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The Agricola and the Germany of Tacitus Kindle Edition

by Cornelius Tacitus (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 557 ratings
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"The Agricola and The Germania" are two important historical works by Cornelius Tacitus, an ancient Roman Senator and historian. The Agricola is a biography of the Roman general Gnaeus Julius Agricola as well as a geographic and ethnographic history of Ancient Britain. "The Germania" is an ethnographic study of the people believed by Tacitus to be part of the ancient Germanic tribes. While not as famous as Tacitus's "Annals" or "Histories", "The Agricola and The Germania" still remain as important first-hand documents of ancient history.
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  1. ISBN-13
    978-1420931624
  2. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  3. Publisher
    Digireads.com
  4. Publication date
    December 10, 2009
  5. Language
    English
  6. File size
    384 KB
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Editorial Reviews

Review

About the Author

Tacitus studied rhetoric in Rome and rose to eminence as a pleader at the Roman Bar. In 77 he married the daughter of Agricola, conqueror of Britain, of whom he later wrote a biography. His other works includethe Germania and the Historiae. 

J. B. Rives received his PhD in Classics from Stanford University (1990) and taught at Columbia University and at York University in Toronto before moving to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he is Kenan Eminent Professor of Classics. He is the author of Religion and Authority in Roman Carthage (1995) and Religion in the Roman Empire (2006), as well as numerous articles on aspects of religion in the Roman world. He has also published a translation, with introduction and commentary, of Tacitus' Germania (1999) and, for Penguin Classics, has revised Robert Graves' translation of Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars (2007).

Harold Mattingley was born in 1884 and died in 1964. He is best known for his study of Roman coinage at the British Museum where he worked from 1920 to 1948. He wrote over four hundred articles and books and his Roman Imperial Civilization, first published when he was seventy-two, embodied the reflections of a lifetime devoted to the study of the Roman world.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0030FOZ3U
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Digireads.com (December 10, 2009)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ December 10, 2009
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 384 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 102 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars 557 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.7 out of 5 stars
4.7 out of 5
557 global ratings
It came torn.
2 Stars
It came torn.
Not really happy I bought a new book and it came torn. It's not that bad however I paid new book prices but I got a book that looks new
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Top reviews from the United States

Chris J.
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent historical content
Reviewed in the United States on February 1, 2024
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Must have for people that can't stop thinking about the Roman Empire.
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Aramate
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic breakdown
Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2020
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I really loved this revised book. Nearly the first half is written by J.B. Rives, who gives an elucidating breakdown of Rome, and creates an easy to read/understand narrative that frames the original works by Tacitus, perfectly. I truly felt engaged and like I was reading a story. His understanding of Tacitus, and his works, and the culture of the time was so enlightening, and really added depth to my comprehension. Plus, he gives a bibliography for other reads about the European tribal peoples of the time, which I really appreciated.
By the time I got to through the introduction, I felt like I had a good basis and background for which to interpret the words of Tacitus. I bought this book because of what Tacitus writes about, but what I got was SO much more, thanks to the extra effort and work of J.B. Rives. Thank you so much.
6 people found this helpful
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Romi Bajwa
5.0 out of 5 stars My Notes and Highlights
Reviewed in the United States on November 22, 2023
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“Their generals command less through the force of authority, than of example”
"TYR, a warrior god, and the protector of champions and brave men!"
The Germany of Tacitus
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krebsman
4.0 out of 5 stars Valuable for the scholar
Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2019
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I have to confess that I was a little disappointed in this volume. But that’s primarily because I had false expectations. I had really liked Tacitus’ THE ANNALS OF IMPERIAL ROME and was hoping for more of the same. But these short works had a different objective. To compare them to the ANNALS would be like comparing apples and oranges. AGRICOLA is supposedly a biography of Tacitus’ father-in-law, who was a consul and the governor of Roman Britain. The biographical information about Agricola is rather sketchy, but we do get a lot of information on his responsibilities and the manner in which he dealt with them. By this method, Tacitus reveals Agricola’s character. Was Agricola murdered by order of the Emperor Domitian? Tacitus doesn’t come right out and accuse, but he lays out substantial evidence from which the reader may draw his own conclusion. GERMANIA is Tacitus’ once-over-lightly view of the land and inhabitants of what the Romans called “Germania.” His descriptions are highly colored by Roman (and thus, his) attitudes and opinions. He’s quick to emphasize their brutishness and uncouth manners. In general, he characterizes the Germans as lazy when they are off the battlefield and vicious killers on the battlefield. He is not terribly specific in his descriptions of most things, but once in a while, he will throw in an in interesting detail, like the way the men of a certain tribe wore their hair, or what one of their religious rituals was like.

