Readings

Required Text

Livy. The Early History of Rome. Translated by Aubrey de Sélincourt. New York: Penguin, 1960, 1971.

Caesar, Julius. The Civil War. Translated by Jane F. Gardner. New York: Penguin, 1967.

Cicero. On Government. Translated by Michael Grant. New York: Penguin, 1993.

Dio, Cassius. The Roman History: The Reign of Augustus. Translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert. New York: Penguin, 1987.

Virgil. The Aeneid. Translated by Robert Fitzgerald. New York: Vintage Classics, 1981, 1990.

Ovid. The Love Poems. Translated by A. D. Melville. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.

–––. The Metamorphoses. Translated by Horace Gregory. New York: Mentor, 1960.

Editions of Horace and Virgil available through the Perseus Digital Library.

BBC Television. I, Claudius. British Broadcasting Company, 1976. (Video, dvd)

Readings by Class Session

SES # TOPICS READINGS
1 Introduction: Augustus, Authorship, and Authority  
2 Myths of Origin Livy. The Early History of Rome. Book I.
3 Birth of a Nation: Gender and History Livy. The Early History of Rome. Book II.
4 Repetition and Difference: The Patterns of History Livy. The Early History of Rome. Book III-IV.
5 Roman Institutions Livy. The Early History of Rome. Book V.
6 Warfare Public and Private Caesar. The Civil War.
7 The Functioning of Political Propaganda Caesar. The Civil War. (cont.)
8 The Waning Days of the Republic Cicero. Phillipics.
9 The Tradition of Public and Political Oratory Cicero. Brutus.
10 Actium and its Aftermath Dio, Cassius. The Roman History. Book 55.

BBC. I, Claudius. Episodes 1-2.
11 From Republic to Empire Dio, Cassius. The Roman History. Book 56.

BBC. I, Claudius. Episodes 3-4.
12 Independent Research Project Presentations  
13 Strategies of Accommodation Horace. Satires. Book I.

(Text available on-line through the Perseus Project.)
14 Resignation and Withdrawal Horace. Odes. (Book I. i, ii, vi, ix, xi, xii, xxii, xxiii, xxiv, xxxvii, xxxviii; Book II. i, ii, iii, x, xii, xiv, xviii, xx; Book III. i, ii, iii, iv, v, vi, vii, xxix, xxx; Book IV. viii, xii, xv.)

Ars Poetica.

(Text available on-line through the Perseus Project.)
15 Repetition and Reversal Dio, Cassius. The Roman History. Book 57.
16 The Politics of Pastoral Virgil. Eclogues.

(Text available on-line through the Perseus Project.)
17 The Golden Age of Rome Virgil. Eclogues. (cont.)
18 The Wayward Hero Virgil. Aeneid. Books I-IV.
19 Epics of Empire Virgil. Aeneid. Books V-VIII.
20 Reconstituting the Nation Virgil. Aeneid. Books IX-XII.
21 Organizing Desires: Fathers of the Fatherland Dio, Cassius. The Roman History. Book 59

Ovid. Amores.
22 Love Casuistry: Rhetoric, Deceit, and Desire Ovid. Ars Amatoria.

–––. Remedia Amoris.
23 Translations of Empire Ovid. Metamorphoses. Books I-IV.
24 Rhetoric and Regret Ovid. Metamorphoses. Books V-VIII.
25 Art and Emotion Ovid. Metamorphoses. Books IX-XII.
26 The Empire Reconsidered Ovid. Metamorphoses. Books XIII-XV.