The Rise of Rome (Penguin Classics)

by Plutarch

  69. concave mirrors … fire: See also Moralia 937a.

  70. recorded in my Life of Camillus … these matters: Camillus 20.

  71. Servius, two more were enrolled: According to Dion. Hal. (2.67.1), it was Tarquinius Priscus, not Servius Tullius, who raised the number of Vestals to six.

  72. the right … mothers of three children: Plutarch explains this privilege by way of comparison with an imperial right, established by Augustus, for all women who were mothers of three children. On the legal circumstances of Vestal Virgins, see Beard, North and Price, Religions of Rome, vol. 1, p. 51.

  73. lictors: Official attendants who walked in front of magistrates carrying their fasces, which were bundles of rods capped with two-headed axes symbolizing a magistrate’s imperium or power of command.

  74. alongside the … rampart: A portion of the Servian Wall along the Esquiline Hill was called the Agger (the Rampart); the Colline Gate is located at the northern end of the Agger.

  75. how the Romans punish … vow of virginity: See also Moralia 286e–f, Livy 28.11.6, Dion. Hal. 2.67.3, Valerius Maximus 1.1.6.

  76. temple of Vesta: Located in the Roman Forum at the foot of the Palatine.

  77. Vesta … identified with the earth: This, however, is the view of Dion. Hal. (2.66.3) and Ovid (Fasti 6.267).

  78. Hestia … Monad: The Monad, or Unit, was a fundamental (if not now fully understood) principle in Pythagorean cosmology. Hestia, the Greek equivalent of Vesta (Plutarch in fact uses Hestia whenever he refers to Vesta), is here a reference to the cosmic hearth that constituted the centre of the Pythagorean universe. See e.g. Aristotle, On the Heavens 293a18, as well as Guthrie, A History of Philosophy, vol. 1, pp. 243–6, 292–3; and Burkert, Lore and Science in Ancient Pythagoreanism, pp. 36–8.

  79. Plato … entity: This is also reported at Moralia 1006c.

  80. the most important part of ourselves: That is, the soul. For Plutarch, Numa’s legislation recalls the sentiments of Plato, Laws 12.959b. The practicalities and sensibilities associated with Roman funerary practices are discussed by J. Bodel in V. Hope and E. Marshall (eds.), Death and Disease in the Ancient City (2000), pp. 128–51.

  81. Libitina: A goddess associated with funerals and sometimes associated with Venus, see Moralia 269b; Varro, On the Latin Language 6.47; Dion. Hal. 4.15.5; and Festus 322.

  82. child of fewer than three years: See also Coriolanus 39, but this matter remains unclear; see S. Treggiari, Roman Marriage (1991), pp. 493–4.

  83. Fetiales: A Latin institution and not unique to Rome, although the Romans variously attributed their institution to Numa, Tullus Hostilius or Ancus Marcius. More detailed accounts of their origins and practices are provided by Livy (1.24.4–9 and 1.32.5–13) and Dion. Hal. (2.72.1–9). Legend, ideology and historical realities are usefully sorted out by F. Santangelo, Bulletin of the Institute for Classical Studies 51 (2008), pp. 63–93.

  84. Fetiales … negotiation: Plutarch accepts the derivation of the word Fetiales from Latin fari (to speak). A similar opinion lies behind Dion. Hal. 2.72.1. Other derivations were also current: e.g. Varro, On the Latin Language 5.86.

  85. Among the Greeks … instead of violence: Peace (eirene) is here derived from eirein (to speak). This is introduced in support of the etymology of Fetiales Plutarch has just endorsed (see notes above).

  86. Clusium: Modern Chiusi.

  87. these are events … Camillus: Camillus 17–18.

  88. Salii: Like the Fetiales, Salii were not unique to Rome. The priesthood was so ancient that many of its features were mysterious even to the Romans; see also Livy 1.20.3–4 and Dion. Hal. 2.10.

  89. spring: This was the spring of the Camenae, divinities ultimately identified with the Muses, located on the Caelian Hill near the Capenine Gate.

  90. watch over these shields: The original shield (the ancile) and its copies were housed in a shrine on the Palatine Hill (the Curia Saliorum).

  91. Salii: The name of the priesthood derives from salire (to leap).

  92. Samothrace … Mantinea: This eponymous Salius is attributed to both cities (Festus 438).

  93. in the month of March: In fact on 1 March.

  94. ancilia … afflictions: Plutarch adduces several (false) Greek etymologies for the word ancile in this order: ancile is derived from angulos (curved), from angkon (elbow), from anekathen (from on high), from akesis (cure), from auchmon (of the drought) and anaschesis (cessation).

