The Rise of Rome (Penguin Classics)

by Plutarch

  17. Marcellus, however, escaped unhurt from this assault and afterwards made fun of his own siege experts and engineers. ‘We may as well give up fighting this geometrical Briareus’,78 he said, ‘who uses our ships like cups to ladle water out of the sea, who has whipped our sambuca and driven her off in disgrace,79 and who can outdo the hundred-handed giants of mythology in hurling so many different missiles at us at once.’ For the truth was that all the rest of the Syracusans merely provided the manpower to operate Archimedes’ inventions, and it was his mind which directed and controlled every manoeuvre. All other weapons were discarded, and it was upon his alone that the city relied both for attack and defence. At last, the Romans were reduced to such a state of alarm that if they saw so much as a length of rope or a piece of timber appear over the top of the wall, it was enough to make them cry out, ‘Look, Archimedes is aiming one of his machines at us!’ and they would turn their backs and run. When Marcellus saw this, he abandoned all attempts to capture the city by assault, and settled down to reduce it by blockade.

  As for Archimedes, he was a man who possessed such exalted ideals, such profound spiritual vision and such a wealth of scientific knowledge that, although his inventions had earned him a reputation for almost superhuman intellectual power, he would not deign to leave behind him any writings on his mechanical discoveries.80 He regarded the business of engineering, and indeed of every art which ministers to the material needs of life, as an ignoble and sordid activity, and he concentrated his ambition exclusively upon those speculations whose beauty and subtlety are untainted by the claims of necessity. These studies, he believed, are incomparably superior to any others, since here the grandeur and beauty of the subject matter vie for our admiration with the cogency and precision of the methods of proof.

  Certainly, in the whole science of geometry, it is impossible to find more difficult and intricate problems handled in simpler and purer terms than in his works. Some writers attribute this to his natural genius. Others maintain that a phenomenal industry lay behind the apparently effortless ease with which he obtained his results. The fact is that no amount of mental effort of his own would enable a man to hit upon the proof of one of Archimedes’ theorems, and yet as soon as it is explained to him, he feels that he might have discovered it himself, so smooth and rapid is the path by which Archimedes leads us to the required conclusion. So it is not at all difficult to credit some of the stories which have been told about him: of how, for example, he often seemed so bewitched by the song of some inner and familiar Siren that he would forget to eat his food or take care of his person; or how, when he was carried by force, as he often was, to the bath for his body to be washed and anointed, he would trace geometrical figures in the ashes and draw diagrams with his finger in the oil which had been rubbed over his skin. Such was the rapture which his work inspired in him, so as to make him truly the captive of the Muses. And although he was responsible for many discoveries of great value, he is said to have asked his friends and relatives to place on his tomb after his death nothing more than the shape of a cylinder enclosing a sphere, with an inscription explaining the ratio by which the containing solid exceeds the contained.81

  18. Such was Archimedes’ character, and in so far as it rested with him, he kept himself and his city unconquered. But while Syracuse was being blockaded, Marcellus did not remain idle. He captured Megara,82 one of the most ancient of the Greek settlements in Sicily, and he also stormed Hippocrates’ camp at Acrillae,83 and killed more than 8,000 of his men, launching his attacks while the enemy were still digging their entrenchments. Besides this, he overran a large part of Sicily, persuaded a number of cities to revolt from the Carthaginians and defeated his opponents wherever he encountered resistance.

  Some while afterwards84 he captured a man named Damippus,85 a Spartan who had attempted to escape from Syracuse by ship. The Syracusans were anxious to ransom him, and during the numerous meetings and negotiations that followed, Marcellus noticed a particular tower which was carelessly guarded and into which he could infiltrate men unobserved, since the wall in its immediate vicinity was easy to climb. During his visits to parley with the Syracusans he had the height to the tower carefully measured and scaling ladders prepared. Marcellus chose a moment when the Syracusans were celebrating a feast-day in honour of Artemis and had given themselves up to drinking and other festivities. Before they knew what he was about, he had not only seized the tower but also occupied the Hexapyla.86 When the citizens discovered what had happened, and while they were running to and fro in confusion and attempting to muster their forces, Marcellus ordered his trumpets to be sounded from all sides at once. The Syracusans fled from the sound in terror and imagined that the whole city had already been captured. But in fact they still held Achradina, which is the largest, most handsome and most strongly defended quarter, because it had been fortified on the landward side, where it adjoins the other districts of the city, one part of which is known as Neapolis and the other as Tyche.87

