After the detailed analysis of the history of the Bacchanalian affair made by Livy, we can say that he certainly does not try to represent the facts in the most objective way possible. He is previously deployed and with conviction on the side of the authorities who unleashed the persecution of the followers of Bacchus.… Read More Livy, History of Bacchanalia: Conclusions

Livy, with the nineteenth chapter, ends his story on the Bacchanalia. In it he refers to two senate consults: the first requested by the consul Marcius; The second requested by the consul Postumius.

After the Postumius’s speech, the consuls ordered a series of measures which are the continuation of those announced in chapter 14, 7-8. This enumeration does not correspond to a precise account of the events and above all of the regulatory measures. It is more rhetorical than technical: the decisions of the Senate are presented both… Read More Livy. History of the Bacchanalia V. Arrests and Trials