Empire of Honour: The Art of Government in the Roman World 0198150792, 9780198150794, 0199247633, 9780199247639

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Table of contents :
Acknowledgements......Page 8
Contents......Page 10
Abbreviations......Page 11
1. Introduction......Page 14
Looking at Roman Imperial Government......Page 26
Honour and Government......Page 37
2. Honour and Influence in the Roman World......Page 43
Aristocratic Honour......Page 44
The Elements of Aristocratic Honour......Page 49
Judgement by Honour and Dishonour......Page 60
Power into Honour......Page 65
Honour into Influence......Page 68
Influence from Honour and Dishonour......Page 69
Deference......Page 71
Reciprocity......Page 76
Honour as Power......Page 82
The City......Page 86
The Honour of Cities......Page 87
Men and Cities: Influence......Page 91
City Finance and Public Benefaction......Page 97
Challenges to Aristocratic Honour......Page 102
Philosophers and Christians......Page 103
Communities of Honour beneath the Aristocracy......Page 108
Borrowing Honour......Page 116
Conclusion......Page 118
3. The Emperor......Page 120
Imperial Honour......Page 121
The Nature of Imperial Honour......Page 122
Increasing and Protecting Imperial Honour......Page 126
Ruling the Emperor......Page 133
Ruling with Imperial Honour......Page 142
Honouring......Page 144
Dishonouring......Page 152
Cassius Dio and Tacitus on Imperial Insults......Page 154
Borrowing Honour......Page 159
Honour and the Emperor's Bounty......Page 162
Gratitude......Page 167
The Imperial Cult......Page 173
Why Worship the Emperor?......Page 174
Why Be Worshipped?......Page 181
Conclusion......Page 186
4. Officials......Page 189
Office as Dignity......Page 190
Honour from Obtaining Office, 1: The Independent Honour of Offices......Page 194
Honour from Obtaining Office, 2: Benefaction and Competition......Page 198
Honour While in Office......Page 204
Sources of Honour and their Consequences......Page 207
Officials and Subjects......Page 214
Deference......Page 216
Gratitude......Page 222
Honour and Dishonour......Page 225
Officials and Subjects in Late Antiquity......Page 235
Conclusion......Page 248
5. The Roman Army......Page 250
The Community of the Army......Page 251
Honour and Shame in the Army......Page 256
Honour and the Political Loyalty of Soldiers......Page 265
Conclusion......Page 278
6. Agamemnon's Empire......Page 280
Latin......Page 285
Greek......Page 289
Greek and Latin......Page 291
References......Page 293
Index......Page 316
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Empire of Honour

Empire of Honour The Art of Government in the Roman World

J. E. LENDON

CLARENDON

PRESS • OXFORD 1997

Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford 0 x 2 6DP Oxford New York Athens Auckland

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and associated companies in Berlin

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Oxford is a trade mark of Oxford University Press Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York © J. E. Lendon 1997 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press. Within the UK, exceptions are allowed in respect of any fair dealing for the purpose of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of the licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms and in other countries should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data ISBN

Data

available Data

available 0-19-815079-2

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2 Typeset by Hope Services (Abingdon) Ltd. Printed in Great Britain on acid-free paper by Biddies Ltd., Guildford & King's Lynn

For my parents and brother

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

BLINKERED, heel-dragging, mulish obstinacy—the natural state of all authors, but especially of young authors, and of this author in particu­ lar—makes giving them advice at best ungratifying and often positively disagreeable. My gratitude to those I thank here is therefore as much for their courageous honesty as for their generous erudition. Ramsay MacMullen, who directed the Yale dissertation of which this book is a distant descendant, has long mastered the difficult balancing act of being both a close friend and a frank critic. Elizabeth Meyer's ideas, sugges­ tions, and corrections have always directed my thinking along new and profitable lines. Gordon Williams and Richard Garner cheerfully read the manuscript several times and the book has profited enormously from their attention. I had no legitimate claim upon the time of Richard Sailer, R. F. Tannenbaum, or Kenneth Harl, but from kindness and collegiality they, too, read the manuscript and offered signal improvements. John Drinkwater and David Potter, the perceptive readers for the Press, cast off their judicial robes and laboured happily along with the rest, providing deep counsels. Errors that remain are not only my own, but have prob­ ably been maintained against better advice to the contrary. To my friends D. A. Cohen and J. Freeman I am grateful for illuminat­ ing conversations about honour. Editorial duties I have ruthlessly levied upon my family and friends (especially D. and M. Lendon, J. Campbell, and R. Berkhofer III), and this editorial mantle has been ably inherited by Julian Ward, copy-editor for the Press. Hilary O'Shea and Liz Alsop at the Press have been ceaselessly cheerful, helpful, and tolerant. Both financial support and relief from teaching have been provided by the John M. Olin Foundation and my generous employer, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I am also grateful to the Corcoran Department of History of the University of Virginia, which gave a visiting scholar a hospitable home where much of the book was written. A project of this scope enforces a highly selective citation of modern scholarship, and this must inevitably fall short of paying off in full the author's intellectual debts. Similarly, while translations are my own unless signalled otherwise, they cannot fail in many cases to echo the

viii

Acknowledgements

work of selfless generations of previous translators. To those I may have slighted I offer my grateful acknowledgements here. J.E.L. Cambridge, Massachusetts September 1996

CONTENTS

Abbreviations 1.

Introduction

2.

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

X

1 30

3.

The Emperor

107

4.

Officials

176

5.

The Roman Army

237

6.

Agamemnon's Empire

267

Appendix: The Latin and Greek Lexicon of Honour

272

References

280

Index

303

ABBREVIATIONS

Standard abbreviations (sometimes expanded) are used for ancient authors and works cited in the notes. See especially the list of abbrevia­ tions in the Oxford Classical Dictionary (3rd. edn.). I have used the fol­ lowing abbreviations for modern journals, reference books, collections of inscriptions (of which I have tried to cite accessible publications), papyri, and some variorum assemblages of ancient material. AE AJP ANRW BCH BICS CE CGL CIL CPL CSEL EJ

FGH Gk. Const.

GRBS HSCP IG IGR

l'Annee epigraphique American Journal of Philology Aufstieg und Niedergang der romischen Welt Bulletin de correspondance hellenique Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies of the University of London Carmina Latina Epigraphica G. Goetz (ed.), Corpus Glossariorum Latinorum, 7 vols. (Leipzig, 1873-1901) Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum R. Cavenaile (ed.), Corpus Papyrorum Latinarum (Wiesbaden, 1958) Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum V. Ehrenberg and A. H. M. Jones (eds.), Documents Illustrating the Reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, 2nd edn. (Oxford, 1976) F. Jacoby (ed.), Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker (Leiden, 1923-58) J. H. Oliver (ed.), Greek Constitutions of the Early Roman Emperors from Inscriptions and Papyri (Philadelphia, 1989) Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies Harvard Studies in Classical Philology Inscriptiones Graecae R. Cagnat et al (eds.), Inscriptiones Graecae ad Res Romanas Pertinentes 3 vols. (Paris, 1906-27)

Abbreviations IKEph. IK Smyrna I.L.Alg. ILCV ILS IRT JHS JRS LSJ MAAR MAMA McC. & W.

OGIS OLD PBSR PCPS PG PGM PL PLREi P.Oxy. RDGE RE RIB SEG

xi

Die Inschriften von Ephesos in the series Inschriften griechischer Stadte aus Kleinasien Die Inschriften von Smyrna in the series Inschriften griechischer Stadte aus Kleinasien S. Gsell et al (eds.)> Inscriptions latines de VAlgerie, 2 vols. (Paris, 1922-57) Inscriptiones Latinae Christianae Veteres H. Dessau (ed.), Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae, 3 vols. (Berlin, 1892-1916) J. M. Reynolds and J. B. Ward-Perkins (eds.), The Inscriptions of Roman Tripolitania (Rome, 1952) Journal of Hellenic Studies Journal of Roman Studies H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, and H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th edn. (Oxford, 1940) Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome Monumenta Asiae Minoris Antiqua M. McCrum and A. G. Woodhead (eds.), Select Documents of the Principates of the Flavian Emperors (Cambridge, 1961) W. Dittenberger (ed.), Orientis Graeci Inscriptiones Selectae, 2 vols. (1903-5) P. G. W. Glare (ed.), Oxford Latin Dictionary (Oxford, 1982) Papers of the British School at Rome Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society Patrologia Graeca K. Preisendanz et al (eds.), Papyri Graecae Magicae: Die griechischen Zauberpapyri, 2 vols. (Stuttgart, 1973-4) Patrologia Latina Jones, A. H. M. et al, Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, i (Cambridge, 1971) The Oxyrhynchus Papyri R. K. Sherk (ed.), Roman Documents from the Greek East (Baltimore, 1969) Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft The Roman Inscriptions of Britain Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum

xii Sel Pap. Small. Gaius

Small. Nerva

TAM TAPA TLL ZPE

Abbreviations A. S. Hunt et al. (eds.), Select Papyri (London and Cambridge, Mass., 1932-42) E. M. Smallwood (ed.), Documents Illustrating the Principates of Gaius, Claudius, and Nero (Cambridge, 1967) E. M. Smallwood (ed.), Documents Illustrating the Principates of Nerva, Trajan, and Hadrian (Cambridge, 1966) Tituli Asiae Minoris Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association Thesaurus Linguae Latinae Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik

1

Introduction

O N what was to be the last day of his life, the emperor Nero awoke to find that the palace sentries had abandoned their posts. His friends did not respond to his summons. He rushed around to their rooms with a hand­ ful of servants, and pounded on the doors. If they were within, they did not answer. Returning to his own chamber he found that his very body­ guards had slipped away, taking with them the bedclothes and his box of poison. To the empty halls of his vast palace he cried, 'Have I neither friend nor foe?' Here was an emperor who no longer commanded obedi­ ence, an emperor at last bereft of his power. And the last hours of Vitellius were eerily similar: he wandered an empty palace, tried locked doors, and shuddered at vacant rooms until he was finally discovered and dragged away to his death. Yet only a few hours, a few days, earlier, thousands upon thousands of people had stood prepared to do the emperor's bidding: some formally in the imperial service, but the vast majority not; some at Rome, but most scattered far and wide across the empire. A few perhaps were personally acquainted with the emperor, but most had never set eyes upon him. It is, as a consequence, easier for a modern observer to understand why Nero and Vitellius were finally deserted than to explain why they were ever obeyed at all. To us the emperor seems a terribly lonely figure. How to armour him again in the obedience which fell away in extremis? This book is a contribution to the solution of that mystery—an attempt to advance our understanding of how power worked under the empire, to illuminate how the emperor got his officials and subjects to do what he wanted, how officials procured the obedience of subjects, and how subjects and officials could bend other officials, and even the emperor, to their will. It is a study of the nature, and some of the histor­ ical consequences, of the system of thought and emotion we call honour. 1

1

Nero, Suet. Nero 4 7 . 3 ; Dio 63. 2 7 . 3 . Vitellius, Tac. Hist. 3. 84; Suet. Vit. 1 6 . Cf. Didius Julianus, Herod. 2 . 1 2 . 7; HA Did. Jul. 8. 6; and this vision of the abandoned emperor was resonant, Orig. Cels. 8. 68.

Introduction

2

It is, therefore, a study of government, but not a study of government institutions: it is an investigation of a slow-changing facet of human motivation, an investigation carried on with an eye to fears, desires, and beliefs expressed across the empire—common to the Greek East and the Latin West, to the capital and the provinces. The focus, moreover, is not on what changed over time, but on methods of rulership that can be shown to have worked consistently over the four centuries from the founding of the Empire to the barbarian sack of the city of Rome. It is best, at the outset, not to overstate the responsibilities and abilities of Roman government. Its aims were limited: the gathering of taxes, the fielding of an army, and the maintenance of civil peace—that is, the pre­ vention of civil war and major riot. Justice also was administered, at least to those whose wealth, influence, or misdeeds secured them a place on the governors' overloaded court schedule. The Roman government did not undertake to provide food, housing, mass education, or any of the manifold social services taken for granted from modern governments, the supply of grain, water, and amusements to a few great cities notwith­ standing. It is, then, unsurprising that the Roman government did not bulk very large in the consciousness of a majority of its subjects, who had, from week to week and month to month, few, if any, dealings with it at all. But even the achievement of the modest aims of Roman government is astonishing. The Roman authorities kept peace and collected taxes from a population of some fifty to sixty million souls, a bafflingly diverse throng speaking many different languages, and living their lives in infi­ nitely varied ways: the emperor's subjects ranged from the magnificent nobles of Rome to savage tribesmen lurking half-unseen in hill and wood, from the superb grandees of the great cities of Asia Minor to the Berber on the slopes of the Atlas mountains, the Bedouin wandering the wastes of Arabia Felix, and the fellah of Egypt, solemnly convicted of can­ nibalism by Juvenal. Over this vast and scattered multitude, the Romans 2

3

4

5

2

Millar (1977: esp. 6), emphasizing Roman governments passive, reactive quality; Garnsey and Sailer (1987), 20. For ancient analyses of imperial concerns, see Dio 5 2 . 1 4 - 4 0 ; Pliny, Paneg. passim. 3

Pressure on the governor's court docket, judged by petitions received in Egypt, Hopkins (1991), n. 9. A n d the administration of Egypt (of old deemed an exceptional case) was not essentially different from other provinces, see Lewis (1970) and (1984); Bowman and Rathbone (1992); Rathbone (1993). 4

Lack of contact with government: the locus classicus (if perhaps somewhat exaggerated) is Syn. Ep. 148 (Garzya); see also D . Chr. 7; and, for 2nd-cent. Galilee, G o o d m a n (1983), 141, 151. But the workings of Roman justice did make a considerable impression on provincials, Lieberman ( 1 9 4 4 - 5 ) . 5

Juv. 1 5 . 1 3 , 7 9 - 8 3 .

Introduction

3

presided with a tiny civil administration. At its largest extent, in the fourth century, the imperial government had somewhat over thirty thou­ sand functionaries, roughly one for every two thousand subjects. And in the earlier centuries, when the empire was at the height of its power and glory, it employed only a fraction of that number. By contrast, the Federal Government of the United States, a country under-governed by European standards, employs more than three million civilians, one for every eighty inhabitants; and the governments of the fifty states employ four and a half million more. Yet this relatively small number of officials was able to keep enough peace and extract enough tax to maintain an army of more than three hundred and fifty thousand men under the high empire, with the weapons, transport, roads, and fortifications required for the defence of an imperial frontier thousands of miles in length. In the fourth century, the paper strength of the army was larger. And while the military payroll was surely the imperial government's single greatest expense, there was money available for vast building projects which still inspire awe, and for the feeding and entertainment of the masses at Rome and, later, at Constantinople. How were the Roman authorities able to accomplish this? Necessarily by a combination of means and ways. Conventional views—quite right as far as they go—have stressed the crude application of force (or its insidious threat), reliance on the willing compliance of the subject to authority he acknowledged as legitimate, and the subtle work­ ings of patronage. The disproportion between the size of the army and the civil adminis­ tration naturally leads to a suspicion that the army was expected both to defend and to govern the empire—that ruling depended on the direct action of the soldiers upon the civilian population, that Roman govern­ ment depended largely on force and its handmaiden, fear. The army, the 6

7

8

9

6

Fourth cent., A . H . M . Jones (1964), 1057 n. 44. The size of the administration in earlier centuries is harder to estimate: Eck ( 1 9 8 0 : 1 6 ) counts some 10,000 in the provinces under Trajan, mosdy seconded soldiers (see n. 11 below); independently R. F. Tannenbaum (pri­ vate communication) estimates a total of some 1 0 , 0 0 0 - 1 2 , 0 0 0 including Rome and Italy, but excluding the central and local administration of Egypt. Hopkins ( 1 9 8 0 : 1 2 1 ) observes that i2th-cent. China, with a population roughly equal to that of the Roman empire, had twenty-five times as many elite officials in the provinces. 7

A r m y size, MacMullen (1984a). But the paper strength bore more relation to payroll than to fighting strength: MacMullen (1980); (1988), 1 7 3 - 4 ; Liebeschuetz (1990), 4 0 - 1 ; cf. esp. Kennedy and Riley's ( 1 9 9 0 : 1 9 - 2 0 , 4 5 , 1 3 1 ) observations on the small sizes of forts that late-antique units occu­ pied. 8

9

Budget, Duncan-Jones (1994), 3 3 - 4 6 .

Introduction

4

ultimate prop of imperial power, was called upon to put down the occasional great rebellions against imperial authority. Moreover, its appallingly brutal campaigns, however rare, did create a terrifying impression out of proportion to their number: the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and its temple is still vividly remembered, as any visitor to the Wailing Wall today realizes. Soldiers were also involved in the day-to-day business of government, police work, and the collection of taxes. The imperial legate governing a province had a military staff and guard, and, in a border province, the latter could be substantial. And where ban­ ditry and sedition were endemic, as in Judaea, the army might strive for centuries to bring them under control. The great cities of the empire— Rome, Carthage, and Alexandria—had substantial garrisons to maintain civil order, as did other towns with quarrelsome reputations, like Jerusalem; much of the army on the eastern frontier seems to have been billeted near cities, and perhaps this became a more general practice all over the empire in the fourth century. Even where only a modest force was available, the Roman authorities stretched it as much as they could by inspiring terror: the governor progressed through his province deal­ ing with malefactors in a way that locals would remember, by having them crucified, or burnt alive, or fed to wild beasts. And the provincials did remember: the prospect of coming to such ends inspired nightmares in Greeks. Fear is a very economical way of ruling: a great deal of fear can be pro­ duced with very little force. Necessarily, for force had its limits. As King Agrippa said, in Josephus* Jewish War, 'What of the five hundred cities of Asia, do they not bow down before a single governor and his consular 10

11

12

13

14

1 0

A r m y involvement in ruling the Eastern provinces, Isaac (1990), 5 6 - 2 1 8 , 2 6 9 - 9 1 ; and esp. for police functions, Hirschfeld (1891); Lopuszanski (1951); Alston (1995), 7 9 - 9 6 . 1 1

Austin and Rankov ( 1 9 9 5 : 1 5 1 - 2 ) estimate a military staff of 1 0 0 - 1 5 0 for the legate of a province with one legion; proconsuls had smaller, largely civilian staffs (pp. 1 5 4 - 5 ) . A d d also a governor's guard of some hundreds in military provinces, Speidel (1978a), 1 3 - 1 4 . Whether provinces without major legionary armies had garrisons is uncertain. Literary evidence (esp. Jos. BJ 2. 3 6 5 - 8 7 ) would imply that garrisons were exiguous or non-existent: yet inscriptions recording auxiliary cohorts and alae keep turning up, although it can rarely be known if the units were stationed in the province, summoned for an emergency, or just passing through. It m a y be safest to assume, with Speidel (1983a: 1 2 ) , for Asia Minor, that the inermes provinciae (the term is Tacitus', Hist. 1 . 1 1 ) were each garrisoned with at least an auxiliary cohort or ala (c.500 men). 1 2

Judaea, Isaac (1990), 7 7 - 9 7 ; elsewhere, Nippel (i995)> 1 0 1 - 2 . Rome, Nippel (1995), 9 0 - 8 ; Carthage, Le Bohec (1989X 21; Alexandria, Lesquier (1918), 3 8 8 - 9 3 ; the East, Isaac (1990), 1 2 3 - 3 1 , 1 3 9 , 1 5 7 , 2 6 9 - 8 2 ; on Jerusalem, ibid. 2 7 9 - 8 0 , 428; 4th cent., MacMullen (1988), 2 0 9 - 1 7 . Horrors of governor's justice, publicity, MacMullen (1986a); nightmares, Artem. 2. 52-4. 1 3

1 4

Introduction

5

15

fasces without need of a garrison?' Over the whole of the empire in its prime, as Aristides remarked in a telling comparison to the Spartan and Athenian hegemonies centuries before, 'the cities are free of garrisons; cohorts and wings of cavalry suffice as the guard of whole provinces, and few of these are quartered among the cities of each r a c e . . . they are scat­ tered in the country: many provinces do not know where their garrison is.' He was putting the best face on Roman government's weakness: the imperial authorities lacked the strength to patrol the hinterland. So trav­ ellers went armed and guarded outside the cities of the Roman world, and still people vanished, even people with retinues. The business of gov­ ernment, if done with soldiers, had to be done with a handful: a freedman procurator in Bithynia, charged with the collection of taxes, had to make do with four troopers. The emperor was stingy with his armies, unwill­ ing that soldiers should be detached to help with the business of govern­ ment in the interior. When the prefect of the Pontic shore, an important equestrian official, complained to the emperor that his military escort of thirteen was insufficient, his request for more men was refused on the grounds that, in the emperor's words, 'all care must be taken that soldiers not be called away from the standards'. If, in the fourth century, there were more soldiers near centres of population, there still were astonish­ ing gaps: hardly any soldiers were available to keep the peace in either Rome or Antioch, and it was by no means certain that soldiers in other cities would co-operate with the civil authorities. Indeed, they might well work at cross purposes to them. Nor could the imperial authorities rely upon police to fill in where sol­ diers were unavailable or unwilling. There was no imperial civilian police force—no police force worth the name at all outside a few great cities. Under the high empire, what passed for a secret service—army supply sergeants who came to serve as couriers and had subtler duties as well— 16

17

18

19

20

1 5

Jos. BJ2.366; cf. Herod. 7. 8 . 5 . Perhaps not strictly true, see n. 11 above. Aristid. 26. 67 (Behr). Shaw (1984a), 9 - 1 2 ; the law expected travellers to go armed, Dig. 4 8 . 6 . 1 (Marcianus); and there was trouble even in towns because of the distance of the auxilia praesidis, Apul. Met. 2 . 1 8 . 1 6

1 7

1 8

Pliny, Ep. 1 0 . 2 7 - 8 . Ibid. 10. 2 2 (for number see 1 0 . 2 1 ) ; cf. 1 0 . 2 0 , 1 0 . 7 8 ; and note the suggestion that if all foreign foes were conquered, the army could be abolished, HA Prob. 2 0 . 3 - 6 — s o its domes­ tic duties did not come instantly to mind. Rome, A . H . M . Jones (1964), 693; Antioch, Liebeschuetz (1972), 1 1 6 - 2 6 ; despite the fact that there seem to have been plenty of soldiers in the area, Isaac (1990), 2 7 2 - 6 . N o n co-operation of army in the 4th cent., MacMullen (1988), 1 5 9 - 9 3 , and esp. Lib. Or. 47. 1 9

2 0

Introduction

6

21

was no more than eight hundred strong. Late-antique government offers a mysterious bureau, that of the 'Doers of Things' (agentes in rebus), which may have served as a secret service, but which was only slightly over a thousand strong. By contrast the government of the for­ mer German Democratic Republic (East Germany) employed nearly a hundred thousand secret policemen, lavishly equipped with modern means of surveillance, and relied upon three hundred thousand inform­ ers, to watch over a compact population of only seventeen million. The force at the emperor's disposal seems less unequal to the task of ruling upon the recognition that the empire's territory was, for the most part, divided among her cities. The day-to-day business of government— collecting taxes, providing drafts for the army, and keeping the peace— was invested in those cities, and was the responsibility of the local notables who presided over them. The power to collect rents (the basis of the delectable manner of life of most of those notables) presupposed the power to collect the emperor's taxes. 'As many town councillors, so many tyrants', observed Salvian, bluntly. Thus, instead of needing to coerce many millions, all the emperor needed was the force to coerce some thousands; these, in turn, could compel the rest. Yet it was precisely those local strongmen, with their castle-like houses and their swarms of well-armed slaves and club-wielding tenants, whose force could dwarf that which the Roman official had at his disposal. When official and local 22

23

24

25

26

2 1

Frumentariiy Clauss (1973), 8 2 - 1 1 3 . A strength of 800 is the high estimate of Austin and Rankov (1995), 152. Sinnigen (1961: 6 7 ) , estimates a more modest 200. 2 2

Agentes in rebus, Blum (1969); Giardina (1977); the bureau had an authorized strength of 1,174 in AD 430 (CTh 6. 27. 2 3 ) . Against the agentes being secret policemen at all, Liebeschuetz (1970). 2 3

Kramer (1992), 4 3 , 5 2 . On the general responsibilities of cities and their notables to the imperial government see, briefly, Garnsey and Sailer (1987), 32; Lepelley ( 1 9 7 9 - 8 1 ) , i. 207. For collecting imperial taxes, see esp. A . H . M . Jones (1974), 165 n. 83; Liebeschuetz (1972), 1 6 1 - 6 ; in general on tax collection under the principate, Neesen (1980), Brunt (1981). Furnishing military recruits, Brunt (1974a), 1 1 3 - 1 4 ; keeping the peace, Hopwood (1983) and (1989). Also transport ser­ vices, Mitchell (1976); and the custody of prisoners, Millar (1984), 130. 2 4

2 5

Power of the local notables over their inferiors: A u g . Ep. 58 takes it for granted that a great proprietor has the religious faith of his tenants in his gift; see also MacMullen (1974), 6 - 1 2 , 3 4 - 7 (including the brutal extraction of taxes); (1988), 8 4 - 6 ; also, with emphasis on tax collection, Brown (1992), 2 6 - 7 ; and see esp. for force, Apul. Met. 9. 3 5 - 8 . For the power of landlords over tenants, Foxhall (1990); creditors over debtors, Philostr. VS 2.1 (549): the family of Herodes Atticus held debts going back generations (cf. Antonio Savorgnan in i6th-cent. Friuli, Muir (1993). 1 2 2 - 3 ) . 2 6

Salv.

Gub.Dei5.1S.27.

Introduction

7

strength clashed, local strength often won. In the empire the power to collect taxes might well presuppose, also, the power to resist taxes. In fact, the imperial authorities and the local elites did not often come to blows; at least in the first two centuries AD, their relations were cosy. 'There is no need of garrisons holding acropolises, but the most impor­ tant and powerful people in each place guard their countries for you,' as Aristides observed to the Romans. One of the roles imperial force played in the ruling of the empire was that of supporting the power of local notables over their social inferiors. And this was a service for which, in turn, the locally eminent returned the loyalty necessary to drive Roman government. Yet too often, in practice, when the power of local notables was threatened—as when the mob came to burn down Dio Chrysostom's house, and was deterred only by its strong location—the imperial authorities were nowhere in sight. During a grain riot, it was said, Apollonius of Tyana found a local magistrate clinging to a statue of the emperor as the populace merrily lit a fire to burn him alive: surely if any live Roman official had been available to protect him he would have clung instead to him. The day-to-day invisibility of Roman government in the provinces could make it as impotent in defending the local author­ ities as it was in getting its own way by force. It is certainly true, then, that the Roman empire could not be ruled without force and the fear that force inspired, but the modest provision of force available makes it unlikely that it was the sole operative principle of Roman imperial government. Moreover, the realization of the impor­ tance of force and fear to imperial power just pushes the question back a step. For it still remains to explain how the imperial authorities, and espe­ cially the emperor, commanded the obedience of the agents of force, the soldiers. This may be in part beyond the scope of historical enquiry to answer: everywhere and in all eras, regardless of cultural peculiarities and barring exceptional circumstances, soldiers seem to obey, and armies seem to work. For the most part civilians too, in all societies, obey the authorities established over them. 'We charge you yield—in Queen 27

28

29

30

2 7

Local armed power, MacMullen (1988), 7 2 - 3 (including castle-like houses, cf. H o p w o o d (1986)); notice too the wide availability of weapons in the Roman world, Brunt (1975a); and local bigwigs' co-operation with bandits, Shaw (1984a), 38. For local strength bettering official strength, MacMullen (1988), 9 4 - 6 , and esp. Cic. 2Verr. 1 . 6 7 - 7 0 , 1 . 8 5 , 4 . 9 5 ; Herod. 7 . 4 . 3 - 6 ; T a c . Hist. 2 . 1 6 ; Sym. Rel 31; also, the rich assumed to be able to resist taxes, A m m . Marc. 1 6 . 5 . 1 5 (on which see Matthews (1989), 89). 2 8

Aristid. 26. 64 (Behr; trans. Behr); cf. Jos. BJ2. 5 6 9 - 7 1 .

2 9

Ste Croix (1981), 3 0 7 - 1 7 . D . Chr. 4 6 . 1 2 - 1 3 and Philostr. VA1.15;

3 0

cf. Philostr. VSi. 23 (526).

Introduction

8

Victoria's name,' sing the policemen, and the pirates (of Penzance) reply, 'We yield at once, with humble mien, because, with all our faults, we love our Queen.' At some level obedience may be bred in the bone; or perhaps it is an essential quality of men living in society, a disposition that a previous century would have rooted in the social contract. Whatever its origins, moreover, obedience would have become habit and then tradi­ tion as the imperial centuries wore on. The Greeks and Romans were fiercely conservative peoples, and there was plenty of time for conser­ vatism to assert itself: Augustus himself outlived most of those who remembered the free Republic, and from Actium to the Gothic sack of Rome were thirty generations of men. Yet beyond pointing to such uni­ versal tendencies to obedience, it is useful to identify specific sources of authority that men obey uncompelled, sources of authority that they obey because they have been brought up to deem them legitimate. Legitimate authority can, for example, be vested in the idea of a nation, and the mantle of that authority can rest on the shoulders of men whose commands are obeyed by virtue of its citizens' patriotism. Some of the power of the Roman emperor may have been rooted here. Yet the ability of the empire of the Romans to inspire such devotion may have been more limited than that of modern Germany, say, or Serbia. 'You have made a city from what was once the world', said a poet, for contempo­ raries conceived of the Roman empire less as a nation and more as a city with vast possessions. Although in the Roman world loyalty to one's home city, or tribe, or creed, was often intense, it cannot be known whether a loyalty to a distant Rome (despite suggestions that it might be encouraged) could ever have been more than a pallid affection among the millions who had never seen the city, even if they were, at law, its citi­ zens. Those resolute parochial loyalties might, however, offer a power­ ful bulwark to a government that could somehow draw strength from them. Authority can also be vested in the law, and imperial subjects brought up to obey the law and respect legal claims to their obedience. The hyp­ notic majesty of Roman jurisprudence inclined the learned of genera­ tions past to ground the empire in the rule of law, and so to devote themselves to minute examination of the legal nature of the power of 31

32

3 1

Rutil. N a m . de Redit. 66; cf. Athen. l. 2 o b - c . On local loyalty, see pp. 88-89 below. Provincials' loyalty to Rome discussed, urged, Dio 5 2 . 1 9 . 6, Aristid. 26. 5 9 - 6 4 (Behr) with Oliver (1953), 9 2 6 - 9 . For lack of patriotism for empire, refs. gathered by Paschoud (1967: 13 n. 1 7 ) , detecting an increasing devotion to Rome among Latin intellectuals after Adrianople; but the rest of society cheerfully gave comfort to the enemy, E . A . Thompson (1980). 3 2

Introduction

9

governors, and exactly what legal powers—proconsular imperium, tribunician authority, and so on—the emperors enjoyed. Authority grounded in law and constitutional tradition is a real part of imperial power; yet visions of a law-based empire tended to exaggerate it. From day to day, among the vast mass of peoples in the empire—even among aristocrats and the emperor's servants themselves—little attention was paid to constitutional niceties. Indeed, the perennial legal ignorance of officials and subjects, remarked upon by Justinian, was equalled only by their lack of interest in technicalities: the centurion, nailing a bandit to a cross, never gave a thought to whether his struggling victim was to pant out the last hours of his life by virtue of the proconsul's imperium or his ius gladii. 'For a king, the laws are no protection against betrayal', said an orator to Trajan with refreshing frankness. No conspirator against the emperor ever slept less well at night because the emperor technically had tribunician sacrosanctity: it was visions of glowering German body­ guards that woke him with a start. Authority can, furthermore, be vested in a man: could the Roman emperor have ruled as some medieval kings did, by a magical or super­ natural authority? Certainly Vespasian and Hadrian were each twice credited with having miraculously cured the sick, and Vespasian with awareness of the political potential of such acts. Perhaps some part of imperial power lies here. Yet compared to other miracle-working monarchs, the Roman emperors were distinctly unmagical. Only a handful of imperial miracles are attested before the fourth century, even though miracles were exactly the kind of detail that ancient writers would have reported, judging by their attention to omens and portents. By contrast, 33

34

35

36

3 3

Honors (1978:35 n. 373) collects ancient statements grounding the empire in arms and the law. For an effective attack on law-based views of the empire, Ste Croix (1981), 3 8 3 - 9 1 ; cf. (by a Romanist) Kunkel (1973), 4 8 - 5 5 ; and Millar (1977), 6 1 6 - 1 7 . Justinian, C. Tanta 17. For officials' ignorance of the law, and their seeming lack of concern to provide themselves with assistants who were learned in it, see Brunt (1975&), 1 3 2 - 6 . Indicative is Men. Rhet. 415. 2 4 - 4 1 6 . 2 6 : one is to praise a governor for experience in the law ( 4 1 5 . 2 6 - 7 ) but this is only one of nineteen headings under which he is to be praised. For ignorance of the law on the part of Tacitus and Cassius Dio, both of w h o m had official careers, R. S. Rogers (1933). 3 4

3 5

D . Chr. 3 . 8 8 ; fear of bodyguards, Jos. A]19. 6; Herod. 4 . 1 3 . 3 - 6 . Vespasian, see p. 110 below; Hadrian, HA Hadr. 2 5 . 1 - 4 (reported with some suspi­ cion). Other imperial wonders (usually, like Vespasian's healing, depicted as indicating the favour of the divine rather than emperors working miracles in their own right), HA Marcus 2 4 . 4 with Dio 7 U 7 2 L ) . 8 (on which see Jobst (1978)); Herod. 1 . 7 . 5 ; Dio 74(75U- 7- 6 - 8 with Herod. 3 . 3 . 7 - 8 (see Rubin (1980), 1 1 7 - 2 0 ) ; HA Aur. 2 5 . 3 - 6 ; Zos. 1 . 6 7 . 1 - 2 with Zon. 12. 29; and they become more c o m m o n under 4th cent. Christian emperors, MacMullen (1968), especially as described in 5th-cent. works, Brown (1992), 134. 3 6

Introduction

10

the healing touch of the medieval kings of Britain and France was fre­ quently remarked upon, and came to be systematically applied to scro­ fula on a regular basis. Louis VI touched the sick every day, and as late as the 1680s, Charles II was applying his marvellous touch to the King's Evil more than eight thousand times a year. In comparison, Roman emper­ ors of the empire in its prime seem to partake of little more than the ambient magic of a superstitious world. Hadrian was a devoted sorcerer, but his magical knowledge was gained like that of any other inhabitant of the empire, by paying an Egyptian wizard, and his magical power in the conventional way, by sacrifice: some reported that he had even slain Antinous as a blood offering. Yet temples were built to the Roman emperor by the hundred, and their altars smoked with sacrifices. Could it be said that the emperor ruled by divine authority—as a god, or demi-god, on earth? It would not do to underrate the political significance of the imperial cult; nor to over­ rate it. For the emperors, especially the principate's architects Augustus and Tiberius, were reluctant to be worshipped; even the third-century Greek historian Cassius Dio, fixing the empire of his day with a gimlet eye, urged the emperor to forbid temples to be built to him. Emperors could accept or refuse cult as they saw fit, so perhaps religious devotion to the emperor was not an indispensable source of imperial power. An understanding of the imperial cult is central to an understanding of Roman government, but it may be as much part of the question as part of the answer. Perhaps the emperor ruled by a manufactured charisma—perhaps he appeared as superhuman, and thus worthy of obedience, by means of a cult of personality crafted by propaganda. Certainly what survives of imperial pronouncements—chiefly the legends on coins—lays stress on the supreme moral virtues of the emperor, as well as his victories, and 37

38

39

40

3 7

O n the King's Touch, Bloch (1924) (Louis V I , p. 94); Barlow (1980); Charles II, Thomas (1971), 193; for magic of early medieval kings, J . M . Wallace-Hadrill (1971), 8 - 2 0 . Hadrian and the magician, PGM 4. 2 4 4 7 - 5 5 ; and Antinous, Dio 6 9 . 1 1 . 2 - 3 . For nonwondrous nature of emperor, note also the lack of ex-voto dedications, Fishwick (1990a). For the imperial view of cult and that of Cassius Dio, pp. 1 6 8 - 1 7 2 below; on the cult in general, pp. 1 6 0 - 1 7 2 below. Against a crass understanding of the imperial cult as Herrschaftslegitimation, Price (1984a: 2 4 0 - 8 ) , w h o also discusses the strategies Greeks used to distinguish 'divine honours' for the emperors from their worship of the Olympian gods (pp. 1 4 6 - 5 6 , 2 0 7 - 2 0 ) ; Veyne (1990), 308. For surveys of forms of publicity available to emperors, J . B. Campbell (1984), 1 4 2 - 5 5 ; Potter (1994), 1 1 0 - 3 0 . 3 8

3 9

4 0

Introduction

11 41

sometimes the coins claim also that he is the chosen of the gods. The omens and portents that litter imperial history may be the spoor of lost attempts to attribute to the emperor—or rebellious, would-be emper­ ors—divine sanction. Imperial ceremonial was awe-inspiring; imperial art and architecture, too, sounded the ponderous themes of victory, con­ quest, and might. Yet the efficacy of such methods—if they are viewed as the self-conscious practising of a cynical few upon a passive multi­ tude—is hard to gauge. The late twentieth century has seen the fall of regimes which had for decades employed all possible contemporary media (newspapers, radio, television) to mould public perceptions of the leader, without fully convincing the people; although most of the emperor's subjects were much more naive, the techniques at the emperor's disposal were much feebler, and much less systematically applied. It is by no means certain, indeed, that the emperors purposed the creation of mass loyalty with their various forms of publicity. But the emperor's intention is less interesting than his subjects' reactions. Paul Zanker has shown how imperial subjects came actively and willingly to participate in the ideology that Augustus' art and architecture expressed, adopting its themes and motifs for their own use. A similar voluntary process of imitation and adaptation can be traced in provincial use of that most potent and ubiquitous imperial symbol, the sculpted image of the emperor. So it may be profitable, later, to consider ways in which loy­ alty to the emperor might be useful to his subjects; and rather than inves­ tigating merely the imposition of imperial dogma on the ruled, to study also the connivance of the ruled with the rulers in the exaltation of the monarch. The preceding interpretations of the working of Roman government arise from modern experience or comparison to other societies; the ex­ planation of Roman government in Roman terms begins with the thesis of von Premerstein. Noticing the large role played in Roman writings by the rhetoric of favours given and owed, he argued that imperial power actually rested upon patronage. The emperor was the patron, the bene­ factor, of his every subject. The subjects, in turn, paid him back for his 42

43

44

45

4 1

Imperial virtues, Charlesworth (1937); A . Wallace-Hadrill (1981a); victory, Gag£ (1933); M c C o r m i c k (1986: 1 1 - 4 6 ) , discussing also the related festivities, esp. the triumph. Chosen of the gods, Fears (1977), 189-315; divine election stressed especially by Christian emperors, M a c C o r m a c k (1981). Rubin (1980); Bowersock (1987); Potter (1994), 1 6 1 - 7 3 ; also miracles, see n. 36 above. Ceremonial, Alfoldi (1970 ( 1 9 3 4 - 5 ) ) ; and esp. for the great public ceremony of adventuSy M a c C o r m a c k (1981), 1 7 - 6 1 . Zanker (1988). Zanker (1983); Smith (1987). 4 2

4 3

4 4

4 5

Introduction

12

benefactions with their loyalty; this was the basis of his power. Thus, the empire was a single enormous spider's web of reciprocal favours. As the younger Seneca put it: 'An emperor is kept safe by benefaction: he has no need for guards—weapons he keeps for decoration.' Although scholars have successfully criticized some of the details of von Premerstein's thesis, its basis has gained wide acceptance. Given the size of the empire the emperor could not possibly have been everyone's direct patron, as von Premerstein more or less assumed. Nor need he have been. The emperor did favours for leading aristocrats and generals, who repaid him with loyalty. These men had clients of their own, who looked to them for boons; and these clients might thereby be put, albeit indirectly, at the emperor's disposal, thus creating a great spider's web made up of smaller spiders' webs. And where the emperor seemed to have a hundred servants, suddenly he had thousands. 'It is the web of favors given or owed that enables an imperial administration of only a few hundred really to rule an empire,' as MacMullen puts it. A neat, elegant, and, as far as it goes, convincing thesis; helpful too because it offers insight not only into how the great could command the small, but into how the comparatively small could influence the great, how consent could be widened by placing government at the service of the subject. Yet there are puzzles. How exactly do boons produce loyalty? For the loyalty that follows benefaction is more than a canny appraisal of the like­ lihood of getting more boons in future (although that certainly plays its role). In AD 360, Julian, having assumed the purple and revolted against Constantius, administered an oath of loyalty to his followers. Surrounded by Julian's enraged soldiery, and facing the greatest likeli­ hood of death, the praetorian prefect, Constantius' appointment, refused to swear, 'because he was bound to Constantius by many and frequent benefactions'. The prefect is driven by something he valued more than his life. What? Von Premerstein imagined that the force of the patron-client relationship lay in mighty oaths sworn by the client, but this aspect of his argument has been battered to pieces, for oaths of clien­ tage are a myth. Part of the psychological basis of patronage as a method of rulership remains obscure. 46

47

48

49

4 6

Sen. Clem. 1.13.5; cf. Dio 53.4.1. V o n Premerstein (1937), 13-116; and in practice, Syme

(1939), 349-86. 4 7

MacMullen (1988), 121; see also 111-12; cf. e.g. Garnsey and Sailer (1987), 148-50; A .

Wallace-Hadrill

(1989). 79-84- For a detailed criticism of aspects of von Premerstein,

Rouland (1979X 348-400,500-9. 4 8

A m m . Marc. 21. 5.11.

4 9

Oaths, Herrmann (1968), esp. 93.

Introduction

13

Consideration of some conspiracies against the emperor, moreover, points to the limits of patronage as an explanation for the working of Roman government. The man who stabbed Caligula, many of the men who formed the ill-fated Pisonian conspiracy against Nero, and the men who arranged and carried out the murder of Caracalla suffered no lack of benefactions from the emperors they plotted against; indeed, Caligula's killer had frequent occasion to thank him for boons, one of the Pisonian conspirators was a consul designate while others were familiars of the emperor, and Caracalla's nemesis, Macrinus, was praetorian prefect. Rather, when the historians deduce conspirators' motives, they often insist that such men conspired against the emperors because, to put it somewhat quaintly, the emperors had offended against their honour. Caligula had mocked Cassius Chaerea, and had publicly accused him of effeminacy. Caracalla had treated Macrinus similarly, and had baited the centurion who actually slew him with his base birth and cowardice. Nero had composed a saucy poem about the senator Afranius Quintianus, and had denied Lucan what the poet felt was his rightful share of fame. Indeed, as Tacitus tells it, the one man the Pisonian conspirators approached precisely because they believed that Nero's failure to requite him for his services might have turned him against the emperor, promptly informed Nero of what was going on. He was Volusius Proculus, a naval captain at Misenum who had assisted in the murder of Nero's mother, Agrippina. So the empire was more than a colossal back-scratching scheme; in the eyes of some observers the principate evi­ dently depended not only on a well-directed stream of boons, but also on careful regard for the honour of those around the emperor. 50

L O O K I N G AT ROMAN IMPERIAL G O V E R N M E N T

Force, authority, and patronage cannot, therefore, complete the recon­ struction of imperial power. There are still aspects that need explaining: the workings of honour and pride, the underpinnings of loyalty and gratitude for benefactions. Nor, I think, are these incidental oddities: a glance at how inhabitants of the empire perceived those who ruled them reveals the centrality of this constellation of thoughts and feelings to an 5 0

Cassius Chaerea, conspirator against Caligula, Suet. Gaius 56. 2; Jos. A]19. 21, 2 9 - 3 2 ; Dio 59. 29. 2; cf. Sen. Const 1 8 . 3 . The Pisonian conspirators, Tac. Ann. 1 5 . 4 8 - 5 1 ; Suet. Vit. Luc; Dio 6 2 . 2 9 . 4 ; T a c . Hist. 1 . 2 0 reports that Nero had given H S 220,000,000 to his friends. Macrinus conspires against Caracalla, Herod. 4. 1 2 . 1 - 2 , 4. 1 3 . 1 - 2 , 5. 1. 3. See also, C o m m o d u s , Herod. 1. 8.4; Pertinax, HA Pert. 10. 9; and cf. Tyr. Trig. 8. 6 - 7 .

Introduction understanding of Roman government. To understand Roman govern­ ment, it is helpful to try to get a glimpse of government through Roman eyes. If a Roman official appears to attract more attention as a dignitary than as a functionary, if the most clearly perceived hierarchy of which he is a part is social and not administrative, and if he seems to be interested more in being honoured than in being dutiful, an explanation of Roman government must account for these perceptions. First, how was the top, the emperor, viewed by the bottom—the low­ est social stratum whose opinions can be canvassed—peasants in the provinces, far away from Rome? 'There are among us', wrote Synesius of Cyrene about the rustics of North Africa, 'those who think that Agamemnon, son of Atreus—he who went to Troy—still rules, a man exceedingly good and true, whose name was handed down to us as royal from childhood.' At the most extreme remove, therefore, two aspects appeared important to the subject: the name and the personality of the emperor, even if drawn from fable. Another depiction stressing the same aspects, again from an observer far from the centre and not of high status, is the vision of the emperor fig­ ured as Revelation's beast from the sea: 51

And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, hav­ ing seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. A n d the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed. A n d all the world wondered after the beast. A n d they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, who is like unto the beast? W h o is able to make war with him? A n d there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven

Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number

of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred three­ score and six.

52

Here the emperor's name lies concealed by a code—so well concealed, indeed, that the exact emperor meant is still hotly disputed—but although the expression is metaphorical, the concerns were the same: 5 1

Syn. Ep. 148 (Garzya). Rev. 13: i - 6 , 1 8 (Authorized Version trans.). O n this passage, see Price (1984a), 1 9 6 - 8 . W e deduce John's low social origin from his corrupt Greek, S. Thompson (1985). 5 2

Introduction

15

53

who and what is the emperor? What is his nature? What are his (in this case horrible) characteristics and attributes? This description is no badly regurgitated civics lesson: the emperor at far remove was not seen as a collection of duties and powers, as the American president is depicted in the classroom to every American child. He was, rather, an individual with personality. Further up the social scale, the views of those more knowledgeable and closer to the emperor show more continuities with than differences from this most distant view. When the educated and sophisticated Philostratus imagined the advice given to the sage Apollonius of Tyana to prepare him for his trial before Domitian, it was the emperor's appearance—his beetling brow and puffy cheeks—as well as the grim tone of his voice which seemed worth relating. Indeed, in general it seems that it was the personal appearance of the emperor, and his quirks, that interested edu­ cated provincials. It was his 'personhood' that attracted attention: this was the emphatic category. Moreover, through panegyric modern readers can approach the impe­ rial presence, and listen to how those actually addressing him describe him. Here too the emperor was perceived just as those further away per­ ceived him, for panegyrics to an emperor assumed that his actions were the result of various attributes of personality—good attributes, obvi­ ously, of the reigning emperor, or bad ones in the case of an evil prede­ cessor adduced for purposes of comparison. Thus, for example, his success in war was a result of his personal courage, his achievements in peace the result of self-control, justice, and wisdom. In this view, an emperor was, as it were, a self-activating actor: his actions grew out of his 54

55

56

5 3

Which emperor is concealed behind the number 666 is a notorious crux. The key is that Greek and Hebrew letters serve as numbers, giving rise to the magical practice of gematria, expression of words as the sum of the numerical values of their letters. T h e traditional view (recentiy well expressed in Collins (1976), 1 7 4 - 8 6 ; older discussions are collated in Bocher (1980), 8 4 - 7 ) favours the numerical value for the Hebrew 'Nero Caesar', which has the dual advantage of explaining the beast's death-wound (Rev. 1 3 : 3 — i n legend, Nero does not die, but goes into hiding and returns) and the textual variant 616 (a slightly different spelling in the Hebrew). 5 4

O n the progress of American children, with age and education, from a person-based to a duty-based conception of the U S president, Easton and Dennis (1969), 1 4 2 - 2 0 7 . Apollonius, Philostr. VA 7. 28. Also D . C h r . 21. 6; T a c . Hist. 1. 7; HA Macr. 1. 4; MacMullen (1988), 114; and Potter (1990:139) on the Sibylline Oracles. Cf. PGM 12. 2 7 9 , 1 3 . 2 5 1 - 3 : when the emperor appears in magic spells, it is as an individual whose anger the mages seek magically to assuage. 5 5

5 6

Men. Rhet. 372. 2 8 - 3 7 6 . 23; cf. Pliny, Paneg. 25; [Aristid.] 35 (Behr), passim; Pan. Lat. 2(12). 2 5 - 9 . On the genre of panegyric to emperors see M a c C o r m a c k (1975); (1981); and Nixon (1983).

Introduction

16

own character. The emperor was perceived not as the occupant of an abstract box, 'emperorship', into which the man fitted, and which pre­ scribed his duties qua emperor; the emperor was not thought of as for­ mulating policy as a function of his position; rather, he did what he did because of the kind of man he was. Of course remarks made at court in the presence of the imperial body­ guards should not be taken too seriously: woe to the orator who strayed very far from what the emperor wanted to hear. But the way the pane­ gyrists organized their thoughts is none the less significant. And histori­ ans, who had no cause to flatter and, indeed, often took a very dim view of the emperors they wrote about, viewed the emperors in exactly the same way. When as hardbitten an observer as Ammianus Marcellinus described the low taxes in the reign of the emperor Julian as testimony to his 'liberality', and high taxes in the reign of Valentinian as evidence of his 'avarice' (even though he was fully aware of the financial stringency under which Valentinian operated), he offers more than rhetorical com­ monplace: this was how well-educated, knowledgeable people preferred to think about their emperors. As the emperor, so the emperor's officials. Beginning again at the fur­ thest and lowest point, with Synesius' peasants, we read, 'and the worthy rustics name a certain Odysseus as the emperor's friend, a bald man, but remarkable in dealing with affairs and at finding expedients in difficul­ ties'. Last to fade into obscurity was a name, an appearance, a person­ ality, even if of the wrong individual. Closer in and higher up, in one of those rare contexts where there is no reason to suspect flattery, a distin­ guished Alexandrian described a Prefect of Egypt: 57

58

[He was] a man who at the start gave countless examples of gentlemanliness, for he was shrewd and persevering, quick to think and perform what he had deliber­ ated, extremely apt at speaking and perceiving what was not said as well as what was. In a short time he became experienced at all Egyptian affairs, as complicated and intricate as they are, nay, understood with difficulty even by those who have put themselves to that labour from their youth. . . . And all matters concerned with accounting and the revenues he managed successfully, and if these deeds, as great and necessary as they were, did not display an example of a soul meet for a governor, he performed ones which showed a more glorious, nay, a kingly [or

5 7

A m m . Marc. 25. 4. 15, 30. 8. 8, with Matthews (1989), 239-40. See also Philo, Leg. Gaium 86-91; Suet. Tib. 5 9 . 1 ; Claud. 3 4 - 5 ; Herod. 7 . 1 . 2 , 7 . 3 . 3 ; Dio 6 7 . 1 . 1 , 7 3 ( 7 4 L ) . 5 - 1 - 2 ; HA Claud. 1 . 3 ; Prob. 1 8 . 4 ; cf. MacMullen (1976), 3 0 - 1 . Even the emperor himself takes this view: Julian, Sytnp. 3o8d-3i5d; Ep. 73 (Bidez); Gk. Const. 275. Syn. Ep. 148 (Garzya). 5 8

Introduction

17

imperial] nature: he bore himself rather grandly, for pomp is most advantageous to a ruler, and judged important cases together with those in authority.. ,

5 9

The official's competence and success were attributed to his 'gentlemanliness', not his devotion to duty. His conduct as a judge showed not that he was a good official, but that he had a kingly soul. And when the author moved on to examine why the same Prefect of Egypt's administration decayed into a tyranny, he was not interested in how he ceased to perform his official functions, but in how he came to be a bad man. This view of officials as self-activating actors appears in a great many contexts in the historians, in the orators, in the astrologers—it was the communis opinio of the educated classes. It was no different from the way the emperor thought of his officials. Trajan wrote to Pliny, governor of Bithynia, in some irritation at his subordinate's insistence on consult­ ing him over trivial matters: 'I chose your wisdom', said he, 'so that you would exercise a moderating influence on the morals of your province.' He didn't say, 'shut up and do your job.' He said, 'shut up and be your­ self.' Much more immediately visible to most inhabitants of the empire than the emperor or the governor were soldiers and tax-collectors. These were not viewed fondly: 'He goes into the city and a tax-collector meets him, then it is as though a bear had come upon him.' They were considered the most horrific menaces, the tax-collectors for extortion and dishonesty, the soldiers for murder, pillage, rape, any crime that monsters with swords in their hands could possibly commit against the unarmed. Such men did not perform terrible misdeeds because they were appalling ex officio; rather, they were perceived as personally and morally appalling. 'I cannot serve in the army, I cannot do evil, I am a Christian,' cried a martyr object­ ing to his conscription, illustrating how inseparable, to this Roman mind at least, joining the army was from falling into moral vice. 60

61

62

63

64

5 9

6

0

Philo Flacc. 2 - 4 , KaXoKayaOia. Ibid. 8 - 1 0 3 ; cf. A m m . Marc. 29. 2. 2 2 - 3 . See esp. T a c . Agric. 9, and also Pliny, Ep. 9. 5; Tac. Hist. 3. 49; Apul. Apol. 102; Herod. 1 . 1 2 . 3 - 4 , 2 . 8 . 2 ; Firm. Mat. 3 . 1 0 . 1 ; HA Trig. Tyr. 6 . 6 - 7 ; Musurillo (1972), 4. c. 1 , 1 4 . 2 ; A m m . Marc. 2 6 . 8 . 1 2 , 2 7 . 8 . 1 0 , 2 8 . 1 . 1 0 ; Eunap. VS 480; John Lyd. Mag. 3 . 5 7 - 6 5 (6th cent.); and on a great many honorific inscriptions, e.g. AE1931.38. Cf. Sailer (1982), 1 0 2 - 3 . 6 1

6 2

Pliny, Ep. 1 0 . 1 1 7 ; cf. AE 1 9 6 2 . 1 8 3 a . Quoted, Bavli Sanhedrin 98b, trans. Sperber (1978), 83. Menace of tax-collectors, C i c . Off 1 . 1 5 0 ; Luke 3 : 1 2 - 1 3 ; Artem. 4 . 5 7 ; D. C h r . 1 4 . 1 4 . Crimes of soldiers, Luke 3 : 1 4 ; Petr. Sat. 82; Apul. Met. 9 . 3 9 ; Goodman (1983), 143, and see MacMullen (1963), 8 5 - 9 . M o r e generally, a rabbi describes the retinue of a governor as bandits, Sperber (1978: 5 4 ) , citing Leviticus Rabba 9 . 8 . 6 3

6 4

Soldiers, quoted, Musurillo (1972), 1 7 . 1 ; cf. Juv. 16 passim. Moral badness of tax-col­ lectors, Luke 19: 2 - 1 0 ; Matt. 9: 9 - 1 3 ; 2 1 : 3 1 ; Artem. 1. 23.

