Week IV

The final week of my senior project is just about over, and I have spent most of it stepping away from The Annals and researching or doing grammar and vocabulary exercises instead. My goal of 30 pages was definitely overambitious. I assumed I would be able to finish two pages a day, five days a week, which seemed reasonable to me at the time, especially considering I would become more comfortable with the text as I progressed. However, I didn't take into account that like gaining fluency in translating, building productive and consistent habits also takes time. I don't think I was ever able to spend five hours a day doing nothing but translating. I did become more efficient over time, but it was not enough to meet my goal. 

I recently met with a Classics professor at Reed, where I will be taking a class in the fall, who told me not to work any more on The Annals, because it is such a challenging text. There were many places where I felt out of my depth, even though I could generally make sense of Tacitus' writing as long as I used the notes and the glossary. While this meant that it didn't really build on my existing skills the way I wanted it to, I did become a lot better at recognizing unfamiliar constructions and devices such as apposition (using one noun to describe another), historical present tense (a common Latin literary device that enhances the action in the text), and the use of certain forms of adjectives as adverbial phrases. The notes helped me realize that Tacitus is creative in how he often deviates from the rules of Latin or of prose writing and uses language in unexpected ways. His writing is dense and was difficult for me to translate, but I can now appreciate that this often served a purpose of conveying more subtle messages and emphasizing certain aspects of the subject.  

Probably the most unexpected, but one of the most valuable things I learned was the role of government propaganda in shaping Roman historical writing. When I think of propaganda, I usually think of the posters, songs, and videos that we see in history class when we study Communism or Nazism, and whose messaging and effectiveness all rely on modern mass media. So even though the emperors had absolute power and were often very oppressive rulers, I didn't wonder how they controlled the narratives about themselves, their predecessors, and their associates. Many of us are probably familiar with the idea of "bread and circuses," which bribed the people into developing favorable opinions of the government, but I more recently learned that Flavian emperors such as Vespasian also minted coins that commemorated his most praiseworthy deeds, and buildings constructed during that era bore inscriptions condemning previous regimes. As I wrote last week, literature was another vessel for pro-Flavian propaganda, and historical writing was particularly subject to imperial approval. Once I became aware of this, combined with my increased knowledge of Tacitus' literary devices, I think I accomplished my goal to better understand bias in original texts and in translation.

This week, I also did some more research about literacy in Ancient Rome. Nicholas Horsfall in his book Fifty Years at the Sibyll's Heels writes that Roman society was not as culturally stratified as we might think. In fact, there is overwhelming evidence "for a vigorous and well-loved popular culture at Rome," and although certain authors may have catered more to upper-class audiences, that does not mean the lower classes' "heads were empty and their spirits consequently barren." Roman plebeians did not lack cultural enrichment, enjoying popular songs and chants, theater, humor, and music. Even lofty texts like Virgil's Aeneid and Ennius' Annales were adapted for the stage, making them accessible to a wider audience. In the "Cena Trimalchionis," a chapter of the now-fragmented novel the Satyricon, the main characters join a group of rich freedmen for dinner. While their nouveau-riche ignorance is more than likely played for laughs throughout, the freedmen gamely discuss philosophical issues despite their lack of training; one even praises his own slave's ability to read, write, and perform simple math. Horsfall notes that "this is not evidence for a real, widespread interest in philosophy, but it shows a willingness to take on board a range of ethical notions, if expressed memorably, and if not excessively challenging in content." And while the Satyricon is a work of fiction, it is known to be rooted in real daily life in the Roman Empire under Nero (whose death marked the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and allowed the Flavians to eventually come to power). Therefore, it appears that while not everyone was literate, most people had an appreciation and appetite for knowledge, regardless of their class. I'm still unsure about the general manufacture and distribution of books, but I have a better idea of the general culture surrounding literacy.

A mosaic from Pompeii showing a group of actors and musicians. Theater productions made many stories more accessible to the general public.

I definitely would not recommend The Annals to a student at my level, but I would recommend a similar project to seniors who are interested in a particular language, and the time and place in which is was (or is) used. Having a few weeks dedicated to a passion project is also a good way to try out different study methods and routines and find out what works for you. Additionally, having this less formal structure meant that this option was fully open to me in the first place- I probably would have had trouble finding a relevant outside organization to work with for a traditional senior project, and I would not have had as much freedom and flexibility, which both ended up being important to my enjoyment of the project.

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed learning about Tacitus, Tiberius, and Ancient Rome with me.