Transcript Roman Biography - Nipissing University Word

Roman Biography
Biography from Greek
bios = life
 Considered by earlier
historians as ‘inferior’
to real history
(research and
analysis)
 Ancient biographers
interested in moral
character of subject
(ethics and rhetoric)
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Greek Antecedents
Homeric epics considered by some as form of
biography (Alexander considered Homer’s
account of Achilles a biography )
 5th century eulogies sung at banquets and
funerals, in praise of aristocratic achievements
 Pindar (Greek poet) wrote victory odes (odes
praising victors of Pan-Hellenic games (many
aristocrats)
 Herodotus and Thucydides – include brief
biographies of Croesus, Themistocles, Pericles
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 4th
century – development of Greek
monographs, dialogues, historical novels –
new purpose of biographies:
 Plato’s dialogues
 Xenophon’s Memorabilia
 Purpose to preserve personality and ideas
of their teacher Socrates
 Xenophon’s Anabasis - short bios of
generals
Greek Antecedents (encomia)
Orator Isocrates: Euagoras
 closer in form to encomia – listing
achievements and virtues only
 Xenophon: Agesilaus - include more
facts – is closer to our concept of
biography
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Peripatetic biographies
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Peripatetic philosophers named after Aristotle and his successors at
the Lyceum
Peripatetics held theory that a character is fixed and might only
be gradually revealed during a person’s life time
Theophrastus (successor of Aristotle at Lyceum) : in his work
Characters - sketched different personality types
Others wrote biographies revealing people’s characters through their
actions
treatment of entire life was often unnecessary for showing a
character and illustrate a moral lesson.
Important: peripatetics researched and collected material from
variety of sources, including sayings or anecdotes,
interest in philosophers, their ideas, sayings and anecdotes woven
together
Focus on thinkers not men of actions (politicians, generals)
Plutarch of Chaeronea
fl. 100 CE
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Incorporated two central elements of peripatetic
biography: research and moral purpose
Difference from Aristotle’s approach - Plutarch
was a Stoic – but ethical purpose also at centre
Redirected peripatetic biography towards men of
action – generals, statesmen, etc.
Wrote parallel lives of Greeks and Romans
always ending with a moral comparison of the
two
Only included material that could be compared
Start here
Biography at Alexandria
Museion: research institute in Alexandria
 3rd form of biography - no political or
moral purpose but scholars’ biographies
of famous Greek poets
 For literary purposes only, brief and
utilitarian, based on research and on
reading works, organized in categories,
not chronological
 Intended as a hand book for scholars
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Summary of Greek Biographical
Models
1. Encomia (praise of achievements)
 2. Peripatetic Biographies (character,
moral purpose)
 3. Alexandrian Biographies (scholarly
references)
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Greek biography in Rome
A) Greek biography arrived indirectly as
written Greek biographies
 B) indirectly through schools of rhetoric
 Schools provided training first only in
Greek – in 1st century BCE in Latin too
 One rhetorical exercise was to describe
external excellence of a character
 Cicero includes much biography in his
speeches
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Native Roman models for Biography
(Roman Republic)
Funeral oration (laudatio, pl. laudationes)
 Commemorative inscriptions
 Earliest Roman biographies: in form of
eulogy for Tiberius Gracchus by his
brother Gaius (lost)
 Brutus wrote a commemoration of Cato –
(but more like a political pamphlet)
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Biographers at Rome
Marcus Terentius Varro – wrote an enormous
work of 700 biographies of Greeks and Romans,
poets, philosophers, statesmen, etc. (all lost)
 Cornelius Nepos 100 – 24 BCE - also wrote
Greek and Roman biographies (many lost)
 Purpose to familiarize less educated Romans,
who did not speak Greek, with Greek history
(also wrote a Universal History)
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Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus
c. 70 CE – 130 CE
Suetonius
Know little of his life, have only few
references
 Scholar and bureaucrat, from North Africa;
no political ambitions, studied rhetoric in
Rome by 88 CE
 Passed on a military post offered to him
by Pliny to a kinsman
 Pliny said about him: he is honest,
distinguished, and a fine scholar
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Suetonius
Was close to Pliny who had influence with
the emperor Trajan
 Received post under Trajan as a studiis
(researching for the emperor)
 a bibliotheca - imperial librarian
 ab epistulis (private secretary to emperor
Hadrian in charge of appointments) have
an honorary inscription
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Suetonius
Dedicated his Lives of the Caesars to
Septicius Clarus, a praetorian prefect
under Hadrian
 122 CE Hadrian dismissed both Clarus as
prefect and Suetonius – according to
Historia Augusta - because of
disrespectful behaviour towards empress
Sabina
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Suetonius’ Works
Wide range of books on linguistics,
antiquarian subjects and biographies
(most lost) topics as diverse as calendar,
names of seas, lives of famous prostitutes,
Greek and Roman games, dancing, chariot
racing, theatrical performances,
gladiatorial combats
 His biographies represent his most
important work
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Suetonius’ works
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Lives of Illustrious men - 5 books on
intellectuals (poets, orators, historians,
philosophers, teachers of literature) as
many as 100 Lives - only those of
grammarians and rhetoricians survive
 Other Lives (vitae) – of 30 teachers, poets
such as Horace, Terence, Lucan, Vergil?
