The Silver Age of Latin Literature took place during the first century AD, and a plethora of stupendous books and plays were written during this time. One of the Age’s greatest writers was Seneca, who wrote nine tragedies covering topics in Greek Mythology. “Apocolocyntosis” was a satirical play, but also a bitter skit about the deification of Claudius. Seneca was the tutor of the future emperor Nero, and in his plays he mentioned Nero many times. When Seneca retired, he devoted himself to philosophical writings. Other notable writers include: Juvenal (59-140), who wrote satire about the moral decay of Rome, which attacked women, Jews, and Greeks; Suetonius (born 70) and Tacticus (56-117), who both wrote books on the early history of Rome and Julius Caesar; and Quintillian, who wrote “The Institutes of Oratory,” a guide on how to be a good speaker and was still influential in the Middle Ages. 

The Pax Romana (the Roman Peace) was a period of prosperity, peace, and wealth, and was the peak of the Roman Empire’s power. It lasted from 14-180 AD. Unlike the emperors before, Augustus Caesar and the emperors after him left a large standing army even in times of peace to insure that no one would dare rebelling against their rule. Augustus had no male heir, so in 14 AD, Caesar Tiberius took over, starting the Julio-Claudian Dynasty. 

Extravagant with his spending and cruel, Caesar Gaius was the second emperor of the dynasty. He was later assassinated by the Praetorian Guard, who then made Nero emperor in 54. Although he started his reign as a respected emperor, he later went insane. Nero killed his own mother, ramped up killings of Christians, and after a rebellion, committed suicide in 68. His reign was followed by a period of unrest and turmoil.  

In 69, there were four different emperors who tried to gain power over the empire. Finally, Vespasian took control and stabilized the situation, and would rule until 79, making him the first emperor of the Flavian Dynasty, which would last until 96. Caesar Titus (79-81) had a short but prosperous rule and was well liked by most people in the empire. Under his reign, no one was executed and he built many great structures like the Coliseum. Domitian had an honorable start to his reign, but after a revolt by the provincial governor, he grew suspicious of everyone. Killing many Christians and philosophers, Domitian declared that he and his family were gods. When his reign ended in 96, it marked the end of the Flavian Dynasty. 

From 96-180 there was a period of five good emperors, Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonius Pious, and Marcus Aurelius (166-180). However, the latter became a vicious and incompetent emperor, and was eventually assassinated. In the 3rd century, the emperors got weaker as the barbarians to the north grew stronger.

Caesar Vespastian began construction on the Coliseum in Rome in 72, which was completed by Titus in 80. During the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, the Romans built many aqueducts: long bridge-like systems that moved water from the source to towns and cities. The ruins of some of these aqueducts are still standing today. The peak of the Roman Empire was in 117 AD, and after this there was a slow downfall of the empire until it eventually split and dissolved. 

The “Libation Bearers,” the second of Aeschylus’s plays, is named after a “libation,” which is a mixed drink of wine, water, and honey and was used as a religious practice. This play is the center tragedy from the Orestes trilogy of Aeschylus and its title references the libation Electra offered at the tomb of her father Agamemnon. 

The god Apollo told Orestes that if he did not avenge his father’s murder, he would suffer judgment from the gods. The chorus, wanting to retaliate differently than Orestes, requests justice and invokes the underground gods to administer it. Orestes and his sister Electra call on them too, but their father did not have the proper rites, so he was not in favor with the gods. Consequently, Orestes tries to use deception to get revenge for his father’s death. 

To distract his mother Clytemnestra, Orestes pretends to be a stranger and tells Clytemnestra that he is dead. After distracting his mother, Orestes murders Aegisthus, who assisted in the murder of Agamemnon. Orestes had earlier sworn an oath to Apollo, saying that he would kill his mother to try to get the gods’ favor, but only Apollo agreed to help him. Because Orestes was lying, his mother warns him of the furies, who are goddesses of vengeance. To counter her, Orestes warns his mother of his father’s furies, who protect Agamemnon in the afterlife. 

Because he had sworn to murder Clytemnestra earlier, Apollo forces Orestes to murder her. The furies send hounds to get Orestes since he slayed his mother, but he saw them coming and got away. Orestes does not get mercy from the furies or the chorus, and although his father’s killers are dead, his death is not avenged. Orestes also does not get justice because he tried to use justice as vengeance.