by Plutarch
28. left it up to their fathers … how best to raise their sons: Numa 24.
29. Spartans’ oaths … upbringing: The Spartans’ oath and Lycurgus’ cunning exploitation of it are related at Lycurgus 29.
30. After his death … corpses: Numa 20.
31. Numa’s institutions … education of the young: This criticism of Numa, that he did not establish a system of civic education, was a timely one for the Romans, who in Plutarch’s day were becoming open to the matter of publicly supported education: see P. Desideri in P. A. Stadter and L. Van der Stockt (eds.), Sage and Emperor: Plutarch, Greek Intellectuals, and Roman Power in the Time of Trajan (98–117 AD) (2002), pp. 315–27.
32. riches … justice: These are among the fundamental qualities of Plato’s ideal city (Republic 427e).
33. Lacedaemonians … destroyed: At Lycurgus 29–30, Plutarch locates the subversion of Lycurgus’ constitution during the reign of Agis II (c. 427–400). The Spartan hegemony of Greece was undone by the Thebans under Epaminondas at the battle of Leuctra in 371.
PUBLICOLA
Further Reading
There is no English commentary on the Life of Publicola, but there is a good one in Italian: E. Ruschenbush, G. Faranda, B. Scardigli, M. Affortunati and M. Manfredini (eds.), Plutarco, Vite Parallele: Le vite di Solone e Publicola (1994). This Life has not yet received much in the way of literary study, but there is an important chapter by M. Affortunati and B. Scardigli, ‘Aspects of Plutarch’s Life of Publicola’, in P. A. Stadter (ed.), Plutarch and the Historical Tradition (1992), pp. 109–31.
On the fall of Rome’s monarchy and the establishment of the republic, see Forsythe, Early Rome, pp. 147–200; Cornell, Beginnings of Rome, pp. 215–41; and General Introduction V. An illuminating introduction to legendary accretions affecting the story of early Rome is T. P. Wiseman, ‘Roman Republic, Year One’, Greece & Rome 45 (1998), pp. 19–26.
Notes to the Introduction to Publicola
1. See A. Wallace-Hadrill, JRS 72 (1982), pp. 32–48, for a detailed introduction to the importance placed on these imperial qualities. More generally on Roman emperors, see F. Millar, The Emperor in the Roman World (1977).
2. See A. M. Gowing, Empire and Memory: The Representation of the Roman Republic in Imperial Culture (2005), and A. B. Gallia, Remembering the Roman Republic: Culture, Politics and History under the Principate (2012).
3. On the lapis Satricum, see Cornell, Beginnings of Rome, pp. 143–5.
4. HRR, vol. 2, pp. 65–7.
Notes to the Life of Publicola
1. Such a man … was Solon: This constitutes Plutarch’s transition from his Solon to Publicola.
2. received this name … from the Roman people: See ch. 10.
3. Valerius … differences: Volusius Valerius was a Sabine who came to Rome with Titus Tatius and played a part in the peaceful settlement between Tatius and Romulus (Valerius Maximus 2.4.5, Dion. Hal. 4.67, 5.2). He does not, however, appear in Plutarch’s account of this episode at Romulus 19. He was deemed a likely successor to Romulus before Numa was selected as monarch (Numa 17).
4. wealth: Publicola is again described as wealthy at Comparison Solon–Publicola 1, whereas it is his lack of wealth that is emphasized by Livy (2.17.7–8) and Dion. Hal. (5.48.3).
5. Tarquinius Superbus: Tarquin the Proud, see Introduction.
6. Lucretia: The daughter of Spurius Lucretius, and wife of Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus. Raped by Sextus Tarquinius, a son of Tarquinius Superbus, she took her own life.
7. Lucius Brutus: See Introduction.
8. revolution: The traditional leaders of the revolution, in addition to Brutus, were Spurius Lucretius, Collatinus and Publicola (e.g. Livy 1.58.6, 1.59.2; Dion. Hal. 4.67.3–4, 70.1–2 and 71.5).
9. two men be elected: It was decided that two men should be elected as consuls.
10. opposition to the monarchy: The death of his wife, it is here suggested, ensured his hostility to monarchy. In ch. 7, however, Plutarch indicates that Collatinus was distrusted by the public owing to his kinship with the Tarquins.
11. oath: See also Livy (2.1.9), Dion. Hal. (5.1.3) and Appian, Civil Wars (2.119), none of whom mentions Publicola’s role.
12. envoys: Dion. Hal. (5.4–5) records one embassy instead of Plutarch’s two (ch. 3); his Brutus opposes the proposals of the envoys and Publicola plays no role. Similarly, although Livy (2.3.5) records a debate in response to an embassy from Tarquinius, he does not mention Publicola.