Introduction

18

Thus the representatives of the Roman government, at several levels, were perceived as moral agents, and not as professional puppets jerked about by their official duties, pursuing policies emanating from their job descriptions. The Romans were not incapable of seeing their officials in other terms, but it was the perception of their rulers as people first that was most important to contemporaries. This realization poses a series of allied questions: how did these men seem to relate to one another in the context of government? To what extent were they seen as organized in hierarchies, and how were they ranked one against another? A soldier shook down the peasants because he was a horrible man, but the same soldier obviously did not obey his centurion by virtue of his character—he did so by virtue of military discipline. 'I am a man under authority, says the centurion in Matthew, 'and I have soldiers under me, and I say to one "go", and he goes, and to another "come", and he comes.' Even at a great distance from the capital, in far Judaea, military discipline and military hierarchy were clearly understood: the power to command and the obligation to obey were seen to arise chiefly from the respective positions of individuals in the hierarchy, not from considera­ tions of personality. Here categories natural to us, and those natural to antiquity, are very close. But if we leave aside the army, and look for other official hierarchies, ancient perceptions rapidly blur. The Romans did not see their government as an abstraction. To the emperor's subjects all their rulers together were 'the authorities' rather than 'the state'. They did not automatically see the connection between government's parts. It was possible to hate the tax-collectors and soldiers, as nearly everyone did, without hating the emperor, or even the governor. Josephus described King Agrippa II patiently explaining to the Jews that they could not make war on the procurator Florus without making war against Nero as well, and that their refusal to pay tribute would be interpreted not as a blow against Florus, but against the emperor. In the same part of the world, gleefully contemplating the ruin of the enemies of Israel, the rab­ bis listed (in transliteration) what would be destroyed—consuls, gover­ nors, centurions, Roman matrons—an apparent nonsense list, a jingle. >

65

66

67

68

69

70

6 5

Matt. 8: 9; cf. Livy 8 . 3 4 . 7 ; T a c . Hist. 1. 8 3 - 4 . Judaea, Goodman (1983), 144; Isaac (1990), 1 3 7 - 8 . Kunkel (1973), 9. By contrast, U S children develop a conception of'government' quite early, Easton and Dennis (1969), 1 1 2 - 1 3 . R o m . 1 3 : 1 , egovoiai; Musurillo (1972), 1 . 1 0 ; Goodman (1983), 151. Jos. BJ 2. 4 0 2 - 5 ; cf. Goodman (1983: 1 6 6 ) , citing Sifre Num. p. 1 0 2 , 1 1 . 14. 1 4 - 1 6 , Belhaalotekha 103. Goodman (1983:5*)> citing Sifre Deut. 317 p. 360. 6 6

6 7

6 8

6 9

7 0

Introduction

19

At a distance, they see only the individuals, or the positions, not the rela­ tions between them. Among the more knowledgeable, official hierarchies were perceived, although not entirely the ones we might expect. For example, ancient observers are prepared to tell us that an official received his authority from Caesar. 'I am judge over the Greeks/ a great magnate was imagined as saying to Epictetus. 'So you know how to judge? How come?' 'Caesar wrote me a codicil.' The educated provincial public were not deeply impressed by fine distinctions between senatorial and imperial authority; rather, this public by and large perceived that the authority of Roman officials derived from the emperor by a very literal form of delegation. Said the apostle Paul to the governor of Judaea: 'I have not offended against the Law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar... I stand at the tribunal of Caesar, where it is necessary that I be judged... I appeal unto Caesar.' The governor, in this view, simply stood in for Caesar by sitting atop Caesar's judgement seat. He was an outlet for the emperor's power. Later, this literalism would produce the perception that portraits of the emperor actually had to be present in court for judi­ cial business to be done: 71

72

Consider how many governors there are in all the world. Since the emperor is not present at the side of them all, it is necessary for the image of the emperor to stand in courts of justice, in markets, in meeting-houses, and in theatres. The emperor's image must consequently be present in every place where the governor acts, in order that his acts have authority.

73

This view has its parallel in his subjects' views of the emperor's coinage: a coin could not reliably circulate in the market-place without the emperor's head upon it. The origin of the authority of officials was, therefore, perceived by con­ temporaries: they could imagine a crude hierarchy based on delegation by the emperor. Some relations of obedience between persons in the emperor's service also attracted contemporaries' attention. Soldiers have already been seen to obey by virtue of military discipline and their posi­ tion in a military hierarchy. Slaves and freedmen in the imperial service were thought to obey by virtue of their status. Thus in the emperor's 74

7 1

A r r . Epict. 3 . 7 . 3 0 ; see also Small. Nerva 216; Gk. Const. 17. Acts 2 5 : 8 - 1 1 ; see also 1 Pet. 2:13-14; Philo, Leg. Gaium 230; Men. Rhet. 3 7 8 . 1 0 . Severian, deMund. Great. Or. 6 . 5 ( = P G 5 6 . 4 8 9 ) . Imperial portraits are clearly present in court from the 2nd cent., Apul. Apol. 85. For a convenient compendium of the power o f the imperial image in society, see Price (1984a), esp. 1 7 0 - 2 0 6 . Lendon (1990). 7 2

7 3

7 4

Introduction

20

letter of appointment to a freedman functionary he describes the freedman's duty as an opera, the technical term for the services owed to a patron by his freedman after manumission. Members of what is even today too often called the 'slave and freedman civil service* performed their duties not as civil servants (in our sense) who happened to be slaves or freedmen, but as slaves and freedmen whose duties happened to fall in what we would call the public realm. His slaves obeyed the emperor as their master, his freedmen obeyed the emperor as their patron. Between upper-class officials, however, relations of obedience were far more problematic. A good entree into the thought-world of such men, and into their views of obedience to each other and the emperor, is a work of the satirist Lucian, who wrote to defend his acceptance of a post in the imperial government late in life. A defence was needed because some time earlier he had written an essay on how disgraceful it was for educated men to take up salaried posts in the houses of the rich. Now he defended himself against a hypothetical charge of hypocrisy, a charge based on the fact that 'in both cases there is pay and one obeys another\ To escape from this embarrassing conundrum required a good deal of puffing and blowing on Lucian's part, and readers are left with this fact: the relations between an official and his superior (either another official or the emperor) were very similar, in the mind of Lucian's presumed audience, to those between a magnate and his wretched hireling, a rela­ tionship which he described, in turn, as not much different from that of master and slave. Far from surprising, then, is the audible quiet of the ancient sources on the subject of aristocrats' obedience. The stigma which slavery cast on such relations was of the most profound significance to Roman govern­ ment. Although it was understood that a gentleman official had to obey his chiefs orders, he might be insulted if another gentleman official pre­ sumed actually to give him an order. Thus even the emperor was extremely tactful, phrasing his directives to his grand officials as sugges­ tions and advice. Letters of appointment for his equestrian officials, 75

76

77

78

7 5

Opera, CIL vi. 8619; and Dio 57. 8. 2 for the emperor and his slaves; see also Boulvert (1974), 1 0 - 1 0 9 , 1 8 0 - 9 7 , and Burton (1977), 165. 7 6

Lucian, Apol. 11; cf. Hopkins (1983), 1 7 8 - 9 . Lucian's previous essay was his de Merc. Cond. O n these works, C . P. Jones (1986), 7 8 - 8 4 . Duty to obey, Polyb. 6 . 1 2 . 2 ; Cic. Leg. 3 . 7 . 1 6 ; ad Q. Fr. 1 . 1 . 1 1 ; Jos. AJ18. 89; HA Verus 4. 2. Danger of insult, Cic. ad Fam. 13. 2 6 . 3 . Pliny, Ep. 10 passim, for the correspondence of Pliny and Trajan. There are, of course, exceptions, Philo, Leg. Gaium 256; Gk. Const. 276. A n d late emperors were more brusque: see Eus. Hist. Eccl. 1 0 . 5 . 1 7 and some of the forged imperial letters in the later lives of the HA. 7 7

7 8

Introduction

21

where, of all places, a modern reader expects some reference to obedi­ ence, avoided all mention of it. And this antipathy to seeming to obey manifested itself in practical terms: the early and high empire simply avoided hierarchies of obedience as much as possible. Pliny (for exam­ ple), when he governed Bithynia and Pontus, had no authority over the equestrian prefect of the Pontic shore. Where there was an explicit hier­ archy of obedience, there was groping for a metaphor to describe the rela­ tions of one official to another: a consul to his quaestor is l i k e . . . perhaps a father. In late antiquity, when the number of officials became larger and the administration was regularly more than one aristocrat deep, another metaphor was employed: now it was envisioned that the func­ tionaries served in the army, because it was especially under military dis­ cipline that aristocrats could obey one another without loss of face. These evasions are symptoms of more than the euphemistic concealment of an ugly reality; they were an attempt to ameliorate the acute discom­ fort that stark relations of obedience between one aristocrat and another inspired. This was a world where aristocrats, even privately, did not think of themselves primarily as the servants of others. One key to understanding the hierarchy that Romans thought was most important among aristocratic officials lies in noting the significance of the Roman practice of granting the insignia of political offices—the robes and tokens, both on the municipal and imperial level—to persons who had not held those offices, for use either from day to day, or on spe­ cial occasions. This only makes sense when it is understood that offices were social distinctions, and that the hierarchy that was marked to con­ temporaries was not any official hierarchy, in our sense, but a social hier­ archy—a hierarchy of prestige and standing—in which official rank was a vital criterion of ranking. When an aristocrat received his callers in the morning, the cry went up, 'first the praetor, second the tribune!' Thus the scandal when Claudius' assistant Pallas, a freedman and therefore a person of low social status, was given the insignia of a praetor, because a praetor ranked much higher in society than any freedman should. And another scandal, one which provoked extended debate in the senate 79

80

81

82

83

84

85

7 9

AE 1962.183a; CPL 238. Pliny, Ep. 10. 2 1 , 2 2 ; see Sherwin-White (1966), 588. Pliny, Ep. 4 . 1 5 . 9; Cic. ad Earn. 1 3 . 1 0 . 1 ; also for quaestor and praetor, Div. Caec. 6 1 . A . H . M . Jones (1964), 3 7 7 - 8 , and esp. MacMullen (1963), 4 9 - 7 6 . N o stigma attached to obedience in war, see esp. Plut. Fab. Max. 2 4 . 3 , and see p. 248 below for obedience in the Roman army. 8 0

8 1

8 2

8 3

8 4

M o m m s e n ( 1 8 8 7 - 8 ) , i. 4 5 5 - 6 7 ; Borzsdk (1939). Juv. 1 . 1 0 1 , 'da praetori, da deinde tribuno*.

8 5

Pliny, Ep. 8. 6.

Introduction

22

about the conduct of youth, erupted when the glittering young Lucius Sulla failed to give up his seat at the games to an ex-praetor. Having been praetor, the aggrieved party had achieved a certain position in society, and was entitled to social deference. Three centuries later, one of the central interests of surviving late-antique law, and late-antique observers, was still the social rank signified by the holding of various offices. Ammianus Marcellinus lauded the late emperor Constantius because 'under him no military officer was advanced to the station of clarissimus ["most glorious", the level of senators]. They were, as I recall, perfectissimi ["most perfect", a lower level].' Ammianus thus praised the emperor for having avoided Claudius' solecism with Pallas. Ancient perceptions of how officials were ranked were echoed by two unequally emphatic views of the subject's duty to officials. There was per­ ceived, without question, a duty to obey the emperor, the governor, or a local official when he gave an order: 'Let every soul obey the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and the authori­ ties that exist are established by God,' as St Paul wrote to the Romans. But when the Christians found a problem with this dictum—during per­ secution pagan sacrifice was required, thus making obedience impossi­ ble—their reaction is informative: men about to be martyred patiently explained to their judges, and Tertullian expounded in detail, the view that despite this disobedience Christians too could be loyal subjects as long as they 'honoured' the emperors. And, in fact, even allowing for obvious self-interest when this subject is broached by Christians, the duty to 'honour' or respect officials, whether local, imperial, or the emperor himself, is vastly more prominent in ancient writings than the duty to 86

87

88

89

8 6

T a c . Ann. 3 . 3 1 . Cf. Plut. Quaest. Rom. 283a; Aul. Gel. 2. 2; Lib. Or. 2. 7 - 9 . Putting this outlook another way, Veyne (1990), 48; for more on this subject, C h . 4 below. A m m . Marc. 2 1 . 1 6 . 2 . Rank of offices, see CTh 6 passim; cf. John Lyd. Mag. (6th cent.), passim. 8 7

8 8

R o m . 13: 1; for patristic discussions, Clark (1991). See also 1 Pet. 2: 1 3 - 1 4 ; cf. Justin Martyr, Apol. 1 . 1 7 . Duty of obedience to local officials, Plut. Praec. Ger. Reip. 8i6f; to Roman officials, Cic. Leg. 3. 3. 6; Plut. Praec. Ger. Reip. 8i4e; to the emperor, Tac. Ann. 6. 8; Pliny, Paneg. 9. 4; D . C h r . 3. 6; Dio 5 2 . 1 5 . 2; Eus. Hist. Eccl. 9 . 1 . 6 - 7 (by civic officials). But of six surviving inscriptional texts of loyalty oaths to the emperor (Herrmann (1968), 1 2 2 - 6 , two are rather fragmentary), only one (SEG xviii. 578) specifies duties viraKovacadai neidapxrioew, 'to be obedient and to obey one in authority'. 8 9

Musurillo (1972), 1 . 1 0 , TifjLrjv . . . dnovefieiv (note esp. the martyr's reinterpretation of Rom. 13: 1 from a question of obedience to a question of paying honour), 6. 9, 7. 6. Tertullian, Apol. esp. 3 3 - 6 , a work intended for both Christian and pagan readers, Barnes (1971), 1 0 3 - 4 , 1 0 9 - 1 0 . Earlier, Rom. 1 3 : 7 , 1 Pet. 2:17.

Introduction

23

90

obey. Cicero, when expounding the 'law of nature', placed duty to offi­ cials under the rubric of'respect': 'The duty of respect', said he, 'requires us to reverence and cherish those outstanding because of age or wisdom, or office, or any other claim to prestige.' The duty to obey could be viewed as a subset of the wider duty to honour one's rulers. The marked perception, therefore, is not of subjects, officials, and emperor dealing with each other in terms of obedience. Rather, the sub­ ject paid 'honour' to his rulers as individuals deserving of it in them­ selves, and, in turn, the rulers are seen to relate to their subjects by 'honouring' them. Subject and official were linked by a great network of honouring, and obedience was an aspect of that honouring. Moreover, it was very largely in terms of honour that relations between individuals in the government were described: 'Both military and civil officials looked up to the praetorian prefects with the ancient custom of rever­ ence, as at the apex of all distinctions,' as Ammianus Marcellinus said. And at the very centre of this network stood the Roman emperor, relent­ lessly honoured by the men and cities of his world, and busily honouring them in return, or augmenting the honours they had bestowed upon oth­ ers. This focus on the business of honouring in no way set the relations of subject and official, or official and official, apart from relations within society at large. As Cicero revealed, there was nothing specifically gov­ ernmental in honouring people: it was an everyday social function, the constant expectation of a man in any respect distinguished. In the eyes of contemporaries, just as officials' marked hierarchy was social, rather than specifically governmental, so was the way in which people interacted with their rulers, and the rulers with each other. Government was no separate mental category, sharply distinguished from civil society; it was some­ thing 'embedded' in society, to borrow a term from the anthropologists. When the objective was the governor's crucifixion of a Jewish trouble91

92

93

9 0

Duty to honour local officials, Plut. Praec. Ger. Reip. 816a, 817D-C; imperial officials, D .

Chr. 3 1 . 1 0 5 ; Pliny, Ep. 1 . 2 3 . 2 ; Dig. 3 . 1 . 5 (Ulpian); the emperor, Lucian, Apol. 13; Nic. Dam. FGH 90 F 1 2 5 ; Philo, Leg. Gaium 1 4 0 - 5 4 ; Herod. 4 . 2 . 9 ; Men. Rhet. 3 6 8 . 1 9 . This is matched by a concern on the part of officials and the emperor that they be honoured, e.g. D . C h r . 1. 27; Dio 53. 6 . 4 . For much more on this subject, Chs. 3 - 4 below. 9 1

Cic. Inv. 2.66,

'observantiam, per quam aetate aut sapientia aut honore aut aliqua dig-

nitate antecedentes reveremur et colimus'; cf. Off. 1 . 1 4 9 . 9 2

For emperor honouring, C h . 3 below; imperial officials, C h . 4 below; local officials,

Plut. Praec. Ger. Reip. 8o8b-c. 9 3

A m m . M a r c . 2 1 . 1 6 . 2, 'ut honorum o m n i u m apicem, priscae reverentiae more, prae-

fectos semper suspexere praetorio'. See pp. 1 7 7 - 8 0 below. Officials' duty to honour emperor, Suet. Vesp. 15; Dio 66(65L). 1 2 . 1 ; Lib. Or. 1 8 . 1 5 9 .

24

Introduction

maker, the crowd did not cry, 'Do your duty', or 'Do your job'; it cried, 'If you let him go, you are no friend of Caesar's.' 94

H O N O U R AND G O V E R N M E N T

The curious circumstances surrounding the conspiracies against Caligula, Nero, and Caracalla suggested the presence of sentiments of honour on the imperial stage. Now their significance seems corrobo­ rated: when a contemporary thought about his government, he first per­ ceived individuals, acting by virtue of their individual character, ranked in relationship to each other chiefly in accord with their position in the greater social hierarchy, and relating to each other, and to the rest of soci­ ety, through socially prosaic relations of'honour'. The purpose of this book is to investigate the ramifications of these perceptions; to describe and analyse the role relations of honour played in Roman imperial government. Chapter 2 offers evidence of honour working as a form of power in society at large. The following chapters consider how honour contributed to the power of the rulers over the ruled, and how it contributed to the power of the ruled over the rulers, on the level of the emperor (Chapter 3), of imperial officials (Chapter 4), and in the Roman army (Chapter 5). An understanding of power directed upwards is no less essential to an understanding of government: such power dictates the degree to which the rulers govern in the interest of the ruled, thus, in part, the consent the rulers can rely upon, and so how powerful government must be to succeed. To be more precise, these chapters offer the testimony of authors who describe honour as working in these ways. For one of honour's main functions was to conceal sterner realities. It was a fanciful and grandiose icing on a predictably bitter cake. When a subject or official says honour or shame has moved him to action, it can never ultimately be known whether honour is a plaster fig-leaf concealing something less publicly acceptable. Old and reputable, honour was ready to hand as a face-saving way to describe the interaction of man and authority, to conceal greed and fear, to depict obedience in a world where slavery cast a stigma upon it. A rhetoric of concealment so elaborated invites investigation in its own right: permitting the efficient exercise of brute power under an unobjec­ tionable veil, it allows proud men to obey without balking, orders to be 9 4

John 1 9 : 1 2 . Non-governmental outlook of officials, Sailer (1982), 9 6 - 1 0 8 ; MacMullen (1988), 59,79> 2 0 5 - 8 ; Veyne (1990), 2 0 5 - 6 .

Introduction

25

given without inspiring hatred, sacks of gold to be accepted without shame by men who could not bear to be imagined other men's hirelings. First, then, honour is part of power because it acts as a cloak or a lubri­ cant to other forms of power. Yet perhaps honour had a deeper significance also, for not only do men describe themselves (suspiciously, we might think) as moved by honour, but other men may—many years, even centuries, later, with no reason to conceal realities—describe their predecessors in the same way. Tacitus can hardly be accused of trying to hide the bad motives of most of the people he depicts; his vice is meanness of spirit, not generosity. If the historical tradition depicts honour as an important part of ruling, then honour is more than a rhetoric: it is at least an ideology. If fooling is going on, the historians are fooling not only their contemporaries, and us, but themselves as well. So here relations of honour are studied also as the articulation of power of other types—as one of the ways Romans and Greeks represented power to themselves, as one of the ways they recon­ ciled themselves to it, in order to make living under, and participating in, a cruel and often alien authority tolerable, even attractive. The psycho­ logical techniques by which subjects extorted from themselves consent to government are also an important aspect of empire. I suspect, finally, that honour was useful as a rhetoric of concealment, and appealing as an ideology, not least because it did have a day-to-day practical function in society and government. A terrified or greedy man could say (and even convince himself) that he acted out of respect, yearn­ ing for honour, or fear of shame, because he knew plenty of people who had. A good screen, because a believable one. In the ancient world, hon­ our was a form of power in its own right; it had its own independent wellspring in the soul, in the sense of pride, in that aggression for social ends anthropologists call the pecking order, and had broad significance for Roman imperial government. It could therefore be a real tool of rulership, mingled with fear (and, in part but not in whole, a consequence of fear), greed, and obedience to legitimate authority. It seems to me that the evidence is not inconsistent with honour playing a considerable role in the day-to-day business of government, not only because ancient authors portray the emperor using honour to secure the obedience of his great officials, other distinguished men, and the cities of his empire; not only because we are shown great officials using honour to gain the co­ operation of the local notables in whose hands the actual governing of the empire largely lay; but finally because the Graeco-Roman system of hon­ our underlay political gratitude—thus patronage—and was perceived to

Introduction

26

be important also to understanding the obedience and loyalty of the emperors' agents of force, Roman soldiers. Historically, there is nothing at all peculiar about using honour to rule. Few Roman practices in this sphere would have been inexplicable to Louis XIV, honorific admission to whose royal person was regulated to a nicety from the moment he rose, one class of courtiers attending on him as he got out of bed, an inferior order being admitted only after he had put on his dressing-gown. The granting of titles, medals, and orders of chivalry as an instrument of policy is a broad theme of European history. Living under a government of this sort, Montesquieu naturally con­ cluded that while the operative principle of democracy was virtue, and that of despotism fear, the operative principle of monarchy was hon­ our. As late as 1790, Edmund Burke could stand on the edge of an old world in many ways similar to that of the Romans and look with horror upon the new, comparing old turmoils in France to the Revolution. In former days, 95

96

a conscious dignity, a noble pride, a generous sense of glory and emulation was not extinguished. On the contrary, it was kindled and inflamed... All the prizes of honour and virtue, all the rewards, all the distinctions remained. But your pre­ sent confusion, like a palsy, has attacked the fountain of life itself. Every person in your country, in a situation to be actuated by a principle of honour, is dis­ graced and degraded, and can entertain no sensation of life except in a mortified and humiliated indignation. 97

With a native understanding of how men could be driven by honour, Burke was far better equipped than we to understand Roman imperial rule. That a government making broad and systematic use of appeals to honour seems odd and alien to us, that the concept of honour itself seems impossibly distant and romantic, is a consequence of the particular out­ look of the late twentieth century; a sign of our removal from the ancient rhythms of rulership and subjection, an indication that we have finally arrived in Burke's nightmare, among the sophisters, economists, and cal­ culators. Historically, government by honour is usual; it is we who are strange. Historically unexceptional too is the power that honour permitted inferiors to exert over superiors in the Roman world. 'L'honneur a ses lois et ses regies, et qu'il ne saurait plier.' For those in power to be hon­ ourable in their own eyes, they must follow honour's laws, and frequently 98

9 5

Saint-Simon ( 1 9 8 3 - 8 ) , v. 605.

9 6

Montesquieu, Esprit des lois iii. 7 - 8 .

9 7

Burke (1955 (1790)), 55-

9 8

Montesquieu, Esprit des lois iii. 8.

Introduction

27

those laws—a code of chivalry, say—embody expectations about rela­ tions between high and low, even the honourless low, or create other vul­ nerabilities in the great which the small can exploit. I suspect that Roman imperial government, despite its autocratic structure, was more amenable to influence from below than has perhaps been realized, and that this power of the ruled over their rulers is to be understood not least in terms of honour." The ability of local notables and cities to use influ­ ence grounded in honour to control the governors set over them (some­ times even the emperor), or at very least to protect themselves, is important for understanding their consent to and co-operation with Roman government. Honour softened the brittleness of an authoritarian regime and introduced an easy, flexible quality into government, helping to ensure that the empire was responsive and adaptable enough to rule its world for centuries. At the same time, the ability of increasingly hon­ ourable subjects to face down officials in late antiquity may play some role in explaining the troubles of that era. The Use of Evidence Whatever the ultimate importance of honour to Roman government, the road to understanding it is necessarily somewhat circuitous. Our own inherited concept of honour inhabits a misty, half-familiar, treacherous region, not yet alien enough for us to view it dispassionately as utterly exotic, nor now familiar enough for us to be sure we properly understand it and use it as a reliable basis for comparison. We live in honour's churchyard. Honour's bones are still with us, but the muscles that drove them and the tissues that joined them have rotted away. We speak casu­ ally of a person being honoured by the Queen, but entirely without the consequence once naturally assumed, that something fundamental about him changed, that he came thereby to possess more honour. The honour of the Greeks and Romans, moreover, is naturally far different from later Anglo-European honour. To approach the ancient evidence, only a very broad chronological and geographical focus, providing the fullest possi­ ble context, will permit us to understand the often puzzling information that survives. The foreignness of the territory demands that as little as possible should be taken for granted. The camera must be pulled back far enough to allow a comprehensible picture, even if some blurring results, even if the distance imposes a certain spurious sameness on the subjects. 9 9

On such influence, Brown (1992), emphasizing c o m m o n literary culture and religious authority.

28

Introduction

A broad focus, furthermore, allows a certain compensation for the eccentric way the ancient testimony must be treated. The quality of the evi­ dence, as conventionally estimated, is uniformly poor. Not only do a great proportion of the statements made about honour by contemporary sub­ jects or officials labour under the suspicion of being insincere; statements made by non-contemporaries, say historians looking into the past, are post hoc attributions of (usually secret) motive, and are properly treated with the greatest scepticism. The only practical method is to use the data we have not as sure indications of motive in individual instances, but as clues to how observers expected things to work; that is, to treat all the evidence as a kind of fiction, but as fiction that gives the historian legitimate insights into norms and broader realities. So this is an investigation of political cul­ ture rather than political history; the aim is not to discover why individual events occurred, but (ideally) to discover how a whole political world worked by studying how a range of people expected it to work. In consequence, a great deal of perfectly dreadful evidence is employed. Not only are attributions of private motive in good historians used, but also anecdotes from bad historians, like the late fourth-century forger of the Historia Augusta, whose later lives are largely invention; statements (like some in Herodian) contradicted by superior ancient authorities (like Cassius Dio); statements whose reliability is vitiated by an overwhelming suspicion of flattery (from imperial panegyrics and honorific inscriptions especially), a known enmity, or any other sort of bias; and, finally, mater­ ial from avowed works of the imagination—all of these are used, for all of them, whatever their relation to fact, reveal how people expected things to work, and deducing a pattern of expectation is the goal. The test applied to such material can hardly be whether it is true, but rather whether it broadly represents common perceptions and common expectations, and whether one man's expectations, if they cannot be pre­ cisely paralleled (as often), can at least be fitted in, like the pieces of a jig­ saw puzzle, with the contiguous expectations of others. If men make the same guesses, and tell the same lies, over several centuries and many miles, we can deduce something from those guesses and lies. So the net has been cast wide, and evidence from all over the empire, and from a great span of years, is marshalled, while the conventional distinctions between Greek East and Latin West, between first century AD and fourth, are not given their usual weight; indeed anecdotes from the middle and 100

1 0 0

For the date of the Historia Augusta, Syme (1971), 1 6 . Readers must, of course, apply the conventional filters for veracity to any ancient anecdotes they seek to export from the logic of this book.

Introduction

29

late Republic and the sixth century AD are cited, sometimes in vertiginous proximity. This is not to imply that the outlooks of Cicero and Libanius were identical; far from it. But if first-century BC Rome and fourthcentury AD Antioch seem to agree on how government worked and how government could be influenced, that is a singularly valuable datum. Cicero and Libanius may share the same expectations, of course, because they had seen much the same things, or because they had read the same books. The expectation that unwise insults destroy monarchical governments, which we have seen manifested in the falls of emperors, is an old commonplace of ancient political thinking, attested in Aristotle and Polybius. The danger is that the authors we rely upon for our descriptions of political reality are mechanically applying the shop-worn topoi of political philosophy learned in school to a world which operates on entirely different principles. But the historical actors were, for the most part, educated in the same assumptions as the authors. The creaky tale of Harmodius and Aristogeiton—the locus classicus for insult leading to a plot against tyranny—may well contaminate our literary descriptions of the murders of emperors, but probably no more than it contaminated the minds of those actually contemplating imperial assassinations. The old stories were part of the political as well as the literary culture, guiding lines of action as well as lines of text, and influencing bloody reality. 101

Yet as the particularities of time and place are ground away, as Tacitus is dispatched, blushing, to the dungeon usually reserved for the menda­ cious Scriptor Historiae Augustae, so broad a focus results in a consider­ able loss of nuance. There is always the danger, moreover, of reforming into a single false mosaic the tesserae of several real originals. This approach to evidence also produces an unusual volume of material, and that, together with the foreignness of honour, requires somewhat narrow concentration on the book's main theme. Depicted here is not the whole Roman world, but a selective one, dominated by the emotions of pride, envy, and shame. Other emotions—fear, greed, and civic patriotism especially—appear, but for the most part where they illuminate, are illu­ minated by, or seem visible behind the primary emotions under study; a properly encyclopaedic account would give them much greater promi­ nence. Other emotions have been downplayed, the lights upon them dimmed, in order to allow our eyes to adjust to the gloom of a dark and puzzling area. Half-light and close attention may reveal something about the strange, cold genius of the Romans. 1 0 1

a

b

Arist. Pol i 3 i i " with Fisher (1992), 2 7 - 3 1 ; Polyb. 6 . 7 . 8 - 9 .

2

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

No rich man am I, said the orator Dio Chrysostom to his townsmen. His father had relied upon his influence in managing the family's financial affairs, trusting to it to ensure that no one would controvert his claims; on his father's death Dio found it very difficult to reclaim money in other men's hands. Dio's admission transports his reader from a mental cos­ mos in which power depends largely on money to one where money depends as largely upon power, from New York to the Mafia's Sicily. In the Roman world personal influence could be mobilized for the cheap purchase of a farm, for the return of a loan, for a roof over a traveller's head far from home, for a post in the army, or even for the capture of a runaway, book-stealing slave; it pervaded the whole sphere of action. What a great man wanted, he frequently turned first to his influence to gain. 1

Many of the forms of influence mobilized in the Roman world are per­ fectly familiar, or easily imagined: the favour done by employee for employer, debtor for creditor, tenant for landlord—economic power by other means—but also that of man without knife for man with knife, cousin for cousin, friend for friend, townsman for townsman, or by the pious for the churchman rattling the keys to heaven and hell. Yet the Romans cast across their world other, less familiar, webs of influence too, broad and powerful ones, of great historical significance—as vital to the working of Roman government as they were to the working of Roman society in general. These less familiar forms of influence were strong because they were rooted in strong foundations: the Graeco-Roman sense of personal hon­ our, of prestige, of dignity, of distinction—words that are used inter­ changeably here and which stand for a galaxy of partial synonyms, gloria, 1

D . C h r . 4 6 . 5 , Svvafjus. Farm, Pliny, Ep. 1 . 2 4 ; debt, ibid. 6.8; traveller, Basil, Ep. 31; army post, Pliny, Ep. 7. 22; slave, Cic. ad. Earn 1 3 . 7 7 . 3 .

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

3i

honos, dignitasy auctoritas Tipr}, Sofa, dftcofia. In this chapter the importance of honour to ancient upper-class people—an irreducible fact—must first be made explicable in modern terms, expressed as some­ thing with which we can sympathize. Secondly, the nature of the honour which aristocratic men and women sought will be scrutinized, for the complex make-up of that honour—created both by public opinion and the expressed opinions of individuals—explains its wide-ranging force in society. Next to be considered is how ancient aristocrats were moved, and moved each other, to action by virtue of their sense of honour, honour as a form of power. The ancient mind, moreover, did not confine honour to humans: honour was assigned to things and institutions as well, espe­ cially cities. Since Greeks and Romans lived in a world of cities, and Roman government in large part worked through those cities, the inter­ action of the honour of men and cities must be considered, especially the characteristic product of that interaction, the phenomenon of public benefaction. Finally, potential challenges to aristocratic conceptions of honour posed by philosophy, Christianity, and communities of honour other than the aristocracy will be surveyed. After the workings of those aspects of influence rooted in honour are understood, the workings of Roman government can be approached. A system of beliefs, thoughts, and feelings is inherently difficult to describe, for there are few clear lines, no obvious beginnings and endings. An alien civilization's unconscious adherence to alien norms must be presented as conscious strategy where they would have seen none. Even imagining the constraints a system of honour exerted over ancient con­ duct in terms of social norms imposes a spurious formality on the flexi­ ble standards of behaviour that are themselves one of the battlegrounds of a politics of reputation. As we shall see, one of the benefits of being held in great honour was the ability to ignore, or even manipulate, the rules that bound others. An attempt to schematize perceptions so natural to ancient man that he needed no such explicit ordering is at once artifi­ cially tidy and incomplete, but perhaps adequate to offer an inkling of how men and entities to which honour was ascribed could exert power in their world. 2

y

ARISTOCRATIC HONOUR

The conceptions of honour held by aristocratic Greek- and Latinspeakers of the Roman empire evolved from the values of their distant 2

For a discussion of these words, see Appendix.

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

32

ancestors. The mental world of the Iliad—which reflects, however dimly, the outlook of the Greek dark ages or early archaic period—is one where it is essential to be able to affirm 'that I am not forgotten for the honour that should be my honour among the Achaeans'. The values of Homeric heroes bear striking similarities to those the anthropologist finds in the modern Mediterranean, where the state is distant or weak, and where men are thrown upon their own resources for the defence of their lives, prop­ erty, and self-opinion—which is contingent upon the opinion others have of them. Thus the application of the insights of modern anthropology to Homeric conceptions of honour, and honour as it existed in classical Athens, has proved extremely fruitful. The evidence for early Roman atti­ tudes is much inferior to that for the Greeks. But if scattered indications and lexical survivals be credited, and if the Romans' old stories—the rape of Lucretia and the vendetta which arose from it, the murder of Verginia to preserve her chastity—echo old values even if they are unsafe guides to old events, primitive Romans too had afierceand bloody sense of honour. Whether it arose from social circumstances similar to those in old Greece, or a common Indo-European heritage, cannot be known. The luxurious, sophisticated, cosmopolitan world of the well-to-do in the Roman empire was profoundly different from Homer's Greece and primitive Rome. But a vivid sense of honour remained. It was fundamen­ tally the same sentiment which had moved Achilles that launched the ver­ bose contests of rhetoricians in second-century AD Smyrna. It was the same emotion that elicited juristic responsa on what—in the Roman law—con­ stituted an actionable insult that had driven out the Tarquins so many cen­ turies before. A revolution of circumstances, of ways of life, of attitudes in other areas had not uprooted the Greek or Roman sense of honour. 3

4

5

6

3

//. 23. 6 4 8 - 9 , Ti/aij, Tt/Maa> (trans. Lattimore). On Homeric honour see esp. Adkins (i960); Lloyd-Jones (1990 (1987)), 2 5 4 - 9 ; van Wees (1992). For the substantial anthropological literature on honour in the modern Mediterranean littoral see esp. the collections of papers by Peristiany (1966) (within which Pitt-Rivers (1966) is fundamental), Gilmore (1987a), and J. CampbelTs (1964) book. O n the non-exis­ tence or weakness of the state, Black-Michaud (1975), 1 4 6 - 9 . 4

5

See esp. Walcot (1970); Cohen (1991), with an able defence of the legitimacy of such comparisons (pp. 3 8 - 4 1 ) , noting that historical continuity need not be assumed; Cairns (1993); Cohen (1995). W e will note some ethnographical parallels, but not rely on them: while anthropologists concentrate on the experience of low-status persons, evidence from Roman antiquity is confined largely to those of high status, and, as Pitt-Rivers (1966) stresses, conceptions of honour can be very different at different levels of society. 6

T h e Twelve Tables ( 4 5 1 - 4 5 0 BC) made slander a capital offence (Cic. Rep. 4 . 1 2 ) , perhaps implying that it inspired blood vengeance. Lexical survival: not only the rich vocabulary of honour (see Appendix), but also words like ulciscor, to take vengeance. Lucretia, Livy 1. 5 7 - 6 0 ; Verginia, Val. Max. 6 . 1 . 2; cf. Livy 3. 4 4 - 5 0 .

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

33

The abiding psychological strength of honour derives at least in part from the universal human desire for the esteem of those around one. The middle-aged head, shaking sadly over the deaths of teenagers propelled into impossibly hazardous behaviour by 'peer pressure', can understand, even if it cannot approve, some of the force of honour in ancient society: the yearning for human solidarity, to be included, is an extremely pow­ erful motivation. But so is the other side of that longing: one man's desire to exclude others, to distinguish himself, to excel, whether by having more money, a more beautiful mate, or supremacy at squash. GraecoRoman honour drew its vigour from both impulses, from its ability to include and from its role in differentiating one man from another. Artemidorus of Daldis' second-century AD work on the interpretation of dreams quite inadvertently demonstrates this second, exclusionary aspect of honour, by offering a remarkable treatment of the criteria for social ranking in the Greek provinces of the Roman empire. In his analy­ sis, the meaning of dreams varies with the social status of the dreamer; thus, to dream one is sleeping on a heap of dung signifies to a poor man that he will become rich, but to a rich man that he will gain public office. Because his interpretations are differentiated by status, his books are a mine of data on attitudes towards status in the city. Artemidorus' universe, schematically represented, has four levels: 7

City magistrate and/or priest The rich man The poor man The slave; the prisoner; the debtor These divisions are basic to Artemidorus' thought, and are emphasized by inversions of the portent of omens: a dream that is auspicious to one status category will often bode ill for its neighbouring categories. Thus, for example, to dream that one is wearing a purple robe is good for rich men and slaves, and bad for poor men. Each of these social levels has a characteristic ambition, whose fulfilment or frustration dreams regularly 8

7

Dung, Artem. 3. 52; Artemidorus' mental world is that of the Greek city under the empire with its council (2. 3 7 ) , magistrates, municipal priests and colleges of priests, ath­ letes, and public benefactions (2. 30). T h e most illuminating recent discussion of this author, although with a quite different focus, is Winkler (1990), 2 3 - 4 4 . 8

Purple robe, Artem. 2 . 3 . Important loci for working out the basic social structure envi­ sioned are: 1 . 1 7 , 2. 3 , 9 - 1 0 , 53, 6 8 , 3 . 47. Notable inversions: 1. 69, 2. 9, 2 0 , 3 . 1 4 , 23, 39, 4 . 1 5 , 26. This is by no means a neat scheme. T h e poor are often assimilated to the fourth cate­ gory, as the magistrates are to the rich. It is far from clear what happens to members of the fourth category when their problems are solved. Debtors, at least, may take their place again among the rich.

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

34

portend. For the lowest, it is liberation from a plight: freedom from slav­ ery, fetters, or debt. For the poor man, it is wealth, which advances him into the category of the rich man. For the rich man, it is fame, honour, which he seeks, and which distinguishes him from the highest category, which is associated with more of that attribute. Further, that same fame or honour—yet more of it—is viewed as the goal of magistrates and municipal priests (in practice, another type of magistrate). According to Artemidorus, then, there is not one single criterion of social ranking through the whole of society; but it is arresting that honour, in his work, is the essential criterion for social ranking among the rich. A pecking order defined by honour was natural to ancient authors. A bishop might describe someone as 'a distinguished man, indeed, as the secular world esteems pre-eminence, extremely glorious'. To Mark Antony's magnificent grandfather, compared by Cicero to his descen­ dant, 'life itself, and good fortune, was to be equal to others in liberty, and first in honour'. Honour was certainly not the only way in which ancient aristocrats reckoned themselves against one another. 'In birth and nobility and wealth he was easily the first man not only of his town, but indeed of the whole vicinity,' says Cicero of Sextus Roscius, his client's father. Yet ranking by honour was emphatic—aristocrats were inclined to think of it first—and tended to subsume other methods. For faced with the need to establish the ranking-order of men with a variety of claims to standing, the ancient mind tended to convert their claims into the common currency of honour. When Sextus Roscius appears again in Cicero's speech, his various attributes have been mentally cashed in for prestige: he is 'splendidus', distinguished. Thus the competition for honour in society might subsume all other competitions, and become overwhelmingly important to its participants. If, therefore, Caesar believed that Pompey 'desired that no one be his equal in dignity', and if 9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

9

Artem. 2 . 3 , 1 4 , 3 . 1 3 , and esp. slaves, 2 . 9 , 3 0 , 6 1 . Ibid. 1 . 1 4 , 1 7 , 3 3 , 7 6 , 2 . 1 0 . Ibid. 2 . 3 , TI/AI? and cvSogla; 2 . 3 0 , 3 . 4 7 . Ibid. 2 . 9 , 2 7 , 3 . 1 3 , 4 . 4 9 . For this contrast of goals, money vs. glory, between low and high, cf. C i c . Part. Orat. 9 1 - 2 ; Amic. 34; Lib. Ep. 154; a snobbish topos, but the reality is not so clear, see pp. 9 6 - 1 0 3 below. 1 0

1 1

1 2

1 3

1 4

Eus. Hist. Eccl. 8. 5. 1, TU>V OVK aor/fxtov ns, aXXd Kal ayav Kara ras iv rat flito vevo/xiafxevas virepoxds ivSo^ordrajv. C i c . lPhil. 34, 'principem dignitate\ For honour as criterion of social ranking see also, Cic. Plane. 32; Mur. 15; Suet. Vesp. 9. 2; Tac. Ann. 2 . 3 3 ; D . C h r . 3 1 . 7 4 ; Eus. Hist. Eccl. 2.2. 4; Jer. Ep. 6 6 . 7 ; Dig. 4 9 . 1 5 . 7 . 1 (Proculus). Cf. Garnsey and Sailer (1987:118), '[a] Roman's sta­ tus was based on the social estimation of his honour, the perception of those around him as to his prestige.' C i c . Rose. Am. 1 5 , 2 0 ; see also 2Verr. 3 . 5 6 . 1 5

1 6

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

35

it seemed to Cicero that Caesar and Pompey were 'pretty well equal in dignity', this was a likely recipe for civil war. How little surprising, then, the sentiments of Pliny the Younger: 'Men differ in their views, but I deem that man happiest of all who enjoys the anticipation of good and abiding fame, and who, assured of posterity's judgement, lives now in possession of the glory that he will then have.' To the historian, it was naturally the pursuit of renown that raised man above the animal. And the orator took it for granted that honour stood at the root of human motivation and human institutions: 17

18

19

You will discover that, among most men at any rate, there is nothing else that calls them forth to scorn danger, endure labours, and forgo a life of pleasure and ease

This certainly is clear: neither you nor anyone else, Greeks or barbarians,

who are considered to have become great, advanced to glory or power, for any other reason than that you were fortunate enough to have . . . men who lusted after h o n o u r . . . A n d you could not get a single man out of a multitude to do what he deems a noble deed for himself alone, if no one else shall know of i t .

20

Honour, decked out with a luxuriant vocabulary (the ancients having as many words for what was important to them as fashion designers have for blue), occupied, as any reader of classical texts quickly realizes, a con­ spicuous place in the attention of antiquity. Aristocratic life often appears to us as a ceaseless, restless quest for distinction in the eyes of one's peers and of posterity. From Achilles to Alcibiades to Alexander to Scipio Africanus to Trajan, and on to the end of empire, soldiers and generals made war for it, men of affairs intrigued for it, orators spoke for it, histo­ rians wrote for it, poets sang for it. One rounded up one's friends to protect one's reputation—and reassured them that one would devote one's attention to the protection of theirs. Failing them, one might apply to an Egyptian sorcerer, who, amidst his reeking beast carcasses, 21

22

23

1 7

Quoted, Caes. B C i . 4, 'neminem dignitate secum exaequari volebat', and Cic. Lig. 1 9 , 'dignitas... par'; cf. Flor. 2 . 1 3 . 1 4 and Wistrand (1978), 2 9 - 3 1 . On rivalry for honour, see e.g. Sail. Cat 7 . 3 - 6 ; Tac. Hist 3 . 3 8 ; Plut. deSelps. cit Invid. Laud. 546c; Philostr. V S i . 8 ( 4 9 0 - 1 ) . Pliny, Ep. 9 . 3 , ' f a m a . . . gloria'. Sail. Cat 1 . 1 - 4 , gloria; 2. 9; cf. Polyb. 6 . 1 4 . D . C h r . 3 1 . 1 7 , 2 0 , iXorifiatVy 22; cf. Cic. Arch. 2 8 - 9 . Rampant desire for honour, see Wistrand (1978), 2 8 - 9 ; Dupont (1992), 8; Wiseman (1985) and esp. C i c . Off. 1 . 6 5 ; Arch. 14; Knoche (1934), 114 n. 66; Lucian, Pereg. 38; J . C h r . de Ian. Glor. 4 - 1 4 ; at a very early age, Mart. 6. 38. Cicero wrote two books on gloria, now lost (0#2. i). Soldiers, Sen. Ben. 6. 38. 3; men of affairs, Plut. Praec. Ger. Reip. 8o4C-d; for history, Sail. Cat 3 . 1 - 2 ; poetry, Tac. Dial. 5. C i c . Mil. 68; ad Earn. 1 2 . 1 7 . 3 ; Fronto ad Am. 2 . 4 (van den Hout); Sid. Ep. 1 . 1 0 . 2 , 9 . 1 . 1 8

1 9

2 0

2 1

3

2 2

2 3

3-

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

36

cast dreadful enchantments for honour. To the rhetorician, honour was patently more important than life itself. 24

T H E E L E M E N T S OF A R I S T O C R A T I C H O N O U R

In Seneca's words, honour is 'the favourable opinion of good men; for just as good reputation does not consist of one man's remarks, and bad of another's ill opinion, distinction is not simply a matter of pleasing a single individual.' A man's honour was a public verdict on his qualities and standing, established publicly; and, among those who (in Cicero's words) 'are in such a position of life... that men will talk about us all the time', life was lived under the constant, withering gaze of opinion, every­ one constantly reckoning up the honour of others. The qualities deemed honourable will be the first subject here, followed by a descrip­ tion of the unceasing process of weighing that honour—for the court of prestige met many times a day, wherever men gathered, in the baths or where wine flowed. The elements that elicited the community recognition that was hon­ our—that is, the qualities that would be perceived as honourable— included high birth in an illustrious home town, wealth (provided it came from reputable sources, and preferably in the form of landed estates), legal status (that of a senator or an equestrian, or at least a citi­ zen, not that of a freedman or slave), a great house, a grand procession of slaves and clients on the street, expensive clothes. And there were more 25

26

27

28

2 4

Sorcerer, PGM 12. 2 7 1 - 2 ; 22a. 25. Rhetorician, C i c . $PhiL 35. Sen. Ep. 102. 8, 'claritas autem ista bonorum virorum secunda opinio est. N a m quomodo fama non est unius sermo nec infamia unius mala existimatio, sic nec claritas uni bono placuisse'. T h e speaker, Seneca's imaginary interlocutor, is presenting c o m m o n opin­ ion (see also Ep. 1 0 2 . 1 3 ) . 2 5

2 6

C i c . ad Q. Fr. 1 . 1 . 38; for the public nature of honour, see also Cic. Off 2.31-6,44-5; Tusc. 3 . 3 - 4 ; D . C h r . 6 6 . 1 2 ; Aug. Civ. Dei 5 . 1 2 ; Dupont (1992), 1 0 - 1 1 . The classic anthropo­ logical definition of honour is that of Pitt-Rivers ( 1 9 6 6 : 2 1 ) , 'honour is the value of a person in his own eyes, but also in the eyes of his society. It is his estimation of his own worth, his claim to pride, but it is also the acknowledgement of that claim, his excellence recognized by society, his right to pride.' 2 7

Court of 86£a D . C h r . 6 6 . 1 8 , and cf. Pliny, Ep. 4 . 1 7 . 8 ; Sid. Ep. 7.14.1. Birth: Juv. 8; T a c . Ann. 4 . 4 4 ; Pliny, Ep. 1 0 . 1 2 ; Philostr. VS 2 . 1 4 (594); M e n . Rhet. 435; Quass (1993), 4 4 - 7 4 ; on legitimacy, Plut. de Lib. Educ. l a - b . H o m e town: D . C h r . 4 4 . 9 , 4 5 . 6; Philostr. VS 1 . 2 5 (532); Eunap. VS 498; HA Aur. 3 . 2 . Wealth: Pliny, Ep. 1 0 . 4 ; Basil, Horn, in III. Diet. Evang. 3 ( = PG 31. 265); and esp. Lucian, Nigr. 23. O n good and bad sources of wealth, n. 38 below. Legal status: Cic. 2Verr. 1 . 1 2 7 ; Suet. Vesp. 9 . 2 ; T a c . Ann. 2.33; on freed­ men and slaves see pp. 9 6 - 8 , 1 0 1 below. Conspicuous consumption and display in general: Tac. Ann. 3 . 5 5 ; Philostr. VS 2 . 2 1 (603); and see MacMullen (1988), 238 n. 9. Specifically for houses: T a c . Ann. 3 . 5 5 , and see A . Wallace-Hadrill (1994: esp. 4 ) , citing Cic. Off. 1 . 1 3 8 - 9 . For y

2 8

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

37

subtle qualities, all the signs of a proper upbringing and education and an aristocratic manner: the proper accent, words, posture, bearing—in short, elegance. Two aristocrats never needed to enquire of genealogies to realize that they were both gentlemen; all they needed was a glance. Among the upper classes, these characteristics enjoyed prestige only because aristocratic opinion accorded it. But who were these aristocrats? Within the general category of the rich, the possessors of property, a sub­ group can be distinguished—call it the aristocracy, although neither Greek nor Latin had an exactly equivalent word, since 'us* and 'them' sufficed—a group defined by its shared values, and in particular by its members' esteem of the same qualities. The aristocracy was an opinioncommunity; it granted, and was denned by, honour. 'For prestige to exist, the agreement of many who are illustrious and outstanding [that is, have prestige themselves] is required,' as Seneca put it. No quality was hon­ ourable in and of itself. Honour was mediated through the perceptions of others, and even a superfluity of worthy qualities was of no use unless these qualities were publicly known, and approved by other aristocrats. You have no standing in aristocratic society if, like Apuleius' rich provin­ cial adversary in court, 'you are, through rusticity, an unknown'. To be an aristocrat, then, was essentially to be thought well of by other aristo­ crats. It was not an objective quality, it was membership in a co-opting club, and fundamentally it was membership in this club which distin­ guished, say, the unquestionably aristocratic Pliny the Younger from the enormously rich but (to aristocratic opinion) diclassi freedman, Trimalchio. 29

30

31

late antiquity, Shaw (1987), 1 3 - 1 4 . Clients: T a c . Ann. 3 . 5 5 ; and esp. John Lyd. Mag. 1 . 2 0 (6th cent, but describing practices long before his time); see A . Wallace-Hadrill (1989), 8 2 - 3 . Retinue: MacMullen (1974), 107, and add Comment. Pet. 36; Plut. Pomp. 2 3 . 3 ; Philostr. VS 1 . 2 5 (532). Lucian (Nigr. 23) gleefully imagines the plight of aristocrats if all the toadies were to go on strike. Clothes: Philostr. VS 2 . 5 (572); A m m . Marc. 1 4 . 6 . 9 . One can deduce whole lists of honourable qualities b y turning catalogues of deficiencies or vices on their heads, Val. M a x . 2 . 1 0 . 8; A m m . Marc. 14. 6. 7 - 1 7 , 28. 4. 6 - 2 1 (see Matthews (1989), 4 1 4 - 1 6 ) . For regional variation in standards, pp. 4 3 - 5 below. Cf. an analysis of the make-up of aristocratic honour in i6th-cent. Spain, Caro Baroja (1966), 106; in Hobbes's world, Leviathan i. 10. 2 9

Aristocratic demeanour: Cic. Off. 1 . 1 3 0 - 1 ; Apul. Met. 1 . 2 0 , 2 3 ; Sid. Ep. 4. 9. 2; and see Brown ( 1 9 8 8 : 1 1 - 3 0 ) and Gleason ( 1 9 9 5 : 7 0 - 3 ) for the upbringing that produced these qual­ ities. Apul. Flor. 9 contrasts the conduct of the town crier. On solecisms of speech to be expected from lower-class persons, MacMullen (1974), 107 n. 58. 3 0

Sen. Ep. 102. 8, 'consentire in hoc plures insignes et spectabiles viri debent, ut claritas sit*. Cf. Cic. Sest. 137. Apul. Apol. 16; cf. Pliny, Ep. 6 . 2 4 , 7 . 2 5 . Simply becoming widely known was therefore vital. It was in this sense that having a famous enemy (Aid. Gel. 7 . 1 1 . 3 with Epstein (1987), 21; T a c . Hist. 2. 5 3 ) , or being ceaselessly prosecuted (Pliny, Ep. 4. 9 . 1 - 2 , 2 2 ) , might confer prestige upon one: fame, for good or ill, was the first step; cf. Pliny, Ep. 4 . 1 2 . O n Trimalchio, 3 1

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

38

Slowly evolving custom laid down for aristocrats prestige value for var­ ious attributes and accomplishments, and aristocratic opinion enforced those values in aristocratic society by means of an honour sanction. Consider the prestige offered to literary accomplishment, whether in rhetoric (most prominently), or in poetry or philosophy. High culture, 'which pertains to the greatest praise of the most brilliant men', as Cicero put it, and its practitioners came to be universally revered among aristo­ crats and would-be aristocrats. Thus Trajan's utterance to the sophist and philosopher Dio Chrysostom, 'I don't understand a word you're say­ ing, but I love you as myself.' So closely were high culture and high sta­ tus associated that a schoolmaster could pass himself off as a senator in late second-century Gaul, and when, in the fifth-century whirlwind of barbarian invasion, all other claims to honour had been turned topsy­ turvy, literature could be deemed the defining quality of aristocracy. To admire high culture was required of all gentlemen, and the least talented nabobs at Rome, even the emperors themselves, produced streams of turgid prose and excruciating poetry. To do otherwise was to violate an aristocratic code, and to risk slighting asides of'not our class, dear'. For it was likewise crucial to one's honour not to trip over any of the many codes which regulated aristocratic conduct. The club had rules. A mem­ ber must not work with his hands—indeed, best not to work for profit at all. An aristocrat must not make a public display of himself—not sing in the street or dance in the forum. Pompey was reviled for the licen32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

D'Arms (1981), 9 7 - 1 2 0 . T h e term 'aristocracy' is used with due respect for the warnings of Shaw (1984&), 455; it is not fully satisfactory, but it seems to connote the defining sense of solidarity, the 'we-feeling', better than alternatives like 'upper classes' or 'elite', terms which do not sufficiently exclude Trimalchio; cf. Mathisen (1993), 1 0 - 1 3 . 3 2

Literary pursuits, Cic. Tusc. 1. 4 - 6 ; Off. 2. 4 8 - 9 ; Juv. 1 0 . 1 1 4 ; Pliny, Ep. 6. 6 . 3 ; Fronto, ad Am. 1 . 4 (van den Hout); Tac. Ann. 1 2 . 2 8 ; Dial. 5 - 7 ; Suet. Galbaj,. 3; Apul. Flor. 16; Men. Rhet. 4 2 5 - 6 ; A m m . M a r c . 2 9 . 1 . 8; Neri (1981). Even a vociferous attack on, for example, poetry—Aper's remarks in Tacitus' Dialogus—does not deny that prestige can be derived from it (Dial. 5, cf. 1 0 ) ; Aper merely insists that this prestige is more fleeting than that derived from oratory (9). Cic. Rep. 3 . 5 , 'quod ad summam laudem clarorum virorum pertineret'. 3 3

3 4

Philostr. V S 1 . 7 (488). Schoolmaster, Dio 75(76L). 5 . 1 - 3 ; 5th cent., Sid. Ep. 8. 2. 2, and see Mathisen (i993)> 1 0 5 - 1 8 . For an early modern elite defining itself in terms of culture, Amelang (1986), 1 0 2 - 2 1 5 . Expectation, Brown (1992), 3 5 - 4 0 ; Raster (1988); and see esp. [D. Chr.] 37. 27; A m m . Marc. 28. 4 . 1 5 . List of great aristocrats who wrote poetry, Pliny, Ep. 5 . 3 . 5 . Emperors' liter­ ary efforts, below, C h . 3 n. 57. e.g. A m m . Marc. 1 4 . 6 . 1 . W o r k with hands, Dio 5 2 . 2 5 . 7 ; J. C h r . de Ian. Glor. 13; small-scale trade unacceptable, D'Arms (1981); Veyne (1990), 49~54 and esp. Cic. Off. 1 . 1 5 0 - 1 . MacMullen (1974), 112. Sing, Cic. Off. 1 . 1 4 5 ; dance, Cic. Off. 3 . 7 5 , 9 3 . Also bad: pulling faces, Plut. de Vit. Pud. 535a; appearing in shows, Juv. 8 . 1 8 3 - 9 9 ; Dio 6 i ( 6 2 L ) . 1 7 . 3 - 5 ; Levick (1983). 3 5

3 6

3 7

3 8

3 9

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

39

tious practice of scratching his head with a single finger, Crassus for extravagant grief at the death of his pet lamprey. By the 370s AD aristo­ crats' chewing in public had become such a scandal at Rome that the Prefect of the City forbade it, to the vast relief of Ammianus Marcellinus and, one assumes, all other right-minded residents. Clearly taste is one of the most slippery aspects of any society—'The unwritten norm of a civilization resembles a melody more than what modern physicists and jurists call a law,' as a modern commentator on Japan observes—and it is very difficult to deduce what else Roman aristocrats would have approved of and what they would have found uncouth. Suffice it to say that it would have been instantly obvious to them. And an aristocrat could go through life constantly checking his behaviour by studying the faces of his peers: 'from a glance of the eyes, a raising or lowering of the brows, a groan, a laugh', he could regulate his conduct. His competitors were always watching him. Indeed, the greater a man's honour, the higher his position in society, the more people watched him, and the more he felt his actions hemmed in by his own rank. It was signally disgraceful—especially destructive of honour—for a nobilis, one of the highest born in Roman society, to waste his fortune, or to be morally vicious, because of the 'bright light' his ancestry held over him. When a senatorial deputation sent to Germanicus fell among mutinous soldiers in the German camp the other envoys fled; but Munatius Plancus did not, for his greater dignity forbade such a course, and thus he was nearly killed. To remind a man of the glory of his family and his need to act in accord with it was a usual way of pressing him on to action; the unwelcome requests of a distinguished man could be beaten off by sharply pointing out that they did not accord with his dignity. The opinion-community of the aristocracy granted honour to men for a great many attributes and accomplishments, military and civil, as well 40

41

42

43

44

45

46

47

4 0

Pompey, Plut. Praec. Ger. Reip. 8ooe; Crassus, ibid. 811a.

