C. Asinio C. Antistio consulibus – i.e. 23 AD. The method of dating years according to the respective consuls is a tradition born in the days of the Republic, when the consuls held the highest office. It is a tradition that conveys structure, order and nobility. In the principate, the consuls’ power is hugely diminished, except when the emperor holds the position.
nonus Tiberio annus – Tiberius succeeded Augustus in August 14 AD, so the ninth year of his reign actually began several months earlier. However, the juxtaposition of details of a reigning emperor and the consular date is a technique Tacitus likes to use for dramatic effect.
Germanici mortem – Germanicus was the nephew and adoptive son of Tiberius and father of the emperor Caligula. His popularity among the Roman people was remarkable, and his death in 19 AD suspicious. Tacitus implies that he might have been murdered on the orders of Tiberius, a theory not dampened here by his conjecture inter prospera ducebat.
Aelium Seianum – Lucius Aelius Seianus was put in charge of the emperor’s bodyguard, the Praetorian Guard, in 14 AD, and has been mentioned in the Annals on several occasions before now (cuius de potentia supra memoravi). However, as he is about to take centre stage in the narrative, Tacitus chooses to expand on his character.
quo facinore – i.e. the murder of Drusus
Vulsiniis – Vulsinii in ancient Etruria, now Bolsena in northern Lazio. The site is at the edge of a lake formed inside a volcanic crater.
patre Seio Strabone – ablative of origin. Lucius Seius Strabo was prefect of the Praetorian Guard immediately before his son, Sejanus. In 15 AD he was appointed to the governorship of Egypt. These two positions were the highest a Roman from the Equestrian order could hope to achieve in the Roman Empire.
Gaium Caesarem – Gaius Julius Caesar was the oldest son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder. He was adopted by his grandfather Augustus in 17 BC and made his heir. He died on campaign in Armenia in 4 AD, aged 24. Tacitus suggests his stepmother Livia (Tiberius’ mother) may have had a hand in his murder.
Apicio – Marcus Gavius Apicius. He probably inherited the cognomen from an earlier Apicius, also notorious for his excessive appetite for pleasure. The name is also much later given to a famous Roman cookbook.
stuprum – refers specifically to sexual misconduct. The implication is not that Sejanus was homosexual, but that he performed the role of a woman for money. Tacitus often includes rumour and hearsay to flesh out the depravity of his chracters. Here, the litotes of non sine rumore makes the gossip more realistic.
veno dedisse – veno is predicative dative: “had given for a price”. The related verb vendo conveys a near identical meaning.
obscurum adversum alios sibi uni incautum – a chiastic arrangement with a good example of variatio (preposition + accusative ~ dative). Tiberius’ duplicity is a theme which permeates Tacitus’ portrayal of him in the Annals. The tacked-on intectum has military overtones.
sollertia –Â “shrewdness”. Tiberius likes to surround himself with similarly crafty individuals.
isdem artibus victus est –Â i.e. Sejanus was hoist by his own petard.
deum ira – Tacitus is not expressing his personal religious beliefs here, but uses such expressions for the inexplicable, and to show up the wickedness of his mortal characters.
pari exitio – “by the crimes which he prompted during his ascendancy, and by the reign of terror, and utter shamelessness of Tiberius, following on his fall.” (Furneaux). exitio is ablative of attendant circumstances.
corpus…finguntur – a lengthy imitation of Sallust’s description of the conspirator Catiline (Cat. 5).
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