Pannonia was famous for a plant Pliny NH 21 20 and 83: probably Valeriana celtica.
“A distant look at a camp” Pliny Pan 15 2.
an estimated salary of 18,000 sesterces For army pay, see Speidel passim and Table 7.
“an ostentatious lover of the common people” HA Hadr 17 8.
an uncanny memory for names Pliny Pan 155.
identified as Quintus Marcius Turbo Birley, p. 32, but see Syme, “The Wrong Marcius Turbo,” p. 91, for an opposing view.
“the charge brought against them” Dio 67 14 1–2.
“man of the most contemptible laziness” Suet Dom 15 1.
“on the slightest of suspicions” Ibid., 15 1.
He was a handsome man For Nerva’s appearance see Julian Caes 311A, his coins. His vomiting is recorded in Dio 68 13, and drinking in Aur Vic 13 10.
“Whoever is familiar with the poet Nero’s verses” Mart 8 70 7–8.
reported to have seduced Domitian Suet Dom 11.
“Your great enemy, Clemens” Phil Apoll 8 25 1. The usually unreliable Philostratus seems to be reporting a credible account.
VIII. THE EMPEROR’S SON
Chief literary sources—Dio Cassius, Pliny, and Historia Augusta
personification of Liberty BMC III p. 3 16.
provision of grain for the capital city Ibid., p. 21 115.
“Harmony of the armies” Ibid., p. 4, 25 ff.
“Assuredly we have been given a signal proof” Tac Agric 23, 31.
Despite the embargo For this episode and quotations, Pliny Ep 9 13.
“bloodstained servility” Pliny Ep 9 13 16.
“whose loss of sight” Ibid., 4 22 5.
“I wonder what would have happened” Ibid., 4 22 4–5.
“I have done nothing” Dio 68 3 1.
The Guard took over the palace For this episode, see Dio 68 33–4, Ep de Caes 12 7–8.
A laureled dispatch If I am wrong, and Trajan was governing one of the Germanys, then the victory must have been someone else’s. However, this would render Pliny’s reference Pan 7–82 rather odd; he says that the Pannonian victory marked “the rise of a ruler [i.e., Trajan] who would never be defeated.” That makes little sense if it was not for Trajan’s success on the battlefield.
“May good fortune attend” Dio 68 3 4.
“May the Danaans” Homer Il 1 42.
he moved Trajan from his posting in Pannonia For Trajan’s postings and movements I follow Bennett, pp. 44–50.
“All disturbances died at once” Pliny Pan 85.
“You had to be pressed” Ibid., 56.
“foretold” the principate of Trajan Tac Agric 44 5.
“wanton tyranny of power” Pliny Pan 76.
he had famously congratulated Ep de Caes 12 3.
an unprecedented third posting Only one case is attested: see Birley, p. 37.
and was impressed An inference drawn from Hadrian’s later development of the limes principle.
revealed “what he was spending” HA Hadr 26.
The news angered Trajan, as was intended The Latin has “odium in eum movit” (“he stirred anger against him”). The “movit” implies intention.
Aquae Mattiacae Pliny NH 31 17.
Hadrian seized the hour HA Hadr 26, for the race to Colonia Agrippinensis.
IX. “OPTIMUS PRINCEPS”
Chief literary sources—Pliny and Dio Cassius
“Who is that in the distance” Virg Aen 6 808–12.
Plotina was probably in her mid-thirties I follow Bennett, p. 24, in supposing that Trajan married Plotina about A.D. 78, and that, like most Roman girls, she was between thirteen and fifteen at the time of the union.
“he thought that an old man” Dio 68 51.
“he would not kill or disenfranchise” Dio 68 52.
“If the public interest demands it” Pliny Pan 67 8.
“ridicule that had greeted” Tac Agric 39 1.
“One could see swords everywhere” Dio Chrys 12 16–20.
“I enter here such a woman” Dio 68 55.
“Nothing was so popular” Pliny Pan 34 3–4.
“Well, let them go!” Ibid., 34 5.
“The weather was … particularly bad” Pliny Ep 3 18 4.
“critical sense of my audience” Ibid., 18 8.
“Times are different” Pliny Pan 23–4.
“provoked a laugh” HA Hadr 31.
he picked up un-Italian speech patterns Birley, p. 46.
Some said she was in love with him Dio 69 12.
more interested sexually in men than women This is an assumption, but everything in the records of Hadrian’s life points to this conclusion. I discuss his sexuality on pp. 239—44.
According to Aulus Gellius Aul Gell 10 10.
she was a wealthy woman Opper, p. 204.
“it was a bit crowded” BBC Panorama interview with Diana, Princess of Wales, November 21, 1995.
X. BEYOND THE DANUBE
Chief literary sources—Dio Cassius, Pliny, and Historia Augusta. Trajan’s Column is an important “document.”
“O Jupiter, Greatest and Best” Smallwood II 1 24–37.
