Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Annales (Tacitus)'

Arbetets syfte är att genomsöka Tacitus första bok ur verket Annales efter versmått och vidare undersöka om genomsökningens resultat förmår att säga någonting om deras roll i Tacitus stil.
Tacitus´Annales I has been scanned for poetic verses. Attempts have been made to identify their role in Tacitus´stylistic efforts.

Analyses of conflict in Tacitus have often been focussed on tbe constitution of the Principate, specifically the loss of libertas which followed from the system of rule by one. This thesis offers a theoretical analysis of conflict in Tacilus, arguing that conflict stems from the wider social and systemic structures ordinarily designed to ensure peace, such as the law, the imperial hierarchy and the mos maiorum. The notion that peacetime policies and procedures became in themselves a source of conflict is here described as the paradox of imperial politics. Chapters I and 2 offer a close reading of the Augustan prologue and the accession of Tiberius, while also introducing the work of Giorgio Agamben on the sovereign exception and Michel Foucault on biopoliti cs, The first chapter argues that a source of epistemological conflict is cultural memory, specifically the knowledge of the violent past of civil war. The second chapter argues that political conflict results from Tiberius' inability to replicate Augustan imperium, which in Tacitus is the power to speak in the name of the law and decide truth . In Chapter 3, and with reference to Jacques Ranciere's conception of democratic violence, hierarchy is revealed as the source of conflict since although it serves to maintain order in the imperial state it equally (and paradoxically) fosters the potential for revolution, In Chapter 4, building on Hannah Arendt's notion of mores and lex, it is argued that systemic conflict (corruption and moral decli ne) stems not from the lack of law or the erosion of prisca vinus but rather, and again paradoxically, from the system of law itself as well as the moderating values encoded in traditional Roman morality. By reading Tacitean conflict as something which is ex traneous to the more obvious sources of political conflict (rising tyranny/maiestas/republican sympathies), but as something which is engrained within the ordering structures of society, this thes is offers new insight into the frailty of imperi al politics as well as a wider understanding of Roman pol itical and social conflict in limes of peace. The thesis also shows that (he contradictory nature of Tacitus' narrative is not merely a reflection of the ambiguous nature of men and government; but it may be read from a wider theoretical perspective, as an attempt to foreground the generative power of paradox, that is, how paradox works to reinforce the power of the imperial regime and the imperial peace.

I examine how religion is presented in the Annals of Tacitus, and how it resonates with and adds complexity to the larger themes of the historian’s narrative. Memory is essential to understanding the place of religion in the narrative, for Tacitus constructs a picture of a Rome with ‘religious amnesia.’ The Annals are populated with characters, both emperors and their subjects, who fail to maintain the traditional religious practices of their forebears by neglecting prodigies and omens, committing impious murders, and even participating in the destruction of Rome’s sacred buildings. Alongside this forgetfulness of traditional religious practice runs the construction of a new memory – that of the deified Augustus – which leads to the veneration of living emperors in terms appropriate to gods. This religious narrative resonates with and illuminates Tacitean observations on the nature of power in imperial Rome. Furthermore, tracing the prominence of religious memory in the text improves our understanding of how Tacitus thinks about the past, and particularly how he thinks about the role of the historian in shaping memory for his readers. I consider various religious categories and their function in Tacitus’ writings, and how his characters interact with them: calendars (do Tacitus’ Romans preserve or change the traditional scheduling of festivals?), architecture (what determines the building of or alterations to temples and other religious monuments?), liturgy (do they worship in the same ways their ancestors did?), and images (how do they treat cult statues?). I analyze the patterns of behaviour, both in terms of ritual practice and in how Tacitus’ characters think about and interpret the supernatural, and consider how Rome’s religious past features in these patterns. The thesis is structured according to the reigns of individual emperors. Four chapters chart Tiberius’ accession, Germanicus’ death, its aftermath, and Sejanus’ rise to power; one chapter examines the religious antiquarian Claudius; and the final chapter analyzes Nero’s impieties and their consequences.

