Titus Livius

Roman historian

• Born: 59 b.c.e.
• Birthplace: Patavium (now Padua, Italy)
• Died: 17 c.e.
• Place of death: Patavium (now Padua, Italy)

Livy preserved many of the legendary traditions and mythology dealing with the earliest phase of ancient Roman history. Because many of the authors and sources he used have long been lost, his work assumes particular importance.

Early Life

Titus Livius, or Livy (LIHV-ee), was born in 59 b.c.e. in Patavium, northern Italy, according to the theologian Saint Jerome. Livy makes only a few brief references to his homeland, but they indicate a patriotic pride. Unfortunately, nothing certain is known about his youth, but it is assumed that he was schooled in his native town. This idea is based on a comment made by Asinius Pollio that Livy’s style was provincial. This criticism, however, is largely negated by the excellent Ciceronian style of most of Livy’s historical writings.

Livy’s early education must have included philosophical studies, as his writings contain many allusions and direct references to traditional Stoic values. Also, his frequent comments about religion show that he was familiar with the traditions and rituals of the Roman cults.

Livy probably did not begin writing his history of Rome until he was about thirty years old. Presumably, he had had adequate time in the previous years to read and research in preparation. By the age of thirty, he had probably moved to Rome, but regarding this there is no sure evidence. By the year 5 b.c.e., Livy was definitely in Rome, as at this time he was criticized by Emperor Augustus for being a “Pompeian,” a person who was biased in favor of the aristocratic, senatorial views. Augustus seems not to have meant this remark too seriously, for there is ample evidence to suggest that the emperor counted Livy as a friend and took an interest in his work. Indeed, it is known that about 8 c.e. Livy helped the future emperor Claudius in his historical studies.

Life’s Work

Livy’s great history was written in Latin and is generally known as Ab urbe condita libri (c. 26 b.c.e.-15 c.e.; The History of Rome, 1600), literally meaning “from the founding of the city” (of Rome). The work was exceptionally long, containing 142 books (scrolls); this length has been estimated to be equivalent to twenty-four or twenty-five crown-octavo volumes of three hundred pages each.

Probably as a result of the extreme length of the original work, abridgments and summaries were made in antiquity. Most of these have survived, but much of the original work has been lost. Only 35 of the 142 books have survived the ravages of time, including books 1-10 and 31-45. These surviving books deal chronologically with events between the years 753 and 243 b.c.e. and between 219 and 167 b.c.e. From the surviving summaries and fragments, it is clear that the work included information about Rome from its traditional foundation date in 753 through 9 b.c.e. The last twenty-two books were probably not published until after the death of Augustus in 14 c.e. The surmised reason for this is that Livy was fearful of publishing information about contemporaneous people and events.

Most scholars who have studied Livy’s work in detail have noted certain distinctive features of his great history. These include intensely personal psychological portraits of major military and political figures, speeches of uncertain origin interwoven with the chronological narrative to reflect certain political or religious perspectives of ancient Romans, lengthy discourses on cultic religion, including references to miracles and prodigies, frequent references to the virtuous morals and ethics of the early Romans in contrast to the degeneration of morals in the more recent age, a clear sympathy with Stoic views on the providential determination of history, and a patriotic bias in favor of aristocratic, republican conservatism.

Of these features, greater scholarly attention has been devoted to two aspects: Livy’s use of speeches and his emphasis on religion and morals. With regard to Livy’s use of speeches, it should be noted that he was not alone among ancient historians in the use of oratorical devices. The Greek historian Thucydides, like most other ancient historians, made the most of rhetoric in his accounts. In each case, the scholar must ask whether the speeches reflect the beliefs and attitudes of the author or of the one being quoted. Unfortunately, the question cannot be resolved with certainty. Most scholars have concluded that the speeches are not verbatim (though shorthand methods of taking dictation were known) but that they represent the historian’s artful summary of what he assumed must have been said on the occasion. In the particular case of Livy’s history, there is evidence that Cicero was used consciously with regard to style. There are 407 major speeches in Livy’s extant volumes, and if indirect speeches and minor exhortations are included, the number rises to more than 2,000. These statistics, obviously, are only based on the surviving books of Livy.

