Body: | Roman History
by Cassius Dio, 229 AD
Book 69:1-23
(Translation by Earnest Cary p 425-467)
1 Hadrian had not been adopted by Trajan; he was merely a compatriot and
former ward of his, was of near kin to him and had married his niece,- in
short, he was a companion of his, sharing his daily life, 2 and had been
assigned to Syria for the Parthian War. Yet he had received no
distinguishing mark of favour from Trajan, such as being one of the first
to be appointed consul. He became Caesar and emperor owing to the fact that
when Trajan died childless, Attianus, a compatriot and former guardian of
his, together with Plotina, who was in love with him, secured him the
appointment, their efforts being facilitated by his proximity and by his
possession of a large military force. 3 My father, Apronianus, who was
governor of Cilicia, had ascertained accurately the whole story about him,
and he used to relate the various incidents, in particular stating that the
death of Trajan was concealed for several days in order that Hadrian's
adoption might be announced first. 4 This was shown also by Trajan's
letters to the senate, for they were signed, not by him, but by Plotina,
although she had not done this in any previous instance.
2 At the time that he was declared emperor, Hadrian was in Antioch, the
metropolis of Syria, of which he was governor. He had dreamed before the
day in question that a fire descended out of heaven, the day being
perfectly clear and bright, and fell first upon the left side of his
throat, passing then to the right side, though it neither frightened nor
injured him. 2 And he wrote to the senate asking that body to confirm the
sovereignty to him and forbidding the passing either then or later of any
measure (as was so often done) that contained any special honour for him,
unless he should ask for it at some time. 3 The bones of Trajan were
deposited in his Column, and the Parthian Games, as they were called,
continued for a number of years; but at a later date even this observance,
like many others, was abolished. 4 In a certain letter that Hadrian wrote,
in which were many high-minded sentiments, he swore that he would neither
do anything contrary to the public interest nor put to death any senator,
and he invoked destruction upon himself if he should violate these promises
in any wise. 5 Hadrian, though he ruled with the greatest mildness, was
nevertheless severely criticized for slaying several of the best men in the
beginning of his reign and again near the end of his life, and for this
reason he came near failing to be enrolled among the demigods. Those who
were slain at the beginning were Palma and Celsus, Nigrinus and Lusius, the
first two for the alleged reason that they had conspired against him during
a hunt, and the others on certain complaints, but in reality because they
had great influence and enjoyed wealth and fame. 6.1 Nevertheless, Hadrian
felt so keenly the comments that this action occasioned, that he made a
defence and declared upon oath that he had not ordered their deaths. Those
who perished at the end of his reign were Servianus and his grandson
Fuscus. 6.2 Hadrian was a pleasant man to meet and he possessed a certain
charm.
3 As regards birth Hadrian was the son of a man of senatorial rank, an
ex-praetor, Hadrianus Afer by name. By nature he was fond of literary study
in both the Greek and Latin languages, and has left behind a variety of
prose writings as well as compositions in verse. 2 For his ambition was
insatiable, and hence he practised all conceivable pursuits, even the most
trivial; for example, he modelled and painted, and declared that there was
nothing pertaining to peace or war, to imperial or private life, of which
he was not cognizant. 3 All this, of course, did people no harm; but his
jealousy of all who excelled in any respect was most terrible and caused
the downfall of many, besides utterly destroying several. For, inasmuch as
he wished to surpass everybody in everything, he hated those who attained
eminence in any direction. 4 It was this feeling that led him to undertake
to overthrow two sophists, Favorinus the Gaul, and Dionysius of Miletus, by
various methods, but chiefly by elevating their antagonists, who were of
little or no worth at all. 5 Dionysius is said to have remarked then to
Avidius Heliodorus, who had had charge of the emperor's correspondence:
"Caesar can give you money and honour, but he cannot make you an orator." 6
And Favorinus, who was about to plead a case before the emperor in regard
to exemption from taxes, a privilege which he desired to secure to his
native land, suspected that he should be unsuccessful and receive insults
besides, and so merely entered the court-room and made this brief
statement: "My teacher stood besides me last night in a dream and bade me
serve my country, as having been born for her."
4 Now Hadrian spared these men, displeased as he was with them, for he
could find no plausible pretext to use against them for their destruction.
