I.
Struebat iam fortuna in diversa parte terrarum initia causasque imperio, quod varia sorte laetum rei publicae aut atrox, ipsis principibus prosperum vel exitio fuit. Titus Vespasianus, e Iudaea incolumi adhuc Galba missus a patre, causam profectionis officium erga principem et maturam petendis honoribus iuventam ferebat, sed vulgus fingendi avidum disperserat accitum in adoptionem. materia sermonibus senium et orbitas principis et intemperantia civitatis, donec unus eligatur, multos destinandi. augebat famam ipsius Titi ingenium quantaecumque fortunae capax, decor oris cum quadam maiestate, prosperae Vespasiani res, praesaga responsa, et inclinatis ad credendum animis loco ominum etiam fortuita. ubi Corinthi, Achaiae urbe, certos nuntios accepit de interitu Galbae et aderant qui arma Vitellii bellumque adfirmarent, anxius animo paucis amicorum adhibitis cuncta utrimque perlustrat: si pergeret in urbem, nullam officii gratiam in alterius honorem suscepti, ac se Vitellio sive Othoni obsidem fore: sin rediret, offensam haud dubiam victoris, set incerta adhuc victoria et concedente in partis patre filium excusatum. sin Vespasianus rem publicam susciperet, obliviscendum offensarum de bello agitantibus.
1.
In an opposite part of the world, Fortune was now setting the stage for the origins and the advent of a succession of emperors which, according to the twists and turns of chance, brought happiness or ruin to the state and to the princes themselves prosperity or death. While Galba was still alive, Titus Vespasian was sent [to Rome] from Judaea by his father. He gave out as his reasons for the journey both the desire to pay homage to the prince and his own age, young but sufficiently mature to qualify him for public office. But the people’s passionate fondness for imagining things had spread the rumor that he had been called [to Rome] to be adopted [as Galba’s successor to the throne]. The gossip had its source in the advanced years of the childless prince and in the popular mania of naming many names until someone is chosen. What gave currency to the rumor was Titus’ engaging personality – equal to whatever station fortune assigned him – his good looks and a certain majesty that he had, Vespasian’s good fame, the prophecies of oracles, and, finally, in minds prone to credulity, chance events interpreted as good omens. At Corinth, a city of Achaia, Titus received reliable news of Galba’s demise and, from some men he met there, he learnt of Vitellius’ armed revolt. In his anxiety he took counsel with a few friends, carefully examining both sides of his predicament: if he went to Rome, he would get no thanks for an act of submission intended for another prince and he could also become the hostage of either Vitellius or Otho; if he returned to Vespasian, the victor would no doubt be affronted. Yet, should his father declare for one party while victory was still in the balance [and help it win], then the son would be excused; and if Vespasian should claim the throne himself, the opposing side would have to forget offenses and fix its attention on war.
II.
His ac talibus inter spem metumque iactatum spes vicit. fuerunt qui accensum desiderio Berenices reginae vertisse iter crederent; neque abhorrebat a Berenice iuvenilis animus, sed gerendis rebus nullum ex eo impedimentum. laetam voluptatibus adulescentiam egit, suo quam patris imperio moderatior. igitur oram Achaiae et Asiae ac laeva maris praevectus, Rhodum et Cyprum insulas, inde Syriam audentioribus spatiis petebat. atque illum cupido incessit adeundi visendique templum Paphiae Veneris, inclitum per indigenas advenasque. haud fuerit longum initia religionis, templi ritum, formam deae (neque enim alibi sic habetur) paucis disserere.
2.
Misgiving and hope struggled in him with these and similar reasonings: in the end hope prevailed. Some said that his longing to see queen Berenice impelled him to turn back. True, his young heart was anything but indifferent to Berenice, but that did not interfere with his conduct then. His happy youth he [had] spent in pleasures: later he was more moderate in his own reign than he had been while his father was emperor. He now sailed along the coast of Achaia and Asia, keeping within sight of the land on his left, reached Rhodes then Cyprus, and from there took a less cautious course to Syria. [While in Cyprus], he felt the desire to view the famous temple of Paphian Venus celebrated by local people and foreigners alike. It may not be a waste of time, perhaps, to have a brief digression on the origin of the cult, the rites of the temple, and also the form of the goddess, for nowhere else is she depicted in the way she is here.
