Tacitus’ refusal to report the words of Seneca, even in brief.

68ff. Other executions

69: Suicide of Vestinus, consul 70: Suicide of Lucan: Lucan recites poetry (Civil War 3.635-646?) 71: Other deaths and exiles

74: Temple of the Sun in the Circus, Games of Ceres, Circus. Anicius Cerialis proposes a temple to the deified Nero. Rejected by Nero. Odd, given that deification typically happened after death (and Nero notes this).

Book 16 16.1: ‘Dido’s’ Treasure

4: Nero: Senate awards him honors: victory in singing; crown for eloquence (to avoid scandal for his singing)

5: degeneracy at Rome and in the emperor’s person 6: Poppaea killed by Nero, kicked while pregnant 7: Accusations and false charges Exiles and deaths

10-11: Triple suicide: Lucius Vetus: father Sextia: his mother-in-law Pollita: his daughter Notice the mechanics of the suicide (16.11): Libertas vs. servitium They use the same sword/dagger to cut their veins They are watching each other intently: intuens (gazing at, looking upon, regarding) Each making rival prayers to die just before the others (certatim) They die in the order of age from oldest to youngest (sort of)

14: 66 CE; informant (index) 14: Anteius’s suicide 15: Ostonius’s suicide: particularly interesting: has a slave hold the dagger and he met it with his throat 16: Tacitus again offers important reflections on the material of his histories. ‘abhorrence for those who perished tamely’ One cannot simply mention it [this punishment from the gods] and move on, as is possible in the case of military defeats or captured cities. As is the case of illustrious men’s funerals, they are separated out from common burial and they retain their own memorial in the historical record. 17: Mela, father of Lucan, brother of Secenca, commits suicide 18: Petronius, arbiter elegantiae. Interesting death. Also worth comparing to Seneca’s death.

21: Nero goes after Thrasea Paetus and Borea Soranus Freedom: ‘Cassius’ is removed Thrasea is acting like the Brutuses 22: Eprius Marcellus, the notorious informant 23: Suicide of Barea Soranus

24: Thrasea consults his friends. Honorable end vs. cowardice of those who died in silence. Stoics and Stoic figures around his death.

33: Massive rewards for informants and prosecutors

35: Great death scene of Thrasea Paetus. Compare Seneca (also reference to Jupiter Liberator) Who is this “young man” to whom he addresses himself?