HIST 4023
Roman Republic and Empire
Discussion Questions


September 2 - Early Roman History Discussion
Readings: Livy 1 & 2, Twelve Tables Selections

  1. What does Livy consider to be the main purposes of history, and how objective and accurate does he feel he needs to be?
  2. How does Livy know about the regal period? What clues does he give us to his sources?
  3. Which stories told by Livy are reminiscent of other stories you may have heard, and why?
  4. What does Livy’s account of the regal period suggest about the Roman character? Based on the stories Livy recounts, what themes seem to be important to Rome’s conception of her own history?
  5. Whose side does Livy take in the class conflict and how does he feel about measures such as the tribunate and agrarian reform?
  6. What is the point of the Coriolanus Story?
  7. What does it tell us about the Romans that the 12 Tables remained valid law for the entire history of Rome?
  8. What do these laws tell us about the state of Roman society in the mid-5th century? Pick out a couple of specific examples from the tables.

September 16 - Polybius Discussion
Readings: Polybius 1, 3.1-38, 47-60, 77-94, 100-118, 6
  1. What does Polybius tell us about his subject and approach, and why does he begin his history where he does? How does Polybius’ view of history differ from Livy’s?
  2. How believable are the reasons Polybius gives us for Rome’s involvement in Sicily?
  3. Why does Polybius think understanding the First Punic War is important for his main theme?
  4. What do you think of Polybius’ discussion of the causes of wars and the framework he gives. What does he regard as beginnings, pretexts, causes? Why does he provide this analysis? How well does it apply to any other war you might know about?
  5. What role does Polybius seem to assign to Fortune in the outcome of the Punic War, and how does it relate to the nature of the Romans and Carthaginians themselves?
  6. What is Polybius’ account of the Roman constitution supposed to explain, and how successful is he?
  7. How is Rome’s constitution “mixed” and how stable is it?
  8. How well does the account of the regal period in Livy I fit (or not fit) Polybius’ understanding of government and how it eventually fails?
  9. How might the organization of the Roman government not be as great a check on one group’s gaining power as Polybius thinks?
  10. What does Polybius seem to admire most about the Roman state, and how might this affect his view of the whole?

October 5 - Cicero Discussion 1
Readings: Cicero: Letters 1-4, 5-10, 12-15, 17-20, 22-24, 26-28, 30, 32-33. 35-36, 38, 40, 45, 47, 51, 54-59, 61, 63
  1. What do Cicero's letters reveal about the concerns of the Roman aristocrat - not just political concerns, but social, economic, and cultural concerns? What does this show about the Roman aristocracy and its ability to cope with a rapidly changing Roman world? How well does Cicero fit into this world - is he accepted by his peers?
  2. How does Cicero's writing and formality differ between Atticus and the other correspondents? What can we glean about Cicero's status among his peers from this?
  3. What is Cicero's attitude towards Pompey the Great? Does he express different opinions depending on to whom he is writing, or when he is writing? Conversely, what is Pompey's attitude towards Cicero?
  4. What is Cicero's reaction to the Clodius/Bona Dea scandal? How does this become so important? What is Pompey's attitude towards the whole mess? Why do you think Cicero let himself become a key witness? What does it show about the state of the Republic?
  5. Does Cicero indicate any sort of programs or policies for maintaining and preserving the Roman Republic? Why might Cicero take these approaches, and can they work?
  6. Why did Cicero go into exile? What does this reveal about the politics, aims, and methods of the Caesar/Pompey/Crassus alliance?
  7. What is Cicero's attitude towards Caesar? Does he express different opinions depending on to whom he is writing, or when he is writing? Conversely, what does Caesar's attitude towards Cicero seem to be?
  8. Why is order breaking down in Rome in the mid to late 50s? How do the optimates attempt to regain control, and how successful are they? What kind of a role does Pompey play in all this, and what ulterior motives might he have?
  9. What do Cicero's letters to Quintus and the letters from his proconsulship (ie, when he was a governor) show about how Rome governed her provinces? Does this seem like a sustainable system? How did the provincials feel about it?

