Books by Andrew G Scott
PR E FAC E his volume examines various aspects of contemporary historiography in the ancient Gree... more PR E FAC E his volume examines various aspects of contemporary historiography in the ancient Greek and Roman worlds. The term 'contemporary historiography' (Jacoby's Zeitgeschichte) is usually applied to historical works that cover, in whole or in part, the periods of time through which the historians themselves lived. These works are typically valued for their proximity to the events they narrate, though they are not without their problems of interpretation. Through various devices, authors might attempt to give the impression of eyewitness status even when they themselves were not present; contemporary events could shift authors' point of view and compel them to provide unrealistic or biased accounts; and memories of eyewitnesses were not always sharp. The papers in this volume examine how we might read and understand histories of this type. They demonstrate how contemporary historiography was practiced across time and how it was a constantly evolving part of the Greco-Roman historiographic tradition. The papers on Herodotus and Thucydides, Julius Caesar, Cassius Dio, and Herodian originated in a session held at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Classical Studies in San Diego in. To the original four papers presented there have been added chapters on Ptolemy I Soter, Sallust, and Tacitus. My thanks go to the contributors to this supplement, for their dedication and persistence, and to John Marincola, for his help and patience in bringing this work to publication. I also thank the anonymous reviewers, who offered many criticisms and suggestions for the improvement of this volume as a whole.
HRE 18, 2023
Cassius Dio described his own age as one of “iron and rust.” This study, which is the first of it... more Cassius Dio described his own age as one of “iron and rust.” This study, which is the first of its kind in English, examines the decline and decay that Cassius Dio diagnosed in this period (180-229 CE) through an analysis of the author’s historiographic method and narrative construction. It shows that the final books were a crucial part of Dio’s work, and it explains how Dio approached a period that he considered unworthy of history in view of his larger historiographic project.
Brill's Companion to Cassius Dio, 2023
This Companion is the first of its kind on the Roman historian Cassius Dio. It introduces the rea... more This Companion is the first of its kind on the Roman historian Cassius Dio. It introduces the reader to the life and work of one of the most fundamental but previously neglected historians in the Roman historical cannon. Together the eighteen chapters focus on Cassius Dio’s background as a Graeco-Roman intellectual from Bithynia who worked his way up the political hierarchy in Rome and analyzes his Roman History as the product of a politically engaged historian who carefully ties Rome’s constitutional situation together with the city’s history.
Oxford University Press, 2018
Cassius Dio Network by Andrew G Scott
Articles by Andrew G Scott
American Journal of Philology, 2023
This paper examines the historiographic controversies and disagreements surrounding the figure of... more This paper examines the historiographic controversies and disagreements surrounding the figure of Septimius Severus and highlighted by Herodian in his Roman History as a means of investigating the development of history writing during and in the aftermath of that emperor's reign. Herodian cites Severus' transition to power and reign as a locus for historical and historiographical controversy and debate, and a comparison of Herodian with other Severan writers allows for an examination of Herodian's competitive relationship with his older historiographic peers and of the innovative aspects of his work that set it apart from others.
Histos Supplement 15, 2023
Histos supplement 15, 2023
Herodian's Roman History engages with the tenets of ancient historiographic theory, particularly ... more Herodian's Roman History engages with the tenets of ancient historiographic theory, particularly those set down by Thucydides. In general, he positions himself as a follower of these prescriptions, though particular eyewitness scenes strain the credulity of the reader. This paper explores Herodian's depictions of young emperors in these scenes as a way to understand how his pushing the boundaries of ancient historiographic theory allows him to stretch the truth as a way to enhance the overall thesis of his work.
In J.M. Madsen and A.G. Scott (eds.), Brill's Companion to Cassius Dio (2023) 1-18.