“Imperator Caesar, son of the deified Nerva” L’Année Épigraphique 1973, 473.
“because of the danger of cataracts” JRS 63 (1973) pp. 80–81.
a notorious rogue Dio 68 32 4–5.
“how high a hill and place have been excavated” Smallwood 378.
The column picks up the tale The interpretation of the reliefs on Trajan’s Column in the following paragraphs is indebted to Rossi, pp. 130–212.
“I have had no letter from you” Pliny Ep 3 17 1–3. It is highly probable, though not certain, that this letter was sent to Servianus during the first Dacian war.
Servianus and Sura returned to Rome In the ordinary course of things, they should have served or at least opened their consulships in Rome. They may have stayed with Trajan, but I follow Bennett, p. 93.
An inscription … sets out his early career Smallwood 109. The reference to donis militaribus is associated with Hadrian’s quaestorship and appointment as comes during the Dacian expedition.
military decorations See Rossi, pp. 79–80.
“into a position of fairly close intimacy” HA Hadr 32–3; and the next quotation.
“opulent rewards” Ibid., 33.
appointment as tribunus plebes The Historia Augusta confuses the dates, placing the tribuneship in A.D. 105, later than the praetorship, which it must have preceded. See discussion in Birley, p. 47.
“he was given an omen” HA Hadr 35.
There is some misunderstanding Birley, p. 48.
“seized some fortified mountains” Dio 68 93.
The celebratory coins he issued BMC III 191, 236, and 242.
“agreed to surrender his weapons” Dio 68 95–6.
“excessively keen on poetry” HA Hadr 14 8.
would write verse as a relaxation Pliny Ep 7 9 9.
“rage powers my poetry” Juv 1 79.
“the poverty of our native tongue” Lucr de Rerum Nat 1 139.
“When you speak, the honey” Pliny Ep 4 3 3. See also Homer Iliad 1 249.
lascivus versu Apul Apol 11.
“glory of the empire” Pliny Ep 10 14.
seems to have been made urban praetor The sources are not explicit, but this must be the assumption, for only the urban praetor held games. Confusion in the Historia Augusta has left the date of the praetorship uncertain. I agree with Birley, p. 47.
arrested “on suspicion” Dio 68 11 3.
about this time that a telling exchange took place I follow the plausible speculation in Birley, p. 50ff.
“To the strongest” Arrian Alex 7 26.
it distinctly appealed to Trajan In the event (as the reader will discover), Trajan did seek to follow Alexander’s precedent, except perhaps in his very last hours.
“I commend the provinces” HA Hadr 48. By its location in the text, this story (if true) took place near
the end of Trajan’s life. The Dacian wars seem a more likely date, seeing that Trajan would be naming a nearby general; Priscus could take over in the event of his being killed or incapacitated.
offered to negotiate without preconditions For Longinus’ story see Dio 68 12 1–5.
the freedman’s safety Ibid., 68 12 5.
“with the help of some captives” Ibid., 68 14 4–5.
about 500,000 pounds of gold Sherk 118 (Joannes Lydus De Mag 2 28). Lydus’ numbers are fantastic because of a transmission fault in the text, but this can be easily corrected to produce a rational result.
gray marble inscription Sherk 117. For a photograph see Rossi, p. 228.
“his many remarkable deeds” HA Hadr 3 6.
XI. THE WAITING GAME
Chief literary sources—Historia Augusta, Dio Cassius, and Pliny. Also the alimenta tablets.
“held back the Sarmatians” HA Hadr 39.
“restrained the procurators” Ibid., 39.
“One was said to ask a wealthy man” Ep de Caes 42 21.
“maintained military discipline” HA Hadr 39.
in recognition of his successful record HA Hadr 3 10.
“So great was the friendship” Dio 68 15 4–6.
One of these concerned a spring Pliny Ep 4 30.
“He was no longer despised” HA Hadr 3 10.
“zeal that he had secured imperium” Epit de Caes 13 6.
with its thirty legions This was the legionary strength after Trajan raised two additional legions, probably during the Dacian wars.
He treated them as personal friends Eutropius 84.
“He joined others in animal hunts” Dio 68 73; and the next quotation, “took more pleasure …”
“what the emperor decides” Digest 14 1Pr.
“Appello Caesarem” Acts 25 11.
defendants condemned in absentia Digest 48 19 5.
a remote bridge in Numidia Smallwood 98.
he was nicknamed “the Wallflower” Amm Marc 27 3 7.
Even the decisions of a “bad” emperor For example, see Pliny Ep 10 66.
the celebrated tabula alimentaria Now in the National Archaeological Museum of Parma.
The tablets give detailed information CIL 1455 and 11.1147.
identify needy children CAH, vol. XI, p. 115, argues against poverty as a criterion. While Roman citizenship in the provinces was selective and indicative of membership in an affluent local elite, in Italy it was universal; so many citizens there must have been poor. What would the point have been of an alimenta system that did not target their offspring? Epitome de Caesaribus 12 4 claims the chosen children were those in greatest need.
cost the state annually 311 million sesterces Bennett, p. 83.
