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previous: Book L This webpage reproduces a Book of Roman History by Cassius Dio published in Vol. VI of the Loeb Classical Library edition, 1917 The text is in the public domain. This text has not yet been proofread. If you find a mistake though, please let me know! next: Book LII

Cassius Dio
Roman History

Vol. VI
p3 Book LI

The following is contained in the Fifty-first of Dio's Rome:—
1. How Caesar after his victory at Actium settled matters of immediate concern (chaps. 1‑4).
2. Concerning Antony and Cleopatra and their movements after their defeat (chaps. 5‑8).
3. How Antony, defeated in Egypt, killed himself (chaps. 9‑10).
4. How Caesar subdued Egypt (chaps. 15‑18).
5. How Caesar came to Rome and celebrated his triumph (chap. 21).
6. How the Curia Iulia was dedicated (chap. 22).
7. How Moesia was conquered (chaps. 23‑27).

Duration of time, the remainder of the consul­ship of Caesar (III) and M. Valerius Corvinus Messalla, together with two additional years, in which there were the magistrates (consuls) here enumerated:—

1 Such was the naval battle in which they engaged on the second of September. I do not mention this date without a particular reason, nor am I, in fact, accustomed to do so; but Caesar now for the first time held all the power alone, 2 and consequently  p5 the years of his reign are properly reckoned from that day.​1 In honour of the day he dedicated to Apollo of Actium from the total number of the captured vessels a trireme, a quadrireme, and the other ships in order up to one of ten banks of oars; and he built a larger temple. He also instituted a quadrennial musical and gymnastic contest, including horse-racing, — a "sacred" festival, as they call those in connexion with which there is a distribution of food, — and entitled it Actia. 3 Furthermore, he founded a city on the site of his camp by gathering together some of the neighbouring peoples and dispossessing others, and he named it Nicopolis.​2 On the spot where he had had his tent, he laid a foundation of square stones, adorned it with the captured beaks, and erected on it, open to the sky, a shrine of Apollo.

4 But these things were done later. At the time he sent a part of the fleet in pursuit of Antony and Cleopatra; these ships, accordingly, followed after the fugitives, but when it became clear that they were not going to overtake them, they returned. With his remaining vessels he captured the enemy's entrenchments, meeting with no opposition because of their small numbers, and then overtook and without a battle won over the rest of the army, which was retreating into Macedonia. 5 There were various important contingents that had already escaped; of these the Romans fled to Antony and the allies to their homes. The latter, however, no longer fought  p7 against Caesar, but both they and all the peoples which had long been subject to Rome remained quiet and made terms, some at once and others later. 2 Caesar now punished the cities by levying money and taking away the remnant of authority over their citizens that their assemblies still possessed. He deprived all the princes and kings except Amyntas and Archelaus of the lands which they had received from Antony, 2 and he also deposed from their thrones Philopator, the son of Tarcondimotus, Lycomedes, the king of a part of Cappadocian Pontus, and Alexander, the brother of Iamblichus. The last-named, because he had secured his realm as a reward for accusing Caesar, he led in his triumphal procession and afterwards put to death. 3 He gave the kingdom of Lycomedes to one Medeius, because the latter had detached the Mysians in Asia​3 from Antony before the naval battle and with them had waged war upon those who were on Antony's side. He gave the people of Cydonia and Lampe​4 their liberty, because they had rendered have some assistance; and in the case of the Lampaeans he helped them to found anew their city, which had been destroyed. 4 As for the senators and knights and the other leaders who had aided Antony in any way, he imposed fines upon many of them, slew many others, and some he actually spared. In this last class Sosius was a conspicuous example; for though he had often fought against Caesar and was now hiding in exile and was not found until later, nevertheless he was saved. 5 Likewise one Marcus Scaurus, a half-brother of Sextus on his mother's side, had been condemned to death,  p9 but was later released for the sake of his mother Mucia. Of those who were punished, the Aquilii Flori and Curio were most talked about, the latter because he was a son of that Curio who had once been of great assistance to the former Caesar, 6 and the Flori because, when Octavius commanded that the one of them who should draw the lot should be slain, they both perished. They were father and son, and when the son, without waiting for the lot, voluntarily offered himself to the executioner, the father was exceedingly distressed and died upon his son's body by his own hand.

3 These men, then, fared in the manner described. The mass of Antony's soldiers was incorporated in Caesar's legions, and he later sent back to Italy the citizens of both forces who were over the military age, without giving them anything, and scattered the rest. 2 For they had caused him to fear them in Sicily after his victory there, and he was afraid they might create a disturbance again; hence he made haste, before they gave the least sign of an uprising, to discharge some entirely from the service and to scatter the majority of the others. 3 As he was still at this time suspicious of the freedmen, he remitted to them the fourth payment which they still owed of the money levied upon them.​5 So they no longer bore him any grudge because of what had been taken from them, but rejoiced as if they had actually received the amount they had been relieved from contributing. 4 The men still left in the rank and file also made no trouble, partly because they were held in check by their commanders, but chiefly because of their hopes  p11 of gaining the wealth of Egypt. The men, however, who had helped Caesar to gain his victory and had been dismissed from the service were irritated at having obtained no reward, and not much later they began to mutiny. 5 But Caesar was suspicious of them and, since he feared that Maecenas, to whom on this occasion also Rome and the rest of Italy had been entrusted, would be despised by them inasmuch as he was only a knight, he sent Agrippa to Italy, ostensibly on some other mission. He also gave to Agrippa and to Maecenas so great authority in all matters that they might even read beforehand the letters which he wrote to the senate and to others and then change whatever they wished in them. 6 To this end they also received from him a ring, so that they might be able to seal the letters again. For he had caused to be made in duplicate the seal which he used most at that time, the design being a sphinx, the same on each copy; since it was not till later that he had his own likeness engraved upon his seal and sealed everything with that then. 7 It was this latter that the emperors who succeeded him employed, except Galba, who adopted a seal which his ancestors had used, its device being a dog looking out of a ship's prow. It was the custom of Caesar in writing to these two ministers and to his other intimate friends, whenever there was need of giving them secret information, to substitute in each case for the appropriate letter in a word the letter next in order after it.

