Ancient

_ Mediterranean
_ Civilizations
DOCUMENTS, MAPS, AND IMAGES

Ralph W. Mathisen
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Texts, Maps, and Images

Ralph W. Mathisen

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OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Mathisen, Ralph W., 1947- |Mathisen, Ralph W., 1947- Ancient
Mediterranean civilizations.
Title: Sources for Ancient Mediterranean civilizations : texts, maps and images /
Ralph W. Mathisen.
Description: New York : Oxford University Press, 2017.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016018155 |ISBN 9780190280918 (acid-free paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Mediterranean Region—Civilization—Sources. |Mediterranean
Region—Antiquities—Sources. |Mediterranean Region—History—To 476—Sources.
Mediterranean Region—History—476-1517—Sources.
Classification: LCC DE86 .M375 2017 |DDC 937—dc23
LC record available at https://Iccn.loc.gov/2016018155

ONS 7 Oey hee 2 I

Printed by R.R. Donnelley, United States of America

 CONTENTS
CoO

Preface / xvii

CHAPTER 1: CIVILIZATION BEFORE CIVILIZATION (2,000,000-3000 sce)

Accounts of the Creation of the Universe, Humans,

and the Flood / 03

I; Mesopotamian Accounts / 03

1. The Creation Story:

The “Eniima Elis” (“Enuma Elish’), Tablets 1-5 / 03

2. The Creation of Humans by Enki and Ninmah / 08

3. The Flood Story:

Epic of Gilgamesh, Tablet XI / 10

II: Egyptian Accounts / 13

4. The Creation Story:

“A Book of Knowing the Evolutions of Ra” / /3

III: Greek Accounts / 16

5. The Creation of the Universe and the Titans:

Hesiod, Theogony, Lines 104-225 / 16

6. The Battles between the Gods and the Titans and Giants:
Pseudo-Apollodorus, “The Library” / /8
v1 CONTENTS

The Creation of Humans:

Pseudo-Apollodorus, “The Library,” Books 1.1.5-1.6.3 / 21

The Flood:
Pseudo-Apollodorus, “The Library,” 1.7.2 / 23

IV: Jewish Accounts / 24

The Creation Story:

Genesis 1-7 / 24

10. The Flood Story:

Genesis 8 / 26

V: Muslim Accounts / 28

ie The Creation of Humans:

The Qur’an, Surah 2/30-38, 7/11-19, 38/71-83 / 28

ms The Flood Story:

The Qur’an, Surah 11/15—49 / 30

CHAPTER 2 : MESOPOTAMIA AND THE BRONZE AGE (6000-1200 sce)

{3. Inanna Steals the Knowledge of Civilization from Enki / 35

14. “Epic of Gilgamesh” (ca. 2500 BCE), Tablets I-VIII / 38

®) The Sumerian King List (ca. 2500/1700 BcE) / 43
16. The Legend of Sargon (ca. 2250 BcE) / 47

7. The Earliest Known Author (ca. 2190 BCE):

Enheduanna, “The Exaltation of Inanna” / 49

18. “The Cursing of Agadé” (ca. 2050 Bck) / 52

1! The Law Code of Ur-Nammu (ca. 2040 BcE) / 55

AU: The Code of Hammurabi (ca. 1700 BcE) / 58

CHAPTER 3: EGYPT AND THE BRONZE AGE (5000-1200 sce)

21. The Autobiography of Weni (ca. 2275 BCE) / 67
pon “The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant” (ca. 2100 BcE) / 70

Zo “The Hymn to the Nile” (ca. 2000 BcE) / 74

CONTENTS

24. “The Admonitions of Ipuwer” (ca. 1700 BcE) / 77

pros “The Book of the Dead” (ca. 1500 BcE) / 80

ZO. Hatshepsut’s Expedition to Punt (ca. 1470 Bck) / 84

PA “Hymn to Aton” (ca. 1350 Bce) / 88
28. Egyptian Love Letters (ca. 1300 Bc) / 9/
25) The Peace Treaty Between Ramses II and Hattusilis III
(1258 BCE):
Egyptian and Hittite Versions / 93

CHAPTER 4: COASTAL CIVILIZATIONS OF THE EASTERN

MEDITERRANEAN (2500-800 sce)
30. Documents from Ebla (ca. 2400 Bcg) / 103

at. Mycenaean Linear B Tablets (ca. 1200 Bce) / 105

32. The Invasion of the “Sea Peoples” (ca. 1180 BCE):
Ugaritic Correspondence; The Medinet Habu Inscription of
Ramses III (1182-1151 Bce) / 107
33: The Report of Wen-Amon (ca. 1050 BcE) / 11/
34. The Hebrews in Egypt and the Legend of Moses (ca. 1300 BCE):
Exodus 1:7—2:7 / 116
ao: Laws of the Hebrew Bible (ca. 1230 BCE):
Exodus 20 / 1/8

36. The “Victory Hymn” of Merneptah (1208 BcE):

*The tsrael’Stele™ /°122
oh Deborah the Judge Defeats the Canaanites (ca. 1050 BCE):
Judges 4:1-5:31 / 125

38. King Solomon Consolidates His Authority (ca. 950 BCE):

1 Kings 5-10 / 128

CHAPTER 5: IRON AGE EMPIRES (850-500 Bce)

39. The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III (825 BcE) / 135

40. The Prism of Sennacherib (ca. 689 BcE) / /4]

4l. The Assyrian Siege of Jerusalem (701 BCE):

Hebrew Bible, 2 Kings 18:13-19:38 / 148
Vili CONTENTS

42. Judith and Holofernes (ca. 587 BCE):

Hebrew Bible, Judith / /5/

43. The Cyrus Legend (ca. 580 BcE) / 154

44. The Behistun Inscription (ca. 520 Bc) / 159

CHAPTER 6: GREECE IN THE DARK AND ARCHAIC AGES (1100-500 Bce)

45. The Trojan War (ca. 1185 BCE):
Homer, liad, Book 6, Lines 315—494 / 167

46. The “Dorian Invasion” and the Origin of the Greek

Peoples (ca. 1100 BCE):
Herodotus, Histories, Book 1, Chapters 55-58 / 17]

47. Human Society in the Early Archaic Age (ca. 700 BCE):
Hesiod, Works and Days, Lines 1-736 / 173

48. Battus and the Founding of Cyrene (ca. 630 BCE):

Herodotus, Histories, Book 4, Sections 145-159 / 178

49. Personal Poetry (ca. 600 BCE):

Sappho of Lesbos / /80

50. The Pre-Socratic Philosophers (ca. 530 BCE):

Porphyry, The Life of Pythagoras | 182
51. Greek Arété (ca. 476 BCE):
Pindar, “Olympian Ode” 1 / 186

52. Greek Tyrants: The Sword of Damocles (ca. 360 BCE):

Cicero, Tusculan Disputations 5.61, and Sidonius
Apollinaris, Letters 2.13 / 189

CHAPTER 7: SPARTA, ATHENS, AND THE CLASSICAL AGE

(500-387 BCE)
53. Spartan Education (ca. 750 BCE):
Plutarch, Life of Lycurgus / 195

54. The Constitutions of Athens (800-507 BcE):

Aristotle, The Athenian Constitution / 201

55. The Battle of Salamis (480 BceE):

Herodotus, Histories, Book 8 / 205
CONTENTS

56. Pericles’s Funeral Oration and the Plague in Athens

(431-430 BcE):
Thucydides, Histories, Book 2.34-54 / 209
57. An Assessment of Athenian Democracy (ca. 425 BCE):
The “Old Oligarch” / 217
58. Athenian Anti-War Sentiment and Perceptions of Women
(415 BCE):
Euripides, Trojan Women / 22]
59. Athenian Anti-War Sentiment and Perceptions of Women
(411 BCE):
Aristophanes, Lysistrata / 227
60. The Death of Socrates (399 BcE):
Plato, Phaedo 15.115A-118A / 232

CHAPTER 8: ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND THE HELLENISTIC AGE

(387-31 BCE)

61. The “Sacred Band” of Thebes (375-338 BCE):

Plutarch, Life of Pelopidas / 239

62. The Young Alexander the Great (ca. 350-334 BCE):

Plutarch, Life of Alexander / 242
63. Alexander’s Expedition into India (326-324 BCE):
Plutarch, Life of Alexander / 246

64. The Wars of the Successors (323-301 BCE):

Justin, Philippic Histories, Book 13 / 252

65. The Subordination of Women and Slaves (ca. 325 BCE):

Aristotle, Politics, Book 1 / 256

66. Stoicism (300 BCE):

Epictetus, The Enchiridion / 260
67. Revolt of the Maccabees (167 BCE):
The Book of Maccabees | 264

CHAPTER 9: CIVILIZATION BEYOND THE NEAR EAST, GREECE,

AND ROME (2300-31 Bce)
68. The Scythians (513 BCE):
Herodotus, The Histories, Book 4 / 271
 CONTENTS

69. The Parthians (ca. 250-100 BCE):

Justin, Philippic Histories, Book 41 / 274

70. The Empire of Kush (731 BCE):

“The Victory Stela of Piye” / 279

yl The Constitution of Carthage (ca. 340 BCE):

Aristotle, Politics, Book 2, Chapter 11 / 284

De, The Expansion of the Celts into Greece and Anatolia

(279-277 BCE):
Justin, Philippic Histories, Books 24-28 / 287

CHAPTER 10: THE RISE OF ROME AND THE ROMAN REPUBLIC

(753-120 BcE)
73. The Founding of Rome (753 BCE):
Plutarch, Life of Romulus / 295

74. Rome of the Kings (ca. 550 BCE):

The Lapis niger / 299

75. The Violation of Lucretia and the Founding of the Roman

Republic (509 BCE):
Livy, From the Founding of the City, Book 1,
Chapters 57-60 / 300
76. The Origins of Roman Law (451—450 BceE):
The “Twelve Tables” / 304

iG The Sack of Rome by the Gauls (390 BcE):

Livy, From the Founding of the City, Book 5,
Chapters 32-42 / 312
78. The Battle of Cannae (216 BCE):
Livy, From the Founding of the City, Book 22,
Chapters 34-57 / 318
12, The Bacchanalian Scandal and a Criminal Investigation
of the Impact of Foreign Cultures on Rome (186 BCE):
Livy, From the Founding of the City, Book 39,
Chapters 5-19, and “The Recommendation of the
Senate on the Bacchanalians” / 326
80. A Roman “New Man” Confronts Greek Culture (234-149 Bce):
Plutarch, Life of Cato the Elder / 334
CONTENTS xi

CHAPTER 11: CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE

PRINCIPATE (150-21 sce)
81. The Land Law of Tiberius Gracchus (133 BCE):
Plutarch, Life of Tiberius Gracchus / 34]
82. The Slave Revolt of Spartacus (73-71 BCE):
Plutarch, Life of Crassus / 348
83. Cicero, First Speech against Catiline (63 BcE) / 352
84. Catullus, Poems (ca. 60 BcE) / 358

85. The Siege of Alesia (52 BCE):

Caesar, Gallic Wars, Book 7, Chapters 68-89 / 360

86. Cleopatra, Pharaoh and Queen of Egypt (48-31 BCE):

Plutarch, Lives of Caesar and Antony | 366
87. An Exemplary Roman Woman (ca. 20 BCE):
The “Praise of Turia” / 375

CHARTER.(2: THE ROMAN PEACE (27 Bce-192 ce)

88. Anchises Prophesizes the Future of Rome (19 BCE):
Vergil, Aeneid, Book 6 / 383

89. Horace, “The Secular Hymn” (17 BceE) / 39]

90. Deeds of the Deified Augustus (14 cE) / 394

OL The Trial of Jesus before Pontius Pilate (ca. 28/37 CE):

The New Testament, Matthew 27:11—16, Mark 5:1-30,
John 18:28—40 and 19:1—24, and Luke 23:1-25 / 399

OZ. The Emperor Caligula (37—41 cE):

Suetonius, Life of Caligula / 403

93: Expanding the Membership of the Senate (48 cE):

The “Claudian Recommendation of the Senate Regarding the
Right of Honors for the Gauls,’ H. Dessau, Selected Latin
Inscriptions, no. 212, and Tacitus, Annals, Book 11,
Chapters 23-25 / 408

94. The Rebellion of Boudicca (60-61 CE):

Tacitus, Annals, Book 14, Chapters 31-37 / 413
 CONTENTS

95. The Fall of Masada (74 CE):

Josephus, The Wars of the Jews, Book 7, Chapter 9 / 418

96. Hadrian Inspects the Troops (128 CE):

The Lambaesis Inscription / 421

O77. Roman Misogyny (ca. 100 CE):

Juvenal, Satire 6 / 424

98. Praise of the Roman Empire (ca. 155 CE):

Publius Aelius Aristides Theodorus, To Rome / 430

a7 The Jews Confront Rome (133-180 CE):

Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 39A, Sabbath 33B,
Me’ilah 17B / 433

100. Dealing with Christians (ca. 112 CE):

Pliny, Letters 10.96-97 / 437

CHAPTER 13: CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE LATE

ROMAN EMPIRE (192-337)
101. The Antonine Constitution (212 CE):
Papyrus Gissensis 40; Cassius Dio, Roman History, Book 78,
Chapter 9 / 443
102. Pervigilium Veneris (“The Vigil of Venus’’)
(ca. 200/300 cE) / 446
103. The Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas
(7 March 203 ce) / 450
104. The New Persian Empire (ca. 270 CE):
The Shapur I Inscription / 458
105. Zenobia and the Empire of Palmyra (266-274 ce):
The Augustan History, “Odenathus” and ““Zenobia” / 462
106. Diocletian’s “Edict on Maximum Prices” (301 cE) / 466

107. The Reforms of Diocletian and the “‘“Great Persecution”

(303-311 cE):
Lactantius, On the Deaths of the Persecutors, 1-35 / 470

108. The Edict of Milan (312/313 cE):

Lactantius, On the Deaths of the Persecutors, 45-48 / 476

109. The Council of Nicaea (325 CE):

Eusebius of Caesarea, Life of Constantine, 2.61-71, 3.6-14 / 479
CONTENTS
xiii

CHAPTER 14: THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE AND THE LATE ROMAN

WORLD (337-476)
110. The Imperial Oppression of Pagans, Jews, and Heretics:
Theodosian Code (437 ce); Code of Justinian (534 cE) / 487

Ail. The Murder of Hypatia of Alexandria (415 cE):

Socrates Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical History, Book 7,
Chapter 15, and John of Nikiai, Chronicle, Chapter 84 / 504

112. The Monastic Life on the Eastern Frontier (ca. 350/390 cE):
Jerome, The Life of Malchus the Captive Monk / 508

H3. The Late Roman Criminal Legal Process (ca. 370 CE):
Jerome, Letter 1 / 513

114. The Battle of Adrianople (378 cE):

Ammianus Marcellinus, Histories, Book 31,
Chapters 12-14 / 5/7
HS: The Sack of Rome by the Visigoths (410 ce):
Orosius, History against the Pagans, Book 7,
Chapters 38—40 / 523
116. The Sack of Rome by the Visigoths in God’s Plan (410 cE):
Augustine, City of God, Book 1 / 527

117. The Sack of Rome by the Vandals (455 cE):

Procopius, History of the Wars, Book 3, Chapter 5 / 532

118. The Last Emperor in Rome (476 cE) / 535

CHAPTER 15: THE END OF ANTIQUITY (476-640)

re A Visigothic King and His Court (ca. 455/465 CE):
Sidonius Apollinaris, Letters 2.1 / 54]

120. The Conversion of Clovis (496 CE):

Gregory of Tours, Histories, Book 2, Chapters 28-31 / 545

va The Acclamations of the Senate of Rome (438 CE):

Theodosian Code, “Acts of the Senate” / 548

|
ape The End of the Vandal Kingdom (533 CE):
Procopius, History of the Wars, Book 3, Chapters 10-20 / 554

123. The Character of Justinian and Theodora (527-548 CE):

Procopius, Secret History, Prologue, 1-12 / 559
X1V CONTENTS

124. The Rise of Islam (627—629 cE):

Al-Tabari, History of the Prophets and Kings, 1619 / 564
123: The Muslim Conquest of Egypt (640 cE):
John of NikiG, Chronicle, Chapters 111-120 / 567

126. The Persistence of the Classical Tradition in Barbarian

Europe (ca. 575 CE):
The Poem of Eucheria / 572
 MAPS

. Neolithic Sites of the Ancient Near East / 02

. Sites of Early Mesopotamia / 34
. Early Dynastic Egypt / 66
. The Peoples of the Eastern Mediterranean Coast in the Early Iron Age / 102
. The Satrapies of the Persian Empire / 134
. Greek Colonization during the Archaic Age / 166
. Ancient Greece during the Classical Age / 194
. The Successors of Alexander the Great / 238
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about 440 Bc. / 270
10. The Roman Republic, Carthage, and the Hellenic Kingdoms as of 264 BCE / 294
Mls The Roman Republic and Its Neighbors in 120 BcE / 340
1 The Roman Empire at Its Greatest Extent at the Death of Trajan, 117 ce / 382
13: The Reorganized Empire of Diocletian, Divided Into Prefectures and Dioceses / 442
14. The Divided Empire as of 395 cE / 486
Woy Barbarian Settlements as of 526 cE / 540
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 PEACE
5

Every civilization and culture has stories to tell. The written sources of antiquity generally
survived until the present day only through special circumstances or by following circuitous
routes. The most common writing material used in antiquity was made from papyrus, a
hollow reed growing in the Nile River whose stalks were slit, flattened, and glued together
to make sheets of writing material. Egyptian papyrus was shipped throughout the Mediter-
ranean world. Papyrus books usually consisted of rolled-up scrolls made of papyrus sheets
glued together into thirty-foot strips. The problem with papyrus was that it did not have a
long shelf life. After about fifty years it became brittle and friable. In most places, papyrus
documents thus needed to be recopied every so often if they were going to stand the test of
time. The exception was Egypt itself, where tens of thousands of papyrus documents, some
entire manuscripts but others just scraps, have been preserved in trash heaps in the desic-
cated sands of Egypt and continue to be discovered.
Other materials also were employed as writing materials. Clay tablets, used in the Near
East and by the Minoans and Mycenaeans, were preserved only if they were baked, some-
thing that usually happened when a city was burned, perhaps as a consequence of a natural
disaster such as an earthquake, or of a hostile attack, or, most usually, because of a domestic
conflagration. Thus, paradoxically, the destruction of some or all of a city led to the preser-
vation of its documents. Moreover, when used for writing, stone and bronze were virtually
indestructible. But both often were reused, the stone serving as building material or the
metal being melted down. In addition, stone, and even more so metal, were used for lengthy
documents only in special cases.
During Late Antiquity, parchment, made from treated sheep or calf skins, replaced papy-
rus as the most common writing material outside of Egypt. The vast majority of textual
sources surviving from antiquity have been preserved on parchment in manuscripts bound
in codex form, that is, books with pages. Even though parchment is very sturdy and a signifi-
cant number of parchment documents survive from as early as the fifth and sixth centuries,
in most cases parchment manuscripts were recopied at least once or twice before making it
to the modern day. As a result, issues can arise regarding just how faithful each successive
copy is to the original text.

XVil
XViil PREFACE

The sources included here represent all of these different kinds of materials. About two-
thirds of these documents were preserved as parchment manuscripts. The remaining one-
third include eighteen metal or stone inscriptions, fourteen clay tablets, and ten Egyptian
papyri documents, thus providing a good cross-section of the different kinds of documents
that survive from antiquity.
Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations: Texts, Maps, and Images not only serves as a com-
panion volume to R. W. Mathisen, Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations. From Prehistory to
640 ce, second edition (Oxford University Press, 2015) but also stands alone in its own right
as an all-purpose source book for ancient history. It provides not only 134 primary sources
in translation but also 12 maps, and 118 illustrations. The entries are organized into the same
chapters as in Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations, usually in chronological order.
This sourcebook differs from the generally available ancient history sourcebooks in sev-
eral important regards. This volume avoids the “bit and snippet” presentation that character-
izes so many sourcebooks, where the approach often is to cram in as many brief extracts as
possible. This makes it difficult for instructors and students to discuss at length the signifi-
cance of any particular source. The use of longer extracts—an average of well over four
pages per document, more than in any other existing sourcebook—provides a self-contained
venue where students can give reports or write papers based on a source that extends over
several pages and can relate the source more effectively to material presented in class, in a
textbook, or in ancillary secondary sources. Personal experience also suggests that longer
source extracts are ideal for use in discussions, either in lecture or in a discussion venue,
where an entire class period could be used to elucidate the significance of a passage.
In addition, this sourcebook provides a more equitable division of sources among the dif-
ferent periods of history to reflect the most current understanding of the nature of the ancient
world. Existing sourcebooks are all heavily Greco-Roman-—centric, with between 70% and
78% of their entries dealing with the traditional periods of Ancient Greece and the Roman
Republic and Principate. This sourcebook is equally divided among the four periods of an-
tiquity, that is, the Ancient Near East (3000-500 BcE), Ancient Greece (2500-31 Bc), the
Roman Republic and Empire (753 BcE-192 ce), and Late Antiquity (192-640 cE), with ad-
ditional chapters on “Accounts of the Creation of the Universe, Humans, and the Flood” and
“Civilization beyond the Near East, Greece, and Rome,” topics not covered in any existing
sourcebook.
Moreover, unlike sourcebooks that merely lift documents verbatim out of previous trans-
lations, the sources presented here, most of which are out of copyright and in the public
domain, are edited for readability, sense, consistency, and flow, with superfluous and repeti-
tious information edited out. All documents are direct quotations of the original sources.
There are no paraphrases or summaries. Furthermore, sources are fully annotated to explain
names, terms, and concepts that students may be unfamiliar with and are not explicated in
the document itself. Unattributed translations are by the author of this volume.
This volume eschews the “blocks of text” approach, in which a student is confronted by
intimidating and daunting unrelieved textual material that does nothing to draw a student in.
In this sourcebook, every chapter begins with a full-page-width map that helps to contextu-
alize the material in place and time. Students thus can visualize where the action in each
chapter is taking place. In addition, each document also is prefaced with an image, almost
always of an ancient artifact or place, that gives students a visual context in which to place
PREFACE
X1X

the content of the source. Each document also is introduced by a paragraph of commentary
that establishes its authorship, historical context, and significance.
Finally, the volume also presents an internal consistency that goes beyond stand-alone
sources presented in isolation from one another. Thus, similar concepts, often indicated by
cross references, recur throughout the text and can be used by students for a comparative
approach. Leitmotifs that permeate the volume include the following:

(1) Comparative sources on the creation of the world and humans and the primeval flood,
from the Mesopotamian, Jewish, Greco-Roman, and Islamic traditions;
(2) So much law that this volume almost could be the reader for a course on ancient law:
the Code of Ur-Nammu; the Code of Hammurabi; Hebrew Laws; the Great Rhetra of
Sparta; the Constitution of Athens; the Constitution of Carthage; the Roman Twelve
Tables; the Trial of Jesus before Pontius Pilate; Expanding the Membership of the
Senate; the Antonine Constitution; Diocletian’s Edict on Maximum Prices; the Edict
of Milan; the Council of Nicaea; Roman Criminal Legal Process; the Theodosian
Code; and the Code of Justinian;
(3) Women in history: Inanna; Enheduanna; Hatshepsut; Deborah; Judith; Sappho; The
“Trojan Women’; Lysistrata; Lucretia; the Bacchanalians; Cleopatra; Turia; Boudicca;
Roman Misogyny; Perpetua and Felicitas; Zenobia; Hypatia; Roman Criminal Legal
Process; and Theodora;
(4) Humans’ relations with the gods: Epic of Gilgamesh; “Exaltation of Inanna’”; “Hymn
to the Nile”; “Book of the Dead”; “Hymn to Aton”; selections from the Hebrew Bible;
Anchises Prophesizes the Future of Rome; Horace’s “Secular Hymn’; the “Vigil of
Venus”; the Council of Nicaea; the Monastic Life; the Conversion of Clovis; and the
rise of Islam;
6) Judaism: the Hebrews in Egypt and the Legend of Moses (ca. 1300 BcE); Laws of the
Hebrew Bible (ca. 1230 BcE); Deborah the Judge Defeats the Canaanites (ca. 1050
BCE); King Solomon Consolidates His Authority (ca. 950 BCE); the Assyrian Siege of
Jerusalem (701 BCE); Judith and Holofernes (ca. 587 BCE); Revolt of the Maccabees
(167 Bck); the Trial of Jesus before Pontius Pilate (ca. 28/37 CE); the Fall of Masada
(74 cE); the Jews Confront Rome (133-180 cg); and Late Roman legislation on the
Jews (313-436 CE);
(6) Christianity: the Trial of Jesus before Pontius Pilate (ca. 28/37 cE); Pliny’s Letter to
Trajan on the Christians (ca. 112 CE); the Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicitas
(203 CE); the “Great Persecution” (303-311 CE): the Edict of Milan (312/313 cE);
the Council of Nicaea (325 cE); Late Roman Legislation on Christianity (313-436 CE);
the Monastic Life on the Eastern Frontier (ca. 360/390 CE); the Late Roman Criminal
Legal Process (ca. 370 CE); the Sack of Rome by the Visigoths in God’s Plan (410 cE);
the Murder of Hypatia of Alexandria (415 cE); and the Conversion of Clovis (496 CE);
(7) Human society and personal experiences: the Autobiography of Weni; the “Eloquent
Peasant”; Egyptian Love Letters; the “Report of Wen-Amon”; Human Society in the
Greek Archaic Age; Greek Personal Poetry; Greek Arété; the “Sword of Damocles”;
Spartan Education; the Young Alexander; Aristotle’s Justification for Slavery; the
Bacchanalian Scandal; Cato the Elder; Catullus’s Poems; the “Praise of Turia’; the
“Vigil of Venus;” Monastic Life; and the Conversion of Clovis;
XX PREFACE

(8) Poetry from Mesopotamia (Enheduanna), Egypt (Hymn to the Nile, Hymn to Aton),
Greece (Sappho, Pindar, Euripides, Aristophanes), the Roman Republic (Catullus), the
Roman Empire (Vergil, Horace), and Late Antiquity (the “Vigil of Venus’; the Poem
of Eucheria);
(9) Rulers: the Legend of Sargon (ca. 2250 BCE); Hatshepsut’s Expedition to Punt
(ca. 1470 BcE); the Peace Treaty between Ramses II and Hattusilis III (1258 BceE); the
“Victory Hymn” of Merneptah (1208 BcE); King Solomon Consolidates his Authority
(ca. 950 BCE); the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III (825 BCE); the Prism of Sennacherib
(ca. 689 BCE); the Cyrus Legend (ca. 550 BCE); the Behistun Inscription (ca. 520 BCE);
the Sword of Damocles (ca. 360 BCE); the Young Alexander the Great (ca. 350-334
BCE); Alexander’s Expedition into India (326-324 Bcg); the Wars of the Successors
(323-301 BcE); Cleopatra, Pharaoh and Queen of Egypt (48-31 BCE); the Deeds of the
Divine Augustus (14 cE); the Emperor Caligula (37-41 cg); Zenobia and the Empire
of Palmyra (266-274 cE); a Visigothic King and His Court (ca. 455/465 CE); the Con-
version of Clovis (496 CE); and the Character of Justinian and Theodora (527-548);
(10) Parallel birth legends: Sargon; Moses; Cyrus; and Romulus and Remus;
(11) Philosophers: Pythagoras; Socrates; Epictetus; and Hypatia;
(12) Subversive activities: the Cursing of Agadé; Judith and Holofernes; Athenian Anti-War
Sentiment (Euripides; Trojan Women; Aristophanes; Lysistrata); the Bacchanalian
Scandal; the Land Law of Tiberius Gracchus; the Slave Revolt of Spartacus; the Trial
of Jesus before Pontius Pilate; the Rebellion of Boudicca; and the Fall of Masada; the
Jews Confront Rome; and Late Roman Heresies; and, yes,
(13) Wars and battles: Battles between the Gods and the Titans and Giants; the Peace
Treaty between Ramses II and Hattusilis III (1258 Bce); the Victory Hymn of Mernep-
tah (1208 BCE); the Invasion of the Sea Peoples (ca. 1180 BcE); the Trojan War (ca. 1185
BCE); the “Dorian Invasion” and the Origin of the Greek Peoples (ca. 1100 BCE);
Deborah Defeats the Canaanites (ca. 1050 BCE); the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III
(825 BCE); Victory Stele of Piye (731 BCE); the Prism of Sennacherib (ca. 689 BCE);
Siege of Jerusalem (701 BCE); the Behistun Inscription (ca. 520 BCE); Battle of Salamis
(480 BCE); Pericles’s Funeral Oration (431/430 BCE); the Sacred Band of Thebes
(375-338 BCE); the Battle of Hydaspes (326 BCE); the Wars of the Successors of Alex-
ander (323-301 BCE); the Battle of Cannae (216 BCE); Revolt of the Maccabees (167
BCE); the Slave Revolt of Spartacus (73-71 BCE); Fall of Masada (73 cg); Hadrian In-
spects the Troops (128 CE); the Battle of Adrianople (378 cE); the Battle of Ad Deci-
mum (533 CE); and the Conquest of Egypt by Muslims (641-642 cg); including also
several submotifs such as Greek and Roman wars with the Celts: the Expansion of the
Celts into Greece (279-277 BCE); the Sack of Rome by the Gauls (390 Bcg); Caesar’s
Siege of Alesia (52 BCE); the Rebellion of Boudicca (60-61 cE); and sacks of Rome:
the Sack of Rome by Gauls (390 BcE); the Sack of Rome by Goths (410 ck); and the
Sack of Rome by Vandals in (455 CE).

