Rome, the Greek World, and the East, Vol. 1 - The Roman Republic and the Augustan Revolution

The Roman City-State under the Emperors 

inthes,andfinishedhisworkinthes,longbeforeTacitus.Outofavast
storeofmaterialIpickoutacoupleofstories,bothfromaroundthetime
ofPliny’sbirth.First,thereistheanecdoteoftheravenwhichwashatched
on the roof of the temple of Castorand Pollux on the Forum, and which
thenattacheditselftoacobbler’sshopinthevicinity,andwhichlearnedto
talk;eachmorningitwouldflydowntotheRostraandsalutebynameTibe-
rius,Germanicus,andDrusus,andthentheRomanpeopleonitswaypast.
Whenitwaskilled,asaresultofadisputebetweenitsownerandaneigh-
bour,itskillerwasdrivenout,andthebird’sfuneralwascelebratedbyavast
crowd,withtwoEthiopianscarryingthecoffin,andatrumpetergoingin
front.ThebodywasburnedonapyreontheViaAppia.^30 Then,fromafew
yearslater,..,comesthestoryoftheloyaldogwhichbelongedtoaman
whowasexecutedbecausehewasafriendofNero,thesonofGermanicus.
Thedogfollowedhismastertotheprison(carcer)andstillpersistedwhenhe
wascastdowntheGemonianSteps;finally,whenthebodywasthrowninto
theTiber,thedogswamafterit,‘‘whileacrowdpouredouttowitnessthe
fides[loyalty]oftheanimal.’’^31 Thesestoriesgiveamuchdeeperimpression
of popular feeling, and of popularattachment to members of the imperial
family,thananythinginTacitus.SotheyservetoprepareusforTacitus’re-
portfrom..of how,whenaletterfromTiberiusattackingAgrippina
theelderandhersonNerowasreadintheSenate,acrowdcarryingimagesof
thesetwosurroundedtheSenate,praisingtheemperor,andshoutingthatthe
letterwasaforgery,andthattheattackonthehouseofGermanicuswasbeing
madewithouthisknowledge.^32 Thecrowdreappears,asapassivewitnessor
anactiveparticipant,atquiteanumberofpointsinTacitus’narrative.In,
forinstance,popularprotestsseemedmomentarilytohavepreventedNero’s
divorceofOctaviaandhismarriagetoPoppaea.Thepeoplerejoiced,went
uptotheCapitolandofferedworshiptothegods.Theythrewdownimages
ofPoppaea,borestatuettesofOctaviaontheirshoulders,deckedthemwith
flowers, and placed them in the temple. Crowds had even filled the Pala-
tium,when units of soldiers were sent out to disperse them, and Poppaea
wasrestoredtoherposition.^33
ButofallthescenesinwhichTacitusreflectstheforceofpopularfeeling,
themostpowerfulistheaccountofthenewsofthedeathofGermanicusin
Syria in..,thesubsequentarrivalof hisashes,broughtbyhiswidow

. Pliny,NH,/–.

. Pliny,NH,/.

.Ann.,–.

.Ann.,,–,.