Titus Livius (59 BC – AD 17), known as
Livy in
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
, was a
RomanAncient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people,
Ab Urbe Condita LibriAb urbe condita libri, often shortened to just Ab urbe condita, is a monumental history of ancient Rome written in the Latin language by Titus Livius, an ancient Roman historian. The work covers the time from the stories of Aeneas, the earliest legendary period from before the city's founding in c....
, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC through the reign of
AugustusGaius Julius Caesar Augustus was the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in AD 14.
[These are the contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian after 45 BC...]
in Livy's own time. He was on familiar terms with the Julio-Claudian family, advising Augustus' grandnephew, the future emperor
ClaudiusTiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was the fourth Roman Emperor, a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from 24 January AD 41 to his death in AD 54...
, as a young man not long before 14 AD in a letter to take up the writing of history. Livy and Augustus' wife,
LiviaLivia Drusilla, after 14 AD called Julia Augusta was the wife of Augustus and one of the most powerful women in the Roman Empire, being Augustus' faithful advisor...
, were from the same clan in different locations, although not related by blood.
Dates
The authority supplying the information from which possible vital data on Livy can be deduced is Eusebius of Caesaria, an early Christian-era bishop. One of his works was an epitome (or summary) of world history in
ancient GreekAncient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic , Classical , and Hellenistic periods of ancient Greece and the ancient world. It is predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
, termed the
ChronikonThe Chronicon or Chronicle was a work in two books by Eusebius of Caesarea. It seems to have been compiled in the early 4th century. It contained a world chronicle from Abraham until the vicennalia of Constantine I in 325 AD...
, dating from the early 4th century. This work was lost except for fragments (mainly excerpts), but not before it had been translated in whole and in part by various authors such as St. Jerome. The entire work survives in
ArmenianThe Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
. St. Jerome wrote in Latin. Fragments in Syriac exist.
Eusebius' work consists of two books, the
Chronographia, a summary of history in annalist form, and the
Chronikoi Kanones, tables of years and events. St. Jerome translated the tables into Latin as the
ChroniconThe Chronicle was a universal chronicle, one of Jerome's earliest attempts in the department of history. It was composed circa 380 in Constantinople; this is a translation into Latin of the chronological tables which compose the second part of the Chronicon of Eusebius, with a supplement covering...
, probably adding some information of his own from unknown sources. Livy's dates appear in Jerome's Chronicon.
The main problem with the information given in the
MSSA manuscript is a recording of information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
is that between them they often give different dates for the same events or different events, do not include the same material entirely and reformat what they do include. A date may be in
AUCAb urbe condita is Latin for "from the founding of the City ", traditionally set in 753 BC. It was used to identify the Roman year by a few Roman historians...
or in
OlympiadAn Olympiad is a period of four years, associated with the Olympic Games of Classical Greece. In the Hellenistic period, beginning with Ephorus, Olympiads were used as calendar epoch....
s or in some other form, such as age. These variations may have occurred through scribal error or scribal license. Some material has been inserted under the aegis of Eusebius.
The topic of manuscript variants is a large and specialized one, on which authors of works on Livy seldom care to linger. As a result standard information in a standard rendition is used, which gives the impression of a standard set of dates for Livy. There are no such dates. A typical presumption is of a birth in the 2nd year of the 180th Olympiad and a death in the first year of the 199th Olympiad, which are coded 180.2 and 199.1 respectively. All sources use the same first Olympiad, 776/775-773/772 BC by the modern calendar. By a complex formula (made so by the 0 reference point not falling on the border of an Olympiad) these codes correspond to 59 BC for the birth, 17 AD for the death. In another manuscript the birth is in 180.4, or 57 BC.
Jerome says that Livy was born the same year as Marcus Valerius Messala Corvinus and died the same year as
OvidPublius Ovidius Naso , known as Ovid in the English-speaking world, was a Roman poet who wrote about love, seduction, and mythological transformation....
