Consuls as curatores pacis deorum

Latomus, 2017

Dio Cassius (53.1.1) and Dionysius of Halicarnassus (5.2.1) seem to suggest that the two Roman consuls carried sets of fasces which were somehow differentiated. Some modern scholars have posited that the second set was a set of symbolic ‘dummy’ rods. This article explores the interrelationship of the fasces, imperium and the so-called ‘Turn’ to demonstrate the difficulties of coming to secure conclusions about the nature of consular authority or the emblems they held throughout the Roman Republic. It is unclear that both consuls’ lictors always held fasces and it is possible that the ‘Turn’ only came into being in the later Republic after 79 BC. In this regard, the article also rehabilitates Dionysius’ account regarding the development of the Roman consulate. By comparison with other evidence, Dionysius’ reference to separate ‘clubs’ is probably just a reference to the separable virga (bacilla/bacula) used by lictors to clear a path or to knock on doors. Potentially, Dio’s reference to ‘other’ fasces is an anachronistic interpolation from his own age when the Emperor carried laurel-wreathed fasces. The article, therefore, underlines that there is no direct evidence for the existence of ‘dummy’ rods and argues for a more nuanced understanding of the literary, philological, and archaeological evidence for all aspects of the consular procession.

This is a translation of the chapter on the pontifical college in Wissowa's Religion und Kultus der Roemer (1912) and is part of a larger project to translate and, dis volentibus, update at least the bibliography to the entire work. The translation aims for readability. I have not yet updated any of the bibliography, but I append to the translation a full bibliography of all the works that Wissowa mentions in the footnotes to the chapter. I welcome all comments and suggestions.

1999

This thesis examines divination at Rome and its role in Roman historiography, with particular reference to Livy and Tacitus. The focus of the thesis is why and how they used divination and the extent to which divination supported their historiographical aims. Chapter One considers the meaning of divinatio and the types of diviners and supernatural sign encompassed by the term. I draw attention to the contradictions between types of divination observed by the Roman state and those observed by individuals in a personal or private capacity. This examination is supported by a full lexicography of divinatory terms in the appendix. The remainder of the chapter considers modern bibliography and the current scholarly position on divination and Roman historiography. I consider four main areas: divination, historiography, Livy and Tacitus. The final section of the chapter discusses Feeney (1998) on Literature and Religion at Rome and stresses the importance of regarding divination in Roman historiography as a text which could support the overall historiographical objectives of Livy and Tacitus. The importance of divination at Rome is explored in Chapter Two. The chapter surveys Roman attitudes and approaches to divination from the late third century BC to the early second century AD. The analysis indicates a thriving competitive and mercenary atmosphere of diviners and divination that offered the Roman people an outlet outside of the more rigid practices of the Roman state. I argue that there was a plurality of views and approaches to divination. Even where Varro and Cicero seemed to promote a sense of a 'traditional' Roman approach to divination, both engaged with the subject from very different viewpoints. In contrast there was a plethora of authors and works that considered less acceptable types of divination, such as astrology. I suggest that an interest in forms of divination which were not practised by the Roman state was as much a concern for members of the Roman upper classes as it was for the lower classes. This interest meant Augustus was able to incorporate elements of astrology into his religious 'revival' without causing offence. I show too that 'traditional' Roman practice continued to be significant throughout the early Empire. I suggest that different types of divination were not practised to the exclusion of all other types, that Livy and Tacitus, in their desire to present a 'traditional' view of Roman divination, were subscribing to a literary construct laid down by Varro and Cicero and they have obscured the plethora of divinatory activity available at Rome. Chapter Three considers why Livy and Tacitus included divinatory material in their histories. I consider briefly the nature of Roman historiography and the influence of poetry and drama and of rhetoric on the Roman historiographical tradition since these encouraged historians to indulge in inventio, in order to flesh out their historiographical narratives. I argue that both Livy and Tacitus were influenced by the character of the annalistic tradition which presupposed the inclusion of prodigies and other religious and divinatory material. This explains why both authors were aware of the dangers of fabulae but understood how that material could be manipulated to suit their own historiographical purposes. Chapter Four shows how Livy used divination in Books 1 and 5 to emphasise the importance of Roman divinatory institutions and Rome's relationship with the gods. I show how he uses prophecy to direct his work towards the glorious years of the middle Republic and how the Third Decade deliberately echoes themes from the early books to point towards Rome's control over the Mediterranean. However, Livy also used divination to stress the sense of decline from the Fourth Decade onwards. Using the Liber Prodigiorum of Iulius Obsequens, I argue that this continued into the lost later books, but that Livy may have intended to bring his work round full circle by pointing towards the success of Augustus and his religious revival with conscious echoes of Book 1. Finally, I consider those types of divination that Livy included or omitted. I argue that the choices made stressed the sense of traditional divination and the antiquarian approach of his work. In particular, Livy used divination to emphasise the superiority of Roman divination to that of other nations and to private practices. In Chapter Five, I consider how Tacitus adapted Livy's annalistic form for imperial historiography. The chapter begins with a survey of Tacitus' approach to prodigies and shows the different ways in which he could use prodigia as dramatic devices. I also show that, like Livy, Tacitus contrasted foreign and private forms of divinatory practice with the state practices in order to reflect the traditions of the annalistic form. But in the sections on the Histories and the Annals, I argue that Tacitus surpassed his predecessor in the use of divination for drama, characterisation and emphasis.

