Germanicus

For other uses, see Germanicus (disambiguation).

Germanicus Julius Caesar
Bust of Germanicus
Born	24 May 15 BC Rome, Italia, Roman Empire
Died	10 October AD 19 (aged 33) Antioch, Syria, Roman Empire
Burial	Mausoleum of Augustus
Spouse	Agrippina the Elder
Issue	Nero Julius Caesar Drusus Caesar Caligula, Emperor of Rome Agrippina the Younger, Empress of Rome Julia Drusilla Julia Livilla
Names Germanicus Julius Caesar
House	Julio-Claudian dynasty
Father	Nero Claudius Drusus Tiberius (adoptive)
Mother	Antonia Minor

Germanicus (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19), formally Germanicus Julius Caesar, was heir-designate of the Roman Empire under Tiberius and a prominent general known for his campaigns in Germany.

He was born at Rome into a prominent branch of the patrician gens Claudia, to Nero Claudius Drusus and his wife Antonia Minor. His name at birth is uncertain, but was probably Nero Claudius Drusus after his father. The agnomen Germanicus was added to his full name in 9 BC when it was posthumously awarded to his father in honour of his victories in Germania. In AD 4, he was adopted out of the Claudii and into the Julii, and his name became Germanicus Julius Caesar.

He enjoyed an accelerated political career as a Caesar, entering the office of quaestor five years before the legal age in AD 7. He held that office until AD 11, and was elected consul for the first time in AD 12. The year after, he was made proconsul of Germania Inferior, Germania Superior, and all of Gaul. From there he commanded eight legions, about one-third of the entire Roman army, which he led against the Germans in his campaigns AD 14–16. His successes made him famous after avenging the defeat of the Battle of Teutoburg Forest, and retrieving two of the three legionary eagles that had been lost during the battle. In AD 17 he returned to Rome to receive a triumph before leaving to reorganize the provinces of Asia, whereby he incorporated the provinces of Cappadocia and Commagene in AD 18.

While in the eastern provinces, he came into conflict with the governor of Syria, Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso. During their feud, Germanicus became ill in Antioch, where he died on 10 October AD 19. His death has been attributed to poison by ancient sources, but that was never proven. Beloved by the people, he was widely considered to be the ideal Roman long after his death. The Roman people have been said to consider him as Rome's Alexander the Great due to the nature of his death at a young age, his virtuous character, his dashing physique and his military renown.

Name

Germanicus

His praenomen is unknown, but he was probably named Nero Claudius Drusus after his father (conventionally called "Drusus"), or possibly Tiberius Claudius Nero after his uncle Tiberius. In 9 BC, the agnomen Germanicus was added to his full name when it was posthumously awarded to his father in honor of his victories in Germania. Though the name was inherited by his siblings too, the title seems at first to have been used exclusively by him. By AD 4 he was adopted as Tiberius' son and heir. As a result, Germanicus was adopted out of the Claudii and into the Julii. In accordance with Roman naming conventions, he adopted the name "Julius Caesar" while retaining his agnomen, becoming Germanicus Julius Caesar. Upon Germanicus' adoption into the Julii, his brother Claudius became the sole legal representative of his father, and chose to assume the title Germanicus as well.

Family and early life

Ara Pacis: processional frieze showing members of the Imperial household (south face). Germanicus is the toddler holding Antonia Minor's hand.

See also: Julio-Claudian family tree

Germanicus was born at Rome in 15 BC. His parents were the general Nero Claudius Drusus (son of Empress Livia Drusilla, third wife of Emperor Augustus, by her first husband Tiberius Claudius Nero) and Antonia Minor (the younger daughter of the triumvir Mark Antony and Octavia Minor, sister of Augustus). Livilla was his younger sister and the future emperor Claudius was his younger brother.

As a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was a close relative to all five Julio-Claudian emperors. On his mother's side Germanicus was a great-nephew of Augustus, the first emperor of Rome. He was born the nephew of the second emperor, Tiberius. His son Gaius (known by his nickname Caligula) succeeded Tiberius, becoming the third emperor. When Caligula died, the title was given to Germanicus' younger brother, Claudius. The last emperor of the dynasty, Nero, was a grandson of Germanicus on the side of his mother Agrippina the Younger.

