Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 2.djvu/274

Rh 260 GERMANICUS. Cherusci ; and, in order to get to the Weser, it was necessary to cross the Ems. The delay occa- sioned by the necessity of formintr a bridge across the Ems, and the difficulty of the passage, made Gerraanicus feel his error in landing on the left bank, and leaving his galleys at Amisia. He had still greater difficulty in effecting the passage of the Weser in the face of the enemy. Seeing now that an important action was at hand, he determined to ascertain for himself the temper and feelings of the troops. Accordingly, in the beginning of the night, accompanied by a single attendant, he went secretly into the camp, listened by the side of the tents, and enjoyed his own fame. He heard the praise of his graceful form, his noble birth, his patience, his courtesy, his steady consistency of conduct. He found that his men were eager to show their loyalty and gratitude to their general, and to slake their vengeance in the field of battle. His sleep that night was blessed by a dream of happy omen, and, on the next day, when the troops were all ready for action, eight eagles were seen to enter the woods. Germanicus cried out to the legions, divinities."" A great victory was gained with little loss to the Romans, Arminius having barely escaped, after smearing his face with his own blood, in order to disguise his features. His uncle, Inguiomar, had an equally narrow escape. This battle was fought upon the plain of Idistavisus (between Rinteler and Hausberg), and was cele- brated by a trophy of arms erected upon the spot. A second engagement took place soon afterwards, in a position where the retreat of both parties was cot oif by the nature of the ground in their rear, so that the only hope consisted in valour — the only safety in victory. The result was equally successful to the Romans. In the heat of action Germanicus, that he might be the better known, uncovered his head, and cried out to the troops " to keep on killing and take no prisoners, since the only way to end the war was to exterminate the race." It was late at night before the legions ceased from their bloody task. In honour of this second victory a trophy was erected, with the in- scription : " The army of Tiberius Caesar, having subdued the nations between the Rhine and the Elbe, dedicates this monument to Mars and Ju- piter, and Augustus." No mention was made of the name of Germanicus. The summer was already far advanced, when Germanicus, with the greater part of the troops, sailed back by the Ems to the Ocean. During the voyage a terrific storm occurred : several of the ships were sunk; and Germanicus, whose vessel was stranded on the shore of the Chauci, bitterly accused himself as the author of so gross a disaster, and could scarcely be prevented by his friends from flinging himself into the sea, where so many of his followers had perished. However, he did not yield to inactive grief. Lest the Germans should be en- couraged by the Roman losses, he sent Silius on an expedition against the Catti, while he himself at- tacked the Marsi ; and, by the treacherous informa- tion of their leader, Malovendus, recovered one of the eagles which had belonged to the legion of Varus. Emboldened by success, he carried havoc and deso- lation into the country of the enemy, who were struck with dismay when they saw that shipwreck, and hardship, and loss, only increased the ferocity of the Romans. GERMANICUS. Germanicus had some time previously received intimation of the wish of Tiberius to remove him from Germany, and to give him command in the East, where Parthia and Armenia were in commo- tion on account of the dethronement of Vonones. Knowing that his time was short, he hastened his operations ; and upon his return to winter quarters, felt convinced that another campaign would suffice for the successful termination of the war. But the summons of Tiberius now grew pressing. He invited Germanicus to come home, and take the triumph which had been voted to him, offered him a second consulship, suggested that more might now be gained by address than by force of amis, reminded him of the severe losses with which his successes were purchased, and appealed to his modesty by hinting that he ought to leave an op- portunity to his adoptive brother, Drusus, of ac- quiring laurels in the only field where they could now be gathered. This touched one of the true reasons of his recal, for the emperor, though willing to play him off against Drusus, had no desire that his popularity should throw Drusus completely into the shade. [Drusus, No. 11.] Germanicus had petitioned for another year, in order to com- plete what he had begun, but he could not resist the mandate of Tiberius, though he saw that envy was the real cause of withdrawing from his grasp an honour which he had already earned. (Tac. Ann. ii. 26.) On his return to Rome he was received with warm and enthusiastic greeting, the whole popu- lation pouring forth to meet him twenty miles from the city, and on the 26th of May, A. d. 17, he cele- brated his triumph over the Cherusci, Catti, An- grivarii, and other tribes, as far as the Elbe. His five children adorned his car, and many of the most illustrious Germans ministered to the pomp of their conqueror. Among others, Thusnelda, the wife of Arminius, followed in the procession of captives. (Tac. Ann. ii.41 ; SnetCal. i. ; Veil. Pat. ii. 129 ; Euseb. Chron. No. 2033 ; Oros. vii. 4.) Medals are extant which commemorate this triumph. (See the cut below.) The whole of the Eastern provinces were as- signed, by a decree of the senate, to Germanicus, with the highest imperium ; but Tiberius placed Cn. Piso in command of Syria, and was supposed to have given him secret instructions to check and thwart Germanicus, though such instructions were scarcely wanted, for Piso was naturally of a proud and rugged temper, unused to obedience. His wife Plancina, too, was of a haughty and domineer- ing spirit, and was encouraged by Livia, the em- press-mother, to vie with and annoy Agrippina. In A. D. 18, Germanicus entered upon his second consulship at Nicopolis, a city of Achaia, whither he had arrived by coasting the Illyrian shore, after a visit to Drusus in Dalraatia. He then surveyed the scene of the battle of Actium, which was pe- culiarly interesting to him, from his family con- nection with Augustus and Antony. He had an anxious desire to view the renowned sites of ancient story and classic lore. At Athens he was wel- comed with the most recherche honour, and, in compliment to the city, went attended with a single lictor. At Ilium, his memory reverted to Homer's poem, and to the origin of the Roman race. At Colophon he landed, to consult the oracle of the Clarian Apollo, and it is said that the priest darkly foreboded his early fate.
 * ' Come on, follow the Roman birds, your own