III.
Conditorem templi regem Aeriam vetus memoria, quidam ipsius deae nomen id perhibent. fama recentior tradit a Cinyra sacratum templum deamque ipsam conceptam mari huc adpulsam; sed scientiam artemque haruspicum accitam et Cilicem Tamiram intulisse, atque ita pactum ut familiae utriusque posteri caerimoniis praesiderent. mox, ne honore nullo regium genus peregrinam stirpem antecelleret, ipsa quam intulerant scientia hospites cessere: tantum Cinyrades sacerdos consulitur. hostiae, ut quisque vovit, sed mares deliguntur: certissima fides haedorum fibris. sanguinem arae obfundere vetitum: precibus et igne puro altaria adolentur, nec ullis imbribus quamquam in aperto madescunt. simulacrum deae non effigie humana, continuus orbis latiore initio tenuem in ambitum metae modo exurgens, set ratio in obscuro.
3.
An ancient tradition tells us that the founder of the temple was king Aerias, while other sources say thar Aerias was the name of the goddess herself. A more recent legend has it that the temple was consecrated by Cinyras and that the goddess, conceived by the sea, was wafted to the Cyprian coast by the waves. [Also part of the same legend is] that the science and art of divination came from abroad, introduced by the Cilician Tamiras and that the arrangement was for the families and the descendants of both Cinyras and Tamiras to officiate at the ceremonies. Later, however, to ensure the pre-eminence of Cinyras’ royal house over a foreign race on all occasions, those who were mere guests [in Cyprus] abandoned the science they had imported and the only priest who is now consulted is a descendant of Cinyras. The victims for the sacrifices are the offerings of individual worshippers, but male victims are preferred and the greatest reliance is placed on the entrails of kids. It is forbidden to pour blood on the altars: these are honored only with prayers and pure fire and are never wet from the rain, even though they are outdoors. The goddess is not represented in human form, but as a circular structure, larger at the base and progressively narrower as its height increases, like a [conical] turning post [in a racetrack]. The significance of such shape is unclear.
IV.
Titus spectata opulentia donisque regum quaeque alia laetum antiquitatibus Graecorum genus incertae vetustati adfingit, de navigatione primum consuluit. postquam pandi viam et mare prosperum accepit, de se per ambages interrogat caesis compluribus hostiis. Sostratus (sacerdotis id nomen erat) ubi laeta et congruentia exta magnisque consultis adnuere deam videt, pauca in praesens et solita respondens, petito secreto futura aperit. Titus aucto animo ad patrem pervectus suspensis provinciarum et exercituum mentibus ingens rerum fiducia accessit. Profligaverat bellum Iudaicum Vespasianus, obpugnatione Hierosolymorum reliqua, duro magis et arduo opere ob ingenium montis et pervicaciam superstitionis quam quo satis virium obsessis ad tolerandas necessitates superesset. tres, ut supra memoravimus, ipsi Vespasiano legiones erant, exercitae bello: quattuor Mucianus obtinebat in pace, sed aemulatio et proximi exercitus gloria depulerat segnitiam, quantumque illis roboris discrimina et labor, tantum his vigoris addiderat integra quies et inexperti belli labor. auxilia utrique cohortium alarumque et classes regesque ac nomen dispari fama celebre.
4.
After admiring the splendor of the temple, the rich offerings of kings, and whatever else the Greeks, in their love of ancient lore, ascribe to a legendary past, Titus next consulted the oracle about the voyage ahead. Upon learning that the way was open and the sea favorable, he then put questions to the oracle about himself, albeit in a roundabout way, by sacrificing a large number of victims. Sostratus –such was the priest’s name—when he saw that the entrails were uniformly propitious and that the goddess signified approval for some great design, he gave the ordinary brief answer for the moment, but asked for a private interview, during which he revealed Titus’ future. Invigorated by the oracle’s response, Titus returned to his father and his arrival brought boundless confidence to provinces and armies that [just before] were in a state of great uncertainty. Vespasian had almost completed his campaign against the Jews and only Jerusalem remained to be taken. The siege was a complex and arduous operation, more on account of the steep and ingeniously fortified terrain and the obstinate fanaticism [of the Jews], than of the presence inside the city of forces sufficient to sustain the siege. Vespasian, as was mentioned before, had three legions hardened by war; Mucianus was in command of four [in Syria], a peaceful province, but a spirit of emulation and the renown won by Vespasian’s army in nearby Judea had driven away all propensity to indolence in his troops. If exposure to danger and hard labor had toughened Vespasian’s legions, so had unbroken inaction and enthusiasm for war in men untested by it added vigor to those of Mucianus. The two generals had auxiliary forces of infantry and cavalry at their disposal, as well as allied kings. Each had a prestigious name, yet the reasons for their fame were quite different.
