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The senate decreed for the women the mourning of Tiberius for her for a whole year; and because she had saved many of them and had reared the children of many and given in marriage the daughters of very many, they also bestowed other honors upon her. But Tiberius gave none of the things left by her to anyone. And some of the things said by her should also be remembered. It is said that when some naked men once met her, and were about to be put to death for this, she saved them by saying that "to chaste women such men are no different from statues." And when someone asked her, "How and by doing what did you gain mastery over Augustus?" she answered that "by being strictly chaste myself, and gladly doing everything that pleased him, and not meddling in any of his affairs, and pretending neither to hear of nor to notice his amorous dalliances." But Tiberius raised Sejanus to great glory and made him a kinsman through marriage to Julia, the daughter of Drusus, 3.9 but later killed him, after the senate at his urging had condemned him to death. And the crowd abused his body, which had been cast out for three days, then threw it into the river. His children died by decree, and his wife killed herself. And others perished on his account, some killing themselves, and others being killed by others. Tiberius, in addition to other things, was also slandered for his love affairs, which he practiced licentiously and shamelessly with the noblest males and females, and he was reviled for his cruelty on account of the death of Agrippina and Drusus. For the people, thinking that previously all things against them had been done by Sejanus, were greatly grieved when they learned that they too had been killed after his destruction. But he appointed Gaius, the younger of Germanicus's sons, quaestor. For he overlooked his grandson Tiberius, both because he was a child and because he was suspected of not being Drusus's son, but he paid attention to Gaius as to one who would be sole ruler. For he was ignorant of nothing concerning Gaius, but even once said to him when he was quarreling with Tiberius, "You will kill him, and others will kill you." And having no one else similarly related to him, and knowing that that man would be most wicked, he gladly gave him the rule, as they say, so that by the excess of Gaius's wickedness his own deeds might be hidden and the greatest and noblest part of the senate might be destroyed when he came to power. And he is said to have often exclaimed this very ancient saying, 3.10 "When I am dead, let the earth be mingled with fire," and to have pronounced Priam blessed because he perished utterly along with his country and his kingdom. And