4 1

A m m . Marc. 2 8 . 4 . 4 . Singer (1973), 92; see similar remarks in Cic. Off. 1 . 1 4 5 . There are even disapproved ways of killing one's self, T a c . Ann. 6 . 4 9 ; Hist. 1 . 7 2 . See Petr. Sat. and Apul. Apol. (esp. 82) for men who are sneered at for failing to con­ duct themselves properly despite their pretensions. 4 2

4 3

4 4

Glance, C i c . Off. 1 . 1 4 6 ; cf. D . Chr. 6 6 . 1 3 . Tac. Ann. 6 . 7 ; Sail. Jug. 8 5 . 2 3 ; Juv. 2 . 1 4 3 - 8 ; 8 passim; quoted, 8 . 1 3 9 . Cf. Cic. Off. 2 . 4 4 . Tac. Ann. 1 . 3 9 , dignitas; and see also C i c . adAtt. 1 6 . 3 . 4 . Cf. T a c . Hist. 2.32; A u l . Gel. 1. 6 . 5 ; Cass. Var. 6 . 1 1 . 1 . Act according to dignity, T a c . Hist. 3 . 6 6 ; unwelcome requests, Plut. de Vit. Pud. 535b; and cf. Cic. de Or. 2. 286; Mur. 13. 4 5

4 6

4 7

40

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

as for popularity among the lower orders and for political and religious— in late antiquity, including ecclesiastical—offices. A brilliant speech in court or in declamation, a profound knowledge of the Roman law, the destruction of a political enemy, paying off a friend's debt, the proper education of a young wife, or the possession of a remarkable ass: anything praised by aristocrats conferred glory. Consider Sallust's famous equa­ tion of the honour of Julius Caesar and Cato the Younger: 48

49

In greatness of spirit they were equal, and in glory as well (although in other things they differed). Caesar was deemed great because of the favours he did and his generosity, Cato because of the moral stringency of his life. The former became brilliant through his kindness and clemency, his austerity gave the latter dignity. Caesar gained glory by giving, assisting, and pardoning, Cato by never giving a bribe. The one was a refuge for the wretched, the other a bane to the wicked. The one was praised for his adaptability, the other for his firmness. Caesar . . . longed for a new war, a great command, an army, where his virtue could shine; Cato's devotion was to moderation, propriety, and especially to aus­ terity. He competed not in riches with the rich nor in faction with the factious, but with the hardworking in zeal, with the unpretentious in modesty, with the guiltless in self-denial: he preferred to be good, rather than to seem it. Thus, the less he sought glory, the more it panted after him. 50

As the description of Cato indicates, moral excellence formed an impor­ tant element of prestige. Thus Pliny observed that enforcement of the ban on the taking of fees for legal work would result in 'less praise and obscurer fame' for him, who had never taken them and who had derived

4 8

Offices and performance in office (including military glory), see below, pp. 1 8 1 - 2 0 1 ; ecclesiastical office, below, p. 95. Popularity among inferiors: Cic. Off. 2.31; Plane. 21; an ele­ ment in decline under the empire, according to T a c , Ann. 3. 55; but still there in Boeth. Consol. 3 . 2. 4 9

Speeches: Pliny, Ep. 6 . 2 9 . 3 ; Philostr. VS 2 . 8 (579); Cicero possesses a ' s p l e n d o r e m . . . forensem', ad Att. 4 . 1 . 3 ; Sid. Ep. 8 . 1 0 . 3 . Study of the law: Cic. Off. 2.65; Tac. Ann. 3 . 7 5 ; Pan. Lat. 3 ( 1 1 ) . 2 0 . 1 ; but see Cic. Mur. 25. Destruction of enemy, Epstein (1987), 22; debt, Philostr. VS 2 . 2 1 (603); education of wife, Pliny, Ep. 1 . 1 6 . 6; ass, Apul. Met. 1 0 . 1 7 . 5 0

Quoted, Sail. Cat. 54, 'magnitudo animi par, item gloria, sed alia alii. Caesar beneficiis ac munificentia magnus habebatur, integritate vitae Cato. Ille mansuetudine et misericordia clams factus, huic severitas dignitatem addiderat. Caesar dando, sublevando, ignoscundo, Cato nihil largiundo gloriam adeptus est. In altero miseris perfugium erat, in altero malis pernicies. Illius facilitas, huius constantia laudabatur. . . . Caesar . . . sibi magnum imperium, exercitum, bellum novom exoptabat, ubi virtus enitescere posset. A t Catoni studium modestiae, decoris, sed maxume severitatis erat. N o n divitiis cum divite neque factione c u m factioso, sed cum strenuo virtute, cum modesto pudore, cum innocente abstinentia certabat; esse quam videri bonus malebat; ita quo minus petebat gloriam, eo magis ilium sequebatur*. Cf. T a c . Hist. 2.4-5; also for glory from giving, Mart. 1 2 . 3 6 ; Juv. 5 . 1 0 7 - 1 1 .

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

4i

51

social distinction from his moral restraint. In neither Greek nor Latin are morality and prestige clearly distinct mental realms; if asked to put a name to their stratum of society, Greek aristocrats would probably call themselves 'the fair and good', Romans simply 'the good'. It would be perverse to deny that ancient aristocrats felt the pangs of conscience, but the fact that moral reputation was numbered among the qualities for which aristocratic opinion conferred honour ensured that GraecoRoman society was to a great degree a shame culture, that concern for reputation could be considered the main bulwark of morality, for 'to scorn fame is to scorn virtue'. The ghastly thing about doing wrong was being found out: as Pliny said, 'How few have the same concern for hon­ esty in secret as in public. Many stand in awe of bad reputation, few of conscience.' The chief danger was that one would lose face. Of course fear of public shame was internalized to a large degree: shame assailed those even contemplating their undiscovered crimes. An ancient student of the habits of mind of his contemporaries does not see them paralysed by guilt, as a modern psychiatrist might, but instead diagnoses, and pre­ scribes a course of treatment for, those afflicted with a surfeit of unrea­ sonable shame. Little surprise; in the Roman world one's moral reputation was an integral part of one's rank in society. Of the moral virtues in which Greek aristocrats competed for honour, one, sophrosyne, the wisdom of self-restraint, deserves a closer look. Viewed comparatively, the remarkable quality of Graeco-Roman aristo­ cratic honour under the empire is the rarity of personal violence over it: there was no day-to-day expectation of duels, vendettas, or blood-feuds, 52

53

54

55

5 1

Pliny, Ep. 5 . 1 3 . 9 , 'minor laus et obscurior fama'. T h e most useful source for the rela­ tions of morals and prestige is Val. Max. bks. 3 - 6 (with 2 . 1 0 . 8 ) ; also, for honour from good morals, Cic. Plane. 60; Sail. Jug. 1 . 3 ; Plut. Cato Min. 1 . 1 , 1 6 . 4 . Dishonour from bad morals, Hor. Sat. 1 . 2 . 1 2 , 5 7 - 6 1 , 1 3 3 ; Juv. 8. 5 2

KaXoi Kayadoi from KCLXOS = beautiful, morally beautiful, honourable (LSJ) and ayados = good and well-born, gentle (LSJ). Bom from bonus = morally good and (in plural) men of substance and social standing ( O L D ) , on which see Achard (1973); or they might call themselves optimU 'the best*. Cf. honestus = title to respect, honour and moral rectitude, integrity (OLD). 5 3

Quoted, T a c . Ann. 4. 38, 'contemptu famae contemni virtutes'; see also Rhet. Her. 4. 14; Sen. Clem. 1. 2 2 . 1 ; Plut. an Rect. Diet. iMt. Viv. i i 2 9 a - b ; de Se Ips. cit. Invid. Laud. 5 4 5 c But note Cairns's ( 1 9 9 3 : 2 7 - 4 7 ) reservations on the over-facile use of the shame culture/guilt culture dichotomy. Pliny, Ep. 3 . 2 0 . 8 - 9 , 'eadem honestatis c u r a . . . multi famam, conscientiam pauci verentur\ Surfeit of shame, Plut. de Vit. Pud. passim and esp. 5 2 9 a - e . 5 4

5 5

42

Honour and Influence in the Roman World 56

so often honour's terrible accompaniment. It was not always thus, as the Homeric poems show; and nothing certain can be said about the rea­ sons for the drift away from violence. But it is striking that the departure from violence over honour was accompanied by a shift in the meaning of sophrosyne. In Homer sophrosyne means 'shrewdness', but by classical times it had acquired a strong sense of'self-control'. Under the empire, sophrosyne was one of four cardinal virtues, and Greek aristocrats were trained in self-control almost from birth, tutored and tested in the impassive solemnity that was the badge of their rank. Failure in selfcontrol brought dishonour. Under the empire, restraint was hon­ ourable and lashing out with afistwas shameful; thus the sense of honour and shame, which had once required violence, now perhaps contributed to preventing it. While Latin never found a fully adequate translation for sophrosyne, a life distinguished by the marmoreal quality of gravitas, which contributed to the honour of Roman aristocrats, hardly permitted brawling over slights. It was among the inferior classes, deficient in selfcontrol according to their betters, that insults led to blows. All qualities and accomplishments, estimable or disgraceful, were added together when honour was reckoned up and a final estimate was reached. 'He damaged his reputation under the emperor Nero,' said Pliny of the poet Silius Italicus, 'for it was believed he accused people will­ ingly, but he conducted his friendship with Vitellius wisely and tactfully, brought back glory from his proconsulate of Asia, and removed the stain on his honour, which his previous activity had inflicted, by praiseworthy leisure'—here the rattle and jingle of the aristocratic honour cash-regis­ ters can be heard. It seems odd today that a verdict could be reached by adding and subtracting dissimilar activities. But for Romans, honour, although it arose from the recognition of various qualities, was a unitary attribute: Silius Italicus' poetry (his 'praiseworthy leisure') actually wiped 57

58

59

60

61

5 6

Violence over honour usual, Pitt-Rivers (1966), 29; and not totally unknown in impe­ rial Rome, see Cantarella (1991: 2 3 0 - 3 ) on the Augustan adultery law, which countenanced it under limited circumstances. Note also the violence—even lethal violence—to insolent social inferiors b y great men's retainers, Aul. Gel. 1 0 . 3 . 5 ; Philostr. VS 2.10 ( 5 8 7 - 8 ) ; but vio­ lence over honour was rare between aristocrats, except in the exceptional context of civil war, see p. 50 below. 5 7

Sophrosyne and its evolution, North (1966). Brown (1988), 12; Gleason (1995), 71; cf. Plut. de Lib. Educ. 8c, lob-e. See esp. Philostr. V 5 2 . 1 ( 5 5 6 - 7 ) , the excessive grief of Herodes Atticus. Roman translations of sophrosyne. North (1966), 2 5 8 - 3 1 1 . Gravitas, Hellegouarc'h (1963), 280; honourable, Cic. Rose. Com. 7; Vel. Pat. 2. 86. 2; Pliny, Paneg. 46. 5. Sen. Clem. 1. 7. 3 - 4 ; but not, it seems, to a full-fledged culture of vendetta, which would surely be remarked upon even in our class-bound sources. 5 8

5 9

6 0

6 1

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

43

out the disgrace he incurred through his delation under Nero. The pri­ mary identification of an ancient aristocrat was qua aristocrat, not as— say—a lawyer or a litterateur (or indeed, later, as a bishop). One's gloria as a poet or soldier or son was part and parcel of one's general prestige in aristocratic eyes, and would be estimated as such by anyone who himself had a claim to be an aristocrat. Of course no two aristocrats, considering another man's honour, would necessarily arrive at exactly the same total. Men in public life inspired strong emotions: one wonders how many of their contempo­ raries would have accepted Sallust's neat equivalence between the honour of Cato and Caesar. Martial's high estimate of Silius Italicus is less reserved than Pliny's; it might well have been even if the magnificent Silius had not been in a position to do things for Martial. Moreover, not all aristocrats everywhere in the Roman world—from Antioch to Gades—granted the same degree of honour to the same qualities and achievements. Quintilian reminds the panegyrist to adapt his praise to the character of his audience: don't laud a man's frugality at old Sybaris or his luxurious life at old Rome. Some things were more valued in one place than another. Aristocrats of the Greek East could gain honour in athletic competition; adult Romans of rank, only disgrace. Just as American signs of status—uncomfortable, smelly sailing shoes worn without socks—are hilarious to the English, so the slippers of office of a gymnasiarch of Alexandria might have caused the upturning of noses at Rome. But a man far from home ensured that he was properly received by providing himself with letters of introduction which laid out his claims to honour in terms comprehensible to the recipients, a genre of letters of which many survive. The aristocracy of the whole empire was not a single community of honour, but many overlapping communities as prepared to accept each other's standards of honour as they were, by and large, prepared to accept others' gods. A Roman aristocracy whose members had long held out against becoming doctors themselves was prepared to receive Galen with the honour that doctors received in the Greek East, where medicine was an honourable practice. Standards of what was honoured might vary, but the fundamental structure—the 62

63

64

65

6 2

Quoted, Pliny, Ep. 3 . 7 . 3 , 'laeserat famam s u a m . . . s e d . . . ex proconsulatu Asiae glo­ riam reportaverat, maculam veteris industriae laudabili otio abluerat*. Cf. T a c . Ann. 3 . 7 5 , 4 . 4 4 , 1 4 . 1 9 ; Plut. Galba$. 1 - 2 ; HA Max. etBalb. 2.7. For primary identification qua aristocrats, see Veyne (1990), 4 6 - 9 . Bishops, see pp. 9 4 - 5 below. 6 3

6 4

Mart. 7. 6 3 , 8 . 66. Quint. Inst. 3 . 7 . 2 3 - 4 . On the aristocratic origins of Greek athletes under the empire, Robert (1934), 5 4 - 6 1 ; Pleket (1974), 7 2 - 9 . Roman attitude, T a c . Ann. 1 4 . 2 0 . 6 5

44

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

understanding that honour was the appropriate response to esteemed qualities—was largely the same. The tolerance of others' standards was sharply bounded, and scarcely extended beyond the dominant cultures of Greek- and Latin-speakers. As powerful or honourable as he might be at home, an unhellenized Jewish notable or unromanized Celtic chief was excluded, declasse by virtue of his non-participation in the ruling civilizations, a cultural, religious, or linguistic Trimalchio. The ever-shrinking class of grandees who lived in the empire but did not participate in Greek or Latin culture formed quite separate communities of honour, or perhaps had distinctive value sys­ tems where honour was not as central. But within the world of the Roman and Romanized, the Hellenic and the Hellenized, standards of honour converged over time; the long centuries of empire were a quiet solvent of aristocratic particularism. Responsible in part was the mono­ lithic quality of ancient rhetorical education, which tended to ensure that all boys of upper-class upbringing commanded extremely similar cul­ tural material over many miles and centuries. The disparity of outlook we see best was that between Greek East and Latin West, but even here attitudes had converged to a great degree by Augustus' day, and contin­ ued to do so through the empire. A proper smattering of literature had certainly been no essential part of the Roman aristocratic persona in the second century BC. It became so as part of that great process of cultural adaption we call Hellenization. The size of the crowd at a great man's levee, his salutatio, so rigorously scrutinized at Rome as a sign of honour and influence, was not so valued in Greek-speaking lands; indeed, large retinues of slaves, clients, and hangers-on, so vital to one's estimation in Rome, could offend against propriety in the early imperial East. But by the early second century AD some Greeks had adopted retinues, and by the fourth century no man of position could bear to be seen on the streets of Antioch without at least a score of satellites. By the mid-second cen­ tury a variety of Latin descriptive terms had begun to harden into titles of honour, such as vir clarissimus, 'most glorious man', for senators, vir egre66

67

68

6 6

Slippers, Musurillo (1954), 11. 6 4 - 5 , an anti-imperial text, where the strangeness to Romans of his outfit is emphasized. For the reception of a letter emphasizing a traveller's status, Apul. Met. 1. 2 2 . Roman reluctance to practise medicine, Pliny, NH 2 9 . 1 7 ; Galen, Bowersock (1969), 5 9 - 6 9 . Education, M a r r o u (1982 ( 1 9 4 8 ) ) , 2 4 2 - 9 8 ; Raster (1988), 1 1 - 9 6 ; producing minds like that of Aulus Gellius, see Holford-Strevens (1989). SalutatiOy T a c . Hist. 2. 92; Dio 5 8 . 5 ; retinue embarrassing, Plut. Quaest. Conviv. 6i$d; Lucian, Nigr. 13. Early 2nd cent., Philostr. VS 1. 25 (532); cf. VS 2 . 1 0 (587); Antioch, Lib. Or. 33-12. 6 7

6 8

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

45

grius, 'excellent man', for equestrians. The Greeks drafted words of their own into service as translations of these, using them initially with infuri­ ating imprecision, but with greater accuracy as time went on: standards of honour were converging and Easterners were learning to appreciate fine Roman distinctions. Finally, by the fourth century, in a synagogue at Tiberias in Galilee, one can read of a benefactor glorying (in Greek) in his membership of the household of'most glorious' Jewish patriarchs. Although honour was a personal quality, its aura extended over house­ hold and connections by blood and marriage: a man's family was part and parcel of his social persona. Its members' conduct reflected on him, his on them: 'if my son is taken in adultery, I blush.' Thus Cicero was desperately concerned about his brother's performance as governor of Asia, for it impinged directly upon his own reputation, and he urged his brother to keep watch on his household as well, lest the misdeeds of its members bring the governor into disrepute. Having refused to let Pompey marry a kinswoman of his, Cato was pleased to be free of the dis­ grace which would have seeped across the bonds of marriage when Pompey practised outrageous bribery in the consular elections of 61 B C . Women shared in the honour of their male relations by blood, and their male relations shared in theirs. Thus Cicero refers to 69

70

71

72

73

74

Caecilia . . . a lady of the greatest distinction, who, although she has a brilliant father, illustrious uncles, and a most distinguished brother, nevertheless, so remarkable is her virtue that, as much honour as she draws from their dignity, she, woman though she is, in turn confers upon them no less distinction from the praise bestowed upon h e r .

6 9

75

For the Latin titles, C h . 4 n. 46. Greek usage, Stein (1912); Arjava (1991).

7 0

LifshitZ (1973: 5 1 ) , OpeTTTOS ratv Aa/i/TrporaTtov iraTpiapxiJ&v'y Xainrporaros being the Greek translation of clarissimus. B y 404 patriarchs were viri spectabiles, a higher rank, CTh 16. 8 . 1 5 . Sailer (1994), 9 3 - 4 . The reach of honour's nimbus is reflected in that fact that legally, iniuria, an actionable insult, extends 'in h i s . . . qui vel potestate nostrae vel affectui subiecti sint\ Dig. 4 7 . 1 0 . 1 . 3 (Ulpian). Quoted, Sen. Ben. 5 . 1 9 . 5; cf. Tac. Ann. 1 6 . 1 7 ; Pliny, Ep. 5 . 1 1 ; Plut. Cato Min. 39. 4; D. C h r . 4 4 . 3 ; Fronto ad Am. 2. 7 . 1 3 (van den Hout); IGR iii. 173. Cf. modern Greek shep­ herds, J . Campbell (1964), 40. 7 1

7 2

7 3

7

4

Cic. ad Q. Fr. 1 . 1 . 4 3 - 4 ; household, 1 . 1 . 1 2 - 1 3 , 1 7 Plut. Cato Min. 3 0 . 5 . Cic. Rose. Am. 147, 'spectatissima femina, quae cum patrem clarissimum, amplissimos patruos, ornatissimum fratrem haberet, tamen, c u m esset mulier, virtute perfecit, ut, quanto honore ipsa ex illorum dignitate adficeretur, non minora illis ornamenta ex sua laude redderet'. A n d see esp. van Bremen (1996: 8 2 - 1 1 3 ) on the family context of female philotimia in Asia Minor. 7 5

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

46

Wives shared in the prestige of their husbands, husbands in the prestige of their wives. The prestige of high birth—or the disgrace of low—came from the maternal line as well as the paternal. Women could be partici­ pants in the rivalry for honour, and were well positioned to employ the patterns of influence dependent on honour, although the qualities per­ ceived as honourable in women were different: 76

77

Let her be beautiful, becoming, rich, and fertile; let her arrange her ancient ancestors about her porticoes; more chaste let her be than the Sabine woman with streaming hair, war's interrupter. 78

Like men, women derived distinction from high birth and wealth, and, although they could not participate fully in political life or go to war themselves, they shared in the glory of their male relatives, for they 'num­ ber triumphs in their dowry'. The prestige of high morals was available to them, as was the obloquy of low. Their moral standards were, however, different from those of men: important were chastity, faimfulness to the husband, care for the family and house. Honour was conferred also by admirable actions, like participating in the prosecution of the man who had destroyed one's late husband, but was lost by base ones, like marry­ ing a rich old man. A natural consequence of the ascription of honour by the aristocratic community, of aristocrats regulating their conduct by close attention to the opinion of those around them, was the ostentatious imitation of cel­ ebrated men. Since, as Cato the Censor is reported to have said to the Roman people, 'Your young men learn and are zealous for such things as gain your praise,' it made sense to act like, and be seen to act like, those 79

80

81

7 6

Wives share in husbands' prestige, Apul. Met. 2 . 3 ; Herod. 4 . 2 . 3 ; HA Aelius 5 . 1 1 ; hus­ bands in wives', T a c . Ann. 4 . 3 9 - 4 0 ; Agric. 6; Plut. Galba 19. 2; Sid. Ep. 2. 8 . 3 ; on both, van Bremen (1996), 1 1 4 - 4 1 . The independence of Roman women's honour, and that men and women reflect honour on each other mutually, confounds the anthropologist's expectation, e.g. Gilmore ( 1 9 8 7 k 90), of a strict one-way dependence of the honour of men upon the chastity of their women. But these are aristocratic women, and their honour may be differ­ ent from that of their inferiors, Pitt-Rivers (1966: 6 2 - 7 3 ) . 7 7

Maternal line, Apul. Met. 1. 2; Suet. Otho 1 . 2 . Juv. 6 . 1 6 2 - 4 . Rivalry, Herod. 1. 8 . 4 ; IGR iii. 116, v, OVK iyKaXovai oiiar6f as 8ia/}aAAo/nevoi Kal dpyl^ovrai ot. Sen. Ben. 4 . 3 0 . 4 , 'egregiis maioribus ortus'. 1 1 3

1 1 4

1 1 5

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

54

he m u s t use fear to maintain it b y c o m p e l l i n g constant individual signs 1 1 6

o f h o n o u r . If the p o w e r to coerce vanishes, so does the h o n o u r . is h o n o u r : y o u c a n p r o d u c e h o n o u r w i t h f e a r .

1 1 7

B u t it

T h i s is possible because

h o n o u r is a p u b l i c thing; it is n o t a c o n s e q u e n c e o f o p i n i o n merely, but

of

opinion

publicly

expressed.

Men's

secret

views,

however

unfavourable, d o n o t enter into the calculation o f h o n o u r ; a n d fear, greed, o r t o a d y i n g can m a k e m e n express o p i n i o n s they d o n o t feel. Insincere h o n o u r s are said to inspire m o c k e r y , b u t m o c k e r y t o o is a p u b ­ lic thing, a n d it will not o c c u r if it is death to laugh. Peaceable aristocrats naturally loathed such m e t h o d s , b u t their o w n a b a n d o n m e n t o f violence over h o n o u r d i s a r m e d t h e m against those w h o w e r e p r e p a r e d to threaten t h e m w i t h the w e a p o n s they h a d long before laid a s i d e .

1 1 8

W h e n w e speak

o f m e n o f gigantic p o w e r in society, it m u s t b e accepted that fear creates a great p r o p o r t i o n o f the h o n o u r they enjoy. Y e t it should b e emphasized that although h o n o u r c o u l d b e coerced, it w a s n e v e r m e r e l y a consequence, manifestation, o r ratification o f politi­ cal p o w e r o r wealth. H o n o u r always r e m a i n e d conceptually quite dis­ tinct. Indeed, h o n o u r w o u l d b e meaningless if this w e r e n o t so: n o o n e w o u l d w a n t it a n y m o r e . T h e possibility o f the coercion o f h o n o u r exists because it is possible to hijack a social function, h o n o u r i n g , w h i c h derives its legitimacy from other sources. T h e separateness o f h o n o u r is e m p h a ­ sized b y the fact that it w a s possible to h a v e great p o w e r in the political realm w i t h o u t proportionate h o n o u r — T a c i t u s remarks o n great i n c o n ­ gruities in his obituaries o f influential equestrians—and, then again, to b e glorious in political eclipse a n d imperial displeasure, indeed,

because

o f imperial displeasure: Augustus accelerated Aetius C a p i t o l consulship in order to set him ahead of Antistius Labeo, who was outstanding in the same [legal] studies as he, by the dis­ tinction of that magistracy

But Labeo's inflexible independence rendered him

more celebrated in reputation, even if Capito's obedience was more to the taste of princes. Labeo, stopping at the praetorship, won public commendation because of the insult inflicted upon him, Capito, who advanced to the consulship, won hatred through public ill w i l l .

119

1 1 6

Municipals adulter, Tac. Ann. 4 . 3 . Contrast the gloria, vera, gravis, and solida, which Cicero insists the young Octavian has, $PhiL 50. 1 1 7

Cf. van Wees ( 1 9 9 2 : 1 0 9 - 2 5 , 1 5 3 - 6 ) on the coercion of signs of respect by Homeric heroes. Contrast the armed and armoured honour of i6th-cent. France, Neuschel (1989), 17-18. Equestrians, e.g. Tac. Ann. 3 . 3 0 , 'sine dignitate senatoria, multos triumphalium consulariumque potentia anteiit\ Cf. 14. 53. Quoted, T a c . Ann. 3 . 75, 'dignatione eius 1 1 8

1 1 9

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

55

A t the s a m e time, as the case o f T r i m a l c h i o s h o w s , it w a s possible to h a v e e c o n o m i c p o w e r w i t h o u t being h o n o u r a b l e . A n d although loss o f his f o r ­ tune m i g h t inflict severe d a m a g e o n an aristocrat's h o n o u r , it w a s possi­ ble t o b e t h o u g h t p o o r a n d still b e h o n o u r a b l e , o r so the senate u n d e r T i b e r i u s believed, d e e m i n g M a r c u s L e p i d u s a m a n for w h o m 'nobility o f birth b o r n e w i t h o u t disgrace w a s to b e d e e m e d an h o n o u r , not a n i g n o m i n y , given his ancestral p o v e r t y ' .

1 2 0

Strength o f other types c o u l d

manifest itself as h o n o u r a n d potentially c o u l d create h o n o u r , b u t h o n ­ o u r w a s s o m e t h i n g quite s e p a r a t e .

121

H O N O U R INTO I N F L U E N C E H o n o u r a m o n g aristocrats, o n c e acquired, w a s n o t a passive possession, like a n engraved w a t c h o r a n h o n o r a r y degree. Rather, those w h o h a d h o n o u r w e r e able to exert p o w e r in society b y virtue o f the desire o f oth­ ers for it, a n d the c o n c e r n o f others not to lose it. T h e techniques they used, i m p o r t a n t b o t h in society a n d for the w o r k i n g o f g o v e r n m e n t , will b e e x a m i n e d next. V a l e r i u s M a x i m u s ' definition o f the w o r d

maiestas is

suggestive: The

maiestas of

illustrious men is, as it were, a censorship held by private indi­

viduals: it is powerful at maintaining its own grandeur without a high tribunal, and without the help of assistants, it slides welcome and happily received into the souls of men, veiled in a cloak of admiration. The word force.

1 2 3

maiestas

122

can express a f o r m o f prestige w i t h c o m p u l s i v e

B y virtue o f his h o n o u r , a n illustrious m a n w a s capable o f influ­

encing the c o n d u c t o f those a r o u n d h i m . H e c o u l d get his w a y b y prais­ ing o r blaming; the m e r e fact o f his h o n o u r m a d e others defer to him; b y virtue o f his h o n o u r he c o u l d get his w a y b y participating, to his profit, in the e x c h a n g e o f reciprocal favours. T h e strength, social significance, a n d c o m p l e x interplay o f these m e t h o d s is a function o f the t w o f o l d c o m p o ­ sition o f G r a e c o - R o m a n h o n o u r , o f its being attributed b o t h b y the aris­ tocratic c o m m u n i t y as a w h o l e a n d b y individual aristocrats. magistrates anteiret Labeo incorrupta libertate et ob id fama c e l e b r a t i o r . . . commendatio ex i n i u r i a . . . odium ex invidia'. Cf. 4. 2 6 , 6 . 27. 1 2 0

Loss, T a c . Ann. 6. 1 7 , 'eversio rei familiaris dignitatem ac famam praeceps dabat\ Lepidus, T a c . Ann. 3 . 3 2 , 'nobilitatem sine probro actam honori quam ignominiae habend a m \ See also 4. 44; C i c . Quinct. 49. 1 2 1

Cf. Hatch (1989), who debunks crude materialist analyses of honour. V a l . M a x . 2 . 1 0 . pr., 'est et ilia quasi privata censura, maiestas clarorum virorum . . . potens in sua amplitudine obtinenda'. Appendix, pp. 2 7 5 - 6 . 1 2 2

1 2 3

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

56

Influence from Honour and Dishonour Persons o f great distinction c o u l d s i m p l y h o n o u r those w h o s e c o n d u c t they liked, while d i s h o n o u r i n g those w h o s e c o n d u c t they disliked, a n d others' expectation o f such treatment w o u l d drive t h e m to o b e y these great m e n ' s wishes. D i o C h r y s o s t o m c o m p a r e d the life o f o n e vulnerable to such treatment to that o f a slave w h o m u s t serve m a n y masters, all o f w h o m g a v e different c o m m a n d s .

1 2 4

Plutarch describes the plight o f the

tribune O c t a v i u s , w h o h a d vetoed T i b e r i u s G r a c c h u s ' agrarian legislation in 133 BC. A t G r a c c h u s ' behest the tribes o f R o m a n citizens b e g a n to v o t e to strip h i m o f his tribunate. W h e n seventeen o f the thirty-five tribes h a d voted, a n d the v o t e o f o n e m o r e w o u l d return h i m to private life, T i b e r i u s begged h i m to yield. O c t a v i u s w a s m o v e d a n d w e p t . 'But w h e n he looked t o w a r d s the m e n o f wealth a n d p r o p e r t y w h o w e r e standing in a mass, his awe o f t h e m , I think, a n d his fear o f ill repute a m o n g t h e m , led h i m bravely to u n d e r g o every risk, a n d o r d e r T i b e r i u s to d o as he pleased.' T h e senate c o u l d get its w a y simply b y glowering. T h e threat o f the massed d i s a p p r o v a l o f the senators w a s o v e r w h e l m i n g .

1 2 5

A n d the threat­

ened criticism o f a f e w — o r o n e — w a s effective enough: ' S a y t w o o r three w o r d s a n d y o u ' v e hurled h i m into m i s e r y a n d w o e , ' as D i o C h r y s o s t o m said. Atilius C r e s c e n s w a n t e d a loan returned: ' Y o u k n o w the m a n ' s jokes,' w r o t e P l i n y to the m i d d l e m a n w h o m he h o p e d w o u l d arrange it; 'make it y o u r business that his h u m o u r does n o t b e c o m e a n g r y a n d vicious because o f his i n j u r y . '

1 2 6

A sharp t o n g u e artfully used, like that o f

the f a m o u s S e v e r a n w i t A u s p e x , m a d e its o w n e r p o w e r f u l in society, 'able to d o favours for friends, a n d avenge himself u p o n foes'. A t a l o w e r level, a m a n c o u l d m a k e a m e a g r e living in s e c o n d - c e n t u r y A t h e n s b y threat­ ening to revile the f a m o u s rhetoricians w h o m a d e their h o m e s there unless a n occasional j u g o f w i n e o r g a r m e n t o r c o i n c a m e his w a y .

1 2 7

T h e flip side o f calculated abuse w a s the strategic h o n o u r i n g o f those w h o d i d , o r c o u l d thus b e i n d u c e d to d o , w h a t a great m a n desired. Chiefly to gain C i c e r o ' s praise, Q . Fufidius, a R o m a n knight o f A r p i n u m , ran an errand for their m u t u a l h o m e t o w n — a l l the w a y to Cisalpine 1 2 4

D . Chr. 66.13. Plut. Tib. Gracch. 12. 3, alSeadels SOKCI Kal opo/fyfleis' rr)v irap eKcivoif a8o£iav. Cf. Plut. Caes. 1 0 . 1 1 . W o e , D . C h r . 6 6 . 1 7 . Crescens, Pliny, Ep. 6. 8. 8. Cf. Mart. 6. 64. 2 4 - 8 . Auspex, Dio 76(77!). 9. 3 . Abusing sophists at Athens, Philostr. VS 2.10 (587). F o r insults getting things done, see also Caes. BC 1. 2; C i c . ad Earn. 12. 25a. 2; and esp. Lucian, Nigr. 13. A ghost driven off by insult is natural to the Graeco-Roman imagination, Philostr. VA2.4. 1 2 5

1 2 6

1 2 7

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

57

G a u l . Assist Bassus, w r o t e the f a m o u s sophist L i b a n i u s to a c o r r e s p o n ­ dent, a n d 'I will praise y o u , for y o u d o everything in every w a y for praise; o n this a c c o u n t y o u r n a m e will be glorious.' T h e eloquent a n d w e l l - b o r n b i s h o p G r e g o r y (for the C a p p a d o c i a n Fathers w e r e masters o f this art) asks the influential p a g a n T h e m i s t i u s for a f a v o u r , as b o t h his f r i e n d — and eulogist.

128

T h e R o m a n w o r l d preserves letters from i m p o r t a n t m e n

w h i c h begin w i t h high praise a n d e n d w i t h a request. T h i s w a s n o t s i m p l y arid rhetorical

captatio benevolentiae. in

a w o r l d w h e r e letters from s u c h

m e n w e r e p r o u d l y s h o w n a r o u n d , the praise w a s p a y m e n t in a d v a n c e for the d e e d .

1 2 9

Desirable c o n d u c t from others included h o n o u r , a n d a distinguished m a n m i g h t therefore h o n o u r another to i n d u c e the other to h o n o u r h i m , or to secure for h i m h o n o u r in the w i d e r aristocratic c o m m u n i t y . T h u s C i c e r o to an historian: ' T h e excellence o f y o u r writings, although I a l w a y s expect m u c h , is even better than m y expectations,' a n d m u c h in that vein. 'I a m n o t afraid that I m i g h t seem to fish for y o u r f a v o u r w i t h this small screed o f

flattery'—but

that w a s exactly his p u r p o s e , for h e w a n t e d the

historian to a b a n d o n his current project a n d instead turn his p e n to a grovellingly favourable a c c o u n t o f C i c e r o ' s struggle against Catiline, a n d thus to a u g m e n t C i c e r o ' s glory. ' A n d thus I o p e n l y beg y o u again a n d again that y o u praise m y acts with even m o r e enthusiasm than p e r h a p s y o u feel: ignore the laws o f h i s t o r y . . . a n d if bias in f a v o u r o f m e urges y o u strongly, scorn it not! B e s t o w u p o n o u r love m o r e than truth allows.'

1 3 0

Letters from the magnificent bishops o f late antiquity l a u d e d

the recipient's virtues a n d requested a reply. T h e fortunate recipient, it can b e assumed, s h o w e d the letter a r o u n d to his acquaintances a n d a d d e d it to his file because it increased his status in the w o r l d , a n d then w r o t e b a c k in kind, to the benefit o f the original w r i t e r .

1 3 1

T h i s m a y seem c u r i ­

ous, b u t since praising s o m e o n e a n d thus increasing his h o n o u r cost n o n e o f one's o w n , a great m a n w o u l d c a r r y o n a n y n u m b e r o f m u t u a l l y laudatory correspondences. Indeed, o n e o f the chief p u r p o s e s o f was to p r a i s e .

1 3 2

friends

Letters survive from antiquity w h i c h seem to h a v e n o

1 2 8

Fufidius, C i c . ad Fam. 1 3 . 1 2 . 2 . Bassus, Lib. Ep. 6 9 3 . 5 , rovvofia Xayurpov. Themistius, Greg. N a z . Ep. 24. 6; cf. 83. See also Pliny, Ep. 5 . 1 7 ; J . C h r . Ep. 50; in parody, Apul. Met. 6. 2 8 - 9 , 7 . 1 4 - 1 5 . Letters of recommendation note a protegees praise of addressee, Cic. ad Fam. 13. 24; Fronto, ad Am. 1. 6 , 1 0 , 2 6 (van den Hout). 1 2 9

1 3 0

e.g. Greg. N a z . Ep. 1 0 3 , 1 3 4 ; Basil, Ep. 74; Lib. Ep. 268.

C i c . ad Fam. 5 . 1 2 . 1 , 6 , 3 ; cf. Pliny, Ep. 7 . 3 3 , 9 . 8 . Basil, Ep. 6 3 , 1 6 3 ; Greg. Naz. Ep. 234; A u g . Ep. 2 2 9 - 3 1 , 2 6 0 - 1 ; Sid. Ep. 3 . 1 1 . Friends, D . C h r . 3 . 109; Philo, Leg. Gaium 272; Lib. Ep. 810; Theodoret, Ep. X X X I (Az£ma). 1 3 1

1 3 2

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

58

content at all, except praise; b u t praise is c o n t e n t .

1 3 3

T h e letters f o r m e d

part o f a great n e t w o r k o f m e n h o n o u r i n g o n e a n o t h e r — h o n o u r i n g o n e another to get things d o n e , a n d to elicit h o n o u r in return. A n aristocrat w a s n o t free to exalt just a n y o n e with his praises; n o r c o u l d he lay a b o u t himself w i t h insults a n d drive all before h i m . H e w h o lauded the u n w o r t h y — t h e flatterer—or b l a m e d the w o r t h y — t h e slan­ derer—was

a w r e t c h e d a n d hated

creature in

aristocratic society.

Plutarch expected these vices in the s a m e person, a n d n o w o n d e r : they w e r e s y m p t o m s o f the s a m e cancer, the failure to give to each his d u e . Aristocratic o p i n i o n d e m a n d e d that the h o n o u r o r d i s h o n o u r b e s t o w e d u p o n a person b e appropriate to his claims; that is, that the ascription o f h o n o u r to a p e r s o n b y an individual should a c c o r d , at least roughly, w i t h the ascription o f h o n o u r to h i m b y the aristocratic c o m m u n i t y . If there w a s n o such a c c o r d , the h o n o u r o f the o n e w h o praised o r b l a m e d i n a p ­ propriately s u f f e r e d .

134

T h i s is o n e reason w h y the spectacle o f coerced

h o n o u r — w h e t h e r b e s t o w e d u p o n m o n s t r o u s e m p e r o r s o r their c r e a ­ tures: 'on such s c u m ! o n such filth!'—was so painful to a n aristocratic Roman observer.

1 3 5

A n aristocrat's ability to w o r k his w a y b y h o n o u r a n d

d i s h o n o u r w a s thus hedged a r o u n d b y a t h o r n y aristocratic code, o v e r w h o s e b o u n d s he crossed at his peril. A n d this rule o f appropriateness, this l a w that each m u s t b e given his d u e , this deference, w a s n o less vital than strategic praise a n d b l a m e to the w o r k i n g o f influence in the R o m a n world.

Deference Status in the R o m a n w o r l d carried a great variety o f privileges: p u b l i c donations w e r e regularly organized such that i m p o r t a n t t o w n s m e n , o r m e m b e r s o f a guild, received m o r e m o n e y o r oil o r biscuits; the u n i m ­ portant, less. T h e big m a n w a s p u n i s h e d less severely than the little for the same c r i m e .

1 3 6

W h e r e there w e r e conflicting witnesses, the jurist told the

j u d g e to give greatest credence to prestige, a n d in C i c e r o ' s c o u r t r o o m it w a s remarkable w h e n the testimony o f m e n o f the greatest dignity w a s

1 3 3

e.g. Basil, Ep. 64; Sid. Ep. 5 . 1 1 . T h e flatterer and slanderer, Plut. quom. Ad. ab Am. Int. 59d-6of, 66d, 67e-68b; de se Ips. cit. Invid. Laud. 547a; A m m . Marc. 2 8 . 4 . 1 2 . Quoted, Pliny, Ep. 7. 29. 3 , of the praetorian insignia conferred by the senate on Claudius' freedman Pallas; see also Ep. 8. 6. Severus' attitude was far better, Dio 76(771.). 6. 1-2. Donations, Mrozek (1987), 8 3 - 1 0 2 . Punishments, see Garnsey (1970). In general, MacMullen (i974)> 1 0 9 - 1 0 , 1 1 8 ; (1988), 6 4 - 5 . 1 3 4

1 3 5

1 3 6

Honour and Influence in the Roman World disregarded.

137

59

T o the m o s t distinguished volunteer w e n t the right to

prosecute w h e n there w a s m o r e than o n e candidate for the j o b .

1 3 8

In

s u m , as P l i n y expressed the n o r m to a g o v e r n o r , ' C o n d u c t yourself so that y o u m a i n t a i n a distinction b e t w e e n ranks a n d h o n o u r s . '

1 3 9

A l o n g s i d e familiar social codes requiring deference to parents, h u s ­ b a n d s , a n d age, ancient aristocrats w e r e especially b o u n d b y o n e r e q u i r ­ ing deference to h o n o u r . O n the streets o f R o m e m e n u n c o v e r e d their heads w h e n a distinguished m a n passed. T h e y greeted h i m first, dis­ m o u n t e d at his a p p r o a c h , kissed his h a n d , o r chest, o r knee. T h e y m e n ­ tioned h i m w i t h respect a n d praised h i m in speeches a n d writing, a n d offered h i m hospitality, since 'it is v e r y a p p r o p r i a t e that the houses o f illustrious m e n lie o p e n to illustrious g u e s t s ' .

140

W h e n C a t o the Y o u n g e r

departed from the theatre to a v o i d seeing an actor undress o n stage, s u c h w a s his

maiestas (in V a l e r i u s M a x i m u s ' v i e w ) that the

followed h i m o u t . those a r o u n d i t . The

1 4 1

rest o f the audience

Prestige elicited, indeed required, h o n o u r

from

1 4 2

honorific implications o f a great deal o f c o n d u c t c a n o n l y b e

u n d e r s t o o d w h e n the relative distinction o f the t w o parties, a n d thus their d u t y o f deference t o w a r d s o n e another, is k n o w n . F o r if a m a n d i d m o r e than deference required, that c o u l d b e an h o n o u r ; less, an insult. T h u s an act o f deference a p p r o p r i a t e to a superior p e r f o r m e d for an infe­ rior w a s honorific: w h e n the great Sulla rose a n d u n c o v e r e d his h e a d for the y o u n g P o m p e y , this w a s m e a n t a n d perceived as a t r e m e n d o u s h o n -

1 3 7

Credence to go to existimatio and dignitas. Dig. 22. 5. 3 . 1 (Callistratus); 'dignitas et auctoritas', 22. 5. 3 . 2 (Callistratus); cf. CTh 11. 39. 3 (334). Cicero, Cic. Font. 2 3 - 4 ; cf. Val. Max. 8 . 5 . 1 - 3 ; Dio 74(76L). 9. 5. O n honour in the law I am indebted to E . A . Meyer. Dig. 48. 2 . 1 6 (Ulpian), first of a list of criteria; cf. Cic. Div. Caec. 64. Pliny, Ep. 9. 5, 'discrimina ordinum dignitatumque custodias'. Cf. C i c . Rep. 1. 43; Rhet. Her. 3 . 3 ; Theodoret, Ep. 91 (Az£ma); C h . 4 n. 158. It is remarkable when the evSogoi do not have precedence over the a8o£o>i>, Philo, Leg. Gaium 13. Uncovering, Plut. Quaest. Rom. 266c, f. Greeting, Plut. Pomp. 2 3 . 2 ; quom. Ad. abAm. Inter. 62d; Mart. 3 . 95. Dismounting, Apul. Flor. 21; Dio 4 5 . 1 6 . 2. Kisses, Lucian, Nigr. 21; A m m . Marc. 2 8 . 4 . 1 0 . Mention respectfully, Cic. Rose. Am. 15; Rose. Com. 18; Clu. 118. Praise, Cic. Rose. Am. 3 3 . Hospitality, quoted, C i c . Off. 2. 64, Valde decorum patere domus hominum illustrium hospitibus iUustribus'; cf. 2Verr. 4. 33. Also giving up one's seat at table, Plut. quom. Ad. ab Am. Inter. 58b; Sid. Ep. 7 . 1 3 . 4 . Going to meet on the road, Cic. ad Fam. 3 . 7 . 4 ; standing behind, Sid. Ep. 1. 6 . 4 . 1 3 8

1 3 9

1 4 0

1 4 1

Val. Max. 2 . 1 0 . 8 , ' p o p u l u s . . . confessus plus se maiestatis uni illi tribuere quam sibi universo vindicare'. Duty to honour prestige, Cic. Inv. 2.166; Livy 24. 4 4 . 1 0 ; Val. Max. 2 . 1 0 . 2; Sen. Ep. 1 0 2 . 1 0 ; Jos. AJ19. 52; Plut. Cato Min. 9. 5; C y p . Ep. 76.1 (CSEL); Sid. Ep. 7. 4 . 1 ; and see Drexler (1988 ( 1 9 6 1 ) ) , 62. Deference to parents and prestige can conflict, D . Chr. 4 9 . 1 3 . 1 4 2

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

6o our.

1 4 3

O n the other h a n d , for Julius C a e s a r to refuse to rise at the

a p p r o a c h o f the massed senate a n d magistrates w a s to s n u b t h e m , for his act implied s u p e r i o r i t y .

144

A n inferior insulted a great R o m a n w h o s e

invitation to d i n n e r he refused: 'Better to kill a m a n ' s b r o t h e r than to refuse his invitation,' as A m m i a n u s M a r c e l l i n u s p u t i t .

1 4 5

Relative posi­

tion defined w h e r e o n e kissed the great m a n : if he offered h a n d o r knee to o n e w h o s e h o n o u r entitled h i m to kiss the lip, that w a s an insult, as w a s to offer o n l y half the lip. Indeed, to a v o i d insulting people, a great m a n w o u l d necessarily s u b m i t to being kissed b y m a n y repulsive a n d diseased lips. P o s t u m u s t h o u g h t he w a s h o n o u r i n g M a r t i a l highly b y offering h i m his lips to kiss, b u t Martial preferred to kiss his h a n d , not liking w h e r e the lips h a d b e e n .

1 4 6

I n addition to defining the degree o f h o n o u r one m a n o w e d

to

another, the deference d e m a n d e d b y prestige also included obedience. W h y d i d o n e m a n o b e y another? A m o n g other reasons, 'on a c c o u n t o f his b e i n g outstanding in prestige', said C i c e r o (or his ancient g l o s s a t o r ) .

1 4 7

Naturally, therefore, in obedience to the dignity o f those w h o asked h i m , C i c e r o took u p the defence o f Sextus R o s c i u s o f A m e r i a . In obedience to their h o n o u r as

nobiles it w a s expected

that C i c e r o w o u l d a d m i t L e n t u l u s

a n d C e t h e g u s into his house; t h e r e u p o n they w o u l d kill h i m at Catiline's orders.

1 4 8

When

evil

Romans

tried

to

kidnap

the

daughter

of

P h i l o d a m u s , ' b y birth, office, wealth, a n d prestige easily the first o f the citizens o f L a m p s a c u s ' , it seemed to C i c e r o that it w a s P h i l o d a m u s '

nitas,

dig­

a n d the greatness o f the insult to it, that m o v e d the citizens o f the

t o w n to defend his h o u s e .

1 4 9

1 4 3

Sulla and Pompey, Plut. Praec. Ger. Reip. 8o6e; Pomp. 8. 3. Cf. Plut. Cato Min. 1 4 . 1 ; Brut. 4. 3 . Also honorific, a superior greeting first, Hor. Ep. 1. 7. 6 4 - 6 ; dismounting, Plut. Pomp. 8 . 2 ; visiting inferior in his house, Lib. Or. 1 . 1 6 6 . See also Plut. Pomp. 1 9 . 5 ; Pliny, Ep. 4 . 1 7 . 6; A m m . M a r c . 14. 6. 2. 1 4 4

Plut. Caes. 6 0 . 4 - 5 ; cf. HA Maxim. 2 8 . 1 . A m m . Marc. 2 8 . 4 . 1 7 ; see also Hor. Ep. 1 . 7 . 6 2 - 4 ; Lib. Or. 1 . 7 5 . Offering unsatisfactory portions to kiss, HA Maxim. 28. 7; A m m . Marc. 28. 4. 1 0 ; Lucian, Nigr. 21; kissing with half the lip, Mart. 2 . 1 0 , 'basia dimidio . . . l a b r o \ 2. 22; c o m ­ pelled to accept kisses, Mart. 7 . 9 5 , 1 1 . 9 8 , 1 2 . 5 9 . Postumus, Mart. 2 . 2 1 ; cf. Sen. Ben. 4 . 3 0 . 2. Conspectus of insults to an ex-consul: no one approaches him, salutes him, or does him any honour, Cic. Pis. 96, and see Clu. 41; see also MacMullen (1988: 69 n. 3 3 ) for the insult of ostentatiously ignoring those to w h o m acts of deference are due. 1 4 5

1 4 6

1 4 7

C i c . Off. 2. 2 2 , 'dignitatis praestantia\ Cicero's authorship of this passage has long been doubted, see Dyck (1980) for the controversy. Some think it Cicero's own addition, others an interpolation. N o matter: it is in the text by the 4th cent., Dyck, p. 205. Cic. Rose. Am. 4, dignitas, auctoritas; Catiline, A p p . BCi. 3 , aglwoiz; cf. Apul. Met. 8 . 2 . C i c . 2Verr. 1. 64, 'genere, honore, copiis, existimatione facile principem Lampsacenorum'; 67, 'Philodami dignitas turn iniuriae magnitudo movebat'. See also C i c . Rose. Am. 119; Pis. 8; 2Verr. 2. 67; Herod. 4 . 3 . 3 ; [Victor], Vir. III. 7 2 . 9 ; Sid. Ep. 7. 8. 2. 1 4 8

1 4 9

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61

W h y h o n o u r a n d o b e y prestige? A t the conscious level, to refuse d u e deference w a s shameful; that is, the o p i n i o n - c o m m u n i t y o f the aristoc­ r a c y p u n i s h e d the perpetrator w i t h d i s h o n o u r . Plutarch w a r n e d against holding a d i n n e r w h e r e places w e r e n o t assigned: if e v e r y o n e s c r a m b l e d for seats, the eminent m i g h t fail to get places a p p r o p r i a t e to their h o n o u r , they w o u l d b e offended, a n d the host w o u l d seem g a u c h e .

1 5 0

A t the s a m e

time, zealous deference—say, putting u p a statue o f a distinguished m a n — w a s esteemed in aristocratic society: it w a s a p u b l i c virtue that w a s perceived to confer h o n o u r u p o n its p r a c t i t i o n e r .

151

B u t deference w a s

not, fundamentally, calculating. It w a s inculcated early, v i g o r o u s l y enforced in the household, a n d operated for the m o s t part at an u n c o n ­ scious level. B a d c o n d u c t in the presence o f prestige raised a blush, a n d , psychologically, it w a s m u c h m o r e difficult to refuse the requests o f dis­ tinguished m e n than those o f the o b s c u r e .

1 5 2

W h e n Scipio Nasica, sur­

r o u n d e d b y senators, rushed from the senate building to kill T i b e r i u s G r a c c h u s , n o o n e dared o p p o s e t h e m , as Plutarch has it, 'because o f the worthiness o f the men'. Instead, onlookers t u r n e d a n d fled, t r a m p l i n g one

another. T h e r e is n o calculation here, just i n g r a i n e d — a l m o s t

instinctive—action in the face o f d i s t i n c t i o n . The concept of

auctoritas lay at

153

the heart o f this pattern o f influence.