Cassius Dio is best known for writing a lengthy Roman History, in eighty books, which stretched f... more Cassius Dio is best known for writing a lengthy Roman History, in eighty books, which stretched from the foundations of the city to the third century ce. In addition to his historical output, he was a Roman senator who led a successful political career that spanned the reigns of Commodus to Alexander Severus. His fortune as a historian has waxed and waned over the centuries; his popularity in the Byzantine period gave way to a less stellar reputation in modern times, when his work was primarily used as a mine for historical information and criticized for its perceived shortcomings. This companion appears during a renaissance in Cassius Dio studies, when Dio's history has begun to be appreciated for its narrative and literary techniques, historical analysis, and within the context of its cultural and political milieu. The goal of the present work is to provide a point of entry to those new to Dio and also to point to ways forward for future studies of him and his work. This introduction will provide an overview of Cassius Dio's life, his literary output, and his reception in modern times, before concluding with an overview of the companion as a whole.
In J.M. Madsen and A.G. Scott (eds.), Brill's Companion to Cassius Dio (2023) 324-347, 2023
Cassius Dio the Historian: Methods and Approaches, ed. J.M. Madsen & C.H. Lange, Brill , 2021
Cassius Dio and the Principate, ed. C. Burden-Strevens, J.M. Madsen, and A. Pistellato (Lexis Supplement 2), 2020
At the heart of Cassius Dio's Roman History was the charting of changes in government from the ea... more At the heart of Cassius Dio's Roman History was the charting of changes in government from the early kings to the monarchy established by Augustus, with particular emphasis on the decline of the Republic and the transition to monarchy. Throughout Dio's analysis we observe certain individuals who serve as examples to be emulated or avoided. In Dio's own age, emperors generally misunderstood or misinterpreted, willingly or unwillingly, these examples from the past. These failures allow us to consider Dio's understanding of the function of historiography and his ideas about the utility of his own work. While this may lead us to the negative conclusion that Dio believed all forms of government eventually degenerate, it also leaves open the possibility that Dio considered the writing of history, and thus the guarantee of a proper understanding of the past, to have positive, transformative consequences for Rome's monarchy.
C.H. Lange & A.G. Scott (eds.), Cassius Dio: The Impact of Violence, War, and Civil War (Brill), 2020
J. Osgood & C. Baron (eds.), Cassius Dio and the Late Roman Republic (Brill), 2019
L. Fratantuono and M. English, eds. Pushing the Boundaries of Historia: Essays on Greek and Roman History and Culture in Honor of Blaise Nagy (Routledge, 2018).
The Othryadas tale presents a problem to both the historian and literary critic. Taking a notable... more The Othryadas tale presents a problem to both the historian and literary critic. Taking a notable place in Herodotus' history it is a well-known story thickly shrouded in legend. 1 Its interpretation in Herodotus has proved diffi cult, and its various versions do not exhibit a linear development. In this chapter, we explore the variant traditions of the story and offer an alternative understanding of the story in Herodotus. Further, we suggest that the non-Herodotean version of the tale derived from the literary reworkings of it in the Hellenistic period, which were predicated on the interests of genre and literary milieu rather than on any sense of historicity.
PLLS, 2018
Writing in the first half of the third century CE, Cassius Dio, a Roman senator of Bithynian orig... more Writing in the first half of the third century CE, Cassius Dio, a Roman senator of Bithynian origin, composed an eighty-book history of Rome, from the founding of the city until about 229 CE. The final portion of this work, specifically books 73(72)-80(80), provides an account of the reign of Commodus up to the accession and early part of the reign of Alexander Severus. Dio was an eyewitness to this a period, and he explains that this section will be full of his own observations of events and will even record information that might not otherwise be worthy of inclusion, except for the fact that he himself was witness to it. Dio, as a Roman senator, also plays a secondary role in this section of his history, as the author frequently discusses positions that he held, his interactions with emperors, and his presence in the senate.
