The Roman Historian - Livy

The Roman Historian - Livy

Titus Livius best known to us as Livy was a Roman historian. He was born in either 64 or 59 BC at the prosperous city of Patavium (now Padua) which was located in the province of Cisalpine Gaul but later was absorbed into Italy. Whilst Livy was still young, Julius Caesar was Governor and gave Roman citizenship to its inhabitants.

The Early History of Rome

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'I hope my passion for Rome's past has not impaired my judgement; for I do honestly believe that no country has ever been greater or purer than ours or richer in good citizens and noble deeds'

Livy dedicated most of his life to writing some 142 volumes of history, the first five of which comprise The Early History of Rome. With stylistic brilliance, he chronicles nearly 400 years from the founding of Rome to the Gallic invasion in 386 BC, an era that witnessed the establishment of the Republic, unrest and brutal conflict. Bringing compelling characters to life, and re-presenting familiar tales - including the tragedy of Coriolanus and the story of Romulus and Remus - The Early History is a truly epic work, and a passionate warning that a nation should learn from its history.

Its possible that the boy Livy may of heard stories about the wars in Gaul. Livy studied rhetoric and philosophy growing up and there is no accounts on his early career. Livy never got accustomed to military matters and his writings show this but it did not stop him becoming a distinguished historian. At the age of 10, Caesar and Pompey the Great were having a civil war and the outcome would be decided in 48BC at the battle of Pharsalus.

After the assassination of Caesar a new round of civil wars followed. In 44/43BC, Livy may of observed some of this fighting. Octavian, Caesar's adopted son was victorious after the battle of Actium in 31BC and he would bring peace and stability to Italy.

 

Rome's Mediterranean Empire

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These words from one of Rome's opponents encapsulate the authority Rome achieved by its subjugation of the Mediterranean. The Third Macedonian War, recounted in this volume, ended the kingdom created by Philip II and Alexander the Great and was a crucial step in Rome's eventual dominance. For Livy, the story is also a fascinating moral study of the vices and virtues that hampered and promoted Rome's efforts in the conflict. He presents the war not so much as a battle against Perseus, Alexander's last and unworthy successor, than as a struggle within the Roman national character. Only traditional moral strength, embodied in Lucius Aemilius Paullus, the general who ultimately defeats Perseus, ensures the Roman victory.

Livy moved to Rome around 29BC or earlier as he started writing the History of Rome, so one would assume he had moved there before he started writing this. Augustus took an interest in Livy and he also helped educate the future emperor Claudius. Livy never mentions the poets Horace, Virgil, and Ovid of the literary world of Rome so one assumes he was not closely (if at all) involved with them. Livy published the first five books of his History of Rome from its foundation between 27 and 25BC whilst in his early thirties. This most famous work narrates a complete history of the city of Rome, from its foundation to the death of Augustus. It has embellished accounts of Roman heroism and emphasizes the great triumphs of Rome. All this to flatter the Emperor Augustus and his new style of government.

We know very little of Livy's private life but he was married and he had two children, a son and a daughter who was married to a teacher of oratory named Lucius Magius. Livy did not belong to the inner circle of Augustus, Rome's first emperor, but he and the emperor respected each other. Livy encourage the young prince Claudius to write history and this included his histories of Rome, Carthage and the Etruscans.

 

Livy The War with Hannibal

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In The War with Hannibal, Livy (59 BC-AD 17) chronicles the events of the Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage, until the Battle of Zama in 202 BC. He vividly recreates the immense armies of Hannibal, complete with elephants, crossing the Alps; the panic as they approached the gates of Rome; and the decimation of the Roman army at the Battle of Lake Trasimene. Yet it is also the clash of personalities that fascinates Livy, from great debates in the Senate to the historic meeting between Scipio and Hannibal before the decisive battle. Livy never hesitates to introduce both intense drama and moral lessons into his work, and here he brings a turbulent episode in history powerfully to life.

Livy became a well known person, but lacked the popularity of Ovid, Horace and Virgil. Livy died in 17AD in his home city of Patavium.

 

The History of Rome

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In addition to Valerie Warrior's crisp, fluent translation of the first five books of Livy's Ab Urbe Condita, this edition features a general introduction to Livy and his work, extensive foot-of-the-page notes offering essential contextual information, and a chronology of events. Three appendices--on the genealogies of the most prominent political figures in the early Republic, Livy's relationship with Augustus, and Livy's treatment of religion--offer additional insight into the author and the early history of Rome.