V.
Vespasianus acer militiae anteire agmen, locum castris capere, noctu diuque consilio ac, si res posceret, manu hostibus obniti, cibo fortuito, veste habituque vix a gregario milite discrepans; prorsus, si avaritia abesset, antiquis ducibus par. Mucianum e contrario magnificentia et opes et cuncta privatum modum supergressa extollebant; aptior sermone, dispositu provisuque civilium rerum peritus: egregium principatus temperamentum, si demptis utriusque vitiis solae virtutes miscerentur. ceterum hic Syriae, ille Iudaeae praepositus, vicinis provinciarum administrationibus invidia discordes, exitu demum Neronis positis odiis in medium consuluere, primum per amicos, dein praecipua concordiae fides Titus prava certamina communi utilitate aboleverat, natura atque arte compositus adliciendis etiam Muciani moribus. tribuni centurionesque et vulgus militum industria licentia, per virtutes per voluptates, ut cuique ingenium, adsciscebantur.
5.
Vespasian was a rugged soldier. He would march ahead of his troops and himself choose the site for the camp. Day and night he pressed the enemy hard with his tactical skills and, if the need arose, with his sword. He ate whatever he found, dressed and bore himself in a manner hardly different from that of his soldiers. All told, except for his stinginess, he was the equal of any general from ancient times. Mucianus, on the contrary, stood out for his air of grandeur, his opulence, and the fact that in him all seemed above the condition of a private citizen. He had greater facility with words [than Vespasian] and was a capable administrator and farsighted politician. It would have been a rare blend indeed for an emperor if the virtues of both, with their faults removed, had come together in one man. Instead, one being governor of Syria and the other of Judea, their proximity and the different style of government made them rivals in constant disagreement. Finally, when Nero died, they set aside their antagonism and came to a compromise, at first through the mediation of friends, then Titus, the main pledge of their accord, put an end to their petty rivalries for the common good, thanks to his pleasing nature and social skills, apt at seducing even a character like that of Mucianus. Tribunes, centurions, and the common soldiers themselves were won over by his diplomacy, his indulgence, his appeals to their sense of duty, even to their love of pleasure. Each man, according to his temperament, was drawn to him.
VI.
Antequam Titus adventaret sacramentum Othonis acceperat uterque exercitus, praecipitibus, ut adsolet, nuntiis et tarda mole civilis belli, quod longa concordia quietus Oriens tunc primum parabat. namque olim validissima inter se civium arma in Italia Galliave viribus Occidentis coepta; et Pompeio, Cassio, Bruto, Antonio, quos omnis trans mare secutum est civile bellum, haud prosperi exitus fuerant; auditique saepius in Syria Iudaeaque Caesares quam inspecti. nulla seditio legionum, tantum adversus Parthos minae, vario eventu; et proximo civili bello turbatis aliis inconcussa ibi pax, dein fides erga Galbam. mox, ut Othonem ac Vitellium scelestis armis res Romanas raptum ire vulgatum est, ne penes ceteros imperii praemia, penes ipsos tantum servitii necessitas esset, fremere miles et viris suas circumspicere. septem legiones statim et cum ingentibus auxiliis Syria Iudaeaque; inde continua Aegyptus duaeque legiones, hinc Cappadocia Pontusque et quicquid castrorum Armeniis praetenditur. Asia et ceterae provinciae nec virorum inopes et pecunia opulentae. quantum insularum mari cingitur, et parando interim bello secundum tutumque ipsum mare.
6.
