The role of religion in Tacitus’ historical works has traditionally been seen as being of relatively minor importance. R. Syme famously saw Tacitus’ use of prodigia in the later books of the Annals as nothing more than a stock feature of the annalistic tradition, unworthy of detailed discussion (Syme, Tacitus [1958], pp. 522–3). S.-H.’s fascinating study of the role of religion and cultic memory in the Annals seeks to challenge this orthodoxy, arguing that religion is not only an overlooked aspect of Tacitus’ historical narrative, but is of central importance in our understanding of Tacitus’ interpretation of the principate and the narrative of the Annals as a whole. S.-H. shows how throughout the Annals Tacitus draws a clear picture of religious decline in a society that, under the pernicious influence of the new imperial system, has forgotten its former glory and seems destined to continue down an inexorable path of irreligiosity.

Religion in ancient Rome was, according to Syme, ‘easy to keep in repair’; emperors and members of the priesthood generally knew their duty and were able to engage in the ritual performance of their role in an unproblematic way (Syme [1958], p. 523). This study demonstrates how in fact, for Tacitus, this was rarely the case. S.-H. shows how Tacitus, himself a member of Rome's quindecimviral priesthood, is particularly concerned with the various failures of successive emperors in their attempts to engage with and maintain the traditional religion of Rome while simultaneously presiding over its transformation through the introduction of the imperial cult. The analysis of this religious narrative is conducted primarily through the lens of cultural memory theory, which sees the way in which a society remembers its past as being actively constructed by the members of that society in the present, under the influence of contemporary social and cultural frameworks. Religion, and particularly the ritual conservatism of Roman paganism, is thus a particularly powerful way of preserving the memory of a venerable past over several generations and provides a useful framework with which to examine Tacitus’ narrative of the transformation and decline of Roman society under the principate.

The book begins with a clear introduction summarising the centrality of religion to the Annals and introducing the theoretical background of cultural memory studies and their applicability to the study of ancient religion. S.-H. emphasises the role of religion not only as a link to Rome's distant and venerable past, but also as regards the importance of the performance of cultic ritual in ensuring the future prosperity of the community through the maintenance of the pax deorum. While previous scholars who have considered issues of memory in Tacitus have tended to be concerned with individual memory (e.g. Otho's manipulation of Nero's memory in the Histories or Tiberius’ attempts to control popular memory of Germanicus), S.-H. is concerned rather with collective memory, preserved primarily through religious material. S.-H. defines this ‘religious material’ as anything that goes beyond the ‘unquestionably plausible’ human environment (p. 6) and divides it into three broad categories: traditional cult practice; the imperial cult; and attempts to understand the divine. However, rather than consider these categories thematically, the subsequent chapters instead follow a strictly chronological structure and approach each (extant) book of the Annals sequentially. S.-H. justifies this approach on the basis that this is how the Annals would have originally been read in antiquity (ancient book rolls making ‘dipping in’ rather more difficult than it is today) and that the expectation of sequential reading leads to Tacitus achieving important literary effects that are missed if the narrative is read out of order. Furthermore, this structure also allows for an analysis of gradual decline over time and a focus on the importance of religion at key points in the narrative, though of course this approach is clearly complicated by the loss of Books 7–10.

Though the material is covered sequentially, the division of chapters is heavily weighted in favour of the Tiberian hexad with the first five chapters discussing Books 1–6 while the Claudian and Neronian books receive only one chapter each. Though this division may seem imbalanced at first, it is central to S.-H.’s argument that the religious problems that eventually arise during the reigns of Claudius and Nero are in fact continuations/escalations of problems already present under Tiberius. Chapter 1 is centred on Books 1–2 of the Annals and considers Tiberius’ early attempts to grapple with religious matters at the start of his reign. From the beginning it is clear that traditional Roman religion is being both ignored (as a result of Tiberius’ ignorance of traditional Republican religious protocol) and transformed (both by the introduction of a new god into the pantheon and by the close association between divus Augustus and the mortal princeps and the imperial family). Chapter 2 continues the discussion of Books 1–2, but considers events from the point of view of Germanicus. Often viewed as a foil to Tiberius and emblematic of the Republican past, we might expect Germanicus’ religious interactions to adhere to the traditional piety and practices of the past. However, S.-H. shows that this is very much not the case. At every stage of the narrative Germanicus’ theatricality, ignorance and association with the imperial cult consistently prevent him from acting in accordance with traditional religious norms, and ultimately he shares many of the same failings as Tiberius.

Chapter 3 deals with the relationship between the senate and Tiberius in terms of religious commemoration in the aftermath of Germanicus’ death. Just as Tiberius is ignorant of traditional religious protocol, the senate too has forgotten its traditional religious role and votes unprecedented ritual commemorations for Germanicus. Despite Tiberius’ assertion that members of the imperial family are no different from any other mortal, he fails to prevent this commemoration of Germanicus or to provide a viable alternative framework for honouring the non-divine dead of the imperial family. The introduction of emperor cult and the close association between divus Augustus and his mortal family members creates a problem of commemoration that cannot be resolved by either Tiberius or the senate.

Chapters 4–5 consider the second half of the Tiberian hexad and examine how, as the narrative progresses, Tacitus links the worsening of the tyranny of Tiberius’ principate with the displeasure of the gods and uses an increased focus on the role of fate and astrology to raise pessimistic questions about Rome's future. The final two chapters deal with Claudius’ and Nero's inheritance of the religious system developed under Tiberius. Claudius’ reign initially shows promise due to his revival of traditional Roman cult practice (e.g. his revival of the haruspices and celebration of the Secular Games, among other examples), but ultimately he too fails to navigate the increasingly problematic religious system of the early empire: his singular focus on religious matters distracts him from wider political concerns and is constantly undermined by the actions of his wives. Under Nero the broken religious system finally collapses under the strain of the emperor's numerous impieties, yet ultimately S.-H. shows how despite their extreme manifestation under Nero, the religious problems of his reign have their origins much earlier in the reign of Tiberius. Clearly, for Tacitus, the problem of Rome's religious decline is inherent in the imperial system itself, rather than in the actions of any individual ruler.

The book definitely succeeds in its aim of re-evaluating the role of religion in Tacitus and clearly demonstrates its importance as a tool in his construction of narrative. Though I have reservations about some of the teleological arguments, given the fragmentary nature of Tacitus’ extant text (a problem that is acknowledged by S.-H. at several points), the book as a whole provides an excellent and original discussion of a previously neglected area of scholarship. I am sure it will prove invaluable not only to Tacitean scholars but also to those with an interest in cultural and religious memory in Rome more generally.