TY - BOOK ED - McNamara, James ED - Pagán, Victoria Emma T1 - Tacitus' Wonders BT - empire and paradox in ancient Rome N2 - This volume approaches the broad topic of wonder in the works of Tacitus, encompassing paradox, the marvellous and the admirable. Recent scholarship on these themes in Roman literature has tended to focus on poetic genres, with comparatively little attention paid to historiography: Tacitus, whose own judgments on what is worthy of note have often differed in interesting ways from the preoccupations of his readers, is a fascinating focal point for this complementary perspective. Scholarship on Tacitus has to date remained largely marked by a divide between the search for veracity – as validated by modern historiographical standards – and literary approaches, and as a result wonders have either been ignored as unfit for an account of history or have been deprived of their force by being interpreted as valid only within the text. While the modern ideal of historiographical objectivity tends to result in striving for consistent heuristic and methodological frameworks, works as varied as Tacitus' Histories, Annals and opera minora can hardly be prefaced with a statement of methodology broad enough to escape misrepresenting their diversity. In our age of specialization a streamlined methodological framework is a virtue, but it should not be assumed that Tacitus had similar priorities, and indeed the Histories and Annals deserve to be approached with openness towards the variety of perspectives that a tradition as rich as Latin historiographical prose can include within its scope. This collection proposes ways to reconcile the divide between history and historiography by exploring contestable moments in the text that challenge readers to judge and interpret for themselves, with individual chapters drawing on a range of interpretive approaches that mirror the wealth of authorial and reader-specific responses in play. KW - Tacitus KW - Paradoxography KW - Historiography KW - Ancient Rome KW - Latin literature KW - Paradoxographie KW - Geschichtsschreibung KW - Alte Geschichte KW - Lateinische Literatur Y1 - 2022 SN - 978-1-350-24172-5 SN - 978-1-350-24175-6 U6 - https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350241763 PB - Bloomsbury CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - McNamara, James ED - Geue, Tom ED - Giusti, Elena T1 - Lost in Germania BT - the absence of history in Tacitus' ethnography JF - Unspoken Rome: Absences in Latin Texts N2 - Tacitus’ Germania is notable for its absences: lacking a preface and programmatic statements, and being the only ethnographic monograph to have survived from Greco-Roman antiquity, readers have often leapt to fill in its perceived blanks. This chapter aims at redressing the effects of overdetermined readings by interpreting the text’s absences as significant in their own right. KW - Tacitus KW - Germania KW - Ethnography KW - Ethnographie KW - Historiography KW - Geschichtsschreibung KW - Absence KW - Latin literature KW - Lateinische Literatur Y1 - 2021 UR - https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/unspoken-rome/lost-in-germania/14769D9F862EC2E2868152BFF0B3D78D SN - 978-11-0884-304-1 U6 - https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108913843.012 SP - 201 EP - 218 PB - Cambridge University Press CY - Cambridge ER - TY - CHAP A1 - McNamara, James T1 - I confini del mondo nell'Agricola di Tacito T2 - Centro e periferia nella letteratura latina di Roma imperiale N2 - This article analyses a narrative pattern in Tacitus’ Agricola dealing with the crossing of natural boundaries. First it discusses imaginary geography and the connections between the bounds of nature and the psychology of Agricola and his soldiers. It then turns to a discus- sion of paradoxes inherent in how the bounds of nature are handled, and discusses several traditions on which Tacitus draws. In declama- tion the edges of the earth represent a mystery and a danger, while the philosophical topos of the flight of the mind, as exemplified by Lucretius’ praises of Epicurus, offers a positive scheme in which breaking the bounds of nature is a metaphor for major intellectual achievement. The implications of Agricola’s identity as a provincial Roman are discussed, along with the glimpses of an imaginary geog- raphy in which Rome is de-centred. Finally the article considers how Tacitus inverts a literary tradition of associating the periphery