Titus Livius
| Titus Livius (Livy) | |
|---|---|
Titus Livius
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| Born | 59 BC Patavium, Adriatic Veneti (modern Padua, Italy) |
| Died | c. AD 17 Patavium, Italy, Roman Empire |
| Occupation | Historian |
| Genre | History |
| Subject | History, biography, oratory |
| Literary movement | Golden Age of Latin |
Titus Livius (Classical Latin: [ˈtɪ.tʊs ˈliː.wi.ʊs]; 64 or 59 BC – AD 17)—known as Livy /ˈlɪvi/ in English—was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people – Ab Urbe Condita Libri (Books from the Foundation of the City) – covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional foundation in 753 BC through the reign of Augustus in Livy's own time. He was on familiar terms with the Julio-Claudian dynasty, advising Augustus's grandnephew, the future emperor Claudius, as a young man not long before 14 AD in a letter to take up the writing of history. Livy and Augustus's wife, Livia, were from the same clan in different locations, although not related by blood.
Livy was born as Titus Livius in Patavium in northern Italy, now modern Padua. There is a debate about the year of Titus Livius' birth, 64 BC or more likely 59 BC. At the time of his birth, his home city of Patavium was the second wealthiest on the Italian peninsula. Patavium was a part of the province of Cisalpine Gaul at the time. In his works, Livy often expressed his deep affection and pride for Patavium, and the city was well known for its conservative values in morality and politics. "He was by nature a recluse, mild in temperament and averse to violence; the restorative peace of his time gave him the opportunity to turn all his imaginative passion to the legendary and historical past of the country he loved."
Livy’s teen years were during the 40s BC, a time that coincided with the civil wars that were occurring throughout the Roman world. The governor of Cisalpine Gaul at the time, a man called Asinius Pollio, had tried to bring Patavium into the camp of Marcus Antonius (Mark Anthony), who was one of the three men in the fight for control over Rome. The wealthier citizens of Patavium refused to contribute money and arms to Asinius Pollio and went into hiding. Pollio then attempted to bribe the slaves of the wealthy citizens of Patavium to expose the whereabouts of their masters; his bribery did not work, and the citizens pledged their allegiance to conservatism and the Senate instead. Therefore, Livy and the other residents of Patavium did not end up supporting Marcus Antonius in his campaign for control over Rome. It is likely, then, that the Roman civil wars prevented Livy from pursuing a higher education in Rome or going on a Grand Tour of Greece, which was common for adolescent males of the nobility at the time. Later on, Asinius Pollio made a jibe at Livy's "patavinity", saying that Livy's Latin showed certain "provincialisms" frowned on at Rome. His jibe at Livy and his "patavinity", however, may have been said because the city of Patavium had rejected Asinius Pollio, and he still harboured harsh feelings toward the city as a whole.
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