Emperors and Political Culture in Cassius Dio's Roman History
Journal Data
| Type | SOURCE_BOOK |
|---|---|
| Publisher | University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations |
| ISBN-13 | 9781108923019 |
| Open Library | OL25326016W |
| Total publications | 15 |
| Coverage period | 2021 - 2021 |
| Language | EN |
| Impact factor | 0.8 |
The Roman History of Cassius Dio provides one of the most important continuous narratives of the early Roman empire, spanning the inception of the Principate under Augustus to the turbulent years of the Severan Dynasty. It has been a major influence on how scholars have thought about Roman imperial history, from the Byzantine period down to the present day, as well as being a work of considerable literary sophistication and merit. This book, the product of an international collaborative project, brings together thirteen chapters written by scholars based in Europe, North America, and Australia. They offer new approaches to Dio's representation of Roman emperors, their courtiers, and key political constituencies such as the army and the people, as well as the literary techniques he uses to illuminate his narrative, from speeches to wonder narratives.
‘Now Comes the Greatest Marvel of All!’ (79[78].8.2)
This chapter examines Dio’s presentation of wonders in relation to his characterization of emperors and Roman power. After analysing Dio’s ‘lexicon of wonder’ in the Roman History , the chapter offers a close reading of two case studies: (i) the rain miracle during the extraordinary battle (AD 172) between the Romans and the Quadi on the Danube under the leadership of Marcus Aurelius (72[71].8); (ii) the case of Pedo Apronianus, accused (AD 205) …
News, Rumour, and the Political Culture of the Roman Imperial Monarchy in the Roman History
In 53.19, Dio discusses the impact that the transition of Rome’s system of government from a Republic to a monarchy under Augustus had for the flow of accurate political news and information. This programmatic section of the Roman History has often been discussed for the insight it provides into Dio’s historical methodology. This chapter takes a complementary perspective on 53.19, examining Dio’s view that the new monarchical government led to th…
And Now … ?
The epilogue provides some thoughts on the past and future directions of Cassius Dio studies, while responding to the chapters presented in this volume.
Dio and His Friends
As Dio began writing the history of his own time, he began to incorporate his personal experiences into the narrative of the Roman History to the point that the final portion of his history serves as a largely autobiographical sphragis to the Roman History . These final books of his history are central to the construction of historian’s authorial persona and his self-fashioning the embodiment to traditional senatorial virtues. This chapter analys…
An Emperor’s War on Greece
When reading Cassius Dio’s account of Nero’s reign, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer, unrelenting criminality of the emperor. In fact, Dio’s Nero is not as much a man as a representation of a rhetorical tyrant. While he is not unique in portraying Nero as a disastrous ruler, Dio is extraordinary in his denial of the emperor’s philhellenism. In doing this, Dio not only contradicts Tacitus and Suetonius, but also discounts the praise o…
Cassius Dio
This chapter begins by contextualizing Cassius Dio’s Roman History in the political and literary culture of Severan Rome. From there, it introduces the major themes of this volume, namely the idea of Roman political culture under the Principate, Cassius Dio’s understanding of this culture, and the reception of Dio’s construction of Roman imperial culture after antiquity.
