The Rise of Rome (Penguin Classics)

by Plutarch

2. Ancus Marcius: The fourth king of Rome whose traditional dates are 642–617; his mother was Pompilia, the daughter of Numa (Numa 21).

  3. Tullus Hostilius: Rome’s third king, whose traditional dates are 673–642.

  4. best … supply of water: The Marcian Aqueduct, although attributed in antiquity to Ancus Marcius, was constructed in 144–140 by Quintus Marcius Rex (praetor in 144). Publius Marcius is mentioned only here (unless he is the Publius Marcius Rex, mentioned at Livy 43.1.2, who served as envoy in 171). Inasmuch as aqueducts were ordinarily dedicated by two men (duoviri aquae perducendae) and large building projects were family affairs, it is highly likely that Publius was Quintus’ colleague in this office in 140.

  5. Censorinus: Gaius Marcius Rutilius (consul in 310) was elected censor in 294 and 265, an unequalled feat for which he (and his descendants) acquired the surname Censorinus.

  6. Gaius Marcius: He is Gnaeus Marcius at Livy 2.33.3.

  7. lost his father … never remarried: It was not uncommon for Romans to lose their father when they were relatively young; see R. P. Saller, Patriarchy, Property and Death in the Roman Family (1994), pp. 120–21. The decision of a mother not to remarry, no longer permitted in imperial Rome, was deemed laudable during the republic: see S. Treggiari, Roman Marriage (1991), pp. 232–7.

  8. manly valour: The Latin word is virtus (vir means man or even hero in Latin). As the Romans became increasingly familiar with Greek moral philosophy, they tended to employ virtus where Greek would use arete, itself a philosophical term for virtue that could also refer to valour.

  9. education and study … one of them: The importance of education in the perfection of character is a recurring theme in Plutarch (General Introduction III).

  10. He believed that mere weapons … ready for use: This view is shared by Fabius Maximus at Fabius Maximus 1.

  11. wrestling: Although skill in wrestling was admirable among the Greeks, it never enjoyed the same status among Romans, and Plutarch has invented this anecdote in order to emphasize Coriolanus’ natural excellence and contrast him with Socrates and Alcibiades (Alcibiades 6). Nevertheless, Romans were, from their earliest history, at least familiar with wrestling (see H. A. Harris, Sport in Greece and Rome (1972), pp. 44–74), so the detail is not entirely anachronistic. Wrestling recurs in the early development of Romulus (Romulus 6) and of Philopoemen (Philopoemen 3, although the Greek, himself a talented wrestler, rejects the sport because it is detrimental to good soldiering).

  12. Tarquinius Superbus: Lucius Tarquinius Superbus (Tarquin the Proud), traditionally the last king of Rome (534–510).

  13. stake everything upon a final throw: This image recurs at Fabius Maximus 14 and (famously) at Caesar 32 and Pompey 60. It is routinely regarded as an allusion to a line from Menander, from his Symbol-bearer or Flute Girl (fr. 59K = Athenaeus 559d), but the expression was a commonplace: see A. W. Gomme and F. H. Sandbach, Menander: A Commentary (1973), pp. 690–91.

  14. the battle which followed: Plutarch’s description suggests the (perhaps legendary) battle of Lake Regillus, fought in 499 or 496. This conclusion, however, is made problematic by Plutarch’s internal chronology. At ch. 15, in reporting Coriolanus’ canvass, he states that Coriolanus had earned scars during his seventeen years of military service. But, according to Dion. Hal. (7.64) and Livy (2.35), Coriolanus was exiled in 491 (after his failure to win the consulship). Seventeen years of military service prior to this date would put Coriolanus’ first campaign near the time of the expulsion of the Tarquins, rather earlier than the battle of Lake Regillus. These confusions ultimately stem from the unhistorical nature of the Romans’ traditions about the earliest years of their city.

  15. the dictator: Aulus Postumius Albus, consul in 496.

  16. civic crown: Plutarch also discusses the civic crown (corona civica) at Moralia 286a, though here he has additional explanations for the choice of oak as a prize.

  17. Evander: An Arcadian hero mentioned as early as Hesiod (fr. 168 M-W = Servius Auctus, Aeneid 8.130). By the third century BC Roman historians had credited Evander and his Arcadian followers with settling on the Palatine Hill (e.g. Dion. Hal. 1.79.8, citing Fabius Pictor, Cincius Alimentus and the Elder Cato). Numerous Roman institutions were traced to him.

  18. oracle of Apollo: At Delphi; reported by Herodotus (1.66), and see also Moralia 406e.