  95. Anakes: That is, Kings, a common way of addressing the Dioscuri in Athens and elsewhere in the Greek world.

  96. there are others who insist … ancient memorial: On this point, see Varro, On the Latin Language 6.49. The Salian Hymn (Carmen Saliare), excerpts from which survive, was unintelligible to the Romans by the first century BC.

  97. Regia … royal dwelling: See Romulus 18.

  98. Quirinal Hill … location: Numa added the Quirinal Hill to Rome (Dion. Hal. 2.62).

  99. with their minds concentrated: So Porphyry, Life of Plotinus 38; Iamblichus, Life of Pythagoras 18.85.

  100. hoc age: See also Coriolanus 25.

  101. Their teachings … concealed except to a few: For these and other aphorisms, see Moralia 12e–f, 281a, 290e, 354e and 361a; Plato, Laws 717a–b; Porphyry, Life of Plotinus 42. On the secret doctrine of the Pythagoreans, see Burkert, Lore and Science in Ancient Pythagoreanism.

  102. significance is hidden … turn around when worshipping: Cf. Plutarch, Camillus 5, Marcellus 6 and Moralia 270d.

  103. Egyptian wheels: See Clemens Alexandrinus, Miscellanies 5.8.45.

  104. He once invited … rich furniture: This is a simplified version of a story told more fully and clearly by Dion. Hal. (2.60.5–7). Its point is that, with the coming of the goddess, sumptuous foods and furnishings were produced miraculously.

  105. Picus … Faunus: Picus was an early Latin king, later transformed into a woodpecker, or a prophet associated with Mars. Faunus was a forest god, eventually identified with Pan. In some accounts Picus is Faunus’ father.

  106. Idaean Dactyls: Magical beings associated with Mt Ida. Among other things, they were viewed by some as the teachers of Orpheus (an important figure in Pythagoreanism and therefore another of Plutarch’s associations of Numa with Pythagoras).

  107. Numa is said … hair and sprats: This story is also told by Ovid (Fasti 3.291–346) and was reported in the now lost history of Valerius Antias (HRR 1.239). The gods’ transformations may be Plutarch’s own contribution to the tale, perhaps inspired by the character of Proteus at Homer, Odyssey 4.414–59.

  108. Ilicium: The altar of Jupiter Elicius – that is, Jupiter who was ‘drawn down’ or ‘lured on’ by Numa – was located on the Aventine Hill. The etymology of Elicius remain unclear, and Plutarch, in describing Jupiter as ‘kindly disposed’ (hileos), hints at yet another possibility.

  109. Faithfulness: (fides) A crucial Roman value, its sense extending from trustworthiness and loyalty to credit-worthiness in a financial sense. Although Numa is routinely put forward as the founder of the first temple to Fides, Cicero (On the Nature of the Gods 2.61) attributes that accomplishment to Aulus Atilius Calatinus, the consul of 258 or 254.

  110. Terminus: An ancient shrine established on the Capitoline. Terminus was the god of boundaries and landmarks. When, later, the Romans began building their temple to Jupiter Best and Greatest on the same spot, Terminus, naturally enough, would not give way, and so his shrine was incorporated into Jupiter’s temple.

  111. remain pure … killing: Plutarch also makes this point at Moralia 267d.

  112. pagi: A pagus was, as Plutarch says, an administrative district in the countryside.

  113. Some he elevated … senses: Dion. Hal. (2.76.1–3) discusses these same matters but adds that Numa’s reforms also helped the Romans to avoid civil strife.

  114. division … trades and crafts: An important feature of Roman society was its organization into associations called collegia: each collegium was at once a professional, regional and re
ligious society, and the activities of collegia were central to the civic and social experiences of ordinary Romans. Both Plutarch and Pliny attribute the origin of collegia to Numa (Pliny, Natural History 34.1 and 35.159). Florus (1.6.3), however, attributes the collegia to Servius Tullius.

  115. I described earlier: See ch. 2.

  116. his reform … living with a slave: See Dion. Hal. 2.27.1–4 for a fuller discussion of this law and its background (which law, however, he does not connect with Numa).

  117. Mercedonius … calendar: Plutarch gives Mercedonius as the intercalary month’s name at Caesar 59 (see also Festus 115), where he discusses Caesar’s calendrical reforms. In any case, this was an informal, not an official, designation. The intercalary month was not inserted at the end of February but at the point where February had five days remaining (consequently, the intercalary month included twenty-seven days). On the development of the Roman calendar, see D. Feeney, Caesar’s Calendar: Ancient Times and the Beginning of History (2007).

