The Rise of Rome (Penguin Classics)

by Plutarch

  82. Vespasian’s death … consumed by fire: Vespasian died in AD 79; his temple was burnt down in the great fire of AD 80. His son, Titus, began rebuilding but died in AD 81.

  83. dedicated by Domitian: The date of this dedication is uncertain but was probably AD 82.

  84. Tarquinius … his temple: This was the assertion of Lucius Calpurnius Piso (note 73), which is reported by Livy (1.55.8–9) and rejected in favour of Fabius Pictor’s figure of 40 talents. In measuring silver or gold, a single talent was reckoned as equivalent to 80 Roman pounds (Polybius 21.43, Livy 38.38.13). Piso’s (and Plutarch’s) figure of 40,000 pounds, then, is equivalent to 500 talents. On Greek and Roman money, see General Introduction VI.

  85. Pentelic marble: Mt Pentelicon in Athens was famous for its fine marble.

  86. Epicharmus: A Sicilian writer of comedies during the first quarter of the fifth century BC. Plutarch here quotes lines from a now lost work (G. Kaibel, Comicorum Graecorum Fragmenta (1899) fr. 274), lines he also cites at Moralia 510c.

  87. Midas: A legendary Phrygian king who asked for and received, to his regret, a magical golden touch; see especially Ovid, Metamorphoses 11.90–193.

  88. great battle … with Brutus: See ch. 9.

  89. Clusium: Modern Chiusi.

  90. Porsenna … honour: Although Porsenna is usually represented as he is here, a valiant king who comes to admire Roman heroism, in an alternative tradition he defeats Rome and imposes a humiliating treaty on them (Tacitus, Histories 3.72; Pliny, Natural History 34.139). This alternative tradition perhaps preserves the memory of a historical event.

  91. elected consul … colleague: This is 508. Titus Lucretius is again consul in 504.

  92. Signuria: The same city is mentioned at Dion. Hal. 5.20 but is otherwise unknown. It is perhaps a garbled reference to Segnia (modern Segni).

  93. fortified the place … war with Porsenna: According to Dion. Hal. (5.20), the Romans garrisoned this city in 508, but the war with Porsenna did not occur until the next year (5.21.1). Livy (2.8.9–2.15.7), like Plutarch, sets the war in 508.

  94. the Janiculum: See Numa, note 143.

  95. Publicola came to their aid: At Livy 2.10.3 it is Horatius Cocles and not Publicola who rallies the men fleeing the Janiculum.

  96. wooden bridge over the Tiber: This is the Sublician Bridge (Pons Sublicius), Rome’s oldest bridge. It is described by Plutarch at Numa 9.

  97. Horatius Cocles: The earliest extant account of the legendary defender of the Sublician Bridge is provided by Polybius 6.55.1–4, but that story, with variations, was often repeated; see Livy 2.10 and Dion. Hal. 5.23.2–5.25.4.

  98. Herminius … Larcius: Titus Herminius Aquilinus and Spurius Larcius were (after this adventure) the consuls of 506.

  99. Cocles … lost an eye in combat: Cocles means one-eyed (Varro, On the Latin Language 7.71).

  100. his nose was sunken … Cyclops: Plutarch is our only source for the suggestion that Cocles was deformed in this way or that his name was derived from the Greek word cyclops.

  101. wounded … by an Etruscan spear: According to Livy (2.10.11), Cocles was not wounded.

  102. food … they consume in a day: Cf. the similar reward granted to Manlius Capitolinus at Plutarch, Camillus 27.

  103. temple of Vulcan … his wound: The Vulcanal was located on the lower slopes of the Capitoline Hill overlooking the Roman Forum. Cocles’ lameness helped to explain how a figure so valiant failed to reach the consulship (Dion. Hal. 5.25.3).

  104. another Etruscan army … Porsenna’s: Not an independent army according to Dion. Hal. (5.26.1) but a contingent commanded by Tarquinius’ sons.

  105. Publicola … consul for the third time: In 507 Publicola and Horatius were again consuls.

  106. being routed and losing 5,000 men: A fuller account is provided at Livy 2.11.5–10.

  107. exploit of Mucius … various authors: The story of Gaius Mucius Scaevola was as familiar to Roman readers as that of Cocles: see e.g. Livy 2.12–2.13.5 and Dion. Hal. 5.27–5.30.1.

  108. Porsenna believed … the courage of the Romans: In Livy’s version (2.13.2), by contrast, Porsenna is motivated principally by a concern for his own safety.

  109. Athenodorus: A Stoic philosopher who was a friend of Cicero and later a protégé of the imperial family. Nothing further is known of his composition addressed to Octavia.

