Tacitus Annals XVI

Description

Book XVI of Tacitus' Annals is the last of the surviving books of the great Roman historian's monumental account of the reigns of the emperors from Tiberius to Nero. The unfinished book offers a stunning portrait of Nero in his last years, a man now free of the restraining influences of his mother Agrippina and tutor Seneca. Annals XVI presents such unforgettable scenes as the spectacle of Petronius' suicide, and the mad quest of Nero to find the gold of the Carthaginian queen Dido. This edition provides a commentary to the entire book, with notes carefully aimed at first-time readers of Tacitus as well as more advanced students. An introduction provides a guide to what we know of Tacitus' life and work, as well as to the reign of Nero and Tacitus' depiction of an empire in transition, of a Rome teetering on the verge of chaos and collapse. A full vocabulary at the end of the volume is a vital resource for students preparing this text for class work or assessment.

Lee Fratantuono is Professor of Classics and William Francis Whitlock Professor of Latin at Ohio Wesleyan University, USA. His books include editions of Virgil, Aeneid 5 (2015), Ovid Metamorphoses X (Bloomsbury, 2014) and A Commentary on Virgil, Aeneid XI (2009).

Lee Fratantuono's recent Bloomsbury edition of Book XVI of Tacitus' Annals is a very good choice for undergraduate or graduate students studying this text in the original Latin for the first time. This edition demonstrates considerable scholarly erudition without getting bogged down. Fratantuono's commentary elucidates Tacitus' difficult grammatical constructions without providing excessive translation assistance for Latin students, and he discusses many textual quandaries ... Fratantuono's edition makes a strong and accessible contribution to the Tacitean scholarship on Book XVI of the Annals. * New England Classical Journal * This handy guide to book XVI of the Annals offers easier access to a difficult but important author of the Silver Age and of Roman historiography through copious lexical, textual, and grammatical notes, and by providing a rich bibliography that encourages further curiosity about Tacitean studies ... Fratantuono's reminders in his introduction and throughout the commentary of how Tacitus' text incorporates epic flavor or relates to the works of Virgil or Lucan, for example, make this a particularly interesting and fun commentary to read. * Bryn Mawr Classical Review * Fratantuono writes with verve and enthusiasm. His brief general introduction to the author and his times is as good as any I have read. * Classics for All Reviews * The 35 extant chapters of Annals XVI come alive in this new commentary. Fratantuono's energetic and insightful guidance makes the text accessible to students new to Tacitus, while providing ample resources for the more advanced scholar. * Caitlin C. Gillespie, Lecturer, Columbia University, USA * With its convenient format, its concise and clear style, the occasional wit, and the rigorous scholarship, this commentary promises to become one of the best available tools in rendering Tacitus more accessible to intermediate and advanced students. * Paolo Asso, Affiliate Assistant Professor of Classics, University of Dallas, USA *