This “variations on a theme” approach can be used by students to investigate, in either

discussions or research papers, the development, evolution, and similarities versus differ-
ences of similar phenomena over long periods of time. Several of the documents, such as the
Greek drama, also would be ideally suited for classroom performances.
PREFACE XX

I now can take this opportunity to extend my thanks to the several referees of this volume
at different stages of its production, including Bryan Givens (Pepperdine University); Craig
M. Nakashian (Texas A&M University); Frances B. Titchener (Utah State University); and
Jennifer Westerfeld (University of Louisville), not only for offering most helpful suggestions
regarding balance, coverage, and content, but also for saving me from several embarrassing
typos, not to mention outright errors. Finally, my utmost gratitude goes to Charles Cavaliere,
Executive Editor for Classics, Classical Studies, and History at Oxford University Press,
who, along with keeping me on my toes while shepherding two editions of Ancient Mediter-
ranean Civilizations through the editorial process, first broached the subject of putting to-
gether an ancient history reader back in January 2013. Given that I often had thought of
doing just that, this was a match made in heaven. Charles and the ever-active staff at OUP,
and in particular Sara Birmingham, have made crafting this volume a real pleasure! So to
Charles I can only say, “Divinitas te servet per multos annos, parens karissime atque
amantissime!”
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 SOWRCES FOR
ANCIENT
MEDITERRANEAN
CIVILIZATIONS
oO
 CHAPTER |
cSQ>

Civilization before Civilization

(2,000,000—3000 Bce)

The entire extent of the human past covers more than a million years. But when we speak of
“history” and “civilization,” the time frame dwindles to merely the previous five thousand
years. The very definition of history itself is based on the existence of written documents.
This means, of course, that no textual sources survive from the prehistoric period. But this
is not to say that early peoples of the historic period did not have accounts of what their
earlier history had been. In particular, all of the civilizations discussed in this volume had
accounts of how the universe and the living things in it, including humans, had been created.
For them, these accounts were not “myths” or “legends,” but what really happened.
Even though the accounts of different peoples reflected their own particular social or geo-
graphic circumstances, in many regards they had remarkable parallels with the tales of other
peoples. Although the details differed, in every case all peoples saw creation being effected
by some form of deity. Another common motif was the genesis of the universe from chaos
or nothingness, with increasing particularization resulting from the creation of the earth and
the sky, the land and the water. Yet another repetitious theme relates to an angry deity who
decided to destroy humanity by sending a great flood but permitted a favored person and
his family, along with representatives of many animal species, to survive. Presented here
are creation stories that were current in the Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Greek, Jewish, and
Islamic traditions.
 CIVILIZATION BEFORE CIVILIZATION (2,000,000-3000 BcE)

Mediterranean

Map I Neolithic Sites of the Ancient Near East

 Accounts of the
Creation of the Universe, Humans, and the Flood

I: MESOPOTAMIAN ACCOUNTS

Beginning around 2500 sce, Mesopotamian accounts of creation and the early history of
humanity are preserved on clay tablets. Some are in fragmentary condition and can only be
conjecturally restored. Many of the gods mentioned in these accounts were known by sev-
eral different names, which can make reading the accounts confusing.

|
cSQ>

THE CREATION STORY:

THE “ENUMA ELIS” (““ENUMA ELISH”),
TABLETS 1—5'

A section of the cuneiform text of the “Enuma Elish,” the Mesopotamian creation story, preserved in
the British Museum, London.

1 Bdited summaries, using the original wording, of the much longer accounts are presented here.
4 CIVILIZATION BEFORE CIVILIZATION (2,000,000-3000 BcE)

The Mesopotamian creation myth the Enuma Elish, also known as "The Seven Tablets of
Creation,” is one of the oldest surviving stories in the world. Its title is derived from the
opening lines of the piece, “When on High." It first was recovered, in a seventh-century BcE
version, from the library of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal at Nineveh (Mosul, Iraq). Other
copies of tablets containing the myth have been found at Ashur, Kish, and Sultantepe. Their
contents indicate that they are copies of much older original versions, dating to the Kassite
(1500-1200 sce) or, more likely, the Old Babylonian (2000-1500 sce) period. Whereas in the
original version the Sumerian god Enlil was the main actor, in the Babylonian version his
name was changed to Marduk, the main god of the Babylonians. Assyrian versions had the
Assyrian god Ashur in the title role.

Source: W. G. Lambert, “Mesopotamian Creation Stories,’ in Markham J. Geller and Mineke Schipper, eds., Imagining
Creation, IJS Studies in Judaica 5 (Leiden: Brill, 2008), 17-59.

When the on high did not exist, and earth beneath had very much stronger than his father’s begetter, AnSar
not come into being, there was Apsi,” the first in had no rival among the gods, his brothers. The divine
order, their begetter, and demiurge* Tiamat,* who brothers came together, their clamor got loud, throw-
gave birth to them all. They had mingled their waters ing Tiamat into a turmoil and by their dancing they
together before meadow-land had coalesced and reed- spread alarm in Anduruna.’* Thereupon Apsi, the be-
bed° was to be found, when not one of the gods had getter of the great gods, addressed Tiamat, “Their be-
been formed or had come into being, when no desti- havior has become displeasing to me and I cannot rest
nies had been decreed, the gods were created within in the day-time or sleep at night. I will destroy and
them: Lahmu and Lahamu® were formed and came break up their way of life so that silence may reign
into being. While they grew and increased in stature and we may sleep.” The gods heard this and were fran-
An§ar’ and Ki8ar,® who excelled them, were created.’ tic. They were overcome with silence and sat quietly.
They prolonged their days, they multiplied their years. Ea,'* who excels in knowledge, the skilled and
Anu,'° their son, could rival his fathers. Anu, the son, learned, Ea, who knows everything, fashioned his
equalled AnSar, and Anu begat Nudimmud,"' his own pure incantation. He poured sleep upon Apsii as he
equal. Nudimmud was the champion among his fa- was slumbering deeply. He split his sinews, ripped
thers: profoundly discerning, wise, of robust strength; off his crown, carried away his aura and put it on him-
self. He bound Apsti and killed him. He set his dwell-
> Representing sweet fresh water. ing upon Apsi."* He rested quietly in his chamber, he
3 A creator god. called it abzu, then he founded his living-quarters
4 Representing salty water. within it, and Ea and Damkina, his wife, sat in splen-
° A recollection of the marshlands of the Tigris and dor. In the chamber of the destinies, the room of the
Euphrates rivers.
archetypes, the wisest of the wise, Bél!> was con-
° These two always are mentioned together and some-
ceived. In the abzu was Marduk" born. His figure was
times are thought to represent riverbed silt.
7A sky god.
8 An earth goddess. ' The preworld world.
° Most creation stories envisage a sequence of rulers in 'S Also Enki or Nudimmud.
which power and authority are passed from parents to ‘The sweet water that was the body of Apsii became the
their offspring. home of Enki.
'°The god of the heavens, An in Sumerian, Anu in 'S“T ord,” another name for Marduk.
Akkadian and Babylonian. '°Enlil in the original Sumerian version, changed to
'! Another name for the water god, Enki in Sumerian, Ea Marduk by the Babylonians, whose primary god was
in Akkadian and Babylonian. Marduk.
THE CREATION STORY: THE “ENUMA ELIS” (“ENUMA ELISH”), TABLETS 1-5 5

well developed, the glance of his eyes was dazzling, the destinies for the gods, her sons: “May the utter-
he was mighty from the beginning. Four were his ance of your mouths subdue the fire-god.””
eyes, four his ears, flame shot forth as he moved his Henceforth Tiamat plotted evil because of Apsa. It
lips, his four ears grew large, his figure was lofty and became known to Ea that she had arranged the con-
superior in comparison with the gods, he was Mari- flict. He entered the presence of the father of his be-
utu, Mari-utu,'” the Son, the Sun-god, the Sun-god of getter, AnSar, and related to him all of Tiamat’s
the gods. The Fifty Dreads were loaded upon him. plotting: “My father, Tiamat our mother has con-
Anu’ formed and gave birth to the four winds, He ceived a hatred for us, She has established a host in
delivered them to Marduk, “My son, let them whirl!” her savage fury. All the gods have turned to her, Even
Meanwhile the gods took no rest, they plotted those you begat took the side of Tiamat.” AnSar heard.
evil, and addressed their mother Tiamat, “When He cried, “Woe!” and bit his lip. His heart was in
Apsi, your spouse, was killed, you did not go at his fury, his mind could not be calmed. Over Ea his son
side, but sat quietly. Now the four dreadful winds his cry was faltering: “My son, you who provoked the
have been fashioned to throw you into confusion, and war, take responsibility for whatever you alone have
we cannot sleep. You sit alone and you do not love us! done! You set out and killed Apsd, and as for Tiamat,
Make battle, avenge Apsti!” Tiamat heard, the speech whom you made furious, where is her equal?” The
pleased her. She said, “Let us make demons.” The creator of wisdom, the god Nudimmud, gently an-
gods took the side of Tiamat, fiercely plotting, un- swered his father AnSar: “My father, deep mind, who
resting by night and day, lusting for battle, raging, decrees destiny, who has the power to bring into
storming, they set up a host to bring about conflict. being and destroy, consider that I performed a helpful
Mother Hubur,’? who forms everything, supplied ir- deed. Before I killed Apsti who could have antici-
resistible weapons, and gave birth to giant serpents. pated the present situation?” AnSar heard, the words
She created the Hydra, the Dragon, the Hairy Hero pleased him. His heart relaxed to speak to Ea, “My
the Great Demon, the Savage Dog, and the Scorpion- son, your deeds are fitting for a god. Go before Tiamat
man, Fierce demons, the Fish-man, and the Bull- and appease her, attack with your incantation.”
man, carriers of merciless weapons, fearless in the Ea heard the speech of An§Sar his father. He took
face of battle. Among the gods, her sons, she exalted the road to Tiamat, but he perceived her tricks, he
Qingu, and magnified him among them. The leader- fell silent, and turned back. He entered the presence
ship of the army, supreme command she entrusted to of An§Sar, penitently addressing him, “My father,
him and she set him on a throne, saying, “I have cast Tiamat’s deeds are too much for me. My incantation
the spell for you. Let your commands prevail over all was not enough. Her strength is mighty, none can go
the Anunnaki.””° She gave him the Tablet of Desti- against her. I became afraid of her cry and turned
nies! and fastened it to his breast, saying, “Your back. My father, do not lose hope, send a second
order may not be changed.” After Qingu was elevated person against her. Although a woman’s strength is
and had acquired the power of Anuship,”” He decreed very great, it is not equal to a man’s. Break up her
plans before she lays her hands on us.” An§Sar cried
out in intense fury, addressing Anu his other son,
“Honored son, whose strength is mighty, whose
7 Marduk also was equated with Utu, the sun god. attack is irresistible, hasten and stand before Tiamat,
'8 Marduk’s grandfather.
appease her rage that her heart may relax. Address
The underworld river, another name for Tiamat.
to her words of petition that she may be appeased.”
20 The gods.
21 The Tablets of Destinies legalize the rule of a god and Anu heard the speech of AnSar his father. He took
control the fates. the road to her, he perceived the tricks of Tiamat, he
22 Kingship. In the usual Sumerian hierarchy, Anu was
the king of the gods. 23 Marduk.
6 CIVILIZATION BEFORE CIVILIZATION (2,000,000-3000 BcE)

fell silent, and turned back. He entered the presence may go and face your powerful enemy.” Kakka
of AnSar the father, penitently addressing him: “My went. He directed his steps to Lahmu and Lahamu,
father, Tiamat’s deeds are too much for me. My in- the gods his fathers. When Lahmu and Lahamu
cantation was not enough. Her strength is mighty, no heard, they cried aloud. They entered the presence
one can go against her. I became afraid of her cry of AnSar and became filled with joy. They conferred
and turned back. My father, do not lose hope, send as they sat at table. They ate grain, they drank ale.
another person against her. Although a woman’s They strained the sweet liquor through their straws.
strength is very great, it is not equal to a man’s. They drank beer and felt good. They became care-
Break up her plans before she lays her hands on us.” free, their mood was merry, and they decreed the
An§ar lapsed into silence, staring at the ground. He fate for Marduk, their avenger. They set a Lordly
nodded to Ea, shaking his head. The Igigi”* and all dais for him and he took his seat before his fathers to
the Anunnaki had assembled. No god would go to receive kingship. Lahmu and Lahamu said,
face Tiamat. The Lord An§ar, the father of the great “Marduk, you are the most honored among the great
gods, was angry in his heart, and did not summon gods, your destiny is unequalled, your command is
anyone. e like Anu’s. Henceforth your order will not be an-
A mighty son, the warrior Marduk, Ea summoned nulled. You are Marduk, our avenger. We have given
to his private chamber, saying: “Marduk, give coun- you kingship over the whole universe. Take your seat
sel, listen to your father. Go reverently before An§Sar, in the assembly, let your weapons slay your ene-
ease him with your glance.” Bél drew near and stood mies.” The gods rejoiced and offered congratulation:
in the presence of AnSar. AnSar saw him, his heart “Marduk is the king!” They presented to him a
filled with satisfaction. He kissed his lips and re- mace, a throne, and a rod, and they gave him an ir-
moved his fear. “My father,° I will go and fulfill resistible weapon that overwhelms the foe, saying,
your desires! Soon you will tread on the neck of “Go, cut Tiamat’s throat.”
Tiamat!” “Go, my son, appease Tiamat with your Marduk fashioned a bow and made it his weapon.
pure spell. Drive the storm chariot without delay, and He took up his club and held it in his right hand. He
turn her back.” With glad heart Bél addressed his placed lightning before him, and filled his body with
father, “Lord of the gods, destiny of the great gods, if tongues of flame. He made a net to enmesh the en-
I should bind Tiamat and preserve you, convene an trails of Tiamat. He put beside his net the winds
assembly and proclaim for me an exalted destiny. Sit, given by his father, Anu. He fashioned the Evil
all of you, in UpSukkinakku” with gladness, and let Wind, the Dust Storm, Tempest, Chaos-spreading
me, with my utterance, decree destinies instead of Wind. Bél took up the Storm-flood, his great weapon.
you. Whatever I instigate must not be changed, nor He rode the fearful chariot of the irresistible storm.
may my command be nullified or altered.” Four steeds he yoked to it and harnessed them to it,
Angar opened his mouth and addressed Kakka, the Destroyer, the Merciless, the Trampler, the
his vizier*’: “Have the gods, my fathers, brought to Fleet.** At his right hand he stationed raging battle
my presence. Let them decree the destiny for and strife, on the left, conflict that overwhelms a
Marduk their avenger. Repeat to them all that I tell united battle array. He set his face toward the raging
you: ‘AnSar, your son, has sent me. Marduk, the Tiamat. In his lips he held a spell. He grasped a plant
sage of the gods, your son, has come forward, He to counter poison in his hand.
has determined to meet Tiamat. Quickly, now, Bél drew near, surveying the maw of Tiamat. He
decree your destiny for him without delay, that he observed the tricks of Qingu, her spouse. Tiamat cast
her spell without turning her neck. Bél lifted up the
4 The senior gods.
*5 A term of respect; actually his grandfather.
26 Assembly place of the gods. *8 Similar to the four horsemen of the Apocalypse,
27 An executive official who often does the real work. Conquest, War, Famine, and Death.
THE CREATION STORY: THE “ENUMA ELIS” (“ENUMA ELISH”), TABLETS 1-5 qi

mz}
Antu (Antum) (Nammu) Anu (An) S Ki (Urash

Enki (Ea) Nin-khursag

Damkina Enlil (Hu)
(Nudimmud) Nin-mah/Nin-ki

Figure | “A geneology of the Mesopotamia gods as presented in the Enuma Elish.”

Storm-flood, his great weapon, and with these words After the warrior Marduk had bound and slain his
threw it at the raging Tiamat, “Why are you aggres- enemies, and returned to Tiamat, whom he had
sive and arrogant, and strive to provoke battle? The bound, Bél placed his feet on the lower parts of
younger generation have shouted, outraging their Tiamat and with his merciless club smashed her
elders, but you, their mother, hold pity in contempt. skull. He severed her arteries and let the north wind
Qingu you have named to be your spouse, and you bear up her blood to give the news. His fathers saw it
have improperly appointed him to the rank of Anu- and were glad and exulted. Bél rested, surveying the
ship. Against AnSar, king of the gods, you have corpse. He split her into two like a dried fish. One
stirred up trouble. Deploy your troops, gird on your half of her he set up and stretched out as the heavens.
weapons. You and I will take our stand and do battle.” He stretched the skin and appointed a watch with the
When Tiamat heard this she lost her reason. All her instruction not to let her waters escape. He fashioned
lower members trembled beneath her. She kept recit- heavenly stations for the great gods, and set up con-
ing her spell. Tiamat and Marduk, the sage of the stellations, the patterns of the stars. He appointed the
gods, came together. Bél spread out his net and en- year, marked off divisions, and set up three stars each
meshed her; he let loose the Evil Wind in her face. for the twelve months. He placed the heights of
Tiamat opened her mouth to swallow it, the fierce heaven in Tiamat’s belly. He created Nanna,” en-
winds weighed down her belly, her inward were dis- trusting to him the night. He appointed him as the
tended and she opened her mouth wide. He let fly an jewel of the night to fix the days. From her two eyes
arrow and pierced her belly. He tore open her entrails he let the Euphrates and Tigris flow. He heaped up
and slit her inward. He bound her and extinguished the distant mountains on her breasts. He bored wells
her life. He threw down her corpse and stood on it. to channel the springs. He twisted her tail and wove it
After he had killed Tiamat, the leader, her assembly into the Durmahu.” He set up her crotch—it wedged
dispersed, her host scattered. But they were com- up the heavens—thus the other half of her he stretched
pletely surrounded, unable to escape. He bound them out and made it firm as the earth. After he had fin-
and broke their weapons, Now Qingu, who had risen ished his work inside Tiamat, he surveyed the
to power among them, he bound. He took from him
the Tablet of Destinies, which was not properly his, 2° The god of the moon.
and fastened it to his own breast. 3° The bond that holds the earth and the heavens in position.
8 CIVILIZATION BEFORE CIVILIZATION (2,000,000-3000 BcE)

heavens and the earth. After he had formulated his Marduk was our beloved son, now he is your king,
regulations and composed his decrees, He attached heed his command! His name is Lugaldimmer-
guide-ropes and put them in Ea’s hands. The Tablet of ankia,! trust in him!” The gods bowed down, speak-
Destinies that Qingu had taken and carried he pre- _ing to him, They addressed Lugaldimmerankia, their
sented to Anu. Lahmu and Lahamu opened their Lord, “Formerly, Lord, you were our beloved son,
mouths and addressed the Igigi gods: “Previously now you are our king.”

2
cSO>
THE CREATION OF HUMANS
BY ENKI AND NINMAH

The Sumerian god of water, Enki, is recognized by the rivulets of water running off his shoulders.

In this myth, preserved on Mesopotamian cuneiform clay tablets, Enki, the god of water and
civilization and the creator of forms, aided by Namma, an original mother of the gods, and
Ninmab, an ancient mother goddess, created the first humans to relieve the gods of their
workload. Their efforts left something to be desired and explained why humans hence
forward were afflicted with a range of disabilities.

Source: “Enki and Ninmah,” in J. A. Black, G. Cunningham, J. Ebeling, E. Fliickiger-Hawker, E. Robson, J. Taylor, and
G. Zélyomi, “The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature.”

“King of the Gods,” incorporating the word “lugal,” a Sumerian military leader or king of several cities.
THE CREATION OF HUMANS BY ENKI AND NINMAH

In those days, in the days when heaven and earth “O Lord of wide understanding, who is as wise as
were created, the gods were obliged to work for their you? Enki, the great Lord, who can equal your ac-
food. The senior gods oversaw the work, while the tions?” Enki and Ninmah drank beer, their hearts
minor gods were bearing the toil. The gods were dig- became elated, and then Ninmah said to Enki:
ging the canals and piling up the silt in Harali.*? The “Man’s body can be either good or bad and whether
gods, dredging the clay, began complaining about I make a fate good or bad depends on my will.” Enki
this life. At that time, the one of great wisdom, the answered Ninmah: “I will counterbalance whatever
creator of all the senior gods, Enki* lay on his bed, fate, good or bad, you happen to decide.”
not waking up from his sleep, in the deep engur,™ in Ninmab took clay from the top of the apsf in her
the flowing water, the place the inside of which no hand and she fashioned from it first a man who could
other god knows. The gods said, weeping: “He is the not bend his outstretched weak hands. Enki looked at
cause of the lamenting!” Namma,* the primeval the man who could not bend his outstretched weak
mother who gave birth to the senior gods, took the hands, and decreed his fate: he appointed him as a
tears of the gods to the one who lay sleeping: “Are servant of the king. Next, she fashioned one who
you really lying there asleep? My son, wake up from could not hold back his urine. Enki looked at the one
your bed! Please apply the skill deriving from your who could not hold back his urine and bathed him in
wisdom and create a substitute for the gods so that enchanted water and drove out the Namtar*? demon
they can be freed from their toil!’ At the word of his from his body. Then she fashioned a woman who
mother Namma, Enki rose up from his bed. could not give birth. Enki looked at the woman who
And after Enki, the fashioner of designs by him- could not give birth, and decreed her fate: he made her
self, had pondered the matter, he said to his mother belong to the queen’s household. Next, she fashioned
Namma: “My mother, the creature you planned will one with neither penis nor vagina. Enki looked at the
really come into existence. Impose on him the work one with neither penis nor vagina and give it the name
of carrying baskets. You should knead clay from the “Nibru*! eunuch,’ and decreed as its fate to stand
top of the apsii*®; the birth-goddesses will nip off the before the king. Ninmah threw the pinched-off clay
clay and you shall bring the form into existence. Let from her hand on the ground and a great silence fell.
Ninmal’ act as your assistant. My mother, after you The great Lord Enki said to Ninmah: “I have de-
have decreed his fate, let Ninmah impose on him the creed the fates of your creatures and given them
work of carrying baskets.” Enki brought joy to their their daily bread. Come, now I will fashion some-
heart. He set a feast for his mother Namma and for body for you, and you must decree the fate of the
Ninmab, An, Enlil,** and the Lord Nudimmud®” newborn one!” Enki devised a shape with head, and
roasted holy kids. All the senior gods praised him: mouth in its middle, and said to Ninmah: “Pour
ejaculated semen into a woman’s womb, and the
32 A mythical site somewhere near ancient Sumeria. woman will give birth to the semen of her womb.”
33 The water god. Ninmah stood by for the newborn and the woman
34 The great sea beneath the world and the underworld, bore Umul*: its head was afflicted, its eyes were
also called apsi. afflicted, its neck was afflicted. It could hardly
35 An ancient water goddess said to be either the mother breathe, its ribs were shaky, its lungs were afflicted,
or the grandmother of Enki; eventually, Enki took over its heart was afflicted, its bowels were afflicted.
most of her functions. With its hand and its lolling head it could not put
36 The underground source of fresh water, see Reading 1.
bread into its mouth; its spine and head were
37 Or Ninhursag, a mountain and fertility goddess, also
goddess of pregnancy.
38 The storm god, Babylonian Marduk, the only god who “© God of diseases.
was in contact with his father An, the king of the gods. 4| Nippur, the city of Enlil.
39 Another name for Enki. * A handicapped person.
10 CIVILIZATION BEFORE CIVILIZATION (2,000,000-—3000 BcE)

dislocated. Enki fashioned it in this way. Enki said Enki: “The man you have fashioned is neither alive
to Ninmah: “For your creatures I have decreed a nor dead. He cannot support himself.’ Enki an-
fate, I have given them their daily bread. Now, you swered Ninmah: “I decreed a fate for the first man
should decree a fate for my creature, give him his with the weak hands, I decreed a fate for the man
daily bread too.” Ninmab looked at Umul and who could not hold back his urine, I gave him bread.
turned to him. She went nearer to Umul and asked I decreed a fate for the woman who could not give
him questions but he could not speak. She offered birth, I gave her bread. I decreed the fate for the one
him bread to eat but he could not reach out for it. with neither penis nor vagina on its body, I gave it
Standing up he could not sit down, could not lie bread.” Ninmah could not rival the great Lord Enki.
down, he could not eat bread. Ninmah answered Father Enki, your praise is sweet!

ae Or)

Ab Es eG) G1) ied TAR iukethphesaaote

Coll GrAVE Sie Tea Lael

The Sumerian flood story, as reported in the Epic of Gilgamesh, is preserved on this cuneiform tablet
written in the seventh century Bce and found in the nineteenth century in the library at the Assyrian
capital city of Nineveh. Now preserved in the British Museum in London.

The Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, preserved on clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform text, is one
of the oldest surviving works of literature. The earliest known examples of its current full form,
written in cuneiform script on clay tablets, date to the Old Babylonian period, but its constituent
parts go well back into the Sumerian period. Gilgamesh was an apparently historical king of the
city of Uruk who reigned in the early third millennium sce. A famous epic tale about him later
developed. After the death of his friend Enkidu, Gilgamesh attempted to restore him to life by
THE FLOOD STORY: EPIC OF GILGAMESH, TABLET XI ui

visiting Utnapishtim, who had survived a great flood and been granted immortality by the gods.
Utnapishtim provided Gilgamesh with a lengthy discussion of the flood.

Source: Maureen Gallery Kovacs, The Epic of Gilgamesh (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1989), 95-110. Electronic
edition by Wolf Carhanan (1998),

Utnapishtim spoke to Gilgamesh, saying, I will that I had I loaded on it, I had all my kith and kin go
reveal to you, Gilgamesh, a thing that is hidden, a up into the boat, all the beasts and animals of the
secret of the gods I will tell you! Shuruppak, a city field and the craftsmen I had go up. Shamash had set
that you surely know, situated on the banks of the a stated time: “Go inside the boat, seal the entry!”
Euphrates, that city was very old, and there were That stated time had arrived. The weather was
gods inside it. The hearts of the Great Gods moved frightful to behold! I went into the boat and sealed
them to inflict the Flood. Their Father An uttered the the entry. Just as dawn began to glow there arose
oath of secrecy, valiant Enlil** was their adviser, from the horizon a black cloud. Adad*! rumbled
Ninurta** was their Chamberlain, Ennugi* was their inside of it. Erragal** pulled out the mooring poles.
Minister of Canals. Ea,*° the Clever Prince, was Ninurta made the dikes overflow, the Anunnaki*?
under oath with them so he repeated their talk to the lifted up the torches, setting the land ablaze with
reed house:*’ “Reed house, reed house! Wall, wall! O their flare. Stunned shock over Adad’s deeds over-
man of Shuruppak, son of Ubartutu*®: Tear down the took the heavens, and turned to blackness all that
house and build a boat! Abandon wealth and seek had been light. All day long the South Wind blew,
living beings! Spurn possessions and keep alive submerging the mountain in water, overwhelming
living beings! Make all living beings go up into the the people like an attack. No one could see his fellow,
boat. The boat that you are to build, its dimensions they could not recognize each other in the torrent.
must measure equal to each other: its length must The gods were frightened by the Flood. Ishtar
correspond to its width. Roof it over like the abzu.”” shrieked like a woman in childbirth, “How could I
I laid out her exterior. It was a field in area, its walls say evil things in the Assembly of the Gods, ordering
were each 10 times 12 cubits* in height, the sides of a catastrophe to destroy my people? No sooner have
its top were of equal length, 10 times 12 cubits each. I given birth to my dear people than they fill the sea
I provided it with six decks, thus dividing it into like so many fish!” Six days and seven nights came
seven levels. The inside of it I divided into nine com- the wind and flood, the storm flattening the land.
partments. I drove plugs to keep out water in its When the seventh day arrived, the storm was
middle part. I gave the workmen ale, beer, oil, and pounding, the flood was a war, struggling with itself
wine, so they could make a party like the New Year’s like a woman writhing in labor. The sea calmed, fell
Festival. The boat was finished by sunset. The still, the whirlwind and flood stopped. I looked around
launching was very difficult. All the living beings all day long. Quiet had set in and all the human
beings had turned to clay. The terrain was as flat as a
43 The storm god who governed life on earth. roof. I opened a vent and fresh air fell upon the side
44 God of hunting and warfare. of my nose. I fell to my knees and sat weeping, tears
45 An attendant of Enlil. streaming down the side of my nose. I looked around
46 Another name for Enki, the water god. for coastlines in the expanse of the sea, and at twelve
47 So as not to violate his oath not to tell anyone. leagues™ there emerged a region of land. On Mt.
48 The last king of Shuruppak before the flood.
49 The underground watery dwelling place of the water
god Enki. >! The storm god.
50 A unit of length about eighteen inches (forty-six » A god of the underworld.
centimeters). The gods.
12 CIVILIZATION BEFORE CIVILIZATION (2,000,000-3000 BcE)

Nimush* the boat lodged firm. When a seventh day my people to annihilation.” Just then Enlil arrived.
arrived I sent forth a dove and released it. The dove He saw the boat and was filled with rage at the
went off, but came back to me. No perch was visible Igigi®’ gods: “Where did a living being escape? No
so it circled back to me. I sent forth a swallow and man was to survive the annihilation!” Ea*® spoke to
released it. The swallow went off, but came back to Valiant Enlil, saying: “How, how could you bring
me; no perch was visible so it circled back to me. I about a Flood without consideration? Charge the
sent forth a raven and released it. The raven went off, violation to the violator. It was not I who revealed
and saw the waters slither back. the secret of the Great Gods, I only made a dream
It eats, it scratches, it bobs, but does not circle appear to Atrahasis,°’ and thus he heard the secret
back to me. Then I sent out everything in all direc- of the gods.” Enlil went up inside the boat and,
tions and I offered incense in front of the grasping my hand, made me go up. He had my wife
mountain-ziggurat. The gods smelled the sweet go up and kneel by my side. He touched our fore-
savor, and collected like flies over a sacrifice. Just head and, standing between us, he blessed us: “Pre-
then Beletili®® arrived and said, “The gods may viously Utnapishtim was a human being. But now
come to the incense offering, but Enlil may not let Utnapishtim and his wife become like us, the
come to the incense offering, because without con- gods! Let Utnapishtim reside far away, at the Mouth
sidering he brought about the Flood and consigned of the Rivers.”

