Roman historian

Roman historiography is indebted to the Greeks, who invented the form. The Romans had great models to base their works upon, such as Herodotus (c. 484 – 425 BC) and Thucydides (c. 460 – c. 395 BC). Roman historiographical forms are different from the Greek ones however, and voice very Roman concerns. Unlike the Greeks, Roman historiography did not start out with an oral historical tradition. The Roman style of history was based on the way that the Annals of the Pontifex Maximus, or the Annales Maximi, were recorded. The Annales Maximi include a wide array of information, including religious documents, names of consuls, deaths of priests, and various disasters throughout history. Also part of the Annales Maximi are the White Tablets, or the “Tabulae Albatae,” which consist of information on the origin of the republic.

The most well-known originator of Roman historiography was Quintus Fabius Pictor, also known as the “Founder of Historiography”. Before the second Punic war, there was no historiography in Rome, but after, it was needed to commemorate this important occasion. Q. Fabius Pictor took up the task and wrote a history of Rome in Greek, not Latin. This choice of writing about the war in Greek arose from a need to address the Greeks and counter another author, Timaeus, who also wrote a history of Rome until the Second Punic War. Timaeus wrote with a negative view of Rome. Therefore, in defense of the Roman state, Q. Fabius Pictor wrote in Greek, using Olympiad dating and a Hellenistic style. Q. Fabius Pictor’s style of writing history defending the Roman state and its actions, and using propaganda heavily, eventually became a defining characteristic of Roman historiography.

Q. Fabius Pictor is known for the establishment of the “ab urbe condita” tradition of historiography which is writing history “from the founding of the city.” After Q. Fabius Pictor wrote, many other authors followed his lead, inspired by the new literary form: Lucius Cincius Alimentus, Gaius Acilius, Aulus Postumius Albinus, and Cato the Elder. Cato the Elder is credited as the first historian to write in Latin. His work, the Origines, was written to teach Romans what it means to be Roman. Like Q. Fabius Pictor, Cato the Elder wrote ab urbe condita, and the early history is filled with legends illustrating Roman virtues. The Origines also spoke of how not only Rome, but the other Italian towns were venerable, and that the Romans were indeed superior to the Greeks.

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