O n e m e a n i n g o f the w o r d w a s that aspect o f h o n o u r w h i c h required def­ erence in aristocratic society. A n d w h e t h e r deference w a s conscious o r u n c o n s c i o u s , it is not h a r d to see h o w a distinguished m a n c o u l d use it to get others to d o his bidding: w h e n a freedman, terrified b y his patron's anger, secured the intercession o f the celebrated Pliny the Y o u n g e r for his forgiveness, P l i n y w r o t e to his p a t r o n , 'I fear if I w e r e to j o i n m y pleas to his, that I s h o u l d seem to c o m p e l y o u rather than ask y o u ; I d o so n o n e the less.' T h e recipient o f the letter did as he w a s b i d , a n d received another note, in w h i c h he w a s praised for 'yielding to m y

auctoritas, or,

if

y o u prefer, indulging m y prayers'. A l t h o u g h he is civil e n o u g h to suggest a m o r e flattering c o l o u r for the patron's act, Pliny clearly h a d a right to give orders a n d b e o b e y e d in a matter s u c h as this. A m a n in Pliny's position w a s perfectly capable o f being his o w n enforcer, b y praising o r 1 5 0

Seating at dinner, Plut. Quaest. Conviv. 6 i 6 b - c . Similarly, order of admission at salutatio should be b y honour; Juvenal rails when money jumps the queue, 1. 9 9 - 1 1 1 . Disgrace for failure of deference, Cic. Mur. 8; Plut. Cato Min. 39. 2; Dio 4 5 . 1 6 . 1 - 2 with Val. M a x . 8. 5. 6. 1 5 1

Statue, Pliny, Ep. 1 . 1 7 . Cf. Sen. Ep. 1 0 2 . 1 0 . Inculcation of deference in the young, Plut. de Vit. Pud. 5 2 9 b - d ; Pliny, Ep. 2 . 1 8 , 6 . 6 . 3. Blush, ibid. 3 . 1 2 , cf. Val. M a x . 4 . 5 . 4 . Refusing requests, Plut. de Vit. Pud. 534b-535b. 153 p j jijj Gracch. 1 9 . 4 , d^icjfxa; see also Jos. AJ19.102. 1 5 2

u t

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

62

b l a m i n g his target's conduct: ' A c c e p t m y applause a n d m y t h a n k s — b u t , in the future, b e forgiving to y o u r erring s e r v a n t s . '

154

Praise for the

m o m e n t , b u t w i t h a chilling undertone. In practice, w h e n the individuals i n v o l v e d w e r e n o t well k n o w n to each other, the c o m p u l s i v e p o w e r o f h o n o u r w a s i n v o k e d b y directly signify­ ing, often in letters o f r e c o m m e n d a t i o n , the h o n o u r o f the individual for w h o m a f a v o u r o r h o n o u r w a s desired, a n d thus to w h o m , a c c o r d i n g to the c o d e , other aristocrats o u g h t to defer. T h u s one's protege w a s 'hon­ o u r e d m o s t highly', o r ' w o r t h y o f the greatest r e s p e c t ' .

155

O r the letter

m i g h t indicate the i m p o r t a n c e o f the r e c o m m e n d e e b y s o m e r e c o g n i z ­ able standard ( a n d thereby hint at the practical advantages o f d o i n g a favour for h i m ) : ' Y o u will find h i m the chief m a n not o n l y o f his t o w n , but a l m o s t o f A c h a e a ' ; 'His father w a s a distinguished m e m b e r o f the order o f knights'; 'I h a v e f o u n d h i m w o r t h y o f his father a n d grandfather; his is a family as noble as it is possible to be'; o r even, literary culture being so h o n o u r a b l e , ' H e is a learned a n d eloquent m a n ' .

1 5 6

Since moral

excellence w a s part o f prestige, a n d indeed, so m a n y Latin a n d G r e e k w o r d s used to describe people w e r e freighted w i t h status a n d h o n o u r connotations—'liberal', 'grave', 'fair'—letters o f r e c o m m e n d a t i o n sig­ nalled the dignity o f r e c o m m e n d e e s to their recipients with a sophistica­ tion a n d finesse that c a n n o t always b e grasped t w o millennia later, just as a foreigner c a n n o t taste the difference between the varieties o f Japanese rice.

1 5 7

B u t to read 'he got w h a t w e w a n t e d o n a c c o u n t o f his o w n

r e n o w n ' is to k n o w that h o n o u r got its w a y in p r a c t i c e .

1 5 8

'I d o n o t d e n y that sometimes I d o favours even for the u n w o r t h y in order t o h o n o u r o t h e r s . ' 1 5 4

1 5 9

If a m a n ' s o w n distinction failed, the r e n o w n

O n auctoritas, and related terms, see Appendix. Quoted, Pliny, Ep. 9. 2 1 . 3 , 9 . 24. Cf.

Cic. ad Fam. 1 3 . 1 2 . 1 5 5

Tt/LticoTaros', Greg. Naz. Ep. 169. 2 , 1 7 4 . 4, 2 2 7 . 1 ; J . C h r . Ep. 51; aiSeat/LMOTaros', Greg.

Naz. Ep. 1 2 7 . 2 . See also Cic. ad Q. Fr. 2 . 1 4 . 3 ; Greg. N a z . 3 8 . 3 ; Theodoret, Ep. 2 9 - 3 6 (Az£ma); Sid. Ep. 6 . 5 . 1 5 6

Chief man, Cic. ad Fam. 1 3 . 7 8 . 1 . Knights, Pliny, Ep. 2.13.4,

'pater ei in equestri gradu

clarus\ W o r t h y , C i c . ad Fam. 1 3 . 3 4 . Learned, Fronto, ad Am. 1 . 1 0 (van den H o u t ) . See also Cic. ad Fam. 13 passim; Pliny, Ep. 1. 1 4 , 7. 2 2 , 1 0 . 4; Syn. Ep. 18 (Garzya); Sid. Ep. 2. 4. 1. Emphasis on literary culture, Fronto, ad Am. 1. 2 , 3 , 4 (van den Hout); Greg. N a z . Ep. 3 7 . 2 ; Lib. Ep. passim. Cf. Victorian confidence tricksters, M a y h e w (1987 (1882)), 3 4 7 - 9 , 3 5 5 . 1 5 7

Liberalis - of or relating to free men, gentlemanly, noble, generous ( O L D ) ; gravis =

stern, grave, respected, august ( O L D ) ; for *aAos, 'fair', and other overlap of morality and honour, n. 52 above. For baffling indications of status, compare a contemporary U K author's reference to 'men . . . w h o look as if they might be accountants of the claret-buy­ ing variety' (Malcolm ( 1 9 9 0 ) ) . This is obscure enough to a North American reader. Imagine how obscure it will be in two thousand years. 1 5 8

C i c . ad Fam. 1 3 . 1 9 . 1 , 'ipsius splendore'.

1 5 9

Sen. Ben. 4 . 3 0 . 1 , 'in honorem aliorum'; cf. 5 . 1 9 . 8.

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

63

o f others to w h o m deference w a s d u e m i g h t succeed. Letters o f r e c o m ­ m e n d a t i o n certify that the r e c o m m e n d e e is extremely c l o s e — a relative, a b o y h o o d friend, a hereditary c o n n e c t i o n — t o the r e c o m m e n d e r (or other superior individuals). S u c h claims w r a p the r e c o m m e n d e e in the glory o f others a n d bolster his chances o f getting the f a v o u r .

1 6 0

T h e y also signal

the n e t w o r k o f persons w h o will b e placed u n d e r an obligation if the f a v o u r is granted, alluding to another w a y h o n o u r exerted p o w e r in the Roman world.

Reciprocity 'Receive this m o s t h o n o u r e d a n d highly sought-after m a n , a n d d o n o t hesitate to s h o w h i m hospitality, thereby d o i n g w h a t is m e e t for y o u a n d w h a t will obligate m e to y o u . ' T h u s a s a m p l e letter o f r e c o m m e n d a t i o n in an ancient pattern b o o k o f letters. ' H o n o u r e d ' a n d 'highly sought-after' signal that deference is d u e the subject o f the r e c o m m e n d a t i o n . 'Obligate m e to y o u ' introduces another aristocratic c o d e , based o n r e c i p r o c i t y .

161

If a m a n does a f a v o u r for y o u , y o u m u s t d o o n e for h i m in return. I n a passage o f lyric didacticism, Seneca envisions a universe o f circulating favours, represented b y the G r a c e s , used to translate

Xdpircs,

the w o r d in G r e e k usually

beneficia ( f a v o u r s ) .

W h y is the chorus [of the Graces], hand in hand, a ring turning on itself? Because the course of a favour passing from hand to hand returns none the less to the giver, and the fairness of the whole is lost, if it is anywhere interrupted, and it is most beautiful if it holds together and preserves the c h a i n .

162

F a v o u r s are here envisaged as passing from h a n d to h a n d in a c o n t i n u o u s u n b r o k e n circle, ending u p at their original bestower. A f a v o u r deserved a f a v o u r in return; the greater the f a v o u r , the greater the return. O n e d i d a f a v o u r , w h e n asked, in o r d e r to b e able to call u p o n the recipient w h e n o n e w a n t e d a f a v o u r from h i m .

1 6 3

T h e value o f a f a v o u r w a s its value to

the recipient: ' A t as m u c h as it is w o r t h to escape the necessities o f famine, so m u c h shall w e value y o u r f a v o u r . ' 1 6 0

1 6 4

T h i s value w a s envisioned as

K i m (1972), 4 8 - 5 1 ; Deniaux (1993), 1 3 5 - 6 1 ; and e.g. Fronto, ad Am. 1 . 1 , 3 , 1 0 (van den

Hout); Basil, Ep. 35. Boyhood friend, Cic. ad Fam. 1 3 . 5 ; Pliny, Ep. 2 . 1 3 , 6 . 8 . Relatives/hered­ itary connection, C i c . ad Fam. 1 3 . 1 5 , 39; Basil, Ep. 3 1 , 137; Lib. Ep. 275; foster-brother (ovvrpo(poz)y 1 6 1

Basil, Ep. 3 6 , 3 7 .

[Lib.] Char. Epist. 55, rnxi.d}rarov

Kal 7T€pioirov8aoTov.

Cf. Cicero's implicit definition

of political power under the Roman Republic, auctoritas et gratia, Hellegouarc'h (1963), 307-8. 1 6 2

Sen. Ben. 1 . 3 . 4 .

1 6 4

Quoted, Basil, Ep. 86; see also Sen. Ben. 1. 5 . 1 for the clearest statement of this c o m ­

1 6 3

Sailer (1982), 1 - 3 9 , and esp. C i c . Off. 1 . 4 7 - 9 .

mon view. Sen. Ep. 81. 5 - 6 , Ben. 1. 5. 2 - 7 . 3 , and C i c . Off. 1. 49 are polemical against this

6

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

4

quite finely measurable. C i c e r o u r g e d his c o n t e m p o r a r i e s to b e 'good cal­ culators o f favours, to see b y a d d i n g a n d s u b t r a c t i n g . . . w h a t w e are o w e d b y each a n d w h a t w e o w e to each*. A c c o r d i n g l y , there w a s a technical, b o o k k e e p i n g v o c a b u l a r y in Latin,

officium, beneflcium, meritum,

w o r d s signifying 'favour' w i t h v a r i o u s c o m p l e x u n d e r t o n e s .

165

all

A favour

that o n e failed to reciprocate in life w a s expressed in m o n e y terms a n d paid o f f in one's will; or, failing that, the obligation w a s h a n d e d o n to one's children. A v e r y p o w e r f u l m a n like T r a j a n , at the centre o f a h u g e n e t w o r k o f favours given a n d o w e d a n d w h o m i g h t therefore h a v e t r o u ­ ble r e m e m b e r i n g w h a t w a s o w e d h i m , totalled u p the favours he h a d d o n e in n o t e b o o k s .

1 6 6

T h i s mental m a c h i n e r y m a d e the principle o f reciprocity a p o w e r f u l tool for a c c o m p l i s h i n g one's will. It m a d e it possible, for e x a m p l e , for favours to b e e x c h a n g e d between m e n w h o enjoyed n o v e r y intimate association, o r indeed w e r e o n b a d terms, b y sending a letter listing favours already p e r f o r m e d for the recipient b y the sender, a n d d e m a n d ­ ing a f a v o u r in return, q u i d p r o q u o .

1 6 7

M o r e commonly, however, a

f a v o u r w o u l d b e asked, a n d the asker's willingness to reciprocate sig­ nalled: 'Just as y o u w o u l d eagerly e m b r a c e chances to oblige m e , there is n o o n e to w h o m I w o u l d rather b e obligated.' F o r m u l a e o f this type in let­ ters o f r e c o m m e n d a t i o n are the ubiquitous traces o f the e c o n o m y o f favours at w o r k ; they are f o u n d in the Latin W e s t a n d the G r e e k East from the first to the fifth c e n t u r y AD, a n d at every social level that has left records.

1 6 8

Reciprocity operated between m e n , w o m e n , h u m a n s a n d the old g o d s , a n d m a n a n d the G o d o f the C h r i s t i a n s .

1 6 9

T h e recipient o f a letter

system of valuation, insisting (inter alia) that the state of mind in which the favour is bestowed should be considered as well. 1 6 5

Calculators, Cic. Off. 1 . 5 9 (Sen. Ben. 1 . 2 . 2 - 3 is polemical against this). But the beneficia of the Christian G o d are so great that they cannot be calculated, Musurillo (1972), 14. 13. For technical vocabulary, Hellegouarc'h (1963), 1 5 2 - 7 0 ; Sailer (1982), 7 - 2 2 . 166 wills, A . Wallace-Hadrill (1981&), 6 6 - 7 0 ; Sailer (1982), 7 1 - 3 , 1 2 4 ; and esp. Mart. 6 . 6 3 . For favour-debts handed down generations, e.g. Sen. Ben. 4 . 3 0 . 2 - 3 ; D. Chr. 3 1 . 6 2 ; Syn. Ep. 20. Trajan, ILS 1792; see MacMullen (1986&), 521. 1 6 7

List of favours, C i c . ad Fam. 13. 77. Reciprocity among men on bad terms, ibid. 5. 5; between men not well known to each other, Fronto, ad Am. 1 . 8 (van den H o u t ) . Quoted, Pliny, Ep. 2 . 1 3 . Formulae of indebtedness in letters of recommendation, Kim (1972), 6 6 - 8 , 9 0 - 4 . 169 W o m e n , Tac. Ann. 1 3 . 2 0 ; Pliny, Ep. 7 . 1 9 . 1 0 . Pagan gods, a truism, see e.g. MacMullen (1981), 5 2 - 3 . So deep-set is this reciprocal ethic in the ancient mind that Cicero (Off. 1. 58) can argue that duty to parents and country derives from the fact that we are 'beneficiis maximis obligati' to them; V a l . M a x . (5. 3 ext. 3) refers to 'dandi et accipiendi beneficii c o m mercium, sine quo vix vita hominum esset'. See also Sen. Ben. 1 . 4 . 2. 1 6 8

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

65

b e g g i n g help in a tax matter w a s advised, 'In return for this benefaction . . . G o d will g r a n t y o u , y o u r house, a n d y o u r line his a c c u s t o m e d a i d / and, even m o r e explicitly, 'as m u c h h o n o u r a n d freedom o f speech as y o u grant us . . . w e p r a y that the s a m e degree o f increase o f y o u r fame, n a y m o r e ! be granted to y o u from o u r G o o d L o r d d u r i n g y o u r w h o l e l i f e . '

170

A s S t Basil here reveals, the principle o f reciprocity applied to h o n o u r s as well: the value o f a f a v o u r , a n d the f a v o u r in return, m i g h t b e partly o r w h o l l y honorific. T h u s a purely practical f a v o u r c o u l d be p a i d b a c k partly or entirely w i t h praise, o r , for example, b y putting u p a statue o f the b e n e ­ factor. Practical (to the m o d e r n m i n d ) a n d honorific favours w e r e n o t easily d i s t i n g u i s h e d .

171

T h u s the relative quality o f the m e n involved c a n

determine w h o should b e grateful to w h o m . W h e n S m y r n a w a s destroyed in a n earthquake, its people h a d to c a m p in neighbouring cities. ' W h o d i d not regard it as his o w n g o o d fortune, w h o d i d n o t think h e h a d received a f a v o u r rather than b e s t o w e d one, w h e n he t o o k such leading m e n into his house?' If a m a n is g r a n d e n o u g h , to h a v e h i m as a guest is honorific: he is d o i n g y o u a f a v o u r .

1 7 2

T h e extensive reach o f this pattern o f influence w a s a result o f the quite complicated patterns o f debt that c o u l d b e p u t together in pursuit o f a favour. T h e a u t h o r o f a letter o f r e c o m m e n d a t i o n writes to a m a n w i t h a desirable f a v o u r in his gift—help in business, help in c our t, an official p o s t — o n behalf o f a prot£g£ ( w h o thereby incurs a debt to the writer b y virtue o f the writer's effective intervention), saying that b o t h he a n d the r e c o m m e n d e e will understand themselves to h a v e incurred a debt if the addressee o f the letter does that f a v o u r for the r e c o m m e n d e e . If the recip­ ient o f the letter agrees, the r e c o m m e n d e e has received t w o favours a n d n o w o w e s t w o , the letter's recipient has p e r f o r m e d t w o favours a n d is n o w o w e d t w o , a n d the r e c o m m e n d e r has d o n e o n e f a v o u r a n d o w e s one. T h i s system w a s stable, a n d ensured that everyone got an equal return for his f a v o u r — i t w a s capable o f infinite repetition, elaboration, a n d exten­ sion a m o n g m e n w h o u n d e r s t o o d it, a n d it d i d n o t require charity o n anyone's part, as long as everyone's obligation w a s c l e a r .

1 7 3

T h e weakest

link in the system w a s evaluating the f a v o u r o w e d b y the r e c o m m e n d e e 1 7 0

Basil, Ep. 3 6 and 110, TI/ZI} and irepupdvaa. Cf. A u g . Ep. 5 7 , 2 0 6 . Duty to reciprocate honours, Cic. Inv. 2. 66; Herod. 2 . 3 . 6 - 7 ; Dio 6 7 . 1 2 . 3 . Praise as favour or return, Cic. ad Fam. 1 0 . 2 4 . 1 ; Pliny, Ep. 3 . 1 1 , 3 . 2 1 ; Apul. Flor. 16. Individuals hon­ our their benefactors, ILS 9 4 6 , 1 1 1 0 ; IGR iv. 1215. Honour returned for tangible favours in i6th-cent. France, Neuschel (1989), 76. 1 7 1

1 7 2

Aristid. 2 0 . 1 7 (Behr); trans, adapted from Behr. Conventional three-party scenario, Cic. ad Fam. bk. 13 passim. For more complicated scenarios see e.g. C i c . ad Fam. 1 3 . 6 a - b , 13. 2 2 . 1 7 3

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66

to the r e c o m m e n d e r , since the latter's role w a s chiefly that o f a m e d i a t o r , a n d indeed o n e w h o s e efficacy c o u l d n o t always h a v e been evident. W h a t did the r e c o m m e n d e e o w e to a specific r e c o m m e n d e r if his w a s just o n e o f a fat sheaf o f r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s , o r if the r e c o m m e n d e e h a d s o m e other a t t r i b u t e — p e r h a p s he a n d the r e c o m m e n d a t i o n ' s recipient w e r e intimate o f o l d — w h i c h m i g h t h a v e gained h i m the f a v o u r even w i t h o u t a recommendation?

1 7 4

F o r this reason a r e c o m m e n d e r m i g h t indicate in

his letter that the addressee o f the r e c o m m e n d a t i o n should m a k e clear to the r e c o m m e n d e e exactly h o w w e i g h t y his r e c o m m e n d a t i o n has been, thus allowing the r e c o m m e n d e e to place a value o n the f a v o u r - d e b t h e o w e d to the r e c o m m e n d e r .

1 7 5

T h e fact that relations o f reciprocity w e r e perceived to operate w i t h perfect efficiency even w h e r e n o equal return for favours w a s possible extended the range o f such patterns b e y o n d persons o f r o u g h l y equal p o w e r to m e n o f m a n y types a n d conditions. Indeed, w h e r e a f a v o u r w a s v a l u e d at the p o i n t o f receipt, b u t w h e r e there w a s a significant disparity o f p o w e r between the giver a n d the recipient o f a favour, it regularly o c c u r r e d that an inferior recipient w a s entirely unable to p a y b a c k the f a v o u r — h e w a s , in C i c e r o ' s phrase, 'unable to sustain the f a v o u r s ' .

1 7 6

H o w c o u l d a R o m a t i u s F i r m u s , w h o s e fortune w a s q u a d r u p l e d t h r o u g h Pliny's beneficence, ever d o a n y t h i n g for Pliny as valuable to the distin­ guished senator as elevation to the equestrian census h a d been for R o m a t i u s ? H e c o u l d not. H u m b l e m e n w e r e limited to returning g u m balls for d i a m o n d s , w h a t F r o n t o called 'everyday favours': s h o w i n g u p in the m o r n i n g , f o r m i n g a retinue t h r o u g h the day, constituting, as a m e m ­ ber o f the

corps de ballet, a tiny

part o f the great m a n ' s p r e s t i g e .

177

All an

inferior c o u l d d o w a s b e 'grateful', that is, he c o u l d r e m e m b e r , a n d h o l d himself in readiness to repay, for e v e r .

1 7 8

T h i s m a d e h i m , in the R o m a n lexicon, a client, w h e t h e r so called o r referred to b y a e u p h e m i s m (since the t e r m one h a d a patron,

patronus,

cliens,

o r the suggestion that

w a s considered d e g r a d i n g ) .

1 7 9

Clientage

1 7 4

Multiple recommendations: C i c . ad Q. Fr. 1. 2. 11; Basil, Ep. 112; Aristid. 50. 7 4 - 8 (Behr). 1 7 5

C i c . ad Fam. 13. 2 0 , 2 5 , 3 5 ; Basil, Ep. 149. C i c . ad Fam. 2. 6. 2. On this situation, Sen. Ben. 5 . 2 - 6 . Romatius Firmus, Pliny, Ep. 1 . 1 9 . 'Everyday favours', Fronto, ad M. Caes. 1. 3 (van den Hout); see also C i c . Mur. 70; Comment. Petit. 3 4 - 8 ; and for these duties see Hellegouarc'h (1963), 1 6 0 - 3 ; Rouland (1979), 4 8 3 - 8 , 5 1 5 - 1 7 ; Sailer (1982), 1 2 8 - 9 . 1 7 6

1 7 7

1 7 8

C i c . Off. 2. 69; ad Fam. 1 0 . 1 1 . 1 ; Publilius Syrus, S41 (Friedrich); Sen. Ben. 5. 4 . 1 , 7.

14-16. 1 7 9

Degrading, Sailer (1982), 8 - 1 1 , and esp. C i c . Off. 2.69; thus the exiguity of ancient material clearly relating to the patronage-clientage of the freeborn.

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

67

s h o u l d b e considered a f o r m o f c h r o n i c ( a n d s o m e t i m e s hereditary) favour-debt, o n e in w h i c h the client c o u l d never, a n d w a s never expected to, r e p a y the favours d o n e h i m .

1 8 0

T h i s m a k e s freeborn patronage/clien­

tage identical in rationale to the clientage w h i c h existed between a freed­ m a n a n d his f o r m e r master, b y far the m o s t c o m m o n use o f the terms. A slave's f o r m e r o w n e r e n j o y e d patronage—lifelong (indeed, heritable) and enforceable u n d e r the l a w — a n d the services w h i c h derived from it, because n o f a v o u r a freedman c o u l d b e s t o w c o u l d ever p a y a n adequate return for the master's f a v o u r o f setting the slave free. S h o u l d a

free-born

client find himself in a position p o w e r f u l e n o u g h to repay, p a t r o n a g e c e a s e d — w h i c h is w h a t M a r i u s m e a n t w h e n he r e m a r k e d that a m a g i s ­ tracy freed h i m from the b o n d s o f hereditary c l i e n t s h i p .

181

Patronage, in the R o m a n sense, exists w h e n true reciprocity o f favours has ceased. I n the fullness o f time, even the necessity o f c o u n t i n g favours given o r o w e d also lapsed, as F r o n t o said, c o m p a r i n g the services o f a y o u n g protege w i t h those o f a client: He did not grudge it (nor did I feel ashamed) that he should pay me the same obe­ dience which

clientes and

faithful, devoted freedmen yield; this is not through

arrogance on my part or flattery on his, but our mutual affection and true love have removed from both of us any hesitation in doing f a v o u r s .

182

T h e r e w a s , then, n o e n d to the duties o f a client. After the patron's favours h a d b e c o m e such that the client w a s unlikely to b e able to r e c i p ­ rocate, he w a s s i m p l y expected to o b e y for ever. A l l he c o u l d d o w a s d r e a m o f a disaster befalling his patron: o n l y then, b y s o m e i m a g i n e d act o f d e r r i n g - d o , c o u l d the client p e r f o r m such great service as w o u l d free him.

1 8 3

B u t h o w c o u l d an aristocrat rely o n another aristocrat's repaying a favour? A n d w h y c o u l d he d e p e n d o n a client's obedience? First, because 1 8 0

C i c . Off. 2. 6 9 - 7 0 ; cf. Plut. Fab. Max. 1 3 . 3 ; Johnson and Dandeker (1989), 225. Freedman and patron, Dig. 3 8 . 2 . 1 . pr. (Ulpian). A freedman's lack of respect for his patron, or failure to perform such duties as his former master may have stipulated, is pros­ 1 8 1

ecuted as 'ingratitude', see Treggiari (1969), 6 8 - 8 1 . Marius, Plut. Mar. 5. 4 - 5 ; Plutarch argues that Marius was not correct in this, and that only curule magistracies relieved one of hereditary clientship. O n personal patronage under the Republic, Brunt (1988a), 3 8 2 - 4 4 2 ; Deniaux (1993); empire, Sailer (1982) and Rouland (1979), 4 9 3 - 6 1 7 . Fronto, ad Ver. 1 . 6 . 2 (van den Hout), ' o b o e d i r e . . . officiis'; cf. Cic. ad Fam. 7 . 2 9 , 3 1 (see Wistrand (1978), 2 1 - 2 ) . Similar is the willingness of close friends to stop counting favours, Cic. Amic. 58; ad Fam. 3 . 5 . 1 . O n amicitia, Hellegouarc'h (1963), 4 1 - 9 0 , 1 4 2 - 7 0 ; Brunt (1988a), 3 5 1 - 8 1 ; Sailer (1989). Clients' obedience, Sen. Brev. Vit. 19. 3: not even their love and hate are under their own control. Clients' duties likened to slavery, Mart. 1 0 . 8 2 . Dreaming of disasters, Sen. Ben. 6.25-43. 1 8 2

1 8 3

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

68

the d u t y o f reciprocity w a s inculcated from an early age. O f children C i c e r o said, ' W h a t a remarkable m e m o r y they h a v e for those w h o h a v e d o n e well b y them; h o w eager they are to m a k e r e t u r n . '

1 8 4

Y e t reciproc­

ity w o r k e d at a conscious level as well. H e w h o failed to m a k e return w o u l d get n o further favours. ' A c c o r d i n g to the d u t y o f friendship, a giver need n o t give m o r e , b u t m u s t b e repaid,' says P l i n y .

1 8 5

A humble man

'needs the help o f m a n y ' , a n d it w a s disastrous for h i m to

become

k n o w n — a m o n g the set w h o w e r e able to g i v e — f o r n o t p a y i n g w h a t he o w e d , o r not trying to d o w h a t e v e r lay within his p o w e r , h o w e v e r insignificant.

186

Failing to get further favours w a s a b y - p r o d u c t o f the m o r e general destruction o f the ingrate's position in society. R e t u r n i n g favours w a s part o f one's m o r a l reputation, a n d one's m o r a l reputation, in t u r n , w a s part o f one's social prestige. T o b e k n o w n as an upright trader o f favours, as a grateful m a n , contributed to one's h o n o u r .

1 8 7

A n d the m o r a l ghast-

liness o f the m a n w h o failed to m a k e return for favours he w a s given w a s never in question. H e w a s castigated for his forgetfulness a n d ingrati­ t u d e — ' Y o u h a v e said everything possible w h e n y o u call a m a n an ingrate.'

188

F r o m the m a n to w h o m he h a d failed to m a k e return he

m i g h t expect stentorian abuse; people w o u l d stare at the miscreant; his erstwhile friends w o u l d cheer at his f u n e r a l .

1 8 9

A n d a man owed a favour

c o u l d flourish the c l u b o f p u b l i c o p i n i o n at his debtor to get his f a v o u r in return.

1 9 0

G r a t i t u d e m a y well h a v e been a private e m o t i o n a m o n g the

R o m a n s , b u t its great strength in R o m a n society d e p e n d e d o n its status as a p r o m i n e n t p u b l i c virtue, frozen u n d e r the pitiless glare o f o p i n i o n .

1 9 1

1 8 4

Cic. Fin. 5. 61. Pliny, Ep. 7 . 3 1 . 7 . B y contrast, Publilius Syrus, B8 (Friedrich), 'beneficia plura recipit, qui scit reddere'. 1 8 5

1 8 6

Cic. Off. 2 . 7 0 . Gratefulness a moral virtue, C i c . Plane. 8 0 - 1 ; Val. M a x . 5. 2; Sen. Ben. 4. 2 4 . 1 , cf. Wistrand (1978), 1 1 . Contributes to honour, Sen. Ben. 4 . 1 6 . 3 ; Ira 2.32.1; Dio 8 . 3 6 . 1 3 . Quoted, Publilius Syrus D 4 (Friedrich). For denunciation o f ' b a d memory*, 'ingrat­ itude* = not paying what one owes, see also C i c . Off. 2. 63; Sen. Ep. 81 passim; Ben. passim and esp. 1 . 1 0 . 4 , 3 . 1 . 1 ; V a l . M a x . 5 . 3 ; D . Chr. 3 1 . 3 9 . 1 8 7

1 8 8

1 8 9

Public abuse, Sen. Ben. 5. 2 2 . 1 - 2 3 . 2 , 7 . 2 8 . 3 , 7 . 3 0 . 1 (Seneca is against this); stared at and subjected to publicum odium. Sen. Ben. 3 . 1 7 . 1 - 2 ; cheer at funeral, Juv. 1 . 1 4 4 - 6 (dying intestate, he thus fails to express his gratitude in his will, cf. Pliny, Ep. 8 . 1 8 . 3 ) . For the dis­ grace of ingratitude see also Dio 8 . 3 6 . 1 4 . 1 9 0

C i c . ad Fam. 5 . 5 . 2; cf. adAtt. 9 . 7 b . 2. Fear for reputation, Sen. Ben. 6. 4 2 . T h e moralizing purposes of Cicero's de Officiis and Seneca's de Beneficiis—indispensable sources for the operation of reciprocity—some­ what occlude the grounding of reciprocity in public shame; Seneca intends, inter alia, the transfer of its enforcement from the realm of shame to that of conscience, Ben. 4. 2 1 , 6 . 4 2 . 1-43- 3> so one must carefully distinguish the world they inhabit from the world they would 1 9 1

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

69

Finally, even w h e n a f a v o u r w a s returned the transaction h a d h o n o u r consequences, consequences w h i c h d e p e n d e d u p o n the relative distinc­ tion o f the parties. A f a v o u r f r o m a great m a n , it w a s perceived, c o u l d a d d to one's prestige as an h o n o u r , b u t accepting a f a v o u r c o u l d also detract. For to beg a f a v o u r w a s embarrassing: ' W h e n asking, a respectable m a n shuts his m o u t h a n d b l u s h e s . '

192

N o t o n l y d i d getting a f a v o u r i m p l y that

o n e c o u l d n o t d o w h a t w a s required b y oneself; it obligated one, a n d debt

beneficium,

sells his l i b e r t y . '

193

was

d i s h o n o u r a b l e — ' W h o accepts a

was

excruciating to h a v e one's debt m e n t i o n e d or, w o r s e , cast in one's

It

teeth. ' G i v e m e b a c k to Caesar!' cried a m a n saved from proscription b y o n e o f Octavian's friends, for it w a s better to die than h a v e one's b e n e ­ factor continually h a r p u p o n the debt: 'in a t r i u m p h I w o u l d o n l y h a v e had to m a r c h once!' B u t the h o n o u r o v e r c a m e the humiliation w h e n the benefactor w a s v e r y m u c h greater than the recipient: the h o n o u r c o n s e ­ quences o f a f a v o u r c a n n o t b e determined w i t h o u t estimating the dispar­ ity o f prestige between the m e n .

1 9 4

Honour as Power V a l e r i u s M a x i m u s insisted that

maiestas, 'eminence',

w a s p o w e r f u l in

getting its w a y , a n d s o m e o f the m e t h o d s it used have n o w been illus­ trated. C o m i n g into existence b o t h from ascription b y the aristocratic c o m m u n i t y a n d b y individual aristocrats ( w h o s e ascription the c o m m u ­ nity as a w h o l e a c c e p t e d ) , h o n o u r played a variety o f roles in society. First, h o n o u r w a s a source o f value: it constituted s o m e o r all o f the v a l u e o f men's actions, w h i c h m i g h t b e honorific o r dishonouring. Inextricably m i n g l e d w i t h the exchange o f g o o d s a n d services, h o n o u r c o u l d be traded for g o o d s , services, a n d further h o n o u r . S e c o n d , h o n o u r w a s a source o f legitimate social authority, that is, o f an authority people w e r e b r o u g h t up to obey. Deference, including obedience, to a c k n o w l e d g e d possessors o f h o n o u r w a s required in G r a e c o - R o m a n society. T h i r d , h o n o u r w a s a social sanction. Fear o f loss o f h o n o u r — d i s g r a c e — e n f o r c e d social n o r m s and s o m e o f those n o r m s , including deference ( a n d the appropriateness o f praise a n d b l a m e ) a n d the d u t y o f gratitude, the reciprocity o f favours and h o n o u r s , c o u l d b e used to w o r k one's will in society.

like to; see Wistrand (1978), 12, 2 0 - 1 . For credit in a system of reciprocal favours being grounded in honour, cf. Neuschel (1989: 93) for i6th-cent. France. 1 9 2

1 9 3

Sen. Ben. 2.1.3, cf. 2. 2 . 1 . Publilius Syrus, B5 (Friedrich), cf. R15. Quoted, Sen. Ben. 2.11.1. Also, accepting a favour proves one's weakness and inferi­ ority, Dio 5 9 . 2 3 . 2 - 4 , cf. Sailer (1982), 20. Having persons in debt for favours is prestigious, Sid. Ep. 3 . 5 . 1 . 1 9 4

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

70

It is possible to see all three o f these roles that h o n o u r plays at w o r k h a r m o n i o u s l y in a c o m m o n social institution like the R o m a n will. A R o m a n w a s expected to p a y off outstanding favour-debts in his will. B u t powerful m e n , a n d especially the e m p e r o r , regularly received legacies in the wills o f m e n they h a d never m e t o r d o n e anything f o r .

1 9 5

H o w curi­

ous, also, that P l i n y c o u l d write to T a c i t u s , ' Y o u m u s t h a v e noticed h o w in wills, unless p e r h a p s s o m e o n e is the particular friend o f either o f us, w e receive identical legacies.' H o w m a n y people c o u l d h a v e felt

exactly

the

same personal debt to Pliny a n d Tacitus? W h a t w a s similar, as Pliny insisted elsewhere in his letter, w a s their prestige, particularly as littera­ teurs; the legacies that c a m e to t h e m w e r e an aspect o f their right to receive as distinguished m e n , a nice c o m p l i m e n t f r o m o n e aristocrat to another.

1 9 6

B u t there w a s a final element. It w a s a terrible insult to b e cut

out o f the wills o f other aristocrats. S o wills c o u l d serve, finally, as an after-death attack o n the r e n o w n o f others, as w h e n the distinguished m a t r o n J u n i a m e n t i o n e d in her will almost all the leading m e n at R o m e , b u t left o u t T i b e r i u s . A g o o d strong dose o f abuse in the text o f the will avoided the da ng e r o f being t h o u g h t to h a v e excluded s o m e o n e t h r o u g h inattention. A legacy, finally, perhaps a c c o m p a n i e d b y a passage o f praise in the will, w a s an h o n o u r .

1 9 7

W i t h a large e n o u g h estate, all o f h o n o u r ' s

claims c o u l d b e satisfied. A t the s a m e time, the tension between the attribution o f h o n o u r b y the c o m m u n i t y a n d its attribution b y individuals manifested itself constantly in social relations. F o r w h e n o n e m a n h a d substantially m o r e prestige than another, he c o u l d use the o v e r w h e l m i n g strength o f his praise a n d b l a m e to twist c o m m u n a l l y sanctioned relationships o f reciprocity a n d deference to his benefit. A n c i e n t aristocrats c o m f o r t a b l y v i e w e d their sys­ tem o f reciprocal favours as equitable. B u t since the value o f favours c o u l d never be m e a s u r e d objectively, a n d there m i g h t well be differences o f o p i n i o n a b o u t a favour's practical a n d honorific value, the system w a s

1 9 5

Receipt of legacies from persons unknown to legatee, C i c . iPhil. 4 0 - 1 ; Suet. Aug. 66. 4; Tac. Ann. 2.48; HA Hadr. 1 8 . 5 . Obviously legacies to 'bad' emperors can be made in order that the terms of the rest of the will be upheld (Suet. Gaius 3 8 . 2 ; Tac. Ann. 1 6 . 1 1 ) , but 'good* emperors received such legacies as well. O n legacies to emperors see R. S. Rogers (1947); for a list, Champlin (1991), 2 0 3 - 4 . 1 9 6

Quoted, Pliny, Ep. 7. 2 0 . 6 ; for like prestige of Tacitus and Pliny see also Ep. 9. 23. Cf. Tac. Ann. 1. 8, and esp. the Testamentum Dasumii, CIL vi. 10229. Wills used to honour, dishonour, Champlin (1991), 1 2 - 1 7 , 1 4 6 - 7 . Insult, Junia, T a c . Ann. 3 . 7 6 ; cf. 6 . 3 8 ; Fronto, ad Ant. Pium 3 (van den Hout). Under Augustus a law was pro­ posed to prevent such libel, Suet. Aug. 5 6 . 1 . Honour, C i c . Quinct. 14; Pliny, Ep. 7. 24. 8; Fronto, ad M. Caes. 1. 6. 8 (van den Hout); cf. Lib. Ep. 1 1 5 . 1 . 1 9 7

Honour and Influence in the Roman World necessarily i n e x a c t .

1 9 8

7i

T h e possibility o f profiting from the a m b i g u o u s

value o f favours w a s clearly u n d e r s t o o d in antiquity, a n d that is w h y m u c h is heard of'investing* o r 'sowing' favours. A t o n e p o i n t Seneca even says, ' A m a n is an ingrate w h o returns a f a v o u r w i t h o u t i n t e r e s t . '

199

To

get the best return o n y o u r f a v o u r , y o u plant it in the m o s t fertile soil, y o u invest it w i t h the m o s t 'grateful' recipient. H e will place a high value u p o n the favours d o n e h i m , a n d p a y t h e m b a c k m a n y times o v e r in action o r praise.

2 0 0

W h a t g o o d j u d g e m e n t , then, w h a t admirable R o m a n c u n n i n g ,

to d o a f a v o u r for A r t e m i d o r u s , ' w h o is o f such a benign nature, that he talks u p the favours o f friends—he publishes a r o u n d m y f a v o u r to h i m at a b o v e its true value'. O n e tried to a v o i d , needless to say, investing one's f a v o u r with an ungrateful recipient: n o t h i n g is m o r e base than a recipi­ ent w h o v a l u e d the f a v o u r t o o l o w .

2 0 1

But m e n o f high status tended to b e ungrateful, as C i c e r o indicates: 'Men

w h o consider themselves wealthy, distinguished, a n d fortunate d o

not even w a n t to feel that they h a v e been obligated b y a g o o d deed. I n fact, w h e n they h a v e willingly accepted even a considerable favour, they think they h a v e b e s t o w e d i t . '

2 0 2

T h e s e grandees are m e n w h o can indulge

themselves in the m a n y reasons for n o t returning favours properly: ' T h e b o t h e r discourages one m a n , the expense another, the d a n g e r a third, a n d vile s h a m e , lest the return o f a f a v o u r a d m i t that o n e accepted it in the first p l a c e . '

2 0 3

B u t h o w c a n they get a w a y w i t h this w i t h o u t d a m a g e to

their reputation? Because w h o o w e s w h a t is a matter o f opinion, a n d s o m e people's opinions are stronger than others. T h e unrequited credi­ tor,

a superior in h o n o u r , b o o m s , ' H e is ungrateful for the greatest

favours!' 'I w i s h I'd never given h i m anything!' H e sends for his pattern b o o k o f letters a n d copies o u t elegant epistles o f r e p r o a c h — n o need for such care o v e r private letters; these insulting letters are published t h r o u g h the t o w n .

2 0 4

B u t the accusation's target does n o t lie supine, he

1 9 8

Sailer (1982), 1 6 - 1 7 , citing Cic. ad Fam. 2. 6 . 1 - 2 . Quoted, Sen. Ep. 8 1 . 1 8 . For the metaphor see also Cic. ad Fam. 13. 2 2 . 2 , 2 8 a . 3; Pliny, Ep. 4. 4 . 3 ; and TLL ii. 1881, v i . 476. 82 ff. for more Latin refs.; Basil, Ep. 118. Moralists dis­ approve, Cic. Amic. 31; Sen. Ben. 1. 2 . 3 . 1 9 9

1

2 0 0

'Gratefulness' in this sense, Cic. ad Fam. 1 3 . 4 . 1 ; Pliny, Ep. 2.13.9; Sen. Ben. 5 . 1 . 3 ; this and allied concepts spring from the Latin gratia, which has a range of meaning extending from 'gratitude' to 'favour paid back' to 'influence', see Moussy (1966), and briefly, Sailer (1982), 21. 2 0 1

Pliny, Ep. 3 . 1 1 . 1 . Ungratefulness in this sense, Sen. Ep. 81. 23. C i c . Off. 2. 69, 'locupletes, honoratos, beatos'. Cf. A m m . Marc. 14. 6 . 1 3 . Sen. Ben. 7. 2 6 . 3 . Sen. Ben. 4 . 1 6 . 2 , 7 . 2 6 . 2 . Letter pattern book, [Lib.] Char. Epist. 5 3 , 6 4 . Letters to third parties accusing persons of ingratitude, C i c . ad Fam. 8. 1 2 (one complains before their friends); adAtt. 8 . 4 . 2 0 2

2 0 3

2 0 4

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

72

heaps abuse u p o n his abuser in turn. R u m o u r s start: ' h o w c u r i o u s that h e can't p u t u p w i t h a m a n to w h o m he o w e s so m u c h . . . m a y b e a g o o d rea­ son underlies this?' E a c h assails the other's reputation. W h o wins? T h e lesser m a n is at a fatal disadvantage. H e can m e r e l y 'bespatter' the

digni­

tas o f the greater; b u t b y implication the greater can 'defile' his. In the end, the h o n o u r o f the little m a n is eclipsed, that o f the great m a n o n l y clouded.

2 0 5

T h e w e i g h t an individual c o u l d b r i n g against another's h o n ­

our, his ability to mobilize opinion, w a s p r o p o r t i o n a l to his o w n . A t the s a m e time, the vulnerability o f individuals to the honorific o r insulting acts o f others varied: as Cassius Dio's discussion o f Sejanus s h o w e d (above, p . 53), the h o n o u r o f those higher u p w a s apt to be less subject to the o p i n i o n o f individuals. T h u s a v e r y great aristocrat w a s b o t h sov­ ereign o v e r his inferior's prestige a n d little vulnerable to his inferior's opinion. W h e r e there w a s a substantial g a p between the prestige o f the t w o parties, o n questions o f w h a t he o w e d a n d w h a t he w a s o w e d , the greater m a n w a s j u d g e in his o w n cause b y virtue o f his ability to destroy the reputation o f the lesser. Indeed, the specific gratefulness o r u n g r a t e ­ fulness o f lesser m e n — t h e i r attractiveness as recipients o f the favours o f the p o w e r f u l — w a s established b y the o p i n i o n o f the m o s t distinguished, w h o reported to each other a b o u t prospective proteges: 'I c a n protect m y favours to h i m in n o w a y better than b y a d d i n g to t h e m , especially since he has rated their value so high that he earns n e w ones as he accepts the old.'

2 0 6

A m a r k e d disparity o f prestige tended to transform the ideally equi­ table system o f reciprocity into the enslavement o f the lesser m a n to the u n t r a m m e l l e d p o w e r o f the h o n o u r o f the greater: he m u s t d o as he is told, o r take the consequences. T h i s w a s the true plight o f the R o m a n client. O n c e he got in debt to his p a t r o n , o n l y his p a t r o n c o u l d say w h e n that debt w a s p a i d off. Similarly, Pliny w a s a j u d g e in his o w n cause w h e n it c a m e to the deference o w e d h i m . H e stated his claim, a n d then praised c o m p l i a n c e . A m a n like C i c e r o , a consular b u t n o

nobilis, should

have

calculated carefully before failing in deference to the magnificent Metelli: y o u s h o u l d n o t h a v e insulted m e a n d attacked m y brother, Q . Metellus Celer w r o t e to h i m ; the h o n o u r o f our family

(inter alia) should

h a v e dis­

suaded y o u . Y o u h a v e failed to act in a c c o r d w i t h the c o n d u c t o f o u r

2 0 5

Sen. Ben. 7. 3 0 . 2, 'nemo non superioris dignitatem querendo, etiam si non inquinavit, adspersit'. Quoted, Pliny, Ep. 2.13. 9; for reporting see also Ep. 7. 8 , 7 . 1 5 . 3 ; C i c . ad Fam. 5 . 1 1 . 1 , 6 . 1 1 . 2 , 1 3 . 2 5 , 1 3 . 2 7 , 1 3 . 4 2 . 1 , 1 3 . 5 4 , 1 3 . 6 4 . 1 ; Deniaux (1993), 1 8 4 - 6 . T h e humble man must strive to show himself grateful, C i c . Off. 2.70. 2 0 6

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

73

ancestors ( n o surprise that, riff-raff!): y o u will live to regret this. A n d o n e m u s t imagine the bearer o f this letter to C i c e r o carrying others to p r o u d friends a n d allies o f the Metelli, beating the d r u m s o f aristocratic o p i n ­ ion. P o o r C i c e r o h a d to write b a c k a crawling letter to M e t e l l u s .

2 0 7

H o n o u r , again, w a s a f o r m o f p o w e r .

THE CITY In the blink o f an eye, the ancient aristocrat estimated the quality o f those he met, a n d just as the gaze o f the artist t u r n i n g from the carefully arranged elements o f the still life to e v e r y d a y reality continues to distin­ guish the essentials o f f o r m a n d colour, so did the inhabitant o f the R o m a n empire, trained to reckon u p exactly the h o n o u r o f m e n , n a t u ­ rally assign h o n o u r to things other than h u m a n . T h e gods h a d their pres­ tige; the sky-coursing eagle rejoiced in his, a n d looking d o w n m i g h t gaze u p o n an h o n o u r a b l e p r o v i n c e , a f a m o u s R o m a n legion, a distinguished island, a glorious m o u n t a i n , o r an illustrious building, all in an e m p i r e w h i c h itself h a d h o n o u r .

2 0 8

H o n o u r w a s a filter t h r o u g h w h i c h the w h o l e

w o r l d w a s v i e w e d , a deep structure o f the G r a e c o - R o m a n m i n d , perhaps the ruling m e t a p h o r o f ancient society. T o us value is a c o n s e q u e n c e o f price; the G r e e k s , needing a w o r d for 'price', b o r r o w e d TiyL-q from the realm o f h o n o u r . E v e r y thing, every person, c o u l d b e v a l u e d in terms o f h o n o u r , a n d e v e r y g r o u p o f persons: the h o n o u r o f the R o m a n senate, o f the equestrian order, or o f a c o u r t o f law, w a x e d a n d w a n e d a c c o r d i n g to w h o its m e m b e r s w e r e a n d their c o n d u c t .

2 0 9

T h e m o s t significant collec­

tivity in the R o m a n w o r l d w a s , h o w e v e r , the city. A grasp o f the h o n o u r a n d influence o f cities is helpful for an understanding o f R o m a n g o v e r n ­ m e n t , a n d is particularly well illuminated b y the n o r m s o f civic benefac­ tion.

2 0 7

Pliny, see n. 154 above; Cicero and Metellus, paraphrasing Cic. ad Fam. 5 . 1 , 'familiae nostrae dignitas'; 5. 2. 2 0 8

Gods, Cairns (1993), passim, and other objects, 210. Eagle, Fronto, de Eloq. 2 . 1 3 (van den Hout); cf. for ranking the natural world by dignitas, Sid. Ep. 7 . 1 4 . 8 . Province, see n. 359 below; legion, pp. 2 5 0 - 2 , 2 6 2 - 3 below; island, Philo, Leg. Gaium 282; mountain, Verg. Aen. 1 2 . 1 3 5 ; building, C i c . ad Q. Fr. 3 . 1 . 1 ; Pliny, Ep. 7. 24. 9; even sewers, Cass. Var. 3. 3 0 . 1 . Empire, Cic. 2Verr. 4. 25; Manil. 11; Herod. 2. 8. 2. Cf. Yavetz (1974), 3 6 - 7 , 4 7 - 8 . H o n o u r vocabulary is also used in a technical sense in rhetoric, for weighing words, Fronto, de Eloq. 2 . 1 (van den H o u t ) , and describing style, Herm. Id. 1 . 5 - 6 , 9 . 2 0 9

The Roman senate, C i c . 2Verr. 1. 5; Florus 2. 5. 3. Equestrian order, Rhet. Her. 4. 47; Mart. 5. 8. A court, C i c . 2Verr. 1 . 1 8 ; Clu. 61. See Yavetz (i974)> 37-

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

74

The Honour of Cities T h e elements o f the h o n o u r o f a city w e r e parallel, a n d in m a n y respects similar, to those o f h u m a n h o n o u r , a n d cities used influence g r o u n d e d in h o n o u r t o effect their will in similar w a y s . G r e a t age a n d f a m o u s deeds in the past contributed largely t o a city's h o n o u r , just as being s p r u n g from a f a m o u s line d i d a m o n g m e n : indeed, the coins a n d inscriptions o f a n old

and proud

city

might

style

it cvyevrjs, 'well-born',

and Dio

C h r y s o s t o m said o f N i c a e a , it is, in the nobility of its line, and the make-up of its people, inferior to no pres­ tigious city elsewhere... [it is] made up of the most illustrious families—not triv­ ial numbers of trivial men gathered together higgledy-piggledy—but the first among the Greeks and the Macedonians, and what is most important, it had as its founders both gods and heroes.

210

A l s o c o n t r i b u t i n g w e r e natural advantages: location, the wealth o f t h e land, presence o f rivers, h a r b o u r s , the b e a u t y o f the spot; p o p u l a t i o n a n d sheer size; the possession o f subject cities; the p u b l i c revenues; a n d the w o r k s o f m a n : structures p u b l i c a n d private, notable temples, religious festivals, a n d g a m e s .

2 1 1

M o r e o v e r , the city m u s t act well: a city h a d a m o r a l character just like a m a n , a n d the city's prestige rested in part u p o n w i d e s p r e a d perception o f that character. A n orator praising a city m i g h t boast that the neigh­ b o u r i n g peoples 'deem o u r city the v e r y definition o f justice, a n d c o m e here t o handle their litigation; just as the A t h e n i a n s h a v e inherited their A r e o p a g u s as a n arena f o r justice, so d o o u r n e i g h b o u r i n g cities regard

2

1

0

Nicaea,

D.

C h r . 3 9 . 1, ovScfiiaz

IJTTOJ/UCVIJ

TO>V

OTTOIVOTC

€V86£COV

yevov?

TC

ycwaiorqrt. Cities' prestige in general, D . C h r 3 1 . 4 0 , 1 2 6 , 1 5 9 ; Men. Rhet. 3 9 8 . 2 3 - 6 , CIL viii. 14394, 14728; Robert (i977«)> V n. 7 6 for coins bearing types like a c / x i ^ r ev8o^or4pa^. Conspectus of the elements of cities' prestige, see esp. the elements praised in panegyrics on cities, n. 241 below; and more briefly, D . Chr. 3 1 . 1 4 6 ; Aristid. 1 8 . 3 - 6 , 2 3 . 1 3 - 2 6 , 2 4 . 4 5 - 5 6 , 2 7 . 5 - 1 5 (Behr); [Aristid.] 2 5 . 3 - 8 (Behr). Especially for age and deeds, [Julian], Ep. 198 (Bidez), 4 0 7 0 - 4 0 8 3 (on which see B. Keil (1913); Spawforth (1994): really a speech dating to the 1st cent, AD); Cic. Mur. 22; D . Chr. 3 1 . 1 1 7 , 32. 9 2 - 3 . A g e , Robert (1937X 3 0 2 - 5 ; (1980), 2 0 4 - 5 . Deeds, Robert (1937), 2 4 7 - 8 ; D . Chr. 31. 66. cvyevrj?, Robert (1977a), 17; and see Strubbe ( 1 9 8 4 - 6 ) for the bases of the claim. For perceptions among modern Greek shepherds of the prestige of the nation as similar to that of family, J. Campbell (1964), 317. 2 1 1

See conspectus in previous note, and esp. for size and location, D . Chr. 32. 3 5 - 6 , 3 5 . 1 3 - 1 4 . Population, Pliny, Ep. 7. 32. Subject cities, D . Chr. 34. 4 7 , 3 5 . 1 4 ; public revenues, D . Chr. 4 8 . 1 1 . Structures, Vitr. 1. pr. 2; Gk. Const. 138; Aristid. 23. 6 8 - 9 (Behr); Philostr. VS 1. 25 (532); which must be kept in repair, [Aristid.] 25. 2 (Behr). Tumbledown structures are orjfjieia . . . aSo^ias', D . Chr. 40. 9. Walls, Dio 74(75!.). 1 4 . 4 .

Honour and Influence in the Roman World us.

> 2 1 2

75

In general the R h o d i a n s (for e x a m p l e ) c o n d u c t e d themselves w i t h

p r o p r i e t y — t h e i r gait w a s a d m i r e d , as w a s the t r i m o f their hair a n d their m a n n e r o f dress. T h e i r m a n n e r s lent the city dignity. A n d even m o r e u n u s u a l a n d distinguished, they sat in silence at public spectacles, a n d a p p l a u d e d w i t h a sedate clucking. B u t vitiating these claims to r e n o w n w a s their a l a r m i n g habit o f h o n o u r i n g n e w benefactors b y c h a n g i n g the labels o n old statues, a cheese-paring practice destructive o f the p r o u d islanders' reputation. T h e citizenry o f T a r s u s , given to emitting a c h a r a c ­ teristic snort, w e r e sharply advised b y D i o C h r y s o s t o m that they w e r e snorting a w a y their city's l u s t r e .

2 1 3

A n d a reputation for internal c o n c o r d

w a s likewise vital to prestige: ' w h o are m o r e equal in h o n o u r to their rulers?' asked the same D i o rhetorically, castigating the N i c a e a n s for their disharmony.

2 1 4

T o the G r a e c o - R o m a n observer the h o n o u r o f a city w a s n o t different in k i n d o r i n c o m m e n s u r a b l e in quantity w i t h the h o n o u r o f a m a n . Cities tended to h a v e m o r e prestige than private citizens, b u t this w a s b y n o m e a n s invariably the case: S c i p i o A f r i c a n u s the Y o u n g e r , the destroyer o f C a r t h a g e , s e e m e d to C i c e r o to h a v e as m u c h

auctoritas as

R o m e , a n d the

sophist P o l e m o 'addressed cities as if he w e r e their s u p e r i o r ' .

215

T h u s it is

predictable that 'citizens [ o f cities] b r i n g distinction u p o n t h e m , just as children d o u p o n parents', a n d that 'the greatest distinction a city has is the praise given its c i t i z e n s ' .

