The Annals of Tacitus
Books 5–6

A full commentary on Tacitus' vivid account of the last years of the emperor Tiberius.

Tacitus (Author), A. J. Woodman (Edited by)

9781316606650, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 22 August 2019

347 pages, 1 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 2 cm, 0.46 kg

'In short, this commentary is a reflection of the authoritative work of Woodman as well as his predecessors. … In this commentary, Woodman has brought Goodyear's (and Martin's) work to an admirable conclusion.' Rebecca Edwards, Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Books 5 and 6 of Tacitus' Annals cover the last years of the emperor Tiberius. Although most of Book 5 is lost, Book 6 survives complete and offers a vivid narrative of the increasingly tyrannical princeps, secluded on the island of Capri; the book ends with his death and obituary notice, one of the most celebrated passages of classical literature. This volume presents a new text of Books 5 and 6, restoring the division between them which was proposed by Lipsius, as well as a full commentary on the text, covering textual, literary, linguistic and historical matters. An Appendix discusses 'The Tacitean Tiberius'. The volume rounds off the sequence which began with commentary on Books 1 and 2 of Tacitus' Annals by F. R. D. Goodyear (1972, 1981) and was continued by commentary on Book 3 by A. J. Woodman and R. H. Martin (1996).

Preface
References and abbreviations
Introduction
Text
Commentary
Appendix: the Tacitean Tiberius
Indexes.

Subject Areas: Classical history / classical civilisation [HBLA1], Ancient history: to c 500 CE [HBLA], Humanities [H], Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB], Literary studies: general [DSB]