Re: Getting the most out of using sources
[quote author=Tylluan Penry link=topic=1215.msg31073#msg31073 date=1296217389]
All very true, de Corbin! One of the most telling things about Nero is the throwaway comment (off the top of my head not certain where it comes from - could be Suetonius???) that for many years after his death people always brought flowers to his grave. I found that rather touching.[/quote]
Yes - it seems he was loved by the people, but hated by his opponents in the senate, which suggests that he may have been the subject of bad propaganda.
However, since wealthy and powerful Romans made a particular point of gaining popular support by financing huge public entertainments and engaging in massive public building projects, it's also possible for a very bad ruler to be very popular.
The whole thing gets so muddy that it all has to be looked at very carefully before any conclusions are drawn, and then those conclusions have to be reevaluated as new information comes in - which is the whole point of your thread, a point which always needs to be emphasised.
Good scholarship isn't a sport for sissies or slouches
. It's hard work.
[quote author=Tylluan Penry link=topic=1215.msg31073#msg31073 date=1296217389]
All very true, de Corbin! One of the most telling things about Nero is the throwaway comment (off the top of my head not certain where it comes from - could be Suetonius???) that for many years after his death people always brought flowers to his grave. I found that rather touching.[/quote]
Yes - it seems he was loved by the people, but hated by his opponents in the senate, which suggests that he may have been the subject of bad propaganda.
However, since wealthy and powerful Romans made a particular point of gaining popular support by financing huge public entertainments and engaging in massive public building projects, it's also possible for a very bad ruler to be very popular.
The whole thing gets so muddy that it all has to be looked at very carefully before any conclusions are drawn, and then those conclusions have to be reevaluated as new information comes in - which is the whole point of your thread, a point which always needs to be emphasised.
Good scholarship isn't a sport for sissies or slouches
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