But he first banished and later put to death Apollodorus, the architect,
who had built the various creations of Trajan in Rome - the forum, the
odeum and the gymnasium. 2 The reason assigned was that he had been guilty
of some misdemeanour; but the true reason was that once when Trajan was
consulting him on some point about the buildings he had said to Hadrian,
who had interrupted with some remark: "Be off, and draw your gourds. You
don't understand any of these matters." (It chanced that Hadrian at the
time was pluming himself upon some such drawing.) 3 When he became emperor,
therefore, he remembered this slight and would not endure the man's freedom
of speech. He sent him the plan of the temple of Venus and Roma by way of
showing him that a great work could be accomplished without his aid, and
asked Apollodorus whether the proposed structure was satisfactory. 4 The
architect in his reply stated, first, in regard to the temple, that it
ought to have been built on high ground and that the earth should have been
excavated beneath it, so that it might have stood out more conspicuously on
the Sacred Way from its higher position, and might also have accommodated
the machines in its basement, so that they could be put together unobserved
and brought into the theatre without anyone's being aware of them
beforehand. Secondly, in regard to the statues, he said that they had been
made too tall for the height of the cella. 5 "For now," he said, "if the
goddesses wish to get up and go out, they will be unable to do so." When he
wrote this so bluntly to Hadrian, the emperor was both vexed and
exceedingly grieved because he had fallen into a mistake that could not be
righted, and he restrained neither his anger nor his grief, but slew the
man. 6 Indeed, his nature was such that he was jealous not only of the
living, but also of the dead; at any rate he abolished Homer and introduced
in his stead Antimachus, whose very name had previously been unknown to
many.
5 Other traits for which people found fault with him were his great
strictness, his curiosity and his meddlesomeness. Yet he balanced and
atoned for these defects by his careful oversight, his prudence, his
munificence and his skill; furthermore, he did not stir up any war, and he
terminated those already in progress; and he deprived no one of money
unjustly, while upon many - communities and private citizens, senators and
knights - he bestowed large sums. 2 Indeed, he did not even wait to be
asked, but acted in absolutely every case according to the individual
needs. He subjected the legions to the strictest discipline, so that,
though strong, they were neither insubordinate nor insolent; and he aided
the allied and subject cities most munificently. 3 He had seen many of
them,- more, in fact, than any other emperor,- and he assisted practically
all of them, giving to some a water supply, to others harbours, food,
public works, money and various honours, differing the different cities.
6 He led the Roman people rather by dignity than by flattery. Once at a
gladiatorial contest, when the crowd was demanding something very urgently,
he not only would not grant it but further bade the herald proclaim
Domitian's command, "Silence." 2 The word was not uttered, however, for the
herald raised his hand and by that very gesture quieted the people, as
heralds are accustomed to do (for crowds are never silenced by
proclamation), and then, when they had become quiet, he said: "That is what
he wishes." And Hadrian was not in the least angry with the herald, but
actually honoured him for not uttering the rude order. 3 For he could bear
such things, and was not displeased if he received aid either in an
unexpected way or from ordinary men. At any rate, once, when a woman made a
request of him as he passed by on a journey, he at first said to her, "I
haven't time," but afterwards, when she cried out, "Cease, then, being
emperor," he turned about and granted her a hearing.
7 He transacted with the aid of the senate all the important and most
urgent business and he held court with the assistance of the foremost men,
now in the palace, now in the Forum or the Pantheon or various other
places, always being seated on a tribunal, so that whatever was done was
made public. Sometimes he would join the consuls when they were trying
cases and he showed them honour at the horse-races. 2 When he returned home
he was wont to be carried in a litter, in order not to trouble anyone to
accompany him. On the days that were neither sacred nor suitable for public
business he remained at home, and admitted no one, even so much as just to
greet him, unless it were on some urgent matter; this was in order to spare
people a troublesome duty. 3 Both in Rome and abroad he always kept the
noblest men about him, and he used to join them at banquets and for this
reason often took three others into his carriage. He went hunting as often
as possible, and he breakfasted without wine; he used to eat a good deal,
and often in the midst of trying a case he would partake of food; later he
would dine in the company of all the foremost and best men, and their meal
together was the occasion for all kinds of discussions. 4 When his friends
were very ill, he would visit them, and he would attend their festivals,
and was glad to stay at their country seats and their town houses. Hence he
also placed in the Forum images of many when they were dead and of many
while they were still alive. No one of his associates, moreover, displayed
insolence or took money for divulging anything that Hadrian either said or
did, as the freedmen and other attendants in the suite of emperors are
accustomed to do.
