Dio and the Case for Monarchy
In Book 52, Cassius Dio presents his reader with a conversation between Augustus and his two closest advisors, Agrippa and Maecenas. The conversation allegedly took place in 29 BC and consisted of a debate on the relative merits of restoring the Roman republic and of establishing a monarchy. Agrippa makes the case for a restoration of the republic, Maecenas for the establishment of a monarchy.
Given that Dio was writing in the early 3rd century AD about a private conversation that took place some 250 years earlier, it is unlikely that Dio’s account is an accurate reflection of the opinions that might or might not actually have been expressed by Agrippa and Maecenas. We are on much safer ground if we instead take Dio’s account as a reflection of the views of one well-informed elite commentator (Dio was a Roman senator) on the Augustan Principate from a distance of two and a half centuries.
For this paper, you should identify and comment on that part of Maecenas’s speech that you think best captures the essence of this later rationalization of the shift to monarchy under Augustus.
Citation: Citing Cassius Dio’s history is simple. Since only the one work by Dio survives, all that is required is the author’s name followed by the book and section number to which you are referring, e.g.: Dio 52.14.
This paper is due during session 11.
