Licinius, Valerius Licinianus (d. 325 c. e.) One of the

Coemperors from 308 to 324

Licinius was originally chosen as a temporary solution to a political crisis but proved himself an able rival to cON-

STANTINE THE GREAT. He was born in Upper Moesia sometime in the middle of the third century c. E. and entered into a long and successful military career. Serving under GALERIUS, Licinius became a trusted lieutenant and a friend, aiding the tetrarch in 297 during the Persian War and as a general defending the Danube frontier. Licinius was soon chosen to stand in line as a successor to the tetrarchy. But when Maxentius usurped the throne in Italy in 306, the entire system established by Diocletian was on the verge of collapse. At the conference of car-nuntum in 308, Galerius used his influence to appoint Licinius to the post of Augustus, with control over the Danube and Illyricum, as well as most of the West.

Although he was now emperor, Licinius was smart enough to realize that his position was not strong. After Galerius’s death in 311, his powers were further tested by the ambitious ruler of Egypt and Syria, Maximinus II Daia, who in 312 attempted to conquer all of Thrace and so gain a foothold in the Western provinces. In a fierce battle, Licinius displayed the considerable martial experience that he had learned with Galerius, defeating Maximinus, who retreated to Asia Minor and died in Tarsus in 313. In the West, constantine routed and killed Maxentius in 312. The Roman Empire was now divided between two men: Licinius and constantine. A union of the imperial families began in 310, with a betrothal between constantine’s sister, cONSTANTIA, and Licinius, made official by a marriage in 313. Peace between the two emperors was doomed.

The first troubles came in 314, over the choice of successors to the throne, and two years later an actual war erupted. constantine defeated his rival in two encounters, but he then agreed to terms. Licinius lost his Danubian and Illyrian provinces but retained the East. This treaty, certified by the elevation of constantine’s two sons, crispus and constantine II, to the rank of caesar, along with Licinius’s son, Licinius II, proved only temporary.

Differences over consular appointments emerged, and Licinius began to argue with constantine over the favored status of christians within the empire. Only a small spark was needed to ignite a general struggle. In 322, constantine pursued a defeated party of Goths into Licinius’s domain, and war erupted again. On July 3, 324, the armies of Licinius and constantine collided, with constantine proving triumphant at Adrianople. A short time later, the sea engagement of chrysolopis ended the hopes of Licinius once and for all. Through the intercession of constantia, her husband was spared immediate execution. Before the year 325 ended, however, constantine had put him to death. His son was executed in 327. Licinius had supported (for whatever reason) the Edict of Milan, granting christianity its political freedom, and continued the edict’s policy until his estrangement from constantine brought a change of heart. Furthermore, Licinius governed with a firm hand and stabilized the finances of his own territory. His opposition to Constantine and his own liquidation of political rivals, including Diocletian’s own widow, Prisca, earned him a reputation for cruelty.

Licinius Macer Calvus, Gaius (82-46 or 47 b. c.e.)

Advocatus and erotic poet

Born on May 28, 82, the son of the annalist and praetor Licinius Macer, Licinius displayed early on a gift for oratory. At the age of 27 he challenged Cicero in his prosecution of Vatinius. A long career seemed to be before him, but he died at the age 35 or 36. Licinius also distinguished himself as a poet. Influenced by the Alexandrian School, he wrote numerous poems, specializing in erotica and the epic, although his lampoons of Caesar were so sharp as to require a formal reconciliation. None of his works are extant.

Lictors Bodyguards, status symbols, and often executioners for the high officials and magistrates of the Roman state. By tradition they were founded by Romulus, who copied the Etruscans in appointing special companions. Recruits were found normally in the lowest or destitute classes, although legally they were considered free men. Lictors walked ahead of a magistrate in a single column, bearing the fasces. By their very presence they called for attention and respect, and they protected important personages and carried out their instructions. In earliest times, when a sentence was passed, the lictors normally used the axe part of their fasces to decapitate the convicted culprit. Set numbers were used to fill the entourage. A dictator had 24 lictors, a consul 12 and a praetor 6.

Ligur, Valerius (d. after 14 c. e.) Prefect of the Praetorian Guard during the reign of Augustus (27 B. C.E.-14 c. e.) Ligur derived his name from his place of origin and was thus called Valerius the Ligurian. He was one of the earliest prefects. Augustus had appointed the first Praetorian prefects in 2 C. E., ensuring that control of the Guard was in the hands of two men, to prevent the accumulation of too much power by one officer. The original commanders were P Salvius Aper and Q. Ostorius Scapula. Sometime before 14 C. E., Augustus replaced them with one prefect, Valerius, thus displaying his trust in the man. As a further gift, the emperor ordered that a seat be always available for Valerius whenever the two of them went together to the Senate, an honor granted later by Claudius to his Prefect Rufrius Pollio. Ligur held his post until 14 C. E., when a successor was named, Lucius Strabo, the father of SEJANUS.

Liguria Region of northern Italy (italia) delineated by the Varus River and the Maritime Alps to the west, the Po River to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the region of Etruria over the Macra River to the

East. Its importance to the Romans was its strategic location along the lines of communication through Gallia Cisalpina over the Alps to Gallia Transalpina. The inhabitants of Liguria, called Ligyes by the Greeks and Ligures by the Romans, were a widely spread people, short but fierce and very independent. They were defeated by M. Fulvius Flaccus in 123 b. c.e. and by C. Sextus Calvinus a short time later. Pacification soon followed and by the start of the Roman Empire, Augustus had placed Liguria in Italia, declaring it one of the districts of the peninsula. The Alps cut through a large part of the region, and most of the country was rugged and mountainous, contributing to the skill displayed by the natives as mercenary soldiers or in the legions.

