Famine Strikes After a peaceful year in 441 BCE, the Romans are in for nasty shock over the course of 440 and 439 BCE. It all begins with a crippling famine, and there seems to have been signs of problems ahead before the food shortage really set in. In Pliny the Elder, there is a reference to an aedile of the plebs (Marcus Marcius) selling grain to the poor at a very low price. Episode 127 - The Assassination of Spurius Maelius There are some startling differences in our source material this episode. What we can agree on is that the crisis was so severe, Lucius Minucius was appointed as Prefect of the Grain, aka The Nacho King of Rome. His job was to track down some corn and get it the Romans ASAP. Image of a random assortment of grains courtesy of www.themindfulword.org Emergency Relief Unfortunately, Minucius seems to have been incompetent and the famine dragged on. To try and help out his fellow Romans, a wealthy equestrian named Spurius Maelius made use of his extensive connect...
We sat down recently with Associate Professor Rebecca Futo Kennedy to talk all about Ancient Greek women, specifically in relation to Athens. Futo Kennedy teaches in Classical Studies, Women’s and Gender Studies, and Environmental Studies at Denison University. Kennedy holds a BA in Classical Studies, an MA in Greek and Latin, and completed her PhD on the representation of Athena in the tragedies of Aeschylus and Sophocles at Ohio State University. Kennedy’s most recent monograph is entitled Immigrant Women in Athens: Gender, Ethnicity, and Citizenship in the Classical City. Special Episode - Ancient Greek Women with Rebecca Futo Kennedy In this conversation we explore the terminology and semantic fields of meaning connected with women in Ancient Greece including some of the persistent misconceptions and assumptions that come along with language. For example, the word hetaira is quite well-known, but what did the ancient Greeks really mean when they used the term? How did women fit into the social structures and hierarchies of the ancient Greek city of Athens? What were women's lives like and what does the remaining evidence suggest about how they lived and the meaning they saw in their own experiences? We also delve into the complexities attendant upon understanding metics - foreigners in Athens and what this category meant when you were also a woman. And the conversation rounds out with a consideration of poverty in ancient Athens and the challenges in studying this subject. Some Sources A number of sources and scholars are mentioned in this episode. Here's a few that come up: Jean-Leon Gerome Greek Interior 1848 * Brown, Peter 1989. The World of Late Antiquity: AD 150-750* Cecchet, Lucia 2015. Poverty in Athenian Public Discourse: From the Eve of the Peloponnesian War to the Rise of Macedonia* Meyer, Elizabeth A. 2010. Metics and the Athenian Phialai-inscriptions: A Study in Athenian Epigraphy and Law* Osborne, Robin 1997. 'Law, the Democratic Citizen and the Representation of Women in Classical Athens' Past and Present 155, pp 3-33* Pomeroy, Sarah B. 1995. Goddesses, Whores, Wives, and Slaves: Women in Classical Antiquity - pretty readable, we recommend it if you're looking for a way to dip further into this subject.* Taylor, Claire 2017. Poverty, Wealth, and Well-Being: Experiencing Penia in Democratic Athens Woman playing kottabos. Painting attributed to the Bryn Mawr Painter, c. 480 BCE Sound Credits Thanks to the thrillingBettina Joy de Guzmanfor our theme music. Transcript We're playing around with auto-generated transcripts.