4 A unit of distance, about 3.5 miles (5.6 km).

°° Also called Mt. Nisir. Identified as Pir Magrun, a
mountain in Kurdistan. 7 The senior gods.
°° The same as Ninmah and Ninhursag, a mountain and 8 Enki.
fertility goddess. *° An alternate name for Utnapishtim.
 Il: EGYPTIAN ACCOUNTS

Several different Egyptian accounts of

the creation are preserved, primarily on papyrus
documents dating to 2500 sce and later. Some have been found in the tombs that
Egyptians believed would assist them in enjoying the afterlife, whereas others survived
in trash heaps.

4
ae ai
THE CREATION STORY:
“A BOOK OF KNOWING
THE EVOLUTIONS OF RA”

The god Ra, represented by the sun disk, with the falcon head of the god Horus and the ostrich feather
of Ma’at, goddess of divine justice. Preserved in the Louvre Museum, Paris.

This version of the Egyptian creation story is only preserved in a sixteen-foot-long papyrus
roll written in the late fourth century sce and discovered near Thebes in the early 1860s. It
now is in the British Museum. The story is told by the god Neb-er-tcher, the god of the uni-
verse, who was born out of Nu, the watery abyss.

Source: E. A. Wallis Budge, Legends of the Gods (London: Kegan Paul, 1912), 2-13.

13
14 CIVILIZATION BEFORE CIVILIZATION (2,000,000-3000 BcE)

These are the words of the god Neb-er-tcher® spoke birth. I it was who emitted Shu, and I it was who
after he had come into being: “I am the creator of emitted Tefnut, and from being the one god I
what hath come into being, and I myself came into became three gods; the two other gods who came
being under the form of the god Khepera,” and I into being on this earth sprang from me, and Shu
came into being in primeval time. I came into being and Tefnut were raised up from out of Nu in which
in the form of Khepera, and I am the creator of what they were. Now behold, they brought my Eye® to
did come into being, that is to say, I formed myself me after two henti periods” since the time when
out of the primeval matter, and I made and formed they went forth from me.
myself out of the substance that existed in primeval I gathered together my members, which had ap-
time. I have done my will in everything in this earth. peared in my own body, and afterward I had sex with
I have spread myself abroad therein, and I have made my closed hand, and my will came unto me from out
strong my hand. I was one by myself, for the gods of my hand, and the seed poured into my own mouth,
had not been brought forth, and I had emitted from and I emitted from myself the gods Shu and Tefnut,
myself neither Shu® nor Tefnut.% I brought my own and so from being the one god, thus the two other
name into my mouth as a word of power, and I forth- gods who came into being on this earth sprang from
with came into being under the form of things that me, and Shu and Tefnut were raised up from out of
are and under the form of Khepera. I came into being Nu in which they were.
from out of primeval matter, and from the beginning My father Nu said: “Shu and Tefnut covered up
I appeared under the form of the multitudinous my Eye® with the plant-like clouds that were behind
things that exist; nothing whatsoever existed at that them for very many henti periods.” Then Shu and
time in this earth, and it was I who made whatsoever Tefnut rejoiced from out of the inert watery mass
was made. wherein they and I were, and they brought to me my
I was one by myself, and there was no other Eye. Now after these things I gathered together my
being who worked with me in that place. I made all members, and I wept over them, and plants and
the things under the forms of which I appeared then creeping things sprang up from the tears that I let
by means of the Soul-God that I raised into firm- fall. I cried out to my Eye, and men and women
ness at that time from out of Nu,°* from a state of sprang into being from the tears that came forth from
inertness. I found no place whatsoever there whereon my Eye.
I could stand, I worked by the power of a spell by Then I bestowed upon my Eye the uraeus® of fire,
means of my heart, I laid a foundation for things by and it raged at me when another Eye” came and grew
Ma’at,© and whatsoever was made, I made. I was up in its place, whereupon I endowed the second Eye
one by myself, and I laid the foundation of things by with some of the splendor that I had made for the
means of my heart, and I made the other things that first, and I made the first to occupy its place in my
came into being, and the things of Khepera that Face. Its vigorous power fell on the plants, on the
were made were manifold, and their offspring came plants that I had placed there, and it set order among
into existence from the things to which they gave them, and it took up its place in my face, and it does
rule the whole earth.
6° More usually called Atum.
6! A sun god, the god of creation and rebirth. °° The sun, which sees everything.
© God of the air. °’ Periods of sixty years each.
3 Goddess of moisture. ** The sun, which often is depicted as a large all-seeing
°* Or Nun, the watery abyss and chaos that existed before eye, often equated with the god Ra.
all time and from which the world and universe were ® A rearing cobra, the sign of royalty and divine
created. authority.
6 Divine truth, justice, and order. The moon.
 THE CREATION STORY: “A BOOK OF KNOWING THE EVOLUTIONS
OF RA” 15

Then Shu and Tefnut brought forth Geb”! and overthrowing of Apep,”* over whose hands and arms
Nut;” and Geb and Nut brought forth brought forth Aker” keeps ward. Apep’s hands and arms shall not
Osiris,” and Heru-khenti-An-maa,” and Set, and exist, his feet and legs shall not exist, and he is
Isis,’”° and Nephthys’’ and behold, they have pro- chained in one place while Ra inflicts upon him the
duced offspring, and have created multitudinous blows that are decreed for him. He is thrown upon
children in this earth, by means of the beings that his accursed back, his face is slit open by reason of
came into existence from the creatures that they pro- the evil that he has done, and he shall remain upon
duced. They invoke my name, and they overthrow his accursed back.”
their enemies, and they make words of power for the

™ God of the earth.

” Goddess of the heavens.
3 Subsequently the god of the underworld, who judged
the dead.
% A form of the god Horus.
® A storm god and god of the red desert land, he killed
and dismembered Osiris.
7 The most worshipped goddess of ancient Egypt, wife of
Osiris and mother of Horus; Isis symbolized life and re- 78 Apophis, an evil snake god, enemy of Ra.
birth and represented the throne of the pharaoh. ” An ancient god, the god of the horizon.
77 A goddess involved in funeral ceremony.
 Ill: GREEK ACCOUNTS

There are several Greek versions of the creation of the universe and humanity. Two of these
versions are given by Hesiod and in “The Library.”

5
coo
Eeiseotte
THE -GCREAT ION» O Bed bibedNGN
AND THE TITANS: HESIOD,
FHEOGONY «LINES OA Ae

In this Roman copy of a Greek original relief sculpture, Gaia hands over one of her children to be eaten
by Uranus.

Hesiod of Askra in Boeotia in east central Greece lived in the eighth century Bce and was one
of the earliest Greek writers. He authored a long and detailed poem called the Theogony
("The Birth of the Gods") about the origin of the universe. Like similar stories told elsewhere,
it embodies a succession of sons who either inherit or seize power from their fathers.

Source: Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns and Homerica (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1924),
2-64.

16
THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE AND THE TITANS: HESIOD, THEOGONY, LINES 104-225 17

Hail, children of Zeus!*®° Tell how at the first gods and flint she shaped a great sickle, and told her plan to her
earth came to be, and rivers, and the boundless sea dear sons: “My children, gotten of a sinful father, we
with its raging swell, and the gleaming stars, and the should punish the vile outrage of your father.’ But
wide heaven above. These things declare to me from fear seized them all, and none of them uttered a word.
the beginning, ye Muses. Verily at the first Chaos! Then great Cronus the wily took courage and an-
came to be, but next wide-bosomed Gaia.** From swered his dear mother: “Mother, I will undertake to
Chaos came forth Erebus® and black Night; and of do this deed, for I reverence not our father of evil
Night were born Aether* and Day, whom Night con- name.” Vast Gaia rejoiced and hid him in an ambush,
ceived and bore from union in love with Erebus. And and put in his hands the jagged sickle, and revealed to
Gaia first bore starry Uranus,®° equal to herself, to him the whole plot. And Uranus came, bringing on
cover her on every side, and to be an ever-sure night and longing for love, and he lay about Gaia
abiding-place for the blessed gods. Afterward she lay spreading himself full upon her. Then the son from his
with Uranus and bore deep-swirling Ocean, Coeus ambush took the great long sickle with jagged teeth and
and Crius, and Hyperion and Iapetus, Theia and Rhea, swiftly lopped off his own father’s testicles and cast
Themis and Mnemosyne, and gold-crowned Phoebe, them away to fall behind him. And not vainly did they
and lovely Tethys.*° After them was born Cronus*’ the fall from his hand; for all the bloody drops that gushed
wily, youngest and most terrible of her children, and forth Gaia received, and she bore the Furies,”! to wit,
he hated his lusty sire. And again, she bore the Cyclo- Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megaera, and the great Giants”
pes; in all else they were like the gods, but one eye and the Nymphs.” And as soon as he had cut off the
only was set in the midst of their foreheads. And testicles with flint and cast them into the surging sea, a
again, three other sons were born of Gaia and Uranus, white foam spread around them and in it there came
Cottus and Briareos and Gyes.®* From their shoulders forth an awful and lovely goddess. Her gods and men
sprang a hundred arms, and each had fifty heads upon call Aphrodite,* and with her went Eros.”° Also she
his shoulders on their strong limbs. Of all the chil- bore the ruthless avenging Fates,”° Clotho and Lachesis
dren, these®’ were the most terrible, and they were and Atropos, who give men at their birth both evil and
hated by their own father. And he used to hide them good to have, and they pursue the transgressions of
all away in a secret place” of Gaia as soon as each men and of gods. Also deadly Night bore Nemesis”’ to
was born, and would not suffer them to come up into afflict mortal men, and after her, Deceit and Friendship
the light. But vast Gaia groaned within, and from grey and hateful Age and hard-hearted Strife.”

80 The Muses were the children of Zeus (Roman Jupiter),

the king of the Olympian gods. They represented
branches of the arts and brought inspiration to writers. °! Avenging goddesses who pursued and punished disre-
8! The formless emptiness that existed before the universe spectful people.
was created. %2 A race that later engaged in war with the gods.
82 The Earth. °3Young Greek nature goddesses who inhabit the woods.
83 Darkness. °4Goddess of love; Roman Venus.
84 The upper atmosphere that was breathed by the gods. °>Roman Cupid; the god of sexual desire.
85 The Heavens. °°Goddesses depicted as elderly women who control
86 The Titans, several of whom gave their names to the human destiny: Clotho spun the thread of life, Lachesis
moons of the planet Saturn. measured how long it would be, and Atropos cut it off at
87 Saturn to the Romans. the end.
88 The Hecatonchires, that is, the “Hundred-Armed-Ones.” °7 Goddess of divine retribution, who punishes mortals
89 That is, the Cyclopes and the Hecatonchires. who are guilty of hubris (excessive pride).
0 Tartarus, a region deep below the underworld used for the °8 Eris, Roman Discordia; the cause of discord and war-
imprisonment and punishment of the worst wrongdoers. fare among the Greeks.
 6
cSO>

THE BAT TEES: BET WEEN FHiE*G@ Ds

AND THE TITANS AND GIANTS:
PSEUDO-APOLLODORUS,
“Tirl Bel LDR Ree

In this section of the frieze depicting the Battle between the Gods and Giants on the great Altar of
Pergamum, the Fates club to death the giant Agrius. Preserved in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.

One of the classic accounts of Greek mythology was the defeat of the Titans and Giants by
Zeus and the Olympian gods. In the “Titanomachy" ("Battle of the Titans"), the Olympians
defeated the Titans and imprisoned them in Tartarus. Subsequently, the Olympians were at-
tacked by the Giants, and in the great “Gigantomachy," or “Battle of the Giants,” the Giants
likewise were defeated. The story presented here is preserved in a massive summary of Greek
myth and legend known simply as the Bibliotheca ("The Library") that often is attributed to
an otherwise unknown Greek author, Apollodorus, although other sources attribute it to
Castor of Rhodes. It was compiled sometime between the first century sce and the second
century ce. It picks up after Cronus has castrated his father Uranus and taken over the posi-
tion of king of the gods (see Reading 5).
Source: James George Frazer, trans., Apollodorus, The Library, 2 vols. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London,
Heinemann, 1921).
THE BATTLES BETWEEN THE GODS AND THE TITANS AND GIANTS 19

Cronus again bound and shut up the Cyclopes and Now Zeus wedded Hera and begat Hebe,!°’
Hecatonchires in Tartarus,?? and wedded his sister Tlithyia,'°* and Ares,!° but he had intercourse with
Rhea; and because both Gaia and Uranus foretold many women, both mortals and immortals. By
that he would be dethroned by his own son, he used Themis, daughter of Uranus, he had daughters, the
to swallow his offspring at birth. His firstborn Seasons, to wit, Peace, Order, and Justice; also the
Hestia'®° he swallowed, then Demeter! and Hera,!? Fates, to wit, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos!!°; by
and after them Hades'™ and Poseidon.'™ Enraged at Dione he had Aphrodite''; by Eurynome, daughter
this, Rhea repaired to Crete, when she was big with of Ocean, he had the Graces,'” to wit, Aglaia,
Zeus, and brought him forth in a cave of Dicte. She Euphrosyne, and Thalia; by Styx! he had Perse-
gave him to the Curetes'® and to the nymphs Adras- phone!"*; and by Mnemosyne! he had the Muses,
tia and Ida, daughters of Melisseus, to nurse. So first Calliope, then Clio, Melpomene, Euterpe, Erato,
these nymphs fed the child on the milk of the goat Terpsichore, Urania, Thalia, and Polymnia.'!© And
Amalthea; and the Curetes in arms guarded the babe Alcmene was joined in love with Zeus who drives
in the cave, clashing their spears on their shields in the clouds and bore mighty Hercules.'’’ Hera gave
order that Cronus might not hear the child’s voice. birth to Hephaestus!!® without intercourse with the
But Rhea wrapped a stone in swaddling clothes and other sex. Zeus had intercourse with Metis, who
gave it to Cronus to swallow, as if it were the new- turned into many shapes in order to avoid his em-
born child. But when Zeus was full-grown, he took braces. When she was with child, Zeus swallowed
Metis,!°° daughter of Ocean, to help him, and she her, because Gaia had said that, after giving birth to
gave Cronus a drug to swallow, which forced him to the maiden who was then in her womb, Metis would
disgorge first the stone and then the children whom bear a son who should be the Lord of heaven. From
he had swallowed, and with their aid Zeus waged the fear of that Zeus swallowed her. And when the time
war against Cronus and the Titans.
They fought for ten years, and Gaia prophesied
victory to Zeus if he should have as allies those who 107 Goddess of youth; Roman Juventas.
had been hurled down to Tartarus. So he loosed their 108 Goddess of childbirth; Roman Lucina.
bonds. And the Cyclopes then gave Zeus thunder and 109 The god of war; Roman Mars.
lightning and a thunderbolt, and on Hades they be- l0Tn the version cited in Reading 5, Rhea was the mother
stowed a helmet and on Poseidon a trident. Armed of the Fates.
with these weapons the gods overcame the Titans, Tn the version cited in Reading 5, Aphrodite was born
shut them up in Tartarus, and appointed the Heca- out of sea foam.
12 Graces, known in Greek as the Charites, were minor
tonchires as their guards. They themselves cast lots
female goddesses connected to nature and fertility.
for the sovereignty, and to Zeus was allotted the do-
3 The personification of one of the rivers of the
minion of the sky, to Poseidon the dominion of the
underworld.
sea, and to Hades the dominion in the underworld. 114 Persephone more usually was thought to be the
daughter of Zeus and the harvest goddess Demeter. She
became the queen of the underworld, which created an
°° The deepest section of the underworld, where the most association between her and the underworld river, the
dangerous creatures were imprisoned. Styx.
100 Goddess of the hearth; Roman Vesta. 5 Memory.
101 Goddess of the harvest; Roman Ceres. '6 Respectively, the Muses of epic poetry, history, trag-
102 Queen of the gods, wife of Zeus; Roman Juno. edy, elegiac poetry and music, lyric poetry, dance, astron-
103 God of the underworld; Roman Pluto. omy, comedy, and sacred poetry.
104 God of the sea; Roman Neptune. 117 The most important of the Greek demi-gods, the off-
105 Nine mythical dancers of Crete. spring of gods and humans.
106 Goddess of wisdom, thought, and cunning. "8 God of craftsmanship.
20 CIVILIZATION BEFORE CIVILIZATION (2,000,000-3000 BCE)

came for the birth to take place, Prometheus'!’ smote Gration. And the Fates killed Agrius and Thoas. The
the head of Zeus with an axe, and Athena,!”° fully other giants Zeus smote and destroyed with thunder-
armed, leaped up from the top of his head. Latona for bolts and all of them Hercules shot with arrows as
her intrigue with Zeus was hunted by Hera over the they were dying.
whole earth, until she came to Delos’?! and brought When the gods had overcome the giants, Gaia, still
forth first Artemis,'”* by the help of whose midwifery more enraged, had intercourse with Tartarus'*! and
she afterward gave birth to Apollo!” brought forth Typhon in Cilicia,'*? a hybrid between
But Gaia, vexed on account of the Titans,'* re- 124
man and beast. In size and strength he surpassed all
leased the Giants, whom she had had by Uranus. the offspring of Gaia. As far as the thighs he was of
These were matchless in the bulk of their bodies and human shape and of such prodigious bulk that he out-
invincible in their might; terrible of aspect did they topped all the mountains, and his head often brushed
appear, with long locks drooping from their head and the stars. One of his hands reached out to the west and
chin, and with the scales of dragons for feet. And the other to the east, and from them projected a hun-
they darted rocks and burning oaks at the sky. Now dred dragons’ heads. From the thighs downward he
the gods had an oracle’ that none of the giants could had huge coils of vipers, which when drawn out,
perish at the hand of gods, but that with the help of a reached to his very head and emitted a loud hissing.
mortal they would be made an end of. Learning of His body was all winged: unkempt hair streamed on
this, Gaia sought for a method to prevent the giants the wind from his head and cheeks; and fire flashed
from being destroyed even by a mortal. But Zeus for- from his eyes. Such and so great was Typhon when,
bade the Dawn and the Moon and the Sun to shine, hurling kindled rocks, he made for the very heaven
and then by means of Athena summoned Hercules to with hissings and shouts, spouting a great jet of fire
his help.'?° Hercules first shot Alcyoneus with an from his mouth. When the gods saw him rushing at
arrow. Zeus inspired Porphyrion’?’ with lust for heaven, they made for Egypt in flight. But Zeus, riding
Hera, and when he tore her robes, she called for help, in a chariot of winged horses, pelted Typhon with
and Hercules shot him dead with an arrow. Ephialtes thunderbolts and pursued him to Thrace,’ and in
was shot by Apollo with an arrow in his left eye and fighting at Mount Haemus Tryphon heaved whole
by Hercules in his right; Eurytus was killed by Dio- mountains. But when these recoiled on him through
nysus,'*8 and Clytius by Hecate,!?? and Mimas by the force of the thunderbolt, a stream of blood gushed
Hephaestus. Athena flayed Pallas and used his skin out on the mountain. And when he started to flee
to shield her own body in the fight. Polybotes was through the Sicilian sea, Zeus cast Mount Etna! in
chased to Cos; and Poseidon, breaking off that piece Sicily upon him. That is a huge mountain, from which
of the island that is called Nisyrum, threw it on him. down to this day they say that blasts of fire issue from
And Hermes'*° slew Hippolytus, and Artemis slew the thunderbolts that were thrown.

' The son of the Titan Iapetus; for revealing the use of '26 One by one the Giants then were killed.
fire to humans he was eternally punished by Zeus (see 7 The greatest of the Giants.
Reading 7). "8 God of wine.
'20 Goddess of wisdom. 29 A goddess of magic.
'2 An island in the Aegean Sea. '30The messenger of the gods.
'22 Goddess of hunting and the moon. '! The personification of the deepest underworld.
3 God of music, prophecy, and the sun. '32 A region of southern Anatolia.
'¢ Because they were her children and had been imprisoned. '33 A mountainous Balkan region northeast of Greece.
125 A prophecy. '*4 A famous volcano in eastern Sicily.
 7
COO

THE CREATION OF HUMANS:

PSEUDO-APOLLODORUS,
ee Rey 2 3 OGG pai 5a] Gis

A Greek vase of the fourth century sce depicts Pandora, the first woman, who was created by Zeus to
torment humanity. In other stories, Pandora opened the jar (often wrongly thought to be a box) that
released all the evils that afflict humanity, including work and disease. Preserved in the Archaeological
Museum of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain.

The Greek version of the creation of humanity was recounted only in passing, in the context of
‘another story, in the massive mythological compendium known as the “Bibliotheca” ("Library").
With typical ancient Greek misogyny, the same tale tells of the origin of human miseries.

Source: James George Frazer, trans., Apollodorus, “The Library, 2 vols. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London,
Heinemann, 1921).

Now to the Titans were born offspring: to Iapetus earth. But the noble son of Iapetus outwitted him and
and Asia was born Atlas, who has the sky on his stole the far-seen gleam of unwearying fire in a hollow
shoulders, and Prometheus, and Epimetheus, and fennel stalk. When Zeus learned of it, he ordered
Menoetius, he whom Zeus in the battle with the Hephaestus to nail his body to Mount Caucasus,!%>
Titans smote with a thunderbolt and hurled down to
Tartarus. Prometheus molded men out of water and 35 The highest mountain in Europe, now Mt. Elbrus in
earth but Zeus would not give the power of unweary- the Caucasus Mountains, located between the Black and
ing fire to the race of mortal men who live on the Caspian seas.

21
Ja) CIVILIZATION BEFORE CIVILIZATION (2,000,000-3000 BcE)

which is a Scythian!** mountain. On it Prometheus her, to the place where the other gods and men were.
was nailed and kept bound for many years. Every day And wonder took hold of the deathless gods and
an eagle swooped on him and devoured the lobes of mortal men when they saw that which was sheer
his liver, which grew by night. That was the penalty guile, not to be withstood by men. For from her is the
that Prometheus paid for the theft of fire until Hercu- race of women and female kind, of her is the deadly
les afterward released him. race of women who live among mortal men to their
And Zeus who thunders on high was angered great trouble, no helpmeets in hateful poverty, but
when he saw among men the far-seen ray of fire. only in wealth. And as in thatched hives bees feed
Forthwith he made an evil thing for men as the price the drones whose nature is to do mischief—by day
of fire, for, as the son of Cronus willed, the very and throughout the day until the sun goes down the
famous Hephaestus formed of earth the likeness of a bees are busy and lay the white combs, while the
shy maiden, Pandora.'*’ And the goddess bright-eyed drones stay at home in the covered hives and reap the
Athena girded and clothed her with silvery raiment, toil of others into their own bellies—even so Zeus
and down from her head she spread with her hands a who thunders on high made women to be an evil to
broidered veil, a wonder to see; and she, Pallas!** mortal men, with a nature to do evil. And he gave
Athene, put about her head lovely garlands, flowers them a second evil to be the price for the good they
of new-grown herbs. Also she put upon her head a had: whoever avoids marriage and the sorrows that
crown of gold that the very famous Hephaestus made women cause, and will not wed, reaches deadly old
himself and worked with his own hands as a favor to age without anyone to tend his years, and although
Zeus his father. On it was much curious work, won- he at least has no lack of livelihood while he lives,
derful to see; for of the many creatures that the land yet, when he is dead, his kinsfolk divide his posses-
and sea rear up, he put most upon it, wonderful sions among them. And as for the man who chooses
things, like living beings with voices: and great the lot of marriage and takes a good wife suited to
beauty shone out from it. But when he had made the his mind, evil continually contends with good; for
beautiful evil to be the price for the blessing, he whoever happens to have mischievous children lives
brought her out, delighting in the finery that the always with unceasing grief in his spirit and heart
bright-eyed daughter'*? of a mighty father had given within him; and this evil cannot be healed.

'36 For the Scythians, see Reading 68.

'37A Greek word meaning “All Gifts.”
'8 An epithet taken by Athena after she accidentally
killed her childhood friend, Pallas.
'° The goddess Athena, another of whose epithets was
Glaukopis, or “bright-eyed.”
 8
cSkD
THE FLOOD: PSEUDO-APOLLODORUS,
sereEm ByR Apap [trop

After being saved from Zeus’s great flood by constructing a large floating chest, Deucalion and Pyrrha
repopulated the world by throwing behind their backs stones that turned into women and men, as
depicted in this nineteenth-century relief in the Parc del Laberint d’Horta in Barcelona, Spain.

“The Library” also includes a brief Greek version of the flood story that was so common in the
ancient world, where a powerful god decides to destroy humanity but does not quite succeed.

Source: James George Frazer, trans., Apollodorus, “The Library, 2 vols. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press; London,
Heinemann, 1921).

23
24 CIVILIZATION BEFORE CIVILIZATION (2,000,000-3000 BCE)

And Prometheus had a son Deucalion. He reigning in days and as many nights, drifted to Parnassus,'*! and
the regions about Phthia,’*° married Pyrrha, the there, when the rain ceased, he landed and sacrificed
daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora, the first woman to Zeus, the god of Escape. And Zeus sent Hermes to
fashioned by the gods. And when Zeus would destroy him and allowed him to choose what he would, and
the men of the Bronze Age, Deucalion by the advice he chose to get men. And at the bidding of Zeus he
of Prometheus constructed a chest, and having stored took up stones and threw them over his head, and the
it with provisions he embarked in it with Pyrrha. But stones that Deucalion threw became men, and the
Zeus by pouring heavy rain from heaven flooded the stones that Pyrrha threw became women. Hence
greater part of Greece, so that all men were destroyed, people were called metaphorically people (/aos) from
except a few who fled to the high mountains in the laas, “a stone.’ And Deucalion had children by
neighborhood. It was then that the mountains in Pyrrha, first Hellen, whose father some say was Zeus,
Thessaly parted, and that all the world outside the and second Amphictyon, who reigned over Attica
Isthmus and Peloponnese was overwhelmed. But after Cranaus'; and third a daughter Protogenia,
Deucalion, floating in the chest over the sea for nine who became the mother of Aethlius by Zeus.

IV: JEWISH ACCOUNTS

Jewish tradition also included accounts of the creation of the world, the creation of humans,
and a great flood, all preserved beginning around 400 sce in the Hebrew Bible. It has many
parallels with Mesopotamian accounts.

ae Or)

THE CREATION SiOR

GENESIS 1-7
At the beginning of the book of Genesis in Jewish scripture are two different versions, pre-
sented back to back, of how God created the world and humans.

Source: The Hebrew Bible, Genesis 1-7.