Limes From the Latin limus or boundary (pl. limites); limes was an imperial frontier road, used to delineate the boundaries of the Roman Empire and to impede or regulate communications between a barbarian people and those living within a province. The Romans originally used limes to mean a straight or clear military road that was traversed by the legions as part of an advance into enemy territory or into battle. As the Roman army relied heavily upon excellent roads for fast communications and for ease of troop movements, the creating of the limes was an important first step in conquest and in subsequent pacification of any territory. During expansion of Roman territory under the Republic, the frontier boundary was continually shifting, and the limes was the principal way of defining its limits. By the time of Augustus, the legions had succeeded in subjugating great nations in Germania, on the Rhine and on the Danube.

The limes used at first to cross enemy lands, was now used to demarcate vast stretches of area, sealing off entire states and running for hundreds of square miles, providing a means of observation and control. The limes was not so much a defensive wall as a series of watchtowers, connected by sentinel stations and guarded walkways through which no one passed without authority.

The earliest limes was probably used during the Augustan age, when the Roman Empire’s frontiers were first defined. The roads marked the extent of imperial progress, and a toll system was installed. According to the historian Tacitus, Germanicus used the limes over the Rhine in his campaign in 14 C. E., so its construction was sound enough to fulfill a strategic and tactical role. With the end of the first century c. e. and through much of the second, the limes was much used in the wars of Domitian and Trajan; by the time of Hadrian they were synonymous with the endless borders surrounding the entire empire.

In 83 C. E., Domitian launched his massive war on the Germanic chatti tribe. His advance was effective, and the lands between the Taunus and Neckar-Danube lines were annexed and formed the so-called Agri Decumates, connecting the Danube and Rhine theaters. Limites were then constructed and provided not only a stable environment but also shorter lines of communication. Hadrian emphasized the importance of the frontiers as permanent symbols of the separation between the Roman and the barbarian worlds. His limites were actual walls with palisades and towers, erected in Raetia, Germania Superior, Numidia and, most famous of all, in Britannia (see wall OF Hadrian). Elsewhere, as in Africa and along the Danube and in Dacia, other less formal fortifications were built wherever deemed necessary.

The walls were effective. Local tribes were cut off from their homelands, most notably those forced to migrate because of government order or because of civil strife. More important, these forts freed the legions from border control, which was taken over by auxiliary troops, allowing the building of permanent camps within the provinces. These became cities in time. However, the very stability created by the limes contributed to the collapse of the empire in the third century c. e. Although strengthened in the second and early third centuries by Antoninus Pius (see wall of Antoninus), Septimius Severus, and Caracalla, the legions became isolated from the forts and watchtowers along the frontiers they were supposed to defend and support. Less mobile and engaged in civil wars, the legions failed to protect the once vital boundaries of the empire. The limites in Germania and Dacia were pierced by the alamanni, the carpi, and the goths, destroyed in some areas and rebuilt in others. The Agri Decumates was lost in the reign of Gallienus when the limes there were destroyed by fire. Germania fell under siege and the limes of Germania Superior ultimately fell. In 270 C. E., under Aurelian, Dacia was abandoned in favor of the more defensible Danube. Under Diocletian and Constantine the Great, the borders were strengthened, but the effectiveness of the limes had been greatly diminished. For nearly two-and-a-half centuries, however, they had secured the frontier, aiding in the development and Romanization of the provinces.

Limitanei The military formations used in the later years of the Roman Empire as static defense forces on the frontier. Their primary purpose was to patrol the borders and prevent a breakthrough by invading barbarian armies, although they were sometimes absorbed into the COMITATENSES, or mobile field army

Lindum (Lincoln) City in Britannia (Britain) founded by the Romans, probably in the late first century c. E. but fully developed by the middle of the second century. The territory around Lindum was originally home to the Cori-tani tribe; following their defeat, a legionary camp was established to pacify the natives and to mark Roman jurisdiction. This camp became the headquarters of the II Legion Adjutrix, around which a city emerged. Strategically, Lindum protected the vital line from londinium (London) to Eburacum (York). With the establishment of those cities, however, the need for a base at Lindum was diminished, and the fortress was abandoned. The flourishing colony, complete with a siphon aqueduct, existed well into the fourth century. The later “Lincoln” was an evolution of the Roman Lindum Colonia.

Literature The Romans produced a genuine literary culture, whose changing nature served as a mirror of their history and of those individuals who made that history and who lived during it. It is fortunate for historians that such a vast amount of the Roman written word has survived.

THE AUGUSTAN AGE

A new era for Rome began with Octavius’s victory at the battle of Actium in 31 b. c.e., following the chaos and death of the Civil Wars. Because of Augustus and the nascent sociopolitical system, literature entered a golden age. The emperor was a great patron of the arts, encouraging the finest writers of the time. Encouragement also came from the elite circles of the court and government. Gaius Maecenas was a very old friend of HORACE. Marcus Agrippa not only supported authors but also wrote an autobiography and surveyed the whole empire. Other patronages could be found under Asinius Pollio and Marcus Valerius Messalla.

While the populace on the whole knew little of these artists, among the high and mighty competition for attention was fierce, and genius was often rewarded. The result was a blossoming of the written word in all styles. Oratory may have declined in favor of rhetoric, but even this form of communication was treated brilliantly by the early jurists, especially Antistius labeo and Gaius capito.

The Alexandrine influence of the Hellenic literary minds of Ptolemaic Alexandria had for many years served as the guiding light for Roman literature. The use of the Greek phrase and Greek traditions was considered the finest of accomplishments. Under cicero, however, there was a growing change, a turn toward Latin, which became the chosen language during the Augustan Age, as poets used it increasingly. Already a master of the pastoral, epic and didactic forms, Virgil’s Aeneid made him the model for every poet of Rome to come. The genius of another poet, Horace, was seen in his immense output. He authored epodes, satires, epistles, an Ars Poetica, and Odes. In his jovial writings he achieved lasting fame and the status of friend to the emperor. Sextus Propertius was an avid composer of the elegiac poem along the expected Alexandrine style, but he did not move on to pursue other fields as did oviD. Ovid was another prolific writer whose interest in a multitude of subjects led him to examine love in all its shapes, mythology, heroes and heroines, and even the desperate loneliness of exile.

