Germania‚ written by Roman author Tacitus around the turn of the 1st century A.D. is an interesting work on the tribes that made up the nation of Germany at the time of the writing. Thomas Gordon‚ in the introductory note of his translation of Germania‚ says that Tacitus “stands in the front rank of the historians of antiquity for the accuracy of his learning‚ the fairness of his judgments”. In terms of the accuracy of his writing‚ I will admit‚ Germania is an incredibly detailed piece of work for
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Evidence Supporting the Stated Life Situation of Mark 1. Tacitus‚ Annals of Rome 15.44—he writes of Nero’s reign ca. August 64 CE. Tacitus illustrates Nero’s immorality and explains his desire to build a temple to himself. This desire led to the burning of shops and slums around the Circus Maximus that Nero blamed on the Christians (even though Nero and his helpers were behind the fire in an effort to clear the area for a temple). This fire of Rome was the occasion for a persecution of
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Herodotus and Tacitus‚ great writers of their time‚ reflect on their thoughts about their own civilizations and what views they had on the civilizations of their enemies at the time of their writings. While these men lived almost 500 years apart‚ and in different parts of the world‚ their writings both seem to express both displeasure and acceptance of other civilizations customs and ways of life. Herodotus‚ a Greek‚ focused his writings the Persians‚ the Greek enemy at the time. Since Herodotus
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Summary of Tacitus: Germania During the first and the second centuries‚ outside the borders of the Roman Empire‚ and occupying the area of Central Europe of what is today Germany‚ lived the tribes of the Germanic people. These descendants of modern Germans proved peculiar in that they adopted many qualities typical of barbaric cultures‚ yet they simultaneously practiced virtues more befitting of advanced civilizations‚ values more ethical than even the Roman empire of the time. The Germanic warriors
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Tacitus was a Roman historian who is author of this source. It is his own personal account on the Germanic peoples everyday lives. Based on Tacitus’ account‚ he criticizes Roman customs by contrasting them with those of the Germans‚ also referred to as barbarians. The account is organized into different categories that tell specifically about certain areas of these barbarians’ lives. First‚ Tacitus naturally talks about the origins of the Germans. He says that the German race is not mixed at
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“A bad peace is worse than no peace at all.” Tacitus’ saying accurately represents the resolution of World War I. At the beginning of the war‚ there was a world wide sense of pride‚ with each country striving to be the best. There were many writers that expressed their nationalistic views through literary pieces such as books and poems. But as the war progressed‚ the traumatising war experience resulted in a loss of motivation and nationalistic views. With the view change‚ the works of writing changed
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Tacitus composed Germania in order to illustrate his cynical assessment of the Germans and their nation. Tacitus presented thorough descriptions of what the German citizens looked like and the disorderly way their country was set up. Tacitus also emphasized the significance of family life for most Germans‚ the nonimportance of a class system to the Germans‚ and the violent behaviors German individuals often impulsively resorted to. Tacitus provided this information in a negative way to expression
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Critical Analysis on Tacitus: Germania Looking into t1he past is not an easy task‚ especially when looking back two thousand years. Without writing‚ it is impossible to speculate the kind of culture our ancestors lived. About 54 A.D. a roman citizen named Tacitus wrote his account about the early German nation. His writing had survived the sands of time and gives insight about the ancestors of the modern Teutonic nations. Tacitus was a man that held many important public offices and considered to
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their portraits of a nation when they had no relation at all in time or culuture. This phenomenon in present in Tacitus’ Germania and Sima Qian’s Account of the Xiongnu. The former a senator and historian of the early Roman Empire‚ and the latter the “father of Chinese historiography” during the Han dynasty. Although there are obvious differences in style‚ these two historians
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The Germania by Tacitus thoroughly examined Germany as a whole as well as individual Germanic tribes. In doing so‚ Tacitus emphasized three central characteristics: politics‚ religion‚ and the role of warfare. Politically‚ Germany The Germanic government was described as a rough democracy‚ with filtered input from the people and a subjective administration of justice. Kings were chosen at birth and continued the dynastic line of nobility‚ but even their power was not absolute or arbitrary. Leaders
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