Germanicus was a favorite of his great-uncle Augustus who for some time considered him heir to the Empire. In AD 4, persuaded by his wife Livia, Augustus decided in favour of Tiberius, his stepson from Livia's first marriage to Tiberius Claudius Nero. As a condition of Tiberius' own adoption by Augustus, Tiberius was to adopt Germanicus as a son and to name him as his heir. If Tiberius had not adopted Germanicus before his own adoption, and had Augustus adopted Tiberius first, then Tiberius would have lost sui iuris, which included the legal authority to adopt. It was a corollary to the adoption, probably the next year, that he married his maternal second cousin, Agrippina the Elder.

By his wife Agrippina, a granddaughter of Augustus, he had nine children: Nero Julius Caesar, Drusus Caesar, Tiberius Julius Caesar (not to be confused with emperor Tiberius), a child of unknown name (normally referenced as Ignotus), Gaius the Elder, the Emperor Caligula (Gaius the Younger), the empress Agrippina the Younger, Julia Drusilla, and Julia Livilla. Only six of his children came of age; Tiberius and the Ignotus died as infants, and Gaius the Elder in his early childhood.

Career

Batonian War

Main article: Bellum Batonianum

Map of the uprising.

Germanicus was given the title of quaestor in AD 7, five years before the legal age, and in that year was sent to assist Tiberius in the war against the Pannonians and Dalmatians. According to Cassius Dio, Augustus sent Germanicus to Illyricum because Tiberius' lack of activity made Augustus suspect that he was delaying to remain under arms as long as possible under the pretense of war. Germanicus brought an army of levied citizens and manumitted slaves that were bought from their masters to reinforce Tiberius in Illyricum. While this did show that Augustus took the threat seriously, Tiberius had some soldiers sent back, because he had plenty.

Not long after Germanicus reached Pannonia, general Severus was attacked in Moesia, but successfully repelled the rebels. Earlier in the war the rebels withdrew to mountain fortresses from which they launched raids. Tiberius appears to have been conducting a war of attrition against the rebels, as they were now occupying strong defensive positions. The Romans were conducting counter-insurgency operations, and a scorched earth policy was implemented through which Tiberius may have been hoping to starve the enemy out. Tiberius had his forces divided into detachments, and while most of these were inactive at the time, Germanicus did defeat the Mazaei, a Dalmatian tribe.

AD 8 saw the collapse of the rebel position in Pannonia: the king was overthrown by a rebel commander, Bato the Breucian, who was himself defeated in battle, and subsequently executed, by Bato the Daesitiate. The Pannonians were in an uproar, and the Romans attacked, and conquered the Breuci without battle. The rebels withdrew from Pannonia to Dalmatia, where they occupied mountain passes.

The Romans took the initiative in AD 9, and pushed into Dalmatia. Roman forces captured many cities, with Germanicus himself taking Raetinum (which was lost in a fire set by the enemies during the siege; near Seretium), Splonum (in northern Montenegró), and Seretium (in western Bosnia). Tiberius divided the forces into three divisions, two under Marcus Plautius Silvanus and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and the third led by himself with Germanicus. The divisions under Lepidus and Silvanus easily defeated their foes, having nearly exterminated the Perustae and Daesitiate, two Dalmatian tribes held up in mountain strongholds. Meanwhile, Germanicus and Tiberius pursued Bato until he made a stand at a fortress near Salona called Adetrium, to which the Caesars laid siege. When it became clear he would not surrender, Tiberius had the fortress attacked with a steady supply of reinforcements. The fortress was overwhelmed and the defenders were killed. While Tiberius negotiated the terms of capitulation, Germanicus went on a punitive expedition across the surrounding territory in which he besieged the fortified town of Arduba, defeating them and obtaining their surrender and that of surrounding towns. He returned to Tiberius, and sent Postumius to subdue the remaining districts.

Interim

Tiberian campaigns against German peoples from 10 to 12 A.D., after clades Variana.

