Western Civilization

For Livy, human character was the determining factor

in history.

Livy’s history celebrated Rome’s greatness. He

built scene upon scene that not only revealed the

character of the chief figures but also demonstrated

the virtues that had made Rome great. Of course, he

had serious weaknesses as a historian. He was not

always concerned about the factual accuracy of his

stories. But he was an excellent storyteller, and his

work remained the standard history of Rome for

centuries.

The Silver Age of Latin Literature

In the history of Latin literature, the century and a half

after Augustus is often labeled the “silver age” to indi-

cate that the literary efforts of the period, though

good, were not equal to the high standards of the

Augustan “golden age.” The popularity of rhetorical

training encouraged the use of clever literary expres-

sions at the expense of original content. A good exam-

ple of this trend can be found in the works of Seneca.

Educated in Rome, Seneca (ca. 4 B.C.E.–65 C.E.)

became strongly attached to the philosophy of Stoicism.

In letters written to a young friend, he expressed the

basic tenets of Stoicism: living according to nature,

accepting events dispassionately as part of the divine

plan, and having universal love for all humanity. Thus,

“the first thing philosophy promises us is the feeling of

fellowship, of belonging to mankind and being members

of a community.... Philosophy calls for simple living,

not for doing penance, and the simple way of life need

not be a crude one.”^9 Viewed in retrospect, Seneca dis-

plays some glaring inconsistencies. While preaching the

virtues of simplicity, he amassed a fortune and was

ruthless at times in protecting it. His letters show

humanity, benevolence, and fortitude, but his senti-

ments are often undermined by an attempt to be clever

with words.

The greatest historian of the silver age was Tacitus

(ca. 56–120). His main works included theAnnalsand

Histories, which presented a narrative account of Roman

history from the reign of Tiberius through the assassina-

tion of the emperor Domitian (doh-MISH-un) in 96. Tac-

itus believed that history had a moral purpose: “It seems

to me a historian’s foremost duty to ensure that merit

is recorded, and to confront evil deeds and words

with the fear of posterity’s denunciations.”^10 As a

member of the senatorial class, Tacitus was disgusted

with the abuses of power perpetrated by the emper-

ors and was determined that the “evil deeds” of

wicked men would not be forgotten. Many historians

believe he went too far in projecting the evils of his

own day into his account of the past. His work

Germaniais especially important as a source of infor-

mation about the early Germans. But it too is colored

by Tacitus’s attempt to depict the Germans as noble

savages in contrast to the decadent Romans.

The Upper-Class Roman Family

By the second centuryC.E., significant changes were

occurring in the Roman family (see Images of Every-

dayLifeonp.133).Thefoundationsoftheauthority

of the paterfamilias over his family, which had al-

ready begun to weaken in the late republic, were fur-

ther undermined. The paterfamilias no longer had

absolute authority over his children; he could no lon-

ger sell his children into slavery or have them put to

death. Moreover, the husband’s absolute authority

over his wife also disappeared, a process that had

beguninthelaterepublic.Intheearlyempire,the

idea of male guardianship continued to weaken sig-

nificantly, and by the late second century, it had

become a formality.

Upper-class Roman women in the early empire had

considerable freedom and independence. They had

acquired the right to own, inherit, and dispose of prop-

erty. They could also attend races, the theater, and

events in the amphitheater, although in the latter two

places they were forced to sit in sections apart from the

men. Moreover, ladies of rank were still accompanied by

maids and companions when they went out. Some

women operated businesses, such as shipping firms.

Women could still not participate in politics, but the

early empire saw a number of important women who

influenced politics through their husbands, including

Livia, the wife of Augustus; Agrippina, the mother of

Nero; and Plotina, the wife of Trajan.

Imperial Rome

At the center of the colossal Roman Empire was the an-

cient city of Rome (see Map 6.3). Truly a capital city,

Rome had the largest population of any city in the

empire. It is estimated that it was home to close to

1 million people by the time of Augustus. For anyone

with political ambitions, Rome was the place to be.

Extremely cosmopolitan, it was a magnet to people far

and near. Nationalities from all over the empire resided

there, with entire neighborhoods inhabited by specific

groups, such as Greeks and Syrians.

132 Chapter 6The Roman Empire

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