'°Tn northern Greece; the kingdom of the Greek hero ‘1 A mountain in central Greece.
Achilles. '? The legendary second king of Athens.
THE CREATION STORY: GENESIS 1-7
25

[First creation story, including creation of men and creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above
women together] the earth in the open firmament of heaven.” And
In the beginning God created the heaven and the God created great whales, and every living creature
earth. And the earth was without form, and void; that moveth, which the waters brought forth abun-
and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the dantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after
Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. its kind, and God saw that it was good. And God
And God said, “Let there be light”: and there was blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and
light. And God saw the light, that it was good, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in
God divided the light from the darkness. And God the earth.” And the evening and the morning were
called the light Day, and the darkness he called the fifth day. And God said, “Let the earth bring
Night. And the evening and the morning were the forth the living creature after its kind, cattle, and
first day. And God said, “Let there be a firmament creeping thing, and beast of the earth after its kind,”
in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth
from the waters.’ And God made the firmament, after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every
and divided the waters that were under the firma- thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind,
ment from the waters that were above the firma- and God saw that it was good.
ment, and it was so. And God called the firmament And God said, “Let us make man in our image,
Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the after our likeness, and let him have dominion over
second day. And God said, “Let the waters under the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and
the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every
let the dry land appear,’ and it was so. And God creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” So God
called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together created man in his own image, in the image of God
of the waters he called the Seas, and God saw that it he created him; male and female, he created them.
was good. And God said, “Let the earth bring forth And God blessed them, and God said unto them, “Be
grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and
yielding fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself, subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea,
upon the earth,” and it was so. And the earth brought and over the fowl of the air, and over every living
forth grass, and herb yielding seed after its kind, thing that moveth upon the earth.” And God said,
and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed
after his kind, and God saw that it was good. And that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in
the evening and the morning were the third day. which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it
And God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth,
of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that
let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have
and years, and let them be for lights in the firma- given every green herb for meat, and it was so.” And
ment of the heaven to give light upon the earth,” and God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold,
it was so. And God made two great lights; the it was very good. And the evening and the morning
greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to were the sixth day.
rule the night; he also made the stars. And God set Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and
them in the firmament of the heaven to give light all the host of them. And on the seventh day God
upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the ended his work that he had made; and he rested on
night, and to divide the light from the darkness, and the seventh day from all his work that he had made.
God saw that it was good. And the evening and the And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it,
morning were the fourth day. And God said, “Let because that in it he had rested from all his work that
the waters bring forth abundantly the moving God created and made.
26 CIVILIZATION BEFORE CIVILIZATION (2,000,000-3000 BcE)

[Second creation story, including creation of men and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day that
and women separately] thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” And the
These are the generations of the heavens and of the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be
earth when they were created, in the day that the alone; I will make him a helpmeet for him.” And out
Lord God made the earth and the heavens, And of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the
every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them
every herb of the field before it grew, for the Lord unto Adam to see what he would call them, and what-
God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and soever Adam called every living creature, that was
there was not a man to till the ground. But there went the name thereof.
up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the
of the ground. fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for
And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the Adam there was not found a helpmeet for him. And
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam,
life; and man became a living soul. And the Lord and he slept, and he took one of his ribs, and closed
God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he up the flesh instead thereof, and the rib, which the
put the man whom he had formed. And out of the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman,
ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, “This
pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she
life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of shall be called woman, because she was taken out of
knowledge of good and evil. And the Lord God took man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his
the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall
it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the be one flesh.” And they were both naked, the man
man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest and his wife, and were not ashamed.
freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good

10
ae OE,

THE FLOOD STORY “Gerster.

The Jewish flood story preserved in the Hebrew Old Testament repeats many of the details in
the much older Mesopotamian flood story.

Source: The Hebrew Bible, Genesis 8.

And God saw that the wickedness of man was great repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth,
in the earth, and that every imagination of the and it grieved him at his heart. And the Lord said, “I
thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it will destroy man whom I have created from the face
THE FLOOD STORY: GENESIS 8 Pill

of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.”
thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that And Noah did according unto all that the Lord com-
I have made them.” But Noah found grace in the eyes manded him. And Noah was six hundred years old
of the Lord and God said unto Noah, “The end of all when the flood of waters was upon the earth. And
flesh is come before me, for the earth is filled with Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his
violence through them, and, behold, I will destroy sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the
them with the earth. Make thee an ark’ of gopher waters of the flood. Of clean beasts, and of beasts
wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt that are not clean, and of fowls, and of every thing
pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the that creepeth upon the earth, there went in two and
fashion that thou shalt make it of: The length of the two unto Noah into the ark, the male and the female,
ark shall be three hundred cubits,!*4 the breadth of it as God had commanded Noah.
fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits. A And it came to pass after seven days that the
window shalt thou make to the ark, and in a cubit waters of the flood were upon the earth, the same day
shalt thou finish it above; and the door of the ark shalt were all the fountains of the great deep broken up,
thou set in the side thereof; with lower, second, and and the windows of heaven were opened. And the
third storeys shalt thou make it. And, behold, I bring rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights.
a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and
wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s
every thing that is in the earth shall die. But with thee wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into
will I establish my covenant; and thou shalt come into the ark. They, and every beast after his kind, and all
the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy wife, and thy the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing
sons’ wives with thee. And of every living thing of all that creepeth upon the earth after his kind, and every
flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, fowl after his kind, every bird of every sort. And they
to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and that went in, went in male and female of all flesh, as
female. Of fowls after their kind, and of cattle after God had commanded him, and the Lord shut him in.
their kind, of every creeping thing of the earth after And the flood was forty days upon the earth, and the
its kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it was
keep them alive. And take thou unto thee of all food lifted up above the earth. And the waters prevailed
that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to thee; and it exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills,
shall be for food for thee, and for them. that were under the whole heaven, were covered. Fif-
Thus did Noah; according to all that God com- teen cubits upward did the waters prevail, and the
manded him. And the Lord said unto Noah, “Come mountains were covered. And every living substance
thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I was destroyed that was upon the face of the ground,
seen righteous before me in this generation. Of every both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and
clean beast thou shalt take to thee by sevens, the the fowl of the heaven, and they were destroyed from
male and his female: and of beasts that are not clean the earth, and Noah only remained alive, and they
by two, the male and his female. Of fowls also of the that were with him in the ark.
air by sevens, the male and the female, to keep seed And the waters prevailed upon the earth a hun-
alive upon the face of all the earth. For in seven days dred and fifty days. And God remembered Noah, and
I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and every living thing, and all the cattle that were with
forty nights, and every living substance that I have him in the ark: and God made a wind to pass over the
earth, and the waters assuaged. The rain from heaven
was restrained and the waters returned from off the
143 The same word is used for the basket used to float
Moses in the Nile River; see Reading 34. earth continually, and after the end of the hundred
144 The Hebrew cubit was about twenty inches. and fifty days the waters were abated. And the ark
28 CIVILIZATION BEFORE CIVILIZATION (2,000,000-3000 BcE)

rested in the seventh month upon the mountains of returned not again unto him any more. And it came to
Ararat.'** And the waters decreased continually until pass in the six hundredth and first year, in the first
the tenth month: in the tenth month, on the first day month, the first day of the month, that the waters were
of the month, were the tops of the mountains seen. dried up from off the earth, and Noah removed the
And it came to pass at the end of forty days, that covering of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face
Noah opened the window of the ark. And he sent forth of the ground was dry. And in the second month, on
a raven, which went forth to and fro, until the waters the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the
were dried up from off the earth. Also he sent forth a earth dried. And God spoke unto Noah, saying, “Go
dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and
off the face of the ground. But the dove found no rest thy sons’ wives with thee. Bring forth with thee every
for the sole of her foot, and she returned unto him into living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl,
the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth
earth. And he stayed yet another seven days and again upon the earth, that they may breed abundantly in the
he sent forth the dove out of the ark. And the dove earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.”
came in to him in the evening, and, lo, in her mouth And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and
was an olive leaf plucked off, so Noah knew that the his sons’ wives with him. Every beast, every creeping
waters were abated from off the earth. And he stayed thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon
yet other seven days and sent forth the dove; which the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark.

V: MUSLIM ACCOUNTS

Because the Muslim Qur’an is not written in narrative fashion like Jewish and Christian
scripture, Muslim accounts of creation are found in several different sections of the text.

COLO

THE CREATION OF HUMANS:

THE QUR’AN, SURAH 2/30-38,
THYV=TQ® JBV7VEB3
In the Muslim account of creation of humans, angels are under the authority of Adam, the
first man, but the angel Iblis refused to submit to Adam.

Source: Yusuf Ali, trans, The Holy Qur’an, Text, Translation and Commentary (Lahore, Cairo, Riyadh, 1934).

'S The highest mountain in Turkey, on the border of Armenia.

THE CREATION OF HUMANS: THE QUR’AN, SURAH 2/30-38, 7/11-19, 38/71-83
29

[2/30—38] Behold, thy Lord"® said to the angels, “I of those who bow down. Allah said, “What pre-
will create a vicegerent on earth.” They said, “Wilt vented thee from bowing down when I commanded
thou place therein one who will make mischief thee?” He said, “I am better than he; thou didst create
therein and shed blood? While we do celebrate Thy me from fire, and him from clay.” Allah said, “Get
praise and glorify thy holy name?” He said, “I thee down from this, it is not for thee to be arrogant
know what ye know not.” And he taught Adam the here. Get out, for thou art of the meanest of crea-
names of all things; then he placed them before the tures.” He said, “Give me respite until the day they
angels, and said, “Tell me the names of these if ye are raised up.” Allah said, “Be thou among those
are right.” They said, “Glory to thee. Of knowledge who have respite.” He said, “Because thou hast
we have none, save what thou hast taught us; in thrown me out of the way, lo!, I will lie in wait for
truth it is thou who art perfect in knowledge and them on thy straight way. Then will I assault them
wisdom.” He said, “O Adam! Tell them their from before them and behind them, from their right
names.” When he had told them, Allah said, “Did I and their left, nor wilt thou find, in most of them,
not tell you that I know the secrets of heavens and gratitude for thy mercies.” Allah said, “Get out from
earth, and I know what ye reveal and what ye con- this, disgraced and expelled. If any of them follow
ceal?” And behold, we'*’ said to the angels, “Bow thee, Hell will I fill with you all. O Adam! Dwell
down to Adam,” and they bowed down. Not so thou and thy wife in the garden, and enjoy its good
Iblis.'*8 He refused and was haughty; he was of things as ye wish, but approach not this tree, or ye
those who reject faith. We said, “O Adam! Dwell run into harm and transgression.”
thou and thy wife in the garden,! and eat of the [38/71—83] Behold, the Lord said to the angels, “I
bountiful things therein as ye will, but approach am about to create man from clay. When I have fash-
not this tree, or ye run into harm and transgres- ioned him and breathed into him of my spirit, fall ye
sion.” Then did Satan make them slip from the down in obeisance unto him.” So the angels pros-
garden, and get them out of the state of felicity in trated themselves, all of them together. Not so Iblis.
which they had been. We said, “Get ye down, all ye He was haughty, and became one of those who reject
people, with enmity between yourselves. On earth faith. Allah said, “O Iblis! What prevents thee from
will be your dwelling place and your means of live- prostrating thyself to one whom I have created with
lihood for a time.” Then learnt Adam from his Lord my hands? Art thou haughty? Or art thou one of the
words of inspiration, and his Lord turned toward high and mighty ones?” Iblis said, “I am better than
him, for he is oft-returning, most merciful. We he: thou createdst me from fire, and him thou creat-
said, “Get ye down all from here, and if, as is sure, edst from clay.” Allah said, “Then get thee out from
there comes to you guidance from me, whosoever here, for thou art rejected, accursed. And my curse
follows my guidance, on them shall be no fear, nor shall be on thee until the Day of Judgment.” Iblis
shall they grieve. But those who reject Faith and said, “O my Lord! Give me then respite until the day
belie our signs, they shall be companions of the the dead are raised.” Allah said, “Respite then is
fire; they shall abide therein.” granted thee, until the day of the time appointed.”
[7/1119] It is we who created you and gave you Iblis said, ““Then by thy power, I will put them all in
shape. Then we bade the angels bow down to Adam, the wrong, except thy servants among them, sincere
and they bowed down. Not so Iblis; he refused to be and purified by thy grace.”

146 A }lah.
147 A\lah.
148 The devil.
149 The Garden of Eden.
 [2
cOO>

FHE Fr@@BDS:P@ RY¥EEES@GiRe cons

SURAH 11/15-49

The story of Noah and the flood is found in a section of the Qur'an dealing with people who
were destroyed because they ignored prophets telling them to follow Allah.

Source: Yusuf Ali, trans, The Holy Qur'an, Text, Translation and Commentary (Lahore, Cairo, Riyadh, 1934).

Those who desire the life of the present and its glit- Behold! the curse of Allah is on those who do wrong!
ter, to them we shall pay the price of their deeds Those who would hinder men from the path of Allah
therein, without diminution. They are those for and would seek in it something crooked, these were
whom there is nothing in the hereafter but the fire. they who denied the hereafter!” Without a doubt,
Vain are the designs they frame therein, and of no these are the very ones who will lose most in the
effect the deeds that they do! Can they'® be like hereafter! But those who believe and work righteous-
those!®! who accept a clear sign’? from their Lord,'™ ness, and humble themselves before their Lord, they
and whom a witness!'** from himself doth teach, as will be companions of the gardens, to dwell therein
did the Book of Moses'*> before it, a guide and a forever! These two kinds of persons may be com-
mercy? Muslims believe therein, but as for those of pared to the blind and deaf, and those who can see
the sects’ that reject it, the fire will be their prom- and hear well. Are they equal when compared? Will
ised meeting place. Be not then in doubt thereon, for you not then take heed?
it is the truth from thy Lord, yet many among men do We sent Noah'’ to his people with a mission, to
not believe! Who doth more wrong than those who say, “I have come to you with a clear warning, that
invent a lie against Allah. They will be turned back you serve none but Allah. Verily I do fear for you the
to the presence of their Lord, and the witnesses will penalty of a grievous day.” But the chiefs of the un-
say, “These are the ones who lied against their Lord! believers among his people said, “We see in you

‘50 Unbelievers.
1 Muslims
'S2- The Qur’an.
153 Allah.
'54 The prophet Muhammad.
5 From the Hebrew Bible.
56 Christians, Jews, and other unbelievers. 'S7 Nuh in the Qur’an.

30
THE FLOOD STORY: THE QUR’AN, SURAH 11/15—49 31

nothing but a man like ourselves, nor do we see that command, and the fountains of the earth gushed
any follow you but the meanest among us, in judg- forth! We said, “Embark therein, of each kind two,
ment immature, nor do we see in you any merit male and female, and your family, except those
above us, in fact we think you are liars!” He said, “O against whom the word has already gone forth, and
my people, I have a clear sign from my Lord, and he the believers.” But only a few believed with him.
hath sent mercy unto me from his own presence, but So Noah said, “Embark you on the ark, In the name
hath the mercy been obscured from your sight? Shall of Allah, whether it moves or is at rest! For my Lord is,
we compel you to accept it when you are averse to it? be sure, oft-forgiving, most merciful!” So the ark
And O my people, I ask you for no wealth in return; floated with them on the waves towering like moun-
my reward is from none but Allah. But I will not tains, and Noah called out to his son, who had sepa-
drive away those who believe, for verily they are to rated himself from the rest, “O my son, embark with
meet their Lord, and you I see are the ignorant ones! us, and be not with the unbelievers!” The son replied,
Will you not then take heed? I tell you not that with “T will betake myself to some mountain; it will save
me are the treasures of Allah, nor do I know what is me from the water.” Noah said, “This day nothing can
hidden, nor claim I to be an angel.” They said, “O save from the command of Allah any but those on
Noah, thou hast disputed with us, and much hast whom he hath mercy!” And the waves came between
thou prolonged the dispute with us. Now bring upon them, and the son was among those overwhelmed in
us what thou threatenest us with, if thou speakest the the flood. Then the word went forth,'® “O earth, swal-
truth!?” He said, “Truly, Allah will bring it on you if low up thy water, and O sky, withhold thy rain!” And
he wills, and then you will not be able to frustrate it! the water abated, and the matter was ended. The ark
Of no profit will be my counsel to you, much as I rested on Mount Judi,!*! and the word went forth,
desire to give you good counsel, if it be that Allah “Away with those who do wrong!” And Noah called
willeth to leave you astray. He is your Lord! And to upon his Lord, and said, “O my Lord!, surely my son
him will you return!” It was revealed to Noah, “None is of my family! And thy promise is true, and thou art
of thy people will believe except those who have be- the justest of judges!” He said, “O Noah, he is not of
lieved already! So grieve no longer over their evil thy family, for his conduct is unrighteous. So ask not
deeds, but construct an ark under our eyes and our of me that of which thou hast no knowledge! I give you
inspiration, and address me no further on behalf of counsel, lest thou act like the ignorant!” Noah said, “O
those who are in sin, for they are about to be over- my Lord, I do seek refuge with thee, lest I ask you for
whelmed.”!°* Forthwith he starts constructing the that of which I have no knowledge. And unless thou
ark. Every time that the chiefs of his people passed forgive me and have mercy on me, I should indeed be
by him, they threw ridicule on him. He said, “If you lost!” The word came,'” “O Noah, come down from
ridicule us now, we can look down on you with ridi- the ark with peace from us, and blessing on you and on
cule likewise! But soon will you know who it is on some of the peoples who will spring from those with
whom will descend a penalty that will cover them thee, but there will be other peoples to whom we shall
with shame, on whom will be unloosed a penalty grant their pleasures for a time, but in the end will a
lasting:’ At length, behold!, there came our'” grievous penalty reach them from us.”

160 From Allah

161 Often identified as a mountain on the upper Tigris
'58 That is, by the flood. River, in northern Mesopotamia.
159 Allah 162 From Allah.
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 CHAPTER 2
cSh>
Mesopotamia and the Bronze Age
(6000-1200 Bce)

By the sixth millennium BCE, a high level of social, political, and technological culture
based on an agricultural economy already existed in many places in Europe, western Asia,
and North Africa. An agricultural economy permitted people to live in permanent villages
and towns constructed from mud brick, stone, timber, and other materials. The amount of
food produced could be expanded by bringing additional land under cultivation, and agricul-
tural foodstuffs could be stored to provide a dependable food supply. Larger populations and
the ability to remain in one place encouraged specialization of labor, with different people
serving as potters, carpenters, basket makers, traders, and shepherds, not to mention fighters
to protect the food surpluses and luxury items stored in the villages.
As in the case of the cultures of the Old Stone Age, the economic and technological de-
velopments of the Neolithic and Chalcolithic periods, and in particular the use of agriculture,
eventually expanded to the point where there was no further room to expand based on con-
temporary social and technological levels of development. All of the geographical regions
and economic niches suitable for this kind of society became occupied, even relatively mar-
ginal areas with little rainfall. Thus, if different kinds of societies and economies were going
to develop, it probably would happen somewhere else. And this is exactly what happened.
The next significant social, economic, and cultural developments occurred in large Near
Eastern river valleys, in Mesopotamia (modern Iraq, eastern Syria, and eastern Turkey) and
Egypt, where huge tracts of rich alluvial soil were available for cultivation in the deltas at the
mouths of the rivers. The problem that initially kept this soil from being exploited, however,
was that these areas were very marshy, were subject to severe flooding from upstream, and
had very little rainfall. Thus, before the soil could be cultivated, the marshes had to be
drained, flood control systems had to be created, and elaborate irrigation systems had to be
established. These endeavors required the organization and mobilization of huge amounts of
human labor, something not available to most Neolithic and Chalcolithic societies.
The story of the development of ancient Mesopotamian society and culture is told by
hundreds of thousands of clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform symbols usually written in

33
34 MESOPOTAMIA AND THE BRONZE AGE (6000-1200 BcE)

the Akkadian language, the common language of much of the ancient Near East. The tablets
are preserved in the ruins of ancient Mesopotamian cities: paradoxically enough, the only
way that sun-dried clay tablets could be preserved for thousands of years was if they were
baked in a fire that usually resulted from the destruction of a city. Although the vast majority
of these tablets deal with administrative and commercial documents, a significant number,
whose authors almost always are unknown, also preserve accounts of the history and my-
thology of Mesopotamian peoples.

e Hasanlu
Marlike
Lower
Zab
River

e Ecbatana
Dura-Europuse
Palmyra

Euphrates

TR SAO)
Susae °®Chogha Mish

Karkeh
River
e Chogha Zambil

Erida

» Persian Gulf

Map 2 Sites of Early Mesopotamia

 I3
COO

INANNA STEALS THE KNOWLEDGE

OF CIVILIZATION FROM ENKI

The fertility goddess Inanna (Ishtar) is thought to be depicted in this Old Babylonian relief dated to
ca. 1750 ace and known as “The Queen of the Night.” It is preserved in the British Museum.

A large six-column cuneiform tablet in the Nippur Collection at the University of Pennsylvania
preserves the story, probably based on oral tradition, of how the fertility goddess Inanna (Ishtar)
used her seductive powers to induce Enki (Ea), the god of water and civilization, to release the
knowledge of civilization and of how Enki unsuccessfully tried to reclaim it. Implicit in this ac-
count is the connection between access to water and the development of civilization.

Source: “Inana and Enki,” in J. A. Black, G. Cunningham, J. Ebeling, E. Fliickiger-Hawker, E. Robson, J. Taylor, and G. Zélyomi,
“The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature.”

Inanna put the Su-gura, the desert crown, on her beautiful, when I have made myself perfect, when I
head. Her genitals were remarkable. She praised her- have made myself luxuriant, when I have made
self, full of delight at her genitals, saying, “When I myself brilliant, I shall direct my steps to the abzu,!
have gratified the Lord, when I have made myself to Eridu,’ I shall direct my steps to Enki, to the abzu,

* A Sumerian city southwest of Ur thought by some to be

'The underground dwelling place of the water god Enki the oldest city in the world. It was the location of the
located in Eridu. E-Abzu, the main temple of the water god Enki.

35
36 MESOPOTAMIA AND THE BRONZE AGE (6000-1200 BcE)

to Eridu, and I myself shall speak coaxingly to him. in the name of my abzu, I will give them to holy
I shall utter a plea to Lord Enki. Like the sweet oil of Inanna, my daughter.” Holy Inanna received the
the cedar. It shall never escape me that I have been craft of the carpenter, the craft of the copper-
neglected by him who has had sex.” On that day the smith, the craft of the scribe, the craft of the smith,
maiden Inanna, holy Inanna, directed her steps all by the craft of the leather-worker, the craft of the
herself toward Enki’s abzu in Eridu. On that day, he fuller, the craft of the builder, the craft of the reed-
of exceptional knowledge, who knows the divine worker. “In the name of my power, in the name of
powers in heaven and earth, who from his own my abzu, I will give them to holy Inanna, my
dwelling already knows the intentions of the gods, daughter.” Holy Inanna received wisdom, attentive-
Enki, the king of the abzu, who, even before holy ness, holy purification rites, the shepherd’s hut,
Inanna had approached within six miles of the abzu piling up glowing charcoals, the sheepfold, respect,
in Eridu, knew all about her enterprise, Enki spoke to awe, reverent silence. “In the name of my power, in
his man, gave him instructions, “Come here, my man, the name of my abzu, I will give them to holy
listen to my words. When the maiden Inanna has en- Inanna, my daughter.” Holy Inanna received the
tered the abzu and Eridu, offer her butter cake to eat. kindling of fire, the extinguishing of fire, hard
Let her be served cool refreshing water. Pour beer for work, the assembled family, descendents. “In the
her, in front of the Lions’ Gate, make her feel as if she name of my power, in the name of my abzu, I will
is in her girlfriend’s house. You are to welcome holy give them to holy Inanna, my daughter.” Holy
Inanna at the holy table, at the table of An.” Inanna received strife, triumph, counselling, com-
After Enki had spoken thus to him, Isimud the forting, judging, decision-making.
minister followed his master’s instructions closely. He
let the maiden into the abzu and Eridu. She got butter [In another missing section, Enki sobers up, realizes
cake to eat. They poured cool refreshing water for her, what he has done, and has second thoughts.]
and they gave her beer to drink, in front of the Lions’ Enki spoke to the minister Isimud, “Isimud, my min-
Gate. He made her feel as if she was in her girlfriend’s ister, my Sweet Name of Heaven!” “Enki, my master,
house. He welcomed holy Inanna at the holy table, at I am at your service! What is your wish?” “Because
the table of An. So it came about that Enki and Inanna Inanna said that she would not yet depart from here
were drinking beer together in the abzu, and enjoying for Unug Kulaba,> can I still reach her?” But holy
the taste of sweet wine. The bronze aga* vessels were Inanna had gathered up the divine powers and em-
filled to the brim, and the two of them started a com- barked onto the Boat of Heaven.° The Boat of Heaven
petition, drinking from the bronze vessels of Uras.* had already left the quay. As the effects of the beer
cleared from Father Enki who had drunk beer, the
[In a missing section, Inanna gets Enki drunk and great Lord Enki turned his attention to Eridu. Enki
induces him to give her the gifts of civilization.] spoke to Isimud the minister, “Isimud, my minister,
Enki said, “I will give them to holy Inanna, my my Sweet Name of Heaven!” “Enki, my master, I am
daughter.” Holy Inanna received heroism, power, at your service! What is your wish?” “Where are the
wickedness, righteousness, the plundering of cities, office of en priest,’ the office of lagar priest,® divinity,
making lamentations, rejoicing. “In the name of my the great and good crown, the royal throne?” “My
power, in the name of my abzu, I will give them to master has given them to his daughter.” “Where are
holy Inanna, my daughter.” Holy Inanna received
deceit, the rebel lands, kindness, being on the
> Uruk, Erech in the Bible, the city of Inanna.
move, being sedentary. “In the name of my power,
°The ship of Inanna, sometimes thought to be in the
shape of a crescent.
>A word meaning “diadem.” 7A Sumerian priest-king.
* An earth goddess, consort of An. * A temple servant who made invocations.
INANNA STEALS THE KNOWLEDGE OF CIVILIZATION FROM ENKI 37

the noble scepter, the staff and crook, the noble dress, he speak falsely to me? Has he sworn falsely by the
shepherdship, kingship?” “My master has given them name of his power and by the name of his abzu? Has
to his daughter.” “Where are the office of egir-zid he duplicitously sent you to me as a messenger?” Now
priestess, the office of nin-digir priestess,’ the office as these words were still in her mouth, he got the
of i8ib priest,'° the office of lu-maK priest,'! the office enkum to seize hold of the Boat of Heaven. Holy
of gudug priest'??” “My master has given them to his Inanna addressed her minister NinSubur:'> “Come,
daughter.” “Where are constancy, going down to the my good minister of E-ana!'® My fair-spoken minis-
underworld, coming up from the underworld, the ter! My envoy of reliable words! Water has never
kurgara priest'??” “My master has given them to his touched your hand, water has never touched your
daughter.” “Where are the sword and club, the black feet!” So Inanna got hold again of the divine powers
garment, the colorful garment, the hair-style?” “My that had been presented to her, and the Boat of
master has given them to his daughter.” “Where are Heaven. And then for the second time the prince
the standard, the quiver, sexual intercourse, kissing, spoke to his minister Isimud, Enki addressed the
prostitution?” “My master has given them to his Sweet Name of Heaven, “Isimud, my minister, my
daughter.” “Where are forthright speech, deceitful Sweet Name of Heaven!” “Enki, my master, I am at
speech, grandiloquent speech, the cultic prostitute, your service! What is your wish?” “Where has the
the holy tavern?” “My master has given them to his Boat of Heaven reached now?” “It has just now
daughter.” “Where are loud musical instruments, the reached the holy [—]” “Go now! The fifty giants of
art of song, venerable old age?” “My master has Eridu are to take the Boat of Heaven away from her!”
given them to his daughter.” The minister Isimud spoke to holy Inanna, “My lady!
The prince spoke to his minister Isimud, Enki ad- Your father has sent me to you. What your father said
dressed the Sweet Name of Heaven, “Isimud, my was very serious. What Enki spoke was very serious.”
minister, my Sweet Name of Heaven!” “Enki, my Holy Inanna replied to him, “What has my father said
master, I am at your service! What is your wish?” to you?” “My master has spoken to me, Enki has said
“Where has the Boat of Heaven reached now?” “It to me, ‘Inanna may travel to Unug, but you are to get
has just now reached the quay.” “Go now! The the Boat of Heaven back to Eridu for me.” Holy
enkum" are to take the Boat of Heaven away from Inanna spoke to the minister Isimud, “How could my
her!” The minister Isimud spoke to holy Inanna, father have changed what he said to me? How could
“My lady! Your father has sent me to you. What Enki he have altered his promise?” Now as these words
spoke was very serious. His important words cannot were still in her mouth, he got the fifty giants of Eridu
be countermanded.” Holy Inanna replied to him, to seize hold of the Boat of Heaven. Holy Inanna ad-
“What has my father said to you, what has he dressed her minister NinSubur, “Come, my good
spoken?” “Enki has said to me, ‘Inanna may travel to minister of E-ana! My fair-spoken minister!” So
Unug, but you are to get the Boat of Heaven back to Inanna got hold again of the divine powers that had
Eridu for me.’” Holy Inanna spoke to the minister been presented to her, and the Boat of Heaven
Isimud, “How could my father have altered his prom-
ise? Was it falsehood that my father said to me, did [Enki then made four more unsuccessful attempts, in
the same words, to seize the Boat of Heaven. Inanna
finally arrived home at Uruk.]
°*Divine lady”; a priestess supported at the temple of
Her minister NinSubur spoke to holy Inanna, “My
Enki.
lady, today you have brought the Boat of Heaven to
'0 An exorcist.
A generic word for priest.
'2 A generic word for priest.
'3 A cult performer. 'S A goddess who accompanied Inanna on her adventures.
4 Guardian deities. '6 The temple of Inanna in Uruk.
38 MESOPOTAMIA AND THE BRONZE AGE (6000-1200 Bce)

the Gate of Joy, to Unug Kulaba. Now there will be _ street magnificently. The people shall stand in the
rejoicing in our city.” Holy Inanna replied to her, street full of awe. The foreign lands shall declare my
“Today I have brought the Boat of Heaven to the —_greatness. My people shall utter my praise.”
Gate of Joy, to Unug Kulaba. It shall pass along the

14
cCO>
“EP 1GO FG biG AMaeode
(cA. 2500. Bce), TABLETSI—Vill

In the course of their adventures, Gilgamesh and his trusty companion Enkidu defeated the monster
Humbaba, who guarded the Cedar Forest where the gods lived, as depicted on this Assyrian cylinder
seal of the seventh century BCE.

