Lee
L. BRICE Rehabilitating Germanicus: Tacitus and
the Rhetoric of Military Crisis
Negative modern
treatments of Germanicus' leadership are in part a result
of under-appreciating Tacitus' use of the rhetoric of
military crisis. A
review of Tacitus' presentation of military figures in
times of emergency demonstrates that Germanicus' actions
in 14 CE were consistent with the rhetoric of military
crisis. Tacitus'
use of this rhetorical approach to highlight his
characterizations fits in a tradition of Roman
historiography.
Since D.A.
Shotter's examination of Tacitus' presentation of
Germanicus (Shotter 1968, 194-214), negative treatment of
his leadership has dominated the scholarship. A significant element of the
modern criticism has been Germanicus' offer to commit
suicide during the mutiny along the lower Rhine following
Augustus' death. A
sample of scholarship demonstrates that reactions to his
behavior generally do not vary except by degree, "an
impulsive and desperate act," (Shotter 1968, 197-98);
"theatrical in the extreme," (Ross 1973, 215); "an
histrionic and rather absurdly sentimental gesture,"
(Rutland 1987, 155); and "melodramatic," (Barrett 1996,
26). His actions are, however, not as atypical as
commentators have assumed.
Rather, they must be seen as a function of the rhetoric of
military crisis.
The rhetoric of
military crisis refers to the manner in which military
men, usually officers, express themselves (or are
presented as doing so) at times of emergency. The rhetorical display may appear
in a speech or through action, and often both, with the
goal of exhibiting the actor's virtus in a
military setting (Harris 20 and 39-40; Rosenstein 1990,
116-48). Such
displays are familiar from Roman histories, including the
campaigns of Sulla, Pompey, and Caesar.
The rhetoric of military crisis became a topos of Roman
histories that audiences expected to find, and in some
cases authors may have massaged the record when the
evidence was insufficient (Rosenstein 1990 116-121).
The most common locus for such expressions of
virtus in Roman history is in an episode of
military crisis. A battle is not necessary, however, since a peace-time
mutiny can become a crisis.
Germanicus had to resolve a significant mutiny without the aid
of a counter-force and had no time to raise one.
The reader should not be surprised to find, therefore, that
after circumstances turned contrary he made a rhetorical
display. Although
theatrical, the offer to commit suicide rather than
betray Tiberius was consistent with a display of
virtus and fides (Williams 1997, 53-54). Indeed, only such a theatrical
display would have achieved the result of getting the
audience's attention, and it is the audience that
mattered to both Germanicus and Tacitus. The audiences to which both
Germanicus and Tacitus appeal are aware of the rhetoric,
so it should not be surprising that such a display
appears in Germanicus' reaction. Regardless of whether the tale was embroidered or even
fabricated it was not unusual; it served a purpose and
its use was a result of a tradition of rhetoric in
military crisis.
Although some
commentators have treated Germanicus' actions as if they
were unique and excessive, an examination of Roman
historians reveals that they were not so unusual. In book one of the Annals
alone, Tacitus provides two examples of similar
rhetorical displays of officers who preferred to die
rather than be humiliated by their soldiers in the midst
of crisis (Ann. 1.18 and 65).
Other examples of Tacitus' employment of this rhetoric of
crisis can be found in the Annals and
Histories, demonstrating his careful use of the
tradition. Germanicus' use of rhetorical
display should not be singled out for censure since it
was part of an historical tradition and was part of a
larger successful resolution of the mutinies.