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Livy

Titus Livius was born in 5 B.C. in Patavium in Italy. Patavium is modernly referred to as Padua, and it is located near the Adriatic coast of northern Italy. In Livy's time, Patavium was well known for its strict adherence to old-fashioned Roman virtues. Not much is known about Livy's life, but scholars have assumed that he was probably greatly influenced by the civil wars in the 40's and 0's, as many people in his generation were. He had a family, which was the only distraction from his writing. His daughter married Lucius Magius, a seemingly talentless writer, and he also had two sons. Livy was thought to have associated with Augustus Caesar's literary circle, but some scholars think they might not have shared the same views. The later Roman historian Tacitus reports that Augustus called Livy a "Pompeian," which meant that he had Republican sympathies. He considered Brutus and Cassius, the conspirators against Julius Caesar, men of distinction. Livy also was acquainted with Claudius and encouraged him to write history. Despite his connections, he never mentioned a patron, like many other writers. Livy's education was only standard, its emphasis mostly on rhetoric, which is evident in his works. Livy seemed to be solely focused on writing, unlike many of the other writers of his time. He did not venture to the east to study at the universities in Athens or Rhodes, which accounts for his limited knowledge of geography and the political disorders of his life. He also never held office and never took part in the flourishing literary society of Rome.

Livy wrote mostly on philosophical topics and historical dialogues. His work was not partial to cites or countries, or even the people of his generation. He is solely focused on history, in an abstract way. He wanted to show how the Roman people came to be the way they are, and their moral values, instead of focusing on particular events. He did not talk to people to obtain his information for his writing, but spent hours in the library reading and studying history. His most famous work is Ab Urbe Condita, which translates from Latin as "from the founding of the city." Starting in 7 B.C., it took him forty years to write and consisted of one hundred and forty-two books, of which only thirty-five have survived. While writing his history, he borrowed freely from Virgil's Aeneid. Several minor Roman historians wrote summaries, called epitomes, of Livy's entire work and it is through these summaries that some idea of the content of the missing books is known. He published his history of Rome in installments, working on it for most of his life. Because Livy's history is so massive and has such literary character, scholars perceive it as Rome's prose epic and Livy as a poet in prose. Poetic scholars have found much that is admirable. Livy gives vivid scenarios centering on noble Romans, portraits of the traditional Republican values, lofty vocabulary, and an elevated rhetorical style. But poetic scholars also criticize Livy's history for being loosely organized. Historical scholars are more critical than the poetic scholars. They call him naïve and say that history has little to do with the public deeds and values of men. They also say that he has little skill in perceiving relationships between events and not having a personal viewpoint in his writing.

Livy's history begins with the mythological founding of Rome and concludes with the death of Drusus in B.C. The story is not completely factual, but Livy makes it interesting with his drama and characters. His history is written in annalistic form, which means that he wrote down all the events of one year before he proceeded to the next. The annals were about the deeds of the Roman people, at home or at war, arranged chronologically by consular year, beginning with each Ides of March. More specifically, the basic structure Livy uses begins with the consuls' entry into office and early activity in Rome; it goes on to their departure to their provinces and, at last, the return of one or both consuls to Rome, followed by the election of their successors. Books I to IV contain the foundation of Rome to its sack by the Gauls in 86 B.C. Books VI to X contain the Samnite Wars. Books XI to XIV contain the conquest of Italy. Books XVI to XXX contain both Punic Wars. Books XXXI to XLV go until the end of the war with Perseus in 167 B.C., while books XLVI to LXX go to the Social War in 1 B.C. Books LXXI to LXXX contain the civil wars up to Marius' death in 86 B.C., and books LXXXI to XC contain the civil wars up to Sulla's death in 78 B.C. Books XCI to CIII contain Pompey's triumph in 6 B.C. Books CIV to CVIII contain the last years of the republic, and CIX to CXVI contain the civil war up to Caesar's murder in 44 B.C. Books CXVII to CXXXIII go up to the Battle of Actium, while the final books contain the years to B.C., which is Livy's era.

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The first five books, covering the period before the burning of Rome in 0 B.C., forced Livy to declare his historical intentions right away. Some writers omitted this part of the history because the burning of the records made judgment difficult. Others wrote about this period because many of Rome's most famous and patriotic legends belonged to this period. Livy chose to write one book for the regal period, and four on the Republican period down to 0 B.C. He was aware that documenting this time in history would be very difficult, but including the material was a concession to patriotism. He also wrote on this period for historical reasons. Livy was able to discern the outline of the foreign wars, and he started with the events before the Gallic sack, since Rome's history would be incomplete without it. The first book covers several more years than all the book, covering 64 years as opposed to the 81 years spread out over 17 books. Much of Livy's information has since been proven wrong, but much emphasis was given to the important developments in Rome under the kings and the important social issues of the early republic. Book I tells about the seven kings and their contributions to the new city. They kept all the people under control, and Livy thinks they are responsible for the survival of Rome. In his history, he spoke about all the great things they accomplished, even the trivial things. For example, he wrote about the values that the kings instilled in the people, but he also mentioned the important bridges that were built. Livy gave great stress to all aspects of the beginning of Rome, and how these things affected Rome's empire and the rest of the world. Some scholars may not agree with Livy, but they respect his work. Livy's history will continue to capture different audiences, because it shows how the Roman people began and why they became so powerful.

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