216

A city c o u l d derive prestige n o t merely for

its aggregate deeds a n d mo ra l s , b u t also from the present o r past a c c o m ­ plishments

o f individual inhabitants. Especially valuable u n d e r

the

e m p i r e w e r e f a m o u s practitioners o f h o n o u r a b l e intellectual pursuits like rhetoric: since P o l e m o c o u l d sneer at w h o l e cities, his residence at

2 1 2

Men. Rhet. 385. 1 0 - 1 4 . In general on cities' character, Plut. Praec. Ger. Reip. 799b-8oob; D . C h r . 31. 5 - 6 . Widespread perception, D . C h r . 3 2 . 4 0 - 1 , 86. Conspectus of cities' moral virtues, D . C h r . 34. 48, 4 4 . 1 0 . For virtuous cities see also Pliny, Ep. 1 . 1 4 . 4, 6; D. Chr. 4 1 . 9 . 2 1 3

Rhodes, D . C h r . 3 1 . 1 6 2 - 3 , 3 2 . 52 (they even reproach visiting foreigners for walking badly); Aristid. 24. 56 (Behr). Rhodes' statues, D . C h r . 31 passim and esp. 31. 2. Tarsus, D . Chr. 3 3 . 3 4 , 3 8 , 5 1 , 5 5 ; and for being 'difficult' with governors, D . Chr. 3 4 . 9 . See also for dis­ graceful conduct of Athens, D . Chr. 3 1 . 1 1 6 - 2 3 ; Philostr. VA 4 . 2 1 ; Alexandria, D . Chr. 3 2 . 4 1 , 47 et passim; and other cities, D . Chr. 3 1 . 1 5 8 ; [D. Chr.] 3 7 . 3 7 ; Pliny, Ep. 4 . 2 2 . 7 . D . Chr. 3 9 . 4 , laoTifiorepoi; see also Aristid. 2 3 . 7 6 (Behr). Cities have more prestige, Aristid. 24. 1 2 (Behr). Africanus, C i c . Mur. 58. Polemo, Philostr. VS 1 . 2 5 (535); and cf. Apul. Flor. 16. 2 1 4

2 1 5

Quint. Inst. 3 . 7. 26, decus; and D . C h r . 48. 4, Koafio^ . . . encuvoz; see also Aristid. 29. 27 (Behr); Rouech6 (1993), no. 72; Sid. Ep. 7. 9. 23. T h u s one needs to attend closely to the quality of members of city councils: Gk. Const. 184. 2. 5 7 - 6 1 ; Lib. Or. 1 1 . 1 3 3 - 4 9 2 1 6

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

76

S m y r n a glorified her, 'for a city n o t o n l y gives a m a n a great n a m e , b u t can acquire o n e from a m a n . '

2 1 7

In time o f civil w a r the residents o f one Italian t o w n c o u l d easily b e i m a g i n e d creeping b y night to fill their neighbour's amphitheatre w i t h flammables,

driven b y jealousy at their rival's possession o f the largest

building in Italy: as between m e n , c o m p e t i t i o n between cities for h o n o u r was k e e n .

2 1 8

A pecking o r d e r w a s clearly u n d e r s t o o d — a city's coins

m i g h t , for e x a m p l e , p r o u d l y p r o c l a i m it the sixth or, failing that, the sev­ enth, city o f the p r o v i n c e o f A s i a — a n d citizens w e r e eager to a d v a n c e their h o m e t o w n s .

2 1 9

T h e y chanted their city's praises—its claims to h o n ­

o u r — i n p u b l i c meetings, a n d they chanted abuse o f a rival city in the the­ atre.

2 2 0

T h e impression visitors received o f a city w a s carefully attended

to: a native c o u l d earnestly assure a visitor, ' W e easily excel all the other cities w i t h o u r temples, baths, a n d p u b l i c buildings.' W h e n distinguished m e n visited, the city's m o r a l s i m p r o v e d , o r her vices w e r e at least hidden, for fear o f g i v i n g a b a d i m p r e s s i o n .

221

A n d the citizens o f rival cities

seized u p o n a n y vice, especially o n e as repulsive as the Tarsians' snorting, a n d castigated it, to hurt a rival's reputation a n d thus i m p r o v e their o w n relative s t a n d i n g .

2 2 2

Just as citizens a d o r e d to hear speeches in praise o f

their city a n d attacks o n their rivals, they loathed to hear their rivals

2 1 7

Polemo, Philostr. VS 1. 25 (532). Citizens w h o confer distinction on their cities: C i c .

Plane. 1 9 - 2 0 , 22; Pliny, Ep. 7. 2 2 . 2; Aristid. 3 0 . 1 - 2 , 32. 5, 2 0 - 1 (Behr); [Apol. T y . ] , Ep. 47; Greg. N a z . Ep. 207. 2; Theodoret, Ep. 3 0 , 3 2 (Az£ma); Sid. Ep. 4. 4 . 1 . A w o m a n confers dis­ tinction, A E 1910. 203. Liberal pursuits, Mart. 1 0 . 1 0 3 ; Men. Rhet. 3 6 0 - 1 , 3 6 4 ; Lib. Or. 1. 52. The humiliation of a townsman can also detract: thus Alatrium begs Cicero to defend a cit­ izen's freedman on behalf of the town's dignitas, C i c . Clu. 49; see also 196, for conviction of a townsman in court. 2 1 8

Burning amphitheatre, Tac. Hist. 2. 21, cf. Dig. 5 0 . 1 0 . 3 (Macer) for buildings erected

'ad aemulationem alterius civitatis'. On rivalry, N o r r (1966), 4 8 - 5 0 ; Robert (1977a); Merkelbach (1978); Syme (1988 ( 1 9 8 1 ) ) . See esp. D . C h r . 38. 3 4 (explicitly compared to a rivalry between i-mtpaveiz . . . avSpez); 3 1 . 1 2 0 - 7 , 34 passim, 38. 24, 29; 41. 2, v

a€p.vwv

Ibid. 3 8 . 1 ; see also Julian, adAth.

.

.

. ov

KOIVTJ

TI/LIOH'TCS;

268b-c. r K€v

D . Chr. 3 1 . 1 2 2 , ool-av 8e T^AiKaunjj' exovra ovocis" £K TTOVV noAXov T€Ti>x i ' For the disgrace, D . Chr. 3 1 . 1 2 0 - 1 , 1 2 3 . Other civic failures of deference, Cic. ad Fam. 1 2 . 1 5 . 4; [ D . Chr.] 3 7 . 3 7 IGR iv. 1 7 5 6 . 4 6 - 7 , iv iraoiv a€p.v6rT)ra. Cf. Cousin and Diehl (1886), 49; IGR iv. 144. 17 (a w o m a n ) ; AE 1 9 3 7 . 1 2 1 ; C i c . Arch. 1 0 . Also, a man made city patron (see below) 'pro splendore dignitatis', ILS 6110, also 6114. Pliny, Ep. 6 . 1 8 ; cf. C i c . Scaur. 27. Cic. Gael. 5; Font. 14; and esp. Flac. 6 1 - 4 , 1 0 0 - 1 , where the prestige of Athens, Sparta, other cities of Achaea, and Massilia, all supporting Cicero's client Flaccus, is set against that of towns in Asia M i n o r accusing him. 2 5 1

2 5 2

2 5 3

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

82

A u g u s t u s ' lieutenant A g r i p p a w h e n Julia, A g r i p p a ' s wife a n d A u g u s t u s ' daughter, w a s nearly left to d r o w n in the swollen S c a m a n d e r b y T r o y ' s citizens, w h o w e r e u n a w a r e that she w a s c o m i n g to visit. A g r i p p a fined them

one

hundred thousand

d r a c h m a e , rendering t h e m

destitute.

A g r i p p a w a s persuaded to relent b y K i n g H e r o d ; he in turn w a s involved in the case because it w a s b r o u g h t to his attention b y the historian N i c o l a u s o f D a m a s c u s , to w h o m the Ilians h a d appealed: N i c o l a u s V e r y eagerly gave his s u p p o r t to t h e m because o f the city's f a m e ' .

2 5 4

C i v i c dis­

tinction yielded h o n o u r s as well as practical help. G i v e n the magnificence o f P e r g a m u m , ' w h o . . . w o u l d n o t act wisely in meting out to it as m u c h praise as p o s s i b l e ? '

255

Cities a n d m e n used the prospect o f h o n o u r s to control each other, a n d w e r e b o u n d to defer to each other's distinction. Predictably, relations o f reciprocity also operated between m a n a n d city. S o claimed A e l i u s Aristides, assuring R h o d e s that m a n y w o u l d c o m e to her aid in the w a k e o f an e a r t h q u a k e — s o m e to repay her for benefactions received, s o m e to cultivate a hedge against fortune b y placing R h o d e s in debt to t h e m .

2 5 6

A

city c o u l d b e in debt to a m a n for a benefaction, a n d could feel that debt vividly. T h u s the o d d t r i u m p h of S c i p i o A f r i c a n u s the Elder, victor in the s e c o n d w a r against C a r t h a g e , u n d e r tribunician prosecution at R o m e . ' O n this v e r y day, tribunes a n d citizens,' said he, 'I brilliantly defeated H a n n i b a l a n d the Carthaginians in Africa,' a n d then he s i m p l y w a l k e d out o f the c o u r t to sacrifice o n the C a p i t o l i n e followed b y the w h o l e assembly, leaving the thwarted tribunes gnashing their teeth. S u c h w a s the debt o f gratitude o w e d to Scipio b y R o m e that the v e r y bringing o f a prosecution against h i m w a s w i d e l y t h o u g h t d i s g r a c e f u l .

257

In a c c o r d

with this w a y o f thinking, a m a n w h o s e family h a d p e r f o r m e d m a n y ser­ vices for his city, D i o C h r y s o s t o m , listed t h e m before Prusa's o m i n o u s l y r u m b l i n g assembly, a n d r e m a r k e d , 'being descended from m e n such as these, y o u ' d think I'd be w o r t h y o f s o m e respect o n their a c c o u n t , even if I w e r e a rat myself, rather than stoning o r b u r n i n g a l i v e ! '

258

A city's c r e d ­

itor c o u l d therefore call in his debts, a n d he expected that the city w o u l d requite h i m w i t h h o n o u r as well. T h u s A q u i l e i a raised a statue to G a i u s 2 5 4

Troy, FGH 90 F 1 3 4 , 3 o £ a (trans. Sherk); cf. D . Chr. 3 3 . 4 6 . Aristid. 23. 18 (Behr). Cf. D . C h r . 3 2 . 52. A commonplace in panegyric is that the speech must be in proportion to the prestige of the town, Aristid. 1 . 5 - 6 , 26. 2 (Behr). Aristid. 25. 55 (Behr). Livy 38. 50. 4 - 5 1 . 1 4 ; quoted, 38. 51. 7. 2 5 5

2 5 6

2 5 8

2 5 7

D . Chr. 4 6 . 4 . For city debts to individuals cf. Cic. Sest. 9 - 1 0 (the city passes a resolu­ tion of thanks); ad Fam. 1 2 . 1 4 . 6; Pliny, Ep. 6 . 1 8 . Since cities must pay back their favourdebts, it is explicable that cities sometimes refuse great gifts, Fronto, Add. Epist. 5 . 2 (van den Hout).

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

83

M i n i c i u s , w h o , in a long official career, w a s often the city's a d v o c a t e before the e m p e r o r , 'that it be clear that there is n o other w a y to repay o u r debts to so great a m a n , than b y glorifying h i m p u b l i c l y ' .

259

A city's gratitude w a s guaranteed b y c o n c e r n for the city's reputation. T h e v o t i n g o f h o n o u r s to requite a benefactor 'pertains to the dignity o f the city'. A benefactor w a s h o n o u r e d 'not so that he will be even m o r e well-disposed t o w a r d s us . . . b u t so that w e m a y seem grateful to those w h o decide s u c h t h i n g s ' .

260

'Those' w e r e the great m e n w h o reported to

o n e another o n exactly h o w grateful individual t o w n s w e r e , just as they did o f proteges. Gratitude w a s , again, a public virtue. Ingratitude w a s as signally destructive o f a city's prestige as it w a s o f a man's: the ungrateful R h o d i a n practice o f c h a n g i n g the labels o n statues w a s w i d e l y m o c k e d , their statues c o m p a r e d to a c t o r s .

2 6 1

P r o p e r l y grateful cities m i g h t expect

m o r e favours in future, while an aspect o f the collapse o f an ungrateful city's h o n o u r w a s that it w o u l d e n j o y n o m o r e favours. ' N o o n e will j u d g e those w h o insult their benefactors w o r t h y o f a favour. Y o u r danger is that n o o n e ever again will d o y o u a b e n e f a c t i o n . '

262

Since the h o n o u r o f cities permitted t h e m to participate fully in rela­ tions o f reciprocity, their taking o f patrons, just as m e n m i g h t , b e c o m e s intelligible. S o m e great m a n h a d d o n e the city a benefaction; incapable o f equal return, the city senate v o t e d to c o - o p t the benefactor as their patron.

2 6 3

S u c h c o - o p t i o n w a s highly honorific, a n d since the t o w n o f

B o c c h o r i s in S p a i n , for example, c o u l d not v e r y well escort her p a t r o n into the R o m a n f o r u m , the relationship w a s advertised o n a plaque in the great m a n ' s house, there keeping c o m p a n y w i t h the busts o f his ancestors a n d other m a r k s o f his status. T h u s the p a t r o n w o u l d continue protect­ ing the city, representing her in court, funding public b u i l d i n g s .

2 6 4

Civic

2 5 9

M c C . & W . 336; cf. Pallas et al. (1959) ( = SEG xviii. 143), col. 3 . Also C i c . ad Earn. 10. 1 0 . 1 ; D . C h r . 31 passim; Apul. Met. 3 . 1 1 . In this sense the benefactor can metaphorically be viewed as buying honour, D . Chr. 3 1 . 5 9 - 6 1 . 2 6 0

AE1947. 53, 'pertinere ad municipi [sic] dignitatem', and ILS 6680. See also Small. Gaius 404. 2 6 - 3 6 . 2 6 1

Reporting, C i c . ad Earn. 1 3 . 4 . 1 , 1 3 . 7 . 5 , 1 3 . 1 1 . 3 . Disgraceful failures of civic gratitude, Val. M a x . 5 . 3 . 2; Sen. Ben. 5 . 1 7 . 1 - 2 . Rhodes' ingratitude, D . Chr. 3 1 . 1 5 4 - 5 et passim. 2 6 2

D . Chr. 31. 65; cf. 31. 22. M o r e favours from proper gratitude, D . Chr. 3 1 . 7 . Individuals' patronage of cities, Harmand (1957), esp. 2 2 2 - 8 4 , 3 0 9 - 2 8 ; Krause (1987); Nicols (1990a). Co-option from gratitude, Cic. Sest. 9, and see refs. in Harmand (1957), 3 5 7 - 8 ; Duthoy (1984), 145 n. 4. A city admits to an unrepayable moral debt, ILS 6680. Honorific, ILS 6110; AE 1 9 3 7 . 1 1 9 , 1 2 1 ; often accompanied by other honours as well, Harmand (1957), 3 4 5 - 5 3 . For tabulaepatronatus, conveniently ILS 6 0 9 3 - 1 1 6 , discussed (with a complete list) by Nicols (1980a). For the aristocratic house as a museum of honour, Wiseman (1987), 3 9 3 - 6 ; Rawson (1991 (1990)), 5 8 3 - 5 . Functions of the civic patron, Harmand (1957), 3 5 8 - 9 6 , 4 3 2 - 4 7 ; Nicols (1980&); Duthoy (1984). 2 6 3

2 6 4

8

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

4

patronage seems to h a v e carried little stigma for the client c i t y — i n d e e d , h a v i n g i m p o r t a n t patrons w a s s o met h i n g to boast o f .

2 6 5

T h e client city's

sense of indebtedness to the p a t r o n m a y therefore s o m e t i m e s be m o r e rhetorical than real, a n o d to the n o r m s o f patronage necessary to estab­ lish a relationship advantageous to b o t h parties. A city c o u l d b e in debt to a m a n ; so also a m a n to a city. 'I w a n t y o u to believe m e w h e n I say that there is n o city to w h i c h I o w e m o r e than to this one,' w r o t e C i c e r o , explaining his intervention w i t h C . C l u v i u s o n behalf o f Atella. Julius Civilis, in rebellion from R o m e , w a s restrained from turning C o l o g n e over to his soldiers to sack b y his gratitude for a f a v o u r the city h a d d o n e him; the citizens h a d treated his son well w h e n he h a d been arrested there at the b e g i n n i n g o f the t r o u b l e s .

266

Dio

C h r y s o s t o m f o u n d himself facing a vast debt to the city o f Prusa that his family h a d a c c u m u l a t e d o v e r m a n y generations. T h e city h a d h o n o u r e d his ancestors for their g o o d intentions rather than for the benefits they actually m a n a g e d to bestow, a n d thus the g a p between the family's b e n e ­ factions a n d the city's h o n o u r s h a d g r o w n great. Said the orator, 'I o w e y o u favours for these h o n o u r s , a n d I p r a y to the gods that I m a y b e able to p a y the d e b t . '

2 6 7

L u c k i l y for D i o , f a v o u r - d e b t to a city c o u l d be repaid

w i t h h o n o u r : indeed a speech w a s expected o f a n y distinguished m a n departing from a city, a n d in it he should ' a n n o u n c e his gratitude to the c i t y . . . a n d praise w h a t e v e r respects a d m i t o f e n c o m i u m , w h a t e v e r is dis­ tinguished a b o u t its history, its weather, o r the b ea u t y o f its appearance.' T h e p r o b l e m D i o confronted in c h i p p i n g a w a y at his debt to Prusa w i t h a p a n e g y r i c w a s that to praise so m o d e s t a city u n d e r the heading o f the v i r t u o u s actions o f its leading m e n w o u l d h a v e compelled h i m i m m o d ­ estly to h y m n the deeds o f his o w n family. Perhaps he should have c o n ­ sulted Plutarch's w o r k

268

On Praising Oneself Inoffensively.

City Finance and Public Benefaction T h e r e is n o better illustration o f the p o w e r , ubiquity, a n d c o m p l e x i t y o f the h o n o u r relations between m a n a n d city than the financial a r r a n g e ­ m e n t s for the d a y - t o - d a y r u n n i n g , a d o r n m e n t , a n d entertainment o f the 2 6 5

On municipal albums, for example, ILS 6 1 2 1 - 2 . Atella, Cic. ad Fam. 1 3 . 7 . 4 . Civilis, Tac. Hist. 4 . 6 3 . Cf. C i c . ad Fam. 1 3 . 7 6 ; D . Chr. 41. 5 , 5 0 . 5; Apul. Flor. 16. Ingratitude to city, Sen. Ben. 5 . 1 6 - 1 7 . D . C h r . 4 4 . 4 - 5 (evidently viewing the direction of the moral debt differently than at 46. 4: above, n. 258); very similar is Hall (1992), 11. 4 - 8 . Panegyric from gratitude, quoted, Men. Rhet. 4 3 0 . 3 0 - 4 3 1 . 3 , a€fxvov\ see also Aristid. 1 . 1 - 2 (Behr); Apul. Flor. 1 6 , 1 8 ; Lib. Or. 1 1 . 1 - 2 , 9 (compared to a public benefaction). Dio in Prusa, D . Chr. 44. 5 - 6 2 6 6

2 6 7

2 6 8

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

85

cities o f the R o m a n empire. T h e capital aside, the great expenses o f the cities—the provision o f w o o d a n d oil for the baths, the elaborate reli­ gious festivals w i t h public banquets a n d g a m e s , the building o f temples, aqueducts, a n d great public s t r u c t u r e s — w e r e m e t only in part b y t a x a ­ tion. Instead, wealthy individuals, usually m e n b u t sometimes w o m e n as well, u n d e r t o o k these expenses themselves, spontaneously o r as a f u n c ­ tion o f the unsalaried magistracies o f their t o w n s — p o s t s w h i c h w e r e , m o r e o v e r , t i m e - c o n s u m i n g a n d w h i c h c a m e to require a large u p f r o n t p a y m e n t . T h u s the financial provisions o f the cities o f the e m p i r e resem­ ble less those o f m o d e r n municipalities o r states (although s o m e indirect taxes w e r e collected) a n d m o r e those o f provincial A m e r i c a n art galleries a n d opera c o m p a n i e s , w h i c h d r a w part o f their funding from g o v e r n ­ m e n t grants (thus taxes) a n d receipts, b u t the b u l k o f their funds f r o m the generosity o f w e a l t h y b e n e f a c t o r s .

269

D i o C h r y s o s t o m c o u l d say p r o u d l y

of his grandfather that o n Prusa he 'spent all the wealth he received from his father a n d his grandfather, so that he h a d nothing r e m a i n i n g at all'. A n d he w a s b y no m e a n s u n i q u e in h a v i n g beggared himself for his city.

2 7 0

T h i s civic ethos flourished from the beginning o f the e m p i r e to its end. T h e r e h a d always been notables unwilling or unable to b e the benefactors of their cities, a n d thus c o r r e s p o n d i n g legislation to c o m p e l t h e m to pull their weight; perhaps the ranks o f these notables swelled in late antiquity. Y e t o n the evidence, even in the face o f e c o n o m i c confusion a n d increas­ ing b u r d e n s i m p o s e d b y a p o n d e r o u s imperial g o v e r n m e n t , over large areas o f the e m p i r e the spirit o f civic generosity w a n e d little, even if p o v e r t y sharply restricted its late-antique expression. Y e t w h y did the rich o f the cities o f the e m p i r e act in this w a y ?

2 7 1

2 6 9

For a list of the various munera a town handed out to its wealthy citizens, Lepelley ( 1 9 7 9 - 8 1 ) , i. 207; discussion, Neesen (1981). For the size of the phenomenon of benefaction in the East and the range of possible benefactions, Quass (1993). On the financial aspects, Duncan-Jones ( 1 9 9 0 : 1 7 4 - 8 4 ) , whose analysis of public buildings in North African towns has 5 8 % built by benefactors, the rest from public funds. A n d by the 2nd cent., perhaps the largest source of a city's 'public' money was summae honorariae, the required payments made to the city upon election to the city council, a magistracy, or a priesthood (DuncanJones (1982), 8 2 - 8 ; (1990), 1 7 6 - 8 ) . On female benefactors, Boatwright (1991), on the mag­ nificent Plancia Magna of Perge; but see van Bremen (1996) for the limits of female participation. 2 7 0

Dio's grandfather, D . Chr. 4 6 . 3 (almost certainly untrue). Ruinous outlay, cf. D . C h r . 66. 2; J. Chr. de Ian. Glor. 7; Dig. 50. 2. 8 (Hermogenian); Harmand (1957), 385. Against the old view that this spirit of benefaction declines through the centuries of the empire: for the 3rd cent, see Jacques (1981); (1984), 3 5 1 - 7 8 , 7 1 9 - 6 5 ; Duncan-Jones (1990), 1 6 3 - 7 3 ; 4th cent, and later, see Mrozek (1978), 366; Lepelley ( 1 9 7 9 - 8 1 ) , i. 2 9 3 - 3 1 8 ; Rouech£ (1989a), p. xxv; V e y n e (1990), 2 6 - 9 . It can still be seen as the barbarians close in: Sid. Ep. 2 7 1

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

86

In Greek, o n e of the usual terms for a p u b l i c benefaction w a s

timia,

philo-

an act o f 'glory-love'. It w a s in h o n o u r terms that the rich m a n ' s

motivation, involving so m u c h trouble a n d expense, w a s chiefly u n d e r ­ stood: he devoted to the city his m o n e y a n d effort a n d got h o n o u r in r e t u r n — c h e e r i n g in the assembly a n d the v o t i n g o f honorific decrees a n d m o n u m e n t s . M e n w h o w e r e willing to serve their t o w n as magistrates w e r e those w h o strove 'for accretions to their reputation a n d h o n o u r s a n d greater p o w e r than others a n d c r o w n s a n d seats o f h o n o u r a n d p u r ­ ple garments, a n d h a v i n g fixed their gaze u p o n them a n d h a n g i n g u p o n t h e m , they d o a n d say those things w h i c h will gain t h e m r e p u t a t i o n . '

272

'Bait', an orator termed the h o n o u r s a city h a d to offer its benefactors, for they lured citizens into p e r f o r m i n g civic magistracies a n d benefac­ tions.

2 7 3

Late t h i r d - c e n t u r y p a p y r i f r o m E g y p t permit us vicarious atten­

d a n c e at the meetings o f the city s e n a t e — w h e r e magistrates a n d liturgists w e r e c h o s e n — t o see h o w this w o r k e d . A candidate w a s n o m i n a t e d a n d the city senate cried out in unison, ' U p r i g h t , faithful N i l u s ! E v e r - h o n ­ ourable is N i l u s ! Success to him!' If a candidate p r o v e d reluctant to take an office—'the office is b e y o n d m y p o w e r s ' — h e m i g h t be chivvied into it: ' U p r i g h t , faithful P t o l e m a e u s ! '

274

A n d in the W e s t honorific a c c l a m a ­

tion w a s used to elicit benefaction as well. W h e n , in the arena, successful beast-fighters

appealed t h r o u g h a herald for a gratuity, the c r o w d

chanted at M a g e r i u s , the benefactor w h o h a d paid for the games, 'Let future givers o f games learn b y y o u r example! Let past ones learn o f it! W h e r e , w h e n , will w e get such g a m e s again? Y o u will give g a m e s as if y o u w e r e quaestor! Y o u will give g a m e s f r o m y o u r o w n m o n e y ! T h i s will b e y o u r day!' M a g e r i u s yielded. T h e c r o w d shouted, 'This is w h a t it m e a n s to o w n property! T h i s is w h a t it m e a n s to b e powerful!' M a g e r i u s w a s so 5. 20. 2, 6 . 1 2 . O f course the type of projects undertaken evolved over time and the kind of building inspired changed as the empire became Christian, Ward-Perkins (1984). For an economical review of current approaches to the phenomenon of public benefaction, G . M . Rogers (1991a: 2 9 - 3 0 ) ; and note particularly Veyne (1990: 5 - 1 5 6 ) , for a less reductionist approach than mine. 2 7 2

D . C h r . 34. 29, Solas' Kal n/xas' (a good passage for bringing out the disproportion between the desire for power and the desire for prestige). See also Philostr. VS 2 . 1 ( 5 5 1 - 2 ) , 2. 25 (610); D . Chr. 3 4 . 3 5 ; Pliny, Ep. 5 . 1 1 ; IGR iii. 68. Honour from games, Apul. Met. 1 0 . 1 8 ; Dio 5 3 . 2 7 . 6 ; Aug. Conf. 1 . 1 0 . 1 6 ; Robert (1940a) passim, for philotimia, pp. 2 7 6 - 8 0 : its mean­ ing stretches from the competitive emotion which gives rise to a civic benefaction to the benefaction itself, especially games; cpiXorineiodai can be the verb used for giving an exhi­ bition of gladiators. 2 7 3

D . Chr. 66. 2. P.Oxy. 1413. 13 and 1415. 25, 27 (trans. Grenfell and Hunt). Cf. P.Oxy. 1414. 2 5 - 7 ; Aristid. 5 0 . 1 0 1 (Behr). On election procedure in Egypt, Bowman (1971), 9 8 - 1 0 7 . Honour for benefactors in patristic authors, Robert (1960a), 5 7 0 - 3 , and esp. J. Chr. de Ian. Glor. 1 0 . 2 7 4

Honour and Influence in the Roman World

87

delighted b y the w h o l e episode that he h a d the occasion i m m o r t a l i z e d in m o s a i c . S u c h focused honorific cheering w a s extremely h a r d for a G r e e k or R o m a n to r e s i s t .

275

A n d , as M a g e r i u s ' c r o w d h a d called u p o n t h e m to

do, other potential benefactors looked on in envy: h o n o u r s stoked the roaring furnace o f rivalry. A priest o f the imperial cult at X a n t h o s w a s h o n o u r e d for h a v i n g given g a m e s 'out o f rivalry in acts o f love o f g l o r y w i t h the high priests o f the p r o v i n c e ' .

2 7 6

G r a t i t u d e to one's t o w n , w h e t h e r for u p b r i n g i n g , services, h o n o u r , o r office, also p l a y e d its role in inspiring p u b l i c b e n e f a c t i o n .

277

'In o r d e r to

m a k e return for the h o n o u r Rufinus gave h a n d - o u t s to the t o w n c o u n ­ cillors . . . w i n e to the people, a n d p r o d u c e d g a m e s / O n a g r a n d e r level, the t o w n o f T i f e r n u m T i b e r i n u m h o n o u r e d Pliny, w h e n he w a s a y o u n g man,

b y n a m i n g h i m their patron. H e felt a debt, a n d built t h e m a t e m ­

ple at his o w n e x p e n s e .

2 7 8

A n d the town's o w n gratitude required h o n ­

o u r s for benefactors. T h u s a statue w e n t u p , w i t h an inscription o n the base: The whole people . . . put this up and dedicated it as a perpetual witness to their gratitude to L. Rasinius . . . Saturninus M a x i m i a n u s . . . on account o f . . . his giv­ ing games, and his zealous liberality towards individual citizens.

279

T h e a p p r o p r i a t e degree o f gratitude w a s carefully reckoned, a n d h o n o u r s doled out accordingly. A n o t h e r w o r t h y , L . P o s t u m i u s Felix C e l e r i n u s , gave his t o w n s m e n three days o f gladiatorial games, a n d in turn w a s v o t e d not o n e statue, b u t o n e for each o f the t o w n ' s civic

curiae^

'in o r d e r

that his e x t r a o r d i n a r y goodwill b e equalled b y the n u m b e r o f statues— s u c h great h o n o u r s — w i t h their dedicatory p l a q u e s ' .

2 8 0

Finally, a benefactor m i g h t act because the town's h o n o u r s i m p l y d e m a n d e d benefaction. It naturally displeased L . Silicius, the c u r a t o r o f Lambaesis, that the c o u n c i l c h a m b e r should b e t u m b l e d o w n a n d that the 2 7 5

Magerius, Beschaouch (1966). For the people as an active partner in setting the terms of benefactions, G. M . Rogers (1991a), 1 9 - 3 0 ; (1991b), 9 4 - 5 . Irresistible strength of acclama­ tion, D . Chr. 66. 2 - 3 . Xanthos, IGR iii. 631, SirjfjiiAAfjodai reus TWV TOV edvovs dpx^pewv 1 6 4 - 7 . For the expense and inconvenience, Millar (1977), 2 9 - 3 5 . Aristocrats also boasted of (or were praised for) having forwarded the annona, Ameling (1983), 70 n. 36; Quass (1993), 167 nn. 5 1 5 - 1 6 ; helped with their cities' taxes, ibid. 1 7 7 - 8 ; ILS 6960; and pro­ vided the emperor with local militiamen, IGR iv. 580.

The Emperor

128

the t h r o n e for h i m , as G a i u s Silius boasted he h a d d o n e for T i b e r i u s — constituted an intolerable reproach to the imperial h o n o u r . It placed the e m p e r o r in the disgraceful position o f b ei n g a lesser m a n ' s client, a n d the m a n w h o did such a f a v o u r h a d to b e p u t out o f the w a y .

1 0 7

T h e e m p e r o r quailed at chanted slogans at the games, treated h o n ­ ourable m e n a n d cities w i t h special consideration, a n d returned favours d o n e h i m , because that is h o w he w a s b r o u g h t u p . In the first place, h e acted as a n y other G r e e k o r R o m a n aristocrat w o u l d in similar c i r c u m ­ stances, w i t h an uncalculating a n d a u t o m a t i c regard for his o w n h o n o u r a n d that o f others: he w a s n o less a creature o f his culture than they w e r e . Y e t at the same time, imperial h o n o u r h a d a special political significance. T h e e m p e r o r w a s perceived to o c c u p y a position that rested in part u p o n his h o n o u r in aristocratic eyes: to increase a n d defend it w a s , then, a n affair o f state. T h e rhetoric o f h o n o u r w a s , m o r e o v e r , a g a u d y p a r a d e b e h i n d w h i c h other affairs o f state c o u l d easily b e hidden. T h e violence o f the vast u r b a n

plebs w a s

a real danger in a w o r l d w i t h o u t m a c h i n e - g u n s

a n d w a t e r - c a n n o n ; in times o f t u r m o i l the c o m m o n s c o u l d p l a y a role in politics, especially if the garrison at R o m e w a s divided in its loyalties o r c o u l d n o t m a k e u p its m i n d .

1 0 8

M u c h safer to yield to a plebs w h i c h flung

gibes than to deal w i t h o n e w h i c h h a d a d v a n c e d to flinging rocks a n d fire­ b r a n d s . U s u r p e r s based themselves in great provincial cities a n d s u m ­ m o n e d to their b a n n e r great R o m a n s a n d provincials, exactly the places a n d types o f people to w h o m the e m p e r o r ostentatiously deferred, a n d to w h o m he m i g h t feel (or say he felt) g r a t i t u d e .

realpolitik

109

T h e crudest imperial

d e m a n d e d a vast, e v e r - c h a n g i n g flow o f bribes a n d i n d u c e ­

ments to concentrations o f p o w e r in the e m p i r e , a flow w h i c h h a d to b e m a n a g e d b y the e m p e r o r w i t h o u t seeming frightened or w e a k . N o taint o f weakness attached to punctilious adherence to high standards o f aris­ tocratic c o n d u c t . A s H e r o d i a n tells it, Septimius Severus' concession o f a share o f the principate to C l o d i u s A l b i n u s — a desperate m e a s u r e to keep h i m a n d his fearsome British legions quiet until Severus h a d dealt w i t h N i g e r — w a s represented to his d u p e as a longing to y o k e to the throne a m a n o f splendid birth, a n d subsequent h o n o u r s as recognition for the favour conferred. T h e historian, in short, imagines A l b i n u s b a m b o o z l e d b y a s h o w o f deference a n d g r a t i t u d e .

1 1 0

H e r e S e v e r u s ' spectacular p e r ­

fidy s o o n revealed the trick, b u t the expectation that e m p e r o r s d i d defer 1 0 7

T a c . Ann. 4 . 1 8 - 1 9 .

1 0 9

O n the sinews of revolt (and thus the powers the emperor needed to appease),

MacMullen (1985). 1 1 0

Herod. 2 . 1 5 . 4 - 5 -

1 0 8

Whittaker (1964).

The Emperor

129

a n d d i d p a y b a c k debts o f favours from d a y to d a y always created the p o s ­ sibility o f using such tricks in time o f crisis. T h e fact that e m p e r o r s b y a n d large lived b y h o n o u r ' s l a w s m a d e h o n o u r s o m e t h i n g they c o u l d h i d e behind.

R U L I N G WITH IMPERIAL

HONOUR

In his o w n a c c o u n t o f his deeds, A u g u s t u s a v o w e d that 'After that t i m e

[27 BC]

I surpassed all in respect o f m y prestige

m o r e legal a u t h o r i t y in a n y m a g i s t r a c y . '

(potestas) 111

(auctoritas), b u t

I had no

than a n y others w h o w e r e m y colleagues

S o A u g u s t u s expected p e o p l e to believe that he

ruled the e m p i r e b y virtue o f his h o n o u r ; a n d , as has been illustrated, the historians, other aristocratic observers, a n d the e m p e r o r s themselves all considered h o n o u r in aristocratic eyes n o t o n l y valuable in itself, a n d w o r t h defending a n d increasing, b u t vitally i m p o r t a n t to imperial rule. T h e a i m n o w is to explain this perception, to explain h o w the e m p e r o r w a s believed to c o n v e r t his h o n o u r into obedience from aristocrats a n d cities, those u p o n w h o m , in large part, imperial rule rested. F o r it w a s the great aristocrats w h o c o m m a n d e d the a r m y a n d g o v e r n e d the provinces; it w a s lesser aristocrats w h o officered the legions a n d c a m e to preside over m u c h o f the administration, a n d it w a s the cities, g o v e r n e d b y c o u n ­ cils o f local aristocrats, w h o did the business o f the e m p i r e o n a t o w n - b y t o w n a n d village-by-village basis. O b s e r v e r s perceived the e m p e r o r ' s subjects as inclined to imitate h i m a n d defer to h i m ; they n o t e d the p o w e r ( a n d d a n g e r ) inherent in the fact that nearly all relations w i t h h i m h a d i m m e n s e h o n o u r consequences; finally, they s a w h i m laying his subjects u n d e r obligations w i t h favours practical a n d honorific. In the first place, their o w n outlook encouraged aristocrats to imitate the emperor as the most honourable m a n in their world. 'Whatsoever is scorned b y o u r rulers is neglected b y all; w h a t is h o n o u r e d b y them, all p r a c ­ tise.'

112

E m p e r o r s ' appearance, diet, and hair-style were enthusiastically

1 1 1

Res Gest. 34. 3 , 'post id tempus auctoritate ( = d^id)fj.[a]n) omnibus praestiti, potestatis ( = igovoia?) autem nihilo amplius habui quam ceteri qui mihi quoque in magistratu conlegae fuerunt'. I will not join the venerable controversy about the exact sense of auc­ toritas in this context, which can be followed in Grant (1946: 443-5 with refs.) and Wickert (1954: 2287); both the Latin and the Greek versions admit the rendering 'aristocratic pres­ tige* in the sense used here. Also relevant is Augustus* choice of title for himself: princeps 'first*. Leaving aside the position of princeps senatus the term princeps is closely allied to superiority in honour in Republican usage, Wickert (1954), esp. 2 0 3 9 - 4 7 . O n the title Augustus, see n. 284 below. y

y

1 1 2

Lib. Or. 1 8 . 1 5 6 ; cf. Men. Rhet. 376, a venerable topos, Brunt (1988&), 4 6 n. 20.

The Emperor

130

copied b y the great men of R o m e and the p r o v i n c e s .

113

Indeed, it seemed to

Tacitus that Vespasian's example, through 'obedience to the emperor a n d love o f emulating him', h a d effected a great moral reform a m o n g the Roman aristocracy.

114

C o m m e n t a t o r s urged the emperor to take advantage

of this tendency, to rule b y setting an e x a m p l e .

1 1 5

A n d onlookers pointed

out occasions w h e n he did so in fact: N e r v a , Pliny notes, had stimulated public benefaction in this w a y .

1 1 6

Imperial officials were seen as especially

inclined to imitate the emperor, and Severus Alexander used this expecta­ tion as an instrument of policy, remitting to his subjects the 'crown gold', a tax due h i m on his succession, in order to set an example to his officials, so that (in his w o r d s ) : those who will go out as governors of provinces will learn the zeal with which they should spare, and exercise foresight for, the provinces over which they have been appointed, when they see the emperor conducting all the business of the empire with such good order, self-control, and restraint.

117

W h e r e the t e n d e n c y to imitate is strong, the t e n d e n c y to defer to the e m p e r o r ' s h o n o u r will b e strong as well. A c c o r d i n g to Philo, in the ideal g o v e r n m e n t three things 'tend t o w a r d s indestructible rulership—dignity, terribleness, a n d benefaction. . . . D i g n i t y inspires respect; terribleness, fear; benefaction, goodwill. B l e n d e d a n d h a r m o n i z e d in the soul, these render subjects o b e d i e n t . '

118

S o aristocratic dignity w a s useful. A m a n

i m a g i n e d instructing a military tribune o n h o w to m u r d e r S e p t i m i u s Severus a n d his son Caracalla cautions h i m particularly n o t to b e c o n ­ f o u n d e d b y the e m p e r o r s ' distinction. T h e almost physical p o w e r o f s u p r e m e prestige, the blinding light that d r o v e a w a y M a r i u s ' w o u l d - b e assassin, could, then, be v i e w e d as a p r o p to the emperor's p o s i t i o n .

1 1 9

Seneca represents A u g u s t u s saving a m a n m o b b e d in the f o r u m b y virtue 1 1 3

Friedlander (1907-13), i. 3 0 - 2 . T a c . Ann. 3. 55, 'obsequium . . . in principem et aemulandi amor'; cf. Herod. 1. 2. 4; HA Pert. 8. 10; Sev. Alex. 41. 2. Cities are urged to imitate the emperors, D . Chr. 32. 60; Aristid. 2 3 . 7 8 - 9 (Behr). Pliny, Paneg. 45; Sen. Clem. 2. 2 . 1 ; Dio 5 2 . 3 4 1 1 - 3 ; 'Ecphantus' in Stobaeus, peri Bos. 65 (see n. 9 above). Pliny, Ep. 1 0 . 8 . 1 , cf. Suet. Tib. 3 4 . 1 ; Tac. Hist. 2 . 8 2 . Gk. Const. 275. For officials, cf. Small. Gaius 3 8 0 . 2 ; Pan. Lat. 10(2). 3 . 3 . Philo, dePraem. 97, rpia . . . ovvreivovTa irpos 'qycp.oviav aKaBaiperov, ae/xvoTiyra 1 1 4

1 1 5

1 1 6

1 1 7

1 1 8

Kal

oeivorrjTa

Kal cvcpyeoiav

. . .

T O p.ev ydp

ocpivdv

ai8a> KaraaKcvd^et,

T O 8C 8CIVOV

(probably fictional); cf. for dazzlement, 'Ecphantus' in Stobaeus, peri Bos. 64 (see n. 9 above); Philo, Leg. Gaium 276. 1 1 9

The Emperor o f his

auctoritaSy

131

the quality the e m p e r o r boasted o f in his

120

Res Gestae.

W i t h the s a m e quality, a n d a stern j u d g e m e n t , M a r c u s A u r e l i u s is depicted putting d o w n turmoils a m o n g the S e q u a n i .

1 2 1

O t h o relied u p o n

it t o o in his last h o u r s to persuade his y o u n g partisans to flee a n d save themselves.

122

A lack o f h o n o u r , it w a s perceived, m a d e it v e r y h a r d for

the e m p e r o r to rule. A u t h o r s trying to explain the severity o f M a x i m i n u s T h r a x p u t it d o w n to his l o w birth: since he a s s u m e d that he w o u l d b e s c o r n e d b y his betters, he strove to c o m p e l obedience t h r o u g h t e r r o r .

1 2 3

C o m m e n t a t o r s expected reverence for imperial h o n o u r to p l a y a role in g o v e r n m e n t , o r at least liked to think it did.

Honouring T h e business o f governing, as described in the treatises written to advise the e m p e r o r o n h o w to c o n d u c t himself, w a s presented n o t least as the practice o f ' h o n o u r i n g ' those, b o t h servants o f his g o v e r n m e n t a n d oth­ ers, w h o did w h a t pleased the e m p e r o r .

1 2 4

' H o n o u r m a n y , trust few,' the

sage A p o l l o n i u s o f T y a n a advised the king o f the P e r s i a n s .

1 2 5

T h e histo­

rians also a s s u m e d that the e m p e r o r w o u l d act this w a y , a n d that the e m p e r o r c o u l d gain the loyalty o f vital subjects, a n d cities, b y ' h o n o u r i n g ' them; a n d they a d d examples o f the e m p e r o r s 'dishonouring' those w h o displeased t h e m , s o m e t h i n g else the treatises s u g g e s t .

1 2 6

H o w exactly d i d

this f o r m o f rulership w o r k ? S u p p o s e there w a s an earthquake (earth­ q u a k e relief w a s a frequent imperial c o n c e r n ) . F o r the repair o f S m y r n a , as A e l i u s Aristides tells it, the e m p e r o r s 'invited the aid o f m e n w h o w o u l d be a m b i t i o u s t h r o u g h the h o p e o f future h o n o u r ' . 1 2 0

1 2 7

A n d that

1 2 1

Sen. Clem. 1 . 1 5 . 1 . HA Marcus 2 2 . 1 0 . Tac. Hist. 2. 48. Cf. Herod. 4 . 3 . 3 . Deference to imperial prestige could have danger­ ous consequences as well: when Caracalla suffered from diarrhoea, and had to break from his journey to relieve himself, his retainers all stood far off as a mark of respect, providing his assassin with access, Herod. 4 . 1 3 . 4 . 1 2 2

1 2 3

Herod. 7 . 1 . 2; HA Maxim. 8. 8 - 1 1 . Speech of Maecenas in Dio, 52. 3 3 - 7 ; D . Chr. 1 . 1 7 , 3 0 , 3 . 1 3 2 ; Fronto, ad M. Ant. de Eloq. 2. 6; ad Ver. 2.1.12 (van den Hout). For collected literature on works 'on kingship' in general under the empire, with wise remarks, Reinhold (1988), 1 8 3 - 4 . Philostr. VA1.37 (fictional). Tac. Ann. 1 4 . 5 3 ; Hist. 2.100; Plut. Otho5.1; Dio (narrative passages) 5 6 . 4 3 . 1 , 6 5 ( 6 4 ! , ) . 7 . 1 , 68. 6. 4,76(7710. 6 . 1 ; Herod. 1. 8 . 1 , 3 . 1 5 . 4; HA Hadr. 16. 8 - 1 1 ; Marcus 2; A m m . Marc. 2 1 . 1 2 . 24; Eunap. VS 463. Honouring cities, e.g. Dio 69. 1 0 . 1 ; Herod. 4. 9. 5. Honouring assumed to gain obedience, Herod. 2 . 1 5 . 3 ; Eunap. 57 (Blockley ( 1 9 8 3 ) ) ; cf. Lib. Or. 1 8 . 1 6 0 . Dishonouring, in theory, Dio 5 5 . 1 8 . 4 , D . Chr. 1 . 4 4 ; in practice, Dio 6 7 . 2 . 1 , J6{J/\). 2.4-5. Honour and dishonour, Dio 63(62L). 15. 2, 77(78L). 5. 2 - 4 , 7 8 ( 7 9 L ) . 2 2 . 3 . 1 2 4

1 2 5

1 2 6

1 2 7

Smyrna, Aristid. 20. 8 (Behr; trans. Behr), rovs passim; Harl (1987), 2 2 , 6 8 ; and a conspectus, Ziegler (1985), 164. T h e Greek pursuit of city tides (as opposed to imperial cognomina) was viewed with some mirth in the W e s t (D. C h r . 38. 3 8 ) , and titles are rarer there, but b y no means unknown: e.g. CIL iii. 1456, metropolis; Galsterer-Kroll (1972), nos. 2 3 , 4 7 , 5 4 , splendidissima; no. 92, fidelis; no. 141, clar­ itas; and see Rives ( 1 9 9 5 : 1 3 5 - 8 ) on the theophoric titles of North African towns. 1 5 4

Gk Const. 160 with J . Keil (1932), 25. Communications, IGR iv. 1 7 5 6 . 1 2 4 - 5 . Imperial favour, D . Chr. 3 1 . 1 4 9 . Liebenam (1900), 261 n. 4; Robert (1938), 1 4 4 - 5 0 ; (1946a), 52; and esp. Gk. Const. 87. Athanasius, de Incarn. Verb. 9; and visits are celebrated on coins, Harl (1987), 5 3 - 8 . Suet. Nero 22.3; Gk. Const. 2 4 6 . 3 6 - 9 ; cf. D . C h r . 4 0 . 1 3 - 1 5 . Attention to such details lives on in China. 'The Prime Minister received Martin Lee and then saw him to the door of N o . 10 T h e Chinese saw this as a mark of approval for which there was no precedent. 1 5 5

1 5 6

1 5 7

1 5 8

N o H o n g Kong Chinese had ever before been bid farewell at the d o o r / Newhouse (1993), 97-

The Emperor

i8 3

A s the e m p e r o r indicates, augmentation o f a city's voting rights in the council o f the L y c i a n league w a s honorific. S u c h an h o n o u r e n c o u r a g e d b e h a v i o u r useful to the e m p e r o r , the h u n t i n g d o w n o f bandits. T h e L y c i a n league h a d given B u b o n the right to cast a vote first: the e m p e r o r praised the city a n d ranked it with those cities w h i c h h a d three votes; n o w , w i t h a n y luck, even m o r e bandits w o u l d b e h u n t e d .

1 5 9

Elsewhere

too the e m p e r o r can b e seen h o n o u r i n g cities w h i c h h a d given satisfac­ tion. A large contribution o f m o n e y to the imperial treasury

from

N i c o p o l i s ad I s t r u m b r o u g h t high praise from Septimius Severus: ' Y o u have s h o w n the m o s t shining enthusiasm in y o u r decree. Y o u h a v e demonstrated that y o u are well-disposed t o w a r d s us a n d reverent m e n a n d keen that w e should think well o f y o u /

1 6 0

T h e same emperor per­

mitted cities w h i c h h a d assisted h i m in the w a r against N i g e r to take the title 'Severan', chief a m o n g t h e m N i c o m e d i a ; a n d the coveted title o f metropolis w a s stripped from A n t i o c h , an o p p o n e n t , a n d transferred to Laodicea, a s u p p o r t e r .

161

S m y r n a w a s a veritable m u s e u m o f imperial

h o n o u r s , w h i c h w e r e called 'an exhortation to foreigners'—that is, visi­ tors w o u l d b e inspired b y the h o n o u r s S m y r n a h a d received from the e m p e r o r to act so that their cities w o u l d receive such h o n o u r s as w e l l .

1 6 2

' M a n y w e r e the great deeds o f y o u r forefathers,' w r o t e Julian to A t h e n s in 6

time o f civil w a r , adding that he d e s i r e d not to b e thought to b e h o n o u r ­ ing o n e city m o r e than others in the matters in w h i c h they c o m p e t e b y recalling these things a n d balancing t h e m against one another, n o r to gain a n advantage, praising those that p r o v e d inferior less, as the rhetori­ cians d o . '

1 6 3

H e h a d to d e n y the intention because such c o n d u c t w a s

expected o f e m p e r o r s . T o c o n f i r m A l e x a n d r i a in its opposition to its exiled b i s h o p , the quarrelsome A t h a n a s i u s , C o n s t a n t i u s w r o t e , 'I m u s t rank y o u a m o n g the few, o r rather m u s t glorify y o u alone before the oth­ ers, for the great virtue a n d w i s d o m . . . y o u r deeds p r o c l a i m , w h i c h are h y m n e d t h r o u g h nearly the w h o l e w o r l d . '

1 6 4

Cassius D i o c o u l d look b a c k

over t w o centuries o f empire a n d c o m e to the conclusion that e n c o u r a g 1 5 9

Bubon, Schindler (1972), no. 2, T€I/LH)I> . . . ivSo^orepoi. Gk. Const. 217. 2 1 - 4 . Nicomedia's assistance, Herod. 3. 2. 9; names assumed, Magie (1950), 1540 n. 21; as a reward for Nicomedia, Robert (1977a), 28. Antioch and Laodicea, Herod. 3. 3. 3-5 with Ziegler (1978:494-5), among other punishments and rewards. For the political use of grant­ ing towns imperial names and other titles, in 2nd- and 3rd-cent. Cilicia, Ziegler (1985), 67-120. Smyrna, Aristid. 19. 8 (Behr). Cf. Tac. Hist. 1. 65; Aristid. 2 3 . 7 9 (Behr). Julian, ad Ath. 26Sb-c. Athanasius, Apol. ad Const. 30 ( = PG 25. 633), vfids 8e fie xpy per oXiywv Tdrreiv, fidXXov Be fxovovs irpo ra>v dXXcov acfivvveiv. 1 6 0

1 6 1

1 6 2

1 6 3

1 6 4

The Emperor

139

ing rivalry b e t w e e n the cities b y granting a n d w i t h h o l d i n g titles created m o r e p r o b l e m s than it s o l v e d .

1 6 5

B u t his w a s a v o i c e in the wilderness; the

e m p e r o r s after his time h o n o u r e d cities w i t h at least the enthusiasm o f their predecessors. S o natural w a s this m e t h o d o f rulership that w h e n rivalry between cities b e c a m e such a p r o b l e m that an e m p e r o r h a d to intervene, that e m p e r o r 'sent a letter undertaking that he w o u l d d e e m that city the m o s t excellent a n d best w h i c h w a s the first willingly to p r a c ­ tise h a r m o n y ' . T h a t is, even rivalry w a s regulated b y an appeal to that same r i v a l r y .

1 6 6

Dishonouring T h o s e an e m p e r o r insulted m i g h t kill h i m . N e r o w a s conspired against, a n d C a l i g ul a a n d Caracalla slain, b y those w h o s e h o n o u r they h a d c r u s h e d with their o w n .

1 6 7

A n e m p e r o r m u s t b e circumspect, the histo­

rians note, a n d n o t insult people n e e d l e s s l y .

168

T h u s in the elaboration o f

imperial c e r e m o n y lay a potential d a n g er to imperial rule: w h e n degrees o f h o n o u r w e r e so precisely distinguished, it w a s so m u c h easier to offend. W i t n e s s the v i v i d fury o f a f o u r t h - c e n t u r y grandee o n an e m b a s s y to the usurper M a x i m u s , subjected to the insult o f an interview in the consistory. ' W h y d o y o u w a n t to kiss s o m e o n e y o u don't k n o w ? ' he s n a p p e d at the e m p e r o r w h o h a d risen to greet h i m , 'for if y o u k n e w w h o I w a s y o u w o u l d not see m e in this place!' T h i s w a s exactly the type o f solecism that c o u l d create a d a n g e r o u s e n e m y . L u c k i l y the outspoken a m b a s s a d o r w a s n o m a n o f the s w o r d , b u t a b i s h o p , the tempestuous Ambrose.

1 6 9

A n imperial insult di d n o t h a v e to b e a mistake; it c o u l d b e fully inten­ tional, to punish, destroy, o r expose those w h o h a d displeased. L e p i d u s , A u g u s t u s ' f o r m e r colleague in the triumvirate, the e m p e r o r insulted at various times in various ways. He ordered him to come into the city from the country when he did not want to, and he always took him along to the senate, that he might incur the greatest mockery and insult, both with regard to the collapse of his power and of his prestige. He treated him with contempt, and especially called upon him to vote last among the consulars. 1 6 6

170

1 6 5

Dio 5 2 . 3 7 . 1 0 .

1 6 7

Above, C h . 1 n. 50.

1 6 8

T a c . Ann. 2 . 3 6 , 3 . 5 2 , 5 4 ; Dio 5 2 . 3 3 . 7 , echoing advice in Arist. Pol. I 3 i 4 - i 5 . In prac­

Aristid. 2 3 . 7 3 , and see 27. 45 (Behr). b

a

tice, T a c . Ann. 1 1 . 2 5 ; Dio 56. 2 5 . 4 . 1 6 9

A m b r . Ep. 2 4 . 3 -

1 7 0

Dio 5 4 . 1 5 . 4 - 5 ,

OTTCOS

on 7rA€iOTr)v Kai x^€vaaiav

Kai vfipiv npos

TC TT)V

rrjs

laxvos

Kai irpos rr)v rrjs d£ia»a€a>s' p,€Taf$oAr)v dtpAioKavrj. For asking opinion last among the con­ sulars 'ignominiae causa', Suet. Claud. 9. 2; cf. Dio 59. 8 . 4 - 6 .

The Emperor

140

C o n s i d e r the fates o f m e n w h o h a d b e e n H a d r i a n ' s friends. A m o n g the v i c t i m s o f confiscation, proscription, a n d c o m p u l s o r y suicide w a s o n e H e l i o d o r u s , w h o s e ruin b y H a d r i a n w a s e n c o m p a s s e d , w e are told, b y his being 'assailed w i t h the m o s t slanderous w r i t i n g s ' .

1 7 1

T o be forbidden the

imperial presence w a s another insult: A u g u s t u s b a r r e d the historian T i m a g e n e s , T i b e r i u s d i d the s a m e to Piso, a n d other e m p e r o r s acted similarly t o w a r d s those w h o displeased them, d o w n t h r o u g h the fourth century A D .

1 7 2

A n d always, there w e r e dinners. T h o s e o u t o f f a v o u r c o u l d

b e insulted b y n o t being invited, b y b e i n g abused b y the e m p e r o r at table, or b y being seated beneath their s t a t i o n .

173

The

fifth-century

emperor

M a j o r i a n used a d i n n e r to h u m b l e the ex-prefect Paeonius, w h o h a d been slandering the h i g h - b o r n S i d o n i u s A p o l l i n a r i s (also present, a n d

from

w h o m w e h a v e the story). B y this date, n o t o n l y w a s seating at imperial dinners b y r a n k o f h o n o u r , b u t so w a s conversation, the e m p e r o r direct­ ing r e m a r k s first to the consul seated in the m o s t h o n o u r a b l e place, then to the consular seated next, a n d so in descending order. B u t w h e n M a j o r i a n reached Paeonius, he passed h i m o v e r in f a v o u r o f

one

A t h e n i u s , seated b e l o w h i m . T h i s w a s a slight, p r e s u m a b l y intended to s h o w his displeasure. Paeonius c o u l d n o t bear the insult: he a n s w e r e d the question set to A t h e n i u s , pretending it w a s for h i m . T h i s w a s , in turn, a slight to A t h e n i u s : n o w Paeonius h a d insulted t w o great m e n . T h e e m p e r o r w a s equal to the crisis: he l a u g h e d at Paeonius. T h i s insulted Paeonius, a n d h o n o u r e d A t h e n i u s . T h e n the rest o f the diners t u r n e d u p o n the ex-prefect, a n d , w i t h the e m p e r o r ' s c o n t i n u e d help, t h o r o u g h l y humiliated h i m . T h e o u t c o m e w a s g l o r y for S i d o n i u s a n d d i s h o n o u r for Paeonius. In the vestibule, Paeonius b e g g e d S i d o n i u s ' p a r d o n . T h u s the e m p e r o r settled a conflict between t w o great n o t a b l e s .