4 Now Caesar, believing there would be no further danger from the veterans, administered affairs in Greece and took part in the Mysteries of the two goddesses.​6 He then went over into Asia and  p13 settled matters there also, 2 keeping watch meanwhile upon Antony's movements; for he had not yet learned anything definite regarding the refuge to which the other had fled, and so he was making preparations to proceed against him in case he should receive any precise information. But meanwhile the veterans made an open demonstration now that he was gone so far away from them, and he began to fear that if they found a leader they would cause some mischief. 3 Consequently he assigned to others the task of seeking Antony, and hurried to Italy himself, in the middle of the winter of the year in which he was holding office for the fourth time, along with Marcus Crassus. For Crassus, in spite of having sided with Sextus and with Antony, was then his fellow-consul even though he had not held the praetor­ship. Caesar, then, came to Brundisium, but proceeded no farther. 4 For when the senate ascertained that his ship was nearing Italy, its members went there to meet him, all except the tribunes and two praetors, who remained in Rome in pursuance of a decree; and the equestrian order as well as the greater part of the populace and still others, some as envoys and some of their own accord, came together there in large numbers, 5 with the result that there was no further act of rebellion on the part of any one in view of his arrival and of the enthusiasm of the majority. For the veterans, too, had come to Brundisium, some them induced by fear, some by hopes, and still others in response to a summons and Caesar gave money to some of them, while to those who had served with him throughout his campaigns he also made an additional assignment of land. 6 For by turning out of their homes the  p15 communities in Italy which had sided with Antony he was able to grant to his soldiers their cities and their farms. To most of those who were dispossessed he made compensation by permitting them to settle in Dyrrachium, Philippi, and elsewhere, while to the remainder he either granted money for their land or else promised to do so; for though he had acquire great sums by his victory, yet he was spending still more by far. 7 For this reason he advertised at auction both his own possessions and those of his companions, in order that any one who desired to purchase any of them, or to take any of them in exchange for something else, might do so. 8 And although nothing was purchased, and nothing was taken in exchange, either — for who, pray, would ever have dared follow either course? — yet he secured by this means a plausible excuse for delay in carrying out his promise, and later he discharged the debt out of the spoils of Egypt.

5 After settling this and the other business that pressed, giving to those who had received a grant of amnesty the right also to live in Italy, not before permitted them, and forgiving the populace which had remained behind in Rome for not having gone to meet him, he set out once more for Greece on the thirtieth day after his arrival. 2 Then, because it was winter, he carried his ships across the isthmus of the Peloponnesus​7 and got back to Asia so quickly that Antony and Cleopatra learned at one and the same time both of his departure and of his return. 3 They, it appears, when they had made their escape from the naval battle at Actium, had gone as far as the  p17 Peloponnesus together; from there, after they had first dismissed a number of their associates whom they suspected, — many, too, withdrew against their wishes, — Cleopatra had hastened to Egypt, for fear that her subjects would begin a revolt if they heard of the disaster before her arrival. 4 And in order to make her approach, too, safe she crowned her prows with garlands as if she had actually won a victory, and had songs of triumph chanted to the accompaniment of flute-players. But as soon as she had reached safety, she slew many of the foremost men, inasmuch as they had always been displeased with her and were now elated over her disaster; 5 and she proceeded to gather vast wealth from their estates and from various other sources both profane and sacred, sparing not even the most holy shrines, and also to fit out her forces and to look about for allies. She put to death the Armenian king and sent his head to the Mede, who might be induced thereby, she thought, to aid them. 6 Antony, for his part, had sailed to Pinarius Scarpus in Africa and to the army under Scarpus' command previously assembled there for the protection of Egypt. But when this general not only refused to receive him but furthermore slew the men sent ahead by Antony, besides executing some of the soldiers under his command who showed displeasure at this act, then Antony, too, proceeded to Alexandria without having accomplished anything.

6 Now among the other preparations made for speedy warfare, they enrolled among the youths of military age, Cleopatra her son Caesarion and Antony his son Antyllus, who had been born to him by Fulvia and was then with him. Their purpose was  p19 to arouse the enthusiasm of the Egyptians, who would feel that they had at last a man for their king, and to cause the rest to continue the struggle with these boys as their leaders, in case anything untoward should happen to the parents. 2 Now as for the lads, this proved one of the causes of their undoing; for Caesar spared neither of them, claiming that they were men and were clothed with a sort of leader­ship. But to return to Antony and Cleopatra, they were indeed making their preparations with a view to waging war in Egypt both on sea and on land, 3 and to this end they were calling to their aid the neighbouring tribes and the kings who were friendly to them; but they were also making ready, none the less, to sail to Spain if the need should arise, and to stir up a revolt there by their vast resources of money and by other means, or even to change the base of their operations to Red Sea. 4 And in order that while engaged in these plans they might escape observation for the longest possible time or even deceive Caesar in some way or actually slay him by treachery, they despatched emissaries who carried peace proposals to him and bribes of money to his followers. 5 Meanwhile Cleopatra, on her part, unknown to Antony, sent to him a golden sceptre and a golden crown together with the royal throne, signifying that through them she offered him the kingdom as well; for she hoped that even if he did hate Antony, he would yet take pity on her at least. 6 Caesar accepted her gifts as a good omen, but made no answer to Antony; to Cleopatra, however, although he publicly sent threatening messages, including the announcement that, if she would give up her armed forces and renounce her sovereignty,  p21 he would consider what ought to be done in her case, he secretly sent word that, if she would kill Antony, he would grant her pardon and leave her realm inviolate.

7 While these negotiations were proceeding, the Arabians, instigated by Quintus Didius, the governor of Syria, burned the ships in the Arabian Gulf which had been built for the voyage to the Red Sea,​8 and the peoples and princes without exception refused their assistance to Antony. 2 Indeed, I cannot but marvel that, while a great many others, though they had received numerous gifts from Antony and Cleopatra, now left them in the lurch, yet the men who were being kept for gladiatorial combats, who were among the most despised, showed the utmost zeal in their behalf and fought most bravely. 3 These men, I should explain, were training in Cyzicus for the triumphal games which they were expecting to hold in celebration of Caesar's overthrow, and as soon as they became aware of what had taken place, they set out for Egypt to bear aid to their rulers. 4 Many were their exploits against Amyntas in Galatia and many against the sons of Tarcondimotus in Cilicia, who had been their strongest friends but now in view of the changed circumstances had gone over to the other side; many also were their exploits against Didius, who undertook to prevent their passing through Syria; 5 nevertheless, they were unable to force their way through to Egypt. Yet even when they were surrounded on all sides, not even then would they accept any terms of surrender, though Didius made  p23 them many promises. Instead, they sent for Antony, feeling that they would fight better even in Syria if he were with them; 6 and then, when he neither came himself nor sent them any message, they at last decided that he had perished and reluctantly made terms, on condition that they were never to fight as gladiators. And they received from Didius Daphne, the suburb of Antioch, to dwell in until the matter should be brought to Caesar's attention.

