A. Pilkevych, Ph. D in History
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17721/1728-2640.2016.130.3.14
THE PRINCIPATE OF TIBERIUS IN VELLEIUS PATERCULUS' "HISTORIAE ROMANAE"
The article deals with the character of Tiberius Caesar Divi Augusti shown in "Historiae Romanae" written by Velleius Paterculus. The author is a conceited and shallow courtier, and destitute of real historical insight, although generally trustworthy in his statements of individual facts. He may be regarded as a courtly annalist rather than an historian. The historical work of Velleius Paterculus is a critical counter to the later accounts of Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio, not just simply because it offers a different view of Tiberius, but because Velleius saw continuity where later authors saw only radical change which destroyed the Republic and put monarchy in its place. Studies of Velleius's work have frequently focused on the ways in which it reflects the messages propagated by the new regime. Some blemishes of style, particularly the clumsy and involved structure of his sentences, may perhaps be ascribed to insufficient literary training. The inflated rhetoric, the straining after effect by means of hyperbole, antithesis and epigram.
Keywords: Velleius Paterculus, the Principate, Tiberius Caesar Divi Augusti, Lucius Aelius Sejanus, historical biography, historical work, propaganda.
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