Alessandro Galimberti

Velleio Patercolo, Augusto e l'ombra lunga di Tiberio

Velleius Paterculus’ judgement of Augustus and of the early years of Tiberius’ reign was deeply influenced by his standpoint on Tiberius and the circumstances of his succession. But it is clear that the historian could lay aside his prejudice while writing the biography of Augustus and estimate the most important persons (Marcellus, Agrippina, Caius and Iulius Caesar) who played an important role at the death of Augustus and were rivals of Tiberius relatively unbiased.

Josephus and Strabo: the Reasons of a Choice

This chapter proposes a new approach to Strabos fragments in Books 13 and 14 of the Antiquities , in order to investigate the reasons why Josephus preferred Strabo and to identify further possible relations between Strabos work and Antiquities 13-14. It tries to answer the following question: did Josephus know Strabos work directly or did he only quote it indirectly? It concludes that Josephus knew and consulted Strabos Historika Hypomnemata directly, especially with reference to Books 13 and 14 of the Antiquities, even when no express reference to Strabo is made. Strabo, who belonged to one of those pro-Roman, eastern elites that supported Rome enthusiastically, was a sort of model for Josephus (especially after the catastrophe of the war) as part of a group of intellectuals and, in particular, of historians whose status was completely established within the reality of the empire. Keywords: Antiquities ; Josephus; Rome; Strabo