Overall, this book is probably not very compelling reading for the general reader, despite its brevity. But for the scholar, this book is extremely valuable on many levels. I’d also recommend it to anyone who is visiting an archaeological site on the former Roman frontier. I read it right after visiting Hadrian’s Wall; the site and the reading were mutually enriching experiences. J.B. Rives’ notes and introduction are excellent. Good maps and a glossary are appended. Four stars.
18 people found this helpful
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K. Murphy
5.0 out of 5 stars The Agricola and the Germania
Reviewed in the United States on August 10, 2008
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Tacitus' Agricola and Germania are among the two most-cited sources on Roman Britain and on the ancient Germans, respectively, and anyone with an interest in the Classical World should have a copy of this book.

The Agricola is our primary source on Cnaeus Julius Agricola-governor of Roman Britain in the late 1st Century AD who is known to history primarily for the defeat he inflicted on the Caledonians at Mons Graupius in AD 83, and for his planned conquest of Ireland. Reading Tacitus' account, however, we find that his legacy in his own times was more for bringing justice to southern Britain, where previous Roman governors had abused their authority and driven the tribes to revolt.

I can't imagine that we can take everything in the Agricola word-for-word, as Tacitus' account is naturally biased-Agricola was his father-in-law, and Tacitus does not speak a single negative word-not even the slightest criticism of a minor feature-of him.

The Germania is also biased in that Tacitus is portraying these wild tribes as `noble savages'-claiming they never lied or indulged in improper sexuality, and had no love for money or fine clothing; in all, the Germania is as much an attack on the decadence of the Romans of Tacitus' generation as it is an account of the peoples of Germany in the 1st Century.

After giving an at times rather humorous account of Germanic culture and customs, Tacitus looks at all the major tribes and their unique features-such as the bizarre hairdos of the Suebi, the strange religious rites of the tribes worshipping the Goddess Nerthus, and the customs of the Harii, who painted themselves black and only fought battles at night.

Overall, this is a must read for a student of the Classical, especially Roman world, showing much about the culture and worldview of both the Romans and their Germanic contemporaries, and how these were perceived by a fairly typical upper-class Roman writer.
16 people found this helpful
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PS
5.0 out of 5 stars An easy read.
Reviewed in the United States on September 6, 2021
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This translation is an easy read. Just what I was looking for. I just need the facts and this was perfect for that.
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Badazz
5.0 out of 5 stars Two Great Classic Works from Tacitus
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2013
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Agricola and Germania are two of Roman Historian Tacitus' most famous works. In this book you can read both of his fine works.

Agricola is the story of Tacitus' father-in-law, a Roman officer that was involved in the conquest of Britain. The story is a biography that includes insights into Roman Britain and includes the famous barbarian speech indicting Rome's Greedy Expansion. "...The Romans make a desolation and call it peace."

Germania is a study of the tribes of Germany. It shows insights into the early culture of the German People and Tacitus favorably compares the Germans to the Romans in his own day.

The editor has many good notes, a fine appendix, and maps which allows the reader to infer modern names to the places described.
16 people found this helpful
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Alixander Moore
5.0 out of 5 stars The introduction in this version is enormously helpful, so ...
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2018
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The introduction in this version is enormously helpful, so much so that if you ignore it and only read the part with the translation of Tacitus' writings, you're missing half the picture. The translation itself is very clear and accessible.
9 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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J
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, great notes
Reviewed in Canada on January 7, 2021
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Even though the world themselves are only about 50 pages total, there are SO many notes that you'll find yourself feeling very well informed. Great purchase. I was skeptical about the price for only 120 pages, but it's great, like most penguin classics
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Ricardo Cortes-Monroy
5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente traduccion y notas introductorias
Reviewed in Spain on August 14, 2022
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Excelente cobertura y análisis de Tacito
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Graham Cammock
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 8, 2021
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I absolutely loved these two works of Tacitus. It’s amazing to think you are actually reading first hand accounts of the very first encounters, discoveries and recorded histories of Britannia and Germania. Germania is the better work as Agricola is more of a biography or eulogy to Tacitus’ father-in-law and his governorship of Britannia and his conquest of Caledonia (modern day Scotland) etc. Agricola has a brief description of Britannia, while Germania is a full, detailed and in depth ethnography of all of Northern Europe. Tacitus describes the myriad of different tribes that inhabit modern day Holland to Germany, the Czech Republic, all the way to the Black Sea and all the way up to Sweden, Lapland and the Baltic states (although none of those modern day names are used). To reiterate, it’s truly awesome to get first hand accounts of the very first discoveries and recorded histories of Northern Europe. Definitely highly recommend this short book!
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lod
4.0 out of 5 stars Nice print
Reviewed in Germany on April 3, 2020
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Nice print .. good standardized format some additional things are missing like maps and some pages are shortened but still a good read. Very good translation altho the german one is better
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Neil Scales
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Australia on April 18, 2016
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Exactly what I wanted. A big help.
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