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he was standing before the palace, leaning against a tree out of despondency. And there were others there in chains. And when a bird flew down to that tree—the Romans call the bird an owl—one of the prisoners, seeing him, asked the soldier who was guarding him who the man in the purple was; and having learned, he asked the soldier chained with him to come near. And having succeeded, he says, "O young man, I bring you good news of a very swift release from your chains and advancement to the greatest height of honor and power, and that you will be envied by those who now pity you, and you will die in prosperity, leaving your fortune to your children. But when you see this 2.24 bird again, know that your death will come then, after five days. However, when you prosper according to our prophecy, remember us also, so that we may escape the misfortune in which we now are." And he who said these things at the time provoked laughter, but later appeared worthy of wonder. So Agrippa was in chains for six months. But Tiberius, growing weak as his illness strengthened, orders Euodus, who was the most honored of his freedmen, to bring the children to him to speak with them before his death. But he had no sons; for his son Drusus had died; but he had a grandson from him, Tiberius Gemellus, and a grandnephew, Gaius, son of his kinsman Germanicus, who was already a young man and had been educated, and was loved and honored by the people on account of his father's virtue. So Tiberius ordered the boys to be brought in the next morning; and his wish was to leave the rule especially to his grandson, but for the time being he made it an omen that the divine will desired the rule to pass to him who should come to him first, and he sends orders to the grandson's tutor to bring the boy rather early. And when day had already broken, he sends Euodus to call in whichever of the boys was present; but he found Gaius before the chamber and brought him in to Tiberius. And he, coming to a realization of the power of the divine, lamented as for his grandson who was lost. And although he was disturbed by this, he says to Gaius, "O child, although Tiberius is more closely related to me than you, yet I myself, both by my own judgment and by the vote of the gods, entrust to you the rule of the Romans, and I ask you not to be unmindful 2.25 of your kinship with Tiberius, but to care for him as a kinsman; for whatever is done unjustly does not go unpunished by divine providence." So Tiberius, having appointed Gaius successor to the rule, died after surviving a few days, having reigned for twenty-two years, seven months, and as many