After a distinguished commencement, he returned to Rome in AD 10 to personally announce his victory, whereupon he was honored with a triumphal insignia (without an actual triumph) and the rank (not the actual title) of praetor, with permission to be a candidate for consul before the regular time.

The successes in Illyricum were followed by the defeat of Varus at the Battle of Teutoburg Forest. As proconsul, Germanicus was dispatched with Tiberius to defend the empire against the Germans in AD 11. The two generals crossed the Rhine, made various excursions into enemy territory and, in the beginning of autumn, recrossed the river. In winter, Germanicus returned to Rome, where he was appointed consul for the year AD 12, after five mandates as quaestor, and despite never having been aedile or praetor. He shared the consulship with Gaius Fonteius Capito.

During his consulship he advocated for the accused in court, which was a popular move, reminiscent of when he formerly used to plea for his defendants directly to Augustus. He also appealed to the people by ministering the Ludi Martiales (games of Mars), where he let loose two hundred lions in the Circus Maximus. Pliny the Elder mentions the games in his Historia Naturalis.

On 16 January, AD 13, Tiberius held a triumph for their victory over the Pannonians and Dalmatians, that he had postponed on account of the defeat of Varus at Teutoburg Forest. He was accompanied by Germanicus among his other generals, for whom he had obtained the triumphal regalia, and Germanicus took a distinguished part in the celebration.

Commander of Germania

Provinces of the Roman Empire in AD 14.

In AD 13, Augustus appointed him commander of the forces in the Rhine, which totaled eight legions and was about one-third of Rome's total military force. The next year in August, Augustus died and on 17 September the Senate met to confirm Tiberius as princeps. That day the Senate also dispatched a delegation to Germanicus' camp to send its' condolences for the death of his grandfather, and more importantly, to grant him proconsular imperium. The delegation would not arrive until October.

In Germany and Illyricum, the legions were in mutiny. In Germany, the legions in mutiny were those of the Lower Rhine under Aulus Caecina (the V Alaudae, XXI Rapax, I Germanica, and XX Valeria Victrix). The army of the Lower Rhine was stationed in summer quarters on the border of the Ubii. They had not gotten the bonuses promised them by Augustus, and when it became clear a response from Tiberius was not forthcoming, they revolted. Germanicus dealt with the troops in Germania, and Tiberius' son Drusus dealt with Illyricum.

The army of the Lower Rhine sought an increase in pay, the reduction of their service to 16 years (down from 20) to mitigate the hardship of their military tasks, and vengeance against the centurions for their cruelty. When news reached the army of the Upper Rhine under Gaius Silius (the Legions II Augusta, XIII Gemina, XVI Gallica, and XIV Gemina) a meeting was held to meet their demands. Germanicus negotiated a settlement:

• After 20 years of service, a full discharge was given, but after 16 years an immunity from military tasks, except to take part in actions (missio sub vexillo).
• The legacy left by Augustus to the troops was to be doubled and discharged.

First campaign against the Germans

The campaign of Germanicus in AD 14

To satisfy the requisition promised to the legions, Germanicus paid them out of his own pocket. All 8 legions were given money, even if they didn't demand it. It seemed prudent to satisfy the armies, but Germanicus took it a step further. In a bid to secure the loyalty of his troops, he led them on a raid against the Marsi, a Germanic people on the upper Ruhr river. Germanicus massacred the villages of the Marsi he encountered and pillaged the surrounding territory. On the way back to their winter quarters at Castra Vetera, they pushed successfully through the opposing tribes (Bructeri, Tubantes, and Usipetes) between the Marsi and the Rhine.

Back at Rome, Tiberius instituted the Sodales Augustales, a priesthood of the cult of Augustus which Germanicus became a member of. When news arrived of his raid, Tiberius commemorated his services in the Senate with elaborate, but insincere praise: the proceedings gave him joy that the mutiny had been suppressed, but anxiety at the glory and popularity afforded to Germanicus. The Senate, in absence of Germanicus, voted that he should be given a triumph.