The Classical Review 63 (2013): 174-178.

New York University

In: Lange, C.H. & Vervaet, F.J. (eds.) (2014) The Roman Republican Triumph: Beyond the Spectacle (Analecta Romana Instituti Danici, Suppl. 45) (Rome), 67-81, 2014

Modern scholarly discussion has concentrated on the question as to whether the Alban Mount triumph was a ‘real’ triumph or not: Mommsen, for example, prioritises the fact that these ceremonies are mentioned on the Fasti Triumphales and were thus by definition recognised as triumphs, perhaps even equal to the triumph proper. Many other scholars, however, disagree. This article seeks to reconsider the development of the Alban Mount triumph from the third century to the time of Augustus. It will be argued that the Alban Mount triumph developed from voices of protest into ceremonies that merited mention on the Fasti Triumphales. The Alban Mount triumphs of the past were retrospectively introduced into the triumphal list, even though it was celebrated by the virtue of the commander’s imperium and not officially sanctioned. Caesar’s ovation in 44 was the first to coincide with the Feriae Latinae, on the Alban Mount. The ovation was not celebrated on the Alban Mount, but in Rome: his entry into Rome was on returning (adventus) from the Feriae Latinae. Just as Caesar may well have invoked the exemplum of Marcellus’ ovation of 211, Young Caesar later thought it wise to mention Caesar’s ovation of 44 as the precedent for his own problematic joint ovation with Antonius in 40, listing them on the Fasti Triumphales. This intriguing decision continues to create problems of conceptualising the Alban Mount victory celebration.

In this paper we propose a new perspective as to the nature of potestas and imperium in the Roman Republican system, the way these properties were bestowed on various magistracies, the way these properties were exercized by these magistracies, and their relationship, which of course and in fact was, very closely knit with the structure of the Gods of Rome. We argue that a) these notions were in reality religiously-grounded, defined and exercized, and b) that they related univoquely, as for potestas, to the so-called Capitoline triad Minerva/Jupiter-OM/Juno or/and appropriate variants of populus triads, depending on the case of the specific magistracy, and as for imperium, to the so-called archaic triad Jupiter/Mars/Quirinus or/and appropriate territory-control triads variants, likewise depending on the case of the specific magistracy, and last that c) the particular divine relationships we argue qualified the auspicia and the various power signa attached to each. This analysis enables to reconstruct the different magistracies of Rome in a table in which the detailed properties (type of assistant : lictores or viatores, type of auspicia, type of empowerment : potestas or/and imperium, empowerment body : comitia centuriata together with or without comitia curiata, capabilities for coercion prensio or vocatio, nature and scope of the responsibilities) of each magistracy (Consul, Praetor urbanus, Censores, Praetor militum, Tribunus consulari potestate, Aediles curules) and ALSO of the other positions of importance in the management of the Roman society which were not qualified as magistracies (Tribunes of Plebs, Quaestores, Aediles populi) come out as all deriving from the application of one concept, religiously founded, hence sacer, presiding to the organization of all positions of power in the Roman society.