174

T h e e m p e r o r ' s terrible scorn c o u l d b e directed also at cities w h i c h dis­ pleased. In AD 154 the inhabitants o f B a r c a in L i b y a , o f old the rivals o f C y r e n e , sent their o w n representatives to the C a p i t o l i n e festival in R o m e . 1 7 1

HA Hadr. 15. 5; these writings are perhaps to be identified with Hadrian's letters to men's home cities stating that they did not please him, Dio 69. 23. 2. For an imperial letter of abuse, Julian, Ep. 82 (Bidez), where the emperor observes that he is publishing it (446b); cf. Lib. Or. 1 8 . 1 9 8 . A n d for other insults used as policy, Suet. Vesp. 5 . 3 ; Philostr. VA 5 . 3 8 . 1 7 2

O n imperial renunciation of friendship, R. S. Rogers (1959), with evidence down to the 4th cent. Timagenes, Sen. Ira 3 . 2 3 . 4 - 8 ; Tiberius and Piso, Tac. Ann. 3 . 1 2 . See especially for Tiberius, Bauman (1974), 1 0 9 - 1 3 , 1 1 7 - 1 8 , 1 2 4 - 8 : renuntiatio amicitiaecovld signal the cir­ cling sharks to bring maiestas charges or other forms of prosecution. 1 7 3

Invitation, A r r . Epict. 4 . 1 . 4 8 ; abuse, Suet. Claud. 8; Sen. Const. 1 8 . 2 ; seating, ibid. 15. 1; and for insulting tableware, Plut. Galba 1 2 . 2 - 3 ; Tac. Hist. 1. 48 (to punish the thief of a precious cup). Sid. Ep. 1 . 1 1 ; for laughter as an insult, see HA Sev. Alex. 1 8 . 1 . 1 7 4

The Emperor

141

T h e e m p e r o r p r o m p t l y m o v e d to squash t h e m , writing: 'I a m a m a z e d that y o u w h o h a v e never hitherto sent a delegation o r shared in the s a c ­ rifice n o w for the first time send representation to this c o n t e s t ! . . . A n d k n o w : m a k i n g innovations o f this t y p e brings u p o n cities the charge o f contentiousness!' I m a g i n e the acute pleasure o f the inhabitants o f C y r e n e at this: they inscribed the emperor's letter in their o w n city so that they c o u l d glory for ever in the humiliation o f a rival. C y r e n e w a s greater in the w o r l d because B a r c a w a s l e s s e r .

175

T w o centuries later, v e x e d b y the

A n t i o c h e n e s ' raillery at h i m a n d their opposition to his attempt to c o n ­ trol prices, the bearded e m p e r o r Julian p e n n e d a satire o n the city, the

Misopogon

( ' T h e Beard-hater'; it survives), a n d threatened to w i n t e r in

T a r s u s , a rival o f A n t i o c h ' s . T h i s d o u b l e b l o w b r o u g h t the citizens o f A n t i o c h to their senses, as L i b a n i u s o b s e r v e d .

1 7 6

F o r if an imperial visit

w a s honorific, ostentatious departure, o r refusal to visit, w a s humiliating. T h u s di d M a r c u s A u r e l i u s punish C y r r h u s , native city a n d ardent s u p ­ porter o f the rebel A v i d i u s C a s s i u s .

1 7 7

T h e e m p e r o r could also punish b y

depriving cities o f their titles: w h a t an a g o n y for N i c a e a , after long years o f rivalry w i t h N i c o m e d i a , to lose the title 'first', for s u p p o r t i n g N i g e r against Septimius Severus; w h a t an a g o n y for A n t i o c h to lose the h o n o u r of being a

metropolis for

insulting T h e o d o s i u s ' s t a t u e s .

178

Cassius Dio and Tacitus on Imperial Insults T h e imperial historians offer a pair o f instances w h i c h b r o a d l y illustrate the perceived i m p o r t a n c e o f strategic insult to the emperor's rule. A s Cassius D i o describes it, w h e n T i b e r i u s h a d w i t h d r a w n into isolation o n C a p r i a n d his minister Sejanus w a s p o w e r f u l at R o m e , the e m p e r o r c a m e to fear for his position because 'both the senators a n d the others treated [Sejanus] as if h e w e r e e m p e r o r , a n d held T i b e r i u s in c o n t e m p t ' .

1 7 9

Yet

he c o u l d not act o p e n l y against Sejanus because the prefect c o m m a n d e d the loyalty o f the praetorian g u a r d a n d d o m i n a t e d the senate, 'by b e n e ­ factions, b y hopes, a n d b y fear'; he h a d even transferred the loyalty o f

1 7 5

Barca, Gk. Const. 124 (trans, adapted from Oliver, Gk. Const., accepting Oliver's (1979) reading; for another reading, Reynolds (1978), 114). Cf. Gk. Const. 6; Philostr. VA 4. 33; Dio 69. 8. la; Julian, Ep. 60 (Bidez). 1 7 6

Circumstances of the Misopogon* A m m . Marc. 2 2 . 1 4 . 2 - 3 . Threat to winter in Tarsus, A m m . Marc. 23. 2 . 4 - 5 ; Lib. Or. 16. 53-4. Success of Julian's tactics, Lib. Or. 1 5 . 5 7 - 9 ; Z o s . 3 . 11.5. 1 7 7

HA Marcus 2 5 . 1 2 ; cf. 2 5 . 1 1 , among Antioch's punishments. Nicaea, Robert (1977a), 2 4 - 5 . Theodosius and Antioch, Lib. Or. 20. 6 - 7 , 2 3 . 2 6 - 7 . Dio 5 8 . 4 . 1 , Tificpiov iv oXiyatpia 7Toi€io6ai. Sejanus' excessive prestige, Dio 5 7 . 2 1 . 3 4 , 5 8 . 2 . 7 - 8 , 5 8 . 5 . 1 - 5 ; and see p. 5 2 above. 1 7 8

1 7 9

The Emperor

142

180

Tiberius' familiars to h i m s e l f .

A s D i o sees it, the overt reins o f p o w e r

w e r e all in Sejanus' hands. A l l T i b e r i u s h a d left w a s his h o n o u r , a n d that is w h a t he used to deliver himself. T h e e m p e r o r sent frequent letters from C a p r i , s o m e praising Sejanus a n d s o m e attacking h i m , s o m e h o n o u r i n g Sejanus' creatures, others d i s h o n o u r i n g them. T h u s the R o m a n s 'could neither a d m i r e Sejanus a n y longer, n o r h o l d h i m in contempt', a n d so T i b e r i u s w a s able to reduce Sejanus' o v e r w e e n i n g prestige w i t h o u t s t a m ­ p e d i n g his p o w e r f u l lieutenant into o p e n r e v o l t .

1 8 1

W i t h Sejanus w e a k ­

ened, T i b e r i u s increased the p r o p o r t i o n o f insults, insults w h i c h included leaving Sejanus' titles o u t o f a letter to the senate, forbidding sacrifices to be m a d e to mortals (obviously directed at Sejanus, since people w e r e sac­ rificing to h i m ) , a n d forbidding the consideration o f h o n o u r s for himself, this also being interpreted as an attack o n Sejanus, because it necessarily precluded h o n o u r s for h i m as w e l l .

1 8 2

T h u s 'people began to h o l d h i m in

contempt', b e g a n to slight h i m a n d a v o i d h i m , a n d T i b e r i u s w a s able to have h i m arrested on the floor o f the s e n a t e .

183

T h e m o d e r n m i n d is puzzled at so strange an analysis o f the w o r k i n g s o f politics. F r o m Dio's narrative w e can, naturally, pick o u t m o r e explic­ able elements: T i b e r i u s ' eventual attack o n Sejanus' prospects b y indicat­ ing that he intended C a l i g u l a — p o p u l a r w i t h the

plebs

as the son o f

G e r m a n i c u s — t o succeed h i m ; a n d his attack o n Sejanus' p o w e r to h u r t b y publicly thwarting a prosecution Sejanus h a d a h a n d i n .

1 8 4

B u t to

Dio's m i n d the m a i n thrust o f Tiberius' policy w a s to b r i n g Sejanus into c o n t e m p t , first b y insulting h i m a n d eventually, w h e n he h a d w o r n h i m d o w n , also b y humiliating demonstrations o f his weakness. A d d i c t e d to looking t h r o u g h appearances to the realities o f p o w e r beneath, w e are surprised to see p o w e r dependent on, a n d attacked t h r o u g h , a p p e a r ­ ances. W e m a y even c o n c l u d e that Cassius D i o is deceiving himself; b u t certainly this is w h a t he thinks w a s g o i n g on. It w o u l d b e interesting to k n o w if T a c i t u s ' understanding o f the fall o f Sejanus w a s similar to Cassius Dio's; alas, that part o f the

Annals is

lost.

But T a c i t u s e m p l o y s v e r y similar logic in his description o f the struggle o f the e m p e r o r N e r o w i t h the Stoic senator T h r a s e a Paetus, w h i c h he r e p ­ resents as a battle o f i n s u l t s . 1 8 0

1 8 1

185

In AD 5 9 , T h r a s e a fired the o p e n i n g salvo

Dio 58. 4. 2, T O pcev evepycoiais TO 8c CXTTIOI TO 8C Kal €v 01 avroKpdropcs rd d £ i c £ / n a r a Kal rds r u ^ a ? rd)v nroXepLaiajv eloL, fiet^ovcov 8e Kal rip.wv rdyxdveiv ocpeiXovatv. Augustus and Tiberius, 141-52. IGR iv. 39. b. 7 - 1 8 , ovpaviov . . . oogrj? . . . cniKvoeorepov; see Price (1984a), 55. 2 9 0

The Emperor

165

distinction so great, that n o other f o r m o f h o n o u r w a s adequate? B u t such questions misconceive the psychological status o f gratitude a n d def­ erence in the R o m a n w o r l d : they are p u b l i c dispositions first, rooted in the sense o f h o n o u r a n d shame. Since acts o f cult w e r e ' a p p r o v e d b y all m e n everywhere', it w a s i m p o r t a n t to b e deferential.

291

seen to

b e p r o p e r l y grateful a n d

A t o w n v o t i n g the e m p e r o r s divine h o n o u r s m i g h t specify

in the decree that their officials shall 'erect a stone m o n u m e n t c a r v e d w i t h this sacred l a w . . . in o r d e r that s t a n d i n g . . . in the o p e n air for every­ one to see, the l a w . . . m a y testify to all m e n the gratitude o f the G y t h e a n people t o w a r d s their r u l e r s ' .

2 9 2

'Let the decree b e inscribed a n d valid for

all time,' v o t e d E p h e s u s a b o u t a b i r t h d a y festival p r o c l a i m e d in gratitude to A n t o n i n u s Pius, 'so that the character o f the city m a y b e o b v i o u s to m e n n o w a n d in the f u t u r e . '

2 9 3

A n d an individual built a temple to

A u g u s t u s ' adoptive sons, 'wanting to t o w a r d s the w h o l e [imperial] h o u s e ' .

2 9 4

show his

gratitude a n d

piety

O f course, publicly failing to

s h o w one's gratitude, one's loyalty, c o u l d b e dangerous: C y z i c u s w a s p u n i s h e d for failing to finish an imperial t e m p l e .

2 9 5

B u t the sense o f dis­

play revealed here indicates that it is the desire for the esteem o f those a r o u n d one, n o t to seem to one's rivals (even to one's self) deficient in an i m p o r t a n t aspect o f personal o r civic character, that explains n o t o n l y great public acts o f imperial cult, b u t also the constant d r u m b e a t o f tiny, individual, private h o n o u r s to the e m p e r o r . G r a t i t u d e a n d deference to the e m p e r o r d r o v e the imperial cult n o t o n l y because they w e r e s o m e ­ times 'heartfelt', in the m o d e r n sense, b u t also because they w e r e an ide­ o l o g y w i d e l y participated in a n d enforced b y psychological structures o f honour and s h a m e .

2 9 6

Y e t this o n l y pushes the question o f sincerity b a c k a step. E v e n if indi­ viduals' acts o f cult w e r e g o v e r n e d b y the expectations o f society, h o w c o u l d a b r o a d expectation exist that every e m p e r o r , even the strange a n d rapacious N e r o , even

the

gladiator C o m m o d u s , even

the bizarre

Elagabalus, w a s w o r t h y o f divine h o n o u r s ? Y e t such an expectation w a s necessary to the m e n w h o w e r e m o s t influential in f o r m i n g o p i n i o n o n a city-by-city a n d p r o v i n c e - b y - p r o v i n c e basis. F o r their o w n h o n o u r c a m e 2 9 1

2 9 2

Quoted, Philo, Leg. Gaium 152. Gk. Const. 1 5 . 1 . 3 4 - 4 0 , evxapioTiav;

on this word, Robert (1955), 5 8 - 6 2 .

2 9 3

IK Eph.i. 2 1 . 3 5 - 7 . J G x i i Suppl. 124, (trans. Price (1984a: 3 ) , who accepts the restoration my italics). 2 9 4

2 9 5

[iv8€iKvv]odcu;

Dio 5 7 . 2 4 . 6. ' T o credit the princeps with numen is . . . honour arising from heart-felt gratitude,' Fishwick ( 1 9 8 7 - 9 2 ) , 387. 2 9 6

The Emperor

166

to depend, in part, o n the emperor's being w o r t h y o f divine h o n o u r . G r a t i t u d e in the R o m a n w o r l d w a s n o t o n l y enforced b y shame; it w a s a public virtue, to b e publicly displayed as a claim to h o n o u r . T o requite the emperor's benefactions w i t h acts o f cult w a s itself an act o f philotimia, competitive a m b i t i o n for h o n o u r .

2 9 7

S o t o o w e r e acts o f cult inspired b y

deference. M y t i l e n e did n o t modestly hide its extravagant reverence for Augustus' honour—noticed

a b o v e — b u t sent copies o f its decree to

P e r g a m u m , A c t i u m , B r u n d i s i u m , A n t i o c h in Syria, Massilia in G a u l , a n d T a r r a c o in distant Spain. T h i s last m a y h a v e inspired T a r r a c o to the e m u ­ lative construction o f an altar to the e m p e r o r . T h e imperial cult w a s part o f the w o r l d o f

2 9 8

philotimia.

Priesthoods o f

the e m p e r o r w e r e p r o m i n e n t perches from w h i c h to undertake glorious acts o f p u b l i c benefaction; priests a n d b o a r d s o f priests p e r f o r m e d the acts o f cult a n d p a i d for the games, dinners, a n d p u b l i c distributions in the emperor's h o n o u r at imperial f e s t i v a l s .

299

A n d since the imperial cult

insinuated itself into a w o r l d w h e r e the m u n i c i p a l aristocracies already h a d a great m a n y opportunities to e x c h a n g e their m o n e y for civic h o n ­ ours, it w a s perhaps natural that the n e w imperial priesthoods attracted ambitions for g l o r y previously constrained in their expression: in Italy especially, the substantial n u m b e r s o f w e a l t h y freedmen legally excluded from the m u n i c i p a l senates b y their origin; in the provinces, m e n w h o h a d exhausted the h o n o u r s o f their o w n cities, a n d looked for higher h o n o u r s as provincial priests o f the imperial c u l t .

3 0 0

T h e imperial cult w a s s o met h i n g to w h i c h i m p o r t a n t m e n looked for h o n o u r , a n d u p o n w h i c h their h o n o u r c a m e to d e p e n d . G r a t i t u d e a n d deference to the e m p e r o r served also as an ideology f o r m i n g the s u b ­ structures o f an arena in w h i c h subjects a n d cities struggled for h o n o u r a m o n g themselves. T h u s the use o f the t e r m 'piety'

(eusebeia), w h i c h

the

emperor's G r e e k subjects w e r e expected to display t o w a r d s the e m p e r o r , a n d w h i c h m o t i v a t e d acts o f imperial c u l t . 2 9 7

3 0 1

In the specific context o f the

IGR iv. 1756. 26 ( = Gk. Const 7 ) .

2 9 8

See above, n. 290; for Tarraco, where Augustus was resident, Fishwick ( 1 9 8 7 - 9 2 ) , 1 7 1 - 2 . For rivalry in deference cf. SEG xxiii. 206. Civic priests of the imperial cult in East, Price (1984a), 6 2 - 4 . A n d for the place of the civic imperial priesthood in the career of notables in Spain, Etienne (1958), 2 2 3 - 3 1 . 300 Provincial imperial priests, Deininger (1965), 1 4 8 - 5 4 ; their glory, Firm. Mat. Math. 4. 2 1 . 5 ; IKEph. i. 43; their backgrounds and careers, Stein (1927); and see e.g. Alfoldy (1973) on the flamens of Hispania Citerior. O n the seven Augustales, Augustales and magistri Augustales of the West, largely freedmen, for Italy, see Duthoy (1978): membership is an honor for which a summa honoraria is paid; they enjoy honorific garb, seating, etc., and per­ form benefactions; for spread in the rest of the empire, Duthoy (1976). 2 9 9

y

3 0 1

Price (1984b), 8 8 - 9 . Provincials understand it as a duty, IKEph. for a governor, SEG i. 3 2 9 . 4 8 .

vii. 3801. Cf. eusebeia

The Emperor

167

imperial cult the precise content o f this attitude is difficult to m a k e out, but

eusebeia w a s

felt t o w a r d s the g o d s (its p r i m a r y sense), a n d in those

environs it c o m b i n e d a p o w e r f u l reciprocal flavour with a p r o p e r rever­ ence for the g o d s '

time,

w h a t has been called deference a m o n g m e n .

3 0 2

But this disposition t o w a r d s the e m p e r o r also appears as s o m e t h i n g for w h i c h the e m p e r o r s ' cities a n d subjects c o m p e t e d a m o n g themselves, s o m e t h i n g w h i c h o n e acted 'to m a k e n o t o n l y the city b u t also the rest o f the p r o v i n c e witness to', something for w h i c h o n e w a s h o n o u r e d b y one's fellow c i t i z e n s .

303

A t the level o f competition between cities, 'pious' o r

'most pious' m i g h t be taken as city t i t l e s .

304

A m a n w h o hopes to b e h o n o u r e d b y his t o w n s m e n for his 'piety' t o w a r d s the e m p e r o r , o r a city w h i c h hopes to o u t d o a hated rival b y dis­ playing that quality, is in n o position to question w h e t h e r that disposi­ tion is justified b y imperial b e h a v i o u r .

Philotimia

could make

the

imperial cult's formal masters, gratitude a n d deference to the e m p e r o r , its servants instead. Eagerness to partake o f the h o n o u r the cult offered required c o m p l i c i t y in the ideology o f the cult, even if that ideology w o r e thin at times, b e c o m i n g n o m o r e than rhetoric u n d e r b a d e m p e r o r s . T h e m i x t u r e o f lying, e u p h e m i s m , a n d self-delusion involved w e can o n l y guess, b u t the necessity is clear: for if the e m p e r o r w a s admitted to b e u n w o r t h y o f cult, his priest w a s a ridiculous, rather than a glorious, crea­ ture; his splendid c r o w n o f office, festooned w i t h tiny imperial busts, s u d d e n l y as ludicrous to h i m as it is to u s .

3 0 5

T h e logic o f the imperial cult

required that the e m p e r o r b e w o r t h y o f cult. T h e h o n o u r o f his priests and cities required that the e m p e r o r b e p r o p e r l y h o n o u r a b l e , b e w o r t h y o f the h o n o u r s w h i c h it w a s an h o n o u r for t h e m to b e s t o w u p o n h i m . T h u s the h o n o u r a n d civic patriotism o f provincials c o u l d m a k e the e m p e r o r h o n o u r a b l e , rather than the other w a y r o u n d . N o r did the c u r i ­ ous logic o f

philotimia drive the

imperial cult alone. A l l f o r m s o f h o n o u r

t o w a r d s the e m p e r o r c o u l d b e v i e w e d as m o t i v a t e d b y the subjects' philo­ 306

timia.

A n d his subjects' competition w i t h o n e another d e m a n d e d that

the e m p e r o r b e w o r t h y o f h o n o u r . D i d the people o f the Latin t o w n o f

3 0 2

Eusebeia to the gods, Rudhardt (1958), 1 2 - 1 7 ; Burkert (1985), 273-4; Cairns (1993), 208 n. 111. For eusebeia to emperor as reciprocal, Philo, Flacc. 4 8 , 9 8 , 1 0 3 ; Gk. Const. 1 5 . 2 ; IK Eph. ii. 237. Quoted, I G xii Suppl. 1 2 4 . 2 5 - 6 (trans. Price). Honour for eusebeia towards emperor, Price (1984b), 88 n. 79; ( = pietas, ILS 6582c; and for rivalry in pietas, Pliny, Ep. 10.100); euse­ beia associated with Maxfield (1981:70-4), still awarded in the traditional manner in the 1st cent, AD; and see esp. Cic. Plane. 72 for the obligation. Cf. Caes. B C i . 74. Dio 5 5 . 4 . 2. Cf. Tac. Ann. 1. 2 8 , 2 . 1 3 ; Hist. 2.37; Jos. B / 7 . 6; Dio 77(78L). 13. 6. AE 1917-18. 7 4 - 5 ; 76, 'patrono inconparabili promotus ab eo'; ILS 2609, 'gratias agimus omnes commilitones'; EJ 270. Cf. p. 159 above for the obligation promotion imposes. Significant also is the military posting o f beneficiarius, 'he who has received a beneficium\ see Breeze (1974). Dio 78(791.). 3 2 . 3 (but Herodian's version is different, above, n. 118). Cf. Caes. B C 3 . 90; Tac. Ann. 1 . 4 2 ; Suet. Galba 2 0 . 1 . Herod. 4 . 1 3 . 2 - 5 . Cf. Suet. Otho 4. 2. Herod. 2 . 1 1 . 8, x f P ^ - Galba 8 . 1 . Donatives and their occasions, J. B. Campbell (1984), 186-98; late empire, Bastien (1988). 1 2 4

1 2 5

1 2 6

1 2 7

1 2 8

1 2 9

lv

€aav

c

ut

The Roman Army

257

T h e y w e r e n o t o n l y b r i b e s — a l t h o u g h Julianus h a d recently b o u g h t the e m p i r e at a u c t i o n — o r rewards; they w e r e also intended to inspire grati­ tude. C o n s t a n t i u s chose for a m i s s i o n o f the greatest possible sensitiv­ i t y — t h e arrest o f the C a e s a r Gallus, w h o w a s t h o u g h t to b e o n the v e r g e o f rebellion—soldiers 'obligated to h i m b y his favours to t h e m . . . a n d w h o he w a s certain c o u l d n o t b e t u r n e d aside b y bribes o r a n y feeling o f pity'.

1 3 0

O l d r e w a r d s , in other w o r d s , w e r e expected to be a solid defence

against n e w rewards: soldiers w o u l d feel u n d e r an obligation, a n d thus obey, just as aristocrats did. It w a s n o t just a question o f a c q u i r i n g as m u c h m o n e y as possible; it w a s a matter o f h o n o u r . T h e appeal to Dasius' reciprocal obligations h a v i n g failed, his c o m ­ m a n d e r c h a n g e d tack. 'Supplicate, O Dasius, the sacred images o f o u r emperors: even the b a r b a r i a n tribes revere a n d are subject to them.' 'I attend to n o o n e b u t the undefiled a n d eternal G o d . ' ' Y o u forget, Dasius, that every m a n is subject to the e m p e r o r ' s decree a n d the imperial laws.' A n d the future saint replies, ' D o y o u w h a t e v e r is enjoined u p o n y o u b y the i m p i o u s a n d defiled e m p e r o r s . '

1 3 1

T h u s the conventional d o u b l e d u t y

to the e m p e r o r , to obey a n d to revere, arises a n d is dismissed. T h e double d u t y appears elsewhere in a military context as well, a n d n o t o n l y t o w a r d s e m p e r o r s . ' T h e generals h a d n o prestige, the soldiers n o respect; there was neither c o m m a n d n o r obedience'—thus Pliny the Y o u n g e r o n the d e c a y e d state o f military discipline u n d e r D o m i t i a n .

1 3 2

Just as in a civil­

ian context, the sense o f s h a m e enforced this respect. ' S h a m e before a n d reverence for their c o m m a n d e r stayed them,' w r o t e T a c i t u s o f a small force u n d e r Vitellius' general F a b i u s V a l e n s , 'but these chains d o not last long a m o n g m e n terrified o f danger a n d mindless o f d i s g r a c e . '

133

H e r o d i a n at least t h o u g h t that this reverence h a d political significance. In the speech he has S e p t i m i u s S e v e r u s give to his soldiers o n the o c c a ­ sion o f his revolt, reverence keeps c o m p a n y w i t h the military oath as a part o f loyalty. ' Y o u r faithfulness,

and y o u r worshipful

disposition

t o w a r d s the g o d s to w h o m y o u s w o r e , a n d y o u r h o n o u r for the e m p e r ­ ors, w h o m y o u revere, y o u have already s h o w n . ' 1 3 0

1 3 4

T a c i t u s m i g h t well

Quoted, A m m . Marc. 1 4 . 1 1 . 1 9 , ' m i l i t e s . . . quos beneficiis suis oppigneratos elegerat imperator'. Cf. Cic. ad Fam. 10. 24. 2. Musurillo (1972), 21. 8—9, Kai avrd rd ($dpj$apa edvrj oeftovrai Kai SovXcvovaiv. Pliny, Ep. 8. 14. 7, 'ducibus auctoritas nulla, nulla militibus verecundia, nusquam imperium nusquam obsequium'. Cf. Herod. 3 . 8 . 5 and 8 . 7 . 5 for the pairing o f evragia, 'dis­ cipline', and aiScu?, 'reverence'; also Jos. B J 6 . 263. T a c . Hist. 3. 4 1 , 'pudor . . . et praesentis ducis reverentia morabatur, haud diuturna vincla apud pavidos periculorum et dedecoris securos'. Herod. 2. 10. 2, T O TTIOTOV vfxcov Kai 7 T / 3 0 ? T € Ocovs oe^dafxiov, ovs 6p,vvT€, irpos T€ jSaatAeas rifiiov, ovs aloeiode, SeSr/Aco/care. 1 3 1

1 3 2

1 3 3

1 3 4

The Roman Army

258

have agreed w i t h H e r o d i a n . In a celebrated passage, he imagines the dif­ ference o f o p i n i o n that existed in R o m e over h o w to deal w i t h the great legionary mutinies o f AD 14. T i b e r i u s h a d sent G e r m a n i c u s a n d D r u s u s to deal w i t h the situation. Critics c o m p l a i n e d that the soldiers could not be put down by the not yet full-grown

auctoritas of two maiestas.

youths. Tiberius should have gone himself and applied the imperial

They would have yielded when they saw an emperor, great in experience, and master of punishments and rewards. . . . [But Tiberius considered that] the German army was stronger, the Pannonian closer, the one supported by the resources of the Gauls, the other threatening Italy. Which first, then? A n d sup­ pose those postponed took fire at the insult? But through his sons he could approach both at once, while keeping his always greater at a distance

maiestas safe, reverence for which was

Those resisting Germanicus or Drusus he could

mollify or break himself, but what other recourse would there be if the emperor was scorned? How

135

exactly T a c i t u s expected the imperial

maiestas

to w o r k , b e y o n d

rewards a n d p u n i s h m e n t s , is not clear. B u t evidently soldiers' reverence for it, greater at a distance a n d h o w e v e r fragile, plays a role in their loy­ alty. Finally Dasius' c o m m a n d e r played his t r u m p . ' Y o u have s o m e time, if y o u w o u l d like to consider h o w y o u m i g h t b e able to live a m o n g u s — w i t h distinction.' 'I spit o n a n d detest those e m p e r o r s o f y o u r s a n d their h o n ­ ours.'

1 3 6

T h e legate extends the lure o f h o n o u r , it is refused, a n d D a s i u s

goes to his m a r t y r d o m , glorious in Christian eyes. A g a i n , parallels are n u m e r o u s . Soldiers w e r e n o t only c o n c e r n e d a b o u t each other's g o o d opinion, they w e r e devoted to earning that o f their superiors, a n d espe­ cially that o f the e m p e r o r . T h e hero o f the Batavian shore, w h o s e epitaph was offered a b o v e , w a n t e d eternity to k n o w a n d a d m i r e the fact that h e s w a m the D a n u b e u n d e r H a d r i a n ' s eye; the m i g h t y c a v a l r y m a n before Jerusalem did n o t dangle his captive before his c o m r a d e s , b u t before T i t u s , his general, w h o praised h i m . A n engineer o f the T h i r d L e g i o n set d o w n in stone for posterity the c o r r e s p o n d e n c e o f his superiors a b o u t his 1 3 5

T a c . Ann. 1. 4 6 - 7 , 'dissideat interim miles neque d u o r u m adulescentium n o n d u m adulta auctoritate comprimi queat. ire ipsum et opponere maiestatem imperatoriam debuisse cessuris ubi principem longa experientia eundemque severitatis et munificentiae s u m m u m vidissent ac ne postpositi contumelia incenderentur. at per filios pariter adiri maiestate salva, cui maior e longinquo reverentia resistentisque Germanico aut Druso posse a se mitigari vel infringi: quod aliud subsidium si imperatorem sprevissent?' Cf. 1 . 4 2 ; Hist. 1 . 1 9 ; and for holding imperial auctoritas in reserve, Hist. 1. 29. Musurillo (1972), 2 1 . 1 0 , OTTLOS SvvrjdcirjS £,r}v ixeff yixtov ev 86^7}. . . . rcov fiaoiActov aov Kal T-fjs 86%-qs avrcov KaraiTTVco Kal fiSeXvooofMai. 1 3 6

The Roman Army excellent w o r k .

1 3 7

259

O n 1 J u l y AD 128, H a d r i a n w a t c h e d manoeuvres o f that

s a m e legion in its c a m p at L a m b a e s i s in N o r t h Africa. T h e r e , u n d e r the blazing sun, he addressed to each unit o f the legion a n d their attached auxiliaries a c o m m e n t a r y o n h o w they h a d done: To the cavalry of the Sixth Cohort of Commagenians: it is difficult for the cohorts' cavalry to give satisfaction by themselves; it is even more difficult for them not to give dissatisfaction after the manoeuvres of the auxiliary cavalry: they [the auxiliaries] cover more ground, have more javelin-throwers, they wheel to the right in close array, they perform the Cantabrian manoeuvre in tight forma­ tion . . . None the less, you made us feel less oppressed by the heat by doing what needed to be done energetically.

138

T h i s speech survives because this passage a n d others (rather m o r e effu­ sive) a b o u t the p e r f o r m a n c e o f units a n d their officers, along w i t h further remarks later in the m o n t h a b o u t other units, w e r e p r o u d l y inscribed o n a c o l u m n - b a s e at the legionary c a m p . S u c h c o m m e n t a r y w a s referred to b y C a s s i u s D i o in his narrative as 'honouring' the soldiers, a n d it is clear that the soldiers a n d their officers w a n t e d everyone to k n o w that they h a d been thus h o n o u r e d .

1 3 9

A s W o l s e l e y w r o t e o f o n e o f the m e n w h o c o m ­

m a n d e d h i m w h e n he w a s a y o u n g officer, 'I w a s pleased b e y o n d m e a s u r e w i t h the kind expressions he used t o w a r d s m e — w h a t children w e all are, a n d h o w easily tickled b y a great m a n ' s praise! W h a t a lever it is for h i m to w o r k with w h o k n o w s h o w to use it d e f t l y ! '

140

In battle, soldiers fought better u n d e r the eyes o f their generals a n d emperors.

1 4 1

A t a crucial j u n c t u r e in the siege o f Jerusalem, T i t u s ' staff

forbade h i m to descend from his vantage p o i n t a n d join the fighting: it was t o o i m p o r t a n t to the m o r a l e o f the m e n that he b e seen w a t c h i n g t h e m , that he serve as agonothete, president o f the g a m e s . eral's eye inspired the troops with

philotimia, competition

1 4 2

T h e gen­

for h o n o u r .

1 4 3

T h e general's eye also inspired h o p e o f decorations for bravery, financial rewards, a n d p r o m o t i o n . After a battle, the general p a r a d e d his a r m y , a n d these w e r e a w a r d e d .

1 4 4

T h u s it w a s a wise innovation

of one

of

D o m i t i a n ' s generals to h a v e the n a m e s o f soldiers a n d their centurions written o n their shields, so that the identities o f those fighting well o r ill c o u l d be k n o w n ; a m u c h safer m e t h o d than that o f C o n s t a n t i u s ' soldiers

1 3 7

1 3 9

1 4 0

1 4 2

1 4 4

1 3 8

ILS 5795. Cf. Caes. BG 1 . 4 0 - 1 ; Pliny, Paneg. 15. 5. Small. Nerva 328. Dio 69. 9 . 3 , eri/Lia, with HA Hadr. 10. 2. Cf. Suet. Galba 6 . 3 . Wolseley (1903), i. 308. MacMullen (1984b), 451. Jos. BJ 6 . 1 3 2 - 5 , 1 4 2 , 1 4 6 . Plut. Otho 1 0 . 1 ; cf. Jos. B / 5 . 3 1 0 - 1 1 . Jos. BJ7. 5 - 1 5 with Maxfield (1981), 116. 1 4 1

1 4 3

The Roman Army

260

later, w h o fought w i t h o u t their helmets so that their faces c o u l d b e seen.

1 4 5

It is striking h o w soldiers' c o n c e r n for the praise o f their superiors shines t h r o u g h all military a w a r d s . Soldiers' gravestones regularly n a m e the e m p e r o r w h o gave a decoration. T h u s , for e x a m p l e , the gravestone o f M . Blossius P u d e n s , centurion o f the Fifth L e g i o n , notes that he w a s 'dec­ orated w i t h military decorations b y the e m p e r o r V e s p a s i a n A u g u s t u s ' .

1 4 6

T h e R o m a n military decorations o f the e m p i r e w e r e not m e r e l y i m p e r ­ sonal testimonies to bravery, a claim to the esteem o f one's c o m r a d e s ; rather, they signalled also that the e m p e r o r h a d himself h o n o u r e d the hero.

1 4 7

W h e n it is recorded o f another soldier that he w a s ' h o n o u r e d b y

the d i v i n e . . . A n t o n i n u s w i t h seventy-five t h o u s a n d sesterces a n d a grade o f p r o m o t i o n o n a c c o u n t o f the a r d o u r o f his c o u r a g e against the ene­ mies', it seems that p r o m o t i o n a n d cash grants c o u l d be v i e w e d in the same personal, honorific l i g h t .

1 4 8

Indeed, the e m p e r o r w h o granted a sol­

dier his p r o m o t i o n is s o m e t i m e s m e n t i o n e d o n the soldier's t o m b s t o n e just as w a s the e m p e r o r conferring a d e c o r a t i o n .

1 4 9

A n d if a soldier w a s

chosen b y a high official to assist h i m , his gravestone m i g h t p r o u d l y n a m e the officer in question. L u c c i u s S a b i n u s , w h o m w e m e t a b o v e , especially w a n t e d the reader o f his gravestone to learn that V a l e r i u s Asiaticus, twice consul in the early second century, chose, o u t o f all the soldiers in the U r b a n C o h o r t s , Luccius as his

150

beneficiarius.

Similarly, the 'honourable'

aspect o f an h o n o u r a b l e discharge c o m e s to life w h e n w e consider that the e m p e r o r w h o discharged the soldier w a s s o m e t i m e s n a m e d , a n d that a soldier c o u l d b e celebrated as a 'veteran h o n o u r e d w i t h retirement benefits'.

151

T h e civilian aristocracy's fastidiousness at being seen to serve

for p a y c o m e s at o n c e to m i n d as an explanation for such phrases, b u t it was h a r d l y decisive. T h i s w a s a paid, professional a r m y . T h e r e w a s n o s h a m e in obedience, n o s h a m e in taking m o n e y . O v e r s o m e h o n o u r s to soldiers the e m p e r o r s exercised that jealous m o n o p o l y w h i c h signals that they w e r e protecting s o m e t h i n g

they

d e e m e d an i m p o r t a n t part o f their p o w e r . W h e n J u n i u s Gallio p r o p o s e d 1 4 5

Names, Dio 6 7 . 1 0 . 1 ; cf. Veg. Mil. 2.18. Without helmets, A m m . Marc. 2 0 . 1 1 . 1 2 . ILS 2641. T h e usual Latin formula donatus donis is translated into Greek with forms o f rifidco: IGR i. 824, iii. 230,551; and in Latin honoratus {ILS 2696) is sometimes seen. F o r the personal quality o f decorations, cf. J. B. Campbell (1984), 200. ILS 7178, honoratus. Cf. Dio 5 8 . 1 8 . 2 ; Zos. 4 . 4 0 . 2. Honorific quality o f promotions, AE 1970.583 = Speidel (1970); ILS 2 0 8 0 , 2 2 1 3 , 2 6 6 6 . Above, n. 54. Cf. ILS 2 1 1 8 , 2 4 0 4 , 9 0 8 9 . Honesta missio, emperor named, e.g. ILS 2 1 8 0 - 1 , 2 3 1 3 . Veteranus commodis honoratus, A E 1 9 1 0 . 1 5 5 , with Speidel (1983b). 1 4 6

1 4 7

1 4 8

1 4 9

1 5 0

1 5 1

The Roman Army

261

that the veterans of the praetorian g u a r d b e permitted to sit a m o n g the

equites

at the theatre, he w a s savagely rebuked b y T i b e r i u s , a n d conse­

quently ejected f r o m the senate, exiled, a n d i m p r i s o n e d .

1 5 2

U n d e r the

e m p i r e the e m p e r o r a n d his relations c a m e to m o n o p o l i z e the giving o f military decorations, w h i c h w e r e m o s t generously a w a r d e d in c a m p a i g n s in w h i c h the e m p e r o r himself p a r t i c i p a t e d .

153

T h e y created a personal

b o n d , as between T i b e r i u s a n d his veterans: 'Is that y o u w e see,

torV

'I served w i t h y o u in A r m e n i a ,

imperator?

impera-

'I in Raetia.' 'I w a s d e c o ­

rated b y y o u in Vindelicia.' 'I in P a n n o n i a . ' 'I in G e r m a n y . '

1 5 4

It w a s

w h o l l y appropriate to cast decorations o n t o the funeral p y r e o f the e m p e r o r w h o granted t h e m , an h o n o u r in r e t u r n .

1 5 5

T h e b o n d h a d polit­

ical significance; it c o u l d n o t be allowed to develop between the soldiers a n d a n y o n e else. T h i s imperial anxiety leads us to l o o k for occasions w h e n the confer­ m e n t o f h o n o u r o n soldiers played its role in politics. It is striking that w h e n O t h o w a s rushed to the praetorian c a m p d u r i n g G a l b a ' s last h o u r s he 'stretched o u t a h a n d in affection to the c o m m o n soldier, t h r e w kisses, a n d [in T a c i t u s ' o p i n i o n ] acted the slave in every respect to b e c o m e the master'. Kisses, o f course, are an h o n o u r : this is h o w O t h o spent those crucial m o m e n t s — n o t , for e x a m p l e , h a n d i n g o u t the million sesterces w i t h w h i c h he h a d e q u i p p e d himself a few d a y s b e f o r e .

1 5 6

A n d if O t h o ' s

c o n d u c t is kept in m i n d , then that o f the h i g h - b o r n f o u r t h - c e n t u r y u s u r p e r P r o c o p i u s , a relation o f the late e m p e r o r Julian's, makes sense as well. F a c e d w i t h s o m e units o f his rival V a l e n s ' a r m y , he a p p r o a c h e d the enemy's bristling spears alone a n d picked o u t a soldier he recognized (or pretended t o ) , o n e Vitalianus. H e greeted h i m in a friendly w a y , t o o k h i m b y the h a n d , a n d kissed h i m . B o t h armies w e r e stunned. T h e n a few observations o n the loyalty oath a n d a c o m p a r i s o n o f V a l e n s ' base antecedents w i t h his o w n quickly b r o u g h t V a l e n s ' force over to his side.

1 5 7

P e r h a p s P r o c o p i u s t o o k a leaf o u t o f Julian's b o o k .

When

C o n s t a n t i u s sent for s o m e o f his W e s t e r n t r o o p s for an Eastern w a r , Julian m e t the unwilling soldiers outside P a r i s — a n h o n o u r — p r a i s e d those he k n e w , and, 'in o r d e r to treat w i t h greater h o n o u r those a b o u t to 1 5 2

Tac. Ann. 6 . 3 ; Dio 5 8 . 1 8 . 3 - 4 . Cf. HA Hadr. 23. 8. Maxfield (1981), 1 1 3 , 1 1 6 - 1 7 (with exceptions); J . B. Campbell (1984), 199-202. Suet. Aug. 2 5 . 3 notes that Augustus granted them 'sine ambitione ac saepe etiam caligatis\ imply­ ing that political advantage often played a role in their granting to officers. Vel. Pat. 2 . 1 0 4 . 4 . Dio 5 6 . 4 2 . 2. Tac. Hist. 1 . 3 6 , 'nec deerat Otho protendens manus adorare vulgum, iacere oscula et omnia serviliter pro dominatione'. Cf. Suet. Vit. 7 . 3 . HS 1,000,000, Suet. Otho 5. 2. A m m . Marc. 2 6 . 7 . 1 5 - 1 7 . 1 5 3

1 5 4

1 5 6

1 5 7

1 5 5

The Roman Army

262

g o far a w a y ' , h a d their officers to dinner. Before d a w n Julian a w o k e to the cries o f the soldiers acclaiming h i m e m p e r o r — t o his a m a z e m e n t a n d alarm, at least a c c o r d i n g to the official v e r s i o n .

1 5 8

In an earlier d a y even

addressing soldiers b y n a m e — p a r t o f the textbook condescension o f the 'good officer' a r c h e t y p e — c o u l d take o n a d a r k political significance, as a sinister p l a y for a l l e g i a n c e .

159

It w a s best, in troubled times, to a n n o u n c e

the a d o p t i o n o f an imperial heir to the praetorian g u a r d rather than the senate, for the h o n o u r m i g h t c o n f i r m their l o y a l t y .

1 6 0

O n e builds u p a

faction a m o n g soldiers, in short, 'with gifts a n d all kinds o f h o n o u r s ' .

1 6 1

E m p e r o r s also built loyalty a n d e n c o u r a g e d excellence b y h o n o u r i n g soldiers as units. T h e Fourteenth L e g i o n 'had particular fame, from h a v ­ ing suppressed the rebellion o f Britain; a n d N e r o a d d e d to its prestige b y singling its m e n o u t as his best.' T h u s it w a s especially loyal to N e r o , a n d that loyalty w a s inherited b y O t h o .

1 6 2

Just as e m p e r o r s profited cheaply

from the rivalries o f cities b y granting a n d confiscating civic titles, so the e m p e r o r granted p a r t o f his o w n n a m e to units that h a d d o n e well, in the s a m e w a y as a British regiment m i g h t b e invited to a d d ' T h e K i n g ' s O w n ' to its n a m e .

1 6 3

In the first a n d s e c o n d centuries such grants w e r e m a d e to

legions especially for political loyalty; that is, for loyalty in

contests

against usurpers rather than barbarians. T h u s , after the suppression o f the rebellion o f C a m i l l u s S c r i b o n i a n u s , C l a u d i u s n a m e d the Seventh a n d Eleventh legions

Claudia Pia Fidelis

( ' C l a u d i a n , loyal a n d t r u e ' ) .

1 6 4

Legions a n d auxiliary formations in L o w e r G e r m a n y w h i c h d i d n o t j o i n those in U p p e r G e r m a n y in S a t u r n i n u s ' revolt, b u t r e m a i n e d loyal to Domitian, became

165

Pia Fidelis Domitiana.

Besides imperial n a m e s , units c o u l d b e granted decorations just like soldiers. T h u s the heroic 1 5 8

Ala Siliana, a cavalry unit, bis torquata bis armil-

A m m . Marc. 2 0 . 4 . 1 2 - 1 4 , 'utque h o n o r a t i u s . . . tractaret\ A conspiracy seems highly likely, Bowersock (1978), 4 6 - 5 4 ; but see also Matthews (1989), 9 8 - 9 . Cf. Zos. 2 . 4 7 . 2 for din­ ing officers; and for the custom of honorific reception o f military units, 5 . 7 . 5 . Archetype, Pliny, Paneg. 1 5 . 5 ; HA Sev. Alex. 21.7. As politics, Tac. Ann. 4. 2; Hist. 1 . 2 3 . Tac. Hist. 1 . 1 7 , 'honorificum id militibus fore*. Herod. 6. 8. 3, TravroSanais r i / x a i ? tpK€ubaaTO. Tac. Hist. 2 . 1 1 , 'et praecipui fama quartadecumani, rebellione Britanniae compressa. addiderat gloriam Nero eligendo ut potissimos, unde longa illis erga Neronem fides et erecta in O t h o n e m studia'. Cf. Ann. 1. 25. Maxfield (1981), 2 3 3 - 4 ; J- B. Campbell (1984X 9 0 - 3 ; cf. esp. 'Ala Aug(usta) o[b] virtut(em) appel(lata)\ RIB 893. But sometimes such names signify n o m o r e than when the unit was raised, Holder (1980), 1 4 - 1 8 . Dio 55. 2 3 . 4 , 6 0 . 1 5 . 4. Saturninus, Ritterling (1893); Holder (1980), 3 7 - 8 . Also, for speculations about cog­ nomina given for Batavian revolt, Holder (1980), 1 7 , 3 3 , 3 6 , 3 9 , 4 5 ; for a revolt between AD 185 and 187, Fitz (1983), 31; J. B. Campbell (1984), 90. 1 5 9

1 6 0

1 6 1

1 6 2

1 6 3

1 6 4

1 6 5

The Roman Army lata, w a s decorated

263

w i t h torques a n d a r m - r i n g s t w i c e .

1 6 6

U n i t s c o u l d also

b e given tides other than imperial names: 'strong', 'lucky', ' M a r s ' ' , 'vic­ tor', 'immovable', 'unconquered', a n d 'swift', recapitulating m a n y o f the qualities h o n o u r a b l e in the military context, all granted, n o d o u b t , for h e r o i s m in w a r .

1 6 7

B u t other tides w e r e granted for political loyalty: 'loyal

a n d true', seen above, w a s widespread, also granted (for e x a m p l e ) b y Septimius Severus for s u p p o r t against C l o d i u s A l b i n u s ; o r 'sure a n d steadfast',

granted for s u p p o r t i n g M a r c u s A u r e l i u s against A v i d i u s

Cassius; o r 'loyal avenger', granted b y Severus against N i g e r .

1 6 8

B y the early third century, in a process parallel to the inflation o f city titles, the granting o f imperial n a m e s to military units h a d r u n out o f c o n ­ trol. After a few years o f an emperor's reign, the great m a j o r i t y o f units possessed them. Severus A l e x a n d e r elaborated the system b y granting t w o different imperial epithets to units: a formation m i g h t b e or

Alexandriana, o r b o t h .

1 6 9

Severiana,

Imperial n a m e s w e r e b e c o m i n g so c o m m o n

they w e r e n o longer a distinction. S o it is h a r d l y surprising that the a r m y o f the fourth century h a d an explicit system o f precedence for military units, just as it h a d o n e for dignitaries: it shares the The Western

Notitia helpfully

Notitia Dignitatum.

lists units o f the field a r m y u n d e r their

regional c o m m a n d e r s . A s a consequence it is k n o w n that, in the Italian a r m y , the F e r o c i o u s M o o r i s h H o r s e o u t r a n k e d the Steadfast J u n i o r Valentinian H o r s e , b u t w e r e o u t r a n k e d b y the A l a n C o m p a n i o n s . B u t w h a t if the F e r o c i o u s should be transferred to Gaul? T h e n , another table informs us, a m o n g the cavalry they will o u t r a n k the L u c k y C o n s t a n t i n i a n H o r s e , b u t b e outranked b y the Senior H o n o r i a n H o r s e . 1 6 6

1 7 0

N o doubt

Ala Siliana, AE 1930. 92. F o r these decorations, Holder (1980), 3 5 - 7 ; Maxfield (1981), 2 1 8 - 2 6 . One-time block grants o f citizenship were also given as a reward t o auxiliary units, signified by the addition o f C(ivium) R(omanorum) to the unit's titles, Holder (1980), 3 0 - 5 ; Maxfield (1981), 2 2 7 - 3 2 ; and the title might last a long time, although the citizenship was only conferred o n members o f the unit at granting. Fortisy ILS iii, p. 449; felix, pp. 449,451,454; Martia, p. 458; victrix, pp. 453,458-60; firmay pp. 458,463. For invicta and velox, Holder (1980), 39-40. In general, Maxfield (1981), 233. Pia fidelis, Ritterling (1924-5), 1314, cf. 1660,1755; for auxiliary units, Holder (1980), 3 7 - 9 (perhaps not always given for political loyalty, CIL xvi. 160). Also, plain fidelis. Holder (1980), 40; ILS 1076; fida, CIL xvi. 43; plain pia, ILS iii, p. 452. Certa constans, Ritterling (1924-5), 1708; pia vindex, Ritterling (1924-5), 1312; ILS iii, pp. 4 4 3 , 4 5 0 . Fitz (1983), 1 1 - 2 6 ; for rate o f granting, p. 12; for speculations o n circumstances o f granting, pp. 278-81; Severus Alexander, pp. 1 2 4 - 4 0 . C o m m o d u s m a y have intended the same policy, Dio 72(731,). 15. 2. Comparing Not. Dig. Oc. 7 . 1 6 3 - 5 (the distributio numerorum, o r precedence list by location) with O c . 6. 6 0 - 2 (precedence list o f cavalry units in the West under the magister equitum praesentalisr, there is a similar list for infantry). F o r this aspect o f the Notitia, see esp. A. H . M . Jones (1964), 1 4 1 8 - 1 9 , 1 4 2 1 - 3 . Precedence surely existed in earlier centuries too. H o w else to organize a parade? 1 6 7

1 6 8

1 6 9

1 7 0

The Roman Army

264

there w e r e delightful anomalies a n d curiosities: in the British a r m y regi­ mental precedence is based o n seniority o f entrance o n t o the English establishment (seniority seems to h a v e been i m p o r t a n t in the R o m a n system t o o ) , a n d thus the Life G u a r d s c o m e first, followed b y the Blues and Royals. B u t as the result o f s o m e nineteenth-century sleight o f h a n d , the R o y a l H o r s e Artillery rides first o n p a r a d e w h e n they are p a r a d i n g with their guns; otherwise they c o m e third. A s a r e w a r d for its heroism at W a t e r l o o the Rifle B r i g a d e (then the 95th F o o t , w i t h l o w rank, as its high n u m b e r indicates) w a s taken off the o r d e r o f precedence entirely, placed 'to the left o f the l i n e \ T h u s w h i l e it m i g h t seem to a crass observer that the R o y a l G r e e n Jackets (into w h i c h the Rifle B r i g a d e has been a m a l g a ­ m a t e d ) always m a r c h last o f the cavalry a n d infantry, they w o u l d insist that they are m a r c h i n g parallel to the other regiments, in a line all their own.

1 7 1

We

m u s t i m a g i n e the e m p e r o r o r his marshals similarly using the

precedence system to h o n o u r units for b r a v e r y a n d political loyalty; o r to punish t h e m , humiliating t h e m b y d e m o t i o n , for displaying the opposite qualities—just as a legion fighting the natives in S p a i n u n d e r A g r i p p a w a s o n c e d i s h o n o u r e d for defeat b y being deprived o f its title ' A u g u s t a n ' .

1 7 2

A s Julian's dressing c o w a r d l y troops as w o m e n hints, in the a r m y , just as in civilian life, p u n i s h i n g individuals a n d units h a d a large element o f s h a m e to it. H u m i l i a t i n g inadequate soldiers b y feeding t h e m o n barley rather than w h e a t w a s an old c u s t o m , a n d Suetonius describes A u g u s t u s p u n i s h i n g negligent

centurions 'with v a r i o u s ignominies',

ordering

them, for e x a m p l e , to stand all d a y before his tent holding clods o f earth.

1 7 3

Building u p a military faction m i g h t involve r e m o v i n g m a r k s o f

disgrace f r o m one's soldiers: such m a r k s , w h a t e v e r their nature, m u s t have been v e r y n u m e r o u s .

1 7 4

B u t such humiliations w e r e best a d m i n i s ­

tered carefully. Perceived insults to units c o u l d h a v e t r e m e n d o u s politi­ cal

consequences. A n a r m y ' s h o n o u r e n c o m p a s s e d its c o m m a n d e r :

Galba's insult to V e r g i n i u s R u f u s c o u l d b e i m a g i n e d as o n e o f the reasons w h y V e r g i n i u s ' legions s u p p o r t e d V i t e l l i u s .

175

T a c i t u s , as w e h a v e seen,

expected T i b e r i u s to b r o o d a b o u t the m u t i n o u s legions o f G e r m a n y a n d

1 7 1

Ascoli (1983), 68-92: the continuing process o f regimental amalgamation m a y alter some o f the details. Diocletian and Maximian's making the Ioviani and Herculiani first in precedence 'pro merito virtues' (Veg. Mil. 1 . 1 7 ) is still reflected in Not. Dig. Oc. 5 . 1 4 5 - 6 , 7. 3 - 4 . F o r demotion, A m m . Marc. 2 9 . 5 . 20. Cf. Elton (1996), 9 4 - 5 . Agrippa, Dio 5 4 . 1 1 . 5 , drifjitoaas. Suet. Aug. 2 4 . 2 , 'variis ignominiis' (cf. Veg. Mil. 1 . 1 3 for barley). Tac. Hist. 1 . 5 2 ; Suet. Vit. 8 . 1 ; Herod. 6. 8. 8. Plut. Galba 2 2 . 1 . 1 7 2

1 7 3

1 7 4

1 7 5

The Roman Army

265

P a n n o n i a : the m u t i n y m i g h t w o r s e n if he insulted o n e b y g o i n g first to the o t h e r .

1 7 6

CONCLUSION A m o d e r n soldier transported to a R o m a n c a m p w o u l d find m u c h famil­ iar in the ethos o f the m e n there: their fierce p r i d e in p e r s o n a n d unit, the subtle m i n g l i n g o f discipline as enforced a n d discipline as felt. B u t the paralysing s h a m e that s o m e t i m e s g r i p p e d soldiers, a n d their ferocious competitiveness, m i g h t strike h i m as o d d , a n d h e w o u l d n o t feel c o m ­ pelled to j o i n in, say, the m a s s suicide o f O t h o ' s soldiers, undertaken at o n c e o u t o f affection for their e m p e r o r a n d at the s a m e t i m e as a bizarre contest for h o n o u r .