8 This is a kind of preface, of a summary nature, that I have been giving
in regard to his character. I shall also relate in detail all the events
that require mention. 1.a The Alexandrians had been rioting, and nothing
would make them stop until they received a letter from Hadrian rebuking
them. So true is it that an emperor's word will have more force than arms.
1.2 On coming to Rome he cancelled the debts that were owing to the
imperial treasury and to the public treasury of the Romans, fixing a period
of fifteen years from the first to the last of which this remission was to
apply. 2 On his birthday he gave the usual spectacle free to the people and
slew many wild beasts, so that one hundred lions, for example, and a like
number of lionesses fell on this single occasion. He also distributed gifts
by means of little balls which he threw broadcast both in the theatres and
in the Circus, for the men and for the women separately. And further, he
also commanded them to bathe separately. 3 Besides these events of that
year, Euphrates, the philosopher, died a death of his own choosing, since
Hadrian permitted him to drink hemlock in consideration of his extreme age
and his malady.
9 Hadrian travelled through one province after another, visiting the
various regions and cities and inspecting all the garrisons and forts. Some
of these he removed to more desirable places, some he abolished, and he
also established some new ones. 2 He personally viewed and investigated
absolutely everything, not merely the usual appurtenances of camps, such as
weapons, engines, trenches, ramparts and palisades, but also the private
affairs of every one, but of the men serving in the ranks and of the
officers themselves,- their lives, their quarters and their habits,- and he
reformed and corrected in many cases practices and arrangements for living
that had become too luxurious. 3 He drilled the men for every kind of
battle, honouring some and reproving others, and he taught them all what
should be done. And in order that they should be benefited by observing
him, he everywhere led a rigorous life and either walked or rode on
horseback on all occasions, never once at this period setting foot in
either a chariot or a four-wheeled vehicle. 4 He covered his head neither
in hot weather nor in cold, but alike amid German snows and under scorching
Egyptian suns he went about with his head bare. In fine, both by his
example and by his precepts he so trained and disciplined the whole
military force throughout the entire empire that even today the methods
then introduced by him are the soldiers' law of campaigning. 5 This best
explains why he lived for the most part at peace with foreign nations; for
as they saw his state of preparation and were themselves not only free from
aggression but received money besides, they made no uprising. 6 So
excellently, indeed, had his soldiery been trained that the cavalry of the
Batavians, as they were called, swam the Ister with their arms. Seeing all
this, the barbarians stood in terror of the Romans, they employed Hadrian
as an arbitrator of their differences.
10 He also constructed theatres and held games as he travelled about from
city to city, dispensing, however, with the imperial trappings; for he
never used these outside Rome. And yet he did not see his native land,
though he showed it great honour and bestowed many splendid gifts upon it.
2 He is said to have been enthusiastic about hunting. Indeed, he broke his
collar-bone at this pursuit and came near getting his leg maimed; and to a
city that he founded in Mysia he gave the name of Hadrianotherae. However,
he did not neglect any of the duties of his office because of this pastime.
Some light is thrown upon his passion for hunting by what he did for his
steed Borysthenes, which was his favourite horse for the chase; when the
animal died, he prepared a tomb for him, set up a slab and placed an
inscription upon it. 3.1 It is not strange, then, that upon the death of
Plotina, the woman through whom he had secured the imperial office because
of her love for him, he honoured her exceedingly, wearing black for nine
days, erecting a temple to her and composing some hymns in her memory. 3a
When Plotina died, Hadrian praised her, saying: "Though she asked much of
me, she was never refused anything." By this he simply meant to say: "Her
requests were of such a character that they neither burdened me nor
afforded me any justification for opposing them." 3.2 He was so skilful in
the chase that he once brought down a huge boar with a single blow.