7 These men were later deceived by Messalla and sent to various places under the pretext that they were to be enlisted in the legions, and were then put out of the way in some convenient manner. 8 Antony and Cleopatra, for their part, upon hearing from envoys the demands which Caesar made of them, sent to him again. Cleopatra promised to give him large amounts of money, and Antony reminded him of their friendship and kinship, made a defence also of his connexion with the Egyptian woman, and recounted all the amorous adventures and youthful pranks they had shared together. 2 Finally, he surrendered to him Publius Turullius, who was a senator and one of the assassins of Caesar and was then living with Antony as a friend; and he offered to take his own life, if in that way Cleopatra might be saved. 3 Caesar put Turullius to death (it chanced that this man had cut wood for the fleet from the grove of Aesculapius in Cos, and since he was executed in Cos, he was thought to be making amends to the god as well as to Caesar), but this time also he gave no answer to Antony. 4 So Antony despatched a  p25 third embassy, sending him his son Antyllus with much gold. Caesar accepted the money, but sent the boy back empty-handed, giving him no answer. To Cleopatra, however, as in the first instance, so again on the second and third occasions, he sent many threats and promises alike. 5 Yet he was afraid, even so, that they might perhaps despair of obtaining pardon for him and so hold out, and either prove superior by their own efforts, or set sail for Spain and Gaul, or else might destroy their wealth, which he kept hearing was of vast extent; 6 for Cleopatra had collected it all in her tomb which she was constructing in the royal grounds, and she threatened to burn it all up with her in case she should fail of even the slightest of her demands. So, he sent Thyrsus, a freedman of his, to say many kind things to her and in particular to tell her that he was in love with her. 7 He hoped that by this means at least, since she thought it her due to be loved by all mankind, she would make away with Antony and keep herself and her money unharmed. And so it proved.

9 But before this happened, Antony learned that Cornelius Gallus had taken over Scarpus' army and had suddenly marched with these troops upon Paraetonium and occupied it. Hence, although he wished to set out for Syria in response to the summons of the gladiators, he did not go thither, 2 but proceeded against Gallus, in the hope of winning over the troops without a struggle, if possible, inasmuch as they had been with him on campaigns and were fairly well disposed toward him, but otherwise of subduing them by force, since he was leading  p27 against them a large force both of ships and of infantry. 3 Nevertheless, he was unable even to talk with them, although he approached their ramparts and raised a mighty shout; for Gallus ordered his trumpeters to sound their instruments all together and gave no one a chance to hear a word. Moreover, Antony also failed in a sudden assault and later suffered a reverse with his ships as well. 4 Gallus, it seems, caused chains to be stretched at night across the mouth of the harbour under water, and then took no measures openly to guard against his opponents but contemptuously allowed them to sail in with perfect immunity. When they were inside, however, he drew up the chains by means of machines, and encompassing their ships on all sides — from the land, from the houses, and from the sea — he burned some and sank others. 5 In the meantime Caesar took Pelusium, ostensibly by storm, but really because it was betrayed by Cleopatra. For she saw that no one came to their aid and perceived that Caesar was not to be withstood; and, most important of all, she listened to the message sent her through Thyrsus, and believed that she was really beloved, in the first place, because she wished to be, and, in the second place, because she had in the same manner enslaved Caesar's father and Antony. 6 Consequently she expected to gain not only forgiveness and the sovereignty over the Egyptians, but the empire of the Romans as well. So she yielded Pelusium to him at once; and later, when he marched against the city, she prevented the Alexandrians from making a sortie. She accomplished this secretly, of course,  p29 since, to judge by the outcry she made, she exhorted them vigorously to do so.

10 1 At the news concerning Pelusium Antony returned from Paraetonium and went to meet Caesar in front of Alexandria, and attacking him with his cavalry, while the other was wearied from his march, he won the day. 2 Encouraged by this success, and because he had shot arrows into Caesar's camp carrying leaflets which promised the men six thousand sesterces, he joined battle also with his infantry and was defeated. 3 For Caesar of his own accord personally read the leaflets to his soldiers, at the same time reviling Antony and trying to turn them to a feeling of shame for the suggested treachery and of enthusiasm for himself; the result was that they were fired by zeal through this very incident, both by reason of their indignation at the attempt made upon their loyalty and by way of demonstrating that they were not subject to the suspicion of being base traitors. 4 After this unexpected setback, Antony took refuge in his fleet, and was preparing to give battle on the sea or at any rate to sail to Spain. But Cleopatra, upon perceiving this, caused the ships to desert, 5 and she herself rushed suddenly into the mausoleum, pretending that she feared Caesar and desired by some means or other to forestall him by taking her own life, but really as an invitation to Antony to enter there also. He had a suspicion, to be sure, that he was being betrayed, but actually pitied her more, one might say, than himself. 6 Cleopatra, doubtless, was fully aware of this and hoped that if he should be informed that she was dead, he would not wish to survive her, but would die at once. Accordingly  p31 she hastened into the tomb with a eunuch and two maidservants, and from there sent a message to him from which he should infer that she was dead. 7 And he, when he heard it, did not delay, but was seized by a desire to follow her in death. He first asked one of the bystanders to slay him; but when the man drew his sword and slew himself, Antony wished to imitate his courage and so gave himself a wound and fell upon his face, causing the bystanders to believe that he was dead. 8 At this an outcry was raised, and Cleopatra, hearing it, peered out over the top of the tomb. By a certain contrivance its doors, once closed, could not be opened again, but the upper part of it next to the roof was not yet fully completed. 9 Now when some of them saw her peering out at this point, they raised a shout so that even Antony heard. So he, learning that she survived, stood up, as if he had still the power to live; but, as had lost much blood, he despaired of his life and besought the bystanders to carry him to the monument and to hoist him up by the ropes that were hanging there to lift the stone blocks.