13. modest concessions: The particulars of these modest proposals are provided by Dion. Hal. (5.4).
14. who joined in … proposal: In Livy’s account (2.2.7–11), Collatinus abdicates his consulship before this proposal is put before the Romans.
15. first man … Gaius Minucius: According to Dion. Hal. (5.11.2), the first private citizen in Rome to address an assembly was Spurius Lucretius. In ch. 12, a different Minucius is one of the first two men to be elected quaestor.
16. tyrants … riches: At Dion. Hal. 5.5.3–5.6.2 it is Collatinus who recommends the restoration of the Tarquins’ property, and his proposal to the people narrowly passes.
17. city’s betrayal: Accounts of this conspiracy (differing in various particulars) are provided by Livy (2.3–5) and Dion. Hal. (5.6.4–5.13.1).
18. noblest families … Collatinus: Only the Aquillii, who were the sons of Collatinus’ sister, are elsewhere attested as Collatinus’ nephews (Dion. Hal. 5.6.4).
19. Brutus … one of their sisters: Brutus’ wife, Vitellia, is mentioned in Suetonius’ biography of the emperor Vitellius (Vitellius 1.2).
20. Two of Brutus’ sons: Titus Junius and Tiberius Junius.
21. stupidity … surname: The Latin word brutus means stupid. Brutus’ feigned stupidity is recounted by Livy (1.56.7–12) and Dion. Hal. (4.68–9).
22. human sacrifice … blood: This gruesome ritual, appropriated from accounts of the Catilinarian conspiracy (e.g. Sallust, Catilinarian Conspiracy 22; Plutarch, Cicero 10), is not found in Livy or Dionysius.
23. home of the Aquillii: At Livy 2.4.4–6 the conspirators meet in the house of the Vitellii and Vindicius is their slave.
24. a slave … overhear their scheming: By contrast, in both Livy (2.4.5–6) and Dion. Hal. (5.7) Vindicius becomes suspicious and sets out to uncover the plot against Rome.
25. revealed everything to him: At Livy 2.4.6 Vindicius reveals the plot to the two consuls, one of whom, in Livy’s account, is Publicola.
26. Marcus: Marcus Valerius, consul in 505 (chs. 14 and 20). Roman tradition seems to have supplied Publicola with a second brother, not mentioned in this Life: Manius Valerius Maximus, dictator in 494.
27. letters to Tarquinius: Incriminating letters play a dramatic part in all versions of this conspiracy. Their importance reflects the influence of the Catilinarian conspiracy (e.g. Cicero, Against Catiline 3.10; Sallust, Catilinarian Conspiracy 44–5) on later historians of the early republic.
28. Brutus … did not remove his gaze … punishment of his sons: At Livy 2.5.8 Brutus evinces paternal feelings as he witnesses the punishment of his sons.
29. enormity of his outrage: At Brutus 1 Plutarch attributes Brutus’ action to his anger.
30. fitting … judge of his own sons: Brutus could order his sons’ execution on the basis of his paternal authority (patria potestas), which granted fathers the power of life and death over their children.
31. conspirators … unanimously … beheaded: At Dion. Hal. 5.9–12 Collatinus attempts to save the conspirators by exercising his consular authority; Brutus then attempts to have Collatinus removed from office; finally Collatinus is persuaded to resign and retire honourably from Rome. After Publicola is elected consul to replace him, the conspirators are executed (Dion. Hal. 5.13.1).
32. kinship with the royal family: We are not told exactly how Tarquinius Collatinus was related to the royal family.
33. curia: On the curiae, see Romulus 14.
34. Roman free
dmen … Appius: Appius Claudius Caecus, during his censorship in 312, enhanced the electoral influence of freedmen by distributing them among all the Roman tribes (whereas they had previously been confined to the four urban tribes), a reform that was later reversed.
35. manumission … Vindicius: The figure of Vindicius was invented in order to explain the manumission procedure known as vindicta, which the Romans believed was their original means of granting freedom and citizenship simultaneously; see S. Treggiari, Roman Freedmen during the Late Republic (1969), pp. 20–25.
36. Campus Martius: The Field of Mars, the area of Rome where today one finds (among other features) the Pantheon and the Piazza Navona.
37. Between the Two Bridges: In the first century BC this island, the Insula Tiberina, was connected to Rome by two bridges, the Pons Fabricius (the Fabrician Bridge) and the Pons Cestius (the Cestian Bridge), and hence was designated Inter Duos Pontes (Between the Two Bridges). The island was home to a temple of Aesculapius and several other divinities. Similar versions of this story are told by Livy (2.5.3–4) and Dion. Hal. (5.13.3–4).