11 On coming to Greece he was admitted to the highest grade at the
Mysteries. After this he passed through Judaea into Egypt and offered
sacrifice to Pompey, concerning whom he is said to have uttered this verse:
"Strange lack of tomb for one with shrines o'erwhelmed!" And he restored
his monument, which had fallen in ruin. 2 In Egypt also he rebuilt the city
named henceforth for Antinous. Antinous was from Bithynium, a city of
Bithynia, which we also call Claudiopolis; he had been a favourite of the
emperor and had died in Egypt, either by falling into the Nile, as Hadrian
writes, or, as the truth is, by being offered in sacrifice. 3 For Hadrian,
as I have stated, was always very curious and employed divinations and
incantations of all kinds. Accordingly, he honoured Antinous, either
because of his love for him or because the youth had voluntarily undertaken
to die (it being necessary that a life should be surrendered freely for the
accomplishment of the ends Hadrian had in view), by building a city on the
spot where he had suffered this fate and naming it after him; 4 and he also
set up statues, or rather sacred images, of him, practically all over the
world. Finally, he declared that he had seen a star which he took to be
that of Antinous, and gladly lent an ear to the fictitious tales woven by
his associates to the effect that the star had really come into being from
the spirit of Antinous and had then appeared for the first time. On this
account, then, he became the object of some ridicule, and also because at
the death of his sister Paulina he had not immediately paid her any honour
. . .
12 At Jerusalem he founded a city in place of the one which had been razed
to the ground, naming it Aelia Capitolina, and on the site of the temple of
the god he raised a new temple to Jupiter. This brought on a war of no
slight importance nor of brief duration, 2 for the Jews deemed it
intolerable that foreign races should be settled in their city and foreign
religious rites planted there. So long, indeed, as Hadrian was close by in
Egypt and again in Syria, they remained quiet, save in so far as they
purposely made of poor quality such weapons as they were called upon to
furnish, in order that the Romans might reject them and they themselves
might thus have the use of them; but when he went farther away, they openly
revolted. 3 To be sure, they did not dare try conclusions with the Romans
in the open field, but they occupied the advantageous positions in the
country and strengthened them with mines and walls, in order that they
might have places of refuge whenever they should be hard pressed, and might
meet together unobserved under ground; and they pierced these subterranean
passages from above at intervals to let in air and light.
13 At first the Romans took no account of them. Soon, however, all Judaea
had been stirred up, and the Jews everywhere were showing signs of
disturbance, were gathering together, and giving evidence of great
hostility to the Romans, partly by secret and partly by overt acts; 2 many
outside nations, too, were joining them through eagerness for gain, and the
whole earth, one might almost say, was being stirred up over the matter.
Then, indeed, Hadrian sent against them his best generals. First of these
was Julius Severus, who was dispatched from Britain, where he was governor,
against the Jews. 3 Severus did not venture to attack his opponents in the
open at any one point, in view of their numbers and their desperation, but
by intercepting small groups, thanks to the number of his soldiers and his
under-officers, and by depriving them of food and shutting them up, he was
able, rather slowly, to be sure, but with comparatively little danger, to
crush, exhaust and exterminate them. Very few of them in fact survived.
14 Fifty of their most important outposts and nine hundred and eighty-five
of their most famous villages were razed to the ground. Five hundred and
eighty thousand men were slain in the various raids and battles, and the
number of those that perished by famine, disease and fire was past finding
out. 2 Thus nearly the whole of Judaea was made desolate, a result of which
the people had had forewarning before the war. For the tomb of Solomon,
which the Jews regard as an object of veneration, fell to pieces of itself
and collapsed, and many wolves and hyenas rushed howling into their cities.
3 Many Romans, moreover, perished in this war. Therefore Hadrian in writing
to the senate did not employ the opening phrase commonly affected by the
emperors, "If you and our children are in health, it is well; I and the
legions are in health." 4 He sent Severus into Bithynia, which needed no
armed force but a governor and leader who was just and prudent and a man of
rank. All this qualifications Severus possessed. And he managed and
administer both their private and their public affairs in such a manner
that we are still, even today, wont to remember him. Pamphylia, in place
Bithynia, was given to the senate and made assignable by lot.