Before Titus’ return, both the army of Judea and that of Syria had already taken the oath of allegiance to Otho. News [of events in Rome], as usual, was fast in reaching the eastern provinces, but gearing up for civil war is a massive undertaking, slow to gain momentum. Besides, it was the first time that the Orient, long slumbering in the embrace of unbroken peace, was preparing for such a war. In fact, until then the most virulent of these civil conflicts had taken place in Italy and Gaul and had been fought by the forces of the west. Pompei, Cassius, Brutus, and Antony had all quickly come to grief, once they took the war across the sea. As to the emperors that followed, Syria and Judea had had more occasions to hear of them than to see them. No revolts among the legions, nothing more than a threatening posture toward Parthia with variable results. In the last civil war [between Nero and Galba] the Orient had remained untroubled by the turmoil elsewhere and had accepted Galba without demur. Recently, when the rumor spread that Otho and Vitellius were marching out to wrest the empire from each other with criminal force, the soldiers began to grumble at seeing others grab all the rewards of power, while they themselves had nothing for their share but the drudgery of slaves. They took stock of their own strength: Syria and Judea had seven legions to hand and large auxiliary forces; on one side was Egypt and two legions, on the other Cappadocia and Pontus and all the garrisons along the borders of the Armenias. Asia and the other provinces had abundance of money and manpower and as for the Mediterranean islands, the sea itself surrounding them would provide both security and support while they prepared for war.
VII.
Non fallebat duces impetus militum, sed bellantibus aliis placuit expectari. bello civili victores victosque numquam solida fide coalescere, nec referre Vitellium an Othonem superstitem fortuna faceret. rebus secundis etiam egregios duces insolescere: discordia militis ignavia luxurie et suismet vitiis alterum bello, alterum victoria periturum. igitur arma in occasionem distulere, Vespasianus Mucianusque nuper, ceteri olim mixtis consiliis; optimus quisque amore rei publicae, multos dulcedo praedarum stimulabat, alios ambiguae domi res: ita boni malique causis diversis, studio pari, bellum omnes cupiebant.
7.
The eagerness of the soldiers did not escape the leaders’ attention, but it was decided to wait while others fought it out among themselves. [It was clear to them that], in the wake of a civil war, winners and losers never form reliable unions, [thus] it mattered little whether fortune made Vitellius or Otho the survivor. Success breeds arrogance even in excellent leaders; the troops of either party were rebellious, lazy, and intemperate and the leaders themselves a vicious pair: both would surely die, one in the war, the other victim of his own success. In view of this, Vespasian and Mucianus postponed joining the fight until the right moment, a plan they agreed on just then, but which all the rest had formed long before for various considerations: the best among them out of concern for the public good, many stimulated by the allurement of spoils, others by the precarious state of their affairs. Thus, everyone good or bad wished for war, even though motives were at variance.
VIII.
Sub idem tempus Achaia atque Asia falso exterritae velut Nero adventaret, vario super exitu eius rumore eoque pluribus vivere eum fingentibus credentibusque. ceterorum casus conatusque in contextu operis dicemus: tunc servus e Ponto sive, ut alii tradidere, libertinus ex Italia, citharae et cantus peritus, unde illi super similitudinem oris propior ad fallendum fides, adiunctis desertoribus, quos inopia vagos ingentibus promissis corruperat, mare ingreditur; ac vi tempestatum Cythnum insulam detrusus et militum quosdam ex Oriente commeantium adscivit vel abnuentis interfici iussit, et spoliatis negotiatoribus mancipiorum valentissimum quemque armavit. centurionemque Sisennam dextras, concordiae insignia, Syriaci exercitus nomine ad praetorianos ferentem variis artibus adgressus est, donec Sisenna clam relicta insula trepidus et vim metuens aufugeret. inde late terror: multi ad celebritatem nominis erecti rerum novarum cupidine et odio praesentium. gliscentem in dies famam fors discussit.
8.
At about the same period the provinces of Achaia and Asia were alarmed by a bogus report that Nero was about to arrive. Conflicting rumors had been circulating regarding his death and for that reason many believed –or pretended to believe—he was still alive. The vicissitudes and the fate of other false Neros we shall relate in the course of this work. This one was either a slave from Pontus or, as some sources claim, a freedman from Italy. He was a skilled lyre player and singer and these accomplishments, added to his resemblance to Nero, gave him credibility as impersonator. He associated himself with some deserters, vagabonds without resources whom he seduced with lavish promises, and set out at sea. Driven by a violent storm to the island of Cythnus, he found a group of soldiers going home on leave from the Orient and either convinced them to follow him or ordered them killed if they refused. Next he stripped merchants of their wealth and armed the strongest of their slaves. Upon meeting a centurion, named Sisenna, who was bringing to the praetorian troops in Rome the customary token of mutual friendship from the army of Syria, he tried by devious means to corrupt him, until Sisenna, fearing for his life, left the island in secret and got safely away. Then terror spread far and wide. The celebrity of Nero’s name roused many from apathy, who hungered for a new order of things and were repelled by present conditions. The pretender’s fame was mounting daily, when fortune broke the spell.
