1. Tacitus
Amy Squire

2. Life 55-117 CE Married to Julia Agricola in 77 or 78 Quaestor 81 or 82
Praetor in 88
Shift from public life to research
Consul in 97

3. Voluntary Exile During reign of Domitian
Greatly affected bent of works

4. Works
Germania
Agricola
Dialogue on Oratory
Histories
Annales

5. Agricola Biography of father-in-law War in and ethnography of Britain
Comparison of British and Roman values

6. Histories History of Flavian emperors
12 books, 1-4 and part of 5 survive
Year of the Four Emperors, 69 CE
Ethnography of Jews

7. Annales Annalistic history
Julio-Claudians from death of Augustus to death of Nero (14-68 CE)
1.1: "Hence my purpose is to relate...without anger or zeal, from any motives to which I am far removed."
18 books, 12 survive
1-6, reign of Tiberius
11-16, Claudius's last years and Nero through 66 CE

8. Style Moral and political evaluation Use of dramatic devices
Narrative speed reflective of events
Mirroring of poetry

9. Discussion Question
What affect does Tacitus's moralizing style have on the efficacy of his work? Do you think it heightens the overall value of his works or diminishes his biographical and/or historical validity?

10. Works Referenced
Gagarin, Michael, editor. "Tacitus." Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome. Oxford: Oxford UP, Print.
Mellor, Ronald. The Historians of Ancient Rome: An Anthology of the Major Writings. 3rd ed., Routledge, 2013
Syme, Ronald. Tacitus. Oxford: Oxford UP, Print.
"Tacitus." New World Encyclopedia. 11 Nov