15 This, then, was the end of the war with the Jews. A second war was begun
by the Alani (they are Massagetae) at the instigation of Pharasmanes. It
caused dire injury to the Albanian territory and Media, and then involved
Armenia and Cappadocia; after which, as the Alani were not only persuaded
by gifts from Vologaesus but also stood in dread of Flavius Arrianus, the
governor of Cappadocia, it came to a stop. 2 Envoys were sent from
Vologaesus and from the Iazyges; the former made some charges against
Pharasmanes and the latter wished to confirm the peace. He introduced them
to the senate and was empowered by that body to return appropriate answers;
and these he accordingly prepared and read to them.
16 Hadrian completed the Olympieum at Athens, in which his own statue also
stands, and dedicated there a serpent, which had been brought from India.
He also presided at the Dionysia, first assuming the highest office among
the Athenians, and arrayed in the local costume, carried it through
brilliantly. 2 He allowed the Greeks to build in his honour the shrine
which was named the Panhellenium, and instituted a series of games in
connection with it; and he granted to the Athenians large sums of money, an
annual dole of grain, and the whole of Cephallenia. Among numerous laws
that he enacted was one to the effect that no senator, either personally or
through the agency of another, should have any tax farmed out to him. 3
After he had returned to Rome the crowd at a spectacle shouted their
request for the emancipation of a certain charioteer; but he replied in
writing on a bulletin-board: "It is not right for you either to ask me to
free another's slave or to force his master to do so."
17 He now began to be sick; for he had been subject even before this to a
flow of blood from the nostrils, and at this time it became distinctly more
copious. He therefore despaired of his life, and on this account appointed
Lucius Commodus to be Caesar for the Romans, although this man frequently
vomited blood. Servianus and his grandson Fuscus, the former a nonagenarian
and the latter eighteen years of age, were put to death on the ground that
they were displeased at this action. 2 Servianus before being executed
asked for fire, and as he offered incense he exclaimed: "That I am guilty
of no wrong, ye, O Gods, are well aware; as for Hadrian, this is my only
prayer, that he may long for death but be unable to die." And, indeed,
Hadrian did linger on a long time in his illness, and often prayed that he
might expire, and often desired to kill himself. 3 There is, indeed, a
letter of his in existence which gives proof of precisely this - how
dreadful it is to long for death and yet be unable to die. This Servianus
had been regarded by Hadrian as capable of filling even the imperial
office. For instance, Hadrian had once at a banquet told his friends to
name him ten men who were competent to be sole ruler, and then, after a
moment's pause, had added: "nine only I want to know; for one I have
already - Servianus."
18 Other excellent men, also, came to light during that period, of whom the
most distinguished were Turbo and Similis, who, indeed, were honoured with
statues. Turbo was a man of the greatest generalship and had become
prefect, or commander of the Praetorians. He displayed neither effeminacy
nor haughtiness in anything that he did, but lived like one of the
multitude; 2 among other things, he spent the entire day near the palace
and often he would go there even before midnight, when some of the others
were just beginning to sleep. 3 In this connexion the following anecdote is
related of Cornelius Fronto, who was the foremost Roman of the time in
pleading before the courts. One night he was returning home from dinner
very late, and ascertained from a man whose counsel he had promised to be
that Turbo was already holding court. Accordingly, just as he was, in his
dinner dress, he went into Turbo's court-room and greeted him, not with the
morning salutation, Salve, but with the one appropriate to the evening,
Vale. 4 Turbo was never seen at home in the day-time, even when he was
sick; and to Hadrian, who advised him to remain quiet, he replied: "The
prefect ought to die on his feet."
19 Similis was of more advanced years and rank than Turbo, and in character
was second to none of the great men, in my opinion. This may be inferred
even from incidents that are very trivial. For instance when Trajan of
course summoned him, while he was still a centurion, to enter his presence
ahead of the prefects, he said: "It is a shame, Caesar, that you should be
talking with a centurion while the prefects stand outside." 2 Moreover, he
assumed the command of the Praetorians reluctantly, and after assuming it
resigned it. Having with difficulty secured his release, he spent the rest
of his life, seven years, quietly in the country, and upon his tomb he
caused this inscription to be placed: "Here lies Similis, who existed
so-and so many years, and lived seven."
