The Annals of Tacitus: Books 5-6

Description

Books 5 and 6 of Tacitus' Annals cover the last years of the emperor Tiberius. Although most of Book 5 is lost, Book 6 survives complete and offers a vivid narrative of the increasingly tyrannical princeps, secluded on the island of Capri; the book ends with his death and obituary notice, one of the most celebrated passages of classical literature. This volume presents a new text of Books 5 and 6, restoring the division between them which was proposed by Lipsius, as well as a full commentary on the text, covering textual, literary, linguistic and historical matters. An Appendix discusses 'The Tacitean Tiberius'. The volume rounds off the sequence which began with commentary on Books 1 and 2 of Tacitus' Annals by F. R. D. Goodyear (1972, 1981) and was continued by commentary on Book 3 by A. J. Woodman and R. H. Martin (1996).

A. J. Woodman is Basil L. Gildersleeve Professor of Classics at the University of Virginia.

'In short, this commentary is a reflection of the authoritative work of Woodman as well as his predecessors. ... In this commentary, Woodman has brought Goodyear's (and Martin's) work to an admirable conclusion.' Rebecca Edwards, Bryn Mawr Classical Review