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Treasure-Trove and Nero

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 September 2009

David Braund
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Extract

At the very beginning of Annals 16, Tacitus recounts the story of Caesellius Bassus. He says that Bassus, a man of Punic stock and disturbed mind, was inspired by a dream to journey to Nero at Rome: there he told the emperor that he had found on his estate a vast cave, which contained a very great quantity of ancient gold bullion. This was the treasure of Dido, he said, who, upon her flight from Tyre and foundation of Carthage, had hidden the hoard so as not to encourage luxury among her subjects nor an attack by the hostile Numidian kings.

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Type
Research Article
Information
Greece & Rome , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , April 1983, pp. 65 - 69
Copyright
Copyright © The Classical Association 1983

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References

Notes

* I am indebted to the Calpurnius Siculus seminar of the Classics Department, University of Exeter, in particular Su Braund and Peter Wiseman. All responsibility of course remains with me.

1. Tac., Ann. 16.1–3Google Scholar; cf. Suet., Nero 31.4Google Scholar.

2. See Buckland, W. W., A Text-Book of Roman Law3 (revd. Stein, P., Cambridge, 1975), p. 219Google Scholar.

3. For a full discussion, Hill, G. F., ‘Treasure-Trove – The Law and Practice of Antiquity’, PBA 19 (1933), 219–75Google Scholar, esp. 261–2 on divine favour.

4. On imperial virtues, including fortuna, see now Wallace-Hadrill, A. F., Historia 30 (1981), 298 ffGoogle Scholar.

5. On the date of Nero's birth, see Griffin, M. T., Seneca: A Philosopher in Politics (Oxford, 1976), p. 407 n. 1Google Scholar.

6. Griffin ch. 4.

7. See Bradley, K. R., Suetonius' Life of Nero (1978), p. 183Google Scholar and the literature he cites, to which add Momigliano, A. D., ‘Literary Chronology of the Neronian Age’, Secondo Contributo alia Storia degli Studi Classici (Rome, 1960), p. 457Google Scholar (repr. from CQ 38 (1944), 96–100), who supports the notion of Neronian legislative change.

8. I use the Loeb text and translation.

9. Cal. Sic. 1.42 ff.; Apoc. 6 and 11; cf. Suet., Claud. 34Google Scholar.

10. Millar, Fergus, The Emperor in the Roman World (London, 1977), p. 166Google Scholar.

11. Griffin ch. 4.