Tiberius on Caligula the snake and other contextual problems
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Published Version
Date
2007
Authors
Woods, David
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Klassillis-filologinen yhdistys–Klassisk-filologiska föreningen (The Classical Association of Finland)
Published Version
Abstract
It is my suggestion that Tiberius fled Rome because he interpreted the death of his pet snake as the warning of a threat to the life of one of his current favourites and intended successors, Caligula, rather than to his own life. Yet Suetonius, or perhaps the author of his immediate source, has torn Tiberius’ words from their original context so that they appear to depict Caligula as the threat rather than the victim. The similarities between the accounts by Tacitus and Suetonius of the last days of Tiberius encourage the belief that they relied on the same main source for this period, or some edition of the same source at least.
Description
Keywords
Tiberius , Caligula , Suetonius , Tacitus , omen , Roman history
Citation
Woods, D., 2007. Tiberius on Caligula the snake and other contextual problems. Arctos Acta Philologica Fennica, 47, pp.117-127