 

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How to Survive in Ancient Rome

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How to Survive in Ancient Rome

 

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Imagine you were transported back in time to Ancient Rome and you had to start a new life there. How would you fit in? Where would you live? What would you eat? Where would you go to have your hair done? Who would you go to if you got ill, or if you were mugged in the street? All these questions, and many more, will be answered in this new how-to guide for time travellers. Part self-help guide, part survival guide, this lively and engaging book will help the reader deal with the many problems and new experiences that they will face, and also help them to thrive in this strange new environment.

 

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Publius Cornelius Tacitus - Roman Historian

Publius Cornelius Tacitus
One Of The Greatest Roman Historians

 

Tacitus was a Roman historian, politician and orator who was born in the year 56AD in northern Italy (Cisalpine Gaul) or, more probably, in southern Gaul (Gallia Narbonensis (south-eastern France)). He was possibly born into an aristocratic family but there is no proof of this. He had a good education where he studied rhetoric, the art of speaking in public and law which prepared him for an administrative post. In the year 77, he married the daughter of the Govenor of Britain Gnaeus Julius Agricola, who was one Rome's most distinguished generals for his successful British campaigns. He studied whilst in the final years of Emperor Nero and the Year of the Four Emperors and also lived during the reigns of Vespasian, Titus, Domitian, Nerva and Trajan.

 

Agricola and Germania

 

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The Agricola is both a portrait of Julius Agricola - the most famous governor of Roman Britain and Tacitus' well-loved and respected father-in-law - and the first detailed account of Britain that has come down to us. It offers fascinating descriptions of the geography, climate and peoples of the country, and a succinct account of the early stages of the Roman occupation, nearly fatally undermined by Boudicca's revolt in AD 61 but consolidated by campaigns that took Agricola as far as Anglesey and northern Scotland. The warlike German tribes are the focus of Tacitus' attention in the Germania, which, like the Agricola, often compares the behaviour of 'barbarian' peoples favourably with the decadence and corruption of Imperial Rome.

In 81 or 82 Tacitus became Quaestor which is a Roman magistrate which gave him entry to the Senate. Between 89 to 93 he was promoted to praetor which included the command of a legion or governorship of a province. Tacitus was a good friend of Pliny the Younger.

In AD68 Nero's suicide marked the end of the first dynasty of imperial Rome. The following year was one of drama and danger, though not of chaos.

 

The Histories

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In the surviving books of his Histories the barrister-historian Tacitus, writing some thirty years after the events he describes, gives us a detailed account based on excellent authorities. In the 'long but single year' of revolution four emperors emerge in succession: Galba, Otho, Vitellius and Vespasian - who established the Flavian dynasty.

Tacitus was lucky enough to live in the Silver Age of Latin literature and is thought to be one of the greatest Roman historians. He is famous for his works especially for the Histories and Annals covering the Julio-Claudians upto Domitian and his other surviving works include Agricola, Germania and Dialogue on Oratory. He died around 120AD at the age of 64.

Annals

 

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A compelling new translation of Tacitus' Annals, one of the greatest accounts of ancient Rome, by Cynthia Damon. 

 

Tacitus' Annals recounts the major historical events from the years shortly before the death of Augustus to the death of Nero in AD 68. With clarity and vivid intensity Tacitus describes the reign of terror under the corrupt Tiberius, the great fire of Rome during the time of Nero and the wars, poisonings, scandals, conspiracies and murders that were part of imperial life. Despite his claim that the Annals were written objectively, Tacitus' account is sharply critical of the emperors' excesses and fearful for the future of imperial Rome, while also filled with a longing for its past glories.

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Verica - The British Client King of the Romans

Verica - The British Client King of the Romans.

 

Verica became king around 15AD after his elder brother Eppillus. He was the king of the Atrebates. Rome recognised him as "REX or KING' and they had a good relationship with each other with diplomatic and trade links.

 

In the summer of 42AD Caratacus and Togodumnus, the sons of Cunobelinus, king of the Catuvellauni, (who recently died), wanted to expand their territory into Verica's Kingdom which covered south-central Britain (modern Sussex, Berkshire, and Hampshire).

 

After the invasion, Verica ran to Rome for help. Verica, as a 'client king' of Rome asked Emperor Claudius to reclaim his throne. A year later, Claudius used this as a pretext for the Roman invasion of Britain.

