| Curiously, Graves has Piso hand the letters over to Tiberius at the trial as a show of trust. Tacitus reports an account from contemporary witnesses who claimed to have seen Piso with scroll in hand. While never divulged, it was said to contain imperial orders pertaining to Germanicus. Piso, it seemed, never confronted Tiberius with them in court, as Sejanus had promised a favorable outcome in exchange for Piso's discretion. Suetonius, with a similar account, adds that Tiberius caused the letters to be taken from Piso when Piso privately showed them. Suetonius implies that the letters contained instructions to murder Germanicus. So Pulman selectively draws on the ancient sources, whipping up a sublime scene where a smiling Sejanus is announced to the Pisones mid-dispute. The causa belli: Piso's handling of said letters which contained no order to kill Germanicus. |
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