  110. Cordus: Plutarch here writes Opsigonos, literally born-afterwards, and some translators prefer to render the name as Postumus, the Latin equivalent and a common cognomen (Coriolanus 11). But at Dion. Hal. 5.25.4 Dionysius gives Scaevola’s original name as Gaius Mucius Cordus. The Latin word cordus means late-born, and Cordus is doubtless the name Plutarch (and Athenodorus) had in mind.

  111. turned against Tarquinius: At Livy 2.13.2 Porsenna abandons Tarquinius’ cause because he is impressed by the Romans’ resolve; Publicola plays no specific part in his decision. Porsenna agrees to judge between Rome and Tarquinius at Dion. Hal. 5.32.4, but Publicola has no role.

  112. Cloelia … courageousness: Cloelia’s escape is another oft-told legend of the war with Porsenna and has many variations, e.g. Livy 2.13.6–11 and Dion. Hal. 5.32.3–5.35.2 (in neither of these accounts does Valeria play a role). Plutarch tells this same story at Moralia 250a–f.

  113. the Sacred Way: (Via Sacra) The oldest of Rome’s streets. It led from the vicinity of the temple of Jupiter the Stayer (Romulus 18) in the forum to the Capitoline. Cloelia’s statue stood opposite Jupiter’s temple (Pliny, Natural History 34.29).

  114. some insist … Valeria: So Pliny (Natural History 34.29), attributing this claim to an otherwise unknown Annius Fetialis.

  115. sale of public goods … generosity: The custom of proclaiming bona Porsennae (the goods of Porsenna) at the beginning of an auction perplexed the Romans, not least because it was a formality that ought to recall hostilities rather than friendship, as Livy observed. This aetiology was the means by which the Romans rendered it an expression of gratitude (Livy 2.14). Cf. the cry of ‘Sardians for sale!’ at Romulus 25.

  116. bronze statue: Only Plutarch mentions this statue.

  117. Marcus Valerius … Postumius Tubero: Consuls in 505.

  118. Publicola’s … cooperation: Publicola’s role is mentioned only here.

  119. an inference … emerges: Plutarch has in mind passages like Menander, The Litigants 554–5. Houses with doors opening outwards are mentioned as a distinct category at Pseudo-Aristotle, Economics 1347a1.

  120. following year … fourth consulship: In 504 Publicola was again consul with Titus Lucretius (they had previously been consuls in 508).

  121. Sibylline Books: The prophetic Sibyl of Cumae provided Tarquinius Priscus with secret books – a collection of oracles in Greek which were consulted by the Romans in times of crisis (Lactantius, The Divine Institutes 1.6). They were brought to Rome in the regal period. On instructions from the senate they were consulted during times of crisis by a special college of priests (most of whom were themselves senators).

  122. Dis: Plutarch writes Hades, the Greek god of the underworld, but Valerius Maximus (2.4.5), in mentioning this same story, reports that Publicola sacrificed to Dis, also a god associated with the underworld (see also Zonaras 2.3.5) and doubtless the divinity Plutarch has in mind here.

  123. He also celebrated games … Delphic oracle: This element is unique to Plutarch’s account and is perhaps his own embellishment.

  124. two square plethra: This is nearly half an acre (on plethra see General Introduction VI), the same amount of land that Romulus allocated to Rome’s original settlers (Varro, On Agriculture 1.10.2).

  125. River Anio: The modern Aniene.

  126. 25 square plethra: Not quite 6 acres.

  127. Clausus … great influence: Clausus was one of the consuls of 495.

  128. ancestor of the Claudian family … Rome: In a competing tradition, Appius Claudius came to Rome during the time of the monarchy (Suetonius, Tiberius 1; Appian, Kings 12). During this ea
rly period in Italy, aristocrats could easily remove themselves from one city to another, what Tim Cornell has described as ‘horizontal social mobility’: see T. J. Cornell in D. Braund and C. Gill (eds.), Myth, History and Culture in Republican Rome: Studies in Honour of T. P. Wiseman (2003), p. 87.

  129. Fidenae: Modern Castel Giubileo.

  130. son-in-law: Mentioned only here.

  131. the Sabines set out … taken prisoner: Dion. Hal. (5.41–3) also recounts this battle.

  132. consuls … to succeed him: The consuls of 503 were Agrippa Menenius Lanatus and Publius Postumius Tubertus.

  133. buried at public expense: In both Livy (2.16.7–8) and Dion. Hal. (4.48.3–4), it was owing to Publicola’s poverty as well as his eminence that he was buried at public expense.

  134. quadrans: A bronze coin of very low value, equivalent to a quarter of an as (see General Introduction VI).

  135. an enviable honour: The same honour was paid to Brutus after his death (Livy 2.16.7).

