Dio and the Voice of the Sibyl

Josiah Osgood, Georgetown University

This paper investigates the role in Dio’s history of the Sibylline oracle made
public during the political struggle in Rome over the command to reinstate King
Ptolemy Auletes of Egypt in 56 BCE (39.15.2). In his other mentions of such
oracles, Dio typically foregrounds questions of authenticity and applicability. By
contrast, he raises little doubt about the oracle of 56 BCE and focuses on its
decisive impact on contemporary political debate. His narrative shows a good
knowledge of events, and is more balanced than modern accounts that – based
on Cicero’s letters – have often fixated on doubts about the authenticity of the
oracle as well as suspicions concerning the role of Pompey and Crassus in the
episode. Yet later in book 39, when he discusses the restoration of King Ptolemy
by Gabinius and Gabinius’ subsequent trials in Rome, Dio is far less balanced: he
has swallowed a tradition quite hostile to Pompey and Gabinius.

Dio’s specific choices – along with his use of the oracle as a whole – buttress his
overall interpretation of Roman politics. By taking the oracle seriously, he not
only foreshadows the menace that he believed was facing Rome in the mid-50s
BCE. He also underscores a sense of divine displeasure with the Romans and the
willingness of too-powerful politicians to neglect the wishes of Senate and
People to the detriment of ordinary citizens. Dio’s use of the oracle also
highlights the nexus between Roman and Egyptian politicians and the
nightmarish blurring of Rome into a violence-filled Alexandria.

By paying closer attention to Dio’s unique account of the oracle we gain new
knowledge of Rome in the 50s BCE as well as the historian’s own powerful
vision of how the Republic came to an end.