Second campaign against the Germans

The campaign of Germanicus in AD 15

For the next two years, he led his legions across the Rhine against the Germans, where they would confront the forces of Arminius and his allies. Tacitus says the purpose of those campaigns were to avenge the defeat of Varus at the Battle of Teutoburg Forest, and not to expand Roman territory.

In early spring 15, Germanicus crossed the Rhine and struck the Chatti. He sacked their capital Mattium (modern Maden near Gudensberg), pillaged their countryside, then returned to the Rhine. Sometime this year, he received word from Segestes, who was held prisoner by Arminius' forces and needed help. Germanicus' troops released Segestes and took his pregnant daughter, Arminius' wife Thusnelda, into captivity. Again he marched back victorious and at the direction of Tiberius, accepted the title of Imperator.

Arminius called his tribe, the Cherusci, and the surrounding tribes to arms. Germanicus coordinated a land and riverine offensive, with troops marching eastward across the Rhine, and sailing from the North Sea up the Ems River in order to attack the Bructeri and Cherusci. Germanicus' forces went through Bructeri territory, where a general Lucius Stertinius recovered the lost Eagle of the 19th Legion from among the equipment of the Bructeri after routing them in battle.

Germanicus' divisions met up to the north, and ravaged the countryside between the Ems and the Lippe, and penetrated to the Saltus Teutobergiensis, a mountain forest in Western Germany situated between these two rivers. There, Germanicus and some of his men visited the site of the disastrous Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, and began burying the remains of the Roman soldiers that had been left in the open. After half a day of the work, he called off the burial of bones so that they could continue their war against the Germans. He made his way into the heartland of the Cherusci. At a location Tacitus calls the pontes longi ("long causeways"), in boggy lowlands somewhere near the Ems, Arminius' troops attacked the Romans. Arminius initially caught Germanicus' cavalry in a trap, inflicting minor casualties, but the Roman infantry reinforced the rout and checked them. The fighting lasted for two days, with neither side achieving a decisive victory. Germanicus' forces withdrew and return to the Rhine.

Third campaign against the Germans

The campaign of Germanicus in AD 16

In preparations for his next campaign, Germanicus sent Publius Vitellius and Gaius Antius to collect taxes in Gaul, and instructed Silius, Anteius, and Caecina to build a fleet. A fort on the Lippe called Castra Aliso was besieged, but the attackers dispersed on sight of Roman reinforcements. The Germans destroyed the nearby mound and altar dedicated to his father Drusus, but he had them both restored and celebrated funerary games with his legions in honor of his father. New barriers and earthworks were put in place, securing the area between Fort Aliso and the Rhine.

Germanicus commanded eight legions with auxiliary units overland across the Rhine, up the Ems and Weser rivers as part of his last major campaign against Arminius in AD 16. His forces met those of Arminius on the plains of Idistaviso, by the Weser River near modern Rinteln, in an engagement called the Battle of the Weser River. Tacitus says that the battle was a Roman victory:

the enemy were slaughtered from the fifth hour of daylight to nightfall, and for ten miles the ground was littered with corpses and weapons.

— Tacitus, (Wells 2003, p. 206)

Shortly after the battle, the sides met at a place Tacitus called the Angivarian Wall further downstream on the Weser (west of modern Hanover). According to Tacitus, the Romans won, but the victory was indecisive. He sent some troops back to the Rhine, with some of them taking the land route, but most of them took the fast route and traveled by boat. They went down the Ems toward the North Sea, but as they reached the sea, a storm struck, sinking most of the boats and killing many men and horses.

A few more raids were launched across the Rhine, which resulted in the recovery of another of the three legion's eagles lost in AD 9. Germanicus' successes in Germany had made him popular with the soldiers. He had dealt a significant blow to Rome's enemies, quelled an uprising of troops, and returned lost standards to Rome. His actions had increased his fame, and he had become very popular with the Roman people. Tiberius took notice, and had Germanicus recalled to Rome and informed him that he would be given a triumph and reassigned to a different command.