Not only is the Epic of Gilgamesh, originally written around 2000 sce and preserved
on clay tablets inscribed with cuneiform text dating to later periods, one of the
greatest pieces of world literature, it also is one of the earliest, if not the earliest. In
Sumerian history, Gilgamesh appears as the fifth king of the city of Uruk (see
“EPIC OF GILGAMESH” (€a. 2500 sce), TABLETS I-VIII
39

Reading 15) and would have reigned around 2500 sce. In the epic, Gilgamesh appears as a
semidivine hero, two-thirds god and one-third human. The story, no doubt based on oral
tradition, begins with the gods creating the wild man Enkidu to save the people of Uruk from
Gilgamesh’'s oppressive rule. Enkidu and Gilgamesh become friends and have a series of ad-
ventures, but the gods eventually punish Gilgamesh by killing Enkidu. Gilgamesh then wan-
ders the world looking for the secret of eternal life.

Source: William Ellery Leonard, trans., Gilgamesh. Epic of Old Babylonia (New York: Viking, 1934).

TABLETI [Aftera brief section describing Gilgamesh, hunter says to his father, “My father, a man that
the inhabitants of Uruk then complain to the gods came from the hills hath become strong indeed in
about Gilgamesh’s oppressive administration. The the land, mighty in power like a fighter of Anu’s. He
gods respond by creating the wild man Enkidu to is ever beside the wild beasts. I am afraid, I cannot
challenge Gilgamesh.] go near to him. My traps that I laid he hath destroyed.
He built the walls of ramparted Uruk. He laid the No catch he allows me.”
foundations, steadfast as bronze, of the holy E-ana,!’ The father says to the hunter, “Seek out Gil-
the pure temple. Two thirds of him is god, one third gamesh, the Lord of Uruk. Beg for a priestess and
of him is man. There is none who can match the form lead her back with thee. When the wild beasts come
of his body [—]. to the watering-place, then let her cast her garment
“Gilgamesh keeps the son from the father, Gil- off. When he sees her, he will draw near.” The hunter
gamesh keeps the lover from the maiden.” The great heard the counsel of his father. He started on the
gods heard their outcries. The gods of heaven called way, he entered into Uruk. He goes to Gilgamesh,
the Lord Anu, “Was he not of thy making, this al- and Gilgamesh says to him, “Go, my hunter, and get
mighty wild bull, this hero Gilgamesh?” The great thee a priestess.” The hunter went yonder and got
god Anu lent ear to their cries. Aruru’* was sum- him a priestess. They made themselves ready. The
moned, she the great goddess, “Thou, Aruru, madest wild beasts come along and drink at the
Gilgamesh; now make another like unto him. Let watering-place. So too comes he, Enkidu. Then the
him come at Gilgamesh. Let them contend together, priestess saw him, the great strong one, the wild
that Uruk may have peace.” As Aruru heard this, she fellow, the man of the steppes. The hunter said,
shaped in her heart a warrior of Anu. She pinched up “There he is, woman! Loosen thy buckle, unveil thy
some clay and spat on it. She molded Enkidu, fash- delight. When he sees thee, he will draw near. Open
ioned a hero. His whole body was shaggy with hair. thy robe that he may rest upon thee! Arouse in him
He knew naught of land and people, with the ga- rapture, the work of woman. His bosom will press
zelles he eats the plants, with the wild beasts he against thee.”
drinks at the watering-place. He walked to the Then the priestess loosened her buckle, unveiled
watering-place toward a hunter, a stalker of wild her delight. She aroused in him rapture, the work
beasts. The hunter saw him, the hunter’s face grew of woman. His bosom pressed against her. Enkidu
troubled. Without his quarry he turned back to his forgot where he was born. For six days and seven
house. He was down-cast, troubled; he shrieked. The nights was Enkidu given over to love with the priest-
ess. When he had sated himself with the fill of her,
he raised up his face to his wild ones. At sight of
7 The temple of Ishtar (or Inanna) in Uruk. Enkidu, the wild beasts of the fields shrink back
18 Goddess of the Earth and birth; in some versions, she before him. Then Enkidu marveled. His body stood
created humanity. as in a spell. He turns about and sits down at the feet
40 MESOPOTAMIA AND THE BRONZE AGE (6000-1200 BcE)

of the priestess. And to what the priestess now speaks bore, the goddess Ninsun.!? Enlil”® to thee hath allot-
his ears give heed. “Enkidu, how beautiful thou, how ted the kingdom over mankind!”
like a god! Why must thou rush with animals over
the steppes? Come, I will lead thee into ramparted [Gilgamesh suggests that he and Enkidu attack
Uruk, to a pure house, the dwelling of Anu and Humbaba, the giant that guarded the Cedar Forest,
Ishtar, where Gilgamesh lives, matchless in might.” where the gods lived. Enkidu replies.]
She talks to him, until he likes her words. Knowing “Tn the hills, my friend, I found it out, as Iroamed with
his own heart, he seeketh a friend. Enkidu says to the wild beasts. Hither and thither ten thousand miles
her, to the priestess, “Woman, lead me to the pure, stretches that forest. Who could dare enter therein?
the holy house, the dwelling of Anu and Ishtar, where Humbaba’s bellow is a stormwind, his mouth is fire, his
Gilgamesh lives, matchless in might. I will challenge snort is death! Whence came thy resolve to dare this?”
him to a fight. I, born on the steppes, matchless in Gilgamesh says to Enkidu, “My heart hath its longing
might, well I know what the outcome will be.” to conquer Humbaba.” Enkidu says to Gilgamesh,
Then she stripped off one of her robes, and “How against Humbaba can we make way to the Cedar
clothed him therewith. In the other robe she herself Forest? Enlil hath set him therein, to the terror of men,
remained clad. She took him by the hand and led for guarding the cedars.” Gilgamesh says to Enkidu,
him like a bridegroom, and the shepherds fore- “My friend, We both will strive against Humbaba.
gathered around him. Then they set bread before Thou art now afeared of death, and thy power is gone.
him. He was bewildered. Enkidu understood not I will go on before thee. Even if I fall, I will make
how to eat bread; to drink wine he had not learned. myself a name. ‘Gilgamesh, so men will say, ‘Hath
Then the priestess opens her mouth and says to gone forth against the almighty Humbaba. ”
Enkidu, “Eat bread, Enkidu, the glory of life, drink
wine, Enkidu, the custom of the land.’ Then [The city elders advise Gilgamesh before his depar-
Enkidu ate bread until he was full. Then he drank ture to fight Humbaba.]
wine, seven beakers. His spirit loosed itself, he “Gilgamesh, trust not in thy powers. He who knoweth
grew merry. He took his weapon, he attacked lions, the way guardeth his companion. Let Enkidu go on
so that the great shepherds found rest at night, for before thee, he knoweth the way to the Cedar Forest.
Enkidu was their safeguard. Enkidu and the priest- He is wise in fight, he understandeth combats. May
ess arrived at ramparted Uruk. They go together to Enkidu save the friend, may he guard the comrade. In
seek out Gilgamesh. the stream of Humbaba mayst thou bathe thy feet!”
Enkidu spoke to Gilgamesh, “Now start on thy
TABLET II [Enkidu picks a fight with Gilgamesh, way! Be thy heart fearless! Fix eye upon me! We will
and the two then become friends and embark on a win against Humbaba.”
series of adventures.]
Enkidu goes along the market-street of ramparted TABLET III [Gilgamesh visits his mother Ninsun
Uruk. Marvelling he looks at the mighty work. He before departing.]
bars the way of the warriors of Uruk; the couch had Gilgamesh says to Enkidu, “My friend, let us go to
been spread for goddess Ishtar at the gates of her the splendid palace and stand before Ninsun, the
house. Enkidu barred the going-to, allowed not great queen. The lady Ninsun, who knoweth all
Gilgamesh that he enter in. They grappled each other things, will lend goodspeed to our footsteps.” They
at the gates of her house. They fought in the street.
The doorposts quaked and the wall swayed. ' The wild cow goddess, daughter of Anu; see also
Gilgamesh crumpled his leg to the ground. His anger Readings 17, 19.
softened, he checked his onset. Says Enkidu to him, *The Sumerian storm god, highest ranking of the gods
to Gilgamesh, “Thee, as one matchless, thy mother on earth.
“EPIC OF GILGAMESH” (ca. 2500 sce), TABLETS I-VIII 41
took each other by the hand; Gilgamesh and Enkidu TABLET V [Most of this tablet, in which Gilgamesh
went to the splendid palace, and stood before Ninsun, and Enkidu hunt down Humbaba, is destroyed, but
the great queen. She burnt much incense. She called by the end of it, Humbaba has been slain and the two
Enkidu and said to him, “Enkidu, thou strong one, heroes have returned to Uruk.]
thou alone art my comfort, shelter for me now They took their stand and gaze at the forest. They survey
Gilgamesh, my son, From the day of his going, until the height of the cedars. They survey the entrance to the
the day of his coming home, until he reaches the forest, where Humbaba goes about, roving along [—]
Cedar Forest, yield not from his side!”
TABLET VI [Gilgamesh rejects the erotic advances
TABLET IV [Gilgamesh and Enkidu are climbing of Ishtar, who complains to Anu that Gilgamesh
the mountain of the Cedar Forest. Gilgamesh has needs to be punished for this insult.]
several dreams. After the second one, he says:] Gilgamesh threw off his unclean garments and put on
“My friend, I had a second dream, and the dream clean raiment. Gilgamesh set his crown on. Then
that I saw was horrible. On the top of a mountain Ishtar, sublime one, lifted her eyes to the beauty of Gil-
we two were standing when the mountain caved gamesh, “Go to it, Gilgamesh, be my consort, spend
in.” Then said Enkidu to his friend, “The dream thy love upon me. Be thou my husband, be I thy wife!
thou hadst is good, my friend, the mountain thou I will have a chariot harnessed for thee of lapis lazuli
saw’st is the Cedar Mountain! We are going to and of gold. Its wheels are golden, its horns of precious
seize Humbaba and kill him, and cast his corpse stones.” Gilgamesh says to Ishtar, sublime one, “Keep
into the plain!” After twenty miles they ate a little. thy gifts to thyself! Thou art like a back door that
After thirty miles they rested for the night. Gil- keeps not the storm out. For which of thy consorts has
gamesh sank on his knee, a sleep overtook him. At thy love lasted? Which of thy shepherds could bind
midnight he stood up and said to his friend, “My thee forever? Go to, I will count off all thy paramours,
friend, I saw a third dream, and the dream that I I will hold a reckoning with thee. Tammuz,”! the lover
saw was horrible. The heavens shrieked, the earth of thy youth, hast thou year after year made to wail.”
bellowed, a storm gathered, darkness came forth, a [Gilgamesh lists four more of Ishtar’s rejected lovers,
flash flamed, a fire shot up, the clouds thickened, it then continues:] Thou fellest in love with Ishullanu,
rained death. Then the brightness vanished, the fire The gardener of thy father.”* Thou liftedst thine eyes to
went out, the blaze that had fallen turned to ashes. him and lurést him, ‘Dear Ishullanu, let us enjoy love
Let us climb down, that we may take counsel on together.” Ishullanu spoke to thee, “What dost thou
the plain.” want of me? Hath my mother not baked, and have I not
eaten, that I should eat dishes of evil deeds and of
[But the two eventually press on and reach the great curses?’ As thou heardset this his talking, thou turnedst
gate to the Cedar Forest. This time it is Enkidu who him into a bat. And now thou hast fallen in love with
gets cold feet.] me, and wilt treat me as them.”
Enkidu says to Gilgamesh, “My friend, let us not As Ishtar heard this, she was wroth and mounted
enter the forest; my hands are lamed!” Gilgamesh to heaven. Ishtar stepped up to Anu, her father, and to
says to Enkidu, “My friend, thou shalt not act likea Antu,” her mother, she went, and she spoke, “My
weakling! Art thou not wise in fight? Forget death!
The laming of thy hands will be over, and thy faint- 21 A vegetation god, Tammuz in Semitic and Dumuzi in
ness pass off! Let us enter, my friend, let us fight Sumerian.
side by side—Did not thine own heart urge to the 22 Tammuz spent half the year on earth, then died and
fight?” Then the two got into the Cedar Forest. spent half the year in the underworld, then was reborn.
Their words stood still, and they themselves 3 That is, the great god Anu.
stopped and stood. 4The wife of Anu.
42 MESOPOTAMIA AND THE BRONZE AGE (6000-1200 BcE)

father, Gilgamesh hath curst me, Gilgamesh hath tal- house whose inhabitants do without light, where dust
lied up my evil deeds and my curses.” Anu opened is their nourishment and clay their food. They are as
his mouth and spoke to Ishtar, sublime one, “And birds clothed with wings, they see not the light, they
thou hast besought his love, and Gilgamesh hath tal- dwell in the darkness.’ In the house of dust that I
lied off thy evil deeds and thy curses.” Ishtar says to entered are kings’ crowns bowed down. There do
Anu, her father, “My father, do thou create a Bull of dwell the mighty ones who from the days of old ruled
Heaven that he may butt Gilgamesh down. And do the land. In the house of dust that I entered dwells the
thou fill the bull’s body with fire!” Anu lent ear to her queen of the earth, Ereshkigal. She raised her head
words, “Let a Bull of Heaven descend and come unto and saw me. She stretched out her hand and took me
Uruk.” At his first snort the bull kills three hundred to herself.”
warriors. And Enkidu grasped the Bull of Heaven by
his horns. At his second snort two hundred warriors [Gilgamesh replies:]
he knocks over. At his third snort Enkidu leaps on his “My friend, who with me hast ranged through all hard-
back and grasps him by the thick of the tail. Then ships, my friend, the dream comes true!”’ On the day
Enkidu says to Gilgamesh, “My friend, we have when he saw the dream his fate was fulfilled. Enkidu
made our name glorious.” And Gilgamesh thrusts his lies stricken. For one day, for a second day, Enkidu suf-
sword between nape and horns. When they had laid fers pain in his bed. For a third day, and a fourth,
low the Bull of Heaven, their heart had peace. Then Enkidu lies stricken. For a fifth, a sixth, and a seventh,
Ishtar mounted the walls of ramparted Uruk and for an eighth, a ninth, and a tenth day, Enkidu’s pain
shrieked down, “Woe unto Gilgamesh who affronted grows great. For an eleventh and a twelfth day, Enkidu
me, who killed the Bull of Heaven.” As Enkidu heard lies in his bed. He calls Gilgamesh and speaks, “A god
these words of Ishtar, he tore loose a thigh-bone from hath cursed me, my friend. Not like one wounded in
the Bull of Heaven, and flung it into her face. Then battle is it mine to die. I once feared the fight, but, my
Ishtar assembled the damsels of the temple, the har- friend, he who falls in the fight is happy. As for me, I
lots and the priestesses, over the thigh-bone of the must die in my bed.”
Bull of Heaven they wailed a chant. The people of
Uruk stand assembled. Gilgamesh speaks thus to the TABLET VIII [Gilgamesh laments the death of his
maid-servants of his palace, “Who is the most beau- friend.]
tiful among the heroes?” “Gilgamesh is the most Then Gilgamesh assembles his nobles and says,
beautiful among the heroes!” Then Gilgamesh makes “Hear me, ye elders, look upon me! For Enkidu, for
in his palace a feast of rejoicing. my friend, I weep. Like a wailing woman I cry bit-
terly. An evil spirit hath risen up and cast me down
TABLET VII [The gods punish Gilgamesh for killing into ruin.” [Gilgamesh speaks to Enkidu.] “Enkidu,
the Bull of Heaven. Enkidu becomes ill and has a my young friend, who couldst do all things, So that
feverish dream of his own death.] we climbed the mountain, overthrew Humbaba, so
“Gilgamesh, my friend, I beheld dreams this last that we seized and slew the Bull of Heaven. Dark is
night, in the dark night I see a man with forbidding thy look, and thine ears take not my voice!” But he
face. He is hideous to look on, his nails are eagle- lifts up his eyes no more. Gilgamesh touched him on
talons. He made my arms into wings like a bird’s, the heart, but the heart beats no more. Like as a lion,
saying, ‘Descend, descend, I say, into the house of Gilgamesh raised his voice, like as a lioness, he
darkness, to the dwelling of Irkaila,?> to the house roared out. He tears his hair and strews it forth.” Soon
that none leave again who have betrodden it, to the as beamed the first shimmer of morning, Gilgamesh
raised a new cry, “I will myself put on mourning for
5 The underworld, ruled by Ereshkigal, the older sister of thee, will clothe myself in a lion’s skin, and haste
Ishtar, and Nergal, the god of death. away over the steppes.”
THE SUMERIAN KING LIST (ca. 2500/1700 BCE)
43

[Distraught at the loss of his friend, Gilgamesh then Flood and who directs Gilgamesh to a life-preserving
sets out to find the secret of eternal life. He meets plant. But the plant is stolen by a serpent, and
Utnapishtim (see Reading 3), who survived the Great Gilgamesh returns home empty handed. ]

IS
cSQ>
THE SUMERIAN KING LIST
(ern 5 00/ 17O0 BCE)

This best surviving copy of the Sumerian King List is the Weld—Blundell prism now kept in the
Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.

The Sumerian King List, preserved on clay blocks inscribed with cuneiform text, ostensibly was a
sequential record of Sumerian kings who laid claim to hegemony in lower Mesopotamia in the
years before and after 3000 sce. It did not have a single author, but grew by accretion. As time
went on, it was used to legitimate the claims of various cities to supremacy. Many of the dynas-
ties cited, however, overlapped, making it difficult to use the document to establish a fixed
chronology. The earliest reigns are clearly legendary, with lengths of tens of thousands of years.
After the flood, the reign lengths gradually shorten to more realistic lengths. Eventually, the list
enters historical times with kings whose existence is confirmed in other documents. Most of the
kings are just names; only a few of them are credited with any particular accomplishment. The
44 MESOPOTAMIA AND THE BRONZE AGE (6000-1200 BcE)

city names have been normalized here to more standard spellings. It is unclear when the King
List was first created, but the latest entries run into the eighteenth century BCE.

Source: “The Sumerian King List,” in J. A. Black, G. Cunningham, J. Ebeling, E. Fliickiger-Hawker, E. Robson, J. Taylor, and
G. Zélyomi, “The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature.”

After the kingship descended from heaven, the king- Balih, the son of Etana, ruled for 400 years. En-me-
ship was in Eridu. In Eridu, Alulim became king; he nuna ruled for 660 years. Melem-Kish, the son of En-
ruled for 28800 years. Alaljar ruled for 36000 years. me-nuna, ruled for 900 years. Barsal-nuna, the son of
2 kings; they ruled for 64800 years. Then Eridu fell En-me-nuna, ruled for 1200 years. Zamug, the son of
and the kingship was taken to Bad-tibira.”° Barsal-nuna, ruled for 140 years. Tizgar, the son of
In Bad-tibira, En-men-lu-ana”’ ruled for 43200 Zamug, ruled for 305 years. Iltasadum ruled for 1200
years. En-men-gal-ana ruled for 28800 years. Dumuzi, years. En-men-barage-si,"? who made the land of
the shepherd, ruled for 36000 years. 3 kings; they ruled Elam submit, became king; he ruled for 900 years.
for 108000 years. r Aga, the son of En-men-barage-si, ruled for 625
Then Bad-tibira fell and the kingship was taken to years. Then Kish was defeated and the kingship was
Larsa. In Larsa, En-sipad-zid-ana ruled for 28800 taken to Uruk.
years. 1 king; he ruled for 28800 years. Then Larsa In Uruk Mec-ki-aj-gacer, the son of Utu, became
fell and the kingship was taken to Sippar. Lord and king; he ruled for 324 years. Mec-ki-aj-gacer
In Sippar, En-men-dur-ana became king; he ruled entered the sea and disappeared. Enmerkar, the son
for 21000 years. 1 king; he ruled for 21000 years. Then of Mec-ki-aj-gacer, the King of Uruk, who built
Sippar fell and the kingship was taken to Shuruppak. Uruk, became king; he ruled for 420 years. 745 are
In Shuruppak, Ubara-tutu became king; he ruled the years of the dynasty of Mec-ki-aj-gacer; [—]
for 18600 years. 1 king; he ruled for 18600 years. In Lugalbanda,” the shepherd, ruled for 1200 years.
5 cities 8 kings; they ruled for 241200 years. Dumuzi, the fisherman, whose city was Kuara,* ruled
Then the flood swept over. After the flood had for 100 years. He captured En-me-barage-si*! single-
swept over, and the kingship had descended from handed. Gilgamesh,” whose father was a phantom,
heaven, the kingship was in Kish. the Lord of Kulaba,* ruled for 126 years. Ur-Nungal,
In Kish, Jucur became king; he ruled for 1200 the son of Gilgamesh, ruled for 30 years. Udul-kalama,
years. Kullassina-bel ruled for 960 years. Nanji- the son of Ur-lugal, ruled for 15 years. La-ba’cum
clicma ruled for 670 years. En-tarah-ana ruled for
420 years. Babum ruled for 300 years. Puannum
ruled for 840 years. Kalibum ruled for 960 years. *8 The first king in the list to be historically attested; frag-
ments found at Nippur and dated to ca. 2500 BCE name
Kalumum ruled for 900 years. Zuqaqip ruled for 900
En-men-barage-si as the Lugal of Kish, and he was said
years. Atab ruled for 600 years. Macda, the son of
to have built the first temple, the Ekur at Nippur, in honor
Atab, ruled for 840 years. Arwium, the son of Macda,
of the god Enlil.
ruled for 720 years. Etana, the shepherd, who as- * The word “Lugal,” literally “Big man,” was a generic
cended to heaven and consolidated all the foreign word for “ruler”; it also may refer to a military general or
countries, became king; he ruled for 1500 years. a ruler over several cities.
>° Otherwise unknown.
*'It is not clear whether this is the same En-me-barage-si
*6“Fortress of the Smiths,” a Sumerian city of unknown who was king of Kish.
location, perhaps modern Tel al-Madineh. * The same Gilgamesh as in the “Legend of Gilgamesh,”
27 Many names of rulers include the word “En,” the title see Readings 3 and 14.
of a priest-king, also known as an “Ensi.” 33 An alternate name for Uruk.
THE SUMERIAN KING LIST (ca. 2500/1700 Bce) 45

ruled for 9 years. En-nun-tarah-ana ruled for 8 years. In Adab, Lugal-ane-mundu became king; he ruled
Mec-he, the smith, ruled for 36 years. Melem-ana for 90 years. 1 king; he ruled for 90 years. Then
ruled for 6 years. Lugal-kitun ruled for 36 years. 12 Adab was defeated and the kingship was taken to
kings; they ruled for 2310 years. Then Uruk was de- Mari.
feated and the kingship was taken to Ur. In Mari, Anbu became king; he ruled for 30 years.
In Ur Mec-ane-pada became king;*4 he ruled for Anba, the son of Anbu, ruled for 17 years. Bazi, the
80 years. Mec-ki-aj-Nanna, the son of Mec-ane-pada, leatherworker, ruled for 30 years. Zizi, the fuller,
became king; he ruled for 36 years. Elulu ruled for ruled for 20 years. Limer, the gudu** priest, ruled for
25 years. Balulu ruled for 36 years. 4 kings; they 30 years. Carrum-iter ruled for 9 years. 6 kings; they
ruled for 171 years. Then Ur was defeated and the ruled for 136 years. Then Mari was defeated and the
kingship was taken to Awan.* kingship was taken to Kish.
In Awan [—] became king; he ruled for [—] years, In Kish, Kug-bau, the woman tavern-keeper, who
[—] ruled for [—] years [—], ruled for 36 years. made firm the foundations of Kish, became king; she
3 kings; they ruled for 356 years. Then Awan was de- ruled for 100 years. 1 king; she ruled for 100 years.
feated and the kingship was taken to Kish. Then Kish was defeated and the kingship was taken
In Kish, Susuda, the fuller, became king; he ruled to Akcak.*?
for 201+X years. Dadasig ruled for 81 years. In Akcak, Unzi became king; he ruled for 30 years.
Mamagal, the boatman, ruled for 360 years. Kalbum, Undalulu ruled for 6 years. Urur ruled for 6 years.
the son of Mamagal, ruled for 195 years. Tuge ruled Puzur-Nirah ruled for 20 years. Icu-Il ruled for
for 360 years. Men-nuna, the son of Tuge, ruled for 24 years. Shu-Sin,*° the son of Icu-Il, ruled for 7 years.
180 years [—] ruled for 290 years. Lugalju ruled for 6 kings; they ruled for 99 years Then Akcak was de-
360 years. 8 kings; they ruled for 3195 years. Then feated and the kingship was taken to Kish.
Kish was defeated and the kingship was taken to In Kish, Puzur-Sin,*! the son of Kug-bau, became
Hamazi.*° king; he ruled for 25 years. Ur-zababa, the son of
In Hamazi, Hadanic became king; he ruled for Puzur-Sin, ruled for 400 years. 131 are the years of
360 years. 1 king; he ruled for 360 years. Then Hamazi the dynasty of Kug-bau. Zimudar ruled for 30 years.
was defeated and the kingship was taken to Uruk. Usi-watar, the son of Zimudar, ruled for 7 years.
In Uruk, En-cakanca-ana became king; he ruled Ectar-muti ruled for 11 years. Icme-Camac ruled for
for 60 years. Lugal-ure ruled for 120 years. Argandea 11 years. Cu-ilicu ruled for 15 years. Nanniya, the
ruled for 7 years. 3 kings; they ruled for 187 years. jeweler, ruled for 7 years. 7 kings; they ruled for
Then Uruk was defeated and the kingship was taken 491 years. Then Kish was defeated and the kingship
to Ur. was taken to Uruk.
In Ur, Nani became king; he ruled for 120 + X In Uruk, Lugal-zage-si became king; he ruled for
years. Mec-ki-aj-Nanna, the son of Nani, ruled for 25 years. 1 king; he ruled for 25 years. Then Uruk
48 years, [—] the son of [—], ruled for 2 years. 3 kings; was defeated and the kingship was taken to Akkad.
they ruled for 582 years. Then Ur was defeated and In Akkad, Sargon,” whose father was a gardener,
the kingship was taken to Adab.*” the cupbearer of Ur-zababa,* became king, the King

38 A generic word for “priest.”

34 Mec-ane-pada was the grandson of Meskalamdug, the 3°Tocation unknown.
first historically attested king of Ur, in the twenty-sixth 40 Named after Sin, the sun god.
century BCE. 41 The kingship of Puzur-Sin seems to overlap with that of
35In Elam, to the east of Sumeria in Iran. the previous dynasty from Akcak.
36 | ocation unknown; perhaps east of Assyria. 42 For the legend of Sargon, see Reading 16.
37 Modern Bismaya. 43 The king of Kish, noted previously.
46 MESOPOTAMIA AND THE BRONZE AGE (6000-1200 BcE)

of Akkad, who built Akkad; he ruled for 56 years. In Ur, Ur-Nammu became king; he ruled for 18
Rimuc, the son of Sargon, ruled for 9 years. Man- years. Shulgi, the son of Ur-Nammu, ruled for 46 years.
icticcu, the older brother of Rimuc, the son of Sargon, Amar-Sin, the son of Shulgi, ruled for 9 years. Shu-Sin,
ruled for 15 years. Naram-Sin, the son of Man-icticcu, the son of Amar-Sin, ruled for 9 years. Ibbi-Sin, the son
ruled for 56 years. Car-kali-carri, the son of Naram- of Shu-Sin, ruled for 24 years. 4 kings; they ruled for
Sin, ruled for 25 years. 157 are the years of the dynasty 108 years. Then Ur was defeated. The very foundation
of Sargon. Then who was king? Who indeed was of Sumer was torn out. The kingship was taken to Isin.
king? Irgigi was king, Imi was king, Nanim was king, In Isin, Icbi-erra became king; he ruled for 33 years.
Ilulu was king, and the 4 of them ruled for only 3 Cu-ilicu, the son of Icbi-erra, ruled for 20 years. Iddin-
years. Dudu ruled for 21 years. Cu-Durul, the son of Dagan, the son of Cu-ilicu, ruled for 21 years. Icme-
Dudu, ruled for 15 years. 11 kings; they ruled for 181 Dagan, the son of Iddin-Dagan, ruled for 20 years.
years. Then Akkad was defeated and the kingship was Lipit-ectar, the son of Icme-Dagan, ruled 11 years. Ur-
taken to Uruk. Ninurta,* the son of Ickur—may he have years of
In Uruk, Ur-nijin became king; he ruled for 7 abundance, a good reign, and a sweet life—ruled for
years. Ur-gigir, the son of Ur-nijin, ruled for 6 years. 28 years. Bur-Sin, the son of Ur-Ninurta, ruled for 21
Kuda ruled for 6 years. Puzur-ili ruled for 5 years. years. Lipit-enlil,*° the son of Bur-Sin, ruled for 5
Ur-utu ruled for 6 years. 5 kings; they ruled for 30 years. Erra-imitti ruled for 8 years. [—] ruled for [—]
years. Uruk was defeated and the kingship was taken 6 months. Enlil-bani ruled for 24 years. Zambiya ruled
to the army of Gutium.** for 3 years. Iter-pica ruled for 4 years. Ur-dul-kuga
In the army of Gutium, at first no king was famous; ruled for 4 years. Sin-magir ruled for 11 years. Damiq-
they were their own kings and ruled thus for 3 years. ilicu, the son of Sin-magir, ruled for 23 years. 14 kings;
Then Inkicuc ruled for 6 years. Zarlagab ruled for 6 they ruled for 203 years.
years. Culme ruled for 6 years. Silulumec ruled for A total of 39 kings ruled for 14409 + X years,
6 years. Inimabakec ruled for 5 years. Igecauc ruled 3 months and 3 1/2 days, 4 times in Kish. A total of
for 6 years. Yarlagab ruled for 15 years. Ibate ruled 22 kings ruled for 2610 + X years, 6 months and
for 3 years. Yarla ruled for 3 years. Kurum ruled for 15 days, 5 times in Uruk. A total of 12 kings ruled
1 year. Apil-kin ruled for 3 years. La-erabum ruled for 396 years, 3 times in Ur. A total of 3 kings
for 2 years. Irarum ruled for 2 years. Ibranum ruled ruled for 356 years, once in Awan. A total of
for 1 year. Hablum ruled for 2 years. Puzur-Sin, the 1 king ruled for 420 years, once in Hamazi. [16
son of Hablum, ruled for 7 years. Yarlaganda ruled lines missing]*’ A total of 12 kings ruled for 197
for 7 years. [—] ruled for 7 years. Tiriga ruled for years, once in Akkad. A total of 21 kings ruled for
40 days. 21 kings; they ruled for 124 years and 40 days. 125 years and 40 days, once in the army of Gutium.
Then the army of Gutium was defeated and the king- A total of 11 kings ruled for 159 years, once in Isin.
ship was taken to Uruk. There are 11 cities, cities in which the kingship
In Uruk, Utu-hejal became king; he ruled for 26 was exercised. A total of 134 kings, who altogether
years, 2 + X months, and 15 days. 1 king; he ruled for ruled for 28876 + X years.
7 years, 6 months, and 15 days. Then Uruk was de-
feated and the kingship was taken to Ur.

