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Roman Libraries During the Late Republic and Early Empire: with Special Reference to the Library of Pliny the Elder Michael Kenneth Affleck

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Roman Libraries During the Late Republic and Early Empire: with Special Reference to the Library of Pliny the Elder Michael Kenneth Affleck Roman Libraries during the Late Republic and Early Empire: With Special Reference to the Library of Pliny the Elder Michael Kenneth Affleck A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2012 School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics i Abstract This thesis considers the history and development of Roman libraries from the Late Republic through to the 2nd Century AD. It will begin by examining evidence suggesting that libraries existed in Rome prior to the often-cited date of 168 BC, and then look at the steady development of private libraries through the last century of the Republic. It will discuss how these private libraries led to the creation and development of the first public libraries in the early Imperial era. As some scholars have suggested that these public libraries were of little significance, the thesis will analyse their arguments and assess the value of the Imperial libraries and how important they were, particularly to the writers of Rome. The development of private libraries in the first two centuries of the Empire, particularly those of the Imperial households, will be examined with a view to showing that they were innovative in design and reflected developments in the public libraries. There will subsequently be a particular focus on one writer of the 1st Century AD, Pliny the Elder, and by considering his sources for the Natural History and how he used them, conclusions will be drawn about the use he made both of his own library and of other resources available to him. The thesis will conclude by conducting a survey of Roman libraries according to methodologies used in modern libraries and discussing how the Romans dealt with various issues which modern libraries also face. Michael Affleck PhD Candidate, School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics The University Of Queensland August 2012 ii Declaration by author This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my research higher degree candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award. I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the General Award Rules of The University of Queensland, immediately made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968. I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Where appropriate I have obtained copyright permission from the copyright holder to reproduce material in this thesis. iii Publications during candidature No publications. Publications included in this thesis No publications included. Contributions by others to the thesis No contributions by others. Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degree None. iv Acknowledgements My most heartfelt thanks must first go to my supervisor Dr Tom Stevenson, whose good advice, guidance and above all eternal patience with my endless prevarication are beyond my power to repay. Without him, this thesis would never have happened. Thanks also to the participants in the Ancient Libraries conference at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, September 2008, organised by Dr Greg Woolf, Dr Jason Konig and Dr Katerina Oikonomopoulou, for a tremendous experience and much encouragement that helped to shape this thesis. I must acknowledge my parents, Alan and Margaret, who suffered more than most from the production of this work, having to endure their dining room table being stacked chest-high with papers and books for years, in addition to other disruptions. For their love and support, I can only say all my love and thank you. To my dear friends Robin and Sonja Craig, who embraced this project from the outset, encouraged me, made me resident historian to their monthly philosophy group and even allowed me to present portions of my work to the group, I say thank you from the bottom of my heart. To my good friend Selena Trace, who came late to the project, but gave me good advice and encouragement over frequent coffees, I say thank you. v Keywords Private libraries, public libraries, Rome, bibliotheca, library surveys Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classifications (ANZSRC) 210306 Classical Greek and Roman History Fields of Research (FoR) Classification FoR code: 2103, Historical Studies, 100% vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Declaration by author iii Statement of publications during candidature iv Statement of publications included in this thesis iv Statement of contribution by others to this thesis iv Statement of parts of this thesis submitted for the award of another degree iv Acknowledgements v Keywords vi Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classifications (ANZSRC) vi Fields of Research (FoR) Classification vi Abbreviations viii Introduction 1 Chapter 1. Libraries in Rome from the Early Republic to the Flavian Era 5 Chapter 2. Rome’s Public Libraries: Boom or Bust? 34 Chapter 3. Private Libraries in the Early Empire 50 Chapter 4. The Library of Pliny the Elder 71 Chapter 5. A Survey of Roman Libraries 93 Conclusion 121 Ancient Sources 123 Bibliography 128 vii ABBREVIATIONS The entries below will not appear again in the bibliography. Ancient authors and texts are abbreviated according to the Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3rd ed., and will not be listed below. Reference works BMC Mattingly, H. ed. 1965-, Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, London: Trustees of the British Museum. CIG Boeckhius, A. ed. 1977, Corpus Inscriptionum Graecarum, Hildesheim; New York: Georg Olms Verlag. CIL Henzen, W., Huelsen, C., Mommsen, T., et al. eds. 1862-, Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, Berlin: Reimer. Grilli Grilli, A, ed. 1960, Fragmenta, Milan: Istituto editoriale cisalpina. IG Inscriptiones Graecae, 1981-, Berlin, New York: de Gruyter. ILS Dessau, H. ed. 1892-1916, Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae, Berlin: Weidemann. OED Oxford English Dictionary, 1989, Oxford: Clarendon Press (2nd ed.). OLD Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2011, Oxford: Oxford University Press (2nd ed.). Pflaum Pflaum, H.G. 1960- , Les carrières procuratoriennes équestres sous le haut-empire romain, Paris: P. Geuthner. Platthy Platthy, J. ed. 1968, Sources on the Earliest Greek Libraries with the Testimonia, Amsterdam: Adolf M. Hakkert P. Oxy The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, 1898-, London: Egypt Exploration Fund. viii Introduction Between 36 and 27 AD, the Roman politician, soldier and polymath, C. Asinius Pollio, established a library in the Atrium Libertatis. Almost nothing is known today about his library, and even the location of the Atrium Libertatis itself is disputed. What is not in dispute, however, is that it was Rome’s first public library, ‘public’ in the sense that it was built in a public area, and ‘public’ in that it was theoretically at least open to all. It was, almost certainly, the first known library, as Pliny asserts, ‘to make the works of genius the property of the public.’1 In its construction and operating procedures, however, it was drawing on a long line of predecessors, from Mesopotamia, Egypt and Greece. Even though the idea was not realised during his lifetime, the initial idea for a public library in Rome came from Julius Caesar’s experience of the great Library of Alexandria.2 Yet although the Romans drew on Greek models for their libraries, they improved on those models. With the Roman flair for innovation they developed new ideas in library construction, in layout, and in the way books were stored and organised. From their earliest days, Roman libraries showed a steady increase in sophistication. Documenting the development of Roman libraries will be one of the aims of this thesis. To develop his public library in Rome, Caesar chose Marcus Terentius Varro, a fitting choice, as Varro was surpassed only by Cicero as Rome’s bibliophile par excellence in the last decades of the Republic. His qualifications were further bolstered by being the only known writer of a library manual in antiquity, De Bibliothecis, which unfortunately has not survived. Varro was one of three great bibliophiles of the late 1st Century, along with Cicero and Cicero’s great friend, correspondent and publisher Titus Pomponius Atticus. Each of these men established and owned multiple private libraries in their various houses and villas. They succeeded earlier generations of library-owners who acquired their libraries by somewhat different means. It is Aemilius Paullus who is credited with bringing the first library to Rome, when he looted the royal library of Macedonia and gave it to his sons after the Battle of Pydna in 168 BC. This example was followed by Sulla and Lucullus, who looted the libraries of Athens and Pontus respectively and established them in substantial country villas for the edification of their fellow aristocrats. It was from these private libraries, rather than from Caesar’s experience in Alexandria, that the idea for Rome’s public libraries really developed. Rome’s public libraries were built on developments made in the private libraries of aristocrats of the last century of the Republic.
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