Destabilizing Communication in Tacitus: "Loaded" Alternatives in Historiae 1
By Theodore Boivin, University of Cincinnati
Innuendo in Tacitus (Ryberg 1942) is often conveyed in pairs of alternative interpretations or explanations offered by the author about the events in the narrative. Previous studies have argued that Tacitus creates "weighted" (Sullivan 1976) or "loaded" alternatives (Whitehead 1979), in which Tacitus tends either to remain neutral between two options or, when indicating preference, leans towards the second.
Legitimate Successor or Successful Imposter?: (False) Neros in Tacitus’s Histories and Annals
By Jasmine Akiyama-Kim, University of California, Los Angeles
I argue that in Tacitus’s historical works, the False Nero and the emperor Nero form an oppositional pair that destabilizes the distinction between a legitimate successor and a successful imposter. The order in which Tacitus wrote his historical works—Agricola, Histories, Annals—notably reverses the chronological priority of Nero to his imposters. A Nero-pretender (a preview of a figure we never meet in the narrative) makes an appearance in the first preface of the Histories (falsi Neronis ludibrio, Hist.
Generic Intrusion and Exemplary Depletion in Tacitus’ Histories 3
By Elizabeth Raab, Yale University
"The inescapable and regrettable fact about ancient historians, according to much of the scholarship, is that they made things up" (Haynes: 29). Since Hayden White's 1973 Metahistory, it has been widely recognized that literary historians emplot their texts, crafting stories about the past along generic lines. A growing body of scholarship has examined Tacitus' use of epic (e.g. Joseph, Jacobs), theatrical (e.g. Keitel, Pomeroy), and philosophical (e.g. Olshausen, Turpin) material in the Annals and the Histories.
Omnium consensu: The origins of a Tacitean dictum in Vitellian coinage
By Allyn Waller, Stanford University
Omnium consensu, capax imperii, nisi imperasset. This dictum from Tacitus’ obituary of Galba (Histories 1.49) has mostly attracted attention for its conditional statement (e.g. Heubner, Damon). In addition, the phrase capax imperii was taken up by Sir Ronald Syme and others to address the concept of “could-have-been” emperors (Syme 1955, 1958, and 1979, Benario). Omnium consensu, on the other hand, has received scant attention.