. Messala, however, was born earlier, in 64 BC, and Ovid's death, usually taken to be the same year as Livy's, is more uncertain. As an alternative view,
Ronald SymeSir Ronald Syme, OM, FBA was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. Long associated with Oxford University, he was acclaimed as the twentieth century's greatest historian of ancient Rome.- Life :...
argues for 64 BC-12 AD as a range for Livy, setting the death of Ovid at 12. A death date of 12, however, removes Livy from Augustus' best years and makes him depart for Padua without the good reason of the second emperor,
TiberiusTiberius Julius Caesar Augustus, born Tiberius Claudius Nero , was the second Roman Emperor, from the death of Augustus in AD 14 until his own death in 37. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla...
, being not as tolerant of his republicanism. The contradiction remains; there is no non-speculative solution.
Background
According to Jerome and numerous other sources, Livy was a native of
Patavium, the modern
PaduaPadua is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice , in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area, having a population of c...
. Going by name, he belonged to the
LiviaLivius is the nomen of an individual male of the Livia gens, a family of ancient Rome. Collectively they were termed the Livii . Any individual female was called Livia. Both male and female names might be qualified by one or more agnomina. Males in addition had a praenomen...
gensIn ancient Rome, a gens was a family or clan that shared a common name and a belief in a common ancestor...
, or family, but no
agnomenAn agnomen , in the Roman naming convention, was a nickname, just as the cognomen was initially. However, the cognomina eventually became family names, so agnomina was needed to distinguish between similarly-named persons...
has survived. His works show that he was educated in oratory and Greek, which is an indicator of rank, although the Livii were of plebeian origin. Patavium was of multi-ethnic origin (but Livius is a good Roman name) and did not become a Roman
municipiumA municipium belonged to the second-highest class of Roman cities, being inferior in status to the colonia. The first municipium was Tusculum...
until 49 BC. Livy was ten years old then. The Patavians were enrolled in the Fabii, but perhaps not Romans who already had a good name, as Livy kept his and without agnomen. Whether the fact that the emperor Augustus' much loved and respected wife,
LiviaLivia Drusilla, after 14 AD called Julia Augusta was the wife of Augustus and one of the most powerful women in the Roman Empire, being Augustus' faithful advisor...
, was born into the Roman branch of the
Livia gens, had anything to do with Augustus' tolerance of Livy's republican views is not known.
Various authors testify that Livy married and had children.
QuintilianMarcus Fabius Quintilianus was a Roman rhetorician from Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing...
gives a fragment of a letter from Livy to his son. The same son became a writer considered an authority by
Pliny the ElderGaius Plinius Secundus , better known as Pliny the Elder, was an author, naturalist, and natural philosopher as well as naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire and personal friend of the emperor Vespasian...
in Books V and VI of
Natural History.
Seneca the ElderLucius or Marcus Annaeus Seneca, known as Seneca the Elder and Seneca the Rhetorician , was a Roman rhetorician and writer, born of a wealthy equestrian family of Cordoba, Hispania.-Background:...
mentions a son-in-law, Lucius Magius. Two epitaphs from
PaduaPadua is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Padua and the economic and communications hub of the area. Padua's population is 212,500 . The city is sometimes included, with Venice , in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area, having a population of c...
are considered relevant:
CILThe Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum is a comprehensive collection of ancient Latin inscriptions. It forms an authoritative source for documenting the surviving epigraphy of classical antiquity. Public and personal inscriptions throw light on all aspects of Roman life and history...
V 2975 commemorates Titus Livius, son of Gaius, his two sons: Titus Livius Priscus and Titus Livius Longus, as well as Livy's wife, Cassia; and CIL V 2865, marking the resting place of a freedman of Livia Quarta, daughter of Titus Livius. Evidently the Livii of Padua continued to reside there and one must presume that after sojourns elsewhere they came home to die.
At some time early in his career Livy moved to Rome, probably for his education. A few references in Book I suggest he was at Rome at or prior to 27 BC, when he began work on his
History of Rome. It would have been in Rome also that he had or overheard a conversation with Augustus, who did not acquire that title until 27 BC. In that year, if born in 59 BC, Livy was 32.
Works
Livy's only surviving work is the "History of Rome" (
Ab Urbe ConditaAb urbe condita libri, often shortened to just Ab urbe condita, is a monumental history of ancient Rome written in the Latin language by Titus Livius, an ancient Roman historian. The work covers the time from the stories of Aeneas, the earliest legendary period from before the city's founding in c....