There are many minor poets of the Augustan Age. cornelius Gallus, a close friend of Virgil’s, preferred the erotic elegy. Domitius Marsus authored epigrams and the epic poem Amazonis, while Albius Tibullus, like Propertius, pursued elegiac poems. Also in Rome were Ponticus, an epic poet; Macer, a copier of the legends of Troy; Rabirius; Largus; and Grattius. The latter was a didactic poet who penned the long, stylistically complex poem Cynegetica, about hunting.

In the long peace that followed Actium, interest in the past was once more in vogue. Antiquarians were given their place and many found suitable topics for exposition in the civil wars, while others used all of Roman history to gain fame. Many of the Augustan historians were careful to avoid political insults, and imitations of Sallust, Varro, and the Annalists were common. Pompeius Trogus offered his version of a universal history; the later Fenestella observed Roman social history and manners. All of these figures were overshadowed in historiography by livy. His 142-book chronicle of Rome from its foundation to 9 b. c.e. was the acme of historical composition and prose, epitomizing in its dramatic scenes, its rhetoric and idealism, the triumphs of this Golden Age.

THE SILVER AGE

The Augustan Age passed away with its founder in 14 C. E. Unavoidably, Roman literature entered into a period of intellectual decline brought about by tyranny and evidenced by a noticeable lack of originality. Happiness and hope were replaced by brooding tension and introspection. Tiberius, Gaius Caligula, Nero, and Domitian provided the despotism, and Romans the creative stagnation. The reality of imperial grandeur and Roman supremacy supplanted the supposedly unsophisticated Augustan period. Literature reflected this as writers produced overly decorated and exaggerated imitations of what they considered inferior efforts by their predecessors. Finally, there was seen in the literature of the first century C. E. the arrival of men and women of definite brilliance from the province, most notably Spain (see hispania). Quintilian, the Senecas, Martial, and Lucan came from Spain— living proof of how effective Romanization could be. Their writings were Roman in every sense, and they were accepted as such.

The first century produced some of the most durable of works. Equally, there was growth in the kinds of subjects chosen and the degree of critical thinking that accompanied them. Thus, throughout the Tiberian, Nero-nian, and Flavian years there were books on history, knowledge, oratory, satire, and poetry.

Of all the poets in this period, the one who stood above the rest was Lucan, who wrote Belle Civile, known as Pharsalia. Other notable efforts were authored by Silius Italicus, Valerius Flaccus, and P Papinius Statius. Perhaps more interesting was the development of satire as a readily available source of artistic commentary on contemporary and historical events. Varro and Horace had played a part in the role of satire, but it found its best practitioners in Persius and Juvenal (see satire).

The most influential of the prose writers was Lucius Annaeus Seneca who taught Nero and for many years was a powerful minister of state. He composed tragedies, plays, essays, letters, and other writings now possessed in fragments. Harshly judged by critics for his style and modernistic rejection of the past, Seneca shaped a generation of aspiring artists. Pliny the Elder provided an astonishing collection of scientific, geographical, historical, natural, and medicinal knowledge in his Natural History, while the lesser known A. Cornelius Celsus assembled a comprehensive encyclopedia on oratory, farming, and medicine, of which only a little is extant. Pliny the Younger earned a reputation for vanity but in so doing contributed to historical awareness of his era by maintaining a correspondence with the great minds of politics, philosophy, and literature. Other authors included Petro-nius, Quintilian, and Martial. Petronius gained lasting fame with his Satyricon; Quintilian’s Institutio Oratoria analyzed the education of an orator and preserved his own opinions of the first century’s most fertile minds; Martial wrote his Epigrams in 15 books, clearly and concisely cutting to the heart of pressing issues.

The first century was a crucial one for Roman and world history, and Rome produced its share of fine historical chroniclers, such as Tacitus and Suetonius. Velleius Paterculus briefly held attention during the rise of the Praetorian Prefect Sejanus. Q. Curtius Rufus, during the Claudian principate, finished a history of Alexander the Great. Tacitus and Suetonius both extended into the second century. Tacitus covered the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, Gaius Caligula, Claudius, and Nero in the Annals, the civil war of 69 in the Histories, the Germans in Germania, the life of Agricola in his invaluable biography, and oratory in his Dialogue. Suetonis authored The Twelve Caesars.

THE SECOND CENTURY

Two elements dominated Roman literature throughout the second century: the general stability of the empire and the revival of Greek as a potent literary language. The reigns of Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus Pius, and Marcus Aurelius were the most solid series of successions the empire would know. They were learned, gifted rulers. The Roman Empire changed under these emperors, especially under Hadrian, when it became increasingly cosmopolitan. in the midst of these reigns, Greek reemerged as the language of literary choice. Authors wrote in Latin and Greek but, as new writers entered the field from Greece and the Hellenized East, the final transformation was made into a civilization composed of many peoples instead of numerous nations dominated by one.

