Instructions:
Paper 2 (due April 9). Given what you know of the reigns of Tiberius and Caligula, do you think it was possible to rule, and to be considered by contemporaries as a good emperor during this period? If you answer ‘no,’ then you must explain what things were working against the man on the throne, so as inevitably to prevent his being a ‘good’ emperor. If you answer ‘yes,’ then you should discuss the things, which would have had to be done, so as to rule well. You should also take into consideration, in working up a position here, that there were different audiences in this world. Thus, the ‘good’ emperor in one group’s eyes, might not be so good in the eyes of another group.
Helpful Readings:
Augustus, Res Gestae.
Res GestaeDiviAugusti. The Achievements of the Divine Augustus, ed. P.A. Brunt (Oxford)
On Line:
www.skidmore.edu/academics/classics/courses/1999spring/hi361f/resgestae.html
penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Augustus/Res_Gestae/1*.html
New Testament
I will assume that you all have access, in one way or another, to the New Testament. One good version of this is the Oxford Study Bible.
Plutarch,Lives.
Plutarch, Roman Lives, trans. R. Waterfield (Oxford)
Bobst: The Loeb edition by B. Perrin is available electronically.
On Line: penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/home.html
Suetonius,Lives of the Caesars.
Lives of the Caesars, ed. Catharine Edwards (Oxford)
The Twelve Caesars, ed. James Rives (Penguin)
Bobst: The Loeb edition by J.C. Rolfe is available electronically.
On Line: penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/home.html
Tacitus, Annals.
The Annals of Imperial Rome, ed. A. Woodman (Hackett Publishing)
Bobst: Tacitus, Annals, ed. C. Damon (Penguin), available electronically
On Line: penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Tacitus/home.html
These readings all have an electronic version, as you can see, and you are more than welcome to use all of them in citing sources for your affirmations, even though I’m sure you won’t need to. Some are also not pertinent to the subject but may help you get a clearer idea of what is asked of the paper. If you want to use other online sources please do so, b