 

The future emperor Vespasian would fight the British Celts in the south near Exeter. Claudius's successful invasion of Britain brought her under control of the Roman Empire.

 

The Romans restored Verica or at least his heir Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus as client-king of the Romans in the Atrebates's territory. He was a local tribal leader and a Latin speaker who had lived and been educated in Rome.

Celtic Silver Unit of Verica (10-40AD) 

 This coin was issued before the Roman conquest when emperor Tiberius was still emperor.

 

This obverse shows a nude male figure holding a lituus, a wand or augur's staff in the right hand, wearing a headpiece with a chin strap, and gazing skyward holding an object held in his left hand. It has been suggested (by Chris Rudd) that he is holding a Druid's or serpent's Egg.

 

The legend COMMI F meaning son of Commius. In 51 BC Commius was an ally of Caesar and then switched sides to help Vercingetorix at the siege of Alesia. Commius being on the losing side tried to make an offer with Caesar’s lieutenant Marc Antony. This being unsuccessful he fled to Britain.

 

The roman style augur on this silver coin may allude to druidic fortune telling. The intended message may be that the future looks good with the son of Commius.

 

The reverse shows the laureate head of Tiberius and the legend Verica. Tiberius was the emperor of Rome (from 14 to 37 AD) during the period that Verica was the king of the Atrabetes (10 - 43 AD). It is obviously a political statement saying, both, "I honour Tiberius and Rome" and "Liken me to Tiberius". This coin was minted between 25 to 35 AD.

 

Photo: British Museum

A gold aureus of Claudius, showing an arch inscribed with "Victory over the Britons" (Devictis Britannis). It shows a triumphal arch in Rome honouring emperor Claudius's successful invasion of Britain in 43AD. These type of coins were minted circa 46-47AD and the arch was dedicated later in 51AD.

Related Books

Heirs of King Verica: Culture & Politics in Roman Britain

 

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Britain is traditionally considered to have been conquered by the Romans in AD43. In fact the intervention took place because an important faction of the Atrebates tribe under King Verica persuaded the Emperor Claudius to intervene against other Britons who had invaded its territory. Central southern Britain was liberated by a forced landing in Chichester harbour and thereafter remained largely free from the influence of the Roman army. It became Roman under the patronage of a powerful high king, Tiberius Claudius Togidubnus. Cultural and artistic life flourished, melding Celtic and Roman features into a brilliant new civilization which reached its apogee in the fourth century, when the former protectorate became Britannia Prima with its capital at Cirencester. After the early fifth century, the cessation of coinage made the financing of public buildings, villas and associated works of art impossible, but something survived of Roman Britain in the distinctive British Latin, the insular version of Christianity and the style of minor works of art. In a real sense Britannia Prima was the predecessor of Alfred's Wessex. This revolutionary interpretation of British life in the first millennium AD, beginning with Verica's flight and ending with Alfred and Bishop Asser, is presented as the Roman Britons (well versed in Ovid & other Roman writers) would doubtless have seen it.

 

Claudius: A Life From Beginning to End

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Often portrayed as an awkward, disfigured, and clumsy man, Claudius was the unlikely ruler of the Roman Empire from 41 CE to 54 CE. His reign would prove to be one of the longest of the time even though his rise to the throne did not come without opposition. Virtually no-one in Claudius’ family wanted to see him become emperor—only when he turned out to be the last surviving man of the Julio-Claudian dynasty did he ascend to the throne.

 

one ever expected that the boy that was used as the comparative standard for stupidity by his own mother would become the emperor of Rome. Yet, he did. Claudius reign was riddled with conspiracies and attempts on his life by the Senate that was supposed to serve him. But despite all the opposition to his rule, Claudius would go on to be an able and efficient leader. He expanded the Roman Empire more than any other emperor had since the reign of Augustus.

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Mark Feeley - Writes A Roman Adventure Novel

Roman History Blog - Featured Author

Mark Feeley - Writes A Roman Adventure Novel

  

Thirty or more years ago, I bought a copy of Ammianus Marcellinus’ History of the Later Roman Empire.” After reading it, I was hooked. The characters, the politics, the drama were all totally absorbing and created a rip-roaring tale which ended in the Roman defeat at Adrianople. I began to wonder, who were these people? How did they feel about the world around them and an empire which was beginning to crumble and fade? To find out more I completed an MA in Classical Civilisation at the University of London. I then toyed with the idea of doing something academic but baulked at the thought of having to learn Latin (I admire those who can). Instead I decided to write a book, thinking that this would give me the freedom to write about all the Roman things I love.