38. Some writers … field: See also Pliny, Natural History 34.25, and Gellius 7.7, where the Vestal is called Taracia. It has been suggested that this passage be emended to read Taracia instead of Tarquinia (see R. Flacelière and E. Chambry, Plutarque, Vies, vol. 2 (1968), pp. 66 and 214–15).
39. Tarquinius … turned to the Etruscans: Tarquinius was assisted by the Etruscan cities of Veii and Tarquinii (Livy 2.6–7.4, Dion. Hal. 5.14–16).
40. Horatian wood: The uncertain reading of the manuscripts is easily emended to Horatian by way of comparison with Dion. Hal. 5.14.1. Livy, however, calls it the Arsian wood (2.7.2: silva Arsia), as does Valerius Maximus 1.8.5. By either name, the locality is unknown.
41. Naevian meadow: Otherwise unknown, but there was a Naevian wood on the Aventine outside the Naevian Gate.
42. Aruns … Brutus … fell upon one another: At Dion. Hal. 5.15.1–3 they fight a duel before the battle commences.
43. voice of a god: At Livy 2.7.2 the god is Silvanus; Dion. Hal. (5.16.1) is uncertain whether it is the hero Horatius or the god Faunus.
44. Calends of March: The Calends of any month is its first day, so this battle took place on 28 February.
45. triumph … chariot: On the triumph generally and Publicola’s triumph specifically, see Beard, Roman Triumph, pp. 258–9; on the early use of chariots in triumphs, see Romulus 16.
46. Rome’s great men … oration: Aristocratic funerals at Rome were admired and are described for us by Polybius (6.53–4). An excellent discussion of funerals and funeral orations is provided by H. Flower, Ancestor Masks and Aristocratic Power in Roman Culture (1996), pp. 91–158.
47. Some believe … Greek practice: This is the view of Dion. Hal. (5.17.3–6).
48. as … Anaximenes reports: Plutarch does not, however, mention this in the parallel Life. Anaximenes of Lampsacus (c. 380–320), whom Plutarch also mentions at Demosthenes 28 and Cicero 51, was a historian and rhetorician. A Study of Rhetoric dedicated to Alexander, the earliest surviving Greek rhetorical manual, is often attributed to him. Anaximenes’ assertion about Solon does not come from the Rhetoric.
49. the Velia: The north side of the Palatine, overlooking the forum.
50. he did not … grow angry: By contrast, at Livy 2.7.8–11 Publicola delivers a speech in which he registers his irritation with the public’s unjust suspicions, after which he demolishes his house.
51. razed it to the ground: Plutarch relates this episode by way of the language of tragedy: Publicola’s lifestyle is too theatrical (tragikoteron) and his incorrect behaviour is indicated with the word hamartanein, related to the critical term hamartia, the often fatal error of the tragic hero. Here, however, the untragic result is the unfortunate destruction of a grand house, not a grand figure. On Plutarch’s use of theatricality and of tragic diction, see the excellent treatment by J. M. Mossman in Scardigli, Essays, pp. 209–28.
52. temple of Vica Pota: The precise location of this temple is uncertain, but it was somewhere at the base of the Velia. The goddess Vica Pota was identified as a goddess of victory.
53. whenever he came … fasces: This custom (lowering the fasces) is not otherwise attested. At Livy 2.7.7 it occurs only once. Fasces were bundles of rods with an axe which were carried by attendants called lictors and which symbolized the authority and power of the higher magistrates (i.e. consuls, praetors, dictators).
54. Publicola … biography: Publicola is the most common form of this Valerian surname, variants of which include Publicula and Poplicola (this last being the form actually used by Plutarch in this Life). The Romans believed it derived from populi colendi, which means favouring the people.
55. replenish the senate’s membership: At Livy 2.1.10 it is Brutus who adds new members to the senate; at Dion. Hal. 5.12.2 Brutus and Publicola carry this out jointly.
56. the right to appeal … the people: The antiquity of a citizen’s right to make an appeal to the people (known as provocatio) remains controversial: historians of early Rome may have modelled Publicola’s measure on a law to the same purpose carried by Marcus Valerius Maximus Corvus in 300.
57. abolished the taxes: In ch. 12, however, new taxes are introduced by Publicola, along with the office of quaestor.
58. punished disobedience … two sheep: This law is mentioned only here.