October 9 - Cicero Discussion 2
Cicero: Letters 66-67, 69, 72-77, 90-91, 101, 108-110, 112, 115, 121, 123, 125, 127, 131, 133-134, 135-139, 141, 143, 146-151, 154-156, 160-165
  1. What is Cicero's attitude towards the civil war? Does he explicitly or implicitly take sides? Why or why not?
  2. How does Cicero feel about Caesar and Caesar's policies after the war? What does Caesar seem to be trying to do? Why does he reach out to Cicero? Is there anything that Cicero can do?
  3. Why is Caesar killed? How does Cicero feel about it, and why do you think he was excluded from the conspiracy?
  4. With Caesar dead, what do Cicero and the assassins plan to do? How do they believe removing Caesar will solve the problems confronting Rome?
  5. What role does Antony take after Caesar's death? How does Antony's approach change as the assassins prove unable to follow through? How does Cicero's attitude towards Antony change?
  6. Who is this Octavian, and what does Cicero think of him at first? How does Cicero plan to use Octavian against Antony? What does Octavian do to secure his own power?
  7. In the final summation, what are we to make of Cicero, and his role in the fall of the Republic? Why does the Republic fall?

October 23 - Augustus Discussion
Readings: Res Gestae, Cassius Dio 53, 56.32-47, Tacitus 1.8-11
  1. For whom was the Res Gestae intended? How successful is it at accounting for the facts of Augustus' life? How convincing is it?
  2. How much does the image of imperial power given by Dio (esp. in 53) differ from what emerges in the Res Gestae?
  3. What does Augustus' seem to be the most proud of in the Res Gestae? What understanding of the aims and purposes of his reign can we gain from it?
  4. How does Augustus reconcile absolute rule with the Republican ideal?
  5. How does the Res Gestae depict Augustus' foreign policy?
  6. How do the three different summations of Augustus' life (Dio, Tacitus, and the Res Gestae) differ in their portrayals? Is it possible to reconcile them? Can we ultimately understand Augustus?

October 28 - Tacitus Discussion 1
Tacitus, Annals 1.1-81, 2.41-43, 2.53-88, 3.1-19, 3.22-30, 3.52-72, 4.1-22, 4.27-41, 4.52-67, 6.1-27, 6.45-51
  1. Why does Tacitus, who is famous for writing with passion and with an agenda, claim to write "without indignation and partisanship"?
  2. Does Tacitus admire Germanicus, or not? How does Germanicus' performance compare to that of Drusus? How do you rate Germanicus' handling of the mutiny? Why does Tacitus give Germanicus so much attention?
  3. How do the various German leaders (especially Arminius, note his obituary) serve as foils for the Romans and what is Tacitus trying to tell us about the state of Roman civilization through these Germans?
  4. What role does Sejanus play in Tiberius' reign? Is he entirely a negative influence, or does he exercise any restraint on the emperor?
  5. What are Tacitus' purposes in writing history? Look especially at 4.32-33, but also at the ends of the individual books. What other passages are revealing about why Tacitus writes history? What messages might Tacitus have for his readers?
  6. What is Tacitus' basic picture of the reign of Tiberius? (Be prepared to identify specific passages which relate to this issue) How effectively does this analysis account for the facts that Tacitus presents? How does the obituary of Tiberius at the end of 6 fit into this?
  7. What, in Tacitus' view, is the duty of a senator under an emperor like Tiberius?

November 6 - Tacitus Discussion 2
Tacitus, Annals 11.1-12.69, 13.1-7, 13.11-29, 13.45-52, 14.1-22, 14.29-65, 15.23-25, 15.33-74, 16.1-35
  1. Compare the Lyon Speech with Tacitus' version. How does Tacitus rework what Claudius says? What does this show about how ancient historians deal with their material? Does Tacitus make the speech stronger? Does he support what Claudius is saying?
  2. Was Claudius a better emperor when married to Agrippina or a worse one?
  3. Tacitus has four very prominent female characters in these later books: Messalina, Agrippina, Poppea, and Boudicca. How are the four contrasted and what does Tacitus want us to take away about the proper role of woman and the state of Rome and the Romans?
  4. How does Tacitus set up the reign of Nero to parallel that of Tiberius? Based on Nero, what qualities define a good emperor?
  5. What is Tacitus’ opinion of the Stoic philosopher Thrasea Paetus and his manner of opposing Nero? How does this compare to the role the Stoic philosopher Seneca plays?
  6. Why is the Pisonian conspiracy so important? Based on the figures Tacitus portrays in the conspiracy and aftermath, what are the qualities he admires, and does any figure truly merit unadulterated admiration?
  7. How does Tacitus portray the Britons (and the Germans) compared to the Romans?
  8. How does Tacitus define Liberty?
  9. What is Tacitus’ view of the Republic, and why?
  10. Does Tacitus see any alternative to the Principate?