In around 443 BCE Rome is navigating its relationships with its neighbours. Last time we caught up with Rome they became involved in the affairs of the nearby city of Ardea. The conflict seems to have centred around a very attractive plebeian woman whose name has not been recorded in the annals of history. It’s this meddling in Ardea which sets the scene for 442 BCE... Episode 126 - How to Win Land and Influence Ardea The challenges of 442 BCE The consuls of 443 had such a great year that the incoming consuls for 442 BCE knew they had a lot to live up to. There’s a sense that the successes over Ardea were substantial but there are mixed feelings about how this all come about…. The complexity lies in the nature of the history of conflict with Ardea. The Romans sense that they have actually made some mistakes in how they have dealt with Ardea and the Rutilian people. The Rutilians are the people of this region and Ardea is their capital. In order to determine how best to proceed they opt to form the triumviri coloniae deducendae “the group of three men for the commission of the settlement”. Their task to solve the problem of land allotment in relation to Ardea. A colony might just solve their concerns, but what should that colony look like? We explore the details! Ardea, the central settlement of the Rutilians was south of Rome. Rome and 441 BCE It’s a brand new year and it’s time for some games, apparently. There are rumours that the decemvirs had promised the people a set of games, and it now seems to have fallen to the tribune of the plebs, Poetilius to get this event off the ground. Beyond the issue of games at Rome, there’s some interesting rumblings far to the south of Italy in Magna Graecia that might also become important later on. Polychromatic terracotta head of a woman with brown hair and pale skin. From Taranto (Magna Graecia) end of 4th century BCE. Antikenmuseum Basel und Sammlung Ludwig, Inv. Kuhn 35. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. Our Players The Consuls 442 BCE * Marcus Fabius Q. f. M. n. Vibulanus* Postumus Aebutius - f. - n. Helva Cornicen 441 BCE * Gaius Furius - f. - n. Pacilus Fusus* Manius (or Marcus) Papirius - f. - n. Crassus The triumviri coloniae deducendae * Agrippa Menenius (Lanatus)* Titus Cloelius Siculus* Marcus Aebutius Helva Tribune of the Plebs * Poetilius Sources * Dr G reads Diodorus Siculus 12.34-5* Dr Rad reads Livyab Urbe Condita4.11-12.* Broughton, T. R. S., Patterson, M. L. 1951.The Magistrates of the Roman RepublicVolume 1: 509 B.C. – 100 B.C. (The American Philological Association)* Cornell, T. J. 1995.The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars(c. 1000-264 BC)(Taylor & Francis)* Forsythe, G. 2006.A Critical History of Early Rome: From Prehistory to the First Punic War(University of California Press) Sound Credits
We were absolutely delighted to sit down recently with Professor Liv Yarrow to talk all about ancient Roman coinage from the republican period. Special Episode - Roman Republican Coinage with Professor Liv Yarrow Liv Yarrow is a professor at the City University of New York (CUNY). She holds a BA from the George Washington University and an MPhil and DPhil from the University of Oxford. Her scholarship spans the areas of ancient historiography and numismatics. In 2006 she published Historiography at the End of the Republic: Provincial Perspectives on Roman Rule (Oxford 2006) and in 2020 her book The Republic to 49 BCE: Using Coins as Sources came out with Cambridge University Press. She is also a co-director of the Roman Republican Die Project with the American Numismatic Society. What's Coming up with Roman Coins! In this conversation we explore a range of topics, including: * how to approach the study of coins (numismatics) - it is a very specialised field!* how the questions we ask of evidence changes affects our inferences and ideas* what makes a coin particularly beautiful* how coins can help us understand society, architecture, politics, and iconography* some of the amazing fashion you might spot on coins! Coins to Keep in Mind! Yarrow weaves a number of coin issues into the conversation, here's some examples that we discuss: Denarius of Sulla. ANS 1944.100.1502. Obverse: L·MANLI [PRO]·Q - Helmeted head of Roma right. Border of dots. Reverse: L·SVLLA·IM - Triumphator, crowned by flying Victory, in quadriga right, holding reins in left hand and caduceus in right hand. Border of dots. Silver tetradrachm of Mithradates VI, Pontus, 120 BC - 63 BCE. 1944.100.41480. Obverse: head of Mithradates VI. Reverse: stag feeding Silver Coin, Rome, 55 BCE 1944.100.2636 ANS 1944.100.2636. RRC 428/3. Obverse: Head of Genius Populi Romani right, with sceptre over shoulder. Border of dots. Reverse: Q·CASSIVS - Eagle on thunderbolt right; on left, lituus; on right, jug . Border of dots. Just one example of a wild haired deity on Roman coinage, echoing Mithridates’ aesthetic! Silver Coin, Rome, 97 BCE 1937.158.59. Obverse: L·POMPON·MOLO - Laureate head of Apollo right; around, inscription. Border of dots. Reverse: NVMA·POMPIL - Lighted altar; to left, Numa Pompilius holding lituus; to right, youth (victimarius) leading goat. Border of dots. Numa sacrificing with his head unveiled in the Greek fashion. Silver Coin, Rome, 64 B.C. 1944.100.2352. Obverse: L·ROSCI - Head of Juno Sospita right; behind, control mark . Border of dots. Reverse: FABATI - Girl and snake facing each other; on left, control mark. Border of dots.
Do you get excited by a trip to the office supply store? Is The Home Edit your favourite show on Netflix? Then this is the episode for you! The Romans are in an organisation frenzy. Grab your red tape, post-its, a sword, and we’re off to 443 BCE. Expect some bureaucracy and civil war in Ardea. Episode 125 - Big Trouble in Little Ardea Struggle of the Orders? Or Struggle to find some Order? Last episode, there was a major shift with the introduction of military tribunes with consular authority. Our major narrative sources, Livy and Dionysius, would have us believe that this was all part of the so called ‘Struggle of the Orders’, a way for plebeians to have access to consular power with tarnishing the office of consul with their gross cooties. However, it seems that Rome might have been restructuring the state to better address their needs. They were living in a 440s world and needed a state structure to match. The Censor is Born In 443 BCE, the focus was on the census. The census ...