of the earth with death and the underworld. KW - Tacitus KW - Spatial rhetoric KW - Gnaeus Julius Agricola Y1 - 2021 SN - 978-88-3283-246-4 SP - 35 EP - 52 PB - Forum editrice universitaria udinese CY - Udine ER - TY - BOOK A1 - Petersen, Jens T1 - Marcel Proust und Tacitus N2 - Marcel Proust zitiert und erwähnt Tacitus nicht nur in Briefen und seinem unvollendet gebliebenen 'Jean Santeuil', sondern vor allem auch in seinem Hauptwerks 'A la recherche du temps perdu'. Der Autor versucht zu zeigen, dass diese Erwähnungen in die Mitte des Proustschen Werkes führen. Erstes Schlaglicht auf den 100. Todestag Prousts 2022 Auf dem neuesten Stand der Forschung KW - Proust KW - Tacitus KW - Rechtsphilosophie Y1 - 2021 SN - 978-3-11-064703-7 SN - 978-3-11-064744-0 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110647440 PB - de Gruyter CY - Berlin ER - TY - JOUR A1 - McNamara, James T1 - The Portrayal of Germani in German Latin Textbooks, 1989-2009 JF - Syllecta Classica N2 - A survey of the portrayal of the Germani in Latin textbooks from 1989 to 2009, tracing the resurgence of interest in the Germani in the Federal Republic of Germany after German reunification and leading up to bimillennial commemoration of the battle in the Teutoburg Forest. The central sources are textbooks for the teaching of Latin, while context is provided by academic scholarship and representations of the Germani in other cultural contexts, including film and theatre, museums and tourist attractions. The study traces a process of demythologisation and the rise of a myth of mythlessness in the handling of ancient Germanic history. Germany’s role in the European Union is considered as a developing influence on the portrayal of ancient Germania, including Germania Romana, the Roman provinces of Germania, and Germania libera, the lands outside the empire. KW - Classical reception KW - Germania KW - Tacitus KW - Caesar KW - Textbooks Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1353/syl.2020.0003 SN - 2160-5157 SN - 1040-3612 VL - 30 SP - 73 EP - 108 PB - University of Iowa, Department of Classics CY - Iowa ER - TY - JOUR A1 - McNamara, James T1 - Pliny, Tacitus and the Monuments of Pallas JF - The classical quarterly N2 - This article is a discussion of Plin. Ep. 7.29 and Ep. 8.6, in which he presents his reaction to seeing the grave monument of Marcus Antonius Pallas, the freedman and minister of the Emperor Claudius, beside the Via Tiburtina. The monument records a senatorial vote of thanks to Pallas, and Pliny expresses intense indignation at the Senate’s subservience and at the power and influence wielded by a freedman. This article compares Pliny’s letters with Tacitus’ account of the senatorial vote of thanks to Pallas at Ann. 12.52–3 and explores the differences between the ways in which the two authors encourage readers to relate to past events. It is noted that the Pallas letters are unusual amongst Pliny’s let- ters for their treatment of material unconnected with the life and career of Pliny and his friends, and argued that in Ep. 7.29 Pliny uses language and attitudes drawn from satire to evoke the past. Ep. 8.6 is read as an idiosyncratic piece of historical enquiry, consider- ing Pliny’s use of citation and his anonymization of historical individuals. Both letters are considered in the context of the surrounding letters, and a hypothesis is offered regarding the identity of their addressee Montanus, considering evidence from Tacitus’ Histories and Annals. Discussion of Tac. Ann. 12.52–3 focusses on the use of irony. Pliny’s evocation of enargeia (‘vividness’) is compared with that of Tacitus. The article concludes with comparison of the historical accounts offered by Pliny and Tacitus through reflection on Juvenal, Satire 1. KW - Tacitus KW - Pliny the Younger KW - Marcus Antonius Pallas KW - Epistolography KW - Historiography KW - Claudius KW - Juvenal KW - satire KW - indignatio Y1 - 2021 UR - https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/classical-quarterly/article/pliny-tacitus-and-the-monuments-of-pallas/1E36F8EADA74731ADC1402627AE90409 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1017/S0009838821000203 SN - 0009-8388 SN - 1471-6844 VL - 71 IS - 1 SP - 308 EP - 329 PB - Cambridge Univ. Press CY - Cambridge ER - TY - JOUR A1 - McNamara, James T1 - The Portrayal of Germani in German Latin Textbooks, 1989-2009 JF - Syllecta Classica N2 - A survey of the portrayal of the Germani in Latin textbooks