The one mighty rhetorician, teacher, poet, and critic of the Antonines was Marcus Cornelius Fronto, tutor of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. He also corresponded with his favorite pupil, Marcus, as well as Antoninus Pius and others, and penned a series of treatises on oratory and panegyrics. His associate may have been the grammarian Aulus Gellius who wrote the Noctes Atticae, a haphazardly organized mass of facts and stories on law, philosophy, and grammar. At the same time in Africa, the novelist Apuleius was attracting attention and recognition for his Metamorphoses (also called the Golden Ass). Apuleius authored several other books, Apologia, written in his own defense, De Deo Socratis, covering Platonic philosophy and demons, Pla-tone et euis dogmate, on Plato, and wrote his oratories. Under Hadrian, all facets of law received imperial favor and importance. The writings of the so-called Jurists thus took a major place in the literary production of the Hadrianic reign and that of the Antonines. Gaius, Ulpius Marcellus, and Papinian all contributed to legalism and its documentation.

Finally, Christianity, long growing in popularity, laid claim to its own place in the literary field. Tertullian brilliantly represented the cause of the Christians in his Apologia. Minucius Felix, one of the earliest Christian writers, used a dialogue form to destroy the charges being hurled at Christianity. Cyprian, bishop of Carthage, used the pen to organize the church itself. He was a harbinger of the empire’s struggles in the third century, and the Christians’ growing strength and numbers.

THE THIRD CENTURY

The disastrous third century produced only the notable Dio Cassius and Nemesianus. Trends of the era showed the continuing rise of Christians as legitimate participants in the literature of the empire; continued work by the Jurists; and the composition of excellent histories. Cyprian carried on the tradition of Felix and Tertullian. Arnobius, from North Africa, studied rhetoric and was converted to Christianity by a dream. As proof of his newfound faith he wrote the Adversus Nationes, attacking paganism. Finished sometime during the reign of Diocletian (c. 295-303), Arnobius’s book was an example of the philosophical and rhetoric skills learned in a pagan environment but put to use to promote a Christian one.

The Christian poet Commodian applied rude verse to two poems. The Instructiones was a polemic on Jews, the Resurrection and the Anti-Christ; Carmen Apologetica was a plea for more conversions. Nemesianus hailed from Carthage, and his poems were an imitation of Virgil. Cynegetica discussed hunting and survived only in part, while his other attempts, including the Nautica, were lost. Historiography was advanced in this century by the presence of several chroniclers and chronicles. Dio was the foremost of all of these writers. His history of Rome, from Aeneas to 229 C. E., was well researched and proved of great help to succeeding generations of scholars. Heren-nius Dexippus, the Athenian historian, detailed the terrible invasions of the Goths in the mid-third century in his

Scythica, partly extant. The Syrian-born Herodian, a friendly contemporary of Dio, followed Dio’s pattern in his account of the emperors from Marcus Aurelius to Gordian III. Finally, the Scriptores Historiae Augustae (called also the Historia Augustae) is a highly suspect annal, covering the empire from Hadrian to the accession of Diocletian in 284.

THE FOURTH CENTURY

Christianity triumphed over paganism and the Roman Empire when it found its champion in Constantine. Henceforth much of the literature was aimed at propagating the proclaimed faith to the world and ensuring that Constantine and his successors were given their rightful places as heads of church and state. Ambrose and Jerome were Christian intellectuals, while Lactan-tius showed the potential of mixing history with religious fanaticism.

Paganism was now in eclipse, although it could still claim two bright stars, Libanius and Symmachus. Liban-ius was a rhetorician and a fierce espouser of causes. He believed in logical neoplatonism, defended the rights of pagans and wrote over 1,500 letters. Symmachus used his eloquence and gift for prose in the Senate and to battle for paganism in the face of the Christian onslaught led by Ambrose. He authored panegyrics and appeals.

Historical writers were likewise faced with a different world. Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, relied upon his own experience to aid him in writing his church chronicle, the Ecclesiastical History. Ammianus Marcellinus was the sharpest historian of the century, with a grasp of the wider events occurring within the empire from the reign of Constantius II to Valens. His style was readable and detailed, as well as reliable. Aurelius Victor, Eutropius, and Festus all made contributions; Aurelius Victor offered an examination of the Caesars and an Epitome down to Theodosius I; Eutropius chose a far more ambitious subject, the entire span of Roman history in only 10 books, the Breviarum ab urbe condita. In poetry, Avienus translated Aratus’s Phaenomena and Dionysius’s Periegesis or Descriptions of the Earth. His own works were epigrams, poems, and Ora Maritima (Maritime shores). Pru-dentius was a Christian who used Christianity as the basis of his writings. He attacked Symmachus and paganism in Anti-Symmachus, lauded martyrs in Peristefanon, and joined in the war against heretics with the Apotheosis and The Origin of Sin.

By the end of the fourth century, the climate of the empire had turned against Roman literature in its long-held form. Constantinople was now the capital of the world and the Christian Church dictated the nature of society, working hand in hand with an increasingly centralized government. outside, the migrations were bringing the barbarians closer to the very heart of the imperial world. See under individuals’ entries for additional information; see also under the subject index.

Suggested Readings: Aili, Hans. The Prose Rhythm of Sallust and Livy. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International, 1979; Aristides. Orationes. Opera Quae Exstant Omnia. Edited by F W Lenz and A. Behr. Lyons, France: Brill, 1976; Baldwin, Barry An Anthology of Later Latin Literature. Amsterdam: J. C. Gieben, 1987; Barnes, Timothy David. The Sources of the Historia Augusta. Brussels: Lato-mus, 1978; Benario, Herbert W. A Commentary on the Vita Hadriani in the Historia Augusta. Chico, Calif.: Scholars Press, 1980; Chilver, Guy E. F A Historical Commentary on Tacitus’ Histories IV and V. New York: Oxford University Press, 1985; Chilver, Guy Edward Farquhar. A Historical Commentary on Tacitus’ Histories I and II. New York: Oxford University Press, 1979; Courtney, E. The Fragmentary Latin Poets. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993; -.