days, and Gaius was left as emperor. And the death of Tiberius was announced to the Romans; but they disbelieved the report because they wanted the thing so much. For he had wrought very many terrible things upon the Roman patricians, being quick to anger and punishing even the slightest offenses with death. But Marsyas, Agrippa's freedman, learning of Tiberius's death, ran to him and in the Hebrew tongue says, "The lion is dead." And he acknowledged his thanks to him, if he reported the truth. And the centurion, seeing Agrippa in delight, suspected that something new had happened, and asked what the news might be; and Agrippa, having already become familiar with the man, revealed the secret; and he shared in the pleasure, and set out a dinner. But while they were feasting, someone came saying that Tiberius was still alive. And the centurion, fearing that he had consorted with a prisoner of the emperor, orders him to be bound, having already loosed him. On the next day, there was a widespread report about the death of Tiberius, and letters were sent from Gaius, one to the senate, announcing the death of Tiberius and his own succession to the rule, and the other to Piso, the guardian of the city, allowing 2.26 Agrippa to be moved from the camp to the house where he was before he was bound. And Gaius, having brought the corpse of Tiberius to Rome and buried it lavishly, wanted to release Agrippa at once; but Antonia had prevented it, not out of hatred of

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πρὸ τοῦ βασιλείου εἱστήκει δένδρῳ ὑπ' ἀθυμίας ἐπικλιθείς. ησαν δ' ἐκεῖ καὶ ετεροι ἐν δεσμοῖς. καὶ ὀρνέου πρὸς τὸ δένδρον ἐκεῖνο καταπταμένου, βουβῶνα τὸν ορνιν ̔Ρωμαῖοι καλοῦσι, τῶν δεσμωτῶν τις θεασάμενος ηρετο τὸν αὐτὸν τηροῦντα στρατιώτην οστις ειη ὁ ἐν τῇ πορφυρίδι· καὶ μαθὼν ἠξίωσε τὸν συνδεδεμένον αὐτῷ στρατιώτην πλησίον ἐλθεῖν. καὶ τυχών "ω νεανία" φησίν, "ἀπαλλαγήν τέ σοι τῶν δεσμῶν ταχίστην εὐαγγελίζομαι καὶ προκοπὴν ἐπὶ μήκιστον ἀξιώματος καὶ δυνάμεως, καὶ ὡς ζηλωτὸς εσῃ τοῖς αρτι οἰκτιζομένοις σε, καὶ ἐν εὐδαιμονίᾳ τελευτήσεις, παισὶ τὸν ολβον λιπών. οτε δ' εἰσαῦθις τὸν ορνιν 2.24 τοῦτον θεάσαιο, ισθι σου τηνικαῦτα μετὰ πέντε ἡμέρας ἐσομένην τὴν τελευτήν. εὐδαιμονήσας μέντοι κατὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν πρόρρησιν, μνήμην ποιοῦ καὶ ἡμῶν, ὡς διαφευξόμεθα τὴν δυστυχίαν ῃ τανῦν σύνεσμεν." καὶ ὁ μὲν ταῦτα εἰπὼν τότε μὲν γέλωτα ωφλεν, υστερον δ' ἐφάνη θαύματος αξιος. Ην ουν ἐν τοῖς δεσμοῖς ὁ ̓Αγρίππας ἐπὶ μῆνας εξ. Τιβέριος δὲ μαλακιζόμενος τῆς νόσου κραταιουμένης Ευοδον κελεύει, ος τῶν ἀπελευθέρων ην αὐτῷ τιμιώτατος, τὰ τέκνα προσαγαγεῖν αὐτῷ διαλεξομένῳ σφίσι πρὶν τελευτῆς. οὐκ ησαν δὲ παῖδες αὐτῷ· ὁ γὰρ υἱὸς αὐτοῦ ∆ροῦσος ετυχε τεθνεώς· υἱωνὸς δ' ἐξ ἐκείνου αὐτῷ ην Τιβέριος Γέμελλος, καὶ ἀδελφιδοῦς Γάιος Γερμανικοῦ παῖς συγγόνου αὐτοῦ, νεανίας ηδη καὶ παιδείᾳ ἐσχολακὼς καὶ παρὰ τοῦ δήμου φιλούμενος καὶ τιμώμενος διὰ τὴν τοῦ πατρὸς ἀρετήν. κελεύσας ουν ὁ Τιβέριος εωθεν τοὺς παῖδας εἰσαγαγεῖν εἰς τὴν αυριον· ην δ' αὐτῷ τὸ βουλόμενον τῷ υἱωνῷ μάλιστα καταλιπεῖν τὴν ἀρχήν, τέως δ' ουν οἰώνισμα εθετο εἰς ἐκεῖνον βούλεσθαι τὸ θεῖον περιελθεῖν τὴν ἀρχὴν ος αν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀφίκοιτο πρότερος, πέμπει κελεύων τῷ παιδαγωγῷ τοῦ υἱωνοῦ πρωιαίτερον αγειν τὸν παῖδα. καὶ ηδη γεγονυίας ἡμέρας πέμπει τὸν Ευοδον εἰσκαλεῖν τὸν παρόντα τῶν παίδων· ἐκεῖνος δὲ τὸν Γάιον πρὸ δωματίου καταλαβὼν εἰσήγαγε πρὸς Τιβέριον. ὁ δὲ τῆς τοῦ θείου δυνάμεως εἰς εννοιαν ἐλθὼν κατωλοφύρατο ὡς ἐπ' ἀπολωλότι τῷ υἱωνῷ. καίπερ δὲ διὰ τοῦτο τεταραγμένος, φησὶ πρὸς τὸν Γάιον "ω παῖ, εἰ καὶ Τιβέριος συγγενέστερός μοί ἐστιν η σύ, ἀλλ' αὐτὸς καὶ κατὰ γνώμην ἐμὴν καὶ κατὰ ψῆφον θεῶν σοι τὴν τῶν ̔Ρωμαίων ἐγχειρίζω ἀρχήν, καὶ ἀξιῶ μὴ ἀμνημο2.25 νῆσαι τῆς συγγενείας τῆς πρὸς Τιβέριον, κήδεσθαι δὲ τούτου ὡς συγγενοῦς· οὐ γὰρ ἀτιμώρητα τῇ θείᾳ προνοίᾳ οσα παρὰ δίκην πράσσοιτο." Τιβέριος μὲν ουν τὸν Γάιον ἀποδείξας τῆς ἡγεμονίας διάδοχον, ὀλίγας ἐπιβιοὺς ἡμέρας θνήσκει, αρξας ἐπὶ ἐνιαυτοῖς δύο καὶ εικοσι μῆνας ἑπτὰ καὶ ἡμέρας ισας, Γάιος δὲ αὐτοκράτωρ περιελέλειπτο. ἠγγέλλετο δὲ ̔Ρωμαίοις τοῦ Τιβερίου ἡ ἀποβίωσις· οἱ δὲ ἠπίστουν τῷ λόγῳ ὑπὸ τοῦ πάνυ τὸ πρᾶγμα βούλεσθαι. πλεῖστα γὰρ ἐκεῖνος δεινὰ ̔Ρωμαίων τοὺς εὐπατρίδας εἰργάσατο, δύσοργος ων καὶ θανάτῳ καὶ τὰ κουφότατα τῶν πταισμάτων τιμώμενος. Μαρσύας δὲ τοῦ ̓Αγρίππου ἀπελεύθερος, πυθόμενος τοῦ Τιβερίου τὴν τελευτήν, εδραμε πρὸς αὐτὸν καὶ ̔Εβραΐδι φωνῇ "τέθνηκεν ὁ λέων" φησίν. ὁ δὲ χάριτας ὡμολόγει αὐτῷ, εἰ κατήγγειλεν ἀληθῆ. καὶ ὁ ἑκατόνταρχος ὁρῶν τὸν ̓Αγρίππαν ἐν χάρματι, ὑπετόπησέ τι γεγονέναι καινόν, καὶ ηρετο τί αν ειη τὸ ἀγγελθέν· καὶ ὁ ̓Αγρίππας ηδη συνήθης γενόμενος τῷ ἀνδρὶ τὸ ἀπόρρητον ἀπεκάλυψεν· ὁ δὲ ἐκοινοῦτο τὴν ἡδονήν, καὶ προυτίθει δεῖπνον. εὐωχουμένων δὲ παρῆν τις περιεῖναι λέγων Τιβέριον. καὶ ὁ ἑκατόνταρχος δείσας οτι συνδιῃτᾶτο δεσμώτῃ τοῦ αὐτοκράτορος, κελεύει δῆσαι αὐτόν, λελυκὼς ηδη. τῇ δ' ὑστεραίᾳ λόγος τε ην πλατὺς περὶ τῆς τελευτῆς Τιβερίου, καὶ ἐπιστολαὶ παρὰ Γαΐου ἐπέμφθησαν, ἡ μὲν πρὸς τὴν σύγκλητον, τὸν Τιβερίου θάνατον καταγγέλλουσα καὶ τὴν αὐτοῦ τῆς ἡγεμονίας διαδοχήν, ἡ δὲ πρὸς Πείσωνα τὸν τῆς πόλεως φύλακα, ἐπιτρέ2.26 πουσα τὸν ̓Αγρίππαν ἐκ τοῦ στρατοπέδου μεταγαγεῖν εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν ἐν ῃ πρὸ τοῦ δεθῆναι ην. Γάιος δὲ εἰς ̔Ρώμην τὸν τοῦ Τιβερίου νεκρὸν ἀγαγὼν καὶ θάψας πολυτελῶς, αὐτίκα λῦσαι τὸν ̓Αγρίππαν ἐβούλετο· ἡ δ' ̓Αντωνία κεκώλυκεν, οὐ μίσει τοῦ