The princeps investigates: two cases of domestic violence in Tacitus’ Annals

Abstract

This article considers two case studies of intimate partner violence from Tacitus’ Annals: the murders of Apronia in ad 24 (Tac. Ann. 4.22) and Pontia Postumina in ad 58 (Tac. Ann. 13.44). Tacitus’ account of these acts of violence and the legal proceedings that follow are considered in detail to demonstrate that legal and non-legal action could be taken in response to some instances of domestic violence in the ancient Roman world and that the emperor could intervene in certain cases. It examines these case studies in the context of other examples of domestic violence in the Annals as one avenue through which to explore attitudes towards domestic violence in early Imperial Rome.