  118. He changed the order … put first: Plutarch repeats this at Moralia 289a–d, but in fact January became the first month of the Roman year only in 153.

  119. Arcadians have four: Zonaras (7.5) agrees with Plutarch on the number of months in the Arcadian year, but other sources insist instead on three months (e.g. Pliny, Natural History 7.155; Macrobius, Saturnalia 1.12.2).

  120. the Tenth Month: December is cognate with decem (ten), hence Plutarch’s correct translation as the Tenth Month. On the months and their ancient etymologies, see Varro, On the Latin Language 6.33–4.

  121. fifth month after March: This month was Quintilis, meaning the fifth month (quintus means fifth), later renamed Julius (i.e. July) after Julius Caesar.

  122. sixth month after March: This month was Sextilis, meaning the sixth month (sextus means sixth), later renamed August after the emperor Augustus.

  123. March first … Aphrodite: Romulus was the son of Mars and, by way of Aeneas, was also descended from Venus or Aphrodite. That April (Aprilis) derived from Aphrodite was a common though not universal opinion (see Ovid, Fasti 4.88; Macrobius, Saturnalia 1.12.12).

  124. Romans sacrifice … in April: On the first day of April the Romans celebrated the Veneralia in honour of Venus.

  125. Aphril … April: The pronunciation Aphril, it was believed incorrectly, echoed the month’s association with Aphrodite.

  126. name … opening in Latin: Varro (On the Latin Language 6.33) preferred associating April with aprire (to open), another false etymology.

  127. stages of life … younger men: So Varro, On the Latin Language 6.33.

  128. remaining months … tenth: Apart from those mentioned already, Plutarch refers to September (the seventh month), October (the eighth month) and November (the ninth month).

  129. Domitian … seventh and eighth months: Domitian renamed September Germanicus and October Domitianus, each name referring to himself (Suetonius, Domitian 13.3).

  130. February … resembles a purification: On the derivation of Februarius and on the Lupercalia, see Romulus 21. During February the Romans observed several festivals of the dead: the Parentalia, the Feralia and the Caristia.

  131. Janus: Originally the god of doors and gates (hence his two faces) and therefore of beginnings; he was eventually associated with safety, order and peace.

  132. the Gate of War: This is the temple of Janus Geminus (or Janus Quirinus), located in the Roman Forum near the Curia. Building the temple of Janus is the first act of Numa’s reign in Livy (1.19.2).

  133. victory over Antony: At the battle of Actium in 31 BC. The gates were also closed by Augustus in 25 BC (Suetonius, Life of Augustus 22).

  134. consuls: Titus Manlius Torquatus and Gaius Atilius Bulbus were consuls in 235.

  135. On shield handles … sweet sleep: Plutarch cites lines from a paean by Bacchylides (fr. 4 in Campbell, Greek Lyric, vol. 4).

  136. ‘For blessed is he … from his mouth’: Plutarch is quoting Plato, Laws 4.711e. This chapter of Numa also makes allusion to Plato, Republic 487e and 501e.

  137. According to some: That was, according to Dion. Hal. (2.76.6), the opinion of Gnaeus Gellius, a historian of the second century BC.

  138. from Pinus … kings: The Pinarii were an ancient patrician family. The Marcii Reges (but see note 38 for a different account of their origins) and the Calpurnii were grand plebeian nobility. The Pomponii were not conspicuously distinguished during the republic (despite a consulship in the third century BC) but were very successful under the empire.

  139. to flatter these great families: See note 4 above.

  140. Marcius … the throne: See ch. 5.

  141. Hostilius: Tullus Hostilius, the third king of Rome (ch. 22).

  142. His death … debilitating malady: Numa dies a gentle death at Dion. Hal. 2.76.5. On Piso, see Introduction.

  143. the Janiculum: A prominent ridge on the west bank of the Tiber and an early defensive outpost that was fortified by Ancus Martius (Livy 1.33.6, Dion. Hal. 3.45.1).

  144. Antias: On Valerius Antias, see Introduction to Romulus.

  145. consuls: Publius Cornelius Cethegus and Marcus Baebius Tamphilus were consuls in 181, so closer to 500 years later.

  146. Petilius: Quintus Petilius Spurinus, later consul in 176. This episode is mentioned frequently: see e.g. Livy 40.29.9–14; Valerius Maximus 1.1.12; and Pliny, Natural History 13.84–7.

  147. the Comitium: See Romulus 11.

  148. the last one … exile: Tarquinius Superbus (reigned 534–510), see Publicola 1.