IX.
Galatiam ac Pamphyliam provincias Calpurnio Asprenati regendas Galba permiserat. datae e classe Misenensi duae triremes ad prosequendum, cum quibus Cythnum insulam tenuit: nec defuere qui trierarchos nomine Neronis accirent. is in maestitiam compositus et fidem suorum quondam militum invocans, ut eum in Syria aut Aegypto sisterent orabat. trierarchi, nutantes seu dolo, adloquendos sibi milites et paratis omnium animis reversuros firmaverunt. sed Asprenati cuncta ex fide nuntiata, cuius cohortatione expugnata navis et interfectus quisquis ille erat. corpus, insigne oculis comaque et torvitate vultus, in Asiam atque inde Romam pervectum est.
9.
The government of Galatia and Pamphilia had been assigned by Galba to Calpurnius Asprenas. Two triremes, detached as escorts from the fleet at Misenum, took the governor to the island of Cythnus, where men acting on behalf of the impostor invited the ship captains to visit him. Assuming a dejected mien, the false Nero appealed to their loyalty as soldiers who not long before had been his own and implored them to land him in Syria or Egypt. The captains, either really moved or just pretending, answered that they must first talk to the soldiers and that they would return after everyone’s mind had been prepared. Instead they duly reported to Asprenas, on whose orders the rogue’s ship was captured and he, whoever he was, was killed. His body, memorable for its eyes, hair, and terrifying countenance, was taken to Asia and from there to Rome.
X.
In civitate discordi et ob crebras principum mutationes inter libertatem ac licentiam incerta parvae quoque res magnis motibus agebantur. Vibius Crispus, pecunia potentia ingenio inter claros magis quam inter bonos, Annium Faustum equestris ordinis, qui temporibus Neronis delationes factitaverat, ad cognitionem senatus vocabat; nam recens Galbae principatu censuerant patres, ut accusatorum causae noscerentur. id senatus consultum varie iactatum et, prout potens vel inops reus inciderat, infirmum aut validum, retinebat adhuc [aliquid] terroris. et propria vi Crispus incubuerat delatorem fratris sui pervertere, traxeratque magnam senatus partem, ut indefensum et inauditum dedi ad exitium postularent. contra apud alios nihil aeque reo proderat quam nimia potentia accusatoris: dari tempus, edi crimina, quamvis invisum ac nocentem more tamen audiendum censebant. et valuere primo dilataque in paucos dies cognitio: mox damnatus est Faustus, nequaquam eo adsensu civitatis quem pessimis moribus meruerat: quippe ipsum Crispum easdem accusationes cum praemio exercuisse meminerant, nec poena criminis sed ultor displicebat.
10.
In a Rome divided, teetering between liberty and lawlessness from frequent changes of emperors, even small events produced much agitation. Vibius Crispus, whose wealth, power, and natural gifts ranked him among the most influential rather than the best of citizens, brought an action before the Senate against Annius Faustus, a man of equestrian rank, who had often been an informer under Nero. In fact, only recently under Galba had the Senate deliberated that informers could be prosecuted, but the decree found very erratic application: it proved now lame, now effective, according to whether the accused happened to be a man of consequence or a wretch. Still, it retained some power to overawe and in addition Crispus had called into action all his influence, determined to destroy the accuser of his brother. He was able to persuade a large part of the Senate to demand the execution of Faustus without allowing him to be heard and to defend himself. With other senators, however, nothing helped the accused as much as the vehemence of the accuser. It was their view that more time be allowed and that charges be published; no matter how base and culpable a man might be, he must nevertheless be heard, in keeping with established procedure. They succeeded at first and the case was delayed a few days, then Faustus was condemned, but not with the kind of general approbation his detestable conduct had merited. People remembered that Crispus himself had plied the trade of informant for lucre, so it was not with the verdict they were displeased, but with the accuser.