  136. his descendants … in that place: Burial within the city was forbidden except to descendants of Publicola and Gaius Fabricius Luscinus, consul in 282 and 278 (Cicero, On the Laws 2.58; Plutarch, Moralia 282f–283a). Cf. the burial of Aratus (Aratus 53).

  Notes to the Comparison of Solon and Publicola

  1. happiness … Tellus: Herodotus (1.30–33) tells the story of Solon’s visit to the sumptuous court of Croesus, king of Lydia. When Croesus asked Solon whom he deemed the happiest of men, Solon did not name Croesus (as the king expected) but instead the obscure Tellus. Plutarch records his version of this episode at Solon 27.

  2. most illustrious of our families … Valerii: The Publicolae and Messalae were two branches of the patrician Valerii; bearers of these names were still holding senatorial offices in Plutarch’s day.

  3. Mimnermus: Mimnermus of Smyrna, an elegiac poet of the seventh century BC, whose poetry survives only as fragments. In one, he hopes to die at sixty, unaffected by sickness or worry, whereas Solon preferred eighty; see Mimnermus, fr. 6, and Solon, fr. 20, in D. Gerber, Greek Elegiac Poetry (1999).

  4. Leave me not … to my friends: Solon, fr. 21, in Gerber, Greek Elegiac Poetry.

  5. women of Rome … father: Publicola 23.

  6. I want to have wealth … not desire: Solon, fr. 13, lines 7–8, in Gerber, Greek Elegiac Poetry; Plutarch cites a fuller portion of this fragment and discusses it at Solon 2.

  7. wealth … to the poor: Publicola 1 and 4. According to other accounts, however, Publicola was born poor (Livy 2.16.7, Dion. Hal. 5.48).

  8. he subtracted … acceptable … in Rome: Publicola 10.

  9. right to elect … juries: Publicola 11, Solon 18.

  10. senate … doubled the membership: Publicola 11, Solon 19.

  11. consuls … public finances: Publicola 12; Solon’s legislation is discussed in Pseudo-Aristotle, The Athenian Constitution 7.3 and 8.1 – but not in Plutarch’s Life.

  12. Solon’s law … trial: Solon’s law is discussed in The Athenian Constitution 8.4 (not in Plutarch’s Life); on Publicola’s law, see Publicola 12.

  13. Solon … praises himself: Solon 14 (citing Solon’s own verses on the matter).

  14. no less noble … powers that he … possessed: This refers to Publicola’s brief tenure as sole consul (Publicola 10–12).

  15. They will be … oppressed: Solon, fr. 6, in Gerber, Greek Elegiac Poetry.

  16. remission of debts … fellow-citizens: Solon 15. Publicola instead introduced a tax reform in order to bring relief to the poor (Publicola 11).

  17. constitution … civil wars: Solon saw his constitution subverted when Peisistratus seized power around 546 (Solon 30). The Romans’ republican constitution, for all practical purposes, fell apart during the civil wars that began in 49 BC and came to an end with the supremacy of the first emperor, Augustus, in 31 BC.

  18. After he had enacted his laws … from Athens: Solon 25; according to Plutarch, Solon left Athens in order to escape any odium excited by his legislation and to avoid the obligation of explaining its details.

  19. Solon knew in advance … tyranny they imposed: Plutarch’s account at Solon 30–31 puts Solon’s response to Peisistratus in a much better light than here.

  20. Daimachus of Plataea: A historian who lived in the first half of the fourth century BC (FGrH 65).

  21. I described earlier: At Solon 8–9, where Solon plays the central role.

  22. Publicola … as a warrior … battles: See especially Publicola 22–3.

  23. pretended to be mad … recovering Salamis: Solon had to find a ruse in order to circumvent an Athenian law against raising the issue of recovering Salamis (Solon 8).

  24. won over Porsenna … friend of Rome: Publicola 16–19.

  25. surrendered territories … already conquered: Publicola 18.

  26. renounced some foreign territory … besieged them: Publicola 19.

  CORIOLANUS

  Further Reading

  There is no commentary in English on the Life of Coriolanus. In Italian there is F. Albini and C. B. R. Pelling, Vita di Coriolano–Vita de Alcibiade (1996), and in German B. Ahlrichs, Prüfsten der Gemüter (2005), offers so close a reading of the Life that it constitutes a commentary in its own right. Plutarch’s methods and literary invention in composing Coriolanus are set out by D. A. Russell, ‘Plutarch’s Life of Coriolanus’, in Scardigli, Essays, pp. 357–72. Duff, Plutarch’s Lives, pp. 205–40, is an elegant unpacking of the complexities of this pairing, raising issues some of which are further explored by S. Verdegem in ‘Parallels and contrasts: Plutarch’s Comparison of Coriolanus and Alcibiades’ in Humble, Plutarch’s Lives, pp. 23–44. Strong passions and their political perils, in practice and in theory, are examined in essays by P. W. Ludwig and R. A. Kaster in R. K. Balot (eds.), A Companion to Greek and Roman Political Thought (2009). Shakespeare’s adaptation of the Life of Coriolanus is discussed in the introduction to L. Bliss’s edition of the play (2000). For a detailed study of the Coriolanus story as it passes from Dion. Hal. to Plutarch to Shakespeare, see Pelling, P&H, pp. 387–411.

