“remarkable neither for size” Suet Aug 72 1.
“Whenever he wanted” Ibid., 72 2.
“would hardly be considered fit” Ibid., 73 1.
“Anyone would think” Ibid., 53 3.
a court developed This section is indebted to Andrew Wallace-Hadrill, “The Imperial Court,” CAH, pp. 283–308.
they may have been loosely arranged This judgment is based on the departments known to have been established by later emperors.
“stink of far-fetched phrases” Suet Aug 86 1.
Letters of his seen by Suetonius Ibid., 87 1.
“What in the world has become of Ajax?” Ibid., 86 5.
the last letter “X” was the last letter for Latin words. “Y” was employed for foreign words; “Z” appeared in the earliest Roman alphabet, but ceased to be written. From the first century B.C. it returned into use when transliterating the letter ? in a Greek word.
“I take it, of course” Ibid., 33 1.
When appearing in public Ibid., 53 1–2.
“I had some bread” Ibid., 76 1.
“On the way back” Ibid., 76 2.
“He who has been engaged” Celsus 125–7.
“Don’t suppose you’ll ever catch her” Ovid Pont 31142.
a certain standard See Barrett, pp. 105–6. Livia’s personal servants are recorded late in her life, but there is little reason to suppose that her household was much different at an earlier date.
“simplex munditiis” Hor Odes 155.
the wine she habitually drank Pliny 14 60.
recipes for various ailments Barrett, pp. 110–12.
“noble and undaunted spirit” Plut T & C Grac 19 1.
“Among their number” Sall Bell Cat 23 3.
a feminine bully Tac Ann 14.
“to enjoy the fun” Suet Aug 45 1.
“modest enough” Ibid., 72 3.
the unappetizing Publius Vedius Pollio Dio 54 23.
“though refulgent with portraits” Ovid Trist 2 521–24.
dragging a former consul’s wife For this paragraph, see Suet Aug 69 1–2, 71 1.
“still to have harboured a passion” Ibid., 71 1.
when Cato vowed Plut Cat Min 56 4.
advisory inscription The inscription is at the “House of the Moralist.”
XXI. GROWING THE EMPIRE
Dio and Suetonius are the main sources, albeit somewhat thin.
“the existing number” Dio 54 9 1.
“I enlarged the territory” Res Gest 26.
“whose empire” Virg Aen 186–89.
“guard our young swarm” Hor Odes 13529–32.
This three-part plan of action This strategic analysis is indebted to J.F.C. Fuller’s classic study, The Decisive Battles of the Western World. See vol. 1 of the abridged edition (1970), pp. 167ff. For a more ad hoc–ist interpretation, see Erich S. Gruen, “The Expansion of the Empire Under Augustus,” CAH, pp. 147–97.
“Your brother Drusus” Suet Aug 71 3.
“My state of health” Suet Tib 21 6.
a plot against the princeps This is one of those tiresome incidents that bedevil the literary sources for the second part of Augustus’ life. It is reported twice, in Sen Clem 19 and in Dio 55 14–22 (where Livia delivers a long curtain-lecture). Cinna’s first names are given differently; Seneca probably dates the episode to 16–13 B.C. and Dio to A.D. 4. The whole affair sounds as if it could simply be a rhetorical exercise mistaken for a historical event. The truth? We shall never know.
The length of a legionary’s service Decided in 13 B.C. on Augustus’ return to Rome.
“state of tranquillity” Strabo 469.
unendurable pain from gout Pliny 23 27.
he strongly disapproved of Julia Suet Tib 72–3.
A sharp-eyed great-grandson This was Gaius, nicknamed Caligula, Drusus’ youngest son, and later emperor (A.D. 37–41).
A great altar to Augustus Strabo 432.
he used to chase German chieftains Suet Clau 14.
Drusus had a riding accident Livy Per 142.
Tiberius heard the news Val Max 553 and Pliny 784.
“old Republican constitution” Suet Clau 14.
“In point of fact” Ibid., 15.
some truth in the claim See Levick, pp. 32–35.
“Cripple my hand” Sen Ep 101 10ff.
“The same day” Hor Odes 2178–12.
“my purest of pricks” All the anecdotes in this section about Augustus and Horace come from the life of Horace in Suet De Vir Ill.
XXII. A FAMILY AT WAR
The often mysterious events of these years are inadequately covered by Dio, some of whose text is missing; Suetonius (in the lives of both Augustus and Tiberius) makes a contribution. Tacitus offers a few barbed insights.
Their adoptive father devoted time and energy Suet Aug 64 3.
“They not only lived” Dio 55 9 1–2.
“provided they deserve” Suet Aug 56 2.
imperium maius This is not explicitly stated in the sources; I follow Levick, pp. 35–36 and endnote 24, p. 237.
a warning to the unruly Gaius and Lucius Dio 55 9 4.
“he was weary” Suet Tib 10 2.
“he greeted and chatted” Ibid., 11 1.
Many governors had friendly connections See Levick, pp. 42–44.
“his retirement was more worthy” Vell Pat 2994.
The eldest, Germanicus For this account of Germanicus, see Suet Gaius 31–1.
“a monster, not finished” Suet Clau 32.
“He’s as big a fool” Ibid.
“I have always chosen” Plut Brut 53 3.
“Caesar Augustus, the Senate agrees” Suet Aug 58 2.
“Fathers of the Senate” Ibid.
a naval battle Dio 55 10 7–8 and Res Gest 423.
Once when his father See Green, Erot, p. 19.
“All we need is your consent” Ovid Am 2265–66.
“not to say or do anything” Suet Aug 64 2.
“You have acted presumptuously” Ibid.
“This dress” Macr 255. Macrobius is a late source, but there is no reason to distrust his stories about Julia.
“Passengers are never allowed” Ibid., 259.
“I should have preferred” Suet Aug 65 2.
“should anything happen to her” Ibid., 101 3.
“solemn names” Tac Ann 324.
“unique depravity disguised” Vell Pat 2 100 5.
“This shrewd” Tac Ann 153.