  19. When these districts had been captured, Marcellus made his entry at daybreak through the Hexapyla amid the congratulations of his officers. It is said that as he looked down from the heights upon the great and magnificent city below, he wept88 as he thought of its impending fate, and of how its appearance would be transformed in a few hours’ time when his army had sacked it. For his troops had demanded their plunder and not one of his officers dared to resist them. Indeed, many of them had urged that they should set fire to the city and raze it to the ground. Marcellus refused to tolerate this suggestion, but, much against his will, he allowed his men to carry off property and slaves. However, he gave strict orders that they must not lay a hand on free citizens, nor kill, outrage or enslave any Syracusan.

  And yet, in spite of having shown such moderation, he felt that the city had been subjected to a pitiable fate, and even in the moment of triumph he was filled with sorrow and compassion as he saw the brilliant prosperity of so many generations being swept away in a few short hours. It is said that as much wealth was carried away from Syracuse as was taken at a later date from Carthage. Not long afterwards, the rest of the city was captured by treachery and given over to plunder, except for the royal property, which was handed over to the Roman treasury.89

  But what distressed Marcellus most of all was the death of Archimedes. As fate would have it, the philosopher was by himself, engrossed in working out some calculation by means of a diagram, and his eyes and his thoughts were so intent upon the problem that he was completely unaware that the Romans had broken through the defences, or that the city had been captured. Suddenly, a soldier came upon him and ordered him to accompany him to Marcellus. Archimedes refused to move until he had worked out his problem and established his demonstration, whereupon the soldier flew into a rage, drew his sword and killed him. According to another account, the Roman came up with a drawn sword and threatened to kill him there and then; when Archimedes saw him, he begged him to stay his hand for a moment, so that he should not leave his theorem imperfect and without its demonstration, but the soldier paid no attention and dispatched him at once. There is yet a third story to the effect that Archimedes was on his way to Marcellus bringing some of his instruments, such as sundials and spheres and quadrants, with the help of which the magnitude of the sun could be perceived by the naked eye, when some soldiers met him, and, believing that he was carrying gold in the box, promptly killed him. At any rate, it is generally agreed that Marcellus was deeply affected by his death, that he abhorred the man who had killed him as if he had committed an act of sacrilege and that he sought out Archimedes’ relatives and treated them with honour.

  20. The Romans were regarded by other peoples as masters of the art of war and formidable adversaries on the battlefield, but they had so far given little indication that they could show kindness or humanity or the civil virtues in general, and Marcellus seems to have been the first to demonstrate to the Greeks that the Romans possessed a stronger sense of justice than they th
emselves. He behaved with such fairness to all who came into contact with him, and conferred so many benefits upon cities and private individuals that, if the peoples of Enna90 or Megara or Syracuse were subjected to any harsh treatment, it was generally believed that the fault for this lay with the vanquished rather than the victors.

  Here I will quote one example out of many. There is a Sicilian town named Engyium, which is of no great size, but is very ancient and is celebrated because of the appearance there of the goddesses who are known as the Mothers.91 Tradition had it that the local temple was built by Cretans, and the people used to keep on show there a number of spears and bronze helmets, some of them inscribed with the name of Meriones,92 and others with that of Ulysses (which is to say, Odysseus), who are reputed to have dedicated these to the goddesses. The people were ardent supporters of the Carthaginians, but their most prominent citizen, whose name was Nicias, did his utmost to persuade them to go over to the Romans, arguing his case in bold and outspoken language in the public assembly, and attacking his opponents’ policy as unsound. His enemies became alarmed at his growing influence and prestige, and planned to kidnap him and hand him over to the Carthaginians.

