Luke D an Megan... Marcus

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of the different ways in which Tacitus and Suetonius select and organise material Luke Dan Megan... Marcus

2. Suetonius- Advantages • Biological Biographical Chronology – Suetonius picks up every significant event in detail • Cites all his work • Looks at events that insight Caesars personality ie. Games – Claudius loves games, Tiberius frugal doesn’t hold games • Studied under Pliny the Younger so knows his history well – taught by the best.

3. Suetonius- Disadvantages • Biographical Biological Chronology – He misses out events other historians would cover eg. Foreign policy • Events taken out of context and end up bring generalised • Focus on Rome and Roman people as the most records are for Rome • Bias towards upper classes – if emperors follow tradition he agrees if it goes against tradition he leaves it out eg. Upsurges in Christianity and cult of emperors.

4. Tacitus- Advantages • Traditional chronological style leads to much more context being included so we see a picture of the whole reign. • Includes foreign policy and things outside Rome and is key as the only source that does this. • Historical traditions mean other sources would be well cited so it’s likely he used other historians work and had a surplus of sources.

5. Tacitus- Disadvantages • Doesn’t cite anything to our knowledge • Missing parts such as Caligula we will never know about • Doesn’t give full characterisation just gives his own anti-monarchical views. • Very general about who says things so may just be putting in his own views.

6. Conclusion • It’s hard to judge Tacitus as some of his work is missing so he may include a full citation list it has merely been lost. • Suetonius dedication to traditional Roman values make him seem like he’s trying to whitewash history as he has traditional motive and as a biographer is bound to put more emphasis on personality rather than history.