Religion in Tacitus' Annals : historical constructions of memory
I examine how religion is presented in the Annals of Tacitus, and how it resonates with and adds complexity to the larger themes of the historianâs narrative. Memory is essential to understanding the place of religion in the narrative, for Tacitus constructs a picture of a Rome with âreligious amnesia.â The Annals are populated with characters, both emperors and their subjects, who fail to maintain the traditional religious practices of their forebears by neglecting prodigies and omens, committing impious murders, and even participating in the destruction of Romeâs sacred buildings. Alongside this forgetfulness of traditional religious practice runs the construction of a new memory â that of the deified Augustus â which leads to the veneration of living emperors in terms appropriate to gods. This religious narrative resonates with and illuminates Tacitean observations on the nature of power in imperial Rome. Furthermore, tracing the prominence of religious memory in the text improves our understanding of how Tacitus thinks about the past, and particularly how he thinks about the role of the historian in shaping memory for his readers. I consider various religious categories and their function in
Shannon, Kelly E.
Italic literatures (Latin) ; Latin ; Religions of antiquity ; Tacitus ; Annals ; Roman historiography ; Roman religion ; cultural memory
Religion in Tacitus' Annals : historical constructions of memory. I examine how religion is presented in the Annals of Tacitus, and how it resonates with and adds complexity to the larger themes of the historianâs narrative. Memory is essential to understanding the place of religion in the narrative, for Tacitus constructs a picture of a Rome with âreligious amnesia.â The Annals are populated with characters, both emperors and their subjects, who fail to maintain the traditional religious practices of their forebears by neglecting prodigies and omens, committing impious murders, and even participating in the destruction of Romeâs sacred buildings. Alongside this forgetfulness of traditional religious practice runs the construction of a new memory â that of the deified Augustus â which leads to the veneration of living emperors in terms appropriate to gods. This religious narrative resonates with and illuminates Tacitean observations on the nature of power in imperial Rome. Furthermore, tracing the prominence of religious memory in the text improves our understanding of how Tacitus thinks about the past, and particularly how he thinks about the role of the historian in shaping memory for his readers. I consider various religious categories and their function in
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