  

Author Mark Feeley

Reading Ammianus Marcellinus led to this book being written!

  

The Realm of a God is the final product. It is the start of an adventure story which will traverse the era. Servius, an ambitious Burgundian prince, must build a career for himself at an imperial court which is riven by conspiracy and faction. Valentinian, the aging emperor, is in poor health and those around him are beginning to search for a successor. Against this backdrop, Servius must journey to Rome to seize two champion racehorses. It is a task which will bring him into contact with the subtle scheming of the powerful Anicii, and the barbarous cruelty of the bagaudae.

 

The Realm of a God

 

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Rome is crumbling. Beyond the Alps, the barbarian tribes are gathering. As part of a peace agreement, Servius, a young Burgundian prince, arrives as a hostage at the emperor’s court. Set to work in the imperial stables Servius soon makes new friends, but as he waits to become a soldier the world around him is changing. The emperor is ill and the succession in doubt. As others plot, Servius departs for Rome to seize two champion racehorses. Faced by the jealousy of the Anicii and the blood curdling brutality of the bagaudae, he can only survive by protecting the emperor’s honour ….

 

Ammianus Marcellinus - The Later Roman Empire: (AD 354-378)

This book inspired our Featured Author Mark Feeley! 

 

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Ammianus Marcellinus was the last great Roman historian, and his writings rank alongside those of Livy and Tacitus. The Later Roman Empire chronicles a period of twenty-five years during Marcellinus' own lifetime, covering the reigns of Constantius, Julian, Jovian, Valentinian I, and Valens, and providing eyewitness accounts of significant military events including the Battle of Strasbourg and the Goth's Revolt. Portraying a time of rapid and dramatic change, Marcellinus describes an Empire exhausted by excessive taxation, corruption, the financial ruin of the middle classes and the progressive decline in the morale of the army. In this magisterial depiction of the closing decades of the Roman Empire, we can see the seeds of events that were to lead to the fall of the city, just twenty years after Marcellinus' death.

   

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Roman Butcher and his Bookkeeping Wife

Famous Funerary Relief of a Roman Butcher
and his Bookkeeping Wife

  

Ancient Roman butchers had standardized chopping blocks, hatchets and cleavers along with refined butchery practices. This second Century funerary relief panel shows a typical Roman butchers shop. The butcher is by his table with his hatchet

and the meat displayed on the walls. His bookkeeping

wife sits opposite.

 

An ancient Roman relief with a scene of a butcher shop.

Rome, 120-150 AD

 

Relief Museo della Civiltà Romana. Rome, Lazio, Italy. Photo: pinterest.com

Recently in Ipplepen, Devon, England, a Roman butchers shop has been discovered. Cow bones found at the site prove that this butcher slaughtered local cows for their prime cuts of meat. This prime beef along with other meats was delivered by road using the sophisticated road system of the empire in the 4th century AD.

  

A cow skull being unearthed at the Ipplepen site.

(Ipplepen Archaeology Project)

Photo: smithsonianmag.com

 

The normal practice for cattle would have been to keep them into old age for the pulling of ploughs etc. but at this site, they were one and a half to two years old. The right age for producing the highest quality meat. This means that this site was being used for professional beef production.

Ancient Roman Cooking: Ingredients, Recipes, Sources

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This lively, authoritative account of a crucial period in Britains history has been revised and updated to incorporate the very latest findings and research. Guy de la Bédoyère the popular face of Romano-British archaeological studies puts the Roman conquest and occupation within the larger context of Romano-British society and how it functioned. With nearly 300 illustrations and dramatic aerial views of Roman sites, and brimming with the very latest research and discoveries, Roman Britain will delight and inform all those with an interest in this seminal epoch of British history.