There is much less scholarly work on the early Roman Republic than there is on periods like the late Republic or early Empire. This is understandable as there are fewer primary sources, and what we have does not always seem quite as reliable. There are still people who have chosen to focus on this era, and one of our major scholarly sources has been the work of Emeritus Professor Tim Cornell. Special Episode - Early Rome with Emeritus Professor Tim Cornell Professor Cornell has held many prestigious academic posts in his long career, working at Christ’s College, Cambridge, the British School at Rome, University College London, the University of Birmingham, the Institute of Classical Studies, and he is currently the President of the Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies. His book The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC) (1995) is an incredible resource. Another of his major contributions to scholarship was overseeing the multi-volume Fragments of the Roman Historians (2013) which brings all the fragments of scholars for whose works are not extant together in one collection. In short, Cornell's work has had a huge influence on the field of early Roman history! We were blown away that Professor Cornell agreed to sit down and chat to us about all the most confusing parts of early Rome. He helped us to address issues such as: * What were battles really like?* What was the structure of the government in this period?* What on earth was going on with the Conflict of the Orders?* And most importantly, who really is the better historian, Dionysius or Livy? We hope that you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed recording it. It certainly helps to draw together a lot of the themes in our episodes so far and paint a more complete picture of this first phase of the Roman Republic.If you are interested in reading more of Professor Cornell's work, please check out his profile on Academia.Edu. Cornell's work on early Rome is pretty amazing and we recommend you check it out! View of the Roman Forum from Via di Monte Tarpeo (2017) by Marcel Roblin and courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
The role of the Military Tribune with Consular Power (tribuni militum consulari potestate) is very particular. It seems to have been created out of the need for a new way forward from the role of the consuls. In our previous episode we encountered them for the first time as part of a patrician plan to placate plebeian discontent in 445 BCE, but our ability to understand this period is complicated by a number of issues: * How much did annalist historians like Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus understand about the early republic? * What sources were they able to consult to verify their research into this unusual feature of Rome’s politics? * And how might their view by further influenced by the ideas they retroject back into the early republic from the Augustan era they are writing under? Both Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus talk a little bit about their sources around this subject. Livy makes specific reference to the writer Licinius Macer while Dionysius makes note of the discrepancies in the various annalist records. Episode 124 - The Military Tribunes with Consular Power As Rome transitions into 444 BCE we find out about our first elected Military Tribunes with Consular Power, but it's not long before ambassadors from Ardea arrive to discuss their ongoing conflict involving Rome... Things to listen out for: * A misplaced assertion of proconsular power* A very special eagle sound effect* Some unfortunate problems with the auspices! Our Players Military Tribunes with Consular Power 444 BCE * Aulus Sempronius A. f. - n. Atratinus* Lucius Atilius -f. -n. Luscus* Titus Cloelius - f. -n. Siculus Suffect consuls of 444 BCE * Lucius Papirius - f. - n. Mugillanus* Lucius Sempronius A. f. - n. Atratinus Interrex 444 BCE * Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbartus (consul many times) Sources * Dr G reads Dionysius of Halicarnassus,Roman Antiquities, 11.61-62.* Dr Rad reads Livyab Urbe Condita4.7.* Broughton, T. R. S., Patterson, M. L. 1951.The Magistrates of the Roman RepublicVolume 1: 509 B.C. – 100 B.C. (The American Philological Association)* Cornell, T. J. 1995.The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars(c. 1000-264 BC)(Taylor & Francis)* Forsythe, G. 2006.A Critical History of Early Rome: From Prehistory to the First Punic War(University of California Press) Sound Credits Thanks to BBC Sounds (Beta) for sound effects and the wonderfulBettina Joy de Guzmanfor our theme music. Imperial Roman Veterans, an illustration by Peter Dennis as part of the Warlord Games 'Hail Caesar' miniatures. Automatically Generated Transcript We’re exploring transcription options! The transcript below was automatically generated by otter.ai. Hopefully those Latin names and places can still be understood!