20 Hadrian became consumptive as a result of his great loss of blood, and
this led to dropsy. And as it happened that Lucius Commodus was suddenly
carried off by a severe haemorrhage, the emperor convened at his house the
most prominent and most respected of the senators; and lying there upon his
couch, he spoke to them as follows: 2 "I, my friends, have not been
permitted by nature to have a son, but you have made it possible by legal
enactment. Now there is this difference between the two methods - that a
begotten son turns out to be whatever sort of person Heaven pleases,
whereas one that is adopted a man takes to himself as the result of a
deliberate selection. 3 Thus by the process of nature a maimed and witless
child is often given to a parent, but by process of selection one of sound
body and sound mind is certain to be chosen. For this reason I formerly
selected Lucius before all others - a person such as I could never have
expected a child of my own to become. 4 But since Heaven has bereft us of
them, I have found as emperor for you in his place the man whom I now give
you, one who is noble, mild, tractable, prudent, neither young enough to do
anything reckless nor old enough to neglect aught, one who has been brought
up according to the laws and one who has exercised authority in accordance
with our traditions, so that he is not ignorant of any matters pertaining
to the imperial office, but could handle them all effectively. 5 I refer to
our Antoninus here. Although I know him to be the least inclined of men to
become involved in affairs and to be far from desiring any such power still
I do not think that he will deliberately disregard either me or you, but
will accept the office even against his will."
21 So it was that Antoninus became emperor. And since he had no male
offspring, Hadrian adopted for him Commodus' son Commodus, and, in addition
to him, Marcus Annius Verus; for he wished to appoint those who were
afterwards to be emperors for as long a time ahead as possible. This Marcus
Annius, earlier named Catilius, was a grandson of Annius Verus who had been
consul thrice and prefect of the city. 2 And though had kept urging
Antoninus to adopt them both, yet he preferred Verus on account of his
kinship and his age and because he was already giving indication of
exceptional strength of character. This led Hadrian to apply to the young
man the name Verissimus, thus playing upon the meaning of the Latin word.
22 By certain charms and magic rites Hadrian would be relieved for a time
of his dropsy, but would soon be filled with water again. Since, therefore,
he was constantly growing worse and might be said to be dying day by day,
he began to long for death; and often he would ask for poison or a sword,
but no one would give them to him. 2 As no one would listen to him,
although he promised money and immunity, he sent for Mastor, one of the
barbarian Iazyges, who had become a captive and had been employed by
Hadrian in his hunting because of his strength and daring; and partly by
threatening him and partly by making promises, he compelled the man to
promise to kill him. 3 He drew a coloured line about a spot beneath the
nipple that had been shown him by Hermogenes, his physician, in order that
he might there be struck a fatal blow and perish painlessly. But even this
plan did not succeed, for Mastor became afraid of the business and drew
back in terror. The emperor lamented bitterly the plight to which his
malady and his helplessness had brought him, 4 in that he was not able to
make away with himself, though he still had the power, even when so near
death, to destroy anybody else. Finally he abandoned his careful regimen
and by indulging in unsuitable foods and drinks met his death, shouting
aloud the popular saying: "Many physicians have slain a king."
23 He had lived sixty-two years, five months and nineteen days, and had
been emperor twenty years and eleven months. He was buried near the river
itself, close to the Aelian bridge; for it was there that he had prepared
his tomb, since the tomb of Augustus was full, and from this time no body
was deposited in it. 2 Hadrian was hated by the people, in spite of his
generally excellent reign, on account of the murders committed by him at
the beginning and end of his reign, since they had been unjustly and
impiously brought about. Yet he was so far from being of a bloodthirsty
disposition that even in the case of some who clashed with him he thought
it sufficient to write to their native places the bare statement that they
did not please him. 3 And if it was absolutely necessary to punish any man
who had children, yet in proportion to the number of children he would
lighten the penalty imposed. Nevertheless, the senate persisted for a long
time in its refusal to vote him the usual honours and in its stricture upon
some of those who had committed excesses during his reign and had been
honoured therefor, when they ought to have been punished. 4 Julius Fabius,
not being able to endure his son's effeminacy, desired to throw himself
into the river.
Fragment: After Hadrian's death there was erected to him a huge equestrian
statue representing him with a four-horse chariot. It was so large that the
bulkiest man could walk through the eye of each horse, yet because of the
extreme height of the foundation persons passing along on the ground below
believe that the horses themselves as well as Hadrian are very small.
(Roman History, Cassius Dio, Book 69:1-23, 229 AD, Translation by Earnest
Cary p 425-467)
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