Agricola and Germania
Kali Ryan
Agricola and Germania
Dr.Newsome
October 2, 2012
Agricola and Germania The Agricola and Germani is a novel that serves two purposes: The Agricola is a eulogy praising Tacitus's father-in-law, and commander of Britian, Agricola. The Germania is an ethnography on German people. Both stories are told through the eyes of Tacitus as he indirectly criticizes Roman politics and society. His reason for snaking in these criticisms in such a crafty manner had been due to his friendship with high ranking Roman officials whom he did not want to upset. His criticisms were derived from his experiences with Agricola, speeches given by Calgucus, and his ability to compare and contrast cultural differences of Rome and Germania, targeting Germania as a threat to Rome. Tacitus praises German culture throughout the Germania, and allows readers to applaud them for their stress on the importance of freedom, instead of bashing on them. Tacitus's opinion became an utmost crucial part of the story, that sometimes his viewpoints were stated as facts, which could dupe the reader. Also, his personal connection with Agricola added to a biased opinion on him, and an exaggeration of his accomplishments, which alter the facts. An example from the text that reveals Tacitus's biased feelings toward Agricola is evident through his theory that Agricola died by poison from Domitian, who had been apparently envious of Agricola's fame, although this theory was never proved. As a historian, military history and geographical knowledge was absent in Tacitus's work. Whereas he makes up for that as a biographer with the knowledge he did attain from his closely knit relationship with Agricola, and his ability to powerfully recite these incidents. The Agricola serves to criticizes Rome on a political level. Tacitus discretely paints Rome to be a corrupt empire with greedy, tyrannical rulers who held complete control over all aspects of Roman life. They held an impervious belief that it was
Agricola and Germania
Dr.Newsome
October 2, 2012
Agricola and Germania The Agricola and Germani is a novel that serves two purposes: The Agricola is a eulogy praising Tacitus's father-in-law, and commander of Britian, Agricola. The Germania is an ethnography on German people. Both stories are told through the eyes of Tacitus as he indirectly criticizes Roman politics and society. His reason for snaking in these criticisms in such a crafty manner had been due to his friendship with high ranking Roman officials whom he did not want to upset. His criticisms were derived from his experiences with Agricola, speeches given by Calgucus, and his ability to compare and contrast cultural differences of Rome and Germania, targeting Germania as a threat to Rome. Tacitus praises German culture throughout the Germania, and allows readers to applaud them for their stress on the importance of freedom, instead of bashing on them. Tacitus's opinion became an utmost crucial part of the story, that sometimes his viewpoints were stated as facts, which could dupe the reader. Also, his personal connection with Agricola added to a biased opinion on him, and an exaggeration of his accomplishments, which alter the facts. An example from the text that reveals Tacitus's biased feelings toward Agricola is evident through his theory that Agricola died by poison from Domitian, who had been apparently envious of Agricola's fame, although this theory was never proved. As a historian, military history and geographical knowledge was absent in Tacitus's work. Whereas he makes up for that as a biographer with the knowledge he did attain from his closely knit relationship with Agricola, and his ability to powerfully recite these incidents. The Agricola serves to criticizes Rome on a political level. Tacitus discretely paints Rome to be a corrupt empire with greedy, tyrannical rulers who held complete control over all aspects of Roman life. They held an impervious belief that it was