Literary and Documentary Sources in Dio’s Narrative of the Roman Emperors
The author argues that Dio's account of the Principate was based on extensive reading of literary sources, whose precise identification is almost impossible, for he selected and reworked with great independence the copious material he gathered. Moreover, he drew information from systematic reading of documentary sources, above all the archives of the senate, but also the acta urbis and inscriptions. He probably employed only a fraction of the mat…
Vox populi, vox mea ? Information, Evaluation and Public Opinion in Dio’s Account of the Principate
Dio in his imperial narrative has a distinctive technique of evaluating emperors, based on how he saw the informational constraints of the monarchical state. He tends to frame his assessments of emperors as descriptions of how they were perceived by contemporaries rather than as his own unique insights into how they ‘really’ were. This chapter applies James C. Scott's concept of ‘public transcripts’ and ‘hidden transcripts’ to Dio’s methodologica…
Citizenship, Enfranchisement and Honour in Cassius Dio
This paper re-evaluates Dio’s famous passing reference to Caracalla’s universal grant of citizenship by recontextualizing it within Dio’s larger narrative. Dio was the first historian to see the spread of Roman citizenship as we do – as a progressive expansion culminating in universal citizenship. Dio’s treatment of the topic of enfranchisement repeatedly returns to the question of whether an exclusive citizenship distorts or affirms the natural …
War and Peace
Dio’s account of the second century AD, the ‘Antonine period’ broadly construed, has not received the same attention when compared with the better-preserved Julio-Claudian books or the exciting contemporary narrative of the Severan age. This chapter examines Dio’s portrayal of five second-century emperors: Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, Commodus and Pertinax. It focuses particularly on the role that military qualities (or lack thereof) played …
Emperors and Political Culture in Cassius Dio's Roman History
The Roman History of Cassius Dio provides one of the most important continuous narratives of the early Roman empire, spanning the inception of the Principate under Augustus to the turbulent years of the Severan Dynasty. It has been a major influence on how scholars have thought about Roman imperial history, from the Byzantine period down to the present day, as well as being a work of considerable literary sophistication and merit. This book, the …
Cassius Dio’s Funeral Speech for Augustus
The chapter analyses Tiberius’ funeral oration in honour of the deceased emperor Augustus, as composed and inserted by Cassius Dio at the end of his Augustan narrative (56.35-41). The chapter reveals that Dio devised this speech with a keen interest in exploring the perspective of the imperial domus and its relationship to his own assessment of Rome’s first emperor as presented in the main narrative in Books 45–56. By examining the content, struc…
‘The People’ and Cassius Dio
In a number of colourful episodes, Cassius Dio narrates the behaviour and fates of the Roman collective. He treats it as a symbolic entity that serves to illustrate the state of the Roman political community under monarchic rule, from the dynasteiai through the Severans. Inextricably linked to their rulers like limbs to the head, the Roman ‘people’ is the first victim of their vices and the ultimate judge of their character. The Roman collective …
‘ … But He Possessed a Most Singular Nature’
Dio’s portrayal of Tiberius has traditionally suffered by comparison with that of Tacitus. Whereas some have attempted to look beyond such comparisons and to interpret Dio’s Tiberius as a component in a broader narrative discourse about the nature of Roman imperial power, questions still remain as to how we should read Dio’s portrayal of this most cryptic of emperors. In this chapter, Mallan looks for the unifying themes of Dio’s pre- and post-ac…
The Company They Keep
Dio often portrays effective rulership in negative terms, defining a ruler's traits, policies, and associates by deficits when he sees a great vacuum at the center of power, an emptiness in an unsatisfactory emperor such as Commodus, waiting to be filled with unsuitable notions from the worst people. His history offers an array of faults to contemplate, many and specific, whereas positive terms are few and with little variety. Substandard rulers …
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‘Now Comes the Greatest Marvel of All!’ (79[78].8.2)
This chapter examines Dio’s presentation of wonders in relation to his characterization of emperors and Roman power. After analysing Dio’s ‘lexicon of wonder’ in the Roman History , the chapter offers a close reading of two case studies: (i) the rain miracle during the extraordinary battle (AD 172) between the Romans and the Quadi on the Danube under the leadership of Marcus Aurelius (72[71].8); (ii) the case of Pedo Apronianus, accused (AD 205) …
News, Rumour, and the Political Culture of the Roman Imperial Monarchy in the Roman History
In 53.19, Dio discusses the impact that the transition of Rome’s system of government from a Republic to a monarchy under Augustus had for the flow of accurate political news and information. This programmatic section of the Roman History has often been discussed for the insight it provides into Dio’s historical methodology. This chapter takes a complementary perspective on 53.19, examining Dio’s view that the new monarchical government led to th…
And Now … ?
The epilogue provides some thoughts on the past and future directions of Cassius Dio studies, while responding to the chapters presented in this volume.
Dio and His Friends
As Dio began writing the history of his own time, he began to incorporate his personal experiences into the narrative of the Roman History to the point that the final portion of his history serves as a largely autobiographical sphragis to the Roman History . These final books of his history are central to the construction of historian’s authorial persona and his self-fashioning the embodiment to traditional senatorial virtues. This chapter analys…
An Emperor’s War on Greece
When reading Cassius Dio’s account of Nero’s reign, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the sheer, unrelenting criminality of the emperor. In fact, Dio’s Nero is not as much a man as a representation of a rhetorical tyrant. While he is not unique in portraying Nero as a disastrous ruler, Dio is extraordinary in his denial of the emperor’s philhellenism. In doing this, Dio not only contradicts Tacitus and Suetonius, but also discounts the praise o…
Cassius Dio
This chapter begins by contextualizing Cassius Dio’s Roman History in the political and literary culture of Severan Rome. From there, it introduces the major themes of this volume, namely the idea of Roman political culture under the Principate, Cassius Dio’s understanding of this culture, and the reception of Dio’s construction of Roman imperial culture after antiquity.
