The concept and context of fear in Tacitus

Abstract

In this thesis I have studied some of the many instances of fear words to be found in the works of the Roman historian Tacitus. Chapter 1 deals with the way in which the soldiers involved in the army mutinies in Pannonia and Germany are presented in Annals 1 as being both fearful and terrifying. Chapter 2 comprises a study of horror words in Tacitus and in particular, how they contribute to the description of Tiberius at Ann. 4.7,1 as 'horridus'. In Chapter 31 have considered the description of the murder of Britannicus and especially Agrippina's reaction to the events she witnesses. Here I examined the way in which Tacitus presents the psychology of fear within a dramatic account. Chapter 4 is concerned with Tacitus' presentation of the emperor Nero as a paranoid tyrant and the way in which this feature is constantly asserted in the text. Finally, Chapter 5 looks at the emperor Vitellius in the final moments before his death and the fear which he experiences when his power is stripped from him. In conclusion, I assert that we can learn a great deal about the motivation of the historian himself from the episodes I have analysed.