Tacitus Description Of Germania Summary

Tacitus gives a very detailed description of Germania and it’s populace. He describes numerous aspects of their lives and does this by first narrating how the term ‘Germany’ came about and its citizen’s origins, Physical characteristics in which Germans are thought to possess which are “fierce blue eyes, red hair, huge frames” , form of government, administration of justice and punishment, dress styles etc. Looking at his description of the Germans, it is evident that he tries to portray them as people with a modest lifestyle that emphasizes simplicity and practicality rather than the complex roman way of living. This is shown in great detail throughout Tacitus description of them from their dealings with slaves to their marriage laws. The

This practice is very foreign to the Romans. Their diet and clothing style are also geared towards simplicity. They eat mainly fruits, meat and milk to drink for their food, and wear ‘skins of wild beasts’ . Tacitus also mentions various aspects of their lives that are equally important to note like their occupation of land and territories. Various clans and tribes in Germania have their distinctive traits. For example, the Suevians “ are remarkable for a peculiar custom, that of twisting their hair and binding it up in a knot.” Tacitus wrote this document for the Romans in his time and also to add to the already enormous collection of historical works in the Roman Empire. His purpose for writing this document is to show facts, power politics, and moral lessons and to generally discuss accounts of Germania. The circumstances that lead him to create this document would be the fact that he was also a senator thus, the need to depict the life and politics of Germania a rival nation that threatened the superiority of Rome at that time. Tacitus used official sources of the Roman state and also cited sources directly from Pliny the