Tacitus Tacitus

Author

Tacitus was one of the greatest historians of ancient Rome, whose works provide some of the most important and vivid accounts of the Roman Empire during the first century AD. His collected works Agricola, Germania, and A Dialogue Concerning Oratory represent three distinct facets of his literary genius. The Agricola is a biography of his... father-in-law, Gnaeus Julius Agricola, who served as governor of Roman Britain, and it combines family tribute with a penetrating study of imperialism and its moral costs. The Germania is a fascinatingly detailed ethnographic account of the Germanic tribes beyond Rome's borders, providing invaluable information about peoples who would eventually reshape Europe. A Dialogue Concerning Oratory examines the decline of public speaking in Roman society, reflecting Tacitus's deep concern with the relationship between political freedom and literary expression. Tacitus is regarded as one of the finest prose stylists in Latin literature, known for his concise, epigrammatic style and his mordant observations about power, corruption, and human nature. His major historical works, the Annals and the Histories, are essential sources for the history of the Roman Empire. These three shorter works are available as an audiobook, offering listeners access to the genius of one of antiquity's greatest writers in works that remain surprisingly relevant to questions of imperialism, cultural difference, and the health of democratic discourse. Read more Show less