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This sea is believed to be the boundary that girdles the earth because the last radiance of the setting sun lingers on here till dawn with a brilliance that dims the stars. Popular belief adds that you can hear the sound he makes as he rises from the waves and can see the shape of his horses and the rays on his head.
Tacitus, The Agricola and The Germania, trans. by H. Mattingly and revised by S.A. Handford, Penguin Classics, Great Britain, 1970, p. 139.
PLACE: Germany
TIME: 1st century A.D.
CIRCUMSTANCE: The sun-god was commonly represented in ancient art as a charioteer with a crown of rays on his head, driving a horse-drawn chariot. - The sea beyond the Suiones is as far as the world extends in the belief of those times.
When the assembled crowd thinks fit, they take their seats fully armed. Silence is then commanded by the priests, who on such occasions have power to enforce obedience. Then such hearing is given to the king or state-chief as his age, rank, military distinction, or eloquence can secure - more because his advice carries weight than because he has the power to command. If a proposal displeases them, the people shout their dissent; if they approve, they clash their spears. To express approbation with their weapons is their most complimentary way of showing agreement.
Tacitus, The Agricola and The Germania, trans. by H. Mattingly and revised by S.A. Handford, Penguin Classics, Great Britain, 1970, p. 111.
PLACE: Germany
TIME: 1st century A.D.
CIRCUMSTANCE: In those times the whole community debated on major issues. Minor issues were debated by the chiefs alone.
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