Musa Lapidaria: A Selection of Latin Verse Inscriptions. Atlanta, Ga.: Scholars Press, 1995; Craddock, Patricia B. Edward Gibbon, Luminous Historian, 1772-1794. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989; Enos, Richard Leo. The Literate Mode of Cicero’s Legal Rhetoric. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, 1988; Hawes, Adeline. Citizens of Long Ago; Essays on Life and Letters in the Roman Empire. Freeport, N. Y., Books for Libraries Press, 1967; A Garden of Roman Verse. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 1998; Kraus, Christina Shuttle-worth. Latin Historians. Oxford, U. K.: Oxford University Press, 1997; Laistner, Max L. W The Greater Roman Historians. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977; Lockwood, D. P A Survey of Classical Roman Literature. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982; Luce, T. James. Livy: The Composition of His History. Princeton, N. J.: Princeton University Press, 1977; The Penguin Book of Latin Verse. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1962. Studies in Latin Poetry. Cambridge: University Press, 1969; Rawson, Elizabeth. Cicero: a Portrait. Rev. ed. Ithaca, N. Y.: Cornell University Press, 1983; Reynolds, Joyce Maire. Aphrodisias and Rome: Documents from the Excavation of the Theatre at Aphrodisias. London: Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies, 1982; Walbank, F W Selected Papers: Studies in Greek and Roman History and Historiography. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985.

Livia (58 b. c.e.-29 c. e.) Wife of Augustus, mother of Tiberius and one of the most powerful women in Roman imperial history

Livia Drusilla was born the daughter of Marcus Livius Drusus Claudius, a nobleman. In 43 or 42 b. c.e. she married Tiberius Claudius Nero. Tiberius was an opponent of Octavian (Augustus), and in 40 b. c.e. Livia and her young son TIBERIUS, the future emperor, fled with him from his estates in Campania to the protection of Marc ANTONY. In 39 B. C.E., however, immediately after Octa-vian’s wife Scribonia bore him a daughter, Octavian divorced her. The following year, he convinced Tiberius Claudius Nero to separate from Livia so that Octavian could wed her. Despite the fact that Livia was six months pregnant, Tiberius Claudius Nero attended the wedding, going so far as to give away the bride and to sit with friends at the wedding feast. Soon after Livia gave birth to DRUSUS (1). Octavian sent him to his father, while many in Rome joked that “the fortunate have children in only three months.”

As the wife of Augustus, Livia proved utterly faithful and devoted both to the emperor and to the state. A woman of renowned virtue and dignity, she assumed her matriarchal role, while covertly influencing Augustus’s reign and protecting the interests of her sons, both adopted by Augustus. She was especially devoted to the cause of Tiberius, though her meddling earned her Tiberius’s enmity and a reputation as a cunning manipulator. It has been suggested that she murdered MARCEL-LUS in 23 B. C.E., the nephew that Augustus had been grooming as a successor, as well as Gaius and Lucius CAESAR, also heirs to the throne, in 4 c. E. and 2 c. E. respectively. Livia probably was instrumental in the exile of AGRIPPA POSTUMUS to Planasia. It was written by Suetonius that, although she bore him no children, Augustus loved Livia until his death in 14 c. e. The historian Dio charged that she had poisoned his figs because he intended to bring back Agrippa Postumus and elevate him over Tiberius.

Regardless of the truth of the accusation, Livia’s political influence increased after her son’s accession in 14. She was given the title of Julia Augusta and exercised power on equal terms with Tiberius, fueling Tiberius’s resentment. She may have murdered Agrippa Postumus and then energetically opposed the family of GERMANICUS, engaging in a lengthy feud with his wife, AGRIPPINA THE ELDER. Livia was aided by the fatal illness that killed Ger-manicus in 19. As a counter to her reputation for ruthlessness, Livia protected gaius Caligula from harm, helped to raise many children from the families of Rome, saved senators from probable execution and assisted many Roman daughters with their dowries. Upon her death, the Senate decreed all possible honors to her memory, ordering an arch to be built—a singular tribute. Tiberius terminated that proposal by declaring that he would construct it himself, which he never did, and he also refused to deify her, although she was buried in the mausoleum of Augustus. In 42, Claudius elevated her to divine status. Livia lived to be 86, having displayed a methodical and precise pursuit of power that left chroniclers such as Tacitus uneasy.

Suggested Readings: Bartman, Elizabeth. Portraits of Livia. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999; McAfee, Gabriel. Livia’s Garden Room at Prima Porta. New York: New York University Press, 1955.

Livianus, Claudius (fl. early second century c. e.) Prefect of the Praetorian Guard during the early years of Emperor Trajan’s reign

Livianus accompanied the emperor in the Dacian Wars (101-102/103-107 C. E.). In 102, Trajan sent him, with the envoy L. Licinius Sura, as the official representatives of Rome to decebalus, king of dacia. The monarch refused to meet with them, so hostilities continued.

Livilla (d. 31 c. e.) Sister of Emperor Claudius and Ger-manicus and wife of Drusus (3) the Younger Livilla, also called Livia, was reportedly ungainly in her youth but grew to be a beautiful woman. She married DRUSUS and bore several children, including Julia and a pair of twins. As a wife, however, she proved faithless. SEJANUS, PREFECT OF THE PRAETORIAN GUARD, became her lover sometime in 23 C. E., and subsequently used her in his plot to eliminate Drusus. He and the prince were bitter enemies, so the irony of using Drusus’s wife as an instrument of murder was remarkable. How Livilla came to be seduced is not clear, save that Sejanus could be irresistible and she was having poor relations with her husband at the time.