  19. fruit … honey found inside them: Gellius (5.6.12) also credits the selection of oak for the civic crown to its ancient use as a source of food. The belief that acorns could produce honey was widespread: e.g. Hesiod, Works and Days 233; Virgil, Eclogues 4.30; and Pliny, Natural History 11.2.

  20. Legend has it … where their temple now stands: This story about Castor and Pollux is also told by Cicero (On the Nature of the Gods 6.13.4) and Dion. Hal. (6.13.4), and again by Plutarch (Aemilius Paullus 25). Their temple, dedicated in 484, stood in the Roman Forum next to the Spring of Juturna.

  21. festival dedicated to the Dioscuri: Castor and Pollux are the Dioscuri (‘sons of Zeus’). The censors of 304 instituted a cavalry parade on this day, which, although it later lapsed, was revived by Augustus.

  22. They do not think of themselves … actions excel it: Plutarch expresses the same sentiment at Agis 2.

  23. Marius’ motive … please his mother: The psychological importance of Coriolanus’ devotion to his mother is Plutarch’s own invention (there is nothing like it in Dion. Hal. or Livy). In this Life it provides crucial background for their climactic encounter at chs. 35–6. It is held against Coriolanus, at Comparison Coriolanus–Alcibiades 4–5, that he spares Rome for the sake of his mother and not owing to genuine patriotism. Elsewhere in his Lives Plutarch observes strong attachments between his subjects and their mothers, e.g. Tiberius Gracchus 1, Caesar 7 and Sertorius 2.

  24. Epaminondas: On Epaminondas see General Introduction II. Plutarch frequently cites this saying of his (Moralia 193a, 786d, 1098a). Coriolanus is unfavourably contrasted with Epaminondas at Comparison Coriolanus–Alcibiades 4.

  25. Volumnia: In both Livy and Dion. Hal. Coriolanus’ mother is named Veturia.

  26. consul Marcus Valerius: A slip (shared with Cicero, Brutus 54) for Manius Valerius Maximus, dictator in 494.

  27. marched out of the city: This event is known as the First Secession of the Plebs, an early phase of the Conflict of the Orders. In Plutarch’s treatment here, the complaints of the plebeians as they withdraw from Rome are not wholly dissimilar from Coriolanus’ at ch. 23, the major difference being that the plebeians intend no violence against their city.

  28. Sacred Mount … Anio: The Sacred Mount lay beyond the River Anio (Aniene), approximately 3 miles (nearly 5 km) outside Rome. In other versions, the plebeians withdraw to the Aventine.

  29. Menenius Agrippa: Agrippa Menenius Lanetus (consul in 503). Cicero (Brutus 54) and Dion. Hal. (6.71) make Manius Valerius the chief spokesman.

  30. well-known fable: Variations on this parable include Xenophon, Memorablia 2.3.18; Polyaenus, Stratagems 3.9.22; Cicero, On Duties 3.22; and I Corinthians 12:2–27.

  31. tribunes of the people: Dion. Hal. 6.89 also claims that there were originally five tribunes, but a different tradition – represented by Cicero and others, and known to Livy (2.33.3; Asconius 76–77C) – insists that at first there were only two tribunes. Diodorus (11.68.8–9) dates the institution of the tribunate to 471, and says that originally there were four tribunes.

  32. Brutus … Vellutus: Lucius Junius Brutus and Lucius Sicinius Vellutus. Plutarch here follows the order given by Dion. Hal. 6.89. Cicero and his sources (Asconius 76–77C), however, name Lucius Albinius Paterculus and Sicinius, while Livy (2.33.2) names Albinus (= Albinius) and Gaius Licinius (who, in Dion. Hal., is Publius Licinius) as the first two to become tribunes.

  33. consuls: Inasmuch as the narrative turns instantly to war with the Volscians, these must be the consuls of 493: Postumius Cominius Auruncus and Spurius Cassius Vecellinus.

  34. Volscian people: The Volscians’ presence extended f
rom the central Apennines to the western coast of Italy, reaching from Antium to Terracina. Wars between Romans and Volscians lasted throughout the fifth century BC and well into the fourth, after which the Volscians were eventually integrated into Rome (Arpinum, the hometown of Cicero and Marius, was originally Volscian).

  35. Corioli: Probably not a Volscian stronghold but instead a Latin city taken by the Volscians. Its exact location remains uncertain and by Pliny’s day (Natural History 3.69) it had long ceased to exist.

  36. Titus Larcius: Titus Larcius Flavius, consul (for the first time) in 501.

  37. as Cato insisted that a soldier should do: See Elder Cato 1 and Moralia 199b.

