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Bocchus in Sallust: Some Considerations
 
PIIS032103910025868-7-1
DOI10.31857/S032103910025868-7
Publication type Article
Status Approved
Authors
Anton Korolenkov 
Occupation: associated professor
Affiliation: State Academic University for the Humanities (Moscow, Russia)
Address: Russian Federation,
Abstract

he article is devoted to Mauretanian king Bocchus’ image in Sallust’s Bellum Iugurthinum. In the beginning Bocchus is portrayed as a puppet of Jugurtha and of his own advisers bribed by the Numidian king, but soon he begins to act quite independently, not being a reliable partner for either the Romans or the Numidians. Sallust focuses on Bocchus’ endless hesitation (whether to betray Romans or Jugurtha) and on the changes of his own decisions, which, however, are not always accompanied by any real actions. The Roman author names Bocchus a bаrbarus and accuses him of fides Punica, while there are no such accusations against Jugurtha. According to Sallust, kings often come into conflict with themselves (Iug. 113.1), but Bocchus remains completely true to his nature, since the essence of his character, as shown by Sallust, is precisely in his contradictions, which are reflected in his endless hesitation and change of decisions. 

KeywordsSallust, Iugurthinum bellum, Bocchus, Jugurtha, Roman historiography, king’s image
AcknowledgmentThe paper was created within the project financed by the Russian Science Foundation: No 22-28-01181 «The myth of oriental despotism in European literary tradition (from Antiquity to the Early Modern period)», https://rscf.ru/en/project/22-28-01181/
Received03.06.2023
Number of characters30153
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