The Doctors in Tacitus' Annals: A Case of Ethnic Prejudice

Abstract

This paper discusses the portrayals of physicians in the Annals, and argues that they reveal Tacitus’ underlying ethnic prejudice against Greeks. The passages narrating the actions of Eudemus, Charicles, and Xenophon show that the historian portrays them negatively by underscoring their cunningness and involvement, direct or indirect, in the death of an emperor or heir. The pattern at work points to a deeply rooted hostility against them not as medical professionals, but as Greeks. This is further corroborated through the contrast with the non-Greek doctor, Annaeus Statius, and through the comparison with the professional poisoner treated in the Annals, Locusta.