1 7 7

A R o m a n aristocrat, b y contrast, transported to a R o m a n c a m p — a usual event, since such m e n c o m m a n d e d the a r m y — w o u l d h a v e f o u n d those qualities familiar a n d w o u l d naturally rely u p o n t h e m in c o m ­ m a n d i n g t r o o p s in peace a n d w a r . O t h e r things t o o w o u l d h a v e r e m i n d e d h i m o f h o n o u r at h o m e : the r o u n d o f

salutationes

in the m o r n i n g , the

statues a n d h o n o u r s for officers a n d g o v e r n o r s raised b y soldiers, units, a n d veterans; h o n o u r s for the e m p e r o r a n d the imperial cult ( p r o b a b l y a larger part o f military life than civilian); the t e n d e n c y o f soldiers to b r e a k into a c c l a m a t i o n s just as if they w e r e the

plebs o f

a town.

1 7 8

Familiar also

w a s the appeal to soldiers' political loyalty t h r o u g h h o n o u r a n d s h a m e : that w a s a c o n v e n t i o n a l w a y R o m a n imperial politics w o r k e d . Striking, b y contrast, h o w o p e n other, p r o b a b l y m o r e i m p o r t a n t , spurs to loyalty were: bribes, p a y , a n d p u n i s h m e n t s , w h i c h w e r e so often d e c e n d y h i d d e n beneath the rhetoric o f h o n o u r a m o n g civilian aristocrats. F o r the m a k e ­ up

o f soldiers' h o n o u r — w h a t w a s h o n o u r a b l e , w h a t s h a m e f u l — w a s

strange, a n d strange t o o w e r e the d e g r a d i n g things an officer h a d to d o to gain the respect a n d h o n o u r o f his troops. T h e tenor o f military h o n o u r w a s also strange: h a r d - e d g e d , u n c o m p r o m i s i n g , cruel. M o s t striking o f all w a s soldiers' pride in obedience to orders, a n obedience w h i c h slavery p l a c e d u n d e r a stigma a m o n g the civilian aristocracy, a n d w h i c h h a d thus w r a p p e d a b o u t itself a stifling c o c o o n o f e u p h e m i s m ,

politesse,

and eva­

sion in civilian life. T h e a r m y w a s a different w o r l d o f h o n o u r — o n e o f c o u n d e s s different w o r l d s in the e m p i r e , w h e r e standards o f h o n o u r c o u l d v a r y so m u c h between social classes, votaries o f religions, even 1 7 6

1 7 7

Above, n. 135. Above, n. 98. H o n o u r s , ILS 1070, 2733, 2738; imperial cult, Fishwick ( 1 9 8 7 - 9 2 ) , 593-608; acclama­ tion, Plut. Galba 1 8 . 4 ; CTh 7. 20. 2 (320 o r 326); HA Diad. 1. 6 - 8 (fictional). 1 7 8

The Roman Army

266

professional g r o u p s — a n d o n e w h e r e the values o f the c o m m o n soldiers w e r e uneasily d o m i n a n t o v e r those o f the aristocracy. Soldiers h a d to b e met o n their terms; if an officer w a s to w i n the devotion o f his troops, he h a d to s h o w s o m e o f the quality o f a M a x i m i n u s T h r a x , the soldiers' emperor. A t the same time, the h o n o u r o f a r m y a n d aristocracy t o u c h e d at m a n y points. T h e soldiers liked a 'proper officer', o n e o f suitably lofty extrac­ tion. T h e G r a e c o - R o m a n aristocracy w a s a fighting nobility in origin, the heirs o f D i o m e d e s a n d C a m i l l u s , a n d martial achievement, h o w e v e r m u c h they m i g h t s h u d d e r at its rigours, never lost its glory a m o n g them. A m a j o r source o f information a b o u t the R o m a n a r m y is the inscribed civic h o n o u r s o f f o r m e r officers, w h e r e their p u r e l y military a c c o m p l i s h ­ ments, their postings, their decorations, even the fact that an equestrian officer 'slew V a l a o , chief o f the Naristi, w i t h his o w n h a n d ' are lovingly recorded.

1 7 9

S u c h deeds b r o u g h t h o n o u r in the empire's senate houses as

well as in the c a m p s . Indeed, the a r m y w a s a b r o a d avenue o f social mobility into the civic aristocracy: retired chief centurions,

primipilares,

took u p in municipalities positions appropriate to their equestrian status a n d the six h u n d r e d t h o u s a n d sesterces they received o n retirement. Little disgrace seems to h a v e attached to the fact that m a n y such m e n started as c o m m o n soldiers, recruits f r o m the depths o f society. S o m e o f their sons even b e c a m e R o m a n senators; others h a d equestrian careers (as indeed h a d s o m e o f their fathers after b e c o m i n g

primipilares).

great m a n y sons chose to s p e n d their o w n lives in the a r m y .

1 8 0

But a

T h u s the

R o m a n a r m y w a s n o t just a r o a d into the civilian ruling class: it w a s its o w n w o r l d , w i t h its o w n intense satisfactions, its o w n singular code, its own honour. 1 7 9

Valao, AE 1 9 5 6 . 1 2 4 . D o b s o n (1970), (1978); but Cassius Dio (52. 25. 6 - 7 ) did n o t want former rankers themselves in the senate. 1 8 0

6 Agamemnon's Empire

ACCORDING

to Synesius, the peasants o f N o r t h A f r i c a t h o u g h t that

A g a m e m n o n ruled the R o m a n e m p i r e . T h i s w a s a strangely w i s e mistake. F o r just as the values o f G r e e k s a n d R o m a n s o f the e m p i r e recalled in m a n y w a y s the values o f the warlike aristocracies from w h i c h they arose, so t o o did rulership a l w a y s h a v e a H o m e r i c strain to it. H o n o u r defined the H o m e r i c king's position: a k i n g m i g h t say, 'Be king equally w i t h m e , take half m y h o n o u r /

1

T h e king w a s distinguished b y his right to receive

2

the greatest h o n o u r . A n d o f m o r t a l m e n he h a d the greatest p o w e r o v e r the distribution o f h o n o u r s a n d disgraces. W h e n Achilles w i t h d r a w s from the fighting, he cries out to the H i g h K i n g A g a m e m n o n , ' Y o u will tear apart y o u r heart in self-reproach, that y o u did n o h o n o u r to the best 3

o f the A c h a e a n s . ' In C a e s a r A u g u s t u s there w a s a great deal o f M u s s o l i n i , b u t there w a s s o m e t h i n g o f A g a m e m n o n as well. T h e eye o f h o n o u r is n o t like the jeweller's eye, w h i c h sees w h a t others d o n o t o n l y w h e n it looks into the depths o f a d i a m o n d . It is m o r e like the general's eye, forever rendering the natural w o r l d into terrain, resdessly s w e e p i n g the landscape for c o v e r a n d enfilade even in retirement. In the R o m a n w o r l d the eye o f h o n o u r s a w h o n o u r w h e r e v e r it l o o k e d — i n m e n , in institutions, in things; it s a w a w o r l d w h e r e all h u m a n affairs a n d interactions breathed w i t h g l o r y a n d disgrace. H o n o u r w a s an alle m b r a c i n g o u d o o k b y w h i c h , incidentally, the w h o l e business o f g o v e r n ­ m e n t — o f ruling, being ruled, a n d ruling the r u l e r s — c o u l d b e c o n c e i v e d , a w a y o f talking a n d thinking as compelling, a m p l e , a n d inclusive as o u r familiar m o d e r n rhetoric o f p o w e r . The

significance o f h o n o u r in g o v e r n m e n t extends from the m o s t

ruthless f o r m o f psychological c o e r c i o n to the m o s t trivial f o r m o f polite­ ness. A great deal c o u l d b e d o n e d i r e c d y w i t h h o n o u r b y relying o n a n d exploiting the n o r m s o f a society w h i c h felt its call strongly. W e h a v e 1

Horn. II 9. 616,

2

II 1. 2 7 8 - 9 , 1 2 . 3 1 0 - 2 1 ; Od. 1 . 3 9 3 . II 1. 2 4 3 - 4 ; cf. 1 . 4 1 2 , 9 . 6 2 , 1 3 . 4 6 1 ; and see McGlew (1989).

3

Ti/uij,

with 6 . 1 9 3 ; cf. 2 0 . 1 8 0 - 1 .

268

Agamemnon's Empire

emphasized three m e c h a n i s m s , c o n j u r i n g engines o u t o f the silent, u n s p o k e n r h y t h m s o f ancient life: the selling o f praise o r extortion b y the threat o f blame; deference, reverence o r respect; a n d gratitude, the reci­ procity o f favours. P o w e r f u l in civil society, in the context o f g o v e r n m e n t these m e t h o d s buttressed other f o r m s o f p o w e r wielded b y persons in authority. E m p e r o r s , officials, a n d officers used the lure o f h o n o u r a n d the threat o f disgrace to control those they ruled o v e r o r c o m m a n d e d . T h e y t o o k advantage also o f the fact that spirited parochial l o y a l t y — c i v i c loyalty in the civilian w o r l d , unit loyalty in the a r m y — m a n i f e s t e d itself as v i g o r o u s c o n c e r n for the h o n o u r w h i c h the ancient m i n d invested in cities a n d legions. T h u s cities a n d legions t o o c o u l d b e h o n o u r e d a n d dis­ h o n o u r e d b y their rulers, a n d since their citizens a n d soldiers felt a n intense anxiety a b o u t their h o n o u r , a b o u t their place in relation to their hated rivals, a wise g o v e r n m e n t c o u l d use their particularistic devotion as a basis o f political p o w e r . T h e rulers profited also from the fact that G r e e k s a n d R o m a n s w e r e b r o u g h t u p to revere a n d o b e y high h o n o u r , to v i e w favours as objects o f strict reciprocity, a n d to feel s h a m e at departure from these unwritten laws. T o stress the significance o f gratitude—the basis o f p a t r o n a g e — t o R o m a n g o v e r n m e n t is hardly unusual: its i m p o r t a n c e has been w i d e l y accepted for half a century. I n these pages the goal has been to set rela­ tions o f gratitude in their p r o p e r c o n t e x t — i n a w i d e r w o r l d o f h o n o u r based f o r m s o f influence. F o r rulers benefited from the fact that b y virtue o f their h o n o u r a n d p o w e r they w e r e well placed to subvert the rules that all h a d learned as children. B y virtue o f h o n o u r all m e n w e r e n o t equally vulnerable to disgrace; in inflicting d i s h o n o u r n o t all m e n w e r e equally strong. B y virtue o f strength s o m e c o u l d c o m p e l others to h o n o u r t h e m a n d n o t d i s h o n o u r them. E m p e r o r s a n d g o v e r n o r s participated in the s a m e culture o f h o n o u r as their subjects. It w a s natural, therefore, that rulers should seek h o n o u r , fear disgrace, a n d p u n i s h those w h o insulted them. It w a s natural t o o that they should revere h o n o u r a b l e m e n a n d cities, a n d that they t o o should automatically d o favours for those w h o d i d favours for t h e m . T h o s e , m o r e o v e r , w h o s e rule relied in part o n the n o r m s o f the h o n o u r culture w e r e in n o position t o secede from it. T h e loyalty o f the rulers to the laws o f h o n o u r allowed a n increasing n u m b e r o f subjects to get the better o f their governors; it helped great cities to a degree o f control even o v e r the e m p e r o r . H o n o u r spoke to w h a t otherwise m i g h t h a v e been a deaf d e s p o ­ tism, softened an austere a n d inflexible autocracy, a n d p r o v i d e d subjects with a w a y — h o w e v e r i m p e r f e c t — o f ruling those w h o w e r e set t o rule

Agamemnon's Empire

269

them. T h u s it played its role in creating consent to R o m a n authority, especially in those h o n o u r a b l e m e n w h o g o v e r n e d the cities o f the e m p i r e , a n d u p o n w h o m the e m p e r o r a n d his officials relied. W h i l e h o n o u r w a s o n e o f b u t a few strands o f H o m e r i c rulership, it w a s o n e o f m a n y u n d e r the empire. Y e t it gained w i d e r significance because it w a s a venerable a n d exceedingly respectable strand. F o r m u c h o f the p o w e r in the e m p i r e w a s n o t respectable: a t y r a n n y ruled b y , a n d ruling over, m e n w h o felt that a stigma attached to obedience a n d p a y w a s a t y r a n n y in w h i c h the

arcana imperii

w e r e likely to r e m a i n arcane.

H o n o u r played its role in hiding the terrible realities o f p o w e r , greed, slavish obedience, a n d fear, crafting 'the pleasing illusions w h i c h m a d e p o w e r g e n d e a n d obedience liberal, w h i c h h a r m o n i z e d the

different

shades o f life, a n d w h i c h , b y a b l a n d assimilation, incorporated into p o l ­ itics

the

sentiments

which

beautify

and

soften

private

society'.

4

S o m e t i m e s this c o n c e a l m e n t w a s conscious: the letter to a threatened g o v e r n o r alluding to a subject's distinction in rhetoric as g r o u n d s for granting a f a v o u r is sent to offer a pretext, n o t a reason. T h e b a n n e r o f h o n o u r w h i c h covered Caracalla's exile o f his political enemies unhealthy p r o v i n c e s as g o v e r n o r s w a s a

ruse de guerre as

to

well. B u t such

c o n c e a l m e n t w a s also u n c o n s c i o u s , almost instinctive. F o r although o n l y one f o r m o f p o w e r a m o n g m a n y , h o n o u r w a s a fundamental w a y o f thinking a n d talking a b o u t all f o r m s o f p o w e r . In his R o m a n oration, A e l i u s Aristides offers a rather m o d e r n vision o f h o w the R o m a n a r m y w a s organized. You begin with one man, who presides over and supervises everything, provinces, cities, camps, and the generals themselves, and you end up with one man who commands four, or two—I've left out all the ranks in between—and just as the spinning of yarn always proceeds from more to fewer strands, thus, the ranking of soldiers one over another proceeds to its end. In this w o o l - s p i n n i n g m e t a p h o r w e see the lines o f a m o d e r n table o f m i l ­ itary organization, a structure w e recognize. Aristides is trying to describe a hierarchy o f strict obedience to constituted authority. Y e t in the s a m e description, he casually describes the military superior as e v n / x o r e p o s , 5

'the m o r e h o n o u r a b l e o n e ' . G i v e n the p o i n t Aristides is trying to m a k e , this seems strikingly inappropriate to us, b u t it will never h a v e seemed so to a G r e e k o r a R o m a n . T h e y naturally d r e w o n h o n o u r ' s lexicon to describe all relations o f authority.

4

Burke (1955 (1790)), 87.

5

Aristid. 26. 8 7 - 8 (Behr; trans, adapted from Behr).

Agamemnon's Empire

270

J o s e p h u s too reveals the process o f scabbing o v e r other, w o u n d i n g , p o w e r relations w i t h the rhetoric o f h o n o u r . Caligula c o m m a n d e d Petronius, the g o v e r n o r o f Syria, to install the emperor's statue in the temple at Jerusalem, b y force if necessary. E x t r a v a g a n t demonstrations b y the J e w s , to w h o m this w a s the m o s t atrocious sacrilege, persuaded Petronius to disobey the e m p e r o r . Y e t , as J o s e p h u s tells it, before the g o v ­ ernor w a s p e r s u a d e d to disobey he explained his g r i m d u t y to the J e w s ( w h o h a d protested that the plan violated their L a w ) : 'It is necessary for m e to cleave to the l a w o f m y master; if I contravene it, a n d spare y o u , I will b e e x e c u t e d — a n d justly. A n d then he w h o sent m e , rather than I, will 6

m a k e w a r u p o n y o u , for like y o u I a m u n d e r o r d e r s . ' A rare, honest description o f a governor's relationship w i t h the e m p e r o r , w e think, a n d 7

echoed in J o s e p h u s ' description o f the s a m e events in a later w o r k . B u t o n another occasion in that later w o r k , J o s e p h u s h a d Petronius describe his motives differently. 'It is right', said the g o v e r n o r , 'that he w h o has obtained so great an h o n o u r [from the e m p e r o r ] b y a p p o i n t m e n t [as 8

g o v e r n o r ] should d o nothing against h i m . ' H e r e the m a g n i t u d e o f the h o n o u r granted defines the degree o f obedience o w e d : obedience f r o m fear a n d respect for authority in the first passage is converted into obedi­ ence as a function o f reciprocity for h o n o u r . T h e r e is n o artifice here: w i t h o u t noticing, Petronius, J o s ep h u s , o r his informant, has quietly m a d e the insensible change o f category that countless thousands o f the empire's inhabitants m a d e every day. H o n o u r as a w a y o f thinking a n d talking o v e r w h e l m e d w h a t seems to us distant, a n d unrelated, conceptual territories like an

intellectual

k u d z u , m a s k i n g b u t not c h a n g i n g the reality o f harsh p o w e r relations. H o n o u r , w h e t h e r used consciously o r unconsciously, served to muffle the shouting o f orders, the jingle o f coins, a n d the screams o f the tor­ tured. V i e w i n g the w o r l d in h o n o u r terms m a d e ruling the e m p i r e eas­ ier a n d m a d e living in it, a n d o b e y i n g it, m o r e tolerable. A n iron t y r a n n y seemed to give w a y to a golden c o m m o n w e a l t h o f h o n o u r a b l e persons a n d cities. Gilt, w e think; b u t the m i r a g e w a s c o n n i v e d in b y rulers a n d ruled alike. It w a s o n e o f the conspiracies o f the imagination w i t h o u t w h i c h rulership, a n y rulership, c a n n o t long endure. W e c a n hardly guess w h a t p r o f o u n d needs are served b y o u r o w n c o n s p i r a c y to imagine those w h o rule us as 'the state', o r 'the g o v ernm e nt'. T o m a k e t h e m seem impartial, just, o r merely distant? T o absolve ourselves

6

Jos. BJ 2 . 1 9 5 .

8

Ibid. 18. 279, rifirjs roaavr-qs eirirerevxoTa.

7

Jos. AJ18. 265; cf. 304.

from

Agamemnon's Empire

271

responsibility for o u r elected rulers' actions? It w a s alien to the R o m a n m i n d to i m a g i n e those w h o ruled t h e m as 'the state'. T h e y preferred to live instead in a glittering i m a g i n e d e m p i r e all their o w n , an e m p i r e o f honour.

APPENDIX

The Latin and Greek Lexicon of Honour

B O T H Latin and Greek articulated the cognitive realm we call honour with a rich and allusive vocabulary. Where honour terms are translated in the text of this book, the originals are usually given in the notes. Here the purpose is to describe how the meanings of some of the more common Latin and Greek honour words relate to each other, differ from one another, and, especially, to show that, what­ ever their connotations, they aim at a common concept. They are a family of words as similar in their relationship to each other as are evil, wickedness, bad­ ness, villainy, vice, and all the other words by which English articulates its broad realm of moral depravity. The Latin and Greek terms are none of them full syn­ onyms, identical in denotation and connotation; moreover, many of them are used—some more commonly—in environments (neglected here) wholly outside that of honour.

86ga

can mean no more than an opinion,

claritas

can refer to

brightness of colour; but there is a milieu—very roughly that of honour, in English—where the fields of the words' significance overlap. Instances of the words being used interchangeably are offered to establish commonality of sense, as are definitions in the scholastic and lexicographical traditions (which mix ancient and medieval scholarship). Modern authors are adduced, some of whom make cases from repeated pleonastic usage and from context. The treatment here is summary and impressionistic, although literature is cited for those who wish more detail. But the reader should be warned against the corporate vice of schol­ arship in this area, that of drawing over-nice distinctions. The meaning of words is a sloppy business. A project like this is much easier with languages still spoken: see Bourdieu ( 1 9 6 6 : 2 0 9 ) , for an analysis of the vocabulary of honour in modern Algeria.

LATIN Latin honour words show two roughly parallel axes of differentiation: the social standing of those to whom they are ascribed, that is, the size of the accumulation of honour they signify, and their place in what we might call the process of hon­ our. Honour words appropriate to all classes of Romans tend to be marked by the

Appendix

273

source of the honour; words describing the honour of great Romans frequently connote not only the fact of honour but its effects, the power honour exerts in society. For the words discussed see generally TLL s.w., especially the rubric

adposita et synonyma for similarities of meaning between words, and particularly gloria, essential for the whole topic; also Hellegouarc'h (1963),

Knoche's entry for

valuable but fond of distinctions finer than the evidence warrants. Latin words which are regularly used to describe honour across the social spec­ trum are marked, to a greater or lesser degree, by the origin of the honour they describe. First, there are words which imply the thing or deed which will be per­ ceived as honourable, words whose meaning stretches from a specific quantum of honour conveyed to honour as a quality that invests an individual. Thus

gloria

(OLD 'praise or honour accorded to persons . . . by general consent, glory'; see Knoche (1934); Philipp (1955); and esp. Drexler (1962)), with its lingering martial flavour, refers to the quality of honour as it invests an individual, but it is also possible to speak of a

gloria, that is 'an action,

etc. that brings glory, distinction',

a victory in battle, for example, or 'a person or object that brings glory, ornament'

(OLD). The possession or accomplishment of a gloria, in the one sense, confers gloria, in the other. Working in the same way, but weighting the source more and the resulting quality less, is decus (OLD 'high esteem, honour, glory, a particular source of honour, an ornament') which can be used interchangeably with gloria, Cic. ad Fam. 1 0 . 1 2 . 5; ad Att. 13. 28. 2; CGL iv. 2 2 5 . 1 4 (and see Piscitelli Carpino (1979), 261 n. 52). In the sense of a claim to honour a

Hist. 2.

2 4 , 3 . 60).

Decus can be

glossed

(CGL

decus can create gloria (Tac.

iv. 4 3 7 . 1 5 ) as 'ornamentum digni­

tatis'. Next, there are words which go a step further towards the origin of honour, stressing its publicly attributed quality. Both reputation')

and fama (OLD

laus (OLD

'praise, esteem, renown,

'news, public opinion, good name, glory, renown')

signify the way honour comes to exist, by praise and public reputation (indeed, in this sense, jama can mean 'ill-repute'). Thus

gloria can come into being from laus and fama: 'gloria est frequens de aliquo fama cum laude' (Cic. Inv. 2.166; cf. lPhil. 29). Like decus, they also signify a claim to such praise (laus, 'a cause of praise, praiseworthy thing, act, or quality' OLD,« decus, CGL v. 285. 22; fama (more rarely) 'a source or object of fame' OLD), and finally the quality of being

laus and fama are close to gloria in meaning, and, as Hellegouarc'h (1963: 375) observes, often used as syn­ onyms: fama ~ gloria, Pliny, NH 14. 48-9 (both applied to freedmen); Juv. 7. 79-81; Tac. Ann. 12. 28; Hist. 4. 6. Laus « gloria, Cic. Off. 1 . 1 1 6 ; Livy 38. 58. 7, and see Harris ( 1 9 7 9 : 1 7 - 1 8 ) . Extremely similar to fama is existimatio (OLD 'opinion, praised or well spoken of that results. In this context

public opinion, reputation', and see Hellegouarc'h (1963), 364), which can be

Rhet. Her. 4 . 1 4 , Cic. ad Fam. 1 3 . 7 3 . 2 ; Yavetz (1974), Div. Caec. 71; Yavetz (1974), 51. Broadest of all is honos or honor (OLD 'high esteem, honour, an honour, pub­ lic office'; see Klose (1933) and the superior Drexler (1988 (1961)). Honoris glossed used interchangeably with it,

48-9; and with other honour terms, Cic.

Appendix

274 as gloria,

decus, or laus, CGL iv. 412.29. It can be used interchangeably with gloria

(Hellegouarc'h (1963), 386) to refer generally to the quality of honour a man has

(« gloria,

Cic.

Sul 83; Tac. Dial.

12. 5-6), and, like

decus (CGL iv. 52. 21), to

to any claim to honour ('a thing which confers honour or

OLD;« gloria in

this sense, Cic.

Mux.

distinction

refer >

12). But it often points at a specific thing

that gives one a claim to honour: public office. Like

jama

and

laus,

it extends

further to encompass a way in which honour comes to be, but it alludes not to generalized reputation, but to a specific act of honouring, that is, 'a particular mark of esteem,

an honour' (OLD, thus the common verbal form honoro). In this gloria, Hellegouarc'h (1963: 387). Finally, it describes a

sense it, too, can create

man's attitude towards another, his honorific disposition which inspires acts of honouring (below, p. 276). The Latin honour words which can be applied to men of all conditions thus stretch from the quality which invests the individual who has honour to the state of mind of the other individual who initiates the process that creates that quality. T o the Roman mind

gloria shines (Philipp (1955), 56). As we direct our eyes up

the social order to where there is much of it, it shines very brighdy indeed. Thus there are words describing large quantities of honour—the honour of great

claritasl claritudo clarus and praeclarus. A s Seneca (Ep.

men—which rely upon the shining metaphor. C o m m o n are

(OLD 'brightness, distinction,

fame') with

102.17, adapting a Greek truism, see p. 277 below) suggests, its difference from

gloria is

social: 'gloria multorum iudiciis constat, claritas bonorum\ Sharing in

the metaphor are

splendor (OLD 'brightness, glory') with splendidus, and illustris

(OLD 'bright, shining, distinguished, famous'). These words can extend as far as

decus does into the sources of honour: claritas can be 'a particular distinction' (OLD), and splendor is used in this sense, but not usually further: as honour waxes it leaves its origins behind. Borrowed from the physical realm, these words are used very commonly outside the realm of honour. But as honour words they

gloria (Cic. Sen. 8) and laus (Sen. Ep. 102. clarus and illustris create gloria and jama in turn (Pliny,

express a quality that can be created by 9) and things which are

Ep. 6. 29. 3). They are used synonymously with honour words discussed above:

claritas/claritudo « gloria, Sail. Cat. 3. 1-2; Jug. 1. 3-2. 4; Pliny, NH 34. 5; splen­ dor « decus, Val. Max. 6. 9.13; Tac. Hist. 1. 84; and appearing pleonastically with gloria, Hellegouarc'h (1963:459). Illustris « laus, Cic. Rep. 3.5-6; Tac. Ann. 4 . 2 6 ; « inclutus, nobilis, gloriosus, CGL iv. 350. 49. Also appropriate to those with a great deal of honour are the abstract noun and adjective made from honor, honestas (OLD 'tide to respect, honourableness, honour, moral rectitude, integrity') and

honestus (OLD 'regarded with honour or respect, of high rank, morally worthy of respect'). Both have a moral flavour, hinting at moral excellence as a source of honour. Finally, there are abstract nouns, appropriate to high personages, which imply not merely the possession of honour, but its effectiveness in society. In the first sense

dignitas (OLD

'worthiness, excellence, rank, office, esteem, honour'; see

Appendix

275

Wegehaupt (1932); Drexler (1966 (1944)); Garnsey (1970), 224-5; Piscitelli Carpino (1979); and Veyne (1990), 205-6) is used synonymously with other hon­

existimatio, ad Fam. honos, cf. CGL iv. 525. 4;

our words. Hellegouarc'h (1963:400) notices a kinship in meaning to

jama, laus, and gloria (cf.

Piscitelli Carpino (1979), 256; and see esp. Cic.

dignitas with decus, CGL iv. 52. 21. Dignitas extends back into the sources of honour to signify a claim to honour, and, like honos, can refer specifically to office as the 11. 5. 3). Piscitelli Carpino (1979: 257) links also «

source of that claim. But in its sense of 'worthiness' it extends in the opposite direction to imply the attraction for favours, honours, and all good things that honour confers (Hellegouarc'h (1963), 397-8). Men can thus be moved into action by the

dignitas of others,

Cic.

Sex. Rose. 4.

A very great quantity of honour can also be described as

auctoritas (OLD 'influ­

ence, authority, prestige, esteem, repute'), upon which there is a large literature as a consequence of its appearance in Augustus'

Res Gestae,

34: see especially

Heinze (i960 (1925)); Grant (1946), 443-5, for literature; and Magdelain (1947).

Gloria can create it, Cic. ad Fam. 12.14.7; and it can be used synonymously with ~ gloria, Cic. Deiot. 1 2 ; « honor, Aul. Gel. 7.14. 3. Piscitelli Carpino (1979: 259-60) stresses the similarity of auctoritas to dignitas in Cicero's other honour terms:

usage; cf. Balsdon (i960), 44-5; Caes. BG 7. 30; CGL iv. 312. 3. It has an even stronger positive force than

dignitas, stressing

not merely the right to receive by

virtue of honour, but the right to command (Hellegouarc'h (1963), 300-1). Thus Cicero (ad Fam. 16. 9. 4 ) urges his freedman amanuensis to take ship with Mescinius; or 'si minus, cum honesto aliquo homine, cuius auctoritate navicularius moveatur'. That is, he should travel with a man who possesses honour in

vir honestus, who will be able to use his honour in the active auctoritas, on the ship owner. This sense of a right to command can harden such a degree as to take auctoritas right out of the realm of honour (by our

the passive sense, a sense, to

lights), and into that of legal authority or undifferentiated power: OLD 'right or power to authorize or sanction', '(of laws, etc.) force, authority', '(of magistrates, etc.) authority, command', and further, 'right of ownership, tide', or even 'an informal decree of the senate'. Or perhaps these non-honour meanings were prior and

auctoritas came to be naturalized into the vocabulary of honour. maiestas (OLD 'the dignity of a god or exalted person­

The acme of honour is

age, majesty, grandeur'; see Kiibler (1928), 542-4; Drexler (1956); Gundel (1963); Hellegouarc'h (1963), 314, who notes its relationship to

maior; one

might render

it 'greaterness'). So vast is the honour it conveys that it is regularly used to refer to the prestige of gods and political entities: 'maiestas est amplitudo ac dignitas civitatis', as Cicero defines it

(de Orat.

2.164). Thus, to offend against the

maies­

tas of the Roman people is to commit treason, and the word has a long life in that

Maiestas arose from the union Honor and Reverentia, Fasti 23-6. Maiestas is closely related to honour words: « honor, Val. Max. 2.10. p r ; « gloria, CGL iv. 605.3, v. 298. 4 4 ; « claritas, Livy 5.14. 2-5; Val. Max. 2.10. 6. Its similarity to dignitas is noticed by Drexler (1956), 196; context (Bauman (1967), (1974)). T o Ovid's mind, of

Appendix

276

auctori­ maiestas is even maiestas can be imagined

Hellegouarc'h (1963), 317 n. 7; and Piscitelli Carpino (1979), 259 n. 35; to

tas,

by Hellegouarc'h (1963), 315. The power of an individual's

greater than that of

auctoritas: one obeys auctoritas, but

to exert almost physical force (Drexler (1956), 197; and e.g. Livy 9.10. 7); it seizes people, or stuns them, into or out of action. Thus like

maiestas shades

auctoritas the

meaning of

out of our realm of honour, here into our realms of undifferen­

tiated power, greatness, and holiness (see Bauman (1967), 1-15).

Dignitas, auctoritas,

and

maiestas all demand

a response: 'dignitas est alicuius

honesta et cultu et honore et verecundia digna auctoritas', Cic. Inv. 2. 166.

Reverentia, veneratio (Drexler (1956:197)) and verecundia (see also Livy 24.44.10) honor (see also Val. Max. 2.1. 6). W e have

are all appropriate emotions, and so is

come full circle. A view directed upwards through the social ranks follows the process of honour from honour's sources to honour's results, one of which is to inspire

honor in the sense of a disposition to honour, the meaning of honor which

extends furthest back into the origins of honour. W e should note also that the dif­ ferentiation of Latin honour words by social standing is relative to the position of the observer: while we almost always see the words used in aristocratic authors, and thus according to aristocratic standards, in the context of a humble burial society a rich freedman, a very grand person to the members, could have

maies­

tas (ILS 7889). But certainly Cicero and his friends would never describe the hon­ our of a freedman in such terms.

GREEK The entire circuit of the process of honour is encompassed in a single Greek word, the overwhelmingly common Tipr\ (LSJ 'worship, esteem, honour, dignity, pre­ sent of honour'; and see esp. Greindl (1938), 56-82; Alexiou (1995), 4 0 - 7 ) . Not marked for the status of its possessor, T I / A ^ extends all the way from the feeling that an individual has that inspires him to honour another, to honour conveyed (thus rtjLtaco), to a claim to honour, especially a political or religious office, to honour as a quality investing an individual, to the worthiness for honours and favours that honour bestows upon its possessor and which inspires Tirf first sense. And in its sense as 'worthiness', appropriate emotions,

alSws

TI/UTJ

in the

elicits from those around it other

(LSJ 'reverence, awe, respect, shame, sense of hon­

our') and its cognates, and at fas (LSJ 'reverential awe, reverence, worship, hon­ our') and its cognates, on which see Cairns (1993: esp. 13,95-103,137,207-14,432). This sense of T I / L ^ also allows it to be used as the Greek word for 'price'. Common related words are rifiios (LSJ 'held in honour, worthy, conferring honour, hon­ ourable') and evrifios (LSJ 'in honour, honoured'). TifXTj has the widest meaning of all ancient honour words; it describes honour in nearly all its aspects and at all social levels. Like Latin words, other Greek hon­ our words are differentiated by status and their place in the process of honour, occupying only a portion of n ^ ' s range; but unlike in Latin the axes of process

Appendix

277

and social status are not approximately parallel. Greek words which imply the results of honour will be considered first, then those that imply its causes. Some of the range of

TIJJLTJ

is shared by d f ia>/Lia (LSJ 'that of which one is

thought worthy, an honour, honour and reputation, rank, position'; and esp. Steinkopf (i937)> 94-5)> with a meaning extending from a claim to honour ( « TI/Z77, Dio 52. 20.3; and, like TI/ITJ, being a usual word for an office) to honour as it invests an individual, to the right to deference by virtue of honour. It is appropriate to high personages. Also for great persons and implying results is GC/JLVOTTJS

(LSJ 'solemnity, dignity*) with aeixvos (LSJ 'august, stately, majestic').

Thus Photius S.V. aefxvov « fieya ev8o£ov, d f tco/xan/cdi>, virepriyavov. Cognate to oifias (see above), aefivos has a strong religious flavour, but used as an honour word on the human level (e.g. D . Chr. 31.138; Plut.

de Frat. Amore 491b)

it fades

off into physical description of a dignified carriage, and in a bad sense can describe a pompous and haughty aspect. N o less grand, although extending in the opposite direction towards the sources of honour, is KXios (LSJ 'rumour, report, fame, glory'; see esp. Greindl (1938), 5-30; and see Venske (1938:3-4) for its aristocratic connotations), extend­ ing from the origins of honour in report and discussion, to a claim to honour, to the quality that invests an individual. In the latter two cases its sense is frequently close to that of T1/X17, Greindl (1938: 9 6 - 7 ) . O f the Homeric honour words which survived in classical prose (KVSOS,

LSJ 'glory, renown' remained poetic), KXCOS

maintained the strongest links to its past, and has a distinct heroic savour. Related are evKXeia (LSJ 'good repute, glory') and evKXetjs (LSJ 'of good report, famous'). The second-century A D lexicographer Pollux (and his later interpolators) offers a storm of approximate synonyms for

KAE'OZ, Sofa,

KAC'OS.

v inaivos'

KXCOS 8i

t

6 napd

rwv

airovhaiwv

(Ammon. Diff. s.v. Sofa). These words signify the public perception in which honour is rooted, Sofa in thoughts and opinions,

^/LITJ,

like

KAC'OS,

in speech, and

in this sense one can have bad /cAeos, Sofa, or 50; Alexiou (1995)* 22-4) with the very common XayLirpos (LSJ 'bright, well-known, illustrious') which, in the superlative, becomes the Greek translation for

clarissimus,

the imperial senator's rank of honour. Visual

metaphors also give rise to imcpavrjs (LSJ 'coming to light, manifest, conspicuous, famous, renowned';« imorjuosy Hesychius s.v.) with Trtpupavris

(LSJ 'conspicu­

ous', 'famous'). 7T€pitpdv€ia » Xainrporrjs, S o f a , Hesychius s.v. 7T€picpdv€ia. Finally, 7T€pipX€7TTos (LSJ 'looked at from all sides, admired of all observers').

G R E E K AND L A T I N Where occasionally Latin is translated into Greek, or vice versa, the relationship

auctoritas was rendered by Res Gestae (34.3). Plutarch glossed the Latin honor with T I / X T ? (Quaest. Rom. 2661); and in an imperial decree (IKEph. i. 43. 2) 'hon-

of one word to another is illuminated. Famously, d$i(x)fia in Augustus' and S o f a

orem Asiae ac totius provinci[a]e dignitatem' is translated as T€i/*i)i> Kal

TTJS

Aalas

oXrjs rrjs €Trapxt>as TO df tojita (line 15). In the school texts for teaching the

other language to schoolboys the following equivalences can be found (listed in the order in which they are discussed above):

gloria ~ S o f a , Kavxw (CGL ii. 34. 26) gloriosus« evKXe-qs (CGL iii. 372.76) decus « S o f a , KoapiOSy evTrpiireia (CGL ii. 39.11) fama « Impietas in Principem (Munich). BEHR, C . A. (1968), Aelius Aristides and the Sacred Tales (Amsterdam). BERGER, A. (1914), 'Illustris', RE ix/i: 1070-85. Aristocracy,

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INDEX

Ablabius, Flavius 2 3 2 n. acclamations 7 6 , 8 6 - 7 , 9 0 , 170, 1 7 4 , 2 6 5 o f e m p e r o r 114 n., 1 2 0 , 1 6 1 o f imperial officials 1 4 6 , 1 9 5 , 1 9 7 , 1 9 9 Achaea, province o f 6 2 , 1 0 5 , 2 0 5 Achilles 3 2 , 2 6 7 Acraephia 163 Actium 166 actors 9 6 , 9 8 - 1 0 0 actuarii 2 3 0 n. admissionales 2 3 0 n. adoration o f the purple 1 3 5 - 6 , 2 2 9 n. adulatio 113 adultery, Augustan legislation 4 2 n. Adventus, M. Oclatinius 188 aedile, office o f 183 Aelius Aristides, see Aristides, Aelius Aeneas 109 Aezani 1 6 8 , 2 1 8 Affanius, Quintianus 13 A g a m e m n o n 14, 2 6 7 agentes in rebus 6, 2 3 0 n., 2 3 3 Agricola, Cn. Julius 1 0 8 , 1 1 0 , 1 1 2 n., 159, 214 Agrippa I, king 2 0 8 Agrippa II, king 4 , 18, 2 1 0 Agrippa, M. Vipsanius 8 2 , 2 0 8 , 2 6 4 Agrippa Postumus 113 Agrippina the younger 1 3 , 1 2 0 , 1 4 3 Ahenobarbus, L. Domitius ( R E no. 2 7 ) 4 7 Ahenobarbus, L. Domitius (RE no. 2 8 ) 180 AlaSiliana 2 6 2 Albinus, D. Clodius 1 2 8 , 2 4 4 , 2 6 3 Alexandria 4, 7 5 n., 148 n., 2 5 1 and emperors 1 1 0 , 1 2 4 , 1 3 8 , 1 5 5 - 6 , 162,172,173 insults by 7 9 , 1 2 4 , 1 7 3 , 2 0 8 p o g r o m at 196 Algeria 2 7 2 Ambrose, St 139 amicitia 6 7 n. A m m i a n u s Marcellinus 16, 3 9 , 1 2 6 , 2 3 8 on imperial officials 2 2 , 2 3 , 1 7 9 , 189-90, 226

Anazarbos 172 Andronicus 2 3 3 Antinoopolis 153 Antinous 10 Antioch 5 , 4 4 , 9 6 , 136, 1 6 6 , 197, 2 0 9 , 2 1 0 , 219-20 and emperors 1 2 4 , 1 3 8 , 1 4 1 A n t i o c h u s I I I 109 Antistius Sosianus 143 Antium 1 4 4 Antoninus Pius, e m p e r o r 7 7 , 1 5 3 , 1 6 5 , 2 0 5 honours from 1 3 2 , 1 4 8 , 1 8 1 , 2 0 3 Antonius, M . (RE no. 2 8 ) 3 4 Antonius, Vedius 148 Antony, M a r k (Antonius, M . triumvir) 5 3 , 119 n., 2 1 9 , 2 5 1 Apamea 1 3 6 Aphrodisias 9 9 , 154, 157, 1 6 9 Apolaustus, Ulpius 9 9 Apollinaris, grandfather o f Sidonius Apollinaris 9 4 Apollinaris, Sidonius 9 4 , 140, 190 Apollonian parasites 101 Apollonius o f Tyana 7 , 1 5 , 131 Apuleius 103 Aquileia 8 2 Arcadius, e m p e r o r 150, 2 2 6 Archippus, Flavius 132 n. Areopagus 7 4 Argos 77 Aristides, Aelius 1 2 5 , 2 0 7 , 2 2 8 , 2 3 0 on R o m a n government 5, 7 , 2 6 9 struggle for immunity 2 0 2 - 3 , 2 0 5 , 2 0 6 , 2 0 9 , 2 1 2 - 1 3 , 221,222, 223 aristocrats: bearing, d e m e a n o u r 3 7 , 4 2 and Christian h o n o u r 9 4 - 5 codes o f c o n d u c t 3 8 their conception o f h o n o u r influential 9 0 , 9 2 , 9 5 , 1 0 0 - 3 , 105 defined 3 7 on freedmen 9 8 honour of 3 1 - 4 7 see also h o n o u r

304 Index aristocrats (cont): on the honourless 9 6 literary culture o f 3 8 , 6 2 manners 3 8 - 9 on obedience 2 0 - 1 , 2 3 , 2 6 9 otium 2 3 2 on pay 2 0 , 1 5 4 , 1 7 7 , 2 6 9 on performers and gladiators 9 8 - 1 0 0 and precedence 2 2 6 - 7 role in imperial government 129 in R o m a n a r m y 1 2 9 , 2 4 0 - 3 , 2 6 5 on slaves 2 0 , 9 6 their behaviour, views, widely known 3 6 , 4 8 n. see also notables, civic army, British 2 4 2 - 3 , 2 4 9 - 5 0 , 2 6 2 , 2 6 4 army, R o m a n barbarization o f 1 8 9 function in government 4 - 5 , 2 3 7 garrisons 4 recruits for 6 n . sacralized c o m m u n i t y 2 5 3 sense o f c o m m u n i t y 2 3 8 - 4 3 size o f 3 supplied on the m a r c h 127 see also soldiers, R o m a n Arpinum 5 6 Arsenius 2 2 7 art and architecture, imperial 1 1 , 1 1 2 Artemidorus 71 Artemidorus o f Daldis 3 3 - 4 Asia, province o f 4 , 1 0 5 , 1 9 5 , 2 0 8 , 2 1 0 Asiaticus, Valerius (RE no. 1 0 6 ) 110 n. Asiaticus, Valerius (RE no. 1 0 8 ) 2 4 6 , 2 6 0 assembly, provincial, see provincial council assizes, o f governors 1 5 1 , 1 9 3 associations, see collegia Asterius 194 Atella 8 4 Athanasius, St 138 Athenius 140 Athens 3 2 , 138, 1 9 5 character o f 7 4 , 7 5 n., 81 schooldays at 2 0 9 , 2 1 8 athletes 4 3 , 9 8 n . o f Christ 9 2 - 3 auctoritas 6 1 - 2 , 7 5 , 1 2 9 , 131, 2 5 8 , 2 7 5 and gratia 6 3 n., 2 0 4 n. Aufidius,T. 2 0 8 Augustalesr. imperial cult 1 0 1 - 2 , 1 6 6 shorthand writers 2 2 6 Augustamnica 179

Augustus, e m p e r o r 1 1 , 6 9 , 1 0 7 , 1 8 9 , 2 5 4 auctoritas of 129, 1 3 0 - 1 honours others 5 4 , 1 3 3 , 2 0 8 and imperial cult 1 0 , 1 6 1 , 1 6 4 , 169 and imperial office 182 insults and dishonours others 119 n., 139, 140, 2 6 4 limits h o n o u r s o f others 1 1 2 , 1 9 6 protects his h o n o u r 1 1 6 , 1 1 8 and reciprocal favours 1 2 6 , 1 5 4 - 5 , 1 5 8 , 256 Augustus, tide 163 Aurelian 111 n. Auspex, A. Pollienus 5 6 autobiography, imperial 116 Baetica, province o f 105 Balbinus, e m p e r o r 111 n. Balbinus M a x i m u s , L. Valerius Publicola 186 Balbus, L. Cornelius 112 n. Barca 1 4 0 - 1 Bassus 5 7 Batavian revolt 2 4 8 , 2 4 9 , 2 5 0 , 2 6 2 n. Batavians 2 4 5 , 2 5 0 beast o f Revelation 1 4 - 1 5 Bedriacum 2 5 2 benefactors: to collegia 1 0 0 - 1 t o provincial councils 1 0 4 public, to cities 8 4 - 9 civic finance, role in 8 5 continuity o f ethos o f 8 5 deference and 8 7 - 8 emperors as 151 from fear 8 8 , 1 0 6 h o n o u r and 8 6 - 7 imperial freedmen as 102 imperial officials as 199, 2 0 9 from patriotism 8 8 priests o f imperial cult as 166 reciprocity and 8 7 from religious feeling 8 8 ruin o f 8 5 w o m e n as 8 5 beneficium 6 3 - 4 , 1 4 9 - 5 2 , 1 5 4 - 5 , 1 8 5 , 2 1 0 , 2 5 6 n. Beroea 2 1 9 - 2 0 bishops: appointment of, in 5th-cent. Gaul 190 as dignitaries 9 5 h o n o u r o f 9 3 , 9 5 , 181 praise and blame by 5 7

Index 3 0 5 Bithynia 104 n., 149, 2 0 7 , 2 1 4 Blaesus, Q. Junius 112 n. Bocchoris 83 Boethius 182 boni 41 Bourges 190 bread and circuses 123 bribery, see corruption Britain, province o f 1 0 8 , 1 1 6 , 2 1 4 , 2 4 2 , 2 6 2 Brooklyn 8 8 brothel-keepers 9 6 Brundisium 9 5 , 1 6 6 Bubon 1 3 7 - 8 Burke, E d m u n d 2 6 , 2 6 9 Byzantium 1 5 2 - 3 Caecilia 4 5 Caecina Alienus, A. 192 Caesar, C. Julius 144 and civil war 3 4 - 5 , 5 0 dishonours and insults by 6 0 , 2 1 9 Salluston 4 0 and soldiers 2 3 8 , 2 3 9 , 2 5 4 Caldus, C. Coelius 1 8 8 , 2 2 2 - 3 Caligula, e m p e r o r 142 assassination o f 1 3 , 1 3 9 dinner with 133 on honours from the senate 1 1 3 - 4 and imperial cult 1 6 0 , 1 6 3 , 164, 168, 169 and the Jews 1 6 4 , 2 0 8 , 2 7 0 prevents insults to himself 1 1 8 , 1 2 2 - 3 and reciprocal favours 1 2 6 , 1 2 7 , 159, 163 Canusium 2 2 8 n. Capito, C. Aetius 5 4 Capitoline festival 140 Capri 5 2 , 107, 1 4 1 , 142 Caracalla, e m p e r o r 1 3 0 , 1 3 1 n., 151, 168, 254 assassination o f 1 3 , 2 5 6 boons from 1 2 1 , 1 5 4 , 1 5 5 , 2 6 9 reaction to insults 122, 124 scorn for aristocratic opinion 173 Carthage 4, 9 5 , 1 0 3 Cassius, C. Avidius 119, 141, 2 6 3 Cassius Dio 5 0 , 1 2 4 , 2 3 8 n., 2 5 9 on civic rivalry 1 3 8 - 9 on coerced h o n o u r 5 2 - 3 , 1 1 3 - 1 4 on imperial benefactions 155 on imperial cult 10, 168 n., 1 6 9 - 7 0 on imperial h o n o u r 117 on insincere h o n o u r s to e m p e r o r 115

on maiestas prosecutions 1 1 8 - 9 on the military oath 2 5 3 on military officers 2 4 2 , 2 6 6 n. thinks distinguished m e n dangerous t o emperors 111 on Tiberius and Sejanus 1 4 1 - 2 , 1 4 5 on tribunicia potestas 118 Catiline (L. Sergius Catilina) 5 0 , 57, 6 0 C a t o , M. Porcius (the censor) 4 6 - 7 C a t o , M. Porcius (the younger) 4 5 , 4 7 , 5 9 , 143, 144, 182 Salluston 4 0 Celer, Q. Caecilius Metellus 7 2 - 3 Celerinus, L. Postumius Felix 8 7 - 8 Celestiacus 9 4 Cenchreae 107 centurion 2 4 7 ceremonial, imperial 1 1 , 1 3 5 , 1 3 9 Cethegus, C. Cornelius 6 0 Chaerea, Cassius 13 Charles II 10 Chastagnol, A. 2 2 8 Chaucicus, P. Gabinius Secundus 112 n. Cherbourg 2 4 5 chivalry 2 7 Christians, see h o n o u r o f Christians Cicero, M. Tullius 2 9 , 5 6 , 2 3 0 on his brother 4 5 , 192 and Coelius Caldus 1 8 8 , 2 2 2 - 3 on duty t o officials 23 on famine relief 2 0 7 on imitation 4 7 on Mark Antony 53 on obedience to h o n o u r 6 0 vs. Q. Metellus Celer 7 2 - 3 on reciprocal favours 6 3 n., 6 4 , 6 8 , 71 onVatinius 47 on vengeance 51 Cicero, Q. Tullius 4 5 , 192, 2 1 0 Cilicia, province o f 105, 172, 2 1 9 Cicero in 1 8 8 , 2 1 7 , 2 2 2 titles o f cities in 138 n. Cirta 2 2 9 n. citharodes 9 8 n. cities: anthropomorphized 8 0 borrow honour 1 0 3 - 4 , 1 4 8 - 9 , 2 1 7 - 1 8 and e m p e r o r 1 2 0 - 5 , 1 2 6 - 7 , 1 2 8 , 1 3 6 - 9 , 140-1, 151-3, 154-7 financial arrangements o f 8 5 honour of 7 4 - 7 conferred on cities by individuals' honours 7 9 - 8 0

306 Index cities (cont): h o n o u r (cont): deference to 8 1 - 2 patriotism and 8 9 reciprocity o f favours grounded in 8 3 rivalry for, see rivalry for h o n o u r similarity t o h u m a n h o n o u r 7 4 , 7 5 , 78 see also deference, reciprocity and h o n o u r o f inhabitants 3 6 honourable qualities, accomplishments, possessions, o f 7 4 accomplishments o f individual inhabitants 7 5 - 6 civic origins 7 4 festivals 7 4 , 1 7 1 n. geographical advantages 7 4 manners 7 5 m o r a l reputation 7 4 - 5 patrons 8 4 population 7 4 revenues 7 4 size 7 4 structures 7 4 subject cities 7 4 h o n o u r s from 7 8 - 9 acclamations 7 8 , 8 6 , 9 0 , 1 6 1 , 195; see also acclamations banquets 7 9 n. borrowed 1 0 4 , 1 4 8 buildings (for e m p e r o r ) 156 citizenship 7 8 coins 7 9 n., 161 crowns 7 8 , 8 6 divine, t o officials 195 n. embassies, appointment to 7 8 , 8 1 embassies, honorific 161 escorting 7 8 , 9 1 , 1 9 4 n. extortion of, by officials 196 funerary 7 9 t o governors, regulated 196 Greek, reception o f in R o m e 7 8 honorific dress 8 6 imperial cult 1 6 1 - 2 ; altar 1 6 0 , 1 6 3 , 166; banquets 1 6 0 , 1 6 6 ; cult statues 164; distributions 166; games 1 6 0 , 1 6 6 , 1 7 1 - 2 ; holidays 1 6 1 , 1 6 2 , 1 6 5 ; priesthoods 162; processions 1 6 0 , 1 7 0 - 1 ; sacred groves 162; sacrifices 1 6 0 , 1 6 1 , 168; temples 1 6 0 , 1 6 2 , 1 6 8 , 1 7 1 - 2 inscriptions 7 8 invitation, decrees o f 81 n.

meals at public expense 7 9 n. months, honorific 161 office, h o n o r a r y appointment to 161 ornamenta o f offices 2 1 , 1 0 1 patron, appointment as 8 3 portrait plaque 7 9 n., 81 proclamations 7 8 , 1 6 1 reception o f visitors 7 9 n., 1 6 1 , 1 9 4 seats o f h o n o u r (proedria) 8 6 , 7 8 speeches 7 8 , 1 5 6 , 1 9 4 - 5 ; see also panegyric statues 7 7 - 9 , 8 1 , 8 7 , 9 1 , 102, 157, 1 6 1 , 1 6 2 , 1 6 3 , 1 9 5 , 1 9 8 - 9 , 2 1 1 ; see also statues testimonial decrees 7 8 , 1 9 6 , 1 9 8 tides 7 8 , 9 1 , 1 7 4 tribes, honorifically n a m e d 162 see also h o n o u r , as influence and imperial cult 1 6 1 - 2 , 1 6 3 - 4 , 1 6 5 , 167, 1 6 8 - 9 , 1 7 0 - 3 and imperial government 6 , 1 2 9 , 2 0 2 and imperial officials 1 9 4 - 2 0 0 , 2 0 4 - 5 , 210-11,213,214,218-20 insult by: chanting 7 6 , 7 9 , 1 2 1 , 1 9 7 destruction o f honours 7 9 , 1 9 8 insolent reception o f visitors 7 9 m o b violence, considered as 7 9 , 1 9 8 m o c k funeral 7 9 see also dishonour, as influence legal status o f 1 5 1 - 2 ranking of, in provinces 7 6 , 1 4 1 , 1 7 0 - 1 , 214,219 see also patriotism citizenship: honorific grants o f 7 8 , 8 1 , 1 4 9 - 5 0 R o m a n 7 8 n., 8 9 , 1 4 9 - 5 0 , 1 5 1 , 1 5 4 , 1 5 5 , 202 Civilis, C. Julius 8 4 clarissimus vir 4 4 , 184, 2 2 4 , 2 2 6 - 7 , 2 2 8 - 9 , 231,242 Claudius, e m p e r o r 109, 111 n., 118 n., 120, 185 accession o f 2 5 4 , 2 5 5 and Alexandria 1 6 2 , 1 7 2 eccentric behaviour o f 117 his freedmen 2 1 , 5 8 n., 2 4 2 gratitude t o 155 n., 1 5 9 invasion o f Britain 116 protects his h o n o u r 123 clients 12, 7 2 , 1 0 6 , 128 in a r m y 2 5 6 cities as 8 3 - 4 , 8 7 , 2 1 1

Index 307 contribute to patron's h o n o u r 3 6 , 6 6 , 112,156 definition o f 6 6 - 7 provinces as 105 see also patronage clubs, see collegia Cluvius,C. 8 4 codicils, o f h o n o r a r y rank 2 2 5 , 2 2 7 , 2 2 9 c o g n o m e n , honorific 112 coinage: civic honours on 7 4 , 1 7 1 civic origins on 7 4 civic rank on 7 6 as h o n o u r to individuals 7 9 n., 161 imperial face on 19 imperial pronouncements on 1 0 - 1 1 , 116 right t o mint 152, 1 5 3 , 1 7 0 collegia 9 7 - 8 , 1 0 0 - 1 , 1 0 4 , 1 2 5 n., 149 n. h o n o u r s from 9 7 - 8 , 1 0 0 , 1 0 4 , 1 6 2 Cologne 8 4 colonia, city status 152 comes 2 2 7 , 2 3 4 commilitones 2 5 3 Commodus, emperor 1 1 0 , 1 2 5 , 1 3 7 , 1 6 8 , 253-4 as gladiator 9 8 - 9 , 1 2 4 , 1 6 5 , 1 8 2 Comnianus, Badius 2 1 5 C o m u m 103 conscience 41 Constantine, e m p e r o r 117 n., 121 n., 123 n., 125 generous distribution o f honours 2 2 7 recruits a m o b for Constantinople 120 Constantinople 9 6 , 1 2 0 , 2 2 6 Constantius II, e m p e r o r 117 n., 138 and Gallus Caesar 2 5 7 and Julian 1 2 , 1 1 9 n . , 1 5 7 - 8 on rank o f military officers 2 2 , 2 2 6 andSilvanus 1 2 6 and Ursicinus 135 consularis 2 2 4 n., 2 2 8 , 231 consulship 1 1 2 , 1 5 0 - 1 , 1 8 3 - 4 , 1 8 7 contumacia 2 0 6 n. contumelia 5 0 see also insult Corbulo, Cn. Domitius 1 0 7 , 1 1 0 n., 126, 251 Corellius Rufus, Q. 185 Corinth 7 7 cornicularius 229 n., 2 3 4 corruption 1 7 6 , 1 7 7 , 188, 2 0 1 , 2 1 2 , 2 1 4 Cossutianus Capito 145