  149. the remaining four: These were Tullus Hostilius (reigned 673–642), who was struck by lightning; Ancus Marcius (reigned 642–617), although it is not elsewhere suggested that he came to a violent end; Tarquinius Priscus (reigned 616–579), who was assassinated by the sons of Ancus Marcius; and Servius Tullius (reigned 578–535), who was assassinated by Tarquinius Superbus.

  Notes to the Comparison of Lycurgus and Numa

  1. divine source: Lycurgus made use of the oracle of Apollo at Delphi (Lycurgus 6), Numa of the Muses (Numa 8).

  2. Numa … a kingdom: Numa 3–6. Lycurgus followed his brother as king, but then discovered that his brother’s widow was pregnant; although she was willing to abort her child for Lycurgus’ sake, Lycurgus ultimately yielded the throne to his nephew (Lycurgus 3).

  3. whose pitch was too high: This same Greek expression can describe actions that are impetuous or violent and so suggests Rome’s warlike condition when Numa became king.

  4. Lycurgus suffered … to succeed: Lycurgus 3 and 11.

  5. helots: Descendants of the peoples conquered by the Spartans, they were somewhere between slave and free; their principal duty was to till the Spartans’ lands.

  6. savage … practice: At Lycurgus 28 Plutarch discusses Spartan brutality towards the helots but exonerates Lycurgus.

  7. age of Saturn: The god Saturn was early on associated with the Greek Cronus and consequently came to be viewed as the divinity who presided over a golden age for mankind; his festival, the Saturnalia, was celebrated on 17 December. The Saturnalia goes unmentioned in Numa’s Life.

  8. citizenry … shoemakers: Numa 17.

  9. considered crafts … impure: A common view on the part of elite Greeks but not one explicitly attributed to Lycurgus in Plutarch’s Life.

  10. servants of Ares: A frequent designation for warriors in Homer (e.g. Iliad 2.110) and in subsequent poetry; Ares was the Greek god of war.

  11. equality gained … constitution: Lycurgus 8. By allocating equal portions of public land to his citizens, Lycurgus made them, in a sense, equals.

  12. land … allocated … city’s land: Numa 16.

  13. Roman husband … marry her once again: This was not a Roman custom. Plutarch has in mind an event he narrates at Younger Cato 25, when Cato divorces his wife so that she can marry and bear children for Hortensius Hortalus, after which they divorce and she remarries Cato. Cato’s behaviour was idiosyncrati
c, however, and its propriety was a recurring topic in debating exercises at Rome (e.g. Quintilian 3.5.11, 10.5.13).

  14. as I have already observed: At Lycurgus 15.

  15. Numa was vigilant … young girls: This goes unmentioned in Numa’s Life.

  16. unsuitable to their sex … commentary from the poets: Lycurgus’ policies are favourably reviewed at Lycurgus 14.

  17. Ibycus … ‘thigh-flaunters’: Ibycus of Rhegium was a sixth-century BC lyric poet. The context of this citation is unknown; see Ibycus, fr. 339, in D. A. Campbell, Greek Lyric, vol. 3 (1991).

  18. Never at home … robes unfastened: Cf. Euripides, Andromache 597–8 (slightly adapted).

  19. And that young girl … Hermione: A quotation from an otherwise unknown tragedy: fr. 872 in H. Lloyd-Jones, Sophocles: Fragments (2003).

  20. abduction: Romulus 19.

  21. forbade … meddling … to keep silent: None of this is mentioned in Numa’s Life.

  22. a woman pleaded her own case in the forum: Instances of women pleading in Roman courts are assembled at Valerius Maximus 8.3.

  23. first man to divorce … after the founding of Rome: There is something amiss in Plutarch’s chronology: 230 years after the founding of Rome, for Plutarch, is 523. Spurius Carvilius, however, was the consul of 234. Dion. Hal. (2.25.7) and Gellius (4.3) more plausibly date this divorce to 231, Valerius Maximus (2.1.4) to 234. Plutarch also mentions this divorce at Comparison Theseus–Romulus 6.

  24. Thalaea … mother-in-law: This is the only reference to this episode. Although Pinarius and Gegania are good patrician names, Thalaea sounds Greek; whatever Plutarch’s source, his information is spurious.

  25. marriageability … natural to them: Spartan marriage is described at Lycurgus 15.

  26. Romans give their daughters … character: Roman women routinely married for the first time in their teenage years, with twelve being the minimum age at which they could legally marry: see Treggiari, Roman Marriage, pp. 39–43.

  27. attention to boys … games: The Spartan regimen for boys and young men is described at Lycurgus 16–24.