 

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Rob Edmunds - Writes Roman Historical Novels

Roman History Blog - Featured Author

Rob Edmunds - Writes Novels of Roman Historical Interest

Firstly, I would like to thank David from Roman ancient history for giving me the opportunity to introduce my books to everyone. Unusually, the two books I've written on Roman themes will be published together. Perhaps that’s a good thing as, if you enjoy the first one, you won’t have to wait to see how the story unfolds! The first is entitled Masinissa: Ally of Carthage and its sequel is Masinissa: Ally of Rome. Both take a distinctive perspective on some of the major events that occurred during the Second Punic War. There have been novels which feature Rome and Carthage as the main actors in that conflict, but I’ve taken the third major force in the region for my novels. Numidia was divided into two kingdoms at the time, the Massylii which supported Carthage and the Masaesyli which was allied with Rome. The hero of my books was a Numidian prince who would ultimately unify Numidia and turn it into the breadbasket of Rome. He would rule a unified Numidia for 54 years. He is still revered today across eight countries in North Africa and the Sahel region as the founding father of the Amazigh / Berber people. The story begins in 213BC at the point when Masinissa is entering the war as the commander of a powerful cavalry force and concludes a little after the climactic Battle of Zama in 202BC.
Masinissa: Ally of Carthage (Book 1)

 

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My interest in this story was a little accidental. I’ve always had a strong interest in the classical period and Mediterranean civilization, but I’d never heard about Masinissa before, which I suspect may be a common admission from even those people who are very knowledgeable about Roman history. My interest grew as I researched the period and events and came across people who knew far more about them than I did. One conversation was particularly striking. I was speaking with a professor of ancient history from a quite eminent university and he told me that he felt the decision Masinissa took to abandon his alliance with Carthage and instead forge an alliance with Rome was one of the five most momentous decisions ever taken in history. There may be some bias in that contention, but it brought home to me just how important Masinissa’s story was. He weakened Carthage and strengthened Rome. If Carthage had won that war, so many things in our world might be different, right down to the most fundamental things like the alphabet and language I’m using now. Another thing which galvanised and motivated me was the very positive and encouraging comments and interactions I’ve received from people within the Amazigh community in North Africa and elsewhere. He is a very important historical and cultural figure across the entire region.

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Amanda Cockrell, Roman Fictional Author

Roman History Blog - Featured Author

Amanda Cockrell, Roman Fictional Author
Puts it all down to Seneca for her Interest in the Romans

My first introduction to the Romans and the start of my fascination with them was in college when a friend gave me Rosemary Sutcliff's young adult novels of Roman Britain, and her adult novel Sword at Sunset which is still one of the best books about the (possible) historical Arthur that I have read. My high school ancient history course had concentrated on wars and dates and famous men, with a brief survey of archaeological finds, and no sense at all of those old Bones as having been actual people. I remembered something about Romans in Kipling's Puck of Pook's Hill and went back and read that too, and they started to come alive.

Roman Fictional Author - Amanda Cockrell

What I like about the Romans is how wonderfully and appallingly like us they are. They are the template for Western government but also for western colonialism, with their self-assured conviction that Roman civilization was a boon to any conquered territory. They had an appreciation for art and the wonders of earlier civilizations and supported a thriving tourist industry to visit them and appropriate their antiques. They practised the slavery that was common across the ancient world, although it was economically and not ethnically based, a slave might buy his or her freedom, and freedmen often rose to great power. Their taste for bloody games has only been tamped down in us, not extinguished, despite Seneca’s conviction that watching violent death ate away a man’s soul, and rotted it. And yet they survived, Republic and Empire, for a thousand years, through mad or bloodthirsty leaders, civil conflict, plagues, and endless wars.

The Legions of the Mist - Book 4

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 My first novel was about the disappearance of the Ninth Legion somewhere in Britain, inspired by Rosemary Sutcliff’s account of the same events. I have written a lot of books since, mainly historical fiction, but I seem always to come back to the Romans. Seneca also said that “Wherever the Roman conquers, there he dwells,” and I think it is that that holds my interest: how the ones who settled in the far-flung provinces of the Empire, most often time-expired soldiers, married in, settled in, bred in, until they were part of the foundation of what that country became when Rome finally fell.