So Antony died there in Cleopatra's bosom; 11 1 and she now felt a certain confidence in Caesar, and immediately informed him of what had taken placed; still, she was not altogether convinced that she would suffer no harm. She accordingly kept herself within the building, in order that, even if there should be no other motive for her preservation, she might at least purchase pardon and her kingdom through his fear for the money. 2 So thoroughly mindful was she even then, in the midst of her dire misfortune, of her royal rank, and chose rather to  p33 die with the name and dignity of a sovereign than to live in a private station. At all events, she kept at hand fire to consume her wealth, and asps and other reptiles to destroy herself, and she had the latter tried on human beings, to see in what way they killed in each case. 3 Now Caesar was anxious not only to get possession of her treasures but also to seize her alive and to carry her back for his triumph, yet he was unwilling to appear to have tricked her himself after having given her a kind of pledge, since he wished to treat her as a captive and to a certain extent subdued against her will. 4 He therefore sent to her Gaius Proculeius, a knight, and Epaphroditus, a freedman, giving them directions as to what they were to say and do. Following out this plan, they obtained an audience with Cleopatra, and after discussing with her some moderate proposals they suddenly seized her before any agreement was reached. 5 After this they put out of her way everything by means of which she could cause her own death and allowed her to spend some days where she was, occupied in embalming Antony's body; then they took her to the palace, but did not remove any of her accustomed retinue or attendants, in order that she should entertain more hope than ever of accomplishing all she desired, and so should do no harm to herself. 6 At any rate, when she expressed a desire to appear before Caesar and to have an interview with him, she gained her request; and to deceive her still more, he promised that he would come to her himself.

12 1 She accordingly prepared a splendid apartment and a costly couch, and moreover arrayed herself with affected negligence, — indeed, her mourning  p35 garb wonder­fully became her, — and seated herself upon the couch; beside her she placed many images of his father, of all kinds, and in her bosom she put all the letters that his father had sent her. 2 When, after this, Caesar entered, she leaped gracefully​9 to her feet and cried: "Hail, master — for Heaven has granted you the mastery and taken it from me.​10 But surely you can see with your own eyes how your father looked when he visited me on many occasions, and you have heard people tell how he honoured me in various ways and made me queen of the Egyptians. 3 That you may, however, earn something about me from him himself, take and read the letters which he wrote me with his own hand."

After she had spoken thus, she proceeded to read many passionate expressions of Caesar's. And now she would lament and kiss the letters, and again she would fall before his images and do them reverence. 4 She kept turning her eyes toward Caesar and bewailing her fate in musical accents. She spoke in melting tones, saying at one time, "Of what avail to me, Caesar, are these thy letters?" and at anyone, "But in this man here thou also art alive for me"; again, "Would that I had died before thee," and still again, "But if I have him, I have thee."

5 Such were the subtleties of speech and of attitude which she employed, and sweet were the glances she cast at him and the words she murmured to him. Now Caesar was not insensible to the ardour of her speech and the appeal to his passions, but he pretended  p37 to be; and letting his eyes rest upon the ground, he merely said: "Be of good cheer, woman, and keep a stout heart; for you shall suffer no harm." 6 She was greatly distressed because he would neither look at her nor say anything about the kingdom nor even utter a word of love, and falling at his knees, she said with an outburst of sobbing: "I neither wish to live nor can I live, Caesar. But this favour I beg of you in memory of your father, that, since Heaven gave me to Antony after him, I may also die with Antony. 7 Would that I had perished then, straightway after Caesar! But since it was decreed by fate that I should suffer this affliction also,​11 send me to Antony; grudge me not burial with him, in order that, as it is because of him I die, so I may dwell with him even in Hades."

13 1 Such words she uttered, expecting to move him to pity, but Caesar made no answer to them; fearing, however, that she might destroy herself, he exhorted her again to be of good cheer, and not only did not remove any of her attendants but also took special care of her, that she might add brilliance to his triumph. 2 This purpose she suspected, and regarding that fate as worse than a thousand deaths, she conceived a genuine desire to die, and not only addressed many entreaties to Caesar that she might perish in some manner or other, but also devised many plans herself. 3 But when she could accomplish nothing, she feigned a change of heart, pretending to set great hopes in him and also in Livia. She said she would sail of her own free will, and she made ready some treasured articles of adornment to use as gifts,  p39 in the hope that by these means she might inspire belief that it was not her purpose to die, and so might be less closely guarded and thus be able to destroy herself. 4 And so it came about. For as soon as the others and Epaphroditus, to whose charge she had been committed, had come to believe that she really felt as she pretended to, and neglected to keep a careful watch, she made her preparations to die as painlessly as possible. First she gave a sealed paper, in which she begged Caesar to order that she be buried beside Antony, to Epaphroditus himself to deliver, 5 pretending that it contained some other matter, and then, having by this excuse freed herself of his presence, she set to her task. She put on her most beauti­ful apparel, arranged her body in most seemly fashion, took in her hands all the emblems of royalty, and so died.

14 1 No one knows clearly in what way she perished, for the only marks on her body were slight pricks on the arm. Some say she applied to herself an asp which had been brought in to her in a water-jar, or perhaps hidden in some flowers. 2 Others declare that she had smeared a pin, with which she was wont to fasten her hair, with some poison possessed of such a property that in ordinary circumstances it would not injure the body at all, but if it came into contact with even a drop of blood would destroy the body very quietly and painlessly; and that previous to this time she had worn it in her hair as usual, but now had made a slight scratch on her arm and had dipped the pin in the blood. 3 In this or in some very similar way she perished, and her two handmaidens with her. As for the eunuch, he had of his own accord delivered himself up to the serpents at the very time  p41 of Cleopatra's arrest, and after being bitten by them had leaped into a coffin already prepared for him. When Caesar heard of Cleopatra's death, he was astounded, and not only viewed her body but also made use of drugs and Psylli​12 in the hope that she might revive. 4 These Psylli are males, for there is no woman born in their tribe, and they have the power to suck out any poison of any reptile, if use is made of them immediately, before the victim dies; and they are not harmed themselves when bitten by any such creature. 5 They are propagated from one another and they test their offspring either by having them thrown among serpents as soon as they are born or else by having their swaddling-clothes thrown upon serpents; for the reptiles in the one case do no harm to the child, and in the other case are benumbed by its clothing. 6 So much for this matter. But Caesar, when he could not in any way resuscitate Cleopatra, felt both admiration and pity for her, and was excessively grieved on his own account, as if he had been deprived of all the glory of his victory.