One of the longest of his speeches deals with Livy’s other chief preoccupation, religion. Marcus Furius Camillus, who has been called the second founder of Rome, was the man who prevented the Romans from abandoning the site of Rome, which had been badly damaged by warfare with the Gauls. Though the Romans had finally defeated the Gauls, many citizens of Rome wanted to migrate to the city of Veii, which had earlier been taken from the Etruscans. Camillus convinced them, however, that such a move would be a sin, a sacrilege, according to Livy’s report.

Most scholars believe that references to ancient religious beliefs, whether occurring in an alleged speech or in the narrative, reflect traditional views of the time more than Livy’s personal beliefs. Regardless of scholarly controversy, however, Livy’s history is so full of references to religion, morals, and ethical concerns that it seems difficult to believe that he simply repeated them to fill space. Instead, he probably did believe that his age had degenerated from earlier, more austere times. Examples of dramatic concern for morality include the stories of the rape of Lucretia, the execution of the vestal virgin Minucia, the debauchery of Hannibal’s army at Capua, and the introduction of the worship of the Greek god of wine, Dionysus-Bacchus.

The frequent references to religion and morals in Livy have led many scholars to conclude that he had Stoic sympathies or perhaps was actually a Stoic. Evidence for this conclusion is Livy’s frequent use of such terms as fatum (fate), fortuna (chance), felicitas (good fortune), virtus (virtue, bravery), fors (luck), and causa (cause), which may indicate some sympathy with the Stoic concept of the universe.

Having enjoyed years of productive work in Rome, Livy retired to his hometown, Patavium, near the end of his life. An Augustan tomb inscription discovered in the modern city of Padua honors the memory of a Titus Livius. Some scholars believe that he died as early as 12 c.e., although Saint Jerome records his death as occurring in 17.

Significance

The popularity of Livy in ancient times cannot be denied. He is also customarily covered in modern scholarly accounts of great ancient historians of Greece and Rome. The fact that he did have religious and political biases does not negate the fact that he did occasionally record his sources of information and make comments about their reliability. The ancient historian Valerius Antias is mentioned by name thirty-six times, Claudius Quadrigarius twelve times, Coelius Antipater eleven, Licinius Macer seven; Calpurnius Piso, Polybius, and Fabius Pictor are mentioned six times. In most cases, Livy tried to evaluate his sources in regard to probable accuracy and truthfulness.

Livy did, however, have undeniable weaknesses as a historian: occasional anachronisms, mistaken chronology, and topographical and geographic confusions, especially in accounts of battles. Furthermore, his patriotism makes him seem a bit prejudiced against other nations and peoples, most notably the Greeks.

Bibliography

Duff, John W. “Augustan Prose and Livy.” In A Literary History of Rome: From the Origins to the Close of the Golden Age. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1960. A brief but good analysis of Livy and other literary figures of the age of Augustus, with special emphasis on the Ciceronian literary style of Livy.

Feldherr, Andrew. Spectacle and Society in Livy’s History. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998. Feldherr’s analysis of several episodes in Livy’s history shows how Livy uses specific visual imagery to give his reader the sense of being a participant in the events described.

Frank, Tenney. “Republican Historiography and Livy.” In Life and Literature in the Roman Republic. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1971. An excellent summary and analysis of Livy’s predecessors in writing Roman history. Special emphasis is placed on archaeological discoveries that have confirmed some of the early legends about the founding of Rome mentioned by Livy.

Grant, Michael. “Livy.” In The Ancient Historians. London: Duckworth, 1995. Grant summarizes the contents of Livy’s history and emphasizes his historiographical methods and aims, concluding that Livy deserves credit as a great historian.

Laistner, M. L. W. “Livy, the Man and the Writer” and “Livy, the Historian.” In The Greater Roman Historians. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1966. A detailed treatment of Livy as an adherent of a Stoic view of history in which religious signs were considered valid.

Walsh, P. G. “Livy.” In Latin Historians, edited by T. A. Dorey. New York: Basic Books, 1966. Describes Livy’s themes, such as the decline of Roman morality, his political views (senatorial and conservative), and his philosophical views (Stoic). Walsh also points out Livy’s weaknesses: He is too rhetorical and too concerned with individual psychological factors in history.