Result

While Germanicus enjoyed some success in his campaigns against Arminius and his allies, Tiberius decided not to conquer the Germans and recalled Germanicus to Rome. The effort it would have taken to conquer Germania Magna was too great when compared with the low potential for profit from acquiring the new territory. Rome regarded Germany as a wild territory of forests and swamps, with little wealth compared to territories Rome already had. However, the campaign significantly healed the Roman psychological trauma from the Varus disaster, and greatly recovered Roman prestige. In addition to the recovery of two of the three lost eagles, he fought Arminius, the leader who destroyed the three Roman legions in 9 AD, and defeated him. In leading his troops across the Rhine without recourse to Tiberius, he contradicted the advice of Augustus to keep that river as the boundary of the empire, and opened himself to potential doubts about his motives in such an independent action from Tiberius. His error in this political judgement gave Tiberius reason to controversially recall his nephew. Tacitus, with some bitterness, asserts that had Germanicus been given full independence of action, he could have completed the conquest of Germania.

Recall

Thusnelda at the Triumph of Germanicus, by Karl von Piloty, 1873

At the beginning of AD 17, Germanicus returned to the capital and on May 26 he celebrated a triumph for his victories over the Germans. He captured a few important captives (such as Thusnelda), but Arminius was still at large. It was far from clear that Germanicus had won the war. Nonetheless, this did not take away from the spectacle of his triumph: a near contemporary calendar marks 26 May as the day in "which Germanicus Caesar was born into the city in triumph", while coins issued under his son Gaius (Caligula) depicted him on a triumphal chariot, with the reverse reading "Standards Recovered. Germans Defeated."

His triumph included a long procession of captives including the wife of Arminius, Thusnelda, and her three-year-old son, among others of the defeated German tribes. The procession displayed replicas of mountains, rivers, and battles; and the war was considered closed.

Tiberius gave money out to the people of Rome in his name, and he was scheduled to hold the consulship next year with the emperor. As a result, in AD 18, Germanicus was granted the eastern part of the empire, just as Agrippa and Tiberius had received before, when they were successors to the emperor.

Command in Asia

Map of Armenia and the Roman client states in eastern Asia Minor.

Following his triumph, Germanicus was sent to Asia to reorganize the provinces and kingdoms of Asia, which were in such disarray that the attention of a domus Augusta was deemed necessary to settle matters. Germanicus was given imperium maius (extraordinary command) over the other governors and commanders of the area he was to operate; however, Tiberius had replaced the governor of Syria with Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, who was meant to be his helper (adiutor), but turned out to be hostile. This was an attempt to separate Germanicus from his familiar troops and weaken his influence.

Not waiting to take up his consulship in Rome, he left after his triumph but before the end of AD 17. He sailed down the Illyrian coast to the Adriatic Sea to Greece, where he restored the temple of Spes, and won a chariot race at the Olympic games that year. He arrived at Nicopolis near the site of the Battle of Actium, where he took up his second consulship on 18 January, AD 18. He visited the sites associated with his adoptive grandfather Augustus and his natural grandfather Marc Antony, before crossing the sea to Lesbos and then to Asia Minor. There he visited the site of Troy and the oracle of Apollo Claros near Colophon. Piso left at the same time as Germanicus, but traveled directly to Athens and then to Rhodes where he and Germanicus met for the first time. From there Piso left to Syria where he immediately began replacing the officers with men loyal to himself in a bid to win the loyalty of his soldiers.

Next he traveled through Syria to Armenia where he installed king Artaxias, replacing Vonones, whom Augustus had deposed and placed under house arrest at the request of the Parthian king. The king of Cappadocia died too, whereupon Germanicus sent Quintus Veranius to organize Cappadocia as a province – a profitable endeavor as Tiberius was able to reduce the sales tax down to .5% from 1%. The Kingdom of Commagene was split on whether or not to remain free or to become a province with both sides sending deputations, so he sent Quintus Servaeus to organize the province.

Having settled these matters he traveled to Cyrrhus, a city in Syria between Antioch and the Euphrates, where he spent the rest of AD 18 in the winter quarters of the 10th Legion. Evidently here Piso attended Germanicus, and quarreled because he failed to send troops to Armenia when ordered. The king of Parthia, Artabanus, sent an envoy to Germanicus requesting the Vonones be moved further from Armenia as to not incite trouble there. Germanicus complied, moving Vonones to Cilicia, both to please Artabanus and to insult Piso who Vonones was friendly with.