15 1 Thus Antony and Cleopatra, who had caused many evils to the Egyptians and many to the Romans, made war and met their death in the manner I have described; and they were both embalmed in the same fashion and buried in the same tomb. Their qualities of character and the fortunes of their lives were as follows. 2 Antony had no superior in comprehending his duty, yet he committed many acts of folly. He sometimes distinguished himself for bravery, yet often failed through cowardice. He was characterized equally by greatness of soul  p43 and by servility of mind. He would plunder the property of others and would squander his own. 3 He showed compassion to many without cause and punished even more without justice. Consequently, though he rose from utter weakness to great power, and from the depths of poverty to great riches, he derived no profit from either circumstance, but after hoping to gain single-handed the empire of the Romans, he took his own life. 4 Cleopatra was of insatiable passion and insatiable avarice; she was swayed often by laudable ambition, but often by overweening effrontery. By love she gained the title of Queen of the Egyptians, and when she hoped by the same means to win also that of Queen of the Romans, she failed of this and lost the other besides. She captivated the two greatest Romans of her day, and because of the third she destroyed herself.

5 Such were these two and such was their end. Of their children, Antyllus was slain immediately, though he was betrothed to the daughter of Caesar and had taken refuge in his father's shrine, which Cleopatra had built; and Caesarion while fleeing to Ethiopia was overtaken on the road and murdered. 6 Cleopatra was married to Juba, the son of Juba; for to this man who had been brought up in Italy and had been with him on campaigns, Caesar gave both the maid and the kingdom of his fathers, and as a favour to them spared the lives of Alexander and Ptolemy. 7 To his nieces, the daughters whom Octavia had had by Antony and had reared, he assigned money from their father's estate. He  p45 also ordered Antony's freedmen to give at once to Iullus, the son of Antony and Fulvia, everything which by law they would have been required to bequeath him at their death. 16 1 As for the rest who had been connected with Antony's cause up to this time, he punished some and pardoned others, either from personal motives or to oblige his friends. And since there were found at the court many children of princes and kings who were being kept there, some as hostages and others out of a spirit of arrogance, he sent some back to their homes, joined others in marriage with one another, and retained still others. 2 I shall omit most of these cases and mention only two. Of his own accord he restored Iotape to the Median king, who had found an asylum with him after his defeat; but he refused the request of Artaxes that his brothers be sent to him, because this prince had put to death the Romans left behind in Armenia.

3 This was the disposition he made of such captives; and in the case of the Egyptians and the Alexandrians, he spared them all, so that none perished. The truth was that he did not see fit to inflict any irreparable injury upon a people so numerous, who might prove very useful to the Romans in many ways; 4 nevertheless, he offered as a pretext for his kindness their god Serapis, their founder Alexander, and, in the third place, their fellow-citizen Areius, of whose learning and companion­ship he availed himself. The speech in which he proclaimed to them his pardon he delivered in Greek, so that they might understand him. 5 After this he viewed the body of Alexander and actually touched it, whereupon, it is said, a piece of the nose was broken off. But he declined  p47 to view the remains of the Ptolemies, though the Alexandrians were extremely eager to show them, remarking, "I wished to see a king, not corpses." For this same reason he would not enter the presence of Apis, either, declaring that he was accustomed to worship gods, not cattle. 17 1 Afterwards he made Egypt tributary and gave it in charge of Cornelius Gallus. For in view of the populousness of both the cities and the country, the facile, fickle character of the inhabitants, and the extent of the grain-supply and of the wealth, so far from daring to entrust the land to any senator, he would not even grant a senator permission to live in it, except as he personally made the concession to him by name. 2 On the other hand he did not allow the Egyptians to be senators in Rome; but whereas he made various dispositions as regards the several cities, he commanded the Alexandrians to conduct their government without senators; with such capacity for revolution, I suppose, did he credit them. 3 And of the system then imposed upon them most details are rigorously preserved at the present time, but they have their senators both in Alexandria, beginning first under the emperor Severus, and also in Rome, these having first been enrolled in the senate in the reign of Severus' son Antoninus.

4 Thus was Egypt enslaved. All the inhabitants who resisted for a time were finally subdued, as, indeed, Heaven very clearly indicated to them beforehand. For it rained not only water where no drop had ever fallen previously, but also blood; and there were flashes of armour from the clouds as this bloody rain fell from them. 5 Elsewhere there was the clashing of drums and cymbals and the notes of  p49 flutes and trumpets, and a serpent of huge size suddenly appeared to them and uttered an incredibly loud hiss. Meanwhile comets were seen and dead men's ghosts appeared, the statues frowned, and Apis bellowed a note of lamentation and burst into tears.

6 So much for these events. In the palace quantities of treasure were found. For Cleopatra had taken practically all the offerings from even the holiest shrines and so helped the Romans swell their spoils without incurring any defilement on their own part. Large sums were also obtained from every man against whom any charge of misdemeanour were brought. 7 And apart from these, all the rest, even though no particular complaint could be lodged against them, had two-thirds of their property demanded of them. Out of this wealth all the troops received what was owing them, and those who were with Caesar at the time got in addition a thousand sesterces on condition of not plundering the city. 8 Repayment was made in full to those who had previously advanced loans, and to both the senators and the knights who had taken part in the war large sums were given. In fine, the Roman empire was enriched and its temples adorned.

18 1 After accomplishing the things just related Caesar founded a city there on the very site of the battle and gave to it the same name and the same games as to the city he had founded previously.​13 He also cleared out some of the canals and dug others over again, besides attending to other important matters. Then he went through Syria into the province of  p51 Asia and passed the winter there settling the various affairs of the subject nations as well as those of the Parthians. 2 It seems there had been dissension among the Parthians and a certain Tiridates had risen against Phraates; and hitherto, as long as Antony's opposition lasted, even after the naval battle, Caesar had not only not attached himself to either side, though they sought his alliance, but had not even answered them except to say that he would think the matter over. His excuse was that he was busy with Egypt, but in reality he wanted them in the meantime to exhaust themselves by fighting against each other. 3 But now that Antony was dead and of the two combatants Tiridates, defeated, had taken refuge in Syria, and Phraates, victorious, had sent envoys, he entered into friendly negotiations with the latter; and, without promising to aid Tiridates, he permitted him to live in Syria. He received from Phraates one of his sons by way of conferring a favour upon him, and taking him to Rome, kept him as a hostage.