And then there’s research, an endless source of delight and aggravation as new information is dug up, most often literally. You find that a fact you cheerfully used in a previous book is not accurate after all. A town whose Roman name you used liberally because a key scene was set there, is now, as you write a sequel, held to have been called something else entirely. But then you discover... the Roman tourist industry offering dubious souvenirs even before pieces of the True Cross have begun to circulate: A cyclops skull, Senator, only three sesterces!... an auxiliary ala in Syria mounted on camels... conspiracy theories circulating after Nero’s death that he wasn’t really dead, false Neros popping up like Elvis sightings. This is the kind of thing that makes me love the Romans.
New Book
The Wall at the Edge of the World - Book 5

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My new book, The Wall at the Edge of the World, a sequel of sorts to Legions of the Mist, the Ninth Legion tale, opened up a new window for me: the weirdly counter-intuitive world of Roman medicine. The Romans knew a lot but because they were forbidden to conduct autopsies, they knew how to operate for cataracts, for instance, but didn’t recognize cancer or appendicitis. The Roman army was probably the best medical school in the empire, primarily because the only way to see someone’s insides as if they had already been opened up for you by an enemy spear. Regarding the pharmaceutical remedies contained in this novel, I don’t recommend trying any of them but they are all genuine, and I attempted to use mainly the ones that might have actually worked.
The Centurions - Book 1

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 In the equally weird world of publishing, I wrote my first book under my own name, and the next three, The Centurions series, under the pseudonym Damion Hunter because they were done for a book packager who insisted on pseudonyms in case a writer got tired of a successful series and wanted to quit. In that event, it could be given to another writer. Of course, what happened to me was that three books into a four-book series, my publisher was bought by another house which promptly cancelled all the original house’s contracts. But when Canelo Publishing wanted to revive them, we kept the pseudonym for all because in the interim Damion Hunter had acquired a small and devoted following among Roman reenactors, to whom I will always be grateful. I hope they will be happy to know that I am now at work on the long-delayed fourth and final book of The Centurions. All of my earlier Roman novels have now been republished by Canelo, and you will find them here:
https://www.canelo.co/authors/damion-hunter/ 

Barbarian Princess - Book 2

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If you want to know more about me or what else I write, my personal website is here:
http://www.amandacockrell.com/

The Emperor's Games - Book 3

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Balbinus and Pupienus

The Roman Emperors who Ruled for 98 Days

Decius Caelius Balbinus and Marcus Clodius Pupienus were both Senators of Rome. Balbinus was born into a senatorial family and was reliable and trustworthy as a Senator. Pupienus was born in humble surroundings and joined the civil service and rose through the ranks very rapidly showing to be an able administrator with a flair for leadership.

Pictures Wikipedia

Busts of Pupienus (left) and Balbinus (right)

When the emperor's Gordian I and Gordian II died at Carthage in 238AD, the senate who had supported the Gordians then declared Maximinus I as a public enemy then had to choose a new Emperor. They opted to choose two, Balbinus and Pupienus, two ex-consuls, to be joint rulers of the empire. Both men were in their 60's or early 70's. Balbinus and Pupienus became Emperor's on the 22nd of April 238AD for three months. They came to power in the Year of the Six Emperors.

Chronicle of the Roman Emperors:

The Reign-by-Reign Record of the Rulers of Imperial Rome

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This is a highly readable history and a unique work of reference. Focusing on the succession of the rulers of imperial Rome, it uses timelines with at-a-glance visual guides to each reign and its main events. Biographical portraits of the 56 principal emperors from Augustus to Constantine, together with a concluding section on the later emperors, build into a highly readable single-volume history of imperial Rome.

Balbinus looked after the Civil Administration whilst Pupienus raised an army to oppose Maximinus I. Maximinus had reached the borders of Italy and was heading for Rome. At Aquileia (coast of Northern Italy) Maximinus was murdered by the Praetorian Guard and the Second Legion. Pupienus was at Ravenna when the murder happened whilst raising his army. The conspirators took the heads of Maximinus and his son to Pupienus. He then took the heads to Rome in triumph.

Balbinus and Pupienus argued on who was more in charge, they distrusted and hated each other, even fearing an assassination from the other, thou they were very popular with the citizens. Balbinus thought that being an able administrator made him more senior whereas Pupienus thought his army career gave him the edge. After a reign of 98 days, the Praetorian Guard stormed the palace, and dragged Balbinus and Pupienus through the streets of Rome whilst being beaten and tortured and then murdered on 29th July 238AD.

Photo cngcoins.com

This silver Antoninianus obverse shows the bust of Balbinus and the reverse has two Clasped right hands with the legend 'CONCORDIA AVGG' meaning 'Harmony of the two Emperors'

The coins of Balbinus and Pupienus have legends on them which translate as “Harmony Amongst The Emperors” which goes to show how coins served as objects of political propaganda but in reality, it was nothing like that.