  Nicias soon became aware of their plot and of the fact that he was being secretly watched, and so he purposely let fall in public a number of irreverent references to the Mothers, and went out of his way to show that he could neither believe in the generally accepted legend about their appearances nor even respect it. This action delighted his enemies, since he seemed to be providing them with excellent grounds for the punishment they had in store for him. But just as they had completed their preparations to seize him, a public assembly was held, and during the debate, while Nicias was actually offering some advice to the people, he suddenly threw himself to the ground. Then, after waiting for a few moments amid the silence and astonishment which naturally followed this action, he raised his head, turned it about and began to speak in a low and trembling tone, which little by little he made shriller and more intense. Finally, when he saw that the whole assembly had been struck dumb with horror, he threw off his cloak, tore open his tunic and, leaping up half-naked, rushed towards the exit of the theatre, crying out that he was pursued by the Mothers. So strong was his fellow-citizens’ awe of the gods that not one of them dared to lay a hand on him or stand in his path. Instead, everyone made way for him as he dashed to the city gates, imitating as he ran the shrieks and gestures that might be expected of a man who was possessed and out of his wits. At the same time his wife, who had been let into the secret and was helping him play his part, took her children with her and prostrated herself as a suppliant before the shrines of the goddesses. Then, under pretence of looking for her husband as he wandered about the countryside, she made her way safely out of the city without any hindrance, and in this way they all escaped to Marcellus’ camp at Syracuse.

  The leading men of Engyium went on to insult the Romans and commit various acts of hostility against them, and at length Marcellus captured the town, had the people put in chains and was about to execute them. At this point Nicias, who was standing by, burst into tears and clasping Marcellus’ hands and knees pleaded with him to spare the lives of his fellow-countrymen, beginning with his enemies. Marcellus relented, set them all free and refrained from punishing their city, while he also presented Nicias with a large estate and a number of gifts. At least this is the story which we have from Poseidonius93 the philosopher.

  21. When the Romans recalled Marcellus to carry on the war against Hannibal94 in Italy, he took back with him most of the statues and other offerings which the Syracusans had dedicated to the gods, including their finest works of art, for he intended that these should not only decorate his triumph but also adorn the capital. Before this date Rome neither possessed nor, indeed, was even aware of such elegant and exquisite creations, nor was there any taste for a graceful and delicate art of this kind. Instead, the city was filled with the bloodstained arms and spoils of barbarian tribes, and crowned with the monuments and trophies of victorious campaigns, so that to the unwarlike visitor or the aesthete she offered almost nothing to gladden or reassure the eye. Indeed, just as Epaminondas95 speaks of the Boeotian plain as ‘a dancing-floor of Ares’,96 and Xenophon refers to Ephesus as ‘an arsenal of war’,97 so it seems to me that one might have summed up the Rome of those days in Pindar’s phrase as ‘a sanctuary of Ares who revels in war’.98

  At any rate, Marcellus greatly pleased the common people, because he adorned the capital with works of art which possessed the Hellenic grace and charm and truth to nature. On the other hand, it was Fabius Maximus who earned the approval of the older generation, because after he had captured Tarentum he neither disturbed nor removed a single monument of this kind. He carried off all the money and valuables which had belonged to the city, but allowed all the statues to remain in their places, and on this occasion made the remark which has since become famous: ‘Let us leave the Tarentines these angry gods of theirs!’99 Such people blamed Marcellus in the first place for bringing discredit upon the name of Rome, because he paraded not only men but gods100 like captives in his triumphal procession; and secondly, because hitherto the people had been accustomed to spend their time either in fighting or in agriculture and had never tasted luxury or leisure, so that their character had been as Euripides describes that of Heracles, ‘rough, unpolished, but on great occasions noble’.101 Now, on the contrary, he was teaching them to become lazy and glib connoisseurs of art and artists, so that they idled away the greater part of the day in clever and trivial chatter about aesthetics. In spite of such criticisms, Marcellus spoke with pride of what he had done and he liked to claim even to Greeks that he had taught the ignorant Romans to admire and honour the glories of Greek art.102