Lives of the XII Caesars
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Most important biographies in Latin
In 8 books. Books 1 – 6 on a single man each
from Iulius Caesar to Nero
Book 7 on 3 emperors of 69 CE
Book 8 on the three Flavian emperors
Was not interested in moral style of Peripatetic
biography
His biographies based on antiquarian lives,
adapts Alexandrian tradition of scholarly
biography of intellectuals – avoids moral
approach we see in Nepos, Plutarch, and Tacitus
vitae
Turns from chronological to thematic
organization
 Each life begins with brief account of birth
and family, ends with death, in between
organized by categories – appearance, life
style, intellectual interests, entertainments
given, virtues and vices
 This organization is a rhetorical device:
‘division into parts’
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Suetonius’ vitae
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Division into parts used in orations
Thematic organization allows for more emphasis
on private life and character
Also distinguishes it from history writing at
Rome – which has chronological (often
annalistic) organization
Suetonius’ biography presents data – leaves
judgment to reader
In contrast History at Rome had moral purpose
Suetonius’ sources
Archives, Letters, senatorial acts,
pamphlets, histories, monuments,
inscriptions, oral tradition; his father’s
experience in Otho’s army
 Often Mentions his sources: Augustus 8
(bronze statuette);
 At other times - very vague: i.e. some
say, some write
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Sources: Nero’s notebooks
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I have had in my possession notebooks
and papers with some well-known verses
of his, written in his own hand and in such
wise that it was perfectly evident that they
were not copied or taken down from
dictation, but worked out exactly as one
writes when thinking and creating; so
many instances were there of words
erased or struck through and written
above the lines. (Life of Nero 52)
Through his work in archives had access to
many unpublished letters by Augustus
 Some include some very personal information
about Livia’s grandson Claudius (Claudius 4)
 Many direct quotations reveal Suetonius is
scholar; provide us with valuable primary
material
 i.e. Iulius Caesar at conquest of king of Pontus –
displayed placard: VENI VIDI VICI
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Final words of Iulius Caesar and Augustus
quoted in Greek
 Iulius Caesar:: kai su teknon (you too, my
child?)
 “Since I’ve played my part well, all clap
your hands and dismiss me from the stage
with applause.” (Augustus 99) a quote
from the close of Greek comedy
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Style
Language: clear businesslike Latin of the
scholar
 In contrast many histories use elevated
style
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Importance of Suetonius
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Most important Latin biographer
Important source for first century CE (fills gap for
period Tacitus’ history has been lost)
Not writing history but biography – interested in
representing character not political events
Objective approach to material; at times analytical
(Life of Iulius 56 = reaction to Caesar’s
commentarii; Iulius 57-70 = Caesar’s generalship)
Suetonius was the ancestor of the modern scholar
Impact of Suetonius Vitae
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Suetonius’ vitae – unique literary genre – blend
of Alexandrian and Roman elements
Biography preferred as political narrative over
history for over 250 years
Became model for later biographers including
Christian
Model for Einhard’s Life of Charlemagne
Popular in Renaissance: Petrarch and Boccaccio
used him in their writings
Replaced in 18th century by Plutarch as model
for biography
Biography versus History
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Some historians considered biography inferior form of
history – but was different genre
Roman historiography: chronological, usually
annalistic structure; Style highly elevated rhetorical
and poetic, focus on public subjects (politics, military);
Suetonius’ Biography: non-chronological structure
which makes clear he does not write history; focus on
private life,
Writing History was moral act;
Suetonius’ Biography presents data and leaves (or
pretends to) the reader to form a personal judgement
The Organization of Suetonius’
Biographies
division into parts: Live of Augustus
Chapter 9:
 “Having given as it were a summary of his
life, I shall now take up its various phases
one by one, not in chronological order, but
by classes, to make the account clearer
and more intelligible.”
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