CottianAlps 228 Crassus, M . Licinius 3 9 Cremona 251 Crescens, Atilius 5 6 Crete 197 criminals 9 6 Crispus, Q. Vibius 53 crown gold 130 Ctesiphon 115 Cuicul 2 2 9 n. Cumae 219 curialeSy see decurions Cyprian 9 3 Cyrene 1 4 0 - 1 Cyrrhus 141 Cyzicus 1 6 3 , 1 6 5 Dacia 2 0 8 n. Dasius, martyr 2 5 5 , 2 5 7 , 2 5 8 Decebalus 2 4 4 Decius, e m p e r o r 172 decorations, military 2 4 3 , 2 4 4 , 2 5 5 , 2 6 0 - 1 , 262-3 decurions 9 5 n., 9 8 , 1 0 1 , 2 0 0 , 2 0 2 n., 2 3 2 , 246 gain h o n o r a r y rank 2 3 0 - 1 , 2 3 4 deference 5 9 - 6 3 , 7 2 - 3 , 1 0 6 to age 5 9 to cities 8 1 - 2 by cities to m e n 81 comprehends obedience 6 0 - 1 to emperor 1 2 9 , 1 3 0 - 1 by e m p e r o r to cities 125 by e m p e r o r to m e n 1 2 5 - 6 by e m p e r o r to the senate 148 t o husbands 5 9 t o imperial officials 2 0 7 - 9 between imperial officials 2 2 2 - 3 see also reverence by imperial officials to cities 2 0 4 - 5 by imperial officials to m e n 2 0 3 - 4 , 2 0 5 , 230-1,233-4 to offices 183 t o parents 5 9 role in appointment t o office 1 8 6 - 8 role in imperial cult 1 6 3 - 5 , 166 by soldiers 2 5 7 - 8 delators 1 4 5 , 147 Delphi 195 Diadumenianus, Caesar 121 Didius Julianus, e m p e r o r 1 n., 2 5 6 - 7 c o n t e m p t for 122 dignitas 7 2 , 1 7 6 , 2 7 4 - 5

308 Index dinners: dishonour in 5 0 , 6 0 , 6 1 , 140 as h o n o u r 4 9 - 5 0 , 7 9 n., 9 7 - 8 , 1 3 3 , 137, 216-7, 262 imperial 133, 137, 1 4 0 , 2 6 2 o f imperial cult 1 6 0 , 1 6 6 o f officials 2 1 6 - 7 Dio Cassius, see Cassius Dio Dio Chrysostom 7 , 3 0 , 3 8 and Alexandria 1 5 5 - 6 on philotimia 3 5 and Prusa 8 2 , 8 4 on Tarsus'snorting 7 5 Diocletian, e m p e r o r 1 5 0 , 2 4 3 and the adoration o f the purple 135 excludes senators from government 189 Diomedes 1 9 1 , 2 6 6 disaster relief, imperial 1 1 6 , 1 3 1 , 1 5 1 , 152 discipline, military 2 4 3 , 2 4 7 - 9 , 2 5 2 , 2 5 3 and h o n o u r 2 4 8 dishonour: causes of: accepting favours 6 9 bad conduct in office 1 9 2 - 3 clientship 6 6 , 1 2 8 c o n d e m n a t i o n by senate 147 conviction in c o u r t 1 4 6 - 7 failure o f deference 6 1 , 1 8 8 , 2 0 4 flogging 2 2 0 ingratitude 6 8 , 7 1 - 2 , 8 3 , 1 2 6 obscurity 3 7 opinion o f c o m m u n i t y 51 perception o f weakness 5 1 , 6 9 n., 142 slave o r freedman status 3 6 violating aristocratic codes o f conduct 3 8 - 9 , 117, 1 9 3 - 4 working with hands 3 8 see also infamia; soldiers, R o m a n , dishonour, causes o f a m o n g as influence 5 0 - 1 , 5 6 , 7 0 , 7 1 - 2 between cities 7 6 by cities on e m p e r o r 1 2 1 - 5 by cities on imperial officials 1 9 7 - 8 by cities on m e n 7 9 by e m p e r o r on cities 1 4 0 - 1 by e m p e r o r on m e n 1 3 1 , 1 3 9 - 4 0 , 141-5,158 by imperial officials 2 1 9 by m e n on cities 7 9 - 8 0 by m e n on emperors 1 1 9 - 2 0 by m e n on imperial officials 199, 200-201

from punishments to military units 264 from punishments to soldiers 2 6 4 see also insult; cities, insult by; emperor, insults from Domitian, e m p e r o r 1 5 , 1 1 5 , 2 4 2 and Agricola 1 0 8 - 9 , 1 1 0 , 1 5 9 donative 2 5 6 dress 2 1 , 3 6 , 8 6 , 9 5 , 2 5 3 Drusilla 163 Drusus Caesar 2 5 8 duelling 2 3 7 Dulcitius, Aelius Claudius 2 3 2 egregius vir 4 4 - 5 Egypt 2 n., 8 6 , 1 5 8 , 2 0 9 , 2 2 8 Elagabalus, e m p e r o r 1 6 5 , 1 7 2 , 2 4 1 , 2 5 4 , 255 elite, see aristocrats; decurions; notables eminentissimus vir 2 2 4 emperor: appoints t o offices 1 5 0 - 1 , 1 8 5 , 1 8 7 - 9 , 223 arranges succession 1 1 2 - 1 3 benefactions to cities 1 5 1 - 2 benefactions to individuals 1 4 9 - 5 1 coerces honours 1 1 3 - 1 4 in consulship 1 1 2 , 1 8 2 duty to h o n o u r 2 2 - 3 duty to obey 2 2 emphasizes c o m m u n i t y with soldiers 253^ how envisaged by subjects 1 4 - 1 6 gratitude t o 1 5 4 - 6 0 h o n o u r of: attacks o n 1 1 9 - 2 5 conduct o f subordinates affects 194 conventional nature o f 1 0 9 - 1 0 enforces reciprocity 1 5 8 - 9 honours from subject contribute to 157,168 and imperial cult 168 inspires imitation 1 2 9 - 3 0 protection o f 1 1 6 - 1 9 , 1 2 2 - 3 quest for 1 1 5 - 1 6 significance o f 1 0 7 - 8 , 1 2 8 , 1 2 9 , 1 7 3 subjects connive in 1 6 7 - 8 , 1 7 4 - 5 supernatural elements o f 110 see also deference; reciprocity h o n o u r s from 131 adoration o f the purple 1 3 5 - 6 benefactions, conceived as 1 4 9 - 5 4 , 260-1

Index 309 borrowed 1 4 8 - 9 , 199 cheapened 1 5 3 , 1 7 2 civic magistracy, assumption o f 137 codicils o f h o n o r a r y rank 2 2 7 - 9 conversation 134 courtesies 134 decorations, military 2 6 0 - 1 , 2 6 2 - 3 dinners 1 3 3 , 1 3 7 , 2 6 2 grants o f imperial cult games 1 7 1 - 2 kisses 1 3 4 , 1 5 5 , 2 6 1 letters 132, 1 3 7 , 1 3 8 ; see also letters neocorates 1 7 1 - 2 precedence for military units 2 6 3 - 4 rationed by ceremonial 1 3 5 - 6 salutatio 1 3 5 - 6 speeches 134, 146, 2 5 9 statues 134 tainted 1 5 3 , 1 7 2 titles for cities 1 3 6 - 7 ; see also titles tides for military units 2 6 2 - 3 visits 1 3 4 , 1 3 7 see also h o n o u r , as influence imitates other emperors 116 a n d imperial cult 1 6 8 - 7 2 insults from: not appoint to office 188 in c e r e m o n y 1 3 9 at dinner 140 laughter 140 toLepidus 139 letters 1 1 9 , 1 4 0 - 1 , 1 4 2 , 2 1 9 official acts construed as 1 5 2 - 3 proclamations 119 refusal t o visit 141 renuntiatio amicitiae 140 satire 141 t o Sejanus 142 t o Thrasea Paetus 1 4 3 - 5 see also dishonour, as influence hospitality t o 127 keeps highest h o n o u r and responsibility apart 1 8 9 , 2 2 3 , 2 3 1 learns about behaviour o f officials 195 legatee in wills 7 0 , 1 5 9 limits h o n o u r s o f others 1 1 1 - 1 2 literary activity o f 117 monopolizes certain honours 112 monopolizes granting o f military decorations 261 and plebs o f R o m e 1 2 0 - 4 and precedence 2 2 5 - 7 , 2 3 4 - 5 punishes cities 1 5 2 - 3

regulates votes o f thanks to officials 196 relations with officials 2 0 and R o m a n senate 112, 1 1 3 - 1 6 , 146-8 rule o f envisaged in terms o f h o n o u r and force 1 0 8 - 1 0 shame, sense o f 107, 1 4 3 , 1 4 5 sincerity o f honours to, problem o f 115-16 suspicious o f men o f highest h o n o u r 111-12 emperorship, independent h o n o u r o f 182 Ephesus 7 7 , 1 4 8 , 1 6 5 , 172 n., 2 0 5 , 2 1 3 Epictetus 19 equestrian order 3 6 , 6 2 , 7 3 , 1 2 1 , 2 2 3 Erastus, L. 148 Eucherius 190 euergetism, see benefactors Eunapius 120 eunoia 1 5 6 , 1 5 8 n., 168 n. eunuchs 2 2 6 , 2 3 5 Eurycles 104 n. Eurysthenes 2 3 3 eusebeia 1 6 6 - 7 , 1 6 9 Eusebius 2 2 7 , 2 2 9 Eutropius 9 7 extortion 1 4 6 , 1 7 6 Fabatus, L. Calpurnius 103 Facundus 2 2 7 family, h o n o u r and 4 5 - 6 favours: as honorific 4 9 , 6 5 , 6 9 , 1 4 9 - 5 4 , 2 1 9 - 2 2 offices as 1 8 5 - 6 see also reciprocity fear: and h o n o u r 5 2 - 5 , 1 1 3 - 1 5 , 1 1 8 , 1 9 6 , 205-8 and R o m a n government 3 - 4 , 7 , 2 9 , 2 0 2 Felix, Sulpicius 1 9 8 - 9 Firmani 81 Firmus, Romatius 6 6 'first' as city title, see cities, ranking o f Flaccus, A. Avillius 1 6 - 1 7 , 2 0 8 Flaccus, Hordeonius 2 4 1 flattery 5 8 , 124, 159 Florus, Caelius 2 1 5 Florus, Gessius 18 France, 16th-cent. 4 9 n., 5 4 n., 6 5 n., 6 9 n. freedmen 3 6 , 6 7 , 9 8 , 1 0 1 - 2 , 1 6 6 imperial, see slaves and freedmen, imperial

310

Index

Fronto 1 2 3 , 1 8 1 , 2 0 1 on clients 6 6 - 7 honours for, from Lucius Verus 1 3 3 - 4 frumentarii 5 - 6 Fufidius,Q. 5 6 Fundi 9 5 Gaius, grandson o f Augustus 1 5 8 , 1 6 5 Gaius Caesar, see Caligula Galba, e m p e r o r 113 n., 2 3 5 , 2 4 1 , 2 5 3 , 2 5 4 , 264 Gauls'gratitude t o 1 5 5 vs. Nero 1 1 0 , 1 8 9 Galen 4 3 Galilee 4 5 , 2 0 9 Gallienus, e m p e r o r 114 Gallio, Junius 2 6 0 - 1 Gallus, C. Cornelius 158 Gallus Caesar 2 5 7 Gaul 1 0 5 , 1 1 1 , 1 5 5 , 1 9 0 , 2 1 5 , 2 1 9 , 2 6 3 Germanicus Caesar 142 and soldiers 3 9 , 2 4 2 , 2 4 8 , 2 5 4 , 2 5 8 Germany 1 0 8 , 2 4 1 , 2 5 0 Gillo, M. Fulvius 157 Glabrio, M'. Acilius 109 gladiators 9 6 , 9 8 - 9 honours o f 9 9 Glasgow 8 8 God, Christian, reciprocity with 6 4 - 5 , 2 5 5 gods: eusebeia t o 167 h o n o u r o f 73 reciprocity with 6 4 , 167 Gordian I, e m p e r o r 111 n. Gordian III, e m p e r o r 169 gossip 51 government, Roman: amenable t o influence from below 2 7 , 236, 2 6 8 - 9 distance from subject 2 how envisaged 1 8 , 2 3 6 , 2 7 0 - 1 honour, role o f in 2 4 - 5 , 2 6 7 - 7 1 in late antiquity 2 2 2 - 3 5 legitimacy, role in 3, 8 - 1 1 , 1 2 0 , 1 4 8 , 237,270 limited objectives o f 2 patronage, role o f in 3, 1 1 - 1 3 , 2 6 8 reliance on force 3 - 7 , 1 4 5 , 2 0 2 , 2 3 7 small size o f 3 weakness o f 2 - 7 ' government, US 3 governors, see officials Gracchus, Tib. Sempronius 56

Graces 6 3 gratia 6 3 n., 71 n. Gratian, e m p e r o r 1 8 0 , 1 8 2 gratitude, virtue o f 6 8 , 7 1 - 2 , 8 3 , 1 5 7 - 8 , 165-6 gravitas 4 2 , 6 2 Gregory o f Nazianzus, St 5 7 , 2 0 4 , 2 1 1 Guards regiments, U K 2 4 9 guilds, see collegia guilt culture 41 Gytheum 1 6 1 , 165, 172 Hadrian, e m p e r o r 9 - 1 0 , 1 1 6 n . , 153 appointments o f 2 0 7 , 2 0 8 n. honours others 148 and imperial cult 168 insults others 140 and the plebs 123 and soldiers 2 4 5 , 2 5 8 , 2 5 9 Hadriani 2 0 3 , 2 1 2 , 2 1 3 H a r m o d i u s and Aristogeiton 2 9 Helicon 196 Heliodorus 140 Helvidius Priscus 9 2 , 1 1 8 Herod, King 8 2 , 1 9 9 Herodes Atticus 112 n., 127 Herodian 1 2 7 , 2 5 6 , 2 5 7 on Didius Julianus 122 on Maximinus T h r a x 126 on the military oath 2 5 3 Historia Augusta 2 8 historians, on emperors 1 6 , 1 1 6 - 1 7 , 1 2 4 , 1 3 1 , 1 3 9 , 173 Hobbes, T h o m a s 37 n., 51 n. holy men: Christian 9 3 pagan 91 H o m e r i c society 3 2 , 4 2 , 4 9 n., 51 n., 5 4 n., 191,267 honor 1 7 6 , 2 7 3 - 4 honorati 2 0 9 , 2 3 3 - 5 Honorius, e m p e r o r 150 honour: o f animals 7 3 anthropological treatment o f 32 o f buildings 7 3 o f cities, see cities, h o n o u r o f in classical Athens 32 in early R o m e 32 o f emperor, see emperor, h o n o u r o f o f geographical features 73 o f g o d s 73 in H o m e r 32

Index 311 as ideology 2 5 o f imperial officials, see offices; officials, imperial o f individuals: ambition o f aristocrats for 3 4 - 6 o f bishops 9 5 o f Christian aristocrats 9 4 - 5 Christian view o f 9 2 - 5 , 2 1 4 - 5 communities o f 3 6 - 7 , 3 9 , 4 3 , 4 7 - 8 , 90,103 conferred by civic honours 7 8 - 9 conferred by individuals' acts o f honouring 4 8 - 5 0 conferred by c o m m u n i t y 3 6 - 4 3 contests o f 191 court o f 3 6 , 4 8 as criterion o f social ranking 3 4 defined 3 6 differences o f opinion over 4 3 diversity o f standards by place 4 3 - 5 , 103 diversity o f standards by status 9 7 - 8 , 103 o f gladiators 9 9 in heaven 9 2 o f imperial slaves and freedmen 102 Jewish 4 4 - 5 and other forms o f power 5 4 - 5 philosophers'view o f 9 0 - 2 public benefaction grounded in 8 6 - 9 reciprocity o f favours grounded in 68,157-8 reified 4 7 roles o f in society 6 9 o f slaves 9 7 o f stage performers 9 9 - 1 0 1 o f women 4 5 - 6 see also deference, reciprocity as influence 4 7 - 5 0 by bishops 5 7 between cities 77 by cities o n e m p e r o r 1 2 0 - 1 , 1 2 4 , 1 2 5 , 161,168 by cities o n imperial officials 1 9 4 - 2 0 0 by cities on m e n 7 8 - 9 , 8 0 - 1 , 8 6 - 7 , 90 coercion o f honours 5 2 - 5 , 1 1 3 - 1 5 by e m p e r o r on cities 1 3 6 - 9 by e m p e r o r on men 1 3 1 - 6 , 1 4 8 - 9 by imperial officials on cities 2 1 8 by imperial officials on e m p e r o r 157 by imperial officials on m e n 2 1 3 - 1 8 between m e n 5 6 - 8 , 1 0 6

by m e n on cities 7 9 - 8 0 by m e n on imperial officials 2 0 0 on military units 2 6 2 - 4 by provinces 1 0 4 , 1 9 5 , 1 9 7 on soldiers 2 5 8 - 6 2 see also cities, honours from; e m p e r o r , h o n o u r s from; officials, imperial, h o n o u r s from o f military units 2 5 0 - 2 , 2 6 2 - 5 o f objects 73 o f offices 1 8 1 - 5 as rhetoric o f concealment 2 4 - 5 , 2 2 0 - 2 , 269 role in government 2 4 - 6 , 2 6 7 - 7 1 o f R o m a n senate, see senate vocabulary o f 2 7 2 - 9 honourable qualities, accomplishments, possessions o f individuals: athletics (in the East) 4 3 benefaction, public 8 8 birth 3 6 , 4 6 , 9 3 , 1 0 9 , 143, 186, 187, 1 8 8 , 190, 2 3 3 chastity (for w o m e n ) 4 6 a m o n g Christians 9 2 - 4 city o f origin 3 6 , 1 0 9 clients, see clients dress 3 6 education 3 7 , 2 0 4 fear, ability to inspire 5 2 - 5 games, giving 8 6 n. a m o n g gladiators 9 9 gratitude 6 8 , 1 6 6 gravitas 4 2 , 6 2 h o n o r a r y rank 2 2 5 , 2 3 0 see also ornamenta house 3 6 husband 4 6 law, knowledge o f 4 0 letters, see letters literary accomplishment 3 8 , 109, 117 military success 1 0 8 - 9 , 1 8 7 , 1 9 2 moral reputation 4 0 - 1 , 4 6 , 6 2 , 6 8 , 8 8 , 109, 143, 186, 188 offices, appointment t o 1 7 7 , 1 8 1 - 9 1 offices, ecclesiastical 9 5 offices, performance in 1 9 1 - 2 0 1 ornamentum 4 8 - 9 patriotism, civic 8 9 philosophy 3 8 , 9 1 poetry 3 8 , 4 2 - 3 relations by blood 4 5 - 6 , 9 3 retinue 3 6 , 4 4 rhetoric 3 8 , 4 0 , 1 8 8

312 Index honourable qualities (cont): salutathy crowded 4 4 , 1 1 2 self-control 4 1 - 2 , 109 slaves 3 6 sophrosyne 4 2 virtues 4 1 - 2 , 1 0 9 - 1 0 , 119, 143, 192 wealth 3 6 , 4 6 , 5 5 , 1 4 3 , 188 wife 4 0 , 4 6 , 190 honourless 2 7 , 9 6 see also slaves honours, from individuals 4 8 , 5 9 borrowing o f 103 buildings (for e m p e r o r ) 162 dinners 4 9 - 5 0 see also dinners dismount 5 9 , 6 0 n., 2 0 6 favours, see favours greeting 4 9 , 5 9 , 6 0 n., 8 1 , 1 6 2 head, uncover 5 9 hospitality 5 9 invitation to visit 4 9 kisses 4 9 , 5 9 letters 4 8 - 9 , 5 7 - 8 , 1 9 6 see also letters libation (for e m p e r o r ) 162 panegyrics 8 0 , 8 4 , 1 9 6 , 2 0 0 see also panegyric patronage, o f city 8 0 prayer (for e m p e r o r ) 162 presents 4 9 , 8 0 remarks 4 9 rise 5 9 - 6 0 , 162, 2 0 6 salutatio, admission t o 4 9 in speeches 4 9 , 5 9 statue 6 1 , 6 5 , 1 6 2 , 1 9 5 n. see also statues temples (for e m p e r o r ) 1 6 2 , 1 6 5 visit 4 9 , 6 0 n., 6 5 will, in 7 0 yield in street 1 8 0 , 2 0 6 see also h o n o u r , as influence; cities, h o n o u r s from; e m p e r o r , h o n o u r s from; officials, imperial, h o n o u r s from Hortensius Hortalus, Q. 1 2 6 n. hybris 5 0 see also insult Hypata 2 1 8 Iliad 32 see also H o m e r i c society illustris 1 5 0 , 184 n., 1 9 0 , 2 2 4 , 2 2 6 , 2 3 1 imitation 4 6 - 7 , 77, 1 1 6 , 1 2 9 - 3 0 , 2 4 6

immunity 1 4 9 , 1 7 6 o f city, from imperial taxes 1 5 1 , 152, 154,163 t o corporal punishment 2 0 2 from liturgies 1 5 3 , 176, 2 0 3 , 2 1 2 , 2 3 4 imperator 112 imperial cult 1 6 0 - 7 2 acts o f cult understood as h o n o u r s 161-2 attitude towards in West 1 6 9 - 7 0 civic honours of, see cities, h o n o u r s from, imperial cult deference in, see deference eusebeia and 1 6 6 - 7 games 1 7 1 - 2 individuals' acts o f 162 see also honours, from individuals neocorates 1 7 1 - 2 philotimia and 1 6 6 - 8 priesthoods o f 166 reciprocity in, see reciprocity role o f in government 1 0 , 1 7 2 scale o f p h e n o m e n o n 160 imperium 9 India 187 n. infamia 9 6 , 9 8 ingratitude 6 8 , 7 1 , 1 5 8 - 9 , 1 6 3 n. inimicitia 3 7 n., 4 0 , 51 n. iniuria 5 0 , 9 6 insignia o f offices 21 insult, by individuals 5 0 - 1 , 5 9 - 6 0 , 118-20 not appoint t o office 1 8 8 , 2 0 3 deference, failure o f 5 9 , 1 8 8 , 2 3 3 at dinner 5 0 , 6 0 , 6 1 ignore 5 0 , 6 0 n., 2 0 1 ingratitude, accuse o f 6 8 , 71 kiss 6 0 lampoons 51 letters 5 0 , 7 1 see also letters literary 119 t o master, through slave 5 1 , 9 6 pamphlets 5 0 refusal to reply to letters 5 0 - 1 remarks 5 0 not rise 6 0 salutatio, barring from 5 0 slander 51 speeches 5 0 , 1 1 8 , 2 0 0 - 1 , 2 0 4 suicide 1 1 9 - 2 0 violence 51 will, in 7 0

Index 313 see also iniuria; cities, insults by emperor, insults from; officials, imperial, insults from Italy 2 2 8 , 2 6 3 iusgladii 9 Jerusalem 4 , 1 9 9 , 2 7 0 siege o f 2 4 3 , 2 4 5 , 2 4 6 , 2 4 9 , 2 3 1 , 2 5 9 Jews: honour of 4 4 - 5 honours from 1 6 2 , 1 9 9 JohnLydus 1 8 4 , 2 1 6 , 2 2 6 Josephus 2 3 8 n., 2 7 0 Julia the Elder 8 2 , 1 0 7 , 2 0 8 Julia Maesa 2 5 5 Julian, e m p e r o r 1 6 , 1 1 7 , 2 1 4 n „ 2 4 1 n. at Antioch 124 n., 141 honours from 1 3 3 , 1 3 6 , 1 5 0 revolt against Constantius 1 2 , 1 1 9 n., 138,157-8, 261-2 Julianus, M. Aedinius 2 1 5 Julianus, Salvius 1 1 0 Julianus Zegrensis 150 Junia 7 0 Justinian, e m p e r o r 9 , 1 2 3 n. Juvenal 127 Juvenalia 143

KaXol Kayadoi 41 kin, influence from 3 0 , 6 3 kings, medieval 9 - 1 0 kingship, writings o n 131 Kipling, R. 2 5 0 kisses 4 9 , 9 8 n., 134, 1 5 5 , 1 7 9 , 2 1 7 , 2 3 4 different places by relative status 5 9 - 6 0 for soldiers 2 6 1 Labeo, M. Antistius 5 4 Lambaesis 8 7 , 2 2 9 n., 2 5 9 lampoons 5 1 , 1 1 6 , 1 2 4 Lampsacus 6 0 Lanuvium 9 8 Laodicea 1 3 6 , 1 3 8 , 2 1 8 law: knowledge o f honourable 4 0 officials' ignorance o f 9 role in imperial government 8 - 9 legions: honour of 2 5 0 - 2 , 262 titles o f 2 6 2 - 3 Lentulus Sura, P. Cornelius 6 0 Lepcis Magna 2 1 1 Lepidus, M. Aemilius (the triumvir) 139

Lepidus, M . Aemilius ( H E no. 7 5 ) 5 5 letters: o f appointment 2 0 , 1 0 2 , 1 8 5 n. imperial 1 1 9 , 1 3 2 , 137, 138, 1 4 0 - 1 , 142, 148-9, 149-50,156, 161,219 from imperial officials 196 n., 2 1 5 , 2 1 6 , 217,219 o f insult 5 0 , 7 1 , 1 1 9 , 1 4 0 - 1 , 1 4 2 , 2 1 9 o f introduction 4 3 pattern book o f 6 3 , 7 1 o f praise 4 8 - 9 , 5 7 - 8 , 1 3 2 , 1 3 7 , 1 3 8 , 148-9,195-6,215,216,217 o f recommendation 4 8 , 5 7 , 6 2 - 4 , 9 3 , 203 refusal t o reply to, an insult 5 0 - 1 levee, see salutatio Libanius 2 9 , 5 7 , 2 3 0 , 2 3 2 and officials 2 0 0 - 1 , 2 0 4 , 2 1 0 , 2 1 9 - 2 0 , 234 liberalis 6 2 Liguria 2 0 9 Limyra 132 literature 3 8 , 1 1 7 , 1 9 4 Livia 133 n. Louis VI 10 Louis X I V 2 6 , 1 3 3 n., 1 3 4 , 1 3 5 , 136, 153 Lucan 13 Lucian 2 0 , 1 6 3 Lucius Verus, emperor 1 1 7 , 1 2 7 , 1 3 3 - 4 , 149 Lucretia 32 Lucretius 9 2 L u g d u n u m 104 n. Lycian League 104 n., 1 3 7 - 8 , 1 4 9 M a c M u l l e n , R . 12 Macrinus, e m p e r o r 1 8 8 , 2 4 1 vs. Caracalla 1 3 , 2 5 6 vs. Elagabalus 172, 2 5 5 imitation o f Marcus Aurelius 116 jeered by the R o m a n plebs 121 M a c r o , Q. Naevius C o r d u s Sutorius 1 2 6 Madaura 2 1 1 Magerius 8 6 - 7 Magnillus 196 n. maiestas: as h o n o u r word 5 5 , 5 9 , 6 9 , 120, 2 5 8 , 275-6 prosecution 1 1 8 - 9 , 140 n., 143 Majorian, e m p e r o r 140 Marcellinus, M. Egnatius 192 Marcellus, L. Ulpius 2 4 5 Marcellus, T. Clodius Epirus 145

314

Index

Marcus Aurelius, e m p e r o r 116, 117, 1 2 5 , 127, 1 3 1 , 2 0 3 vs. Avidius Cassius 1 1 9 , 141, 2 6 3 boons o f 1 4 9 - 5 0 , 153 death o f 110, 155 and soldiers 2 5 3 , 2 5 4 Marius, C. 4 7 , 6 7 , 2 4 2 Martial 4 3 , 6 0 martyrs 9 2 - 3 , 2 1 0 , 2 5 5 , 2 5 7 , 2 5 8 Mascula 2 2 9 n. Massilia 1 6 6 Maternus, Curatius 119 Mauretania 149, 1 5 5 , 198 Maximinus 180 Maximinus Thrax, e m p e r o r 157 low birth o f 126, 131 and soldiers 2 4 3 , 2 4 4 , 2 5 4 , 2 6 6 Maximus, usurper 139 Meeks,W. 93 merit 4 7 , 187 meritum 6 4 Messalina 163 'metropolis', city title 1 3 6 , 141, 2 1 3 mimes 9 9 - 1 0 0 , 1 0 1 Minicius Italus, C. 8 3 miracles 9 - 1 0 , 9 1 , 1 1 0 Misopogon 141 monks 9 3 Montesquieu 2 6 morality and h o n o u r 4 0 - 2 , 4 6 , 6 2 , 6 8 , 1 1 9 Mucianus, C. Licinius 127 Mucius Scaevola, P. 4 7 municipium, city status 152 musicians 9 9 - 1 0 0 Musonius 2 0 7 mutiny, military 3 9 , 2 4 0 , 2 4 8 - 9 , 2 5 0 , 2 5 5 , 258 Mytilene 1 6 4 , 166 Naples 2 1 9 Narcissus 2 4 2 Naso, Julius 191 neocoros 1 7 1 - 2 Nero, e m p e r o r 1 3 , 1 5 n., 1 8 , 4 2 , 1 6 9 , 2 6 2 behaviour o f 9 8 , 1 1 4 , 124 and C o r b u l o 107, 1 2 6 fall o f 1 , 2 5 3 vs. Galba 1 1 0 , 1 8 9 and imperial cult 1 6 3 - 4 , 1 6 5 protects his h o n o u r 1 1 7 - 1 8 vs. Thrasea Paetus 1 4 2 - 5 Nerva, e m p e r o r 111 n., 1 3 0 , 1 8 5 , 2 4 1 Nerva, M . Cocceius 120

Nevitta, Flavius 191 n. New Y o r k 3 0 , 5 2 Nicaea 7 4 - 5 , 1 4 1 , 2 1 4 Nicetius 2 2 0 Nicolaus o f Damascus 8 2 , 1 6 3 Nicomedia 77, 138, 141, 172, 2 0 9 , 2 1 4 Nicopolis ad Istrum 138 Niger, Pescennius, see Pescennius Niger nobilis 6 0 , 7 2 , 2 2 3 , 2 4 2 notables, civic: and imperial government 6, 127 n., 129 power over inferiors 6 as public benefactors 8 5 relations with imperial officials 7 see also decurions notaries 2 2 4 , 2 3 0 n., 2 3 2 Notitia Dignitatum 2 2 4 - 6 , 2 2 9 n., 2 6 3 Novatus, Junius 118 novushomo 2 2 3 Nuceria 9 0 numerarii 2 2 9 n. Numidia 2 2 8 - 9 Numidicus, Q. Caecilius Metellus 9 6 oaths: o f clientage 12 o f loyalty to e m p e r o r 1 2 , 2 2 n., 156 n., 253 Octavian, see Augustus Octavius, M. (RE no. 3 1 ) 5 6 Odysseus 16 officers, R o m a n army: loyalty o f troops to 2 5 4 membership in c o m m u n i t y o f a r m y 241-3 shame their troops 2 4 4 , 2 4 8 - 9 , 2 5 1 , 252, 257 share soldiers' labours 2 4 0 - 1 social origins o f 1 2 9 , 2 4 2 offices: honour of 1 8 1 - 5 changes over time 182 deference t o 183 function o f past holders 1 8 2 - 3 influences o n 1 8 2 - 3 lesser functionaries partake o f 185 outward show o f 181 powers contribute to 183 precedence and 2 2 4 - 7 tradition, role in 184, 2 2 4 in imperial government: appointment to, honourable 177, 181-91

Index 315 as beneficia 1 8 5 - 6 constraints o n imperial appointments 188-9 criteria o f appointment and p r o m o t i o n , not objective 187 n., 189 perceived t o go to h o n o u r 1 8 6 - 9 1 profitable 1 7 6 officials, imperial: attitude towards pay 177 authority perceived by subjects 19 code o f conduct 1 9 3 - 4 h o w envisaged by subjects 1 6 - 1 7 fear scandal 1 9 2 - 3 gain h o n o u r in office 1 9 1 - 2 0 1 hierarchies o f status 2 1 - 2 h o n o u r to, duty o f 2 2 - 3 , 2 0 6 h o n o u r s from: administrative acts construed as 2 2 0 borrowed 2 1 7 - 1 8 dinners 2 1 6 - 1 7 escorting 180 n. in court 2 1 3 kisses 1 7 9 , 2 1 7 , 2 3 4 letters 2 1 5 - 1 6 , 217; see also letters lower fasces 1 8 0 meeting 1 8 0 other officials 1 7 9 - 8 0 praise 2 1 4 , 2 1 6 , 2 1 8 presents 2 1 7 atsalutatio 1 7 9 , 2 3 4 testimonials 2 1 5 , 2 1 6 visit 2 1 6 , 2 1 7 , 2 1 8 yield in street 180 see also h o n o u r , as influence imitate e m p e r o r 130 insults from 2 1 8 - 1 9 : t o other officials 1 7 9 , 2 1 9 official acts construed as 2 1 9 - 2 0 see also dishonour, as influence in late antiquity: and honorati 2 3 3 - 5 immunities o f 1 7 6 , 2 3 4 legal privileges o f 2 3 4 precedence o f 2 2 3 - 7 weakness o f 2 3 0 - 5 legal functions o f 2 2 0 need status t o rule 2 0 8 , 2 3 0 - 1 obedience t o , duty o f 2 2 , 2 0 2 patrons o f cities 2 1 1 prosecution o f 1 4 6 - 7 , 197, 2 0 1 , 2 3 0 relations o f obedience 2 0 - 1 , 1 7 8 - 9 , 1 8 0 relations o f reverence between, see

reverence self-image 2 3 6 sensitivity t o insult 2 0 5 - 7 , 2 1 2 slave and freedman, see slaves and freedmen, imperial and subordinates 1 9 4 supervise civic affairs 2 2 0 violence of, see violence, official virtues o f 192 see also deference; reciprocity officium 6 4 Olympia 195 Olympius 2 3 0 Opramoas 1 3 2 , 2 1 5 - 1 6 , 2 2 8 ornamenta 2 1 , 101, 1 4 6 , 1 5 2 , 2 2 4 ornamentum 4 8 - 9 O t h o , e m p e r o r 127 n. and the a r m y 2 5 2 , 2 5 4 , 2 6 1 , 2 6 2 , 2 6 5 his distinction 113 n., 131 on the senate 148 Oxyrhynchus 2 1 7 - 1 8 Paeonius 1 4 0 paideia 2 2 1 n. Pallas 2 1 , 5 8 n . , 182 pamphlets 5 0 , 8 0 Pandarus 191 panegyric: on cities 7 4 n., 7 6 - 7 , 8 0 , 8 4 on emperors 1 5 - 1 6 , 1 0 9 - 1 0 , 1 5 6 - 7 on officials 9 n., 1 9 4 - 6 , 2 0 0 Panhellenion 104 n., 149 n. Pannonia 2 4 5 Pannychius 190 pantomimes 9 9 - 1 0 1 Pardalus, L. Claudius 2 1 2 , 2 2 1 Paris 2 6 1 patriarch, Jewish 4 5 patricians 189, 190, 2 3 2 patriotism 8 , 2 9 , 8 8 and h o n o u r 8 9 patronage 6 6 - 7 , 2 4 0 , 2 5 6 o f cities 8 3 , 8 7 , 2 1 1 o f collegia 1 0 0 - 1 o f provinces 105 role in government 3 , 1 1 - 1 3 , 2 6 8 Paul, St 1 9 , 2 2 Paulinus, Tib. Claudius 2 1 5 Paullus Macedonicus, L. Aemilius 2 1 6 n. Percennius 2 5 5 perfectissimus vir 184, 2 2 3 - 4 , 2 2 6 - 3 0 P e r g a m u m 8 2 , 121, 153, 166, 2 0 7 Perge 1 7 0

316 Index Perinthus 152 Persian W a r 1 7 2 , 2 1 0 Pertinax, e m p e r o r 109, 111 n., 116 n. Pescennius Niger, C. Justus 110 n., 122, 128, 1 3 8 , 1 4 1 , 152, 172, 2 6 3 Petronius, P. 2 7 0 Phileas 2 1 0 , 2 2 0 - 1 Philo Judaeus 1 6 - 1 7 , 1 9 6 - 7 on rulership 130 on imperial cult 1 6 3 - 4 Philodamus 6 0 philopatris 8 9 see also patriotism philosebastos 174 philosophers 8 1 , 1 3 6 , 1 4 3 their critique o f h o n o u r 9 0 - 2 honoured 91 as a tide 91 philotimia 2 5 9 and imperial cult 1 6 6 - 8 on the t e r m 8 6 see also benefactors Pia Fidelis, military unit tide 2 6 2 - 3 Piso, Cn. Calpurnius 1 4 0 , 1 4 5 n., 2 5 4 Piso, L. Calpurnius 1 9 1 - 2 Piso, L. Calpurnius Licinianus 113 n. Pisonian conspiracy 13 P l a n c i u s , C n . 186 Plancus, L. Munatius 3 9 Plautus, Rubellius H O n . plebs, R o m a n 1 2 0 - 4 , 1 4 2 Pliny the Y o u n g e r 3 7 , 6 6 , 8 7 , 1 0 3 , 1 1 6 his auctoritas 6 1 - 2 , 7 2 , 1 0 5 inBithynia 1 7 , 2 1 , 1 4 9 on fame 3 5 on legal fees 4 0 - 1 on offices 1 8 2 , 1 8 4 , 1 8 6 on officials 193, 1 9 6 , 2 0 5 , 2 0 6 with Tacitus, in wills 7 0 Plutarch: on dinners 61 on flatterers and slanderers 5 8 on lowly officials 2 0 8 poetry 3 8 , 4 2 - 3 Polemo 7 5 - 6 , 2 0 5 politics o f reputation 3 1 , 6 9 - 7 3 , 1 5 8 - 9 Pollux 2 7 7 Pompeii 9 0 , 1 0 0 Pompey ( C n . Pompeius Magnus) 3 4 - 5 , 3 8 - 9 , 4 5 , 59, 248 Pompusianus, Mettius 1 5 5 , 1 5 9 Pontus 104 n. Poppaea 144

portraits, imperial 1 1 , 1 9 Postumus 6 0 praepositus sacri cubiculi 226 praeses 2 2 3 , 2 2 9 - 3 0 , 2 3 1 Praetextatus, Vettius Agorius 192 praetorian guard 121 n., 1 4 1 , 1 4 5 , 2 5 1 , 254, 2 6 1 , 2 6 2 praetorship 1 8 2 , 2 2 6 - 7 praise and blame, see honour, as influence; dishonour, as influence precedence: of men 2 2 3 - 7 o f military units 2 6 3 - 4 prefect, praetorian 2 3 , 1 7 9 , 1 8 4 , 1 8 9 , 2 2 4 prefect o f the city o f R o m e 1 7 7 - 8 0 , 1 8 2 - 3 , 225 prefect o f Egypt 1 6 - 1 7 , 1 5 8 , 1 8 7 n., 189, 208 prefect o f the grain supply (praefectus annonae) 1 7 7 - 8 0 , 1 8 2 Premerstein, A. von 1 1 - 1 2 prestige, see h o n o u r primipilares 1 5 9 , 2 2 9 n., 2 6 6 Primus, M. Antonius 2 5 1 princeps 129 n. see also e m p e r o r Probus, e m p e r o r 133 Procopius, usurper 2 6 1 Proculus, Volusius 13 proedria 7 8 , 8 6 propaganda 1 0 - 1 1 protectores et domestici 229 n. provinces: honour of 1 0 4 - 5 h o n o u r s from 104 provincial councils 1 0 4 , 1 3 7 - 8 , 1 4 9 , 1 9 4 , 195, 1 9 7 , 2 1 4 , 2 1 5 , 2 1 7 Prusa 8 1 - 2 , 8 4 - 5 , 1 2 5 , 1 5 1 - 2 , 153 n., 2 2 0 Ptolemies 164 Pudens, M. Blossius 2 6 0 Pupienus M a x i m u s , e m p e r o r 2 5 3 Puteoli 9 0 n., 101 Pylades, L. Aurelius 101 quaestor sacri palatii 2 2 4 n. quinquennalis 9 8 rank, o f cities, see cities, ranking o f rank, military 2 4 6 - 7 rationales 2 3 0 n. reciprocity o f favours and h o n o u r s 6 3 - 9 , 7 0 - 2 , 106 between cities 77

Index 317 between cities and emperor 1 2 6 - 7 , 1 5 4 - 7 and imperial cult 1 6 3 - 5 , 1 6 8 between imperial officials 2 1 0 between imperial officials and cities 2 1 1 between imperial officials and e m p e r o r 157 between imperial officials and m e n 209-12 between m e n and cities 8 2 - 4 between m e n and e m p e r o r 126, 1 2 7 - 9 , 154-5, 157-60 between m e n and provinces 105 role in government 1 1 - 1 2 , 2 6 8 and soldiers 2 5 5 - 7 see also patronage regiments, h o n o u r o f 2 5 0 - 2 renuntiatio amicitiae 140 reputation, see h o n o u r , morality Res Gestae Divi Augusti 129 ResPrivata 178, 2 3 0 n. reverence: between imperial officials 2 3 , 1 7 8 - 8 1 , 234 for imperial officials 2 0 6 Rhodes 7 5 , 7 8 , 8 2 - 3 , 127, 2 4 0 Rifle Brigade 2 6 4 rivalry for honour: cities 7 6 - 7 , 1 3 8 - 9 , 170 n., 1 7 1 - 2 individuals 3 5 , 8 7 , 9 9 - 1 0 0 , 1 5 0 military units 2 5 0 - 2 officials 1 9 2 , 1 9 9 soldiers 2 4 3 - 6 R o m a 169 R o m e , city 4, 100, 1 1 2 , 1 1 6 , 1 2 0 - 4 , 1 7 7 - 8 Roscius, S. (father) 3 4 Roscius, S. (son) 6 0 Rufinus, Aradius 2 1 0 Rufinus, L. Cuspius Pactumeius 2 1 2 , 2 1 3 , 221 Rufus, Curtius 188 Rutilius Rufus, P. 4 7 Sabinus, C. Luccius 2 4 6 , 2 6 0 Sacred Largesses 1 7 8 , 2 3 0 n. Sala 1 9 8 , 2 1 7 Sallust 4 0 salutatio 4 4 , 4 9 , 5 0 , 61 n., 112, 1 3 5 - 6 , 179 inscribed order o f precedence for 2 3 4 in a r m y 2 4 7 Salutius, Saturninius Secundus 2 1 0 Samos 154 Sanctus, Claudius 2 4 9 Sardinia 2 2 8

Sardis 8 1 , 1 5 8 Saturninus, L. Antonius, revolt o f 2 4 2 , 2 6 2 Scaurus, M a m e r c u s Aemilius 190 Scipio Africanus, P. Cornelius (the elder) 82 Scipio Africanus, P. Cornelius Aemilianus (the younger) 7 5 Scipio Nasica Serapio, P. Cornelius 61 Scribonianus, L. Arruntius Camillus, revolt o f 2 6 2 scrofula 10 secret police: East G e r m a n 6 Roman 5 - 6 Sejanus (L. Aelius Seianus) 7 2 coerces h o n o u r 5 2 - 3 , 1 1 4 Tiberius vs. 1 4 1 - 2 , 1 4 5 Seleuceia 2 0 9 self-control 4 1 - 2 , 9 1 , 1 3 0 , 1 9 2 , 2 4 7 Sena 7 9 senate, R o m a n : Augustus humiliates Lepidus in 139 C a r a c a l l a a n d 173 C o m m o d u s and 124 at Constantinople 2 2 6 - 7 , 2 2 8 deference to 1 4 5 , 1 4 8 e m p e r o r borrows h o n o u r o f 1 4 6 - 8 e m p e r o r honours/dishonours 148 h o n o u r o f 7 3 , 146, 148 h o n o u r s from 1 1 3 - 1 4 , 1 2 1 , 1 4 6 h o n o u r s from, coerced 1 1 3 - 1 4 limits votes o f thanks for governors 197 power o f its blame 5 6 , 1 5 8 and privileges o f cities 137 n., 1 7 0 , 2 1 3 Septimius Severus and 1 1 5 - 1 6 size o f 2 2 8 trials before 1 4 3 , 1 4 5 , 1 4 6 - 7 Seneca the Y o u n g e r 112 n., 117 defines h o n o u r 3 6 - 7 on imperial benefaction 12 on imperial clemency 119 n., 143 on reciprocal favours 6 3 , 6 8 n. Senecio, Herennius 119 Septimius Severus, e m p e r o r 5 8 n., 133 n., 168, 2 0 6 , 2 5 6 vs. Clodius Albinus 1 2 8 , 2 6 3 vs. Pescennius Niger 1 3 8 , 1 5 2 , 1 7 2 , 2 6 3 plot against (fictional) 127, 130 pursuit o f h o n o u r in war 1 1 5 , 116, 124 and soldiers 2 4 4 , 2 5 4 , 2 5 7 Sequani 131 Severus, C. Julius 2 0 7 , 2 2 3 defers to Aristides 2 0 3 , 2 0 5

318 Index Severus, C. Julius (cont): h o n o u r s Aristides 2 1 2 - 1 3 , 2 2 1 , 2 2 2 reciprocity with Aristides 2 0 9 Severus, D. Rupilius 132 Severus Alexander, e m p e r o r 130, 157, 2 4 1 , 254,263 shame 4 1 , 6 1 , 7 1 , 107, 1 4 3 , 1 4 5 , 168, 193, 276 o f soldiers 2 4 4 , 2 4 8 - 9 , 2 5 2 , 2 5 7 shame culture 41 shorthand 1 8 9 , 2 2 6 see also notaries Silanus Torquatus, L. Junius ( R E no. 1 8 0 ) 120 Silanus Torquatus, L. Junius (RE no. 1 8 3 ) 144 SiliusC. 128 Silius Italicus 4 2 - 3 Silvanus 126 Simplicius 190 slander 3 2 n., 5 1 , 5 8 , 1 1 8 - 1 9 slavery:

praise o f superiors 2 5 8 - 9 , 2 6 1 rank 2 4 6 - 7 sleeplessness 2 4 5 strength 2 4 5 isolation o f 2 3 9 loyalty oath o f 2 5 3 obedience o f 1 8 , 2 4 8 pay o f 2 5 4 - 5 perceived by aristocratic authors 237-8 perceived by subjects 17 shame of, see shame, o f soldiers Sollemnis, T. Sennius 2 1 5 Sophronius 2 0 4 sophrosyne 4 1 - 2 Spain 169 16th-cent. 3 7 n. Sparta 77 n., 2 0 5 , 2 1 9 , 2 3 3 spectabilis vir 184 n., 190, 2 2 4 , 2 2 6 , 231 sponsio 5 0 , 2 0 1 n. standards, military 2 5 2 , 2 5 3 statues:

casts stigma on relations o f obedience 20, 2 4 - 5 , 265 dishonorable 3 6 slaves 3 6 , 2 4 8 honour among 97 perceived to have n o h o n o u r 9 6 perceived to have n o shame 9 6 n. slaves and freedmen, imperial 1 9 - 2 0 , 102, 146, 2 3 2 , 2 4 2 Smyrna 7 6 , 7 7 , 138, 1 7 2 , 2 0 5 and Aristides 2 0 3 , 2 1 2 - 1 3 , 2 2 2 earthquake at 6 5 , 1 2 5 , 131, 152 snobbery 3 4 n., 9 6 , 1 0 0 - 1 social mobility 101 soldiers, R o m a n : contempt for some emperors 1 2 1 - 2 , 241 discipline of, see discipline, military dishonour, causes o f among: cowardice 2 4 4 effeminacy 2 4 1 loss o f sword 2 4 7 surrender 2 4 4 - 5 dynastic loyalty o f 2 5 4 honourable qualities, accomplishments, possessions, of: awards from superiors 2 5 9 - 6 2 bravery 2 4 4 decorations 2 6 0 - 1 discipline 2 4 8 military skills 2 4 5

in a r m y 2 6 5 changing the labels on 7 5 for e m p e r o r 1 5 7 , 1 6 1 , 1 6 2 , 1 6 3 o f e m p e r o r , honoured 162 erected by cities for cities 77 erected by collegia 9 7 , 1 0 4 erected by e m p e r o r 134 erected by individuals 6 1 , 6 5 erected by provinces 104 erected by senate 146 for officials 7 8 , 1 9 5 , 1 9 8 - 9 , 2 1 1 for private individuals 6 1 , 6 5 , 7 8 , 8 1 , 8 7 , 9 1 , 102 Stoics 9 0 - 1 , 118, 1 4 2 - 3 Strabo, Aemilianus 103 Suetonius 2 3 8 n., 2 5 5 suffragator 186 suicide 147, 2 4 4 , 2 4 9 , 2 5 2 , 2 6 5 attack on e m p e r o r through 1 1 9 - 2 0 Sulla Felix, Faustus Cornelius (RE no. 3 9 1 ) HOn. Sulla Felix, L. Cornelius (RE no. 3 9 4 ) 2 2 Sulla Felix, L. Cornelius, dictator 5 9 summa honoraria 8 5 , 166 Sura, Accius 187 Symeon, St 9 3 Symmachus 4 8 , 1 8 9 , 2 1 0 synagogues 1 6 2 , 1 6 4 , 168 n. Synesius o f Cyrene 1 4 , 1 6 , 2 3 3 , 2 6 7 Syria 1 2 2 , 2 1 9 , 2 7 0 Syriarch 2 1 9

Index 319 tabulae patronatus 8 3 tabularii 229 n. Tacitus 197, 2 3 8 n. on adulatio 113 on Agricola and Domitian 108 on the Augustan peace 2 5 4 on elections 1 8 6 on military discipline 2 4 8 on the mutiny o f AD 14: 2 5 7 - 8 on N e r o and Thrasea Paetus 1 4 2 - 5 and Pliny, in wills 7 0 Tarquins 32 T a r r a c o 166 Tarsus 7 5 , 1 2 6 - 7 , 1 3 6 , 141, 172, 2 1 9 tax collectors 17, 2 1 1 , 2 1 6 - 1 7 taxation: civic 8 5 imperial 2, 16, 8 9 , 1 5 1 , 183, 199, 2 0 9 , 210, 231 role o f local notables in 6 n., 127 n. Terentius, M. 174 Tertullian 2 2 Themistius 57 Thibilis 2 2 9 n. Thrasea Paetus, P. Clodius 1 4 2 - 5 , 197 Theoderic 189 n. Theodorus 111 Theodosius, e m p e r o r 1 1 1 , 1 2 4 , 1 5 3 Thyateira 136 Tiberias (in Galilee) 4 5 Tiberius, e m p e r o r 7 0 , 118 n., 126 n., 133 n., 159, 164, 1 7 1 , 2 4 0 distribution o f offices 187, 188 g r o o m e d for succession 1 1 2 - 1 3 and imperial h o n o u r 1 0 7 , 1 1 6 insults by 140, 1 4 1 - 2 and mutiny o f AD 14: 2 5 8 refuses some offers o f cult 1 0 , 1 6 1 , 1 6 9 , 172 sensitive to dishonour 1 0 7 , 1 1 7 , 120, 123, 128, 145 n. and soldiers 2 5 3 , 2 6 1 Tifernum Tiberinum 8 7 Tigellinus, Ofonius 2 1 1 Timagenes 140 T i r f 7 3 , 167, 1 7 6 , 2 7 6 - 7 Timgad 2 2 8 - 9 Tiridates 144 Titianus, Flavius 1 4 9 tides: o f cities 7 7 , 1 3 6 - 7 , 141, 167, 174 civic, o f individuals 7 8 , 9 1 , 1 7 4 o f collegia 101 n.

of emperor 1 1 2 , 1 3 2 o f military units 2 6 2 - 3 , 2 6 4 provincial, o f individuals 104 R o m a n , o f individuals 4 4 - 5 , 1 8 4 , 2 2 4 Titus, e m p e r o r 124 n. in Jewish W a r 2 4 3 , 2 4 5 , 2 4 6 , 2 4 9 , 2 5 9 town councillors, see decurions Trajan, e m p e r o r 3 8 , 6 4 , 126, 2 4 4 and Pliny 17, 116, 125, 149 treason, see maiestas Treba Augusta 168 tribunate 183 tribunate, military 186, 188 tribunician power 9 , 1 1 8 , 1 4 3 Trimalchio 37, 5 5 , 102 triumphal ornaments 1 1 2 , 1 3 6 , 1 4 6 triumphs 1 1 2 , 1 4 6 Troy 8 1 - 2 , 1 7 4 T u r b o F r o n t o Publicius Severus, Q. Marcius 2 0 8 n. Ulpian 9 6 Urban C o h o r t s 2 4 6 , 2 5 0 , 2 6 0 Urbinas, T. Marius 158 Ursicinus 135 Valao 2 6 6 Valens, e m p e r o r 111, 261 Valens, Fabius 1 9 2 , 2 5 7 Valentinian, e m p e r o r 1 6 , 1 5 0 , 2 2 6 Valerius M a x i m u s 5 5 Vatinius, P. 4 7 Velleius Paterculus 2 3 8 vengeance 3 2 , 4 6 , 5 0 , 2 4 7 Verginia 3 2 Verginius Rufus, L. 1 0 9 , 2 4 1 , 2 6 4 Vespasian, e m p e r o r 134, 2 5 0 , 2 6 0 imitated 130 in Jewish W a r 1 8 9 , 2 0 9 miracles o f 9, 110 reciprocity and 1 2 7 , 1 5 5 , 1 5 7 , 1 5 9 sensitivity t o insult 1 1 6 Vetus, L. Antistius 144 Vibulenus 2 5 5 Vinius,T. 211 violence: between cities 9 0 construed as insult 5 1 , 7 9 over h o n o u r 3 2 , 4 1 - 2 , 5 0 , 5 4 , 2 4 7 official 4 , 176, 183, 2 0 0 , 2 0 2 , 2 0 5 - 6 , 235 against officials 7 , 2 0 1 from rivalry between military units 2 5 0

320

Index

violence (cont.): role of, in R o m a n government 3, 7, 2 0 2 , 235-6, 237 o f R o m a n plebs 1 2 1 , 1 2 8 virtues, Greek, canonical 4 2 , 1 9 2 virtues, imperial 1 0 , 1 5 , 1 6 3 , 1 6 8 , 1 6 9 Vitalianus 2 6 1 Vitellius, A., e m p e r o r 1 , 4 2 , 1 1 4 , 1 2 7 n. disgraces imperial office 182 inherited distinction o f 109 soldiers and 2 5 0 , 2 5 1 , 2 6 4 Vitellius, L. 112 n. voluntas 1 5 6 n. Vorenus 2 4 4

walls, city 153 wills 6 4 , 7 0 , 1 5 9 Wolseley G. 2 5 0 , 2 5 2 , 2 5 9 women: honour of 4 5 - 6 as public benefactors 8 5 reciprocal favours o f 6 4 Xanthos 87 Z a n k e r , P . 11 Zegrenses 1 5 0