“’ Named after Ninurta, god of hunting and warfare.

“© Named after the supreme god Enlil.
“’The missing sections of this consolidated summary can
“4 For the Gutians, see Reading 18. be recreated from the preceding enumerations.
 16
cSQ>
THE LEGEND OF SARGON
(GA 2 S08 GE)

A bust from Nineveh with the hair bound up for combat often is identified as Sargon, although this is
by no means certain. The semiprecious stones used for the eyes were pried out when the tomb was
looted in antiquity.

After the death of Sargon of Akkad, the creator of the greatest world empire up to that time,
several legends circulated on clay tablets written in cuneiform script purporting to detail his
origins. In one supposedly autobiographical version, he had an unknown father, was born in
secret, and then was set adrift in a basket in the Euphrates River. The “infant set adrift" motif
was popular in ancient folk literature and is found later in the stories of Moses (Reading 34)
and Romulus and Remus (Reading 73).

Source: George A. Barton, Archaeology and the Bible, 3rd ed. (Philadelphia: American Sunday-School Union, 1920), 310.

47
48 MESOPOTAMIA AND THE BRONZE AGE (6000-1200 BcE)

Sargon, the mighty king, King of Agadé*® am I. My black-headed peoples”! I ruled, I governed. Mighty
mother was lowly; my father I did not know. The mountains with axes of bronze I conquered. I as-
brother of my father dwelt in the mountain. My city cended the upper mountains, I burst through the
is Azupiranu,” which is situated on the bank of the lower mountains. The country of the sea I besieged
Purattu.°° My lowly mother conceived me, in secret three times; Dilmun® I captured. Unto the great
she brought me forth. She placed me in a basket of Dur-ilu* I went up [-—].
reeds, she closed my entrance with bitumen. She cast Whatsoever king shall be exalted after me, let him
me upon the rivers that did not engulf me. The river rule, let him govern the black-headed peoples. Mighty
carried me, it brought me to Akki, the irrigator. mountains with axes of bronze let him conquer. Let
Akki, the irrigator, in the goodness of his heart lifted him ascend the upper mountains, let him break through
me out. Akki, the irrigator, as his own son brought the lower mountains. The country of the sea let him
me up. Akki, the irrigator, as his gardener appointed besiege three times. Dilmun let him capture. To great
me. When I was a gardener the goddess Ishtar loved Dur-ilu let him go up from my city, Agadé.
me, and for four years I ruled the kingdom. The

“The newly built capital of the Akkadian Empire; see

Reading 18. >! The traditional means of describing the Sumerian
” The location of Azupiranu is unknown; in Akkadian people in particular and Mesopotamians in general.
the word means “City of Saffron.” » An area of eastern Arabia.
°° The Euphrates River. ** Der, on the eastern frontier of Babylonia.
 [7
cSO>
THE EARLIEST KNOWN AUTHOR
(CA. 2190 Bce): ENHEDUANA, “THE
EXALTATION OF INANNA’”

The “Enheduana Disk,” 25.6 centimeters in diameter and made of translucent alabaster (calcite), was
found at Ur and now is preserved in storage at the University of Pennsylvania Museum. It dates to
ca. 2200 sce and depicts Enheduana as first in a religious procession with three other figures (her
estate manager Adda, her hair dresser Palilis, and her scribe Sagadu) making a sacrifice to Nanna, the
moon god. A cuneiform inscription on the back reads, “Enheduana, zirru-priestess, wife of the god
Nanna, daughter of Sargon king of the world, in the temple of the goddess Innana.”

Sargon, the founder of the Akkadian Empire, appointed his daughter Enheduana as priestess
of the temple of the moon god Nanna at Ur. Enheduana is the earliest known named, single
author from the ancient Near Eastern and Mediterranean worlds. She wrote several surviving
poems in the Sumerian language and is the earliest known author of anything written in
cuneiform and the first to write in the first person. Her most famous poem, in 153 lines,
honored the goddess Inanna (or, in Semitic, Ishtar). It begins by listing the epithets of the
goddess and then continues with Enheduana's personal pleas for Inanna’s help in gaining the
assistance of Nanna, also known as Sin and Acimbabbar, after she was exiled from the cities
of Ur and Uruk by the rebellious king Lugal-ane.

Source: “The Exaltation of Inanna,” in J. A. Black, G. Cunningham, J. Ebeling, E. Fliickiger-Hawker, E. Robson, J. Taylor, and
G. Zélyomi, “The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature.”

49
50 MESOPOTAMIA AND THE BRONZE AGE (6000-1200 BcE)

Lady of all the divine powers, resplendent light, right- terrible gaze. They dare not confront your terrible
eous woman clothed in radiance, beloved of An and countenance.
Uras!°* Mistress of heaven, with the great diadem, Who can cool your raging heart? Your malevolent
who loves the good headdress befitting the office of en anger is too great to cool. Lady, can your mood be
priestess,° who has seized all seven of its divine soothed? Lady, can your heart be gladdened? Eldest
powers! My lady, you are the guardian of the great daughter of Sin, your rage cannot be cooled! Lady
divine powers! You have taken up the divine powers, supreme over the foreign lands, who can take any-
you have hung the divine powers from your hand. You thing from your province? If you frown at the moun-
have gathered up the divine powers, you have clasped tains, vegetation there is ruined. Their palaces are
the divine powers to your breast. Like a dragon you set afire. Blood is poured into their rivers because of
have deposited venom on the foreign lands. When like you, and their people must drink it. They must lead
Ickur°® you roar at the earth, no vegetation can stand their troops captive before you, all together. They
up to you. As a flood descending upon those foreign must scatter their elite regiments for you, all together.
lands, powerful one of heaven and earth, you are their They must stand their able-bodied young men at
Inanna. Raining blazing fire down upon the land, en- your service, all together. Tempests have filled the
dowed with divine powers by An, lady who rides dancing-places of cities. They drive their young men
upon a beast, whose words are spoken at the holy before you as prisoners. Your holy command has
command of An! The great rites are yours: who can been spoken over the city that has not declared “The
fathom them? Destroyer of the foreign lands, you foreign lands are yours!”, wherever they have not de-
confer strength on the storm. Beloved of Enlil, you clared “It is your own father’s!”; and it is brought
have made awesome terror weigh upon the Land. You back under your feet. Responsible care is removed
stand at the service of An’s commands. At your bat- from its sheepfolds. Its woman no longer speaks af-
tle-cry, my lady, the foreign lands bow low. When hu- fectionately with her husband; at dead of night she no
manity comes before you in awed silence at the longer takes counsel with him, and she no longer re-
terrifying radiance and tempest, you grasp the most veals to him the pure thoughts of her heart. Impetu-
terrible of all the divine powers. Because of you, the ous wild cow, great daughter of Sin, lady greater
threshold of tears is opened, and people walk along than An, who can take anything from your province?
the path of the house of great lamentations. In the van Great queen of queens, issue of a holy womb for
of battle, all is struck down before you. With your righteous divine powers, greater than your own
strength, my lady, teeth can crush flint. You charge mother, wise and sage, lady of all the foreign lands,
forward like a charging storm. You roar with the roar- life-force of the teeming people: I will recite your
ing storm, you continually thunder with Ickur. You holy song! True goddess fit for divine powers, your
spread exhaustion with the stormwinds, while your splendid utterances are magnificent. Deep-hearted,
own feet remain tireless. With the lamenting balaj good woman with a radiant heart, I will enumerate
drum*’ a lament is struck up. My lady, the great your holy divine powers for you!
Anuna® gods fly from you to the ruin mounds like I, Enheduana the en priestess, entered my holy
scudding bats. They dare not stand before your jipar® in your service. I carried the ritual basket, and
intoned the song of joy. But funeral offerings were
brought, as if I had never lived there. I approached
the light, but the light was scorching hot to me. I ap-
*Uras was an earth goddess, sometimes the consort of An. proached that shade, but I was covered with a storm.
°° The highest-ranking priestess.
°° The storm god; also Adad.
57 A large drum. °° Or Nanna, the moon god.
8 The gods, also known as Anunnaki, see Reading 1. ° The temple of Inanna.
THE EARLIEST KNOWN AUTHOR (ca. 2190 sce): ENHEDUANA, “THE EXALTATION OF INANNA” 51

My honeyed mouth became scum. My ability to priestess. He gave me a knife and dagger, saying to
soothe moods vanished. Sin, tell An about Lugal-ane®! me “These are appropriate ornaments for you.”
and my fate! May An undo it for me! As soon as you Most precious lady, beloved by An, your holy
tell An about it, An will release me. The Lady” will heart is great; may it be assuaged on my behalf! Be-
take the destiny away from Lugal-ane; foreign lands loved spouse of Ucumgal-ana,® you are the great
and flood lie at her feet. The Lady too is exalted, and lady of the horizon and zenith of the heavens. The
can make cities tremble. I, Enheduana, will recite a Anuna have submitted to you. From birth you were
prayer to you. To you, holy Inanna, I shall give free the junior queen: how supreme you are now over the
vent to my tears like sweet beer! I shall say to her Anuna, the great gods! The Anuna kiss the ground
“Greetings!” Do not be anxious about Acimbabbar.® with their lips before you. But my own trial is not yet
In connection with the purification rites of holy An, concluded, although a hostile verdict encloses me as
Lugal-ane has altered everything of his, and has if it were my own verdict. I did not reach out my
stripped An of the E-ana.™ He has not stood in awe hands to the flowered bed. I did not reveal the pro-
of the greatest deity. He has turned that temple, nouncements of Ningal®’ to anybody. My lady be-
whose attractions were inexhaustible, whose beauty loved of An, may your heart be calmed toward me,
was endless, into a destroyed temple. While he en- the brilliant en priestess of Nanna! It must be known!
tered before me as if he was a partner, really he ap- It must be known! Nanna has not yet spoken out! He
proached out of envy. My good divine wild cow, has said, “He is yours!” Be it known that you are
drive out the man, capture the man! In the place of lofty as the heavens! Be it known that you are broad
divine encouragement, what is my standing now? as the earth! Be it known that you destroy the rebel
May An extradite the land that is a malevolent rebel lands! Be it known that you roar at the foreign lands!
against your Nanna! May An smash that city! May Be it known that you crush heads! Be it known that
Enlil curse it! May its plaintive child not be placated you devour corpses like a dog! Be it known that your
by his mother! gaze is terrible! Be it known that you lift your terri-
Lady, with the laments begun, may your ship of ble gaze! Be it known that you have flashing eyes!
lamentation be abandoned in hostile territory. Must I Be it known that you are unshakeable and unyield-
die because of my holy songs? My Nanna has paid no ing! Be it known that you always stand triumphant!
heed to me. He has destroyed me utterly in renegade That Nanna has not yet spoken out, and that he has
territory. Acimbabbar has certainly not pronounced said “He is yours!” has made you greater, my lady;
a verdict on me. What is it to me if he has pronounced you have become the greatest! My lady beloved by
it? What is it to me if he has not pronounced it? An, I shall tell of all your rages! I have heaped up the
He stood there in triumph and drove me out of the coals in the censer, and prepared the purification
temple. He made me fly like a swallow from the rites. The E-ecdam-kug® shrine awaits you. Might
window; I have exhausted my life-strength. He made your heart not be appeased toward me? Because it
me walk through the thorn bushes of the mountains. was full, too full for me, great exalted lady, I have
He stripped me of the rightful crown of the en recited this song for you. May a singer repeat to you
at noon that which was recited to you at dead of
night: “Because of your captive spouse, because of

61 The rebellious king of Ur who expelled Enheduana

from the temple of Nanna.
© Tnanna. 66 Dumuzi (Semitic Tammuz), a vegetation god, was a
63 Nanna or Sin, the moon god. favorite lover of Inanna; see Reading 14.
64 The temple of An in Uruk. 67 The goddess of marsh reeds, Ningal was the daughter
65 Ninsun, daughter of An and Uras and mother of of Enki and the consort of Nanna.
Gilgamesh. 68 A temple in the ancient Sumerian city of Girsu.
52 MESOPOTAMIA AND THE BRONZE AGE (6000-1200 BcE)

your captive child, your rage is increased, your heart exuded delight. Nanna came out to gaze at her prop-
unassuaged.” erly, and her mother Ningal blessed her. The door
The powerful lady, respected in the gathering of posts greeted her. Everyone’s speech to the mistress
rulers, has accepted her offerings from her. Inanna’s is exalted. Praise be to the destroyer of foreign
holy heart has been assuaged. The light was sweet lands, endowed with divine powers by An, to my
for her, delight extended over her, she was full of lady enveloped in beauty, to Inanna!
fairest beauty. Like the light of the rising moon, she

ae Sr)

“THE-GUR SIN Ge ORs AG AIDE?

(CAy ZO SOBER ee)

The Victory Stele of Naram-Sin commemorating the victory of Naram-Sin, the grandson of Sargon of
Akkad, over the Lullubi, a mountain people. In the text known as “The Cursing of Agadé,” it was
Naram-Sin’s looting of the Ekur, the temple of Enlil in Nippur, that caused Enlil to destroy Agadé, the
capital of the Akkadian Empire.

The lamentation "The Cursing of Agadé," written by an unknown author andpreserved writ-
ten in cuneiform script on clay tablets, was composed less than a century after the destruc-
tion of the Akkadian capital city of Agadé. It relates that after Naram-Sin, the grandson
of
Sargon, had plundered the Ekur, the temple of Enlil in Nippur, the storm god Enlil retaliated
“THE CURSING OF AGADE” (ca. 2050 BCE) 53

by destroying the city, in much the same way that he already had attempted to destroy
humanity with the great flood. In the modern day the curse has been connected to specula-
tions about climate change.

Source: “The Cursing of Agade,” in J. A. Black, G. Cunningham, J. Ebeling, E. Fliickiger-Hawker, E. Robson, J. Taylor, and
G. Zélyomi, “The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature.”

[Enlil threatens Agadé and causes the gods to [Naram-Sin attempts to placate Enlil.]
depart.] Naram-Sin saw in a nocturnal vision that Enlil would
The shepherd Naram-Sin rose as the daylight on the not let the kingdom of Akkad occupy a pleasant,
holy throne of Agadé. Its city wall, like a mountain, lasting residence, that he would make its future alto-
reached the heavens. It was like the Tigris flowing gether unfavorable, that he would make its temples
into the sea as holy Inanna opened the portals of its shake and would scatter its treasures. He put on
city-gates and made Sumer bring its own possessions mourning clothes. Naram-Sin persisted for seven
upstream by boats. The highland Martu,” people ig- years! Who has ever seen a king burying his head in
norant of agriculture, brought spirited cattle and kids his hands for seven years? In order to change what
for her. The Meluhans,” the people of the black land, had been inflicted upon him, he tried to alter Enlil’s
brought exotic wares up to her. Elam and Subir’! pronouncement.
loaded themselves with goods for her. Holy Inanna
could hardly receive all these offerings. But the state- [When that fails, Naram-Sin attempts to take re-
ment coming from the Ekur” was disquieting. Be- venge on Enlil by looting the Ekur, probably because
cause of Enlil all Agadé was reduced to trembling, his treasury was short of cash.]
and terror befell Inanna in Ulmas.” Holy Inanna Like an athlete bent to start a contest, he treated the
abandoned the sanctuary of Agadé. Ninurta” brought giguna’ as if it were worth only thirty shekels. Like
the jewels of rulership, the royal crown, the emblem a robber plundering the city, he set tall ladders
and the royal throne bestowed on Agadé, back into against the temple. To demolish Ekur as if it were a
his E-Su-me-Sa. Utu’® took away the eloquence of huge ship, to prostrate it like a city inundated by
the city. Enki’’ took away its wisdom. An took away ISkur,”? He set spades against its roots and it sank as
into the midst of heaven its fearsomeness that reaches low as the foundation of the Land. He put axes
heaven. Enki tore out its well-anchored holy mooring against its top, and the temple, like a dead soldier,
pole from the abzu. Inanna took away its weapons. bowed its neck before him. He ripped out its drain
pipes. He struck the Gate of Well-Being with the
pickaxe. The Akkadians could look into the holy
6 The later Amorites, Semitic pastoralists of western
treasure chest of the gods. The lahama* deities of
Mesopotamia.
the great pilasters standing at the temple were thrown
7 Peoples of the Harappan civilization of ancient India.
into the fire by Naram-Sin. He put its gold in con-
7 Subartu, an early name for Assyria.
72 The temple of Enlil at Nippur, where heaven and earth tainers and put its silver in leather bags. He filled the
met and from which divine laws were issued. Originally docks with its copper, as if it were a huge transport of
built ca. 2500 BcE by Enmebaragesi, king of Kish.
73 The temple of Inanna in Agadé.
74 God of hunting and warfare, proprietary god of Lagash 78 The central shrine of the Ekur.
™ The temple of Ninurta. 79 Adad, the storm god.
76 The sun god, Shamash in Semitic. 80 Lahmu and Lahama were the parents of the god An,
The water god, Ea in Semitic. see Reading 1.
54 MESOPOTAMIA AND THE BRONZE AGE (6000-1200 BcE)

grain. Large ships were moored at Enlil’s temple and the city that destroyed your city be treated as your
its possessions were taken away from the city. city has been treated! May the one that defiled your
giguna be treated as Nibru!® In this city, may heads
[Enlil takes revenge of his own against Naram-Sin fill the wells! May its young woman be cruelly killed
by destroying the city.] in her woman’s domain, may its old man cry in dis-
Enlil, the roaring storm that subjugates the entire tress for his slain wife!” Again, Sin, Enki, Inanna,
land, the rising deluge that cannot be confronted, was Ninurta, ISkur, Utu, Nuska, and Nisaba, all the gods
considering what should be destroyed in return for the whosoever, turned their attention to the city, and
wrecking of his beloved Ekur. He lifted his gaze cursed Agadé severely: “City, you pounced on Ekur!
toward the Gubin mountains,*! and made all the in- May your holy walls, to their highest point, resound
habitants of the broad mountain ranges descend. Enlil with mourning deities. May your giguna be reduced
brought out of the mountains those who do not resem- to a pile of dust! May your pilasters with the standing
ble other people, who are not reckoned as part of the lahama deities fall to the ground like tall young men
Land, the Gutians,* an unbridled people, with human drunk on wine! May your grain be returned to its
intelligence but canine instincts and monkeys’ fea- furrow, may it be grain cursed by Ezina!** May your
tures. Like small birds they swooped on the ground in timber be returned to its forest, may it be timber
great flocks. Because of Enlil, they stretched their cursed by Ninilduma*! May the cattle slaughterer
arms out across the plain like a net for animals. Noth- slaughter his wife, may the sheep butcher butcher his
ing escaped their clutches, no one left their grasp. The child! May your pregnant priestesses and cult prosti-
Gutians drove the trusty goats of Enlil out of their tutes abort their children. Agadé, may this make the
folds. Brigands occupied the highways. Those who city die of hunger! May your citizens lie hungry. May
lay down on the roof died on the roof; those who lay the evils of the desert, the silent place, howl continu-
down in the house were not buried. People were flail- ously! May the ukuku,® the bird of depression, make
ing at themselves from hunger. Dogs were packed to- its nest in your gateways! May the grass of mourning
gether in the silent streets; if two men walked there grow on your highways. May brackish water flow in
they would be devoured by them, and if three men the river, where fresh water flowed for you! If some-
walked there they would be devoured by them. Honest one decides, “I will dwell in this city!,’ may he not
people were confounded with traitors, heroes lay dead enjoy the pleasures of a dwelling place!”
on top of heroes, the blood of traitors ran upon the
blood of honest men. The old women did not restrain [The curse isfulfilled.]
the cry “Alas for my city!” The old men did not re- And before Utu on that very day, so it was! On its
strain the cry “Alas for its people!” Its young women highways laid for wagons, the grass of mourning
did not restrain from tearing their hair. Its young men grew. Moreover, wild rams and alert snakes of the
did not restrain from sharpening their knives. mountains allowed no one to pass. On its plains,
where fine grass grew, now the reeds of lamentation
[The gods curse the city.] grew. Agadé’s flowing fresh water flowed as brackish
At that time, Sin, Enki, Inanna, Ninurta, [Skur, Utu, water. When someone decided, “I will dwell in that
Nuska, and Nisaba, the great gods cooled Enlil’s city!,” he could not enjoy the pleasures of a dwelling
heart with cool water and prayed to him: “Enlil, may place. Inanna be praised for the destruction of Agadé!

8! Mountains north of lower Mesopotamia, known as a

source of timber. 83 Nippur, where the looted Ekur was located.
*° A mountain people from north of lower Mesopotamia *4 A Sumerian grain goddess.
who invaded and destroyed the Akkadian Empire; see 8° The god of carpenters.
Readings 15 and 18. 86 Owl.
 I9
cSQ>
THE LAW CODE OF UR-NAMMU
(CA. 2040 -8CF)

On this cylinder seal Ur-Nammu, seated, appoints Khashkhamer governor of Ishkun-Sin in northern
Babylonia.

Because Mesopotamians believed that their gods were unreliable and unpredictable,
Mesopotamian rulers served as stand-ins for the gods by issuing law codes, which generally
were inscribed on stone in cuneiform script and set up in public places, that were intended to
regulate the behavior of people on earth. Nevertheless, laws always were issued in the name
of the gods, not of the individual rulers. Either Ur-Nammu (2047-2030 ace), the founder of
the Third Dynasty of Ur, or his son Shulgi (2029-1982 sce) promulgated the earliest known
Mesopotamian law code, which was intended to unify people in the different cities they
controlled. The similarity to other law codes subsequently issued by other rulers attests to the
common culture that united all the different Mesopotamian cities. The law codes begin with
a prologue in which a ruler asserts his right to issue laws in the name of a god and promises
to rule justly. These laws can be compared to those of Hammurabi cited in Reading 20.

Sources: J. J. Finkelstein, trans., in James Bennet Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament
(Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1950), 87-89; James Bennet Pritchard, ed., The Ancient Near East, Volume I, An

55
56 MESOPOTAMIA AND THE BRONZE AGE (6000-1200 BcE)

Anthology of Texts and Pictures (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1958), 179-181; James Bennet Pritchard, ed., Ancient
Near Eastern Texts (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1969), 523-525; James Bennet Pritchard, ed., The Ancient Near
East: Supplementary Texts and Pictures Related to the Old Testament (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1969), 87-89.

After An and Enlil had turned over the kingship of 7. If the wife of a man followed after another
Ur to Nanna, at that time did Ur-Nammu, son born of man and he slept with her, they shall slay that
Ninsun, for his beloved mother who bore him, in ac- woman, but that male shall be set free.
cordance with his principles of equity and truth [—]. 8. If a man proceeded by force, and deflowered
Then did Ur-Nammu the mighty warrior, King of Ur, the virgin female slave of another man, that
King of Sumer and Akkad, by the might of Nanna,*’ man must pay five shekels of silver.
Lord of the city, and in accordance with the true word 9. If a man divorces his first-time wife, he shall
of Utu,*® establish equity in the land; he banished pay her one mina of silver.
malediction, violence, and strife, and set the monthly 10. If it is a widow whom he divorces, he shall pay
Temple expenses at 90 gur®? of barley, 30 sheep, her half a mina of silver.
and 30 sila” of butter. He fashioned the bronze sila- 11. If the man had slept with the widow without
measure, standardized the one-mina”! weight, ‘and there having been any marriage contract, he
standardized the stone weight of a shekel®? of silver in need not pay any silver.
relation to one mina [—]. The orphan was not deliv- 13. If aman is accused of sorcery he must undergo
ered up to the rich man; the widow was not delivered ordeal by water”’; if he is proven innocent, his
up to the mighty man; the man of one shekel was not accuser must pay 3 shekels.
delivered up to the man of one mina. 14. Ifa man accused the wife of a man of adultery,
and the river ordeal proved her innocent, then
1. If a man commits a murder, that man must be the man who had accused her must pay one-
killed. third of a mina of silver.
2. If aman commits a robbery, he will be killed. 15. If a prospective son-in-law enters the house of
3. If aman commits a kidnapping, he is to be im- his prospective father-in-law, but his father-in-
prisoned and pay 15 shekels of silver. law later gives his daughter to another man, the
4. If a slave marries a slave, and that slave is set father-in-law shall return to the rejected son-in-
free, he does not leave the household. law twofold the amount of bridal presents he had
5. Ifa slave marries a native free person, he/she is brought.
to hand the firstborn son over to his owner. 17. If a slave escapes from the city limits, and
6. If a man violates the right of another and de- someone returns him, the owner shall pay two
flowers the virgin wife of a young man, they shekels to the one who returned him.
shall kill that male. 18. If aman knocks out the eye of another man, he
shall weigh out 1/2 a mina of silver.
19. If aman has cut off another man’s foot, he is to
pay ten shekels.
*” Or Sin in Semitic; the god of the moon and the propri- 20. If a man, in the course of a scuffle, smashed
etary god of Ur. the limb of another man with a club, he shall
88 Or Shamash in Semitic; the god of justice and therefore
pay one mina of silver.
associated with lawmaking.
8° A gur was about five bushels.
°° A sila was about one quart (one liter). °3 A test of guilt or innocence where the accused were
*! A mina was 1/60 of a talent, or about 1.25 pounds thrown into the Euphrates River. If they made it to shore
(0.57 kg). they were presumed innocent. Whether they were bound
2 A shekel was 1/60 of a mina. or not made a big difference.
THE LAW CODE OF UR-NAMMU (ca. 2040 BcE) 57

21: If someone severed the nose of another man 29. If a man appears as a witness, but withdraws
with a copper knife, he must pay two-thirds of his oath, he must make payment, to the extent
a mina of silver. of the value in litigation of the case.
22. If a man knocks out a tooth of another man, he 30. If a man stealthily cultivates the field of an-
shall pay two shekels of silver. other man and he raises a complaint, this is
24. [—]”* if he does not have a slave, he is to pay however to be rejected, and this man will lose
10 shekels of silver. If he does not have silver, his expenses.
he is to give another thing that belongs to him. St. If a man flooded the field of a man with water,
2d; If a man’s slave-woman, comparing herself to he shall measure out three gur of barley per
her mistress, speaks insolently to her, her iku® of field.
mouth shall be scoured with 1 quart of salt. a2. If a man had rented an arable field to another
28. If a man appeared as a witness, and was shown man for cultivation, but he did not cultivate it,
to be a perjurer, he must pay fifteen shekels of turning it into wasteland, he shall measure out
silver. three gur of barley per iku of field.

°4 The crime is missing here; only the penalty is given. 95 About 0.9 acres (0.35 hectares).
 20
ae ae

THE CODE OF HAMMURABI

(eT0 OMe)

Copies of the Code of Hammurabi were placed around the Babylonian Empire. Atop the stele shown
here, Hammurabi, standing to the left, was depicted receiving the laws from the sun god Shamash. A
copy from the Oriental Institute, Chicago.

The Law Code of Hammurabi, issued by the Old Babylonian king Hammurabi (1728-1686 Bce)
and inscribed on stone stelai in cuneiform text, is the fullest surviving exposition of ancient
Near Eastern law. As in the case of all Mesopotamian law codes, the kings who issued them
based their authority not on themselves, but on the gods who appointed them and whom
they represented. Although there are differentiations in civil and criminal law among the
relative values of the different social classes, the law nevertheless purports to protect the
interests of all of the people in Hammurabi's empire. For crimes, the laws prescribe various
kinds of punishments that were carried out on the spot, ranging from economic compensa-
tion paid to the wronged party to execution, a punishment reserved mostly for slaves.
In some cases, a test of guilt or innocence was performed, where the accused was thrown
into the Tigris or Euphrates River. If the person made it to shore, he or she was presumed in-
nocent. Whether the person was tied up or a good swimmer made a big difference.
THE CODE OF HAMMURABI ¢¢a. 1700 BCE) 59

The following extracts focus on what the laws tell us about the social and family structures
of ancient Mesopotamia. The code embodies principles found in other Near Eastern law codes
ranging from the Code of Ur-Nammu (Reading 19) to the Hebrew Bible (Reading 35).