Egypt

The Death of Germanicus (1627), oil painting by Nicholas Poussin. Collection Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

He then made way to Egypt, arriving at a tumultuous reception in January AD 19. He had gone there to relieve a famine in the country vital to Rome's food supply. The move upset Tiberius, because it had violated an order by Augustus that no senator shall enter the province without consulting the emperor and the Senate (Egypt was an imperial province, and belonged to the emperor). He returned to Syria by summer, where he found that Piso had either ignored or revoked his orders to the cities and legions. Germanicus in turn ordered Piso's recall to Rome, although this action was probably beyond his authority.

In the midst of this feud, Germanicus became ill and despite the fact Piso had removed himself to the port of Seleucia, he was convinced that Piso was somehow poisoning him. Tacitus reports that there were signs of black magic in Piso's house with hidden body parts and Germanicus' name inscribed on lead tablets. Germanicus sent Piso a letter formally renouncing their friendship (amicitia). Germanicus died soon after on 10 October of that year. His death aroused much speculation, with several sources blaming Piso, acting under orders from Emperor Tiberius. This was never proven, and Piso later died while facing trial. He feared the people of Rome knew of the conspiracy against Germanicus, but Tiberius' jealousy and fear of his nephew's popularity and increasing power was the true motive as understood by Tacitus.

The death of Germanicus in dubious circumstances greatly affected Tiberius' popularity in Rome, leading to the creation of a climate of fear in Rome itself. Also suspected of connivance in his death was Tiberius' chief advisor, Sejanus, who would, in the 20s, create an atmosphere of fear in Roman noble and administrative circles by the use of treason trials and the role of delatores, or informers.

Post mortem

Benjamin West, Agrippina landing at Brundisium with the Ashes of Germanicus, Oil on canvas, c. 1768.

When Rome had received word of Germanicus' death, the people began observing a iustitium before the Senate had officially declared it. Tacitus says this shows the true grief that the people of Rome felt, and this also shows that by this time the people already knew the proper way to commemorate dead princes without an edict from a magistrate. At his funeral, there were no procession statues of Germanicus. There were abundant eulogies and reminders of his fine character and a particular eulogy was given by Tiberius himself in the Senate.

The historians Tacitus and Suetonius record the funeral and posthumous honors of Germanicus. His name was placed into the Carmen Saliare, and onto the Curule chairs with oaken garlands over them were placed as honorary seats for the Augustan priesthood. His ivory statue was at the head of the procession of the Circus Games; his posts of priest of Augustus and Augur were to be filled by members of the imperial family; knights of Rome gave his name to a block of seats at a theatre in Rome, and rode behind his effigy on the 15th of July in AD 20.

After consulting with his family, Tiberius made his wishes known whereupon the Senate collected the honors into a commemorative decree, the Senatus Consultum de memoria honoranda Germanini Caesaris, and ordered the consuls of AD 20 to issue a public law honoring the death of Germanicus, the Lex Valeria Aurelia. Although Tacitus stressed the honors paid to him, the funeral and processions were carefully modeled after those of Gaius and Lucius, Agrippa's sons. This served to emphasize the continuation of the domus Augusta across the transition from Augustus to Tiberius. Commemorative arches were built in his honor and not just at Rome, but at the frontier on the Rhine and in Asia where he had governed in life. The arch of the Rhine was placed alongside of that of his father, where the soldiers had built a funerary monument honoring him. Portraits of him and his natural father were placed in the Temple of Apollo on the Palatine in Rome.

On the day of Germanicus' death his sister Livilla gave birth to twins by Drusus. The oldest was named Germanicus and died young. In 37, Germanicus' only remaining son Caligula became emperor and renamed September Germanicus in honor of his father. Many Romans considered Germanicus as their equivalent to King Alexander the Great, and believed that he would have easily surpassed the achievements of Alexander had he become emperor.