19 1 During this time and still earlier the Romans at home had passed many resolutions in honour of Caesar's naval victory. Thus they granted him a triumph, as over Cleopatra, an arch adorned with trophies at Brundisium and another in the Roman Forum. 2 Moreover, they decreed that the foundation of the shrine of Julius should be adorned with the beaks of the captured ships and that a festival should be held every four years in honour of Octavius; that there should also be a thanksgiving on his birthday and on the anniversary of the announcement of his victory; also that when he should enter the city the  p53 Vestal Virgins and the senate and the people with their wives and children should go out to meet him. 3 But it would be quite superfluous to go on and mention the prayers, the images, the privilege of the front seat, and all the other honours of the sort. At the beginning, then, they not only voted him these honours but also either took down or effaced the memorials of Antony, declared the day on which he had been born accursed, and forbade the use of the surname Marcus by any of his kind. 4 When, however, they learned of Antony's death, the news of which came while Cicero, the son of Cicero, was consul for a part of the year, some held that it had come to pass not without divine direction, since the consul's father had owed his death chiefly to Antony; 5 and they voted to Caesar crowns and thanksgiving in great number and granted him the privilege of celebrating another triumph, this time over the Egyptians. For neither on the previous occasion nor at this time did they mention by name Antony and the other Romans who had been vanquished with him and thus imply that it was proper to celebrate their defeat. 6 The day on which Alexandria had been captured they declared a lucky day, and directed that in future years it should be taken by the inhabitants of that city as the starting-point in their reckoning of time. They also decreed that Caesar should hold the tribunician power for life, that he should aid those who called upon him for help both within the •pomerium and outside for a distance of one mile,​14 —  p55 a privilege possessed by none of the tribunes,​15 — 7 also that he should judge appealed cases, and that in all the courts his vote was to be cast as Athena's vote.​16 The priests and priestesses also in their prayers in behalf of the people and the senate were to pray for him likewise, and at all banquets, not only public but private as well, everybody was to pour a libation to him.

20 1 These were the decrees passed at that time; and when he was consul for the fifth time, with Sextus Apuleius, they ratified all his acts by oath on the very first day of January. When the letter came regarding the Parthians, they further arranged that his name should be included in their hymns equally with those of the gods; 2 that a tribe should be called the "Julian" after him; that he should wear the triumphal crown at all the festivals; that the senators who had participated in his victory should take part in the triumphal procession arrayed in purple-bordered togas; 3 that the day on which he entered the city should be honoured with sacrifices by the whole population and be held sacred for evermore; and that he might choose priests even beyond the regular number, — as many, in fact, as he should wish on any occasion. This last-named privilege, handed down from that time, was afterwards indefinitely extended, so that I need not henceforth make a point of giving the exact number of such officials. 4 Now Caesar accepted all but a few of these honours, though he expressly requested that one of them, the proposal that the whole population of the city should  p57 go out to meet him, should not be put into effect. Nevertheless, the action which pleased him more than all the decrees was the closing by the senate of the gates of Janus, implying that all their wars had entirely ceased, and the taking of the augurium salutis, which at this time fallen into disuse for the reasons I have mentioned.​17 5 To be sure, there were still under arms the Treveri, who had brought in the Germans to help them, and the Cantabri, the Vaccaei, and the Astures, — the three last-named of whom were later subjugated by Statilius Taurus, and the former by Nonius Gallus, — and there were also numerous other disturbances going on in various regions; yet inasmuch as nothing of importance resulted from them, the Romans at the time did not consider that they were engaged in war, nor have I, for my part, anything notable to record about them.

6 Caesar, meanwhile, besides attending to the general business, gave permission for the dedication of sacred precincts in Ephesus and in Nicaea to Rome and to Caesar, his father, whom he named the hero Julius.​18 These cities had at that time attained chief place in Asia and in Bithynia respectively. 7 He commanded that the Romans resident in these cities should pay honour to these two divinities; but he permitted the aliens, whom he styled Hellenes, to consecrate precincts to himself, the Asians to have theirs in Pergamum and the Bithynians theirs in Nicomedia. This practice, beginning under him, has been continued under other emperors, not only in the case of the Hellenic nations but also in that of all the others, in so far as they are subject to the Romans. 8 For in the capital itself and in Italy  p59 generally no emperor, however worthy of renown he has been, has dared to do this; still, even there various divine honours are bestowed after their death upon such emperors as have ruled uprightly, and, in fact, shrines are built to them.

9 All this took place in the winter; and the Pergamenians also received authority to hold the "sacred" games, as they called them, in honour of Caesar's temple.​19 21 1 In the course of the summer Caesar crossed over to Greece and to Italy; and when he entered the city, not only all the citizens offered sacrifice, as has been mentioned,​20 but even the consul Valerius Potitus. Caesar, to be sure, was consul all that year as for the two preceding years, but Potitus was the successor of Sextus. 2 It was he who publicly and in person offered sacrifices on behalf of the senate and of the people upon Caesar's arrival, a thing that had never been done in the case of any other person. After this Caesar bestowed eulogies and honours upon his lieutenants, as was customary, 3 and to Agrippa he further granted, among other distinctions, a dark blue flag in honour of his naval victory, and he gave gifts to the soldiers; to the people he distributed four hundred sesterces apiece, first to the men who were adults, and afterwards to the children because of his nephew Marcellus. 4 In view of all this, and because he would not accept from the cities of Italy the gold required for the crowns​21 they had voted him, and because,  p61 furthermore, he not only paid all the debts he himself owed to others, as has been stated,​22 but also did not insist on the payment of others' debts to him, the Romans forgot all their unpleasant experiences and viewed his triumph with pleasure, quite as if the vanquished had all been foreigners. 5 So vast an amount of money, in fact, circulated through all parts of the city alike, that the price of goods rose and loans for which the borrower had been glad to pay twelve per cent. could now be had for one third that rate. As for the triumph, Caesar celebrated on the first day his victories over the Pannonians and Dalmatians, the Iapydes and their neighbours, and some Germans and Gauls. 6 For Gaius Carrinas had subdued the Morini and others who had revolted with them, and had repulsed the Suebi, who had crossed the Rhine to wage war. Not only did Carrinas, therefore, celebrate the triumph, — and that notwithstanding that his father had been put to death by Sulla and that he himself along with the others in like condition had once been debarred from holding office, — but Caesar also celebrated it, since the credit of the victory properly belonged to his position as supreme commander. 7 This was the first day's celebration. On the second day the naval victory at Actium was commemorated, and on the third the subjugation of Egypt. Now all the processions proved notable, thanks to the spoils from Egypt, — in such quantities, indeed, had spoils been gathered there that they sufficed for all the processions, — but the Egyptian celebration surpassed them all in costliness and magnificence. 8 Among other features, an effigy of the dead Cleopatra upon a couch was carried by, so that  p63 in a way she, too, together with the other captives and with her children, Alexander, also called Helios, and Cleopatra, called also Selene, was a part of the spectacle and a trophy in the procession. 9 After this came Caesar, riding into the city behind them all. He did everything in the customary manner, except that he permitted his fellow-consul and the other magistrates, contrary to precedent, to follow him along with the senators who had participated in the victory; for it was usual for such officials to march in advance and for only the senators to follow.23

