Many scholars regard Tacitus as the greatest Roman historian from the period. Dr Gavin Kelly, Professor, The University of Edinburgh, joins the show to discuss the life and writings of Tacitus.
Some topics explored
- Why many scholars believe Tacitus to be the “greatest historian” in Roman history
- What’s known about his early life
- When his writing career took off
- What’s known about his wife
- His biography of his father-in-law
- Languages in Britain (under Roman hegemony) in this period
- His religion orientation
- His documentaries of past emperors
- How religion or myths may have informed his writings, if at all
- What’s known about the later period of his life and death
- His correspondences with Pliny the Younger
- Why his style of writing
Listen to the episode
The episode can be streamed below and is also available on major podcast apps: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.
Show Notes
- Professor Kelly is co-author of the monograph Two Romes: Rome and Constantinople in Late Antiquity (Oxford University Press)
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