Trial of Piso

Gnaeus Piso was rumored to have been responsible for his death and with accusations coming in it wasn't long before the well known accuser, Lucius Fulcinius Trio, brought charges against Piso. Tiberius briefly heard both sides before deferring the case to the Senate, making no effort to hide his sentiments. The Pisones were longtime supporters of the Claudians, and had allied themselves with Octavian early on. Tiberius made allowances for Piso to summon witnesses of all social orders, including slaves, and he was given more time to plea than the prosecutors, but it made no difference: before the trial was over Piso died (ostensibly by suicide, but Tacitus supposes Tiberius may have had him murdered before he could implicate the emperor in Germanicus' death).

The accusations brought against Piso are numerous, including:

• Insubordination
• Corruption
• Abandoning and reentering a province
• Summary justice
• Destroying military discipline
• Misusing the fiscus principis (emperor's money)
• Fomenting civil war
• Violating the divinity of Divus Augustus (sacrilege).

He was found guilty and punished posthumously for the crime of treason. The Senate had his property proscribed, forbade mourning on his account, removed images of his likeness, such as statues and portraits, and his name was erased from the base of one statue in particular as part of his damnatio memoriae. Yet, in a show of clemency not unlike that of the emperor, the Senate had Piso's property returned and divided equally between his two sons, on condition that his daughter Calpurnia be given 1,000,000 sesterces as dowry and a further 4,000,000 as personal property. His wife Placina was absolved.

Literary activity

Pleiades of the Leiden Aratea, an illustrated manuscript of Germanicus' Phaenomena dating to the 9th century.

In AD 4, Germanicus wrote a Latin version of Aratus's Phainomena, which survives, wherein he rewrites the contents of the original. For example, he replaces the opening hymn to Zeus with a passage in honour of the Roman emperor. He avoided writing in the poetic style of Cicero, who had translated his own version of the Phainomena, and he wrote in a new style to meet the expectations of a Roman audience whose tastes were shaped by "modern" authors like Ovid and Virgil. For his work, Germanicus is ranked among Roman writers on astronomy, and his work was popular enough for scholia to be written on it well into the Medieval era.

Historiography

Germanicus is often contrasted with Tiberius by ancient historians, poets who wrote using themes found in drama, with Germanicus playing the tragic hero and Tiberius the tyrant. The endurance of the Principate is challenged in these narratives, by the emperor's jealous trepidation toward competent commanders such as Germanicus. Attention is paid particularly to their leadership styles, i.e., in their relationship with the masses. Germanicus is painted as a competent leader able to handle the masses whereas Tiberius is indecisive and envious.

Despite the poetics attached to Germanicus by ancient authors, it is accepted that Germanicus was an able general. He fought against the Pannonians under Tiberius, quelled the mutiny in the Rhine, and led three successful campaigns into Germania. As for his popularity, he was popular enough that the mutinous legions of the Rhine attempted to proclaim him emperor in AD 14; however, he remained loyal and led them against the German tribes instead. Tacitus and Suetonius claim that Tiberius was jealous of Germanicus' popularity, but Barrett suggests their claim might be contradicted by the fact that, following his campaigns in Germany, Germanicus was given command of the eastern provinces – a sure sign he was intended to rule. In accordance with the precedent set by Augustus, Agrippa was given command of those same provinces in the east when Agrippa was the intended successor to the empire.

Publius Cornelius Tacitus

Main article: Annals (Tacitus)

The Annals by Tacitus is one of the most detailed accounts of Germanicus' campaigns against the Germans. He wrote his account in the early years of the second century. Tacitus described Germanicus as a fine general who was kind and temperate, saying that his early death had taken a great ruler from Rome.

Book 1 of Annals extensively focuses on the mutinies of the legions in Pannonia and Germany (AD 14). The riotous army figures into the unpredictable wrath of the Roman people giving Tiberius the chance to reflect on what it means to lead. It serves to contrast the "old-fashioned" Republican values assigned to Germanicus, and the imperial values possessed by Tiberius. The mood of the masses is a recurring theme, with their reactions to the fortunes of Germanicus being a prominent feature of the relationship between him and Tiberius well into the Annals (as far as Annals 3.19).