This thesis considers the geographical and chronological forms of ‘mirroring’ that offer a way of reading 'Annals' 1-6. It looks at how Tacitus’ depictions of non-Romans reflect back on Rome, and at the echoes of Rome’s past and future that can be discerned within his description of Tiberius’ principate. After an introduction that discusses key thematic and methodological questions, Chapter 1 shows that Tiberius’ accession and the Pannonian and German mutinies described in 'Annals' 1 echo Tacitus’ account in 'Histories' 1 of events of AD 69. Moreover, when the Romans attempt to conquer Germany, the Germans’ resistance to this and to other efforts to rule them shows up Roman responses to civil war and autocracy. Chapter 2 begins by examining potential similarities between Roman and both Parthian and Armenian history, and then focuses on Germanicus’ voyage in the east, recounted in 'Annals' 2. His actions associate him with many late republican and early imperial Roman figures, which suggests that there are continuities between those two eras. Chapter 3 extends this theme by discussing the echoes of Sallust and Caesar in the central books of the Tiberian hexad. Intertexts with Sallust’s 'Bellum Catilinae' especially hint that earlier civil conflicts are about to be replayed in some form, as the appearance of Sejanus, the ‘new Catiline’, confirms. Chapter 4 further considers Tacitus’ inferences about the overlap between republican and imperial history, and then examines anti-Roman revolts in 'Annals' 2, 3 and 4. Foreign rebels’ relative success in attempting to reclaim their freedom correlates with their distance from Rome, and this has clear implications for the status of Roman 'libertas' under Tiberius. Finally, the outbreak of ‘civil war within the principate’, and indeed within the imperial house, is analysed. Chapter 5 traces the continuation of this ‘civil war’, and proposes that the last book of the Tiberian hexad again looks directly to 69, as well as to the excesses of other Julio-Claudians. It also considers Tacitus’ account of Roman intervention in Parthia: this episode confirms imperial Rome’s propensity for autocracy and civil war. There follows a short conclusion in which some speculation is offered about how some of the themes discussed in this thesis with reference to the Tiberian hexad may have been represented in the lost central books of the 'Annals'.

Bien que la production tacitéenne de l’humaniste Marc-Antoine Muret (1526-1585) semble tombée dans l’oubli, elle constitue une mine pour qui s’intéresse à la genèse de la littérature érudite dédiée à l’historien latin pendant le XVIe siècle. Muret est en effet l’auteur de travaux multiples sur Tacite, alors réputés dans toute l’Europe : un cours sur les Annales prononcé à l’Université de Rome en 1580-1581 et 1581-1582, des éditions des premier et deuxième livres des Annales, quelques chapitres de miscellanées, les Variae lectiones, et un commentaire, publié de manière posthume. En outre, de nombreux documents personnels de l’humaniste sont parvenus jusqu’à nous (exemplaires d’éditions des Annales et notes de lecture autographes). Cette thèse se propose d’analyser la pratique murétienne de Tacite, intime – dans sa bibliothèque – ou publique – dans la salle de classe – et de la mettre en résonance avec celle de l’Europe des lettres, pour en identifier les apports et les éventuelles avancées. C’est pourquoi, après avoir fait le point sur les études tacitéennes et avoir mis au jour les nombreux enjeux que pose l’œuvre de l’historien latin à l’époque de Muret, je présenterai une étude détaillée et analytique des travaux de Muret consacrés à Tacite, en en montrant l’apport, et en en proposant pour certains d’entre eux une édition et une traduction. La troisième partie de mon étude s’intéresse à la fortune et à la postérité de ces travaux murétiens et tente ainsi d’évaluer l’importance des recherches de l’humaniste pour les générations de « tacitologues » successives
Although Marc-Antoine Muret’s tacitean works seem to have fallen into oblivion, they represent a goldmine for whoever is interested in the origins of all scholarly literature dedicated to the Latin historian in the XVIth century. For Muret published numerous works about Tacitus, well-known then throughout Europe : a lecture about the Annals, given at the University of Rome in 1580-1581 and 1581-1582, editions of the Annals’ first and second books, a few chapters of miscellanea entitled the Variae lectiones, and a commentary, published posthumously. In addition to these, many personal documents belonging to, or written by, the humanist have reached us (such as copies of the Annals, in various editions, and autograph reading notes). This thesis aims to study how Muret read Tacitus, both in the intimacy of his library or the publicity of his classroom, and to compare it with Tacitus’s reception in the European Republic of Letters, in order to delineate Muret’s contributions and speculated advances. Therefore, after a general account of tacitean studies and the many issues raised by the Latin historian’s works in Muret’s time, I shall present a detailed, analytical study of Muret’s works dedicated to Tacitus, showing what they contribute to his better knowledge, and offering the edition and translation of some of them. The third part of this study will address the fortune and posterity of these muretian works, thus attempting to assess the reach of the humanist’s research for the later generations of Tacitus scholars