22 1 After finishing this celebration Caesar dedicated the temple of Minerva, called also the Chalcidicum, and the Curia Iulia, which had been built in honour of his father. In the latter he set up the statue of Victory which is still in existence, thus signifying that it was from her that he had received the empire. 2 It had belonged to the people of Tarentum, whence it was now brought to Rome, placed in the senate-chamber, and decked with the spoils of Egypt. The same course was followed in the case of the shrine of Julius which was consecrated at this time, 3 for many of these spoils were placed in it also; and others were dedicated to Jupiter Capitolinus and to Juno and Minerva, after all the objects in these temples which were supposed to have been placed there previously as dedications, or were actually dedications, had by decree been taken down at this time as defiled. Thus Cleopatra, though defeated and captured, was nevertheless glorified, inasmuch as her  p65 adornments repose as dedications in our temples and she herself is seen in gold in the shrine of Venus.

4 At the consecration of the shrine to Julius there were all kinds of contests, and the boys of the patricians performed the equestrian exercise called "Troy," and men of the same rank contended with chargers, with pairs, and with four-horse teams; furthermore, one Quintus Vitellius, a senator, fought as a gladiator. 5 Wild beasts and tame animals were slain in vast numbers, among them a rhinoceros and a hippopotamus, beasts then seen for the first time in Rome. As regards the nature of the hippopotamus, it has been described by many and far more have seen it. The rhinoceros, on the other hand, is in general somewhat like an elephant, but it has also a horn on its very nose and has got its name because of this. 6 These beasts, accordingly, were brought in, and moreover Dacians and Suebi fought in crowds with one another. The latter are Germans, the former Scythians of a sort. The Suebi, to be exact, dwell beyond the Rhine (though many people elsewhere claim their name), and the Dacians on both sides of the Ister; 7 those of the latter, however, who live on this side of the river near the country of the Triballi are reckoned in with the district of Moesia and are called Moesians, except by those living in the immediate neighbourhood, while those on the other side are called Dacians and are either a branch of the Getae are Thracians belonging to the Dacian race that once inhabited Rhodope. 8 Now these Dacians had before this time sent envoys to Caesar; but  p67 when they obtained none of their requests, they went over to Antony. They proved of no great assistance to him, however, owing to strife among themselves, and some who were afterwards captured were now matched against the Suebi. 9 The whole spectacle lasted many days, as one would expect, and there was no interruption, even though Caesar fell ill, but it was carried on in his absence under the direction of others. On one of the days of this celebration the senators gave banquets in the vestibules of their several homes; but what the occasion was for their doing this, I do not know, since it is not recorded.

23 1 These were the events of those days. And while Caesar was still in his fourth consul­ship, Statilius Taurus both constructed at his own expense and dedicated with a gladiatorial combat a hunting-theatre of stone in the Campus Martius.​24 Because of this he was permitted by the people to choose one of the praetors each year.

2 During the same period in which these events occurred Marcus Crassus was sent into Macedonia and Greece and carried on war with the Dacians and Bastarnae. I have already stated who the former were and why they had become hostile; 3 the Bastarnae, on the other hand, who are properly classed as Scythians, had at this time crossed the Ister and subdued the part of Moesia opposite them, and afterwards subdued the Triballi who adjoin this district and the Dardani who inhabit the Triballian country. And as long as they were thus engaged, they had no trouble  p69 with the Romans; 4 but when they crossed Haemus and overran the part of Thrace belonging to the Dentheleti, which was under treaty with the Romans, then Crassus, partly to defend Sitas, king of the Dentheleti, who was blind, but chiefly out of fear for Macedonia, went out to meet them. By his mere approach he threw them into a panic and drove them from the country without a battle. 5 Next he pursued them as they were retiring homeward, gained possession of the region called Segetica, and invading Moesia, ravaged the country and made an assault upon one of the strongholds. Then, although his advance line met with a repulse when the Moesians, thinking it an isolated force, made a sortie, nevertheless, when he reinforced it with his whole remaining army, he hurled the enemy back and besieged and destroyed the place. 24 1 While he was accomplishing this, the Bastarnae checked their flight and halted near the Cedrus​25 river to observe what would take place. And when, after conquering the Moesians, Crassus set out against them also, they sent envoys bidding him not to pursue them, since they had done the Romans no harm. 2 Crassus detained the envoys, on the plea that he would give them their answer the following day, treated them kindly in various ways, and made them drunk, so that he learned all their plans; for the whole Scythian race is insatiable in their use of wine and quietly becomes sodden with it. 3 Meanwhile Crassus moved forward into a forest during the night, stationed scouts in front of it, and halted his army  p71 there. Then, when the Bastarnae, in the belief that the scouts were all alone, rushed to attack them and pursued them as they retreated into the thick of the forest, he destroyed many of them on the spot and many others in the rout which followed. 4 For not only were they hindered by their waggons, which were in the rear, but their desire to save their wives and their children was also instrumental in their defeat. Crassus himself slew their king Deldo and would have dedicated his armour as spolia opima to Jupiter Feretrius had he been general in supreme command. Such was the nature of this engagement. 5 As for the remainder of the Bastarnae, some perished by taking refuge in a grove, which was then set on fire on all sides, and others by rushing into a fort, in which they were annihilated; still others were destroyed by leaping into the Ister, or as they were scattered here and there through the country. 6 But some survived even so and seized a strong position, where Crassus besieged them in vain for several days. Then with the aid of Roles, king of a tribe of the Getae, he destroyed them. 7 Now Roles, when he visited Caesar, was treated as his friend and ally because of this service; and the captives were distributed among the soldiers.

