Plus I dig the Roman emperors and the more I am amazed some articles on which I fall. Did you like the wild psychoanalysis of Tiberius? you'll love the guy who is naive and relentless defender of Otto!
Let me introduce you said Otho in 68, Nero committed suicide; arrives Galba in power. But Galba is old and above, it becomes clear quite quickly that he is quite beside the point: after promising to sub soldiers to be on his side, he refuses to pay and speaks as if the republic was not over for nearly a century. In short: it's a disaster.
Otho arrives: he is a former comrade of debauchery of Nero, then fell into disgrace and sent as governor in Lusitania (now Portugal), because of an affair with Poppea, the mistress of the emperor. It was indeed married to her, marriage is true, or marriage of convenience and Nero was suspected of "having become the lover of his wife." Hence exile hidden under a legation, which had deceived anyone, but that resulted in a great government of the province.
Otho, he understands that Galba is has-been, that the Praetorians (among others) to moan louder and it is fine to have the new emperor chooses an heir, to try to calm all that. But Galba, including evil to the end, chooses someone else and it ends badly: for brevity, Otto had himself proclaimed emperor by the Praetorian Guard and Galba was murdered in circumstances quite atrocious on the forum.
So Otho emperor. The reactions are diverse: some, especially the people are happy because they loved Nero (yes, yes, Nero was far from being hated by everyone!) And they see his descendant in the new princeps , others fear it returns to its vices and youth are much less enthusiastic, but were afraid to show too openly, however, how Galba was killed with enough lasting impression.
that time, the legions of Germania who at the time of Nero's death, were trying to quell a revolt in Gaul unhappy to see the emperors do not notice them, acknowledge them as Vitellius, their general (with which the historiography is not tender more plainly, it appears as preferring binge in banquets that do useful things in the Empire).
The negotiations failed, everyone is preparing for war. The armies of Vitellius enter Italy, meet those of Otho, who lose, to general surprise, Otto decides not to shed more blood Roman and commits suicide. I say "the surprise" because, with all his reputation vices, effeminate behavior, etc.., Nobody expected such an assumption of responsibility.
(Bust of Otho; source: Wikipedia Commons)
Now that you know just my man, let us see what says the Dear Colleague Took Passion and attacks Tacitus violently. I will summarize his arguments and I give you my answers surprised, then, of course, is biased (and part). But not that much anyway.
Dear Colleague: Otho can not be bad! It can not be bad! The evidence, when he was young, he was desperate to defend his beloved cons Claws of Vice!
Bibi: You're referring to the anecdote from Suetonius, Nero where you see the locked door of Otho, who refuses to report that he has "lent"?
CC: Yes! perfectly! What magnanimity! What courage!
B: You know we only found in Suetonius, that he loves this kind of story, even if the "fix" a little, and that Tacitus is Poppea itself which machine to send her "husband" in Lusitania?
CC: What greatness! What courage! How romantic!
B: Yes, well, we will spend the rest. Otho distributed money to the soldiers long before Galba chooses to adopt somebody else ...
CC: Yes, but it was innocent! He wanted through blood ties, not by blood at all! And that bastard Tacitus said he was already thinking about the assassination!
B: True, he wrote "with hopes of adoption or to prepare an action" and I know that facinus , in Latin, is often interpreted as "bad action", but its meaning is "action" itself.
DC: Plutarch And look! He said that Otho was already considered by everyone as the successor to Galba!
B: Yes but Plutarch looking figures of statesmen who fit his philosophical ideal, and if Tacitus tends to blacken things, it also tends to fix them. And how do you explain that in Galba chose another, if everyone wanted it Otho? It was has-been, but still!
CC: And the story of the father of Suetonius sure it paled horribly at the mere mention of blood!
B: Wait there, I arrest you. Everyone knows 1) that the father was Suetonius particularly in awe of Otho and 2) that was supposed to be there when the suicide of Otho, so it was physically impossible. Therefore, as solid source, there's more.
CC: Tacitus Bastard! Where is your intellectual honesty? He went up to tell people that falls in Otho feared his vices! Not true! Architecture is wrong!
B: What can you say that? Because, logically, if I put myself in their shoes, I'd be a bit worried to see a guy come to power that followed Nero in accepted all its debauchery and good grace of the people so called.
CC: But I tell you, it would have done better to choose the positive tradition! It was she, true!
B: And as it is positive, of course, not bother to ask like the other ...
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