Les deux grands ouvrages historiques de Tacite, les "Histoires" et les "Annales", offrent de nombreux points communs avec la tragédie gréco-latine. Ils doivent être replacés dans le contexte de la tradition littéraire antique, qui inscrit le genre historiographique dans le domaine de la poiesis. L'histoire est donc imprégnée des traits en partie hérités de la tragédie. L'examen de la composition des récits qui constituent les "opera maioru", permet d'y déceler la présence d'épisodes dont se révèle la forme dramatique, nourrie a la fois par la structure narrative et les effets de " mise en scène ". Le recours systématique à certains schémas, la récurrence de certains motifs donnent aux personnages historiques traités par Tacite le statut de personnages tragiques, portant le masque que leur fonction au sein du récit leur attribue. C'est notamment le cas de la figure tyrannique. Fondée sur la notion de conflit tragique, l'écriture tacitéenne décrit un monde livré à la violence et au trouble, où les hommes mettent en péril l'ordre nécessaire à l'accord entre la communauté romaine et les dieux. Elle révèle l'ambiguïté d'une conscience tiraillée entre le désir de participer à l'ordre nouveau établi par le principat et l'inquiétude face à l'avenir de l' urbs

This thesis deals with Tacitus' portrayal of women by examining in detail a number of the female characters in the Annals in order to identify certain themes and ideas relating to women. The most striking theme to emerge from such an examination is that of the strong, powerful, almost masculine woman, and several of the characters examined exemplify this recurring theme. In portraying these characters Tacitus uses certain language patterns and techniques of characterisation, and this thesis is concerned with identifying such patterns and techniques. These include the recurring use of certain words with a specific connotation, and the employment of several methods of directing the reader's perception in the manner Tacitus desires. This manipulation of the reader's response is an example of Tacitus' direct and indirect authorial control, which is also evident in his technique of using his own and other authors' usage to create resonances for particular expressions. Of note is the fact that Tacitus avoids direct description of his characters, but rather allows their actions to reveal character. Given that Tacitus' main preoccupation in the Annals as a whole is the nature of the principate, he uses his portrayal of women to illuminate and comment upon his view of this form of government. The women chosen for study, with one exception, belong to the imperial circle since, with the inauguration of one man rule, those with ready access to the princeps had the most opportunity to break out of the mould of the traditional ideal of Roman womanhood. Boudicca, the British queen of the Iceni, has been chosen for study as a foil to the Roman women in order to highlight their manoeuvrings for personal power, while Octavia has been selected as an exemplar of the Roman ideal of womanhood. Although this is not a historical or sociological study, it must be noted that the evidence we have of the period about which Tacitus is writing is in fact one-sided evidence derived from a restricted social class, recorded by men, and an attempt to redress this balance is made by reference to contemporary studies of the legal and social position of women in Roman society. Consequently chapters on the historical background and the position of women respectively have been included as background. In addition other ancient sources have been consulted where this is appropriate in order to determine areas of bias in Tacitus.
Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1993.

Thesis (MA (Ancient Studies)--University of Stellenbosch, 2008.
The term vir bonus as a comprehensive concept is nowhere precisely defined, yet the Romans clearly understood its meaning. To give substance to it, the role that the good Roman or vir bonus was expected to play in the Roman Republic, was examined. By his extensive descriptions of the evils of the Empire, Tacitus confirms this concept by emphasizing the absence of these exemplary qualities. The development of Rome from city state to Monarchy to Republic is steeped in legend. The foundation of the Roman constitution was believed to have been laid during that period, and adjusted to prevent the recurrence of a monarchy. This system of government was closely structured and demanded a high moral standard from its participants. While Roman territory was limited, this constitution functioned well. However, when after the Punic Wars Rome became master of almost the whole area surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, it was impracticable. A long and often bloody strife followed between the advocates of change and those who would not accept it. Augustus won out and established an Empire, calling it by the euphemistic term of Principate. His successors automatically acceded to their powers as emperor. During the Empire the political structures of the Republic were disempowered and the moral fibre of the ruling classes perverted. It is this process that Tacitus examines critically. He does so by describing how different people reacted under different circumstances. Some behaviour he roundly condemns, but often he makes us realise that the participants did not have much leeway, and that this consequently affected their behaviour .