The Cambridge Companion to Tacitus ed. by A.J.Woodman (review)

This book is part of the series of Cambridge Companion volumes, which cover a wide range of authors and topics.¹ In each of these works, essays by specialists are grouped into broader themes; each chapter has its own select bibliography, while longer bibliographies appear at the end of each volume. In the case of this Companion, there is also a chronological table and an index locorum.

The Tacitus companion has been edited by the renowned Latin scholar A.J. Woodman. It is divided into four parts: contexts, texts, topics and transmission. The essays in each part have been written by contributors who are, by and large, specialists in the area, though the connection between author and topic is not always evident.² This review will deal with these broad sections; a list of the essays in each is provided at the end.

The opening section, ‘contexts’, is the shortest, with only two contributions. In these, the authors (Gowing, Woodman) attempt to ‘set the stage’ for Tacitus’ writing by placing him within the historical milieu of the early imperial period.

The second section, ‘Texts’, examines the work of Tacitus in seven essays. Beginning with the Agricola, moving to the Germania and then to the Dialogus, the early writings are considered, though with different approaches. The Agricola is primarily a historical/archaeological study, while that of the Germania takes the opposite approach, focusing on language and style. The contrast is rather stark; while space constraints no doubt dictated the choice, it is a shame that the full picture is provided for neither of these works. The essay on the Dialogus, on the other hand, provides a comprehensive overview to anyone interested in this enigmatic text.³ The same could be said for the all-too-short piece on the Histories, which analyzes not only the context and style but also most importantly the structure of this ‘top-heavy narrative’ (88); for this reader, Ash’s essay is the star of the section. As might be expected, there is more space devoted to the Annals than to Tacitus’ other writings; the three essays – one for each of the emperors prominent in the extant text – work well together, providing an overview of this seminal work, with attention paid both to language and historical content.

‘Topics’ is the third section. In it, various aspects crucial to an understanding of the texts are considered, in particular, Tacitus as author, his context and his language. Essays range from recognition of Tacitus’ authorial voice in his works (Pelling) to his relationship with the senate (Oakley). On the language side, there is discussion of the significance of speeches (Levene, though here only focusing on the Histories) and on his style and language in general (Oakley again). There is also consideration of Tacitus as historian, using three case studies to determine his historical approach (Griffin) and finally a look at the representation of war in the Annals, an unusual but very useful approach to this text (Levene again). There is much in these essays that readers of Tacitus will find useful, though the concentration on specific works in a couple of these (Levene) makes one long for a more comprehensive study in both areas.

Finally, the essays that look at the transmission of Tacitus’ work in the modern period provide a valuable glimpse at the way in which his texts have been received over the centuries. From the history of the texts (Martin) through to the author’s influence on various countries and individuals over the centuries (Gajda, Cartledge, Krebs, Malamud), these add much to our understanding of the way Tacitus was viewed until very recently. Of special note is Krebs’ essay on the Germania, which highlights the use of this text in German identity. The final essay (Toher) rounds off the collection extremely well, in that it considers the great Tacitean scholar, Sir Ronald Syme; though there are cautionary notes...