Having prepared the ground carefully, Sejanus poisoned Drusus. Livilla’s hopes for marriage to Sejanus, however, were never fulfilled, as Tiberius would not allow the union. Instead, she suffered the humiliation of having her daughter JULIA betrothed to the prefect. In 31, Sejanus was destroyed by Tiberius, and his children, friends and associates were massacred. His wife Apicata, whom he divorced, killed herself after writing a letter to Tiberius in which she accused Livilla of complicity in Drusus’s murder. Accounts vary as to the emperor’s response. He may have executed her or, as the historian Dio reported, turned her over to her mother Antonia, who starved her to death for her many crimes. By imperial order, all memory of Livilla was obliterated, her statues broken and her name banned.

And jealousy of his contemporaries. Nevertheless, he enjoyed the long patronage of Augustus, who overlooked his Republican tendencies and even called him a “Pompeian.” Livy was also familiar with the imperial family, encouraging Claudius to continue his own writing.

Livy studied rhetoric and philosophy. For his son he composed a rhetorical exercise and later penned a series of dialogues on philosophical matters. As a historian, he was also familiar with some of the Annalists and recent historical authors. These he used in the creation of his mammoth achievement, a history of Rome. Called Ab urbe conditi (From the Foundation of the City), Livy’s mas-terwork covered all of the Roman past, from the earliest days of Rome to the death of Drusus in 9 b. c.e. It contained 142 books in all, of which only 35 are extant. Epitomes helped save elements of the remainder, except for two books, and fragments or inclusions in later works salvaged other valuable pieces. A system of decades (groups of 10 books) was used to organize the overall collection, so that intact were books 1 to 10 and 21 to 45. These examined the establishment of Rome, including its sack by the Gauls, and the wars with Macedonia and Syria.

This history was begun sometime between 27 and 25

B. C. E., and the early books were completed during the first years. Livy subsequently spent the next years adding to his growing collection of finished works: Books one to nine were completed by 20 b. c.e., 10 to 28 after 19 b. c.e. and books 29 to 49 around 18 b. c.e. He continued researching and writing well into the first century c. E. and probably did not complete the entire publication of the Augustan era until after the death of Augustus in 14

C. E. What plans he might have had as far as ending the history are unknown, as the last recorded event in the manuscript was the death of Drusus in 9 b. c.e.

Livius, Drusus Claudius (d. c. 42 b. c.e.) Father of Livia

A member of the ancient and noble house of the Claudi-ans Livius received adoption into the plebeian line of the Livii. He was an ardent Republican, who came out in support of the assassination of Caesar and of Caesar’s murderers, Brutus and Cassius. For this loyalty he was proscribed by the members of the second triumvirate, most notably Antony and Octavian (Augustus). Following the defeat of the Republican cause at the battle of Philippi in 42 b. c.e., Livius killed himself. Ironically, Octavian married his daughter four years later.

Livy (Titus Livius) (64 or 59 b. c.e.-12 or 17 c. e.) Roman historian

Born at Patavium (Padua), Livy spent most of his days in Rome. Little has survived concerning his private life. He chose to remain apart from the literary society of the Augustan Age, quite possibly because of the resentment

A bronze dupondius of Livia, wife of Augustus, struck in the name of Drusus, in 22-23 c. e. at Rome (Courtesy Historical Coins, Inc.)

Livy made public readings of his work, while his published sections earned the respect of his associates but also their envy All agreed that he was eloquent and candid, while admitting that his was the highest level of Roman historiography, a sentiment unchallenged by subsequent generations. Livy was (and is) one of the most examined and discussed authors of the ancient world. While his methods as a historian were decidedly lacking, his genius for composition, narrative, and style reached a level beyond any previously attempted by Roman literary figures. His gift to the Romans and to posterity was a monumental chronicle, bringing to life events of dubious accuracy but unquestionable significance.

Suggested Readings: Aili, Hans. The Prose Rhythm of Sallust and Livy. Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell International, 1979; Briscoe, John. A Commentary on Livy. Books 31-33. Oxford, U. K.: Clarendon Press, 1972; Chaplin, Jane D. Livy’s Exemplary History. Oxford, U. K.: Oxford University Press, 2000; Dorey, Thomas Alan. Livy. London: Routledge, 1971; Forsythe, Gary Livy and Early Rome: A Study in Historical Method and Judgment. Stuttgart, Ger.: Franz Steiner, 1999; Jaeger, Mary Livy’s Written Rome. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1997; Kraus, Christina Shuttleworth. Latin Historians. Oxford, U. K.: Oxford University Press, 1997; Luce, T. James. Livy: The Composition of His History. Princeton, N. J.: Princeton University Press, 1977; Miles, Gary B. Livy: Reconstructing Early Rome. Ithaca, N. Y.: Cornell University Press, 1995; Moore, Timothy J. Artistry and Ideology: Livy’s Vocabulary of Virtue. Frankfurt am Main: Athenaum, 1989; Oakley, S. P A Commentary on Livy. Books VI-X. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.

Lollia Paulina (d. 49 c. e.) Granddaughter of the famous consul (21 B. C.E.) and general, Marcus Lollius Lollia originally married the governor of Macedonia, Memmius Regulus. In 38 C. E., however, Gaius Caligula heard of her beauty and sent for the married couple. The emperor forced Regulus to give up Lollia and married her himself. As was his habit, he divorced her immediately but decreed that she could bed no other men. Following the death of Messallina in 49 C. E., a search was launched to find Emperor Claudius a new spouse. Two candidates were final qualifiers, Agrippina the younger and Lollia Paulina. Agrippina won the contest, and ever vindictive, plotted Lollia’s destruction as a rival. Thus, in 49, she was charged with having trafficked in Chaldaean magic. Claudius, prompted by his wife, allowed a trial, at which Lollia was condemned. She was exiled and forced to surrender her vast fortune. Unsatisfied with that sentence, Agrippina sent Lollia a letter demanding that she commit suicide, which Lollia performed promptly. Pliny the Elder wrote of her many famous jewels.