Photo cngcoins.com

This silver Antoninianus obverse shows the bust of Pupienus and the reverse has two Clasped right hands joined with the legend 'AMOR MVTVVS AVGG' meaning 'Mutual affection of the Emperors'

Gordian III was hailed emperor after the demise of Balbinus and Pupienus in the year of the Six Emperors in 238 AD. The six emperors were Maximinus Thrax, Gordian I and Gordian II, Pupienus, Balbinus and Gordian III.

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Ovid – The Roman Poet Banished From Rome!

Publius Ovidius Naso known better to us as 'Ovid' was a Roman Poet in the time of emperor Augustus. He was born on the 20^th of March 43BC at Sulmo (modern Sulmona), Italy, a small town about 90 miles (140 km) east of Rome. He lived during the period of other great poets such as Virgil and Horace, who were much older than Ovid.

Ovid came from a respectable, well to do, established family. He and his brother were educated in Rome and growing up Ovid's father wanted him to learn rhetoric (the art of persuasion) to prepare him to become a lawyer. In Rome, Ovid had the makings of a good orator, great for a poet, but neglected his studies for his natural talent of verse writing. After Rome, he moved to Athens to attend a notable finishing school for upper-class young men. When Ovid's brother died at the age of 20 he gave up on the idea of law!

 

Photo socionicsdatabase

Ovid at Constanta

By the age of thirty Ovid had been married three times and divorced twice. He had one daughter who gave him grandchildren. The first two marriages were short but his third lasted until his death and he does mention love, respect and affection within that marriage.

The first work of Ovid was the Amores (The Loves) followed by the Epistolae Heroidum (Epistles of the Heroines), The Medicamina Faciei (The Art of Beauty), The Ars Amatoria (The Art of Love), and The Remedia Amoris (Remedies for Love). These early poems have a theme of love and sexual desire. It probably doesn't reflect Ovid's own life. After these works Ovid became established, so he went on to write more ambitious works like The Metamorphoses and The Fasti.

The Fasti was not finished due to the fact that a decree by Emperor Augustus in 8AD Banished Ovid to Tomis on the Black Sea (now Constanţa, Romania). What had Ovid done wrong to upset the Emperor? Ovid describes Augustus's reason for exile as a “carmen et error” meaning "a poem and an error", not a crime. What could this be? Probably the Ars Amatoria (The Art of Love) and a personal indiscretion or mistake. The indiscretion or mistake might have been his adultery with Augustus’s granddaughter, Julia the younger, who was banished at the same time to Tremirus, a small Italian island in the Adriatic Sea. In 2BC Julia the elder, mother of the Younger was also banished for immorality, Julia the Elder was sent to Pandateria, a very small Island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. She was denied male company and forbidden to drink wine. The Ars Amatoria had been released whilst this scandal was still fresh and being talked about by the public. It's possible that Ovid had gone against Augustus’s moral reforms which he had introduced and this led to his banishment. We may never know the full reasons why!

 

The Erotic Poems (Penguin Classics)

In the Amores, Ovid addresses himself in a series of elegies to Corinna,

 his beautiful, elusive mistress.

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Ovid had a lighter version of Banishment called relegation, which meant that he kept his citizenship and property. His well-connected wife stayed in Rome looking after his interests.

Tomis was a semi-Hellenized port and was open to attacks from neighbouring people. There were few books and no high society. Latin was not spoken much there and the weather was bad. This was a cruel punishment for a man like Ovid. The Tristia and The Epistulae ex Ponto (“Letters from the Black Sea”) are a series of grovelling letters he wrote to Augustus via his wife and friends asking for a Pardon or at least a mitigation of sentence. Augustus and his successor Tiberius did not change the sentence and later Ovid seems reconciled with his fate as later poems hint at this. Ovid died in Tomis in 17 or 18 AD.

Photo wikimedia
Statue (1887) by Ettore Ferrari commemorating Ovid's exile in Tomis (Constanța, Romania)

Ovid's letters make out Tomis is unbearable, but he learnt the local language, made friends with the locals and read poetry to them. They exempted him from taxes and treated him well. The weather cannot be as bad as Ovid makes out as today its a seaside resort.

Even today, his banishment remains one of the great mysteries of ancient Rome! After 2000 years Ovid is still missed and on Thursday 14^th of December 2017, Rome's City Council overturns the banishment.

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