), which was his career from an age in middle life, probably 32, until he left Rome for Padua in old age, probably after the death of
AugustusGaius Julius Caesar Augustus was the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in AD 14.
[These are the contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian after 45 BC...]
in the reign of
TiberiusTiberius Julius Caesar Augustus, born Tiberius Claudius Nero , was the second Roman Emperor, from the death of Augustus in AD 14 until his own death in 37. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla...
. When he began this work he was already past his youth; presumably, events in his life prior to that time had led to his intense activity as a historian.
Seneca the YoungerLucius Annaeus Seneca was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero...
gives brief mention that he was also known as an orator and philosopher and had written some treatises in those fields from a historical point of view.
Reception
Livy's
History of Rome was in demand from the publication of the first packet. Livy became so famous that a man from
CadizCádiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Cádiz Province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
travelled to Rome just to see him, and once he had seen, returned home. The popularity of the work continued through the entire classical period. A number of Roman authors used Livy, including
Aurelius VictorSextus Aurelius Victor was an historian and politician of the Roman Empire.Aurelius Victor was the author of a History of Rome from Augustus to Julian , published ca. 361. Julian honoured him, and appointed Aurelius prefect of Pannonia Secunda...
,
CassiodorusFlavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator , commonly known as Cassiodorus, was a Roman statesman and writer, serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Senator was part of his surname not his rank....
,
EutropiusEutropius was an Ancient Roman Pagan historian who flourished in the latter half of the 4th century. He held the office of secretary at Constantinople, accompanied the Emperor Julian on his expedition against the Persians , and was alive during the reign of Valens , to whom he dedicates his...
,
FestusFestus is a Latin word meaning "festive, festal, joyful, merry" and may refer to:* Festus, Missouri, a town in the United States*Festus, a poem by the English poet Philip James Bailey...
,
FlorusFlorus, Roman historian, lived in the time of Trajan and Hadrian.He compiled, chiefly from Livy, a brief sketch of the history of Rome from the foundation of the city to the closing of the temple of Janus by Augustus . The work, which is called Epitome de T...
,
Granius LicinianusGranius Licinianus was a Roman annalist, believed to have lived in the age of the Antonines .He was the author of a brief summary of Roman history based on the work of Livy, which he utilized as a means of displaying his antiquarian learning. Accounts of omens, portents, prodigies and other...
and
OrosiusPaulus Orosius was a Christian historian, theologian and disciple of Augustine of Hippo from Gallaecia. He is best known for his Historiarum Adversum Paganos Libri VII , which he wrote in response to the belief that the decline of the Roman Empire was the result of its adoption of...
. Julius Obsequens used Livy, or a source with access to Livy, to compose his
De Prodigiis, an account of
supernaturalThe term supernatural or supranatural pertains to an order of existence beyond the scientifically visible universe. Religious miracles are typically supernatural claims, as are spells and curses, divination, the belief that there is an afterlife for the dead, and innumerable others...
events in Rome, from the consulship of
Scipio-People:* Scipio , family of ancient Rome with this name. For a list of members or possible members see the article.* Elmer Scipio Dundy, Nebraska judge* Scipio Africanus, Roman general* Scipio Africanus Jones, African-American educator...
and
LaeliusLaelius is a personal name and can refer to:*Gaius Laelius, a Roman statesman, who was consul in 190 BC and friend of Scipio Africanus*Gaius Laelius Sapiens , a Roman statesman, son of the above, who was consul in 140 BC, and was friend to Scipio's adoptive grandson Scipio Aemilianus*Laelius de...
to that of Paulus Fabius and Quintus Aelius.
Livy wrote during the reign of
AugustusGaius Julius Caesar Augustus was the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in AD 14.
[These are the contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian after 45 BC...]
, who came to power after a civil war with generals and consuls claiming to be defending the
Roman RepublicThe Roman Republic was the phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by a republican form of government. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, c...
, such as
PompeyGnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey /'pɑmpi/, Pompey the Great or Pompey the Triumvir , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
. Patavium had been pro-Pompey. To clarify his status, the victor of the civil war, Octavian Caesar, had wanted to take the title
Romulus (the first king of Rome) but in the end accepted the senate proposal of
Augustus. He did not abolish the republic de facto but adapted its institutions into the empire.
