Category:Titus & Berenice (subject)

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Titus & Berenice refers to the affair between the Roman Emperor Titus and the Herodian Princess Berenice.

Overview

Berenice and her brother Herod Agrippa II, Jewish royals of Herodian/Hasmonean descent, were loyal allies of the Romans and supporter of the Flavian dynasty, before, during and after the Jewish War.

The "affair" between Berenice and Vespasian's son Titus (who was eleven years younger than Berenice) started in Judea during the Jewish War (Tacitus, Historiae II 2).

According to Cassius Dio, after Titus went back to Rome, the affair resumed in 75 CE when Agrippa and Berenice came to Rome. The affair fueled controversy in Rome and Titus had to send her away.

When Titus became emperor in 79 CE, Berenice returned to Rome, but Titus was too busy with restoring his reputation. Berenice was reluctantly yet quickly dismissed: "[Titus] sent Berenice from Rome at once, against her will and against his own" (7.2).

"Titus & Berenice" in ancient sources

"Titus & Berenice" in scholarship and the arts

Even since Madame de Scudéry published the novel Lettres de Bérénice à Titus in 1642, the love affair between Titus and Berenice has inspired numerous works of fiction--plays, operas, novels. Scholarly books and articles have studied the development of this cultural phenomenon.

External links