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The Julio-Claudian Emperors, 31 BC–AD 68

Tiberius and the views of the classical authors

  • 2 things to know
  • Component Group 2

Overview

Recall questions on Tacitus' theme of concealment and his sources, Suetonius' arrangement of a life, the caution Velleius requires, the decree on Piso's trial, and the case for a good reign.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Who and when

Who was Tacitus?

Key term

Why is concealment the key to Tacitus' portrait of Tiberius?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Who was Tacitus?

    Model answer

    He was a Roman senator and consul who wrote the Annals in the early second century AD, some eighty years after Tiberius' death.

  2. 2

    What does Tacitus claim about his own approach, and how far is it borne out?

    Model answer

    He promises to write without anger or partiality, yet his selection of material and his insinuations present Tiberius as a hypocrite from the beginning.

  3. 3

    Why is concealment the key to Tacitus' portrait of Tiberius?

    Model answer

    Tacitus assumes that Tiberius hid his real intentions, so every apparent virtue in the narrative can be read as a mask for cruelty waiting to emerge.

  4. 4

    Identify the sources Tacitus had for Tiberius' reign.

    Model answer

    He used the official record of Senate proceedings, earlier histories, memoirs and the anecdotes preserved in senatorial families.

  5. 5

    Who was Suetonius, and what access did he have to evidence?

    Model answer

    He was an equestrian scholar who served as an imperial secretary under Hadrian, and could use imperial archives when he wrote his lives of the Caesars around AD 121.

  6. 6

    Describe how Suetonius' life of Tiberius is organised.

    Model answer

    It is arranged by categories of conduct rather than by year, dealing with his public administration first and his alleged vices afterwards.

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