  22. Marcellus’ enemies opposed the granting of a triumph to him, on the grounds that the campaign in Sicily was not yet finished, and that a third triumph103 would arouse undue envy. The general therefore gave way of his own free will and agreed to lead the main procession to the Alban Mount, and to enter the city only with the minor ceremony, which the Greeks call an eua and the Romans an ovatio.104 The general who leads this does not ride in a four-horse chariot heralded by trumpets and wearing a crown of laurel, as happens in a major triumph, but walks in the procession in shoes, escorted by a large company of flute-players and wearing a crown of myrtle, so that his appearance is peaceable and friendly rather than menacing. This is a clear proof, it seems to me, that in ancient times it was not so much the importance of a general’s achievement as the manner in which he had accomplished it which decided whether a major triumph or an ovation was granted him. Those who had conquered by fighting a battle and killing their enemies entered the city with the martial and awe-inspiring pomp of the formal triumph, after crowning their men and their weapons with abundant wreaths of laurel, as was also the custom whenever they purified the army with lustral rites. On the other hand the generals who had had no occasion to appeal to arms, but had brought everything to a successful issue by means of diplomacy, persuasion and negotiation were granted by the law the honour of conducting this peaceful and festive procession in the manner of a paean of thanksgiving. For the flute is an instrument of peace and the myrtle is beloved of Aphrodite, who of all the gods and goddesses is the most averse to violence and war.105 The name of ovatio for this minor triumph is not derived from the Greek euasmos, as is generally supposed (for the major triumph is also accompanied by songs and cries of euae!), but the word has been twisted by the Greeks into a form that bears a meaning in their language, because they are convinced that the ceremony is also partly intended to honour Dionysus, among whose names are those of Euius and Thriambos. The true explanation, however, is a different one, namely, that it was customary for the general if taking part in the major triumph to sacrifice an ox, and if in the minor a sheep. Now the Latin for sheep is ovis and this is why the minor triumph is called ovatio.106 It is also worth mentioning here that the instructions laid down by
the lawgiver of Sparta are exactly the opposite of those observed by the Romans. In Sparta the returning general, if he had overcome the enemy by deception or persuasion, sacrificed an ox, and if by force of arms a cock.107 For although the Spartans were the most warlike of peoples, they believed that an exploit achieved by means of argument and intelligence108 was greater and more worthy of a human being than one effected by mere force and courage. As to which of these opinions is to be preferred, I leave it to the reader to decide.

  23. While Marcellus was serving his fourth term as consul,109 his enemies110 persuaded the Syracusans to come to Rome, lay accusations against him and denounce him before the senate for having perpetrated terrible injustices contrary to the terms of their surrender. It so happened that when they arrived, Marcellus was engaged in performing a sacrifice on the Capitol, but as the senate was still sitting, the Syracusans immediately presented themselves before it and begged that their grievances might be heard and justice granted them. Marcellus’ fellow-consul111 was indignant that his colleague should be accused in his absence and tried to have them ejected from the chamber, but as soon as Marcellus heard of their arrival, he hurried to the senate-house. Then, seating himself as consul in his curule chair, he began to dispatch the regular business of the day. When this was finished, he came down from his chair, and taking his stand as a private citizen in the place where those who had been put on trial customarily offered their defence, he called upon the Syracusans to press their charges.112

  The dignity and assurance of his manner thoroughly disconcerted them, and they were abashed to find that the man who had been irresistible in the field was still more formidable and unassailable in his consular robe of purple. But at length, with the encouragement of Marcellus’ opponents, they began their impeachment and urged their plea for justice, in the course of which they indulged in much lamentation for the fate of their city. The substance of their complaint was that, in spite of their being friends and allies of the Roman people, they had suffered harsher treatment at Marcellus’ hands than that which other generals had meted out even to conquered enemies. Marcellus retorted that they had committed many hostile acts against the Romans, for which they had received no punishment whatsoever, except for the kind of damage from which it is impossible to protect a population when a city is taken by storm. The fact that their city had been captured, he added, was due to their own wilful refusal of his repeated offers of terms. They certainly could not plead that they had been forced into war by tyrannical rulers, for they had themselves elected these very rulers with the object of going to war.