Gerrish - SALLUSTS HISTORIES AND TRIUMVIRAL HISTORIOGRAPHY: confronting the end of history

Sallusts Histories and Triumviral Historiography explores the historiographical innovations of the first century Roman historian Sallust, focusing on the fragmentary Histories, an account of the turbulent years after the death of the dictator Sulla. The Histories were written during the violent transition from republic to empire, when Romes political problems seemed insoluble and its morals hopelessly decayed. The ruling triumvirate of Octavian, Mark Antony, and Lepidus created a false sense of hope for the future, relentlessly insisting that they were bringing peace to the republic. The Histories address the challenges posed to historians by both civil war and authoritarian rule. What does it mean, Sallust asks, to write history under a regime that so skillfully manipulates or even replaces facts with a more favorable narrative? Historiography needed a new purpose to remain relevant and useful in the triumviral world. In the Histories, Sallust adopts an analogical method of historiography that enables him to confront contemporary issues under the pretext of historical narrative. The allusive Histories challenge Sallusts audience to parse and analyze history as it is being written by the actors themselves and to interrogate the relationship between words and deeds.

The first monograph in any language on the Histories, this book offers comprehensive reading of Sallusts third and final work, featuring discussion of a wide selection of fragments beyond the speech and letters, set-pieces that have generally been studied in isolation. It offers a valuable resource for academics and postgraduates working on ancient historiography and Latin literature more generally; it will also be of interest to ancient historians working on the late Roman Republic. With English translations of all Greek and Latin passages, this book will also be useful for undergraduate and graduate courses on historiography, Latin literature, and Roman history.

Jennifer Gerrish is Assistant Professor in the Department of Classics at the College of Charleston, USA.

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For a full list of titles in this series, please visit www.routledge.com/classicalstudies/series/RSANHIST

First published 2019

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2019 Jennifer Gerrish

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ISBN: 978-1-138-21856-7 (hbk)

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For Sabrina and Mr. Kelly, my first writing teachers

My first and greatest debt is to Cynthia Damon, under whose direction this project began as my dissertation at the University of Pennsylvania. Anyone who has read Cynthias work is aware of her formidable intellect and meticulous scholarship, but those of us who have had the privilege of being around her also know her warmth and generosity as a mentor and a friend. Her guidance has improved this work at every stage and I am motivated each day to strive for the example Cynthia has set as a teacher, a scholar, and a person.

I am deeply grateful to Joseph Farrell, Andrew Feldherr, and Timothy Johnson for taking the time to read and comment upon multiple drafts of this manuscript; it was much improved by their suggestions and insights. Caitlin Gillespie and Charles Ham also gave invaluable feedback on countless drafts as this project developed over the years. The comments on my prospectus from William Batstone, Ellen OGorman, and two other anonymous Routledge readers provided useful guidance for this project early on. Versions of parts of appeared in Classical Journal 111 (2016): 193217 (Scylla) and Histos 12 (2018) 4970 (The Blessed Isles); I am grateful to CJ/CAMWS and Histos for permission to republish them in revised form here. Thanks are also due to Evans Hollingsworth, who contributed editorial assistance.

I would like to express my gratitude for the support of the School of Languages, Cultures, and World Affairs at the College of Charleston. Through LCWAs Junior Faculty Colloquium Grant I had the opportunity to invite Andrew Feldherr, John Marincola, and Dylan Sailor to participate in the 2017 Classical Charleston Colloquium, at which I also presented portions of this work. Our conversations that weekend were critical in shaping this book and I thank my fellow panelists for their feedback and encouragement.

I could not have completed this project without the support of my Classics Department colleagues at the College of Charleston: Andrew Alwine, Sam Flores, James Newhard, Fedelia Roper, Allison Sterrett-Krause, and Noelle Zeiner-Carmichael. I am fortunate to work with generous people whose doors are always open, and our daily coffee runs have fueled me in more ways than one.

Finally, my deepest gratitude is owed to my family for their unwavering support. Thank you to my parents, James and Bethany Gerrish, for their sacrifices, patience, and love. My siblings Josh and Kate Gerrish are a constant source of both inspiration and laughter. Sue Gerrish and Rita Grinnell Elliott have believed in me in the way only grandmothers can. Finally, but most of all, thank you to my husband, Thomas Caldwell, for whom I am more grateful than I am able to express.

By the time the triumvirate of Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (Octavian), Marcus Antonius (Antony), and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (Lepidus) had consolidated their stranglehold on what was left of the Roman Republic, Gaius Sallustius Crispus (Sallust) was not a politician, not anymore. That world had been closed off to him since his retirement from public life around 44 BCE. His political career had been characterized more by controversy than accomplishment. As tribune, Sallust found himself entangled in the turmoil of 52 BCE, when the cronies of T. Annius Milo had murdered Milos political rival, P. Clodius Pulcher. Rather than co-operating with Gnaeus Pompey (who had been made sole consul to address the crisis), Sallust and two of his colleagues in the tribunate contributed to the violence by fomenting popular rage against Milo. While he does not seem to have been prosecuted specifically for his actions as tribune, Sallust was expelled from the senate two years later by the censors Appius Claudius and Calpurnius Piso; the precise reason is unknown, but sources speculate about offenses ranging from extortion to adultery. He found his way into the camps of Julius Caesar during the civil war with Pompey and seems to have gained favor with the future dictator despite some noteworthy early failures as a commander. His conduct in the African War earned him the governorship of the recently incorporated province Africa Nova. Sallust seems to have taken advantage of this lucrative appointment to line his own pockets and was charged with extortion at the end of his term.