Livy's enthusiasm for the republic is evident from the first pentade of his work, and yet the Julio-Claudian family (the imperial family) were as much fans of Livy as anyone. He could not have been an advocate of any sort of sedition in favor of restoring the republic; he would have been put on trial for treason and executed, as many had been and would be. He must have been viewed as a harmless and relevant advocate of the ancient morality, which was a known public stance of the citizens of Patavium. His relationship to Augustus is defined primarily by a passage from
TacitusPublius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
in which Cremutius Cordus is put on trial for his life for offenses no worse than Livy's and defends himself face-to-face with the frowning
TiberiusTiberius Julius Caesar Augustus, born Tiberius Claudius Nero , was the second Roman Emperor, from the death of Augustus in AD 14 until his own death in 37. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla...
as follows:
"I am said to have praised Brutus and Cassius, whose careers many have described and no one mentioned without eulogy. Titus Livius, pre-eminently famous for eloquence and truthfulness, extolled Cneius Pompeius in such a panegyric that Augustus called him Pompeianus, and yet this was no obstacle to their friendship.
To avoid conviction, while waiting for a verdict Cordus committed suicide by self-starvation. His worst fears were realized in absentia: his books were sentenced to be burned by the
aedileAedile was an office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enforce public order. Half of the aediles were from the ranks of plebeians and half were patricians...
s, but they performed the task without zeal and many escaped. Livy's reasons for returning to Padua after the death of Augustus (if he did) are unclear, but the circumstances of Tiberius' reign certainly allow for speculation.
During the Middle Ages interest in Livy fell off. Due to the length of the work the literate class were already reading summaries rather than the work itself, which was tedious to copy, expensive, and required a lot of storage space. It must have been during this period, if not before, that MSS began to be lost without replacement.
The
RenaissanceThe Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Florence in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe...
was a time of intense revival; the population discovered that Livy was being lost and large amounts of money changed hands in the rush to collect Livy manuscripts. The poet, Beccadelli, sold a country home for the money to purchase one manuscript copied by Poggio.
PetrarchFrancesco Petrarca , known in English as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar, poet and one of the earliest Renaissance humanists. Petrarch is often called the "Father of Humanism"...
and
Pope Nicholas VPope Nicholas V , born Tommaso Parentucelli, was Pope from March 6, 1447 to his death in 1455.-Biography:He was born at Sarzana, Liguria, where his father was a physician...
launched a search for the now missing books. Laurentius Valla published an emended text initiating the field of Livy scholarship.
DanteDANTE is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various National Research and Education Networks in Europe and surrounding regions...
speaks highly of him in his poetry, and
Francis I of FranceFrancis I , was king of France from 1515 until his death.Francis I is considered to be France's first Renaissance monarch. His reign saw France make immense cultural advances...
commissioned extensive artwork treating Livian themes;
Niccolò MachiavelliNiccolò di Bernardo dei Machiavelli was an Italian philosopher, writer, and is considered one of the main founders of modern political science. He was a diplomat, political philosopher, musician, and playwright, but, foremost, he was a civil servant of the Florentine Republic...
's work on
republicA republic is a form of government in which the head of state is not a monarch and the people have an impact on its government. The word 'republic' is derived from the Latin phrase res publica which can be translated as "a public affair".Both modern and ancient republics vary widely in their...
s, the
Discourses on LivyThe Discourses on Livy is a work of political history and philosophy composed in the early 16th century by the famed Florentine public servant and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli , best known as the author of The Prince...
is presented as a commentary on the
History of Rome. Respect for Livy rose to lofty heights.
After a few thousand years of Livy being studied by the schoolboys of every western population, moderns have developed their own views of Livy and his place in the ancient world, which were not current in ancient times. For example, one text on western civilization pronounces: "Livy was the prose counterpart of Vergil", as both have been standard in the study of Golden Age Latin literature. Golden Age Latin was not known as such in classical times and the ancient reader could choose from a vastly larger bibliography; but in fact, private reading was a privilege of the literate few, who had the wealth to buy manuscripts or have them copied and had the time for library research. Public readings of works, however, were common and were the main way in which an author became known.
Additional reading
Also in .
External links