  Notes to the Introduction to Coriolanus

  1. See Cicero, Letters to Atticus 9.10.3, Brutus 41–3, On Friendship 42.

  2. Russell in Scardigli, Essays, pp. 357–72, examines in detail the implications of Plutarch’s adaptations of Dion. Hal.

  3. See Cornell, Beginnings of Rome, pp. 242–92, 327–44; K. A. Raaflaub, Social Struggles in Archaic Rome: New Perspectives on the Conflict of the Orders (2nd edn, 2005); and Forsythe, Early Rome, pp. 147–267.

  4. See General Introduction V.

  5. Volumnia and Vergilia are also plebeian names. Veturia, however, is a patrician name.

  6. The relative dates of Plutarch’s pairings are discussed by Jones, ‘Chronology’, pp. 106–14.

  7. Alcibiades (451–404) was a flamboyant aristocrat who became a leading politician and general in Athens. During the Peloponnesian War he was exiled and joined the Spartans, whom he later deserted for the Persians, before returning to Athens as a dominant political and military figure. Exiled again, he remained involved in international politics until he was assassinated.

  8. See the discussion by D. Gribble, Alcibiades and Athens: A Study in Literary Presentation (1999), p. 220.

  9. See Duff, Plutarch’s Lives, pp. 222–40.

  10. The Roman Life precedes its Greek counterpart only in three pairings (Aemilius Paullus–Timoleon, Sertorius–Eumenes and Coriolanus–Alcibiades). That this represents Plutarch’s design seems more probable than the conclusion that it results from editorial blundering, and the likeliest explanation in each case is that Plutarch preferred to put before his reader first the simpler then the more complex of the two Lives (Pelling, P&H, pp. 357–9).

  11. What is missing here, in Plutarch’s view, are the values of a sound Greek liberal education (paideiea), which he regards as essential to any healthy moral compass (General Introduction III). This is a routine concern in Plutarch’s Roman Lives: see Pell
ing, ‘Roman heroes’, and Swain, ‘Culture’. Another great nature in Plutarchan biography belongs to the king Demetrius, who is paired with Antony (Demetrius 1).

  12. Contentiousness and a passion for honour – philoneikia and philonikia – are basic parts of Coriolanus’ moral make-up (ch. 15). Their dangerous nexus is explored more fully and explicitly in Plutarch’s Philopoemen.

  13. Coriolanus’ behaviour contrasts sharply with that of the exiled Camillus (Camillus 23).

  14. A concise review of philosophical views on anger, including Plutarch’s, can be found in W. V. Harris, Restraining Rage: The Ideology of Anger Control in Classical Antiquity (2001), pp. 88–128.

  15. See the important discussion by T. Whitmarsh in S. Goldhill (ed.), Being Greek Under Rome (2001), pp. 269–305.

  16. See Pelling, P&H, pp. 365–86.

  17. See T. North and J. Mossman, Plutarch: Selected Lives (1998); H. Heuer, Shakespeare Survey 10 (1957), pp. 50–58, discusses the traces of Thomas North and Jacques Amyot in Coriolanus specifically.

  18. See Bliss, Coriolanus, pp. 17–27.

  19. See G. Miles, Shakespeare and the Constant Romans (1996), pp. 149–68.

  20. The topic is vast. Fundamental is J. Adelman, Suffocating Mothers: Fantasies of Maternal Origin in Shakespeare’s Plays, Hamlet to The Tempest (1992), pp. 130–65. See the concise and valuable overview in Bliss, Coriolanus, pp. 47–61.

  21. On this aspect of Shakespeare’s reading of Plutarch, see C. Pelling in S. Goldhill and E. Hall (eds.), Sophocles and the Greek Tragic Tradition (2009), pp. 264–88.

  Notes to the Life of Coriolanus

  1. patrician house of the Marcii: There is no ambiguity here: Plutarch specifically uses the loan word patrikios to indicate – erroneously – the patrician status of the Marcii (see Introduction). On the difficulties in understanding the nature of the patriciate in early Rome, see Cornell, Beginnings of Rome, pp. 242–56.