Lollius, Marcus (d. c. 1 c. e.) Consul in 21 b. c.e., governor in Galatia, Macedonia, and Gallia, and a companion of Augustus

In 25 B. C.E., when the imperial government annexed Galatia, Lollius proved instrumental in its transformation into a Roman province. After his consulship he traveled to Macedonia where he ran the administration from 19 to 18 B. C.E., aiding the local ruler, Rhoemetalces, son of Cotys, during a period of dynastic problems. There followed a period of service in Gallia, where Lollius suffered an apparent reversal at the hands of the Tencteri and Sug-ambri (two Germanic tribes). The historian Velleius Paterculus described this defeat as a catastrophe of terrible importance, when, in fact, it had no serious or long-lasting effects on Rome’s control of the Rhine. Velleius was probably motivated to this exaggeration by Tiberius, who considered Lollius to be one of his most bitter enemies. The setback in 17 did not ruin his career, for in 1 C. E., Augustus appointed him chief adviser to Gaius Caesar in his Eastern tour, heading the board of experienced ministers surrounding the prince. Perhaps through the Parthians, Gaius learned that Lollius had been accepting bribes from Eastern tribes. He was dismissed immediately and died a short time later.

See also lollia Paulina.

Lollius Urbicus, Quintus (fl. second century c. e.) Consul in 138 c. e. and a successful governor of Britain from 139 to 142

An African by birth, Urbicus attained imperial favor as an officer during the reign of HADRIAN, especially during the Jewish Rebellion of 132-135. He later became governor of Germania Inferior; in 139, ANTONINUS PIUS appointed him legate in Britain, where Urbicus faced a sudden invasion of the province by the brigantes from the north, who poured over the wall of hadrian. In a swift campaign he defeated the barbarians, and to strengthen the borders of Roman Britain he constructed the WALL OF ANTONINUS PIUS (Antonine Wall) in modern Scotland. After returning to Rome, he served as prefect of the city.

Londinium Modern London; one of the most important cities in Roman Britannia (Britain) and the gateway for all trade in and out of the isles throughout the imperial era. This area of land, about 40 miles upstream from the mouth of the Thames River, served originally as the capital of the Cantii, who lived on its southern, or right, bank. The territory of the north bank belonged to the Tri-novantes. Even before the Roman invasion of 43 C. E., traders had started a community at Londinium. In the year of conquest, the advancing Roman legions of Aulus Plautius and Emperor Claudius pursued the retreating Britons over the Thames at the lowest point (where the water could be forded), and used this crossing site as a camp. Londinium was the result.

Roman economic expansion thus centered on the town, and Tacitus made the earliest mention of the site by writing that Londinium was a “town, which though not favored with the title of colonia was nevertheless an active spot for trade and for traders.” This reference of London in 61 c. e. also discussed the major event of that year, the revolt of Boudicca, the queen of the Iceni. The legate of Britain, Suetonius Paulinus, was forced to surrender London to the Britons in order to recover and reorganize his position within the province. Boudicca captured London and destroyed it utterly, slaying its inhabitants. With her eventual defeat an extensive rebuilding program was undertaken, as the Romans throughout the first century added to their control by fostering Romanization.

By the end of the century Londinium was the heart of the imperial provincial administration. For the first years of occupation, camulodonum (colchester) had served as the capital, with its imperial cult and temple, but there is strong evidence to support the theory that after Boudicca’s uprising the capital was moved to London. After claudius subjugated Britain roads were made, starting in London and moving in all directions to the tribal capitals and legion camps. The entire line of Roman communications relied upon the London network, especially after the establishment of such northern bases as Lindum (Lincoln) and Eburacum (York).

Building within London was also extensive, warranting its consideration as an elevated city. Roman London had all of the usual structures: a basilica, baths, a Mithraeum, a forum, government offices, and a formal residence of the governor. Equally, the markets, houses, and shops of the merchants declared that, if nothing else, London (and in time the colony) provided the thrust for financial growth elsewhere in the province. Finally, protection of the inhabitants was maintained by a fortress, a leftover from the days of unrest.

Throughout the second century C. E., Londinium continued to spread outward. Its position as capital, however, was altered by Emperor Septimius Severus around 197. As a result of the departure of Clodius Albinus in 196 for mainland Europe, and because of the struggle for imperial supremacy, Severus resolved to divide Britain into two provinces, with a governor (a legate) administering the VI legion from York. Britannia Superior was a regular province under a consular legate with two legions, and its capital was at London.

Rampant instability in the provinces allowed usurpers to emerge in the late third and early fourth centuries, and in Britain two such were Carausius and Allec-tus, both of whom used London as their headquarters. Carausius even established his own mint at London. In 296 C. E., however, Constantius I Chlorus and his Praetorian Prefect Asclepiodotus defeated Allectus and entered the city Constantius’s son Constantine sailed from London on his way to conquer the Roman world. An imperial presence remained in London until the start of the fifth-century.

Longinus A legendary and mystical figure of Christian lore, supposedly the centurion in charge of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It was he who speared Christ in the side, thus preventing the traditional breaking of the limbs to induce death. He was in that instant converted, becoming the first of the Romans to accept Christ as the Savior. Longinus was reported to have left the legions to wander, carrying his spear, which became known also as the Lance. This weapon emerged as a powerful relic of Christianity, merging with other legends and taking a multifaceted path into obscurity and occult mysticism. It may have been taken by Joseph of Arimathea to England as part of the Holy Grail treasure, or it could be the Lance presently housed in the Hofburg in Vienna, as part of the Hapsburg regalia. Also called the Maurice or Mauritius Lance, the Hofburg relic was sought by Napoleon in 1805, and was owned by Adolf Hitler for a time because of its reported connections to Christ. Still another Lance was found by the Crusaders in Antioch in 1098, during the First Crusade. With its aid the Crusaders defeated a Muslim host on June 28, 1098, at the Orontes, also known as the battle of the Lance. Longinus himself was associated with the Holy Grail in later stories.

