Remembering Julio-Claudian Emperors as Patrons of Literature

Joseph Farrell

doi:10.1590/1980-4369e2020040

Abstract

Abstract The Julio-Claudian period, beginning with the reign of Tiberius, is one of the more neglected, and even actively disparaged periods in ancient literary history. It tends to be defined exclusively in terms of Latin literature, and not of Greek, and to be considered less as a period than simply as an unstructured stretch of time between the Augustan and Neronian periods. The metaphors most often applied to it run from the relatively generous “fallow period” to the more pejorative “wasteland.” This common perception is badly in need of reconsideration. In this article, I will discuss some of the misconceptions that on which low opinions of the period have been based. I will also show that the efforts of Tiberius in particular, when properly understood, take on a much more favorable appearance. In particular, I will consider his sponsorship of major institutional and administrative projects to support literary activities, his promotion of literary scholarship, his role in continuing the management and development of the Greek literary canon, and his even-handed treatment of Latin and Greek writers and orators. When these factors are properly evaluated, a different picture of Imperial literature will emerge; and the Julio-Claudian period begins to look foundational, rather than as a kind of literary dead zone.

Highlights

The Julio-Claudian period, beginning with the reign of Tiberius, is one of the more neglected, and even actively disparaged periods in ancient literary history
The metaphors most often applied to it run from the relatively generous “fallow period” to the more pejorative “wasteland.”1 This common perception has its roots in ancient opinion
In his Latin oratory he followed Messala Corvinus, to whom he had given attention in his youth, when Messala was an old man. He so obscured his style by excessive mannerisms and pedantry, that he was thought to speak much better offhand than in a prepared address. He composed a lyric poem, entitled “A Lament for the Death of Lucius Caesar,” and made Greek verses in imitation of Euphorion, Rhianus, and Parthenius, poets of whom he was very fond, placing their busts in the public libraries among those of the eminent writers of old; and on that account many learned men vied with one another in issuing commentaries on their works and dedicating them to the emperor

Summary

Introduction

The Julio-Claudian period, beginning with the reign of Tiberius, is one of the more neglected, and even actively disparaged periods in ancient literary history. Because Servius’ commentary is known to depend on earlier Vergilian scholarship, including works known to have been produced in the first half of the 1st century BCE, it seems very likely that this period was an important contact zone between Greek and Latin scholarship, since the first and most influential commentaries on some of Vergil’s Greek models, like Theocritus and Apollonius, were just being written at that time.3 if one considers scholarship as an aspect of literary activity, Tiberius’ interest in this area should not be dismissed, but investigated with an open mind.

Results

Conclusion