from 1989 to 2009, tracing the resurgence of interest in the Germani in the Federal Republic of Germany after German reunification and leading up to bimillennial commemoration of the battle in the Teutoburg Forest. The central sources are textbooks for the teaching of Latin, while context is provided by academic scholarship and representations of the Germani in other cultural contexts, including film and theatre, museums and tourist attractions. The study traces a process of demythologisation and the rise of a myth of mythlessness in the handling of ancient Germanic history. Germany’s role in the European Union is considered as a developing influence on the portrayal of ancient Germania, including Germania Romana, the Roman provinces of Germania, and Germania libera, the lands outside the empire. KW - Classical reception KW - Germania KW - Tacitus KW - Caesar KW - Textbooks KW - Education Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1353/syl.2020.0003 SN - 2160-5157 SN - 1040-3612 VL - 30 SP - 73 EP - 108 ER - TY - THES A1 - Steger, Sascha T1 - Kaiser Nero und die Macht der Gerüchte T1 - Nero and the power of rumours N2 - Nero nuntiis magis et rumoribus quam armis depulsus. Der römische Geschichtsschreiber Tacitus konstatierte in den Historien, Kaiser Nero sei „mehr durch Botschaften und Gerüchte gestürzt worden als durch Waffengewalt“ (hist. 1,89,2). Laut der antiken Quellen redete die plebs urbana tatsächlich mit unbändigem Interesse über den princeps und diskutierte Gerüchte, die Neros Verfehlungen als Schutzherr Roms thematisierten oder ihn gar der Brandstiftung bezichtigten – das Bild des verrückten Kaisers, der Leier spielend seine Freude über das brennende Rom ausdrückt, dient weithin als anschauliches Beispiel eines Tyrannen. Diese Arbeit überprüft die genannte taciteische These auf Schlüssigkeit. Dazu muss die komplexe Konstellation der Herrschaft Neros sowie seines Untergangs, in Hinblick auf die Wirkungsweise der Gerüchte, dargelegt und analysiert werden. Es werden anfangs elementare Fragen der geschichtswissenschaftlichen Forschung zu Nero und zum frühen Prinzipat behandelt: Über welches Ansehen und Handlungspotential verfügte die plebs urbana? Wodurch wurde die Herrschaft des Kaisers legitimiert und auf welche Gruppen zielte Neros Herrschaftspropaganda ab? Im Anschluss erläutert und analysiert der Verfasser die Funktionen des Gerüchts als Mittel der politischen Meinungsbildung für die Aristokratie und die hauptstädtische plebs. Der Einfluss der üblen Nachrede auf die Herrschaft Neros wird durch die Schilderung dreier kennzeichnender Gerüchtekomplexe analysiert und führt schließlich zu der Frage, ob tatsächlich die fama zum Sturz des Kaisers führte oder vielmehr die vernachlässigte Heeresklientel an den Reichsgrenzen die entscheidenden Entwicklungen vorantrieb. N2 - Nero nuntiis magis et rumoribus quam armis depulsus. The ancient Roman historian Tacitus has stated in the Histories that imperator Nero was overthrown not by military forces, but because of rumours (hist. 1,89,2). Indeed, the sources prove that there were intense discussions about the emperor during his lifetime. The stories that were spread by the plebs urbana accused Nero of being an arsonist and an inadequate patron – an image that has withstood the test of time. This research paper examines the controversial thesis of Tacitus. Therefore, I have presented and analysed the complex power constellation during the early Principat with reference to the impact of rumours. Thus, I have covered fundamental issues of the current historical science research about Nero and the political system of the Roman Empire: What kind of reputation in the ancient society did the plebs urbana have? Did the populace have significant influence on the politics? Was there a statutory basis that legitimized the reign of an imperator and how could Nero underpin his authority? Following this, I have outlined the role and effect of rumours for the plebs urbana and the aristocracy as well. The impact the gossip had on Nero's rule will be shown by reference to three significant whispers. Finally, this leads to the crucial question whether rumours have actually caused the downfall of the infamous emperor or whether the neglected legions in the peripheral provinces have made the decisive step. KW - Nero KW - Gerüchte KW - Plebs urbana KW - Großer Brand Roms KW - Tacitus KW - rumours KW - Fama Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-81270 ER -