  38. unwritten will: In Roman law soldiers were permitted to make their wills ‘in any way they want or can’. Wills made by soldiers when battle was imminent were testamenta in procinctu, a phrase explained by antiquarians as deriving from an ancient practice whereby soldiers girded up (praecingere) their tunics before battle: see F. Schulz, Classical Roman Law (1951), pp. 240–41. Plutarch here exhibits his antiquarian learning and adds what he believed to be a bit of authentic colour to his narrative (the detail is found nowhere else).

  39. Antium: A major Volscian centre (modern Anzio).

  40. speaker’s platform: Plutarch refers to the speaker’s platform in the Romans’ camp – not in Rome.

  41. charger … prize for his valour: This reward, which diverges from the report given in Dion. Hal. 6.94, appears to be modelled on the honour accorded to Pausanias after the Greeks’ victory over the Persians in the battle of Plataea (Herodotus 9.81), the effect of which, especially for a Greek reader, is to elevate Coriolanus’ achievement.

  42. henceforth be named … notable virtue: On Roman names see General Introduction VI. Plutarch revisits this subject at Marius 1, and he also wrote an essay (now lost) entitled On the Three Names (Catalogue of Lamprias 100). Despite what Plutarch says here, however, Coriolanus did not receive his surname on account of his valour at Corioli: informal honorifics did not emerge until the late fourth and early third centuries, and the first time an honorific surname was officially conferred in recognition of military victory came in 201, when Scipio was given the name Africanus for vanquishing Hannibal in the battle of Zama (Livy 30.45.7).

  43. names … derived from some action … Battus: Plutarch refers, in sequence, to Ptolemy I Soter (Saviour; 367–282), Seleucus II Callinicus (Nobly Victorious; c. 265–225), Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II Physcon (Bloated; 182–116), Antiochus VIII Philometor Grypus (Hook-nosed; c. 140–96), Ptolemy III Euergetes (Benefactor; 284–221), Ptolemy II Philadelphus (Sister-loving; 308–246) and Battus II Eudaemon (Fortunate; early sixth century BC).

  44. Antigonus … Lathyrus: Antigonus Doson (The Man Who Will Give; c. 263–221) and Ptolemy X Alexander I Lathyrus (Bean; c. 140–88).

  45. Diadematus: Lucius Caecilius Metellus Diadematus (The Man Wearing a Diadem; consul in 117).

  46. Celer: Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer (Swift; tribune of the people in 90 BC); Plutarch expects his reader to know or to infer that Celer means swift (see also Romulus 10).

  47. Proculus: Although this was an extremely common surname in Rome, its etymology and significance are unclear: see I. Kajanto, The Latin Cognomina (1965), p. 42.

  48. Sulla … Claudius: Here Plutarch expects his reader to know the Latin meanings of these Roman names, which he does not explain: Sulla (Blotchy – discussed further at Sulla 2), Niger (Black), Rufus (Red), Caecus (Blind) and Claudius (Crippled).

  49. Velitrae: Modern Velletri, it received a colony in 494 and again in 401, and was finally annexed by Rome in 338. The city was originally Volscian.

  50. clients: The relationship between a patron (patronus) and his clients (clientes) was an unequal one but was meant to be mutually beneficial; patrons used their superior social position to look after the interests of their clients, who in exchange gave their patrons respect and loyal support. The Romans believed the institution had been established by Romulus: see Romulus 13 and, more extensively, Dion. Hal. 2.8–10.

  51. walk about … without a tunic underneath it: Plutarch attributes this information about early Rome to the Elder Cato at Moralia 276c–d.

  52. Anytus: The Athenian general who in 409 failed to prevent the loss of Pylos to the Spartans; at his subsequent trial he was alleged to have bribed the jury (Pseudo-Aristotle, The Athenian Constitution 27.5). He remained a leading figure, however, and is familiar as a prosecutor of Socrates at his trial in 399.

  53. the companion of solitude: This phrase occurs in Plato’s letter to the Syracusan political figure Dion (c. 408–353), Epistle 4 (312c). Plutarch cites this expression again in his criticism of Coriolanus at Comparison Coriolanus–Alcibiades 3, as well as at Dion 8 and 52, and Moralia 69f–70a.

  54. Gelon … of Syracuse: Gelon (c. 540–478) made himself master of Gela around 491. In 485 he became master of Syracuse as well and transferred his government there.

  55. exactly what is done by … the Greeks: Distributions of subsidized and free grain, characteristic of Roman politics in the late republic and the empire, were not typical even of radical Greek democracies.

  56. aediles: The two plebeian aediles were originally subordinates of the tribunes and, like them, their persons could not be violated. In the fourth century BC they became magistrates in their own right, with significant responsibilities, and were eventually indistinguishable in duties and status from curule aediles (which office was finally opened to plebeians). According to Dion. Hal. (7.26.3), these aediles were Titus Junius Brutus and Gaius Visellius Ruga.