so great a multitude of both senators and others had been destroyed, that those holding the governorships of the provinces were without successors for lack of those to succeed them. So the others were done away with for various reasons, both false and true, but Aemilius Scaurus died on account of a tragedy. For the play was "Atreus," and it advised one of the subjects to bear the folly of the ruler. So when Tiberius learned this, he believed the line had been written about himself, and said, "Then I will make him an Ajax," and he forced him to perish by his own hand. At this time a certain young man claiming to be Drusus appeared around Greece and Ionia. And the cities welcomed him gladly, and he would have advanced into Syria and taken possession of the armies, if someone had not recognized him, arrested him and brought him to Tiberius; who was at Antium celebrating the wedding of Gaius. The Tiber at that time flooded large parts of Rome so that they could be sailed upon, and countless things were destroyed by fire. And if Egyptian matters have any relevance to the Romans, the phoenix was seen in that year. And these things seemed to presage the death of Tiberius. He had fallen ill a long time before, but he neither changed his regimen nor made use of physicians, on account of the word of Thrasyllus, who knew very precisely both the day and the hour on which Tiberius was destined to die, but told him that he would live for ten more years, so that, as one who would live longer, he might not hasten to kill many people. such as then in old age and a not-acute illness 3.11
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τοῦ Τιβερίου πένθος ταῖς γυναιξὶν ἡ βουλὴ παρ' ολον ἐνιαυτὸν ἐπ' αὐτῇ ἐψηφίσατο· καὶ οτι πολλοὺς αὐτῶν ἐσεσώκει καὶ παῖδας πολλῶν ἐτετρόφει κόρας τε πλείοσιν ἐξεδεδώκει, καὶ αλλας τιμὰς ἐκείνῃ ἀπένειμαν. οὐδὲν δὲ τῶν τισι καταλειφθέντων ὑπ' ἐκείνης δέδωκεν ὁ Τιβέριος. ἀπομνημονευτέον δὲ καὶ τῶν παρ' ἐκείνης εἰρημένων ἐνίων. λέγεται οτι γυμνούς ποτε ανδρας αὐτῇ ἀπαντήσαντας, καὶ μέλλοντας διὰ τοῦτο θανατωθῆναι, εσωσεν εἰποῦσα οτι "οὐδὲν ἀνδριάντων ταῖς σωφρονούσαις οἱ τοιοῦτοι διαφέρουσιν." ἐρομένου δέ τινος αὐτήν "πῶς καὶ τί δρῶσα τοῦ Αὐγούστου κατεκράτησας;" ἀπεκρίνατο οτι "αὐτή τε ἀκριβῶς σωφρονοῦσα καὶ πάντα τὰ δοκοῦντα αὐτῷ ἡδέως ποιοῦσα, καὶ μηδὲν τῶν ἐκείνου πολυπραγμονοῦσα, καὶ τὰ ἀφροδίσια αὐτοῦ ἀθύρματα μήτ' ἀκούειν μήτ' αἰσθάνεσθαι προσποιουμένη." Τὸν δὲ Σηιανὸν ὁ Τιβέριος ἐπὶ μέγα δόξης ἐπάρας, καὶ κηδεστὴν ἐπὶ ̓Ιουλίᾳ τῇ τοῦ ∆ρούσου θυ3.9 γατρὶ ποιησάμενος, υστερον εκτεινε, τῆς γερουσίας αὐτοῦ καταψηφισαμένης θάνατον σπουδῇ αὐτοῦ. καὶ τῷ σώματι αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τρισὶν ἡμέραις ἐρριμμένῳ τὸ πλῆθος ἐνύβριζεν, ειτα εἰς τὸν ποταμὸν