Source: Robert Francis Harper, The Code of Hammurabi, King of Babylon, about 2250 sc (Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 1904).

[Prologue] the call of the commandant, the owner of that

When the lofty Anu,”° King of the Anunnaki,”’ and house shall be put to death.
Bél,?® lord of heaven and earth, he who determines 17. If a man seizes a male or female slave, a fugi-
the destiny of the land, committed the rule of all tive, in the field and brings that slave back to
mankind to Marduk,” the chief son of Ea; when they his owner, the owner of the slave shall pay him
made him great among the Igigi!°; when they pro- two shekels of silver.
nounced the lofty name of Babylon; when they made 18. If that slave will not name his owner, he shall
it famous among the quarters of the world and in its bring him to the palace and they shall inquire
midst established an everlasting kingdom whose into his antecedents and they shall return him
foundations were firm as heaven and earth—at that to his owner.
time, Anu and Bél called me, Hammurabi, the ex- 19. If he detains that slave in his house and later
alted prince, the worshiper of the gods, to cause jus- the slave be found in his possession, that man
tice to prevail in the land, to destroy the wicked and shall be put to death.
the evil, to prevent the strong from oppressing the 20. Ifthe slave escapes from the hand of his captor,
weak, to go forth like the Sun over the black-headed that man shall so declare, in the name of god,'®!
people, to enlighten the land and to further the wel- to the owner of the slave and shall go free.
fare of the people. When Marduk sent me to rule the
people and to bring help to the country, I established 42. If a man rents a field for cultivation and does
law and justice in the land and promoted the welfare not produce any grain in the field, they shall
of the oppressed. call him to account because he has not per-
formed the work required on the field, and he
shall give to the owner of the field grain on the
15. If a man aids a male or female slave of the basis of the adjacent fields.
palace, or a male or female slave of a freeman 43. If he does not cultivate the field and neglect it,
to escape from the city gate, he shall be put to he shall give to the owner of the field grain on
death. the basis of the adjacent fields; and the field
16. If aman harbors in his house a male or female that he has neglected he shall break up with
slave who has fled from the palace or from a hoes, he shall harrow and he shall return to the
freeman, and does not bring the slave forth at owner of the field.
44. If a man rents an unreclaimed field for three
years to develop it, and neglects it and does not
% Or An, the god of the universe, highest ranking of the develop the field, in the fourth year he shall
gods. break up the field with hoes, he shall hoe and
°7 The gods; see Reading 1. harrow it and he shall return it to the owner of
8 «J ord,” another name for Marduk.
°° The Babylonian equivalent of Enlil, the Sumerian
storm god.
100 The chief gods. 101 That is, he shall swear an oath.
60 MESOPOTAMIA AND THE BRONZE AGE (6000-1200 BCE)

the field and shall measure out ten gur'” of

grain per ten gan! of land. 128. If a man takes a wife and does not have inter-
course with her, that woman is not a legal wife.
oe. If the tenant does not secure a crop of grain or 129. If the wife of a man is apprehended in bed with
sesame in his field, he shall not cancel his another man, they shall bind them and throw
contract.!4 them into the river. If the husband of the
a3! If a man neglects to strengthen his dyke and do woman would save his wife, or if the king
not strengthen it,’ and a break is made in his would save his male servant, he may.
dyke and the water carries away the farm-land, 130. If a man violates the fiancée of another who
the man in whose dyke the break has been has not known a male and is living in her fa-
made shall restore the grain that he has ther’s house, and he lies in her bosom and they
damaged. apprehend him, that man shall be put to death
54. If he is not able to restore the grain, they shall and that woman shall have no blame.
sell him and his goods, and the farmers whose Ji If a man accuses his wife and she has not been
grain the water has carried away shall share taken in lying with another man, she shall take
(the results of the sale). , an oath in the name of god and she shall return
a0: If a man opens his canal for irrigation and ne- to her house.
glects it and the water carry away an adjacent 132, If the finger has been pointed'®’ at the wife of
field, he shall measure out grain on the basis of aman because of another man, and she has not
the adjacent fields. been apprehended in lying with another man,
56. If a man opens up the water and the water car- for her husband’s sake she shall throw herself
ries away the improvements of an adjacent into the river.
field, he shall measure out ten gur of grain per 133. If a man is captured in war and there be main-
gan of land. tenance in his house and his wife goes out of
her house, she shall protect her body and she
108. If a female wine-seller does not receive grain shall not enter into another house. If that woman
as the price of drink, but if she receives silver does not protect her body and enters into an-
by weight, or makes the measure for drink other house, they shall call that woman to ac-
smaller than the measure for grain, they shall count and they shall throw her into the river.
call that wine-seller to account, and they shall
throw her into the river. 137, If a man sets his face to put away a concu-
109. If outlaws collect in the house of a wine-seller, bine'®’ who has borne him children or a wife
and she does not arrest these outlaws and bring who has presented him with children, he shall
them to the palace, that wine-seller shall be return to that woman her dowry and shall give
put to death. to her the income of field, garden, and goods
110. If a priestess’ who is not living as a bride and she shall bring up her children. From the
opens a wine-shop or enters a wine-shop for a time that her children are grown up, from
drink, they shall burn that woman. whatever is given to her children! they shall

102 A gur was about five bushels.

'8 The gan was a field of about 3,300 square yards, or '°7 That is, an accusation of adultery has been made
0.7 acres. against her by a third party.
104 That is, the rent still must be paid. '8 An unmarried woman with whom the man has been
'5 For maintaining the irrigation system. living.
106 Literally, a “sister of god.” 109 By their father.
THE CODE OF HAMMURABI (ca. 1700 BcE) 61

give to her a portion corresponding to that of a bring her into his house.''! That concubine
son and the man of her heart may marry her. shall not rank with his wife.
138. If a man would put away his wife who has not 146. If a man takes a wife and she gives a maid
borne him children, he shall give her money to servant to her husband, and that maid servant
the amount of her marriage settlement!!° and bears children and afterwards would take rank
he shall make good to her the dowry that she with her mistress, because she has borne chil-
brought from her father’s house and then he dren, her mistress may not sell her for money,
may put her away. but she may reduce her to bondage and count
159. If there was no marriage settlement, he shall her among the maid servants.
give to her one mina of silver for a divorce. 147. If she!” has not borne children, her mistress
140. If he is a freeman, he shall give her one-third may sell her for money.
mina of silver.
141. If the wife of a man who is living in his house 153. If a woman brings about the death of her hus-
sets her face to go out and play the part of a band for the sake of another man, they shall
fool, neglect her house, belittle her husband, impale her.
they shall call her to account. If her husband 154. If a man has intercourse with his daughter,
says, “I have put her away,” he shall let her go. they shall expel that man from the city.
On her departure nothing shall be given to her 155. If a man has betrothed a bride to his son and
for her divorce. If her husband says: “I have not his son has intercourse with her, and if the
put her away,” her husband may take another father afterward lies in her bosom and they ap-
woman. The first woman shall dwell in the prehend him, they shall bind that man and
house of her husband as a maid servant. throw him into the river.!3
142. If a woman hates her husband, and says: “Thou 156. If a man has betrothed a bride to his son and
shalt not have me,” they shall inquire into her his son has not had intercourse with her but he
antecedents for her defects, and if she has been himself lies in her bosom, he shall pay her one-
a careful mistress and is without reproach and half mina of silver and he shall make good to
her husband has been going about and greatly her whatever she brought from the house of her
belittling her, that woman has no blame, and father and the man of her heart may marry her.
she shall receive her dowry and shall go to her 157. If a man lies in the bosom of his mother after
father’s house. his father, they shall burn both of them.
143. If she has not been a careful mistress, has
gadded about, has neglected her house and has 179) If there is a priestess or a devotee'’* to whom
belittled her husband, they shall throw that her father has given a dowry and written a
woman into the river. deed of gift; if in the deed that he has written
144. If a man takes a wife and that wife gives a for her, he have written “after her death she
maid servant to her husband and she bears may will to whomsoever she may please,” and
children, if that man sets his face to take a con-
cubine, they shall not countenance him. He
may not take a concubine. Nl Ag a means of dealing with infertility.
145. If a man takes a wife and she does not present 12 The maid servant.
him with children and he sets his face to take a 13 Tn extreme cases, an accused or convicted party would
concubine, that man may take a concubine and be bound before being thrown into the river; these unfor-
tunate persons were not expected to survive.
114\ temple servant; in some interpretations a temple
10 The amount paid by the wife’s family to the husband. prosti tute.
62 MESOPOTAMIA AND THE BRONZE AGE (6000-1200 BCE)

he has granted her full discretion; after her

father dies she may give it to whomsoever she
may please after her death. Her brothers may [Epilogue]
not lay claim against her. The righteous laws that Hammurabi, the wise king,
180. If a father does not give a dowry to his daugh- established and with which he gave the land stable
ter, a bride or devotee, after her father dies she support and pure government. Hammurabi, the per-
shall receive as her share in the goods of her fect king, am I. I was not careless, nor was I neglect-
father’s house the portion of a son, and she ful of the black-headed people, whose rule Bél
shall enjoy it as long as she lives. After her presented and Marduk delivered to me.'”” I provided
death it belongs to her brothers. them with a peaceful country. I opened up difficult
181. If a father devotes a votary or a virgin to a barriers and lent them support. With the powerful
god and does not give her a dowry, after her weapon that Zamama!!* and Nanna entrusted to me,
father dies she shall receive as her share in with the breadth of vision that Ea allotted me, with
the goods of her father’s house one-third of the might that Marduk gave me, I expelled the enemy
the portion of a son and she shall enjoy it as to the north and south; I made an end of their raids; I
long as she lives. After her death, it belongs to brought health to the land; I made the populace to
her brothers. rest in security; I permitted no one to molest them.
The great gods proclaimed me and I am the
195. If a son strikes his father, they shall cut off his guardian governor, whose scepter is righteous and
fingers.!> whose beneficent protection is spread over my city.
196. If a man destroys the eye of another man, they In my bosom I carried the people of the land of
shall destroy his eye. Sumer and Akkad; under my protection I brought
197. If one breaks a man’s bone, they shall break their brethren into security; in my wisdom I oversaw
his bone. them, so that the strong might not oppose the weak,
198. If one destroys the eye of a freeman or breaks and that they should give justice to the orphan and
the bone of a freeman, he shall pay one mina the widow: in Babylon, the city whose turrets Anu
of silver. and Bél raised; in Esagila, the temple whose foun-
199. If one destroys the eye of a man’s slave or dations are firm as heaven and earth, for the pro-
breaks a bone of a man’s slave he shall pay one- nouncing of judgments in the land, for the rendering
half its price. of decisions for the land, and for the righting of
200. If a man knocks out a tooth of a man of his wrong, my weighty words I have written upon my
own rank, they shall knock out his tooth. monument, and in the presence of my image as King
201. If one knocks out a tooth of a freeman, he shall of Righteousness have I established.
pay one-third mina of silver. The king, who is pre-eminent among city kings,
202. If a man strikes the person of a man!!* who is am I. My words are precious, my wisdom is unri-
his superior, he shall receive sixty strokes with valed. By the command of Shamash,'”° the great
an ox-tail whip in public. judge of heaven and earth, may I make righteousness
203. If a man strikes another man of his own rank, to shine forth on the land. By the order of Marduk,
he shall pay one mina of silver.

' Bél and Marduk being names for the same god.
"5 The “lex talionis,” or “law of retaliation,” where the 'I8 A war god.
punishment is made to fit the crime, was a common fea- ' The temple of Marduk in Babylon.
ture of ancient law codes. '° On the monument, Hammurabi receives the law code
M6 That is, commit an assault. from the sun god Shamash, the god of justice.
THE CODE OF HAMMURABI (ca. 1700 Bce) 63

my lord, may no one efface my statues, may my And may this monument enlighten him as to proce-
name be remembered with favor in Esagila forever. dure and administration, the judgments that I have
Let any oppressed man who has a cause come before pronounced, and the decisions that I have rendered
my image as King of Righteousness! Let him read for the land! And let him rightly rule his black-headed
the inscription on my monument! Let him give heed people; let him pronounce judgments for them and
to my weighty words! And may my monument en- render for them decisions! Let him root out the
lighten him as to his cause and may he understand wicked and evildoer from his land! Let him promote
his case!'?! May he set his heart at ease, exclaiming: the welfare of his people!
“Hammurabi indeed is a ruler who is like a real Hammurabi, the King of Righteousness, whom
father to his people; he has given reverence to the Shamash has endowed with justice, am I. My words
words of Marduk, his lord. He has obtained victory are weighty; my deeds are unrivaled. If that man pay
for Marduk in north and south. He has made glad the attention to my words that I have written upon my
heart of Marduk, his lord. He has established pros- monument, do not efface my judgments, do not over-
perity for the people for all time and given a pure rule my words, and do not alter my statues, then will
government to the land.” Let him read the code and Shamash prolong that man’s reign, as he has mine,
pray with a full heart before Marduk, my lord, and who am King of Righteousness, that he may rule his
Zarpanit,'?? my lady, and may the protecting deities, people in righteousness.
the gods who enter Esagila, daily in the midst of If that man do not pay attention to my words that
Esagila look with favor on his wishes in the presence I have written upon my monument; if he forget my
of Marduk, my lord, and Zarpanit, my lady! curse and do not fear the curse of god; if he abolish
In the days that are yet to come, for all future the judgments that I have formulated, overrule my
time, may the king who is in the land observe the words, alter my statues, efface my name written
words of righteousness that I have written upon my thereon and write his own name; on account of these
monument! May he not alter the judgments of the curses, commission another to do so,'”? but as for that
land that I have pronounced, or the decisions of the man, be he king or lord, or priest-king or commoner,
country that I have rendered! May he not efface my whoever he may be, may the great god, the father of
statues! If that man have wisdom, if he wish to give the gods, who has ordained my reign, take from him
his land good government, let him give attention to the glory of his sovereignty, may he break his scep-
the words that I have written upon my monument! ter, and curse his fate!

121 By reading what the laws were, anyone would know

where they stood under the law and whether they had a
good case.
122 A mother goddess, the consort of Marduk. 123 Hammurabi is still addressing Marduk.
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 CHAPTER 3
cCQ>
Egypt and the Bronze Age
(5000-1200 Bce)

As had occurred in Mesopotamia, a Bronze Age civilization likewise arose in the Nile River
Valley, similar in its broad outlines to Mesopotamian civilization but very different in its
specific manifestations. As in Mesopotamia, the manner in which civilization developed in
Egypt and the role that people played in it were heavily influenced by geography, although
the geographic characteristics of Egypt and Mesopotamia greatly differed. In particular,
Egypt’s geographic isolation created political unity, as opposed to the characteristic disunity
of Mesopotamia. Being less affected than the rest of the Near East by either internal disrup-
tion or outside invasion, Egyptian history passed relatively smoothly through three periods,
the Old Kingdom (2700-2200 Bce), the Middle Kingdom (2050-1786 BCE), and the New
Kingdom (1534-1070 BCE), each with its own particular characteristics, with only occa-
sional periods of disruption separating them.
Documents that survive from the earliest periods of ancient Egypt usually are written
using the hieroglyphic writing system on stone, the walls of tombs, or papyrus. Stone, by its
very nature, lasts for many centuries, whereas documents in papyrus and fresco have sur-
vived as a result of Egypt’s dry and desiccated climate. Egyptian literature soon developed
from inventories and terse catalogues of pharaohs to include a wide range of literary genres,
including a significant number of first-person accounts. Thus, unlike most Mesopotamian
records, the documents that survive from even the earliest times of ancient Egypt give per-
sonal accounts of named individuals.

65
66 EGYPT AND THE BRONZE AGE (5000-1200 BcE)

Mediterranean Sea

Giza
Memphis

e Siwa Oasis

Dakhla Oasis e
e
Kharga Oasis
Hierakonpolis®

Elephantine (Aswan)

Map 3 Early Dynastic Egypt

 2|
cSQ>
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF WENI
LGA en eae

The autobiography of Weni, inscribed on a limestone slab, is preserved as inventory number 1435 in
the Cairo Museum.

The autobiography of Weni, an Egyptian palace official during the Sixth Dynasty of the Old
Kingdom, survives in a single copy carved on a large, damaged slab of limestone covering
one wall of atomb from Abydos. The tomb was misplaced after its original discovery in 1880
and not rediscovered until 1999. The inscription contains fifty-one columns of hieroglyphic
text and demonstrates how Egyptian officials of this period were completely dependent.on
the good will of the pharaoh. Weni served under the pharaohs Teti (2345-2333 sce), Pepi |

67
68 EGYPT AND THE BRONZE AGE (5000-1200 BcE)

(2332-2283 sce), and Merenre (2283-2278 sce) and took great pride in his close, personal
relationship with them.

Sources: Miriam Lichtheim, trans., Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Readings, Vol. 1 (Berkeley: University of California
Press, 1973, repr. 2006), 18-22; also James Henry Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, Historical Documents from the Earliest
Times to the Persian Conquest, Vol. I (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1906), 134—150.

The Count, Governor of Upper Egypt, Chamberlain, While I was Senior Warden of Nekhen, His Maj-
Warden of Nekhen,! Mayor of Nekheb,” Sole Compan- esty made me a sole companion and overseer of the
ion, honored by Osiris? Foremost-of-the-Westerners, royal tenants. I replaced four overseers of “royal ten-
Weni says: I was a fillet-wearing youth under the majesty ants” who were there. I acted for His Majesty’s praise
of Pharaoh Teti,* my office being that of Custodian in guarding, escorting the pharaoh, and attending. I
of the Storehouse, when I became Inspector of the acted throughout so that His Majesty praised me for
Royal Tenants of the Palace. When I had become it exceedingly. When there was a secret charge in the
Overseer of the Robing-Room under the majesty of royal harem against Queen Weret-yamtes,’ His Maj-
Pharaoh Pepi,” His Majesty gave me the rank of esty made me go in to hear it alone. No chief judge
Companion and Inspector of Priests of his pyramid and vizier, no official was there, only I alone, because
town. While my office was that of Palace [—] His I was worthy, because I was rooted in His Majesty’s
Majesty made me Senior Warden of Nekhen, his heart; because His Majesty had filled his heart with
heart being filled with me beyond any other servant me. Only I put it in writing together with one other
of his. I heard cases alone with the chief judge and senior warden of Nekhen, while my rank was that of
vizier, concerning all kinds of secrets. I acted in the overseer of royal tenants. Never before had one like
name of the pharaoh for the royal harem and for the me heard a secret of the pharaoh’s harem, but His
six great houses, because His Majesty’s heart was Majesty made me hear it, because I was worthy in
filled with me beyond any official of his, any noble of His Majesty’s heart beyond any official of his, beyond
his, any servant of his. When I begged of the majesty any noble of his, beyond any servant of his.
of my Lord that there be brought for me a sarcopha- When His Majesty took action against the Asiatic
gus of white stone from Tura,° His Majesty had a Sand-Dwellers,* His Majesty made an army of many
royal seal-bearer cross over with a company of sail- tens of thousands from all of Upper Egypt: from Yebu’
ors under his command, to bring me this sarcopha- in the south to Medinet! in the north; from Lower
gus from Tura. It came with him in a great barge of Egypt: from all of the Two-Sides-of-the-House!! and
the court, together with its lid, a doorway, lintel, two from Sedjer and Khen-sedjru’; and from Irtjet-Kushites,
doorjambs, and a libation-table. Never before had the Medjay-Kushites, Yam-Kushites, Wawat-Kushites,
like been done for any servant—but I was excellent
in His Majesty’s heart; I was rooted in His Majesty’s
heart; His Majesty’s heart was filled with me.
7Consort of the pharaoh Pepi.
‘A generic term for desert peoples living to the east of
' An ancient city of Upper Egypt, Hierakonpolis in Greek. Egypt.
*Modern El Kab on the east bank of the Nile in Upper * The island of Elephantine in the far Upper Nile River,
Egypt, on the other side of the river from Nekhen. now part of the city of Aswan.
3God of the underworld. © A city of the Fayum oasis in the northern part of Upper
4Pharaoh 2345-2333 BCE. Egypt.
> Pharaoh 2332-2283 BCE. '' The Nile delta region.
°The most important Egyptian limestone quarrying site, ' Sedjer and Khen-sedjru are otherwise unknown places
located near modern Cairo. in the Nile delta.
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF WENI (ca. 2275 BCE) 69

Kaau-Kushites'*; and from Tiemeh-land.'* His Majesty among these foreigners at the nose of Gazelle’s-head,'®
sent me at the head of this army, there being counts, I crossed in ships with these troops. I made a landing
royal seal-bearers, sole companions of the palace, in the back of the height of the mountain range, to the
chieftains and mayors of towns of Upper and Lower north of the land of the Sand-Dwellers, while half of
Egypt, companions, scout leaders, chief priests of this army was on the road. I came and caught them all
Upper and Lower Egypt, and chief district officials at and slew every marauder among them.
the head of the troops of Upper and Lower Egypt,
from the villages and towns that they governed and [Weni becomes governor of Upper Egypt.]
from the Kushites of those foreign lands. I was the one When I was chamberlain of the palace and sandal-
who commanded them, while my rank was that of bearer, Pharaoh Merenre,!’ my Lord who lives forever,
Overseer of Royal Tenants, because of my rectitude, made me Count and Governor of Upper Egypt, from
so that no one attacked his fellow, so that no one seized Yebu!® in the south to Medinet in the north, because I
a loaf or sandals from a traveler, so that no one took a was worthy in His Majesty’s heart, because I was
cloth from any town, so that no one took a goat from rooted in His Majesty’s heart, because His Majesty’s
anyone. I led them from Northern Isle and Gate of Ly- heart was filled with me. When I was chamberlain and
hotep in the district of Horus-Lord-of-Truth’ while sandal-bearer, His Majesty praised me for the watch
being in this rank, I determined the number of these and guard duty that I did at court, more than any offi-
troops. It had never been determined by any servant. cial of his, more than any noble of his, more than any
servant of his. Never before had this office been held
This army returned in safety, by any servant. I governed Upper Egypt for him in
It had ravaged the Sand-Dwellers’ land. peace, so that no one attacked his fellow. I did every
This army returned in safety, task. I counted everything that is countable for the
It had flattened the Sand-Dwellers’ land. residence in this Upper Egypt two times, and every
This army returned in safety, service that is countable for the residence in this Upper
It had sacked its strongholds. Egypt two times. I did a perfect job in Upper Egypt.
This army returned in safety, Never before had the like been done in Upper Egypt. I
It had cut down its figs, its vines. acted throughout so that His Majesty praised me for it.
This army returned in safety, His Majesty sent me to Ibhat’? to bring the sar-
It had thrown fire in all its mansions. cophagus “chest of the living” together with its lid,
This army returned in safety, and the costly august pyramidion”® for the pyramid
It had slain its troops by many ten-thousands. “Merenre-Appears-in-Splendor.”*! His Majesty sent
This army returned in safety, me to Yebu to bring a granite false-door and its liba-
It had carried off many as captives. tion stone and granite lintels, and to bring granite
portals and libation stones for the upper chamber of
His Majesty praised me for it beyond anything. His my mistress, the pyramid “Merenre-Appears-in-
Majesty sent me to lead this army five times, to attack Splendor.” I traveled north with them to the pyramid
the land of the Sand-Dwellers as often as they rebelled,
with these troops. I acted so that His Majesty praised '6 Perhaps on the southern coast of Palestine.
me for it beyond anything. Told there were marauders '7 Pharaoh 2283-2278 BCE.
'8 The island of Elephantine on the Nile between Egypt
'3 The territory of Kush, immediately south of Egypt on the and Kush.
Nile River, was a favorite recruiting ground for soldiers and 19 A quarry south of the second cataract of the Nile River.
mercenaries. For the later Empire of Kush, see Reading 70. 20 The capstone at the peak of the pyramid.
4An arid region to the west of Kush; modern Libya. 21 Pyramids had names and were viewed as gods in their
SThree otherwise unknown places. own right.
70 EGYPT AND THE BRONZE AGE (5000-1200 BcE)

“Merenre-Appears-in-Splendor” in six barges and His Majesty sent me to dig five canals in Upper
three tow-boats of eight ribs in a single expedition. Egypt, and to build three barges and four tow-boats
Never had Yebu and Ibhat been done in a single expe- of acacia wood of Wawat.”* Then the foreign chiefs
dition under any pharaoh. Thus everything His Maj- of Irtjet, Wawat, Yam, and Medjay~* cut the timber
esty commanded was done entirely as His Majesty for them. I did it all in one year. Floated, they were
commanded. His Majesty sent me to Hatnub” to loaded with very large granite blocks for the pyra-
bring a great altar of alabaster of Hatnub. I brought mid “Merenre-Appears-in-Splendor.” Indeed I made
this altar down for him in seventeen days. After it was a saving for the palace with all these five canals. As
quarried at Hatnub, I had it go downstream in this Pharaoh Merenre who lives forever is august, ex-
barge I had built for it, a barge of acacia wood of sixty alted, and mighty more than any god, so everything
cubits in length and thirty cubits in width. Assembled came about in accordance with the ordinance com-
in seventeen days, in the third month of summer, manded by his ka.”°
when there was no water on the sandbanks, it landed I was one beloved of his father, praised by his
at the pyramid “Merenre-Appears-in-Splendor” in mother, gracious to his brothers. The count, true
safety. It came about through me entirely in accord- Governor of Upper Egypt, honored by Osiris, Weni.
ance with the ordinance commanded by my Lord.

22
cSO>
ELE TALESOF. | AES EPO GME Na
BEANO AINE CCA. 2.00) aig

A section of the “Papyrus Butler,” now in the British Museum, which preserves “The Tale of the
Eloquent Peasant.” It was written circa 1800 sce.

*? The location of alabaster quarries in the desert east of ** All areas of Kush, south of Egypt.
Egypt. *° One of the souls of the pharaoh, a life force that left the
* The northernmost part of Kush, immediately south of body at death, but also regularly returned. Offerings were
Egypt on the Nile. left in a tomb so the ka could be nourished.
“THE TALE OF THE ELOQUENT PEASANT” (ca. 2100 Bce) ipl

“The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant," composed by an anonymous author, tells the story of
Khunanup, who tries to recover his property that has been stolen by Nemtynakht. Khunanup
addresses nine eloquent petitions to the pharaoh, who eventually orders the goods to be
restored. The pharaoh Neb-kau-ra was a member of the Ninth or Tenth Dynasty, which ruled
part of Egypt from Heracleopolis circa 2160-2025 sce, during the First Intermediate Period,
when centralized rule had broken down. The text illustrates newly emerging concepts of
justice and the increasing rights of the common people at that time. As is usually the case
with papyrus documents, there are missing parts in the text.

Source: George A. Barton, Archaeology and the Bible, 3rd ed. (Philadelphia: American Sunday School, 1920), 418—421.