Literary and Documentary Sources in Dio’s Narrative of the Roman Emperors
The author argues that Dio's account of the Principate was based on extensive reading of literary sources, whose precise identification is almost impossible, for he selected and reworked with great independence the copious material he gathered. Moreover, he drew information from systematic reading of documentary sources, above all the archives of the senate, but also the acta urbis and inscriptions. He probably employed only a fraction of the mat…
Vox populi, vox mea ? Information, Evaluation and Public Opinion in Dio’s Account of the Principate
Dio in his imperial narrative has a distinctive technique of evaluating emperors, based on how he saw the informational constraints of the monarchical state. He tends to frame his assessments of emperors as descriptions of how they were perceived by contemporaries rather than as his own unique insights into how they ‘really’ were. This chapter applies James C. Scott's concept of ‘public transcripts’ and ‘hidden transcripts’ to Dio’s methodologica…
Citizenship, Enfranchisement and Honour in Cassius Dio
This paper re-evaluates Dio’s famous passing reference to Caracalla’s universal grant of citizenship by recontextualizing it within Dio’s larger narrative. Dio was the first historian to see the spread of Roman citizenship as we do – as a progressive expansion culminating in universal citizenship. Dio’s treatment of the topic of enfranchisement repeatedly returns to the question of whether an exclusive citizenship distorts or affirms the natural …
War and Peace
Dio’s account of the second century AD, the ‘Antonine period’ broadly construed, has not received the same attention when compared with the better-preserved Julio-Claudian books or the exciting contemporary narrative of the Severan age. This chapter examines Dio’s portrayal of five second-century emperors: Trajan, Hadrian, Marcus Aurelius, Commodus and Pertinax. It focuses particularly on the role that military qualities (or lack thereof) played …
Emperors and Political Culture in Cassius Dio's Roman History
The Roman History of Cassius Dio provides one of the most important continuous narratives of the early Roman empire, spanning the inception of the Principate under Augustus to the turbulent years of the Severan Dynasty. It has been a major influence on how scholars have thought about Roman imperial history, from the Byzantine period down to the present day, as well as being a work of considerable literary sophistication and merit. This book, the …
Cassius Dio’s Funeral Speech for Augustus
The chapter analyses Tiberius’ funeral oration in honour of the deceased emperor Augustus, as composed and inserted by Cassius Dio at the end of his Augustan narrative (56.35-41). The chapter reveals that Dio devised this speech with a keen interest in exploring the perspective of the imperial domus and its relationship to his own assessment of Rome’s first emperor as presented in the main narrative in Books 45–56. By examining the content, struc…
‘The People’ and Cassius Dio
In a number of colourful episodes, Cassius Dio narrates the behaviour and fates of the Roman collective. He treats it as a symbolic entity that serves to illustrate the state of the Roman political community under monarchic rule, from the dynasteiai through the Severans. Inextricably linked to their rulers like limbs to the head, the Roman ‘people’ is the first victim of their vices and the ultimate judge of their character. The Roman collective …
‘ … But He Possessed a Most Singular Nature’
Dio’s portrayal of Tiberius has traditionally suffered by comparison with that of Tacitus. Whereas some have attempted to look beyond such comparisons and to interpret Dio’s Tiberius as a component in a broader narrative discourse about the nature of Roman imperial power, questions still remain as to how we should read Dio’s portrayal of this most cryptic of emperors. In this chapter, Mallan looks for the unifying themes of Dio’s pre- and post-ac…
The Company They Keep
Dio often portrays effective rulership in negative terms, defining a ruler's traits, policies, and associates by deficits when he sees a great vacuum at the center of power, an emptiness in an unsatisfactory emperor such as Commodus, waiting to be filled with unsuitable notions from the worst people. His history offers an array of faults to contemplate, many and specific, whereas positive terms are few and with little variety. Substandard rulers …