Religion and memory in Tacitus’ Annals – Ebook Instant Download/Delivery ISBN(s): 9780192569110, 0192569112, 9780198832768, 0198832761

Product details:

• ISBN-10: 0192569112
• ISBN-13: 9780192569110
• Author: Kelly E. Shannon-Henderson
  

Throughout his narrative of Julio-Claudian Rome in the Annals, Tacitus includes numerous references to the gods, fate, fortune, astrology, omens, temples, priests, the emperor cult, and other religious material. Though scholars have long considered Tacitus’ discussion of religion of minor importance, this volume demonstrates the significance of such references to an understanding of the work as a whole by analyzing them using cultural memory theory, which views religious ritual as a key component in any society’s efforts to create a lived version of the past that helps define cultural identity in the present. Tacitus, who was not only an historian, but also a member of Rome’s quindecimviral priesthood, shows a marked interest in even the most detailed rituals of Roman religious life, yet his portrayal of religious material also suggests that the system is under threat with the advent of the principate. Some traditional rituals are forgotten as the shape of the Roman state changes while, simultaneously, a new form of cultic commemoration develops as deceased emperors are deified and the living emperor and his family members are treated in increasingly worshipful ways by his subjects.

Table contents:

1. Tiberius the Autocrat

2. Germanicus as Religious Interpreter

3. Memory and Forgetting from the Death of Germanicus to the Rise of Sejanus

4. Divine Wrath and Annals 4

5. Fate, Astrology, and the End of Life

6. Claudius and the Failure of Tradition

7. Nero A Narrative in Prodigies

People also search:

Religion and memory in Tacitus’ Annals

What is the summary of the Annals by Tacitus

What is the significance of the Annals of Tacitus

Is Tacitus Annals a reliable source

What is a famous quote from Tacitus