Citation

Moret P. Revue des Etudes Anciennes 2013; 115(2): 477-496.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013)

DOI

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PMID

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Abstract

Several accounts of sieges in Titus-Li vius's The History of Rome end in the defenders collective suicide. Our analysis, centred on the case of the Hispanic city of Astapa, approaches these stories from four different viewpoints. 1/ Their mixed nature: the superimposition of a barely adapted basic annalistic outline, and a historiographical and literary motif widespread in Greece since the 5th century. 2/ Their ideological load: Through the accounts, Titus-Livius poses the question of the legitimacy of violence and more specifically in Book XXVIII where the differing fortunes of the cities are put into perspective considering an antithetic background of the Roman's controlled legitimate anger (ira) and the irrational fury of the Barbarians (furor). 3/ Moral stake: As opposed to most Classic historians, Titus-Livius condemns these extreme practices which he considers to be against nature. This aversion may stem from one of the more disturbing effects of civil wars i.e., the resurgence of the archaic custom of Roman soldier's mutual suicide under a deviant form illustrated by Lucanius. 4/ Finally, one may pose the question of the level of actual truth in Titus-Livius's tales within a Hispanic context because of local practices related to devotion to the leader which could lead to suicide.

Language: fr

Keywords

Astapa; Hispanie; Histoire Romaine; Sagonte; Suicide collectif; Tite-Live