Strikingly, the work ends not with some event of importance to Roman history or with the end of a particular reign, but rather with Cassius Dio's own retirement from public life. The uniqueness of this endpoint is enhanced by the closing words of the work, which were not Dio's own, but rather a quotation from the eleventh book of Homer's Iliad. In this passage, which Dio says was sent to him in a dream, Hector is removed from the battlefield and saved from the destruction of war by Zeus. This quotation brings both a personal and menacing sense to the end of the history. Dio appears to implicitly compare himself to Hector, and if the lines from Homer mentioned only some monumental struggle, we might assume that Dio was simply relieved to have completed such a grand work under the protection of the gods. The slaughter, blood, and din of battle, however, give us the impression that Dio is thankful to distance himself from the subject matter, specifically the final eight books of his history. The reader of books 73(72)-80(80) would hardly be surprised by this quotation. Dio calls this period one of iron and rust, describing it as generally devoid of any positive aspects and characterized by turmoil and instability.
The personal nature of both the end of the work and the contemporary portion as a whole begs further analysis. Commentators on Dio's contemporary history have observed that this section reads like a memoir and have suggested that Dio serves as a sort of alternative to the debased world in which he lives. Others, however, have noted a more pessimistic aspect of the function of Dio's character in his text. Dio's political survival through this period, especially with his final reference to Hector's departure from the battlefield, on the surface suggests that he be viewed as a valorous hero under the protection of the gods. Dio's history, on the other hand, is a highly critical narrative of his own era and can therefore be read as a reflection on his participation in the political life of this period, as well as a corrective to it. The memoir-like nature of the text suggests that Dio carved out for himself a dual identity, as both senator and then annalist, participant and then critic. Through this identity, Dio attempts to claim authority as a historian.
Mnemosyne, 2018
Despite positioning himself as a contemporary eyewitness and heir to Thucydides, Herodian has gen... more Despite positioning himself as a contemporary eyewitness and heir to Thucydides, Herodian has generally been judged to be a poor historian prone to the use of compression , formulaic scenes, and even free invention. This paper examines Herodian's application of a specific plot type to conspiracies against the emperor by praetorian prefects. The use of this plot type reveals something of Herodian's understanding of history and historical methodology, while also serving an important narrative function in his text. Keywords Herodian – ancient historiography – Severan dynasty – Cassius Dio – Historia Augusta – third century AD
TAPA, 2017
This paper examines how and why Cassius Dio portrayed Julia Domna in the manner that he did. Dio ... more This paper examines how and why Cassius Dio portrayed Julia Domna in the manner that he did. Dio consistently depicts Julia as foreign and power-hungry, a portrait that appears to be driven by his analysis of the later Severan regime. Julia serves as a link between the two halves of the dynasty, a claim that runs counter to the of cial line of Elagabalus and Severus Alexander. The later Severan house, seen by Dio as foreign and dominated by powerful female figures, informs his portrayal of Julia Domna and shows a continuity of analysis throughout the nal books of his history.
Histos, 2017
The epitome of Cassius Dio's book 77[76] contains a description of various celebrations that took... more The epitome of Cassius Dio's book 77[76] contains a description of various celebrations that took place in 202–4 CE. The lack of clarity in this passage has led scholars to attribute certain spectacles to the wrong celebrations and to posit various hypotheses about the nature of the epitome of this section of Dio's history. This paper suggests that Dio intentionally conflated the celebrations of these years into one passage, which functions as part of his narrative of the rise and fall of Plautianus and calls into question the public image of the house of Septimius Severus at this time.
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Books by Andrew G Scott
Cassius Dio Network by Andrew G Scott
Articles by Andrew G Scott
Strikingly, the work ends not with some event of importance to Roman history or with the end of a particular reign, but rather with Cassius Dio's own retirement from public life. The uniqueness of this endpoint is enhanced by the closing words of the work, which were not Dio's own, but rather a quotation from the eleventh book of Homer's Iliad. In this passage, which Dio says was sent to him in a dream, Hector is removed from the battlefield and saved from the destruction of war by Zeus. This quotation brings both a personal and menacing sense to the end of the history. Dio appears to implicitly compare himself to Hector, and if the lines from Homer mentioned only some monumental struggle, we might assume that Dio was simply relieved to have completed such a grand work under the protection of the gods. The slaughter, blood, and din of battle, however, give us the impression that Dio is thankful to distance himself from the subject matter, specifically the final eight books of his history. The reader of books 73(72)-80(80) would hardly be surprised by this quotation. Dio calls this period one of iron and rust, describing it as generally devoid of any positive aspects and characterized by turmoil and instability.
