Dimensions
129 x 198 x 23mm
'His books must be burned by the aediles! the senators decreed. But they survived, hidden and spread. All the more pleasurable, then, to mock the witlessness of those who believe that with present power it is possible to extinguish the future's memory.'
Tacitus (56-117 AD), a Roman senator and acclaimed orator, was also Rome's greatest historian. In the surviving volumes of the Annals, he examines the Roman Emperors who succeeded Augustus and the imperial dynasty itself, explaining and recording the peace the Emperors brought, but also the corruption and decadence that came with it. This remarkable work brings the Roman Empire to life through the ambitions and passions of the characters who dominated the time.
In Cynthia Damon's introduction to her lively new translation, she explores Tacitus' political and literary career, his purpose in writing the Annals, and the nature of the surviving text. This edition also contains a chronology, maps, a genealogy, suggested further reading and notes.