25 1 After accomplishing this task Crassus turned his attention to the Moesians; and partly by persuasion in some cases, partly by terrifying them, partly also by applying force, he subdued all except a very few, though only after great hardships and dangers. 2 And for the time being, since it was winter, he retired into friendly territory, after suffering greatly from  p73 the cold and much more still at the hands of the Thracians, through whose country he was returning in the belief that it was friendly. Hence he decided to be content with what he had already accomplished. For sacrifices and a triumph had been voted, not only to Caesar, but to him also; nevertheless, he did not receive the title of imperator, as some report, but Caesar alone assumed it. 3 The Bastarnae, now, angered at their disasters and learning that he would make no further campaigns against them, turned again upon the Dentheleti and Sitas, whom they regarded as having been the chief cause of their evils. Thus it came about that Crassus reluctantly took the field; and falling upon them unexpectedly after advancing by forced marches, he conquered them and imposed such terms of peace as he pleased. 4 And now that he had once taken up arms again, he conceived a desire to punish the Thracians who had harassed him during his return from Moesia; for it was reported at this time that they were fortifying positions and were eager for war. He succeeded in subduing some of them, namely the Maedi and the Serdi, though not without difficulty, by conquering them in battle and cutting off the hands of the captives; and he overran the rest of the country except the territory of the Odrysae. 5 These he spared because they are attached to the service of Dionysus, and had come to meet him on this occasion without their arms; and he also granted them the land in which they magnify the god, taking it away from the Bessi who were occupying it.

26 1 While he was thus engaged, Roles, who had become embroiled with Dapyx, himself also king of  p75 a tribe of the Getae, sent for him. Crassus went to his aid, and by hurling the horse of his opponents back upon their infantry he so thoroughly terrified the latter also that what followed was no longer a battle but a great slaughter of fleeing men of both arms. 2 Next he cut off Dapyx, who had taken refuge in a fort, and besieged him. In the course of the siege someone hailed him from the walls in Greek, obtained a conference with him, and arranged to betray the place. The barbarians, thus captured, turned upon one another, and Dapyx was killed along with many others. His brother, however, Crassus took alive, and not only did him no harm but actually released him.

3 After finishing this campaign Crassus led his troops against the cave called Ciris. For the natives in great numbers had occupied this cave, which is extremely large and so capable of defence that the tradition obtains that the Titans took refuge there after their defeat suffered at the hands of the gods; and here they had brought together all their herds and their other most cherished belongings. 4 Crassus first sought out all the entrances to the cave, which are tortuous and difficult to discover, walled them up, and in this way subdued the men by famine. After this success he did not leave in piece the rest of the Getae, either, even though they had no connexion with Dapyx, 5 but he marched upon Genucla, the most strongly defended fortress of the kingdom of Zyraxes, because he heard that the standards which the Bastarnae had taken from Gaius Antonius​26 near the city of the Istrians were there. His assault was made both by  p77 land and from the Ister (the city is built upon the river), and in a short time, though with much toil, despite the absence of Zyraxes, he took the place. 6 The king, it seems, as soon as he heard of the Romans' approach, had set off with money to the Scythians to seek an alliance, and had not returned in time.

These were his achievements among the Getae. And when some of the Moesians who had been subdued rose in revolt, he won them back by the aid of lieutenants, 27 1 while he himself made a campaign against the Artacii and a few other tribes who had never been captured and would not acknowledge his authority, priding themselves greatly upon this point and at the same time inspiring in the others both anger and a disposition to rebel. He brought them to terms, partly by force, after they had made no little trouble, and partly by fear for their countrymen who were being captured.

2 All these operations took a long time; but the facts I record, as well as the names, are in accordance with the tradition which has been handed down. In ancient times, it is true, Moesians and Getae occupied all the land between Haemus and the Ister; but as time went on some of them changed their names, 3 and since then there have been included under the name of Moesia all the tribes living above Dalmatia, Macedonia, and Thrace, and separated from Pannonia by the Savus, a tributary of the Ister. Two of the many tribes found among them are those formerly called the Triballi, and the Dardani, who still retain their old name.

---

The Loeb Editor's Notes:

1 Dio is very careful to date each emperor's reign precisely. Cf. Preface to vol. I p. xiii.

❦

2 i.e. "City of Victory." The same name had been given by Pompey to a town founded after his defeat of Mithridates. See XXXVI.50.

❦

3 Cf. note on XLIX.36.

❦

4 Usually called Lappa.

❦

5 i.e. one-quarter of the tax of 12½ per cent levied upon them a little earlier. See L.10.4.

❦

6 Demeter and Korê.

❦

7 In order to avoid the dangerous passage around Cape Malea.

❦

8 The "Red Sea" of the ancients is the Persian Gulf of to‑day, their "Arabian Gulf" the modern Red Sea.

❦

9 Or "blushing," if the variant reading offered by Xiphilinus be accepted.

❦

10 That is, the power she had exercised over Caesar, in consequence of which he had become her willing subject, was of no avail in the case of Augustus.

❦

11 That is, that she had not been able to die with Caesar.

❦

12 Cf.  Pliny, Nat. Hist. XXI.78.

❦

13 See chap. 1.3.

❦

14 Literally, "as far as the eighth half-stade," which means seven and a half stades, that is, one mile, according to Dio's usage. See note on XXXVIII.18.

❦

15 The tribunes' authority, as a matter of fact, extended to the first mile-stone outside the city; see Livy III.20.7. Dio is apparently labouring under a misapprehension.

❦

16 That is, in case of a tie vote, Caesar's vote, like Athena's in the Areopagus at Athens, was to decide in favour of acquittal. Cf. Aesch., Eumen. 737 ff.; Eur., Iph. T. 965 f., 1472.

❦

17 Cf. XXXVII.24.

❦

18 i.e. Divus Iulius.

❦

19 Cf. chap. 1.2.

❦

20 Cf. chap. 20.3.

❦

21 In earlier times it had been customary, when a general won a triumph, for the cities of his province to send gold crowns, which were carried before him in the triumphal procession. By Cicero's time it was a common practice to send, instead of the crowns themselves, their value in money (aureum coronarium); and this was now regarded as a form of tribute.

❦

22 Cf. chap. 17.8.

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23 The custom was for the magistrates to issue from the city to meet the victorious general, and then to turn and march ahead of him. Octavius, by putting them behind him, symbolized his position as chief citizen of the state.

❦

24 This was the first stone amphitheatre in Rome.

❦

25 The spelling is uncertain; the forms Cebrus, Cibrus, and Ciabrus are also found. Now the Tzibritza.

❦

26 Cf. XXXVIII.10.

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