Dio's Rome, Volume 6: An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek During the Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus: and Now Presented in English FormCassius Dio Cocceianus
History
Dio's Rome, Volume 6: An Historical Narrative Originally Composed in Greek During the Reigns of Septimius Severus, Geta and Caracalla, Macrinus, Elagabalus and Alexander Severus: and Now Presented in English Form
Cassius Dio Cocceianus
Rome -- History
haughtiness and brutality toward all alike that he received the nickname
among them of "Proud." Among other decidedly tyrannical deeds of himself
and his children might be mentioned the fact that he once had some
citizens bound naked to some crosses in the Forum and before the
eyes of the citizens, and had them shamefully beaten to death with rods.
This punishment, invented by him at that time, has often been
inflicted. (Valesius, p. 573.)
3. Dio in 2nd Book: "Publicly and by arrangement reviling his father
in many unusual ways on the ground that he was a tyrant and was
forsworn." (Bekker, Anecd. p. 155, 1.)
4. The Sibyl about whom Lycophron is now speaking was the Cumæan, who
died in the time of Tarquin the Proud and left behind three or nine of
her prophetic books. Of these the Romans bought either one or three,
after the Sibyl's servant had destroyed the rest by fire because they
would not give her as much gold as she wanted. This they did later and
bought up either one that was left over or else three, and gave them to
Marcus Acilius to keep. Him they cast alive into the skin of an ox and
put to death because he had given them to be copied: but for the book or
books they dug a hole in the Forum and buried them along with a chest.
(Ioannes Tzetzes, scholia on Lycophr. 1279.)
5. ¶Lucius Junius, a son of Tarquinius's sister, in terror after the
king had killed his father and had moreover taken his property away
from him feigned madness, to the end that he might possibly survive.
For he well understood that every person possessed of sense,
especially when he is of a distinguished family, becomes an object of
suspicion to tyrants. And when once he had started on this plan he
acted it out with great precision, and for that reason was called
Brutus. This is the name that the Latins gave to idiots. Sent along
with Titus and Arruns as if he were a kind of plaything he carried a
staff as a votive offering, he said, to the gods, though it had no
great value so far as anyone could see. (Mai, p. 139.)
6. Dio in Book 2: "After that he was found in the Pythian god's
temple." (Bekker, Anecd. p. 139, 21.)
7. ¶They made sport of the gift [i. e. the staff] of Brutus, and when to
the enquiry of the ambassadors as to who should succeed to the kingdom
of their father the oracle replied that the first to kiss his mother
should hold dominion over the Romans, he kissed the earth, pretending to
have fallen down by accident, for he regarded her as the mother of all
mankind. (Mai, p. 140.)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account