The most famous assassination in Roman history took place during the Ides of March. Julius Caesar, dictator of Rome, was stabbed to death in Pompey's Senate House by a group of conspirators. What exactly were these men hoping to accomplish? Caesar had been taking up too much air-time and was changing the nature of the Republic into something suspiciously close to monarchy. Well, you can't have that! What are the other elite Roman men supposed to do if one man rules all? Since 44 BCE, this assassination has inspired and perhaps plagued many political theorists, filmmakers, playwrights, artists, politicians, and historians. Dr G and Dr Rad sat down to talk about a twenty-first century example of the reverberations of Caesar's final moments across the centuries. The murder of Jon Snow in the season five finale of Game of Thrones was clearly modelled on the death of the Roman dictator. Enjoy this mini bonus episode! Mini Episode - Beware the Ides of Jon Snow... If this episode tickles your fancy for a little more classical reception, we have explored lots of depictions of ancient Rome on film, which you might enjoy as well :) Jon Snow and GhostImage courtesy of https://gartic.com.br/deanwinchester_/desenho-livre/jon-snow Music by Bettina Joy de Guzman. The Renaissance bust of Julius Caesar by Andrea di Pietro di Marco Ferrucci c. 1512-14 and a still of Kit Harrington as Jon Snow
Rome seems to be an impasse. Facing war on all fronts and with escalating crisis between the patricians and the plebeians the place of Rome in the Italian world is at the brink. It's 445 BCE and the republic is still young enough to fail. How will Rome face the chaos coming at them from outside while weakened from their own internal conflict? Tune in to find out! Episode 123 - The Turning Point Secret Meetings In order to get Rome motivated for war, the internal problems need to be resolved first. What better time then for some of the more senior Romans (who also just happen to be patrician) to get together for a clandestine meeting... Some important decisions are reached but despite the secrecy of the meeting, it does not go unnoticed. Is Rome really more of an oligarchy than it likes to think it is? Canuleius' Speech On the other side of town, the tribune of the plebs, Gaius Canuelius, is getting fired up about the restrictive marriage laws that are part of the Twelve Tables. And boy does he have a speech to make about it! He digs deep into Rome's history right back to the kings to explain to the plebeians how their exclusion from marriage to patricians is offensive. He explores the way Rome is in a process of constant adaption and change with examples to support his case that excluding plebeians is insupportable. Military Tribunes with Consular Power In a time of great struggle innovation becomes a necessity. With Rome facing threats from just about every direction, the consuls won't be able to be everywhere they are needed commanding armies. Livy and Dionysius of Halicarnassus view the development of military tribunes with consular power as part of the patricians trying to placate the plebeians. But is there more to it than that? We delve into the background of the role, what it means for the structure of Roman governance, and compare the sources on the subject. Tune in for * The suggestion that the plebeians have the right to introduce laws* Dastardly plans from the the patricians* Some weighty demands for the repel of the marriage ban and access to governing power for the plebeians* A shocking moment of patricians conceding to the plebeians! Our Players Consuls 445 BCE * M. Genucius – f. – n. Augurinus – Pat.* C. (or Agripp.) Curtius – f. – n. Philo (or Chilo) Pat. Notable Patricians * Gaius Claudius, uncle of the infamous Appius Claudius* Titus Quinctius L. f. L. n. Capitolinus Barbatus* L. Valerius P. f. P. n. Potitus (Poplicola?) - Pat.* M. Horatius M. f. L. (or P.) n. Barbatus* Titus Genucius, the brother of the consul! Tribune of the Plebs * C. Canuleius* C. Furnius Sources * Dr G reads Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities, 11.55-60.* Dr Rad reads Livy ab Urbe Condita 4.2-6.* Broughton, T. R. S., Patterson, M. L. 1951.The Magistrates of the Roman RepublicVolume 1: 509 B.C. – 100 B.C. (The American Philological Association)* Cornell, T. J. 1995. The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC) (Taylor & Francis)* Forsythe, G. 2006. A Critical History of Early Rome: From Prehistory to the First Punic War(University of California Press) Sound Credits
Who has the right to rule Rome? Who should have the right? In this episode, we tackle one of the major developments of the so-called 'Conflict of the Orders' as the plebs push for new laws that would give them greater political power. The archaeology confirms that the mid-fifth century was tough for Rome, so the political unrest may be reflecting this difficult time. Episode 122 - The Right to Rule Rome Rome Gets Greedy In our last episode on the year 446 BCE, Rome was kicking some serious butt. The Aequians and Volscians could not sit down for WEEKS! Sadly, these military victories were undermined by a foolish call by the Roman people. The cities of Aricia and Ardea had been engaged in a dispute over boundaries and appealed to Rome to settle their differences. The Romans got a bit greedy and decided that they had the rightful claim to this land, leaving neither city satisfied. Their land-lust would come back to haunt them in 445 BCE when revolt brakes out in Ardea. Oh, and did we m...