The personal nature of both the end of the work and the contemporary portion as a whole begs further analysis. Commentators on Dio's contemporary history have observed that this section reads like a memoir and have suggested that Dio serves as a sort of alternative to the debased world in which he lives. Others, however, have noted a more pessimistic aspect of the function of Dio's character in his text. Dio's political survival through this period, especially with his final reference to Hector's departure from the battlefield, on the surface suggests that he be viewed as a valorous hero under the protection of the gods. Dio's history, on the other hand, is a highly critical narrative of his own era and can therefore be read as a reflection on his participation in the political life of this period, as well as a corrective to it. The memoir-like nature of the text suggests that Dio carved out for himself a dual identity, as both senator and then annalist, participant and then critic. Through this identity, Dio attempts to claim authority as a historian.
Strikingly, the work ends not with some event of importance to Roman history or with the end of a particular reign, but rather with Cassius Dio's own retirement from public life. The uniqueness of this endpoint is enhanced by the closing words of the work, which were not Dio's own, but rather a quotation from the eleventh book of Homer's Iliad. In this passage, which Dio says was sent to him in a dream, Hector is removed from the battlefield and saved from the destruction of war by Zeus. This quotation brings both a personal and menacing sense to the end of the history. Dio appears to implicitly compare himself to Hector, and if the lines from Homer mentioned only some monumental struggle, we might assume that Dio was simply relieved to have completed such a grand work under the protection of the gods. The slaughter, blood, and din of battle, however, give us the impression that Dio is thankful to distance himself from the subject matter, specifically the final eight books of his history. The reader of books 73(72)-80(80) would hardly be surprised by this quotation. Dio calls this period one of iron and rust, describing it as generally devoid of any positive aspects and characterized by turmoil and instability.
The personal nature of both the end of the work and the contemporary portion as a whole begs further analysis. Commentators on Dio's contemporary history have observed that this section reads like a memoir and have suggested that Dio serves as a sort of alternative to the debased world in which he lives. Others, however, have noted a more pessimistic aspect of the function of Dio's character in his text. Dio's political survival through this period, especially with his final reference to Hector's departure from the battlefield, on the surface suggests that he be viewed as a valorous hero under the protection of the gods. Dio's history, on the other hand, is a highly critical narrative of his own era and can therefore be read as a reflection on his participation in the political life of this period, as well as a corrective to it. The memoir-like nature of the text suggests that Dio carved out for himself a dual identity, as both senator and then annalist, participant and then critic. Through this identity, Dio attempts to claim authority as a historian.
Historical writing about Rome in both Latin and Greek forms an integrated topic. There are two strands in ancient writing about the Romans and their empire: (a) the Romans’ own tradition of histories of the deeds of the Roman people at home and at war, and (b) Greek historical responses, some developing their own models (Polybius, Josephus) and the others building on what both the Roman historians and earlier Greeks had written (Dionysius, Appian, Cassius Dio). Whereas older scholarship tended to privilege a small group of ‘great historians’ (the likes of Sallust, Livy, Tacitus), recent work has rightly brought out the diversity of the traditions and recognized that even ‘minor’ writers are worth exploring not just as sources, but for their own concerns and reinterpretation of their material (such as The Fragments of the Roman Historians (2013), and the collected volumes on Velleius Paterculus (Cowan 2011) and Appian (Welch 2015)). The study of these historiographical traditions is essential as a counterbalance to the traditional use of ancient authors as a handy resource, with scholars looking at isolated sections of their structure. This fragmentary use of the ancient evidence makes us forget to reflect on their work in its textual and contextual entirety.