59. obols: The obol was an Athenian coin of little value; there were six obols to the drachma. Plutarch normally equates the Roman denarius with the Attic drachma (see General Introduction VI), so the total fine here is nearly 87 denarii – still rather steep for an ordinary Roman of any period.
60. peculia … pig: Peculium refers to property that actually belongs to a head of household but whose use is entrusted to children or slaves. It is derived from pecus (herd), as is the Latin word for money (pecunia). Plutarch makes this same point at Moralia 274f–275a, where he names Fenestella, a first-century BC historian and antiquarian, as his source.
61. Suillus … porci: Plutarch apparently expected his Greek readers to recognize the similarity between Suillus (pork) and Greek suidion (piglet) and between Bubulcus (ploughman or herdsman) and Greek boubotes (herdsman). Suillus does not appear to be a very common name, but Suillius was the name of a distinguished imperial family and the Suillates were an Umbrian people (Pliny, Natural History 3.14.9).
62. Publicola … popular rights: In other authors, Publicola receives his name in gratitude for his legislation: e.g. Cicero, The Republic 2.31; Livy 2.8; and Dion. Hal. 5.19.5.
63. temple … treasury: See also Moralia 275a, where Publicola chooses this temple because it is conspicuous and defensible. The temple of Saturn was located in the forum at the base of the Capitoline.
64. quaestors: Ancient testimony regarding the origins of the quaestorship and the date at which it became an elective office is inconsistent. Tacitus (Annals 11.22) states that the first quaestorian elections took place in 447, but elsewhere elections are reported during the reign of Romulus: see Lintott, Constitution, pp. 133–7. Only Plutarch links Publicola to this institution.
65. Publius Veturius … Marcus Minucius: Later, the first was consul in 499, the second in 497 and 491.
66. not including … orphans: Camillus later removes the exemption from taxation enjoyed by orphans (Camillus 2).
67. Lucretius: Spurius Lucretius was one of the leaders of the revolution against Tarquinius Superbus; see also note 8.
68. Marcus Horatius … consul: Marcus Horatius Pulvillus was again consul in 507 (ch. 14). Polybius (3.22.1) believed that he had been a consular colleague of Brutus.
69. temple of Capitoline Jupiter: This is the temple to Jupiter Best and Greatest, located on the Capitoline Hill and central to Roman civic religion.
70. Veii: Modern Isola Farnese. The Romans’ conquest of Veii is a major episode in Plutarch’s Camillus (chs. 2–6).
71. Ratumena: The location of this gate is uncertain. This sto
ry is also mentioned by Pliny, Natural History 8.161, and Festus 340–42.
72. Tarquinius: Tarquinius Priscus, son of the Corinthian Demaratus, was the fifth king of Rome.
73. son or grandson: Tarquinius Superbus was originally considered Priscus’ son, but improved arithmetic on the part of the annalists led to the conclusion that he must be a grandson: see Livy 1.46.4, Dion. Hal. 4.7 (attributing this revision to the influential Annals of Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi, the consul of 133).
74. drew lots … dedication: At Livy 2.8.6–8 the consuls draw lots and Publicola is allotted a war against Veii. At Dion. Hal. 5.35.3 he is away fighting marauding bandits. Dion. Hal., like Polybius (3.22.1) and Tacitus (Histories 3.73), dates this dedication to 507, when Publicola and Horatius were once again consuls.
75. the Ides of September: This is 13 September.
76. Metageitnion: This Athenian month began in August and ended in September.
77. announcement … untrue … consecration: Livy (2.8.6–8) records a similar attempt to subvert Horatius’ dedication. Ordinarily a death in the family rendered its members ritually unable to perform certain religious acts (see e.g. Varro, On the Latin Language 5.23; Cicero, On the Laws 2.55; Gellius 4.6.8), but in this instance Horatius was clearly correct to proceed with his dedication.
78. temple was destroyed during the civil wars: This occurred in 83 BC, during the civil war fought when Sulla returned from fighting the Mithridatic War.
79. second temple … Catulus: This temple was dedicated in 69 BC by Quintus Lutatius Catulus, consul in 78 BC.
80. also destroyed … reign of Vitellius: During the year AD 69, after Nero’s suicide in the previous year, civil war brought four emperors to power in succession: Galba, Otho, Vitellius and Vespasian. The temple was destroyed by Vitellius’ soldiers during their struggle with forces loyal to Vespasian.
81. he was luckier … than Sulla: Good fortune was a hallmark of Sulla’s public image (he was known as The Fortunate (Felix); see e.g. Plutarch, Sulla 8, 34 and 38) and was also a quality emphasized in Vespasian’s imperial propaganda.