There was a man, Khunanup by name, a peasant of and it extended, one edge to the water, and the other to
Sechet-hemat, and he had a wife [—] by name. the grain. The peasant came along the path that was
Then said this peasant to his wife, “Behold, I am the common highway. Then said Dehuti-necht, “Look
going down to Egypt to bring back bread for my out, peasant, do not trample on my clothes!” The peas-
children. Go in and measure the grain that we still ant answered, “I will do as you wish; I will go in the
have in our storehouse [—] bushels.” Then from right of way!” As he was turning to the upper side,
this he measured for her eight bushels of grain. Dehuti-necht said, “Does my grain serve you as a
Then this peasant said to his wife, “Behold, two road?” Then said the peasant, “I am going in the right
bushels of grain shall be left for bread for you and way. The bank is steep and the path lies near the grain
the children. But make for me the six bushels into and you have stopped up the road ahead with your
bread and beer for each of the days that I shall be on clothes. Will you, then, not let me go by?”
the road.” Then this peasant went down to Egypt Upon that one of the asses took a mouthful of
after he had loaded his asses with all the good pro- grain. Then said Dehuti-necht, “See, I will take
duce of Sechet-hemat. This peasant set out and away your ass because it has eaten my grain.” Then
journeyed southward to Ehnas.”° He came to a point the peasant said, “I am going in the right way. As
opposite Per-fefi, north of Medenit, and found there one side was made impassable I have led my ass
a man standing on the bank, Dehuti-necht by name, along the other, and will you seize it because it has
who was the son of a man named Iseri, who was one taken a mouthful of grain? But I know the Lord
of the serfs of the chief steward, Meruitensi. Then of this property; it belongs to the chief steward,
said this Dehuti-necht, when he saw the asses of Meruitensi. It is he who punishes every robber in
this peasant that appealed to his covetousness, “Oh this whole land. Shall I, then, be robbed in his
that some good god would help me to rob this peas- domain?” Then said Dehuti-necht, “Is it not a prov-
ant of his goods!” erb that the people employ: ‘The name of the poor
The house of Dehuti-necht stood close to the side of is only known on account of his Lord?’ It is I who
the path, which was narrow, not wide. It was about the speak to you, but the chief steward of whom you
width of a [—]-cloth, and upon one side of it was the think.” Then he took a rod from a green tamarisk
water and upon the other side was growing grain. Then and beat all his limbs with it, and seized his asses
said Dehuti-necht to his servant, “Hasten and bring me and drove them into his compound. Thereupon the
a shawl from the house!” And it was brought at once. peasant wept loudly on account of the pain of what
Then he spread this shawl upon the middle of the road, had been done to him. Dehuti-necht said to him,
‘Do not cry so loud, peasant, or you shall go to the
26 Heracleopolis in Greek; capital of the twentieth nome city of the dead.” The peasant said, “You beat me
of Upper Egypt. and steal my goods, and will you also take the wail
2; EGYPT AND THE BRONZE AGE (5000-1200 BcE)

away from my mouth? O Silence-maker! Give me heavy weight to carry. Behold, I am troubled of soul.
my goods again! May I never cease to cry out, if you Examine me, I am in sorrow.”
fear!” The peasant consumed four days, during
which he besought Dehuti-necht, but he did not [Meruitensi was so impressed with Khunanup’s elo-
grant him his rights. quence that he delayed making a ruling and com-
Then this peasant went to the south, to Ehnas to pelled Khunanup to return again and again.]
implore the chief steward, Meruitensi. He met him as This peasant came to implore him for the eighth
he was coming out of the canal-door of his com- time, and said, “Chief steward, my Lord, greed is
pound to embark in his boat. Thereupon the peasant absent from a good merchant. Your heart is greedy, it
said, “Oh, let me lay before you this affair. Permit does not become you. You despoil: this is not praise-
one of your trusted servants to come to me, that I worthy for you. Your daily rations are in your house;
may send him to you concerning it.” Then the stew- your body is well filled. Fear of you has not deterred
ard Meruitensi, sent one of his servants to him, and me from supplicating you; if you think so, you have
he sent back by him an account of the whole affair. not known my heart. The Silent One,”® who turns to
Then the chief steward, Meruitensi, laid the case of report to you his difficulties, is not afraid to present
Dehuti-necht before his attendant officials, and*they them to you. Your real estate is in the country, your
said to him, “Lord, it is presumably a case of one of bread is on your estate, your food is in the store-
your peasants who has gone against another peasant house. Your officials give to you and you take it. Are
near him. Behold, it is customary with peasants to so you, then, not a robber? Do the truth for the sake of
conduct themselves toward others who are near the Lord of Truth.”” You god, Thoth,*° you ought to
them. Shall we beat Dehuti-necht for a little natron keep yourself far removed from injustice. You, virtu-
and a little salt? Command him to restore it and he ous one, you should be really virtuous. Further, truth
will restore it.’ The chief steward, Meruitensi, re- is true to eternity. It goes with those who perform it
mained silent; he answered neither the officials nor to the region of the dead. Does it then happen that the
the peasant. scales stand aslant?*! Behold, if I come not, if an-
The peasant then came to entreat the chief stew- other comes, then you host opportunity to speak as
ard Meruitensi, for the first time, and said, “Chief one who addresses the silent, as one who responds to
steward, my Lord, you are greatest of the great, you him who has not spoken to you. You have not been
are guide of all that is not and that is. When you sick. You have not fled, you have not departed. But
embark on the sea of truth, that you may go sailing you have not yet granted me any reply to this beauti-
upon it, then shall your ship remain fast, then shall ful word that comes from the mouth of the sun god
no misfortune happen to your mast, then shall you himself, “Speak the truth; do the truth, for it is great,
not be stranded. For you are the father of the orphan,
the husband of the widow, the brother of the deso-
late, the garment of the motherless.”’ Let me place *8 The theme of the “Silent One” recurs in Egyptian liter-
your name in this land higher than all good laws: you ature. It can refer to keeping silent in a temple, to a lord
guide without avarice, you free from meanness, you who does not reply to a petition, or even to the god
who destroys deceit, who creates truthfulness. Osiris. In this instance it apparently refers to the usual
Throw the evil to the ground. I will speak. Hear me. silence of the unprivileged in the face of authority.
» The god Ptah, a god of justice.
Do justice, O you praised one, whom the praised
*°The god of wisdom, Thoth weighs the hearts of de-
ones praise. Remove my oppression. Behold, I have a
ceased persons in the underworld to determine whether
they had lived a just life.
*7For the theme of government officials being the protec- *' That is, the just person will not be cheated by the scales
tors of the poor and destitute, note also the prologue and of justice, administered by Thoth, in the judgment after
epilogue of the “Code of Hammurabi,” Reading 20. death.
“THE TALE OF THE ELOQUENT PEASANT” (ca. 2100 Bc) 73

it is mighty, it is everlasting. It will obtain for you addresses of these days. The chief steward sent them
merit, and will lead you to veneration.’ For does the to His Majesty, the Pharaoh of Upper and Lower
scale stand aslant? It is their scale-pans that bear the Egypt,” Neb-kau-ra,* the blessed, and they were
objects, and in just scales there is no wanting.” more agreeable to the heart of His Majesty than all
that was in his land. His Majesty said, “Pass sen-
[After making a ninth appeal, Khunanup was sum- tence yourself, my beloved son!” Then the chief
moned back to Meruitensi.] steward, Meruitensi, caused two servants to go and
Then the chief steward, Meruitensi, sent two serv- bring a list of the household of Dehuti-necht from
ants to bring him back. Thereupon the peasant the government office, and his possessions were six
feared that he would suffer thirst as a punishment persons, with a selection from his [—] from his
imposed upon him for what he had said. Then said barley, from his spelt, from his asses, from his swine,
the chief steward, Meruitensi, “Fear not, peasant! from his [—].
See, you shall remain with me.” Then said the peas-
ant, “I live because I eat of your bread and drink [The rest of the tale is lost, but it would appear that
your beer forever.” Then the chief steward, Meruitensi, these goods from the property of Dehuti-necht were
caused them to bring, written on a new roll, all the given to the peasant and he went home victorious.]

32 Rather an overstatement, as during the Intermediate

Periods Egyptian unity had broken down.
33 Neb-kau-ra Khety was a pharaoh of the Ninth or Tenth
Dynasty who ruled from Heracleopolis between 2160 and
2025 BcE during the First Intermediate Period.
 23
cCO>

“THE HYMN TO THE NILE”

(cA. 2000 BCE)

“The Hymn to the Nile” as written in hieratic script on the “Papyrus Chester Beatty” 5 in the British
Museum in London.

The anonymously authored poem known as “The Hymn to the Nile" or “The Hymn to the
Inundation,” like much of Egyptian literature, demonstrates the great significance of the Nile
River for life in Egypt. All good things in Egypt were attributed to the Nile, in particular to
the annual flood, represented by the god Hapi. Although no temples were dedicated to the
Nile, there were many festivals in its honor. Although the earliest surviving papyrus copies of

74
“THE HYMN TO THE NILE” (ca. 2000 Bce) 1p

the “Hymn to the Nile" date to the New Kingdom, its language suggests that it was originally
composed shortly after 2000 sce, at the beginning of the Middle Kingdom.

Source: Oliver J. Thatcher, ed., The Library of Original Sources, Vol. I: The Ancient World (Milwaukee: University Research
Extension Co., 1907), 9-83.

Hail to thee, O Nile!, who manifests thyself over this Lordly boat. He is not sculptured in stone. He is not
land, and comes to give life to Egypt! Mysterious is an image crowned with the uraeus serpent. He cannot
thy issuing forth from the darkness, on this day be contemplated. No servitors has he, no bearers of
whereon it is celebrated! Watering the orchards cre- offerings! He is not enticed by incantations! None
ated by Ra,** to cause all the cattle to live, you give knows the place where he dwells, none discovers his
the earth to drink, inexhaustible one! Path that de- retreat by the power of a written spell.
scends from the sky, loving the bread of Geb*® and No dwelling can contain you! None penetrates
the first-fruits of Neper,*° you cause the workshops within your heart! Your young men, your children
of Ptah?’ to prosper! applaud you and render unto you royal homage.
Lord of the fish, during the inundation, no bird Stable are your decrees for Egypt before your serv-
alights on the crops. You create the grain, you bring ants of the north! He stanches the water from all eyes
forth the barley, assuring perpetuity to the temples. and watches over the increase of his good things.
If you cease your toil and your work, then all that Where misery existed, joy manifests itself; all
exists is in anguish. If the gods suffer in heaven, then beasts rejoice. The children of Sebek,*’ the sons of
the faces of men waste away. Then he torments the Neith,*° the cycle of the gods that dwells in him, are
flocks of Egypt, and great and small are in agony. prosperous. His reservoirs water the fields! He makes
But all is changed for mankind when he comes. He mankind valiant, enriching some, bestowing his love
is endowed with the qualities of Nu.** If he shines, the on others. None commands at the same time as him-
earth is joyous, every stomach is full of rejoicing, self. He creates the offerings without the aid of Neith,
every spine is happy, every jaw-bone crushes its food. making mankind for himself with multiform care.
He brings the offerings, as chief of provisioning. He shines when he issues forth from the darkness,
He is the creator of all good things, as master of to cause his flocks to prosper. It is his force that gives
energy, full of sweetness in his choice. If offerings existence to all things; nothing remains hidden for
are made it is thanks to him, he brings forth the herb- him. Let men clothe themselves to fill his gardens.
age for the flocks, and sees that each god receives his He watches over his works, producing the inundation
sacrifices. All that depends on him is a precious in- during the night. The associate of Ptah, he causes all
cense. He spreads himself over Egypt, filling the his servants to exist, all writings and divine words,
granaries, renewing the markets, watching over the and that which he needs in the north.
goods of the unhappy. It is with the words that he penetrates into his
He is prosperous to the height of all desires, with- dwelling. He issues forth at his pleasure through the
out fatiguing himself therefor. He brings again his magic spells. Your unkindness brings destruction to
the fish. It is then that prayer is made for the seasonal
34Tnitially, the primary sun god of ancient Egypt. water; that southern Egypt may be seen in the same
5 God of the earth. state as the north, that each one is seen with his
36 God of grain.
37God of wisdom.
38 Or Nun, the watery abyss and chaos that existed before 39 The crocodile god.
all time and from which the world and universe were 40 An ancient goddess with many epithets, such as “The
created. Great Flood” and the “Nurse of Crocodiles.”
76 EGYPT AND THE BRONZE AGE (5000-1200 BcE)

instruments of labor, that no one is left behind his the plants exist for your children. If you have refused
companions. No one clothes himself with garments, nourishment, the dwelling is silent, devoid of all that
the children of the noble put aside their ornaments.*! is good, the country falls exhausted.
His night remains silent, but all is changed by the O inundation of the Nile, offerings are made unto
inundation; it is a healing-balm for all mankind. you, oxen are immolated for you, great festivals are
Establisher of justice! Mankind desires you, sup- instituted for you. Birds are sacrificed to you, ga-
plicating you to answer their prayers; you answer zelles are taken for you in the mountain, pure flames
them by the inundation! Men offer the first-fruits of are prepared for you. Sacrifice is made to every god
wheat; all the gods adore you! The birds descend not as it is made to the Nile. Incense ascends unto
on the soil. It is believed that with your hand of gold heaven, Oxen, bulls, fowls are burnt! The Nile has
you make bricks of silver! But we are not nourished made its retreats in southern Egypt, its name is not
on lapis-lazuli*”; wheat alone gives vigor. known beyond the Tuau.** The god does not manifest
A festal song is raised for you on the harp, with the his forms, he baffles all conception.
accompaniment of the hand. Your young men and Men exalt him like the cycle of the gods, they
your children acclaim you and prepare their long exer- dread him who creates the heat,4* even him who has
cises. You are the august ornament of the earth, letting made his son** the universal master in order to give
your boat advance before men, lifting up the heart of prosperity to Egypt. Come and prosper! Come and
women in labor, and loving the multitude of the flocks. prosper! O Nile, come and prosper! O you who make
When you shine in the royal city, the rich man is men to live through your flocks and your flocks
sated with good things, the poor man even disdains through your orchards! Come and prosper, come, O
the lotus; all that is produced is of the choicest; all Nile, come and prosper!

*’ One of two lions, representing “today,” that delineated

“| That is, during the prayers for the Nile flood. the horizon.
” A blue semiprecious stone, obtained in trade from Af- “4The sun god Ra.
ghanistan, used for jewelry and, in powdered form, for * The pharaoh, who was both the son of Ra and Ra
cosmetics. himself.
 24
cSQ>
“THE ADMONITIONS OF IPUWER”
(Gar L/ OOSBGE)

The “Lament of Ipuwer” is preserved on only a single papyrus document, now in Leiden in the
Netherlands. Both the beginning and the end are missing. The orthography suggests that this copy was
made in the thirteenth century sce, during the Nineteenth Dynasty.

The “Admonitions of lpuwer," written on papyrus, describes how Egypt faced troubled times
when the area was beset by natural disasters, social disruption, internal disorder, and foreign
attacks. lpuwer advises the pharaoh to placate the gods so that they will restore order. The
rambling narrative usually is thought to depict conditions during either the First or the
Second Intermediate Period, when internal unity in Egypt had broken down. The references
to incursions of foreigners would seem to be more suited to the Second Intermediate Period,

77
78 EGYPT AND THE BRONZE AGE (5000-1200 BcE)

when the Hyksos made their way into Egypt. Fringe theorists see the account, which refers
to a “river of blood," as an Egyptian version of the “plagues of Egypt" that preceded the
Hebrew Exodus. Still others suggest that the tale is completely fictional.

Source: Alan H. Gardiner, The Admonitions of an Egyptian Sage, from a Hieratic Papyrus in Leiden (Leipzig: Hinrichs, 1909).

The door keepers say: “Let us go and plunder.” A man for cedar trees for our mummies, and with the pro-
regards his son as his enemy. The virtuous man goes duce of which priests are buried and with the oil of
in mourning because of what has happened in the which chiefs are embalmed as far as Keftiu*®? All
land. The peoples of the desert have become Egyp- is ruin! Indeed, laughter is perished; groaning is
tians everywhere. The bowman is ready, wrongdoing throughout the land, mingled with complaints.
is everywhere. Indeed, the plunderer is everywhere, Those who were Egyptians have become foreigners
and the servant takes what he finds. Indeed, the Nile and are thrust aside, and the man of rank can no
overflows, yet none plough for it. Everyone says, “We longer be distinguished from him who is nobody.
do not know what will happen throughout the land.” Indeed, great and small say, “I wish I might die.”
Indeed, the women are barren and none conceive. Little children say, “He should not have caused me
Indeed, poor men have become owners of wealth, and to live.” Indeed, the children of princes are dashed
he who could not make sandals for himself is now a against walls. Indeed, all female slaves are free with
possessor of riches. Indeed, pestilence is throughout their tongues,” and when their mistress speaks, it is
the land, blood is everywhere, death is not lacking. irksome to the maidservants. The roads are watched;
Indeed, many dead are buried in the river; the stream men sit in the bushes until the benighted traveler
is a sepulcher. Indeed, noblemen are in distress, comes in order to plunder his burden,*° and what is
whereas the poor man is full of joy. Every town says, upon him is taken away. He is belabored with blows
“Let us suppress the powerful among us.” of a stick and murdered.
Indeed, the land turns around as does a potter’s Would that there were an end of men, without
wheel; the robber is a possessor of riches. The poor conception, without birth! Then would the land
man complains, “How terrible! What am I to do?” be quiet from noise and tumult be no more. Indeed,
Indeed, the river is blood,** yet men drink of it. Men everywhere barley has perished and men are stripped
shrink from human beings and thirst after water. of clothes, spice, and oil; everyone says, “There is
Indeed, gates, columns and walls are burnt up; none.” The storehouse is empty and its keeper is
towns are destroyed and Upper Egypt has become stretched on the ground; a happy state of affairs!
an empty waste. Indeed, the desert is throughout the Would that I had raised my voice at that moment,
land, the nomes are laid waste, and barbarians from that it might have saved me from the pain in which I
abroad have come to Egypt. Good things are am. Indeed, public offices are opened and their in-
throughout the land, yet housewives say, “Oh that ventories are taken away; the serf has become an
we had something to eat!” Indeed, noblewomen are owner of serfs. Indeed, scribes are killed and their
in sad plight by reason of their rags, and their hearts writings are taken away. Woe is me because of the
sink when greeting one another. Indeed, none shall misery of this time! Indeed, the laws of the council
sail northward to Byblos*’ today; what shall we do chamber are thrown out; indeed, men walk on them

“© A theme that also appears in the Biblical account of the “8 The Egyptian term for the Minoans of Crete.
plagues brought on Egypt by Moses. “’ Compare Reading 19, entry no. 25.
“’ A trading city in Lebanon later belonging to the Phoenicians °° Compare the complaints of the “eloquent peasant,”
and a source of cedar, for which see Readings 33 and 38. Reading 22.
“THE ADMONITIONS OF IPUWER” (ca. 1700 BCE) 79

in public places, and poor men break them up in the slain beside his brother, who runs away and aban-
streets. Indeed, the great council-chamber is a popu- dons him to save his own skin. Behold, he who had
lar resort, and poor men come and go to the Great no yoke of oxen is now the owner of a herd, and he
Mansions.*! who could find for himself no ploughman is now the
Behold, the fire has gone up on high, and its owner of cattle. Behold, he who had no grain is now
burning goes forth against the enemies of the land. the owner of granaries, and he who had to fetch
Behold, things have been done that have not hap- loan-wheat for himself is now one who issues it.
pened for a long time past; the pharaoh has been de- Behold, he who had no dependents is now an owner
posed by the rabble.*” Behold, it has befallen that the of serfs, and he who was a magnate now performs
land has been deprived of the pharaohship by a few his own errands. Lower Egypt weeps; the pharaoh’s
lawless men. Behold, men have fallen into rebellion storehouse is the common property of everyone, and
against the Uraeus. Behold, the Serpent is taken the entire palace is without its revenues.
from its hole, and the secrets of the Pharaohs of Destroy the enemies of the august Residence,
Upper and Lower Egypt are divulged. Behold, the splendid of magistrates.°* Remember to fumigate
land has knotted itself up with confederacies,** and with incense and to offer water in a jar in the early
the coward takes the brave man’s property. Behold, morning. Remember to offer god’s offerings to the
the magistrates of the land are driven out through- gods. Remember to erect flagstaffs and to carve of-
out the land, are driven out from the palaces. fering stones. Remember to observe regulations, to
Behold, noble ladies are now on rafts and magnates fix dates correctly, and to remove him who enters on
are in the labor establishment whereas he who could the priestly office in impurity of body. Remember:
not sleep even on walls is now the possessor of a the things to remember are the duties of the priests,
bed. Behold, the possessor of wealth now spends the first among them the Pharaoh as High Priest. Men
night thirsty whereas he who once begged his dregs say, “He is the herdsman of mankind, and there is no
for himself is now the possessor of overflowing evil in his heart.” Where is he today? Is he asleep?
bowls. Behold, the possessors of robes are now in Behold, his power is not seen. If we had been fed, I
rags whereas he who could not weave for himself is would not have found you, I would not have been
now a possessor of fine linen. Behold, he who was summoned in vain. Authority, knowledge, and truth
ignorant of the lyre is now the possessor of a harp are with you, yet confusion is what you set through-
whereas he who never sang for himself now vaunts out the land. Oh that you could taste a little of the
the Songstress-Goddess. Behold, he who had no loaf misery of it!
is now the owner of a barn, and his storehouse is It is indeed good when the hands of men build pyr-
provided with the goods of another. Behold, he amids, when ponds are dug and plantations of the
whose hair is fallen out and who had no oil has now trees of the gods are made. It is indeed good when
become the possessors of jars of sweet myrrh. men are drunk; they drink myt® and their hearts are
Behold, she who had no box is now the owner of a happy. It is indeed good when the magnates of dis-
coffer, and she who had to look at her face in the tricts are clad in a cloak, cleansed in front and
water is now the owner of a mirror. Behold, a man is well-provided within. It is indeed good when fine
linen is spread out on New Year’s Day on the bank.
Everyone fights for his sister and saves his own
51 The main law courts in the most important cities, as
skin. Is it Kushites?°° Then will we guard ourselves;
opposed to local law courts.
52 A characteristic of the Intermediate Periods, when pha-
raohs were not able to maintain their power. 54 Here Ipuwer pauses in his laments and suggests to the
53 During the Intermediate Periods, Egyptian unity col- pharaoh what he needs to do to make things better.
lapsed and several individuals claiming to be “pharaoh” >> A drink perhaps made from pressed dates.
controlled different regions. °° For Kush, south of Egypt, see Reading 70.
 80 EGYPT AND THE BRONZE AGE (5000-1200 BcE)

warriors are made many in order to ward off foreign- What Ipuwer said when he addressed the Majesty
ers. Is it Libyans??? Then we will turn away. The of the Lord of All: “You have done what was good
Medjay*® are pleased with Egypt. How comes it that and you have nourished the people. They cover their
every man kills his brother? The troops whom we mat- faces through fear of the morrow. That is how a man
shaled for ourselves have turned into foreigners and grows old before he dies, while his son is a lad of
have taken to ravaging. What has come to pass through understanding; he does not open his mouth to speak
it is informing the Asiatics of the state of the land. to you, but you seize him in the doom of death.”

25
cSQ>
“THE BOOK OF THE DEAD”
(CA tho OMSBGE)

The “Book of the Dead of Neferini,” written on papyrus ca. the third century Bce. Here, Osiris, seated
and depicted as the pharaoh, judges the woman in front of him, who conciliates him with a pile of
offerings. To the left, the gods Anubis, depicted with a jackal’s head, and Horus, with a falcon’s head,
hold their hands on the scales-chain, and at far left Thoth records the verdict, Now in the Neues
Museum, Berlin.

*’From the desert area west of Egypt.

°8 A people of northern Kush; also mentioned in the Auto-
biography of Weni, Reading 21.
“THE BOOK OF THE DEAD” (ca. 1500 BCE) 81

During the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2000-1730 sce), the Egyptian afterlife became open to all
Egyptians. In order to ensure a smooth entry into the underworld, Egyptians who were
wealthy enough to be able to do so had their corpses accompanied by or even wrapped ina
long document known as the "Book of the Dead." It included all of the rituals and spells that
Egyptians believed would ensure them a happy life after death with the sun god Ra. For ex-
ample, there were sections that provided the proper ways to address the gods the deceased
would encounter, such as Osiris and Ra. Osiris, as the judge of the dead, was especially impor-
tant because he would question the deceased to determine whether the person had led a life
worthy of an afterlife. The "Book of the Dead" therefore also included the proper answers to
the questions that would be asked. In sum, the whole judgment of the dead was rigged. Not
only did the deceased have, in the “Book of the Dead,” all of the proper rituals necessary for
entry into the underworld, but also when his or her heart was weighed against justice, the god
Anubis kept his hand on the weighing pan to ensure that no one's heart was found wanting.
Thus, even though the Egyptians did believe that the “Eater of the Dead" would consume
anyone who had lived an unjust life, they never thought that it would apply to themselves.

Source: E. A. Wallis Budge, Ancient Egyptian Religion (Allen and Faulkner, 1895).

[Hymn to Osiris.] supreme in White Wall. Thou art the Soul of Ra,
Homage to thee, Osiris,°? Lord of eternity, King of his own body, and hast thy place of rest in Henensu.®
the Gods, whose names are manifold, whose forms Thou art the beneficent one, and art praised in Nart.”
are holy, thou being of hidden form in the temples, Thou makest thy soul to be raised up. Thou art the
whose ka is holy. Thou art the governor of Tattu,°! Lord of the Great House in Khemenu.” Thou art the
and also the mighty one in Khem.” Thou art the mighty one of victories in Shas-hetep,”! the Lord of
Lord to whom praises are ascribed in the nome of eternity, the Governor of Abydos.” The path of his
Ati,® thou art the Prince of divine food in Anu.” throne is in Ta-tcheser.’”? Thy name is established in
Thou art the Lord who is commemorated in Maati,® the mouths of men. Thou art the substance of Two
the Hidden Soul, the Lord of Qerrt,®° the Ruler Lands.” Thou art Tem, the feeder of Kau,” the Gov-
ernor of the Companies of the gods.’”° Thou art the
»° The god of the underworld who judged the dead to de- beneficent Spirit among the spirits. The god of the
termine whether they had lived a just life; if they had, they
were permitted to enjoy a happy life in the underworld. 67 Memphis.
6 One of the Egyptian eternal souls. 68 Also known as Ehnas, Heracleopolis in Greek, in the
61 Also known as Tetut, Busiris in Greek, a city of Lower twentieth nome of Upper Egypt.
Egypt and early center of the worship of Osiris. ® Heracleopolis.
62] etopolis in Greek; a center of the worship of the god 7 Hermopolis in Greek.
Horus. 71 Location of the great battle between Horus, lord of
63 Or Anetch, the ninth nome in Lower Egypt, capital city Lower Egypt, and his uncle, the brother of Osiris, Set,
Tattu (Busiris). lord of Upper Egypt.
64 The capital of the thirteenth nome in Lower Egypt, better ? One of the oldest cities in Egypt, capital of the eighth
known as On and Iunu in Egyptian, Heliopolis in Greek. nome of Upper Egypt.
65 The first nome of Lower Egypt, embodying the word 73 A section of Abydos.
“truth”; capital at Memphis. ™ One of the Egyptian names for Egypt.
66 Blephantine, an island in the Nile on the southern > The plural of ka, one of the Egyptian immortal souls.
frontier of Egypt. 76 All of the gods.
82 EGYPT AND THE BRONZE AGE (5000-1200 BCE)

Celestial Ocean’’ draweth from thee his waters. offerings, may there be given to me loaves in the
Thou sendest forth the north wind at eventide, and Presence like the Followers of Horus, may a place be
breath from thy nostrils to the satisfaction of thy made for me in the solar boat on the day when the
heart. Thy heart reneweth its youth, thou producest god ferries across, and may I be received into the
the tchef food.’* The stars in the celestial heights are presence of Osiris in the Land of Vindication.
obedient unto thee, and the great doors of the sky
open themselves before thee. [The Declaration of Innocence.]
Hail to you, you having come as Khepri,” even What should be said when arriving at the Hall of Jus-
Khepri who is the creator of the gods. You rise and tice, of Two Truths, purging N” of all the forbidden
shine on the back of your mother the sky, having ap- things he has done, and seeing the faces of all the
peared in glory as king of the gods. Your mother gods. The spell for descending to the broad hall of
Nut®° shall use her arms on your behalf in making Two Truths”!:
greeting. The Manu-mountain*! receives you in “Hail to you, great god, Lord of Justice!”? I have
peace. Ma’at* embraces you at all seasons. May you come to you, my Lord, that you may bring me so that
give power and might in vindication—and a coming I may see your beauty, for I know you and I know
forth as a living soul to see horakhty®*—to the ka of your name, and I know the names of the forty-two
N. May you be gracious to me when I see your gods of those who are with you in this Hall of Jus-
beauty, having departed from upon earth. May I tice, who live on those who cherish evil and who
smite the Ass, may I drive off the rebel-serpent, may gulp down their blood on that day of the reckoning of
I destroy Apep** when he acts, for I have seen the characters in the presence of Wennefer.?* Behold the
abdju-fish® in its moment of being and the bulti-fish®® double son of the Songstresses; Lord of Truth is your
piloting the canoe on its waterway. I have seen name. Behold I have come to you, I have brought you
Horus*’ as helmsman with Thoth®® and Ma’at beside truth, I have repelled falsehood for you.”
him, I have taken hold of the bow-warp of the “Hail Far-strider”* who came forth from Heliopolis,”
Night-boat and the stern-warp of the Day-boat.*? I have done no falsehood. Hail Fire-embracer who
May he grant that I see the sun-disc and behold the came forth from Kheraha,” I have not robbed. Hail
moon unceasingly every day; may my soul go forth Nosey”’ who came forth from Hermopolis, I have not
to travel to every place that it desires; may my name been rapacious. Hail Swallower of shades who came
be called out, may it be found at the board of forth from the cavern, I have not stolen.
Hail Dangerous One who came forth from
Nu, the original ocean. Rosetjau,”* I have not killed men. Hail Double Lion
78 The food of the soul, the ka. who came forth from the sky, I have not destroyed
” God of sunrise and rebirth. food-supplies. Hail Fiery Eyes who came forth from
8° Goddess of the sky; with Geb, god of the earth, she
produced Osiris, Isis, and Set.
’! The western mountain peak that helped support the sky. °° The name of the deceased person was inserted here.
82 Goddess of justice. *!TIn these declarations the deceased makes a series of
83 The horizon associated with the rising and setting sun. negative confessions, that is, assertions of what she or he
84 Or Apophis; the god of chaos, enemy of Ma’at. has not done.
8 A Nile fish, and the pilot for the boat of Ra. » Osiris.
86 A Nile fish, and a symbol of eternal life. 3 An epithet of Osiris.
8’ The falcon god, son of Osiris and Isis, who defended ** One of the epithets of Osiris.
deceased people in the final judgment before Osiris. °> The main cult center of the gods Atum and Ra, the god
88 The baboon god who recorded Osiris’s judgments of of the noonday sun.
the dead. °° Greek and Roman Babylon, modern Old Cairo.
*° The two boats that took Ra through the sky and the 