Zecchini, Cassio Dione e la gallica di Cesare Milan, , —50, esp. This story is also found in Dionysius of Halicarnassus, but it seems as though Dio knew both the tradition found in Dionysius Ant. Zonaras, like Dionysius and Gellius, places the story in the reign of Tarquinius Superbus, rather than Tarquinius Priscus as attested by Lactantius. Indeed, the manner in which many of the frag- ments of his early narrative are preserved recommends such an approach.
His interaction with his 8 J. Cameron ed. Note, however, the alternative method outlined by C. Roos edd. These collections of excerpts, known as the Excerpta Constantiniana on account of being commis- sioned by Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, preserved ethically, militarily, or politically significant excerpts from classical and late antique authors under specific headings such as On virtues and vices, On embassies, On stratagems.
For general descriptions of the nature, scope, and some meth- odological considerations pertaining to the use of the Excerpta Constantiniana, see F. Wallraff and L. Mecella edd. However, a key passage seems to have been omitted by the excerptor. The opening sen- tence may well be regarded as his own summary, compressing what Dio had once said about the general feeling towards the Tarquinii.
As he would do elsewhere when describing similarly tyrannical rulers 11 B. See Millar n. Banchich and E. Dio was a member of the political elite, who possessed a keen sense of the intolerable when it came to the perceived mistreat- ment of the senatorial order by an autocratic figure, and he took care to elaborate on such acts of cruelty or irreverence.
Dio F The ideal, of course, was that of the civilis princeps, who showed deference to the Senate. For this idea, see A. For this theory in practice in the later books of Dio, see now the discussion in A. Livy 1. It is interesting to note that Dionysius seems more interested in portraying Tarquinius Superbus as a tyrant who acts contrary to the estab- lished laws: see Dion Hal. Mattingly Oxford, , —1, who, although focussing mainly on fourth-century texts, neatly summarizes this trait of senatorial historiography.
Sulla: Cass. For this conventional story, see Hdt. For Dio and Caracalla at Nicomedia, see Cass. Dio 78[77]. To resolve the con- test the men decided to return to their wives, who were absent from the camp, in order to settle the argument.
Lucretia is shown to be the very manifestation of sophro- syne by the juxtaposition of her actions with those of the other wives. Working with her wool, she embodies domestic duty, and is thus associated with the traditional image of the ideal wife as established by convention and reiterated by Dio elsewhere in the Roman History.
Whether we consider the other women to be drinking or in conversation, the contrast with Lucretia remains the same. The abstention from excessive wine-drinking is a mark of sophrosyne in the clas- sical and non-gender-specific understanding of the term,23 but it is worth recalling that in the traditional Roman mindset the drinking of wine by women was particularly abhorred.
Greco-Roman political thought, note especially: Xen. Dio II Dio shares this last detail of Lucretia spinning wool with Livy 1. The act of spinning wool lanificium was regarded as symbolic of good household management and as a traditional source of praise for women: see e.
Treggiari, Roman Marriage Oxford, , ; K. For the connection between sophrosyne and wool-working, see H. See also B. Kuhn-Chen, Geschichtskonzeptionen griechischer Historiker im 2. Jahrhundert n. So when this [i. Perhaps indeed he even lusted for her, as she was exceedingly beautiful; but it was more so her reputation that he wanted to ruin, rather than her body.
Hence we find all of the usual suspects from the reign of Commodus onwards accused of having persecuted or molested women or girls. Moreover, Dio 76[75]. Similarly, both Caracalla and Elagabalus are accused of having violated or put to death Vestal 26 By way of contrast, the two earlier Greek narratives of Diodorus Ovid Fast. Caligula: Cass. By way of contrast, good rulers, according to Dio, rewarded those who exhibited or had a reputation for sophrosyne, e.
Swain and M. Edwards edd. Dio 73[72]. He begins conventionally enough F Dio draws upon the contrast between the virtue represented by Lucretia and its antithesis in this case hubris repre- sented by Sextus.
It is at this point that Dio introduces a key element into the story. In his version, Lucretia makes her decision to kill herself before submitting to Sextus. She resolves to delay her suicide only so long as to be able to tell her story to her family, and, by doing so, keeps her reputation intact F Indeed, in both Dionysius and Livy it is her sense of shame at the act having been committed that compels her to suicide. The young Caracalla, with his brother Geta, is also said to have committed acts of sexual violence against young girls Cass.
Dio 77[76]. See also Ogilvie n. For examples of the identification of Lucretia as an exemplum of pudicitia in the Latin tradition, see Val. M A L L A N such a rendering is consistent with the traditional Greek understanding of sophrosyne as the virtue most readily possessed by women, as pudicitia was in Roman Latin thought. The broad semantic range which sophrosyne had acquired during the fifth and fourth centuries B.
This was a theme explored with some frequency in the imperial period. As one of the cardinal virtues of mainstream philosophical thought, it had been absorbed into the rhetoric of kingship.
For the range of meaning attached to the notion of sophrosyne, see Rademaker n. There has been no comprehensive treatment of sophrosyne in the imperial period since the summary treatment by North n. For additional examples and discussion with reference to the Antonine period, see S. For a discussion of these ideas in general, see M. Hurley London, , —85 esp. For a discussion of this idea with reference to Plutarch, see now J. Dio Chrysostom, in his oration to the Alexandrians, identifies the chronic civil disorder in Alexandria with the lack of sophrosyne in the state.
When he discusses the concepts of democ- racy and monarchy at the outset of Book 44, he opts for monarchy, on account of his belief that it was impossible for its citizens in a state the size of Rome to act individually or collectively with sophrosyne. As such, it is perhaps as much about the absence of sophrosyne in the Tarquinii as it is about the presence of sophrosyne in Lucretia. But Lucretia also serves as a foil to the tyrannical Tarquinii, representing more generally political and ethical opposition to the hubristic power of the ruling family.
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Dio Cassius Cassius Dio , ca.
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