Longinus, Cassius (c.  213-273 c. e.) Neoplatonic

Philosopher, rhetorician, and grammarian Longinus was a Syrian, son of Fronto, the nephew of Fronto of Emesa. After studying with Ammonius and Origen, he gained fame as a teacher of philosophy and rhetoric at Athens, where he included among his students Porphyry. Around 267, Longinus traveled to PALMYRA, where he met Queen zenobia and entered into her service, either as an adviser and teacher of Greek, or as her ab epistulis Graecis. Through his influence she renounced her allegiance to Rome and entered into an unsuccessful revolt against Aurelian. Following zenobia’s defeat in 283, Longinus was put to death. Of his many works, only fragments of his rhetoric are extant; the treatise, On the Sublime, was long attributed to his pen.

Longus, Velius (d. early second century c. e.) Grammarian

Noted mainly for his precise and well-organized treatise, De Orthographia, Longus was considered one of the major grammatical writers in the late first and early second centuries.

Luca, Conference of A meeting held around April 15, 56 B. C.E., among the members of the first triumvirate: Julius CAESAR, POMPEY THE GREAT, and Marcus Licinius crassus (1). The triumvirate that had been formed in 60 b. c.e. was, by 56, showing signs of severe strain. Pompey and Caesar had a relationship that wavered between friendship and hostility, while Crassus envied Pompey’s strength in Rome and Caesar’s continued successes in the gallic wars. This internal dissension gave hope to opponents, such as Cicero and L. Domitius Ahenobarbus, that a splintering of the coalition was possible. To avoid this, Caesar, who was wintering at Ravenna, traveled to Luca in Gallia Cisalpina and sent requests to his colleagues to join him there. Crassus was already with him, while Pompey arrived late, on the 15th. The conference was understandably brief, but it reaffirmed the original unity of the triumvirate, ensured Caesar control over Gaul and kept Pompey and Crassus politically agreeable. No long-term solution was reached; the rivalries and suspicions remained as Pompey feared Caesar’s ambitions. Crassus rode off to die in Parthia, while Caesar prepared his legions for the final battles some six years hence.

Lucan, Marcus Annaeus (39-65 c. e.) Roman writer best known for his great surviving work, the Bellum Civile (Civil War), known also as the Pharsalis Lucan came from Corduba in spain and was the grandson of SENECA THE ELDER and nephew of seneca the Younger. Raised in Rome, Lucan studied under cornutus the stoic before embarking on a highly successful career as a writer. His output was prolific in both verse and prose. Emperor Nero granted him honors and imperial favor with a quaestorship. In return, Lucan recited a panegyric to Nero at the Neronian Games in 60 C. E., and the first three books of the Civil War were highly flattering to the ruler. However, the emperor grew jealous of Lucan’s genius and popularity. By 65, Lucan was barred from publishing his poetry altogether and, unable to stomach Nero’s cruelties and deprecations of his work, he entered into the Pisonian Conspiracy. Trapped (as were all of the conspirators), Lucan first betrayed his own mother and then all of his colleagues. Despite the promise of a pardon, Nero ordered him to die. Lucan committed suicide, quoting several lines from his masterwork in which a soldier likewise bled to death.

The Bellum Civile was a massive undertaking and stretched the limits even of epic poetry. Errors, both in fact and rhetoric, abound as his own bias toward Pompey and the Republican cause shines through. He relied upon Livy for many details, a source noted for mistakes and casual research. The brilliance of his skill, however, is unmistakable. The work itself detailed the Civil War in 10 books, from the start of the conflict to the siege of Alexandria in 48 b. c.e. Books one to three were published by Lucan himself and included praise for Nero. These earlier sections were filled with preferences for Pompey as the champion of liberty, while his later books displayed a growing sense of anger and frustration mirroring his own life.

Books four to nine were published sometime after his death in 65, either by a relative or friends. Book 10, however, was obviously never finished, for it was not perfect nor did it end in any manner, rather, the verses cease during the siege of Alexandria.

Lucania One of the southernmost regions of Italy (italia), surrounded by Campania, Samnium, Apulia, Calabria, and Bruttium, with a coastline on both the Tyrrhenian sea and the Gulf of Taranto. in the earliest days of settlement, Lucania was the home of Greek sailors and colonists, who competed with the original inhabitants, the Chones. Both cultures were subsequently subdued by the samnite-based Lucanians, who were, in turn, conquered by the Romans. Lucania was not known for the beauty of its landscape but rather for its pasturelands. Here was the heart of cattle raising in italy, and Lucanian oxen were especially famous for their size and strength. During the years of the Roman Empire, Lucania was combined with Bruttium to form one of the italian districts.

Lucian (fl. second century c. e.) Writer born at Samosata in Syria

Although Greek was not his native tongue, Lucian became fluent in Greek and worked for a time as an advocate. He may have traveled through Greece in that capacity, later taking up a position in the administration of the procurator of Egypt. His principle work was his Dialogues, in which he examined, with irreverence and satire, his own era. He used both seriousness and comedy to drive home his biting examples from every element of society, while displaying not only his own excellent grammar but also his remarkable wit. Lucian’s parodic True History is often cited as the first science fiction story.

See also satire.

Lucian of Antioch (d. 312 c. e.) Christian theologian, scholar, and martyr

A presbyter in Antioch, Lucian authored numerous works on the doctrines of the church and the Bible. His writings in Greek were so respected that they were accepted texts by most of the sees of the East. Unfortunately, little of his output is extant, although it is believed that the second of the four creeds issued by the Council of Antioch (341) may have been composed by Lucian. He also founded the important theological school that claimed as students Arius and Eusebius of Nicomedia.