Suetonius Tranquillus

Suetonius was an equestrian who held administrative posts during the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian. The Twelve Caesars details a biographical history of the principate from the birth of Julius Caesar to the death of Domitian in AD 96. Like Tacitus, he drew upon the imperial archives, as well as histories by Aufidius Bassus, Cluvius Rufus, Fabius Rusticus and Augustus' own letters.

The attitude of Suetonius toward Germanicus' personality and moral temperament is that of adoration. He dedicates a good portion of his Life of Caligula to Germanicus, claiming Germanicus' physical and moral excellence surpassed that of his contemporaries. Suetonius also says that Germanicus was a gifted writer, and that despite all these talents, he remained humble and kind.

Germanicus in historical fiction

Bronze statue of Germanicus on display at it:Museo civico di Amelia, Amelia, Umbria, Italy.

Robert Graves, in his fictional historical novel I, Claudius, blames the death of Germanicus on Plancina, the wife of Piso, who engaged a witch named Martina to haunt Germanicus' household. The infant Caligula is also implicated. In Graves' version, Plancina begins to place curses on Germanicus, who is extremely superstitious. Caligula, who is only 5 years old at the time, completes the curse and kills his father, though Graves does not imply that the magic is real, rather allowing the reader to infer that it was poison exacerbated by the psychological stress of believing himself haunted.

He was portrayed by David Robb in the 1976 BBC-produced TV series I, Claudius. Germanicus is portrayed as virtuous, brave and strongly devoted to his brother Claudius. Piso and his wife, Plancina, were at the root of the plot to poison Germanicus, with tacit consent from Tiberius' mother, Livia, working through a local poisoner named Martina. Livia later confesses to Claudius that she had marked Germanicus for elimination because of his Republican sentiments, although Plancina acted on her own initiative. In a later episode, Caligula brags to his uncle Claudius that he killed his father in revenge for trying to discipline him and did so by working on his father's superstitions (planting various grotesque objects around his father's residence) and eventually frightening him to death – apparently never realizing that his father was also being poisoned by Martina (Zeus, by Jove! – "I, Claudius" episode 8).

He was featured in the 1968 ITV historical drama series The Caesars, played by Eric Flynn; the second episode is also named 'Germanicus'. This series differed in its less sensationalist and more rational treatment of the historical characters and their motives than I, Claudius. Piso, a friend of Tiberius, is implicated in his death more through his own arrogance and open dislike of Germanicus than by any concrete evidence against him.

Nicola Porpora's 1732 opera Germanico in Germania portrays Germanicus during the time of his campaign in Germania Inferior. The role of Germanicus was taken by the prominent castrato singer, Domenico Annibali.

Ancestry

Family of Germanicus

8. Drusus Claudius Nero I 4. Tiberius Claudius Nero 9. Claudia 2. Nero Claudius Drusus 10. Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus 5. Livia Drusilla 22. Aufidius Lurco 11. Aufidia 1. Germanicus Julius Caesar 24. Marcus Antonius Orator 12. Marcus Antonius Creticus 6. Mark Antony 26. Lucius Julius Caesar III 13. Julia Antonia 3. Antonia Minor 28. Gaius Octavius 14. Gaius Octavius 7. Octavia Minor 30. Marcus Atius 15. Atia Balba Caesonia 31. Julia Minor

Bibliography

Primary sources

• Cassius Dio, Roman History Books 55–57, English translation
• Suetonius, Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Life of Caligula, Latin text with English translation
• Suetonius, Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Life of Tiberius, Latin text with English translation
• Tacitus, Annals, I–VI, English translation
• Velleius Paterculus, Roman History Book II, Latin text with English translation

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•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1880). "Germanicus". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 2. pp. 257–262.{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)

External links

• (Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici dell'Umbria) "The Bronze Statue of Germanicus" of Amelia (Terni). Circumstances of the chance discovery in 1963 and restoration of this extremely fine heroic portrait bronze.
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• Life of Caligula by Suetonius (Loeb Classical Library translation) Much of Caligula's biography focuses on his famous father.
• Life of Caligula by Suetonius (Alexander Thomson translation)
• "Germanicus Cæsar" . The American Cyclopædia. 1879.