ἐνέβαλε. τά τε παιδία αὐτοῦ κατὰ δόγμα ἀπέθανε, καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ ἑαυτὴν διεχρήσατο. καὶ αλλοι δι' ἐκεῖνον ἀπώλοντο, οἱ μὲν ἑαυτοὺς ἀνελόντες, οἱ δὲ ὑφ' ἑτέρων ἀναιρεθέντες. Τιβέριος δὲ πρὸς τοῖς αλλοις καὶ διὰ τοὺς ερωτας, οις ἀσελγῶς τε καὶ ἀναιδῶς ἐχρῆτο, τῶν εὐγενεστάτων καὶ ἀρρένων καὶ θηλειῶν, διεβάλλετο, καὶ διὰ τὸν τῆς ̓Αγριππίνης τοῦ τε ∆ρούσου θάνατον ἐς ὠμότητα ἐλοιδορεῖτο. δοκοῦντες γὰρ οἱ ανθρωποι ὑπὸ τοῦ Σηιανοῦ πάντα τὰ κατ' ἐκείνων πρότερον γίνεσθαι, ὡς κἀκείνους κτανθῆναι εμαθον μετὰ τὴν ἐκείνου φθοράν, ὑπερήλγησαν. τὸν δὲ δὴ Γάιον τὸν νεώτερον τῶν τοῦ Γερμανικοῦ παίδων ταμίαν ἀπέδειξε. τὸν γὰρ εγγονον τὸν Τιβέριον, οτι τε παιδίον ην καὶ οτι μὴ ειναι τοῦ ∆ρούσου παῖς ὑπωπτεύετο, παρεώρα, τῷ Γαΐῳ δὲ ὡς καὶ μοναρχήσοντι προσεῖχεν. ἠγνόει γὰρ οὐδὲν τῶν κατὰ τὸν Γάιον, ἀλλὰ καὶ εφη ποτὲ αὐτῷ διαφερομένῳ πρὸς τὸν Τιβέριον οτι "σύ τε τοῦτον ἀποκτενεῖς καὶ σὲ αλλοι." ουτε δὲ ετερόν τινα ὁμοίως προσήκοντα ἑαυτῷ εχων, καὶ ἐκεῖνον εἰδὼς ἐσόμενον κάκιστον, ἀσμένως τὴν ἀρχήν, ως φασι, δέδωκεν αὐτῷ, οπως τῇ τοῦ Γαΐου τῆς κακίας ὑπερβολῇ τὰ ἑαυτοῦ κρυφθείη καὶ τὸ πλεῖστον καὶ εὐγενέστατον τῆς βουλῆς φθαρῇ παρελθόντος αὐτοῦ. λέγεται δὲ καὶ πολλάκις ἀναφθέγξασθαι τοῦτο δὴ τὸ ἀρχαῖον 3.10 ἐμοῦ θανόντος γαῖα μιχθήτω πυρί, καὶ τὸν Πρίαμον μακαρίζειν οτι αρδην μετὰ τῆς πατρίδος καὶ τῆς βασιλείας ἀπώλετο. τοσοῦτον δὲ πλῆθος τῶν τε βουλευτῶν καὶ τῶν αλλων διέφθαρτο, ωστε τοὺς τὰς ἡγεμονίας τῶν ἐθνῶν εχοντας ἀπορίᾳ τῶν αὐτοὺς διαδεξομένων ἀδιαδόχους ειναι. οἱ μὲν ουν αλλοι δι' αλλας αἰτίας καὶ ψευδεῖς καὶ ἀληθεῖς ἐκτιννύοντο, Αἰμίλιος δὲ Σκαῦρος διὰ τραγῳδίαν ἀπέθανεν. ̓Ατρεὺς μὲν γὰρ τὸ ποίημα ην, παρῄνει δὲ δὴ τῶν ἀρχομένων τινὶ τὴν τοῦ κρατοῦντος ἀβουλίαν φέρειν. μαθὼν ουν ταῦτα ὁ Τιβέριος ἐπ' αὐτὸν πεποιῆσθαι τὸ επος ἐνόμισε, καὶ ειπε "κἀγὼ ουν Αιαντα αὐτὸν ποιήσω," καὶ αὐτοεντίᾳ ἀπολέσθαι αὐτὸν ἠνάγκασεν. ἐν τούτοις νεανίσκος τις ∆ροῦσος ειναι λέγων περί τε τὴν ̔Ελλάδα καὶ τὴν ̓Ιωνίαν ωφθη. καὶ ἐδέξαντο αὐτὸν ἀσμένως αἱ πόλεις, καὶ καν ἐς τὴν Συρίαν προχωρήσας κατέσχε τὰ στρατόπεδα, εἰ μὴ ἐπιγνούς τις αὐτὸν συνέλαβε καὶ πρὸς τὸν Τιβέριον ηγαγεν· ὁ δὲ ἐν ̓Αντίῳ τοὺς τοῦ Γαΐου γάμους ἑώρταζεν. ̔Ο Τίβερις δὲ τότε πολλὰ τῆς ̔Ρώμης ἐπέκλυσεν ωστε πλευσθῆναι, καὶ πυρὶ μυρία ἐφθάρη. εἰ δέ τι καὶ τὰ Αἰγύπτια πρὸς τοὺς ̔Ρωμαίους προσήκει, ὁ φοῖνιξ ἐκείνῳ τῷ ετει ωφθη. καὶ εδοξε ταῦτα τὸν θάνατον τῷ Τιβερίῳ προσημαίνειν. ος ἐνόσησε μὲν πρὸ πλείονος χρόνου, ουτε δὲ τὴν δίαιταν παρήλλαξεν ουτε τοῖς ἰατροῖς ἐκέχρητο, διὰ τὸν τοῦ Θρασύλλου λόγον, ος πάνυ μὲν ἀκριβῶς ῃδει καὶ τὴν ἡμέραν καὶ τὴν ωραν καθ' ην τεθνήξεσθαι εμελλεν ὁ Τιβέριος, ἐκείνῳ δὲ δέκα ἐνιαυτοὺς ετι βιώσεσθαι ελεγεν, ιν' ὡς ἐπὶ μακρότερον ζήσων μὴ ἐπειχθῇ πολλοὺς ἀποκτεῖναι. οια δ' ἐν γήρᾳ καὶ νόσῳ μὴ ὀξείᾳ τοτὲ 3.11