  57. consuls: The consuls of 491 were Marcus Minucius Augurinus and Aulus Sempronius Atratinus.

  58. Tarpeian Rock: A cliff on the Capitoline from which murderers and traitors might be hurled to their deaths (Romulus 17–18; the practice was discontinued in AD 43).

  59. Appius Claudius: Originally a Sabine who migrated to Rome with a large band of clients and became consul in 495; see further Publicola 21.

  60. centuries … tribes: An anachronism. Capital cases could only be tried before the centuriate assembly, which was organized in such a way that the votes of the rich could dominate the assembly. Here, however, the tribunes resort to the more democratic tribal assembly, which in this period consisted of twenty-one tribes.

  61. Tullus Aufidius: The manuscripts of Plutarch read Aufidius (or Autidius) Tullus, whereas Livy and Dion. Hal. call him Attius Tullus, who is also named at Plutarch, Cicero 1. Whether the discrepancy owes itself to textual error or not is uncertain (Plutarch’s names for Coriolanus’ wife and mother, after all, are unique in the tradition).

  62. ‘It is hard … life itself’: This was a saying of Heracleitus of Ephesus (fr. 85 DK), who flourished around 500 and whose writings survive only by way of quotations. It was popular with Greek philosophers (e.g. it is adapted by Plato at Republic 375b and Laws 863b and is cited by Aristotle at Nicomachean Ethics 1105a7, Eudemian Ethics 1223b22 and Politics 1315a29), not least Plutarch, who returns to it at Moralia 457d and 755d. Its meaning, including its likely allusion to the anger of Achilles, is discussed by C. H. Kahn, The Art and Thought of Heraclitus (1979), pp. 241–4.

  63. ‘Into the enemy’s city … disguised’: Homer, Odyssey 4.246.

  64. There was a certain Titus Latinus … without any help: This story was told by numerous ancient sources, sometimes in versions entirely unrelated to Coriolanus (Cicero, On Divination 1.55; Macrobius, Saturnalia 1.11.3).

  65. sacred procession … of Jupiter: Jupiter was naturally central to many religious festivals, but this event will have been the Roman Games (Ludi Romani), held in early September.

  66. Any slave … furcifer: Plutarch repeats this information at Moralia 280e–f.

  67. the procession … enacted a second time: Religious rituals in Rome were vitiated, and the Romans’ relationship with the gods ruptured, by any procedural error or bad omen. The Romans could restore their relationship with the gods, however, simply by repeating the ritual
.

  68. foresight of Numa: See Numa 14.

  69. tensae: Special carriages used to transport statues of the gods to public spectacles.

  70. Some authorities … set fire to the city: So Livy 2.37.2 and Dion. Hal. 8.2.3–5 – and so Plutarch himself at Comparison Coriolanus–Alcibiades 2.

  71. Circeii: Modern Monte Circello. A Roman colony was believed to have been founded there during the monarchy (Livy 1.56.3), though other sources date Circeii’s colonization to the fourth century BC.

  72. Tolerium … Bola: Four cities of Latium whose locations remain uncertain, although it has been suggested that modern Corcolla is Pedum.

  73. Bovillae: Modern Frattocchie.

  74. 100 stades: Between 11 and 12 miles (approximately 18 km).

  75. Lavinium: Modern Pratica di Mare, a city of major (especially cultic) importance in the archaic period.

  76. they were helpless … previous decree of the senate: Plutarch is here thinking of the archaic (and not fully understood) requirement that decisions of popular assemblies receive the assent of the ‘fathers’, presumably the senatorial patricians (patrum auctoritas): a law of 339 required that this assent be given before the assemblies voted. This assent was probably not required for the plebeian assembly, but its measures were not universally binding until the third century BC.

  77. Fossae Cluiliae: An ancient trench, the precise purpose and location of which remain unclear. Its proximity to the city signals Rome’s heightened peril from Coriolanus.

  78. 40 stades: About 4½ miles (approximately 71⁄3 km).

  79. civil rights … to the Latins: After the battle of Lake Regillus (note 14), the Romans concluded a treaty with the defeated Latins, the Cassian Treaty (foedus Cassianum: Dion. Hal. 6.95), which took its name from the consul who negotiated it – Spurius Cassius (consul for the second time in 493). This treaty provided for peace and mutual defence and stipulated means for dealing with lawsuits between Latins and Romans.

  80. order of priests … art of divination: Plutarch refers to the three leading priestly colleges: (i) the pontiffs (pontifices), (ii) the two men responsible for sacred actions (duoviri sacris faciundis – the number of whom during the republic was later increased to ten and then to fifteen) and (iii) the diviners or augurs (augures). All of these offices were routinely filled by members of the senatorial class.