“As a result, most of [them] have lost interest” Pliny Ep 937.
one with the proud slogan Italia restituta RIC II 278 no. 470.
writing the emperor’s speeches HA Hadr 3 11.
“My own view is that we should compromise” Pliny Ep 10 115.
“I think then that the safest course” Ibid., 10 113.
So he wrote to Rome for guidance Ibid., 10 96.
It was impossible, he wrote Ibid., 10 97.
XII. CALL OF THE EAST
Chief literary sources—Dio Cassius, Historia Augusta, and Epictetus. Also Camp for background on Roman Athens.
“to the pure and genuine Greece” Pliny Ep 8 24 2.
“O glittering, violet-crowned” Pindar Dith 76 (46).
In 112 Hadrian made his way to Athens The dating is supported by Hadrian’s year as archon, known to be 112. Because the Athenian official year ran from summer to summer, this could mean either 111–112 or 112– 113. That Panathenaic Games were held in 112 makes it very likely that Hadrian chose 112–113 for his stay in Athens.
became a friend and admirer HA Hadr 16 10.
a number of remarks in his lectures I am indebted to Birley, pp. 60– 61, for this happy speculation.
“If the emperor adopts you” Epict 132.
“Shall kinship with the emperor” Ibid., 197.
“Some men … have excessively sharp tongues” Ibid., 125 15–16.
“Maximus: I sit as a judge over Greeks” Ibid., 37 30–33.
They then awarded him their highest honor The Constitution of Athens 55 makes clear that archons entered office immediately after election. I assume that the antiquarian Athens of the first century A.D. maintained the old tradition.
“He devoured the pursuits and customs” Ep de Caes 14 2.
“Euphranor” The Latin has “Euphranoras,” but Euphranor must be meant.
He was tall and … elegant in appearance For Hadrian’s appearance see HA Hadr 26 1–2. I have also used the evidence of statues.
“a pleasant man to meet” Dio 69 2 62.
“languishing, bright, piercing” Script Phys Vet 2 51f (Adamantius).
Augustus prided himself Suet Aug 79 2.
“bristly farmer with a kiss like a billy-goat’s” Martial 12 59 4–5. 146 Cicero called them barbatuli Cic Att 1 16 11.
cover some natural blemishes HA Hadr 26 1.
“Can anything be more useless than hairs” Epict 1 16 9.
“So we ought to preserve the signs” Ibid., 1 16 14.
very plausible that he did so now See Birley, p. 61, for this notion.
“Friend of the Greeks” Smallwood 44a.
Plutarch recalls how Roman soldiers Plut Crass 24 2.
Trajan, while mindful of the dignity See Arrian Parth frag. 33.
“was a desire to win glory” Dio 68 17 1.
Coins were issued BMC III p. 108 531; p. 106 525; p. 101 500; p. 112 569ff.
legatus to the emperor HA Hadr 41.
“assigned to Syria for the Parthian war” Dio 69 1.
“large force of soldiers and senators” Malalas 11 3–4.
“satisfactory neither to the Romans” Dio 68 17 2–3.
“Friendship is decided by actions” Ibid.
Hadrian waited in Antioch Hadrian’s movements and whereabouts during this period are uncertain. Malalas (11 3–4) says that he accompanied the emperor on his journey east, presumably after Athens. But Dio (69 1) and HA (Hadr 4 1) seem to indicate a preparatory role; it follows that he preceded Trajan to Syria.
the legions he had assembled Little detail has come down to us of Hadrian’s responsibilities, but it can be inferred that preparing an army for the Parthian campaign was one of them.
the superstitious Hadrian Amm Marc 22 12 8. The reference is undated, and could have taken place during Hadrian’s brief governorship of Syria in 117.
The imperial pair presented Arrian Parth frag. 36.
“To Zeus Kasios has Trajan” Anth Pal 6 332.
XIII. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
Chief literary sources—Dio Cassius, Historia Augusta, and Arrian’s Parthica
“At this same time [Hadrian] enjoyed” HA Hadr 42.
cocommander of the Guard Attianus’ partner was Servius Sulpicius Similis. He stayed in Rome while Attianus accompanied Trajan on his profectio.
owner of twin boys Martial 9 103.
“He displayed neither effeminacy” Dio 69 18 1.
“always his enemies” HA Hadr 43.
distinction of public statues Dio 68 16 2.
arrived toward the end of May Bennett, p. 192.
Abgarus, king of Osrhoene Dio 68 21 1.
“Afraid of Trajan and the Parthians alike” Ibid., 68 18 1.
Parthamasiris turned up late Arrian Parth frags. 38–40.
laid his diadem Dio 68 19 2–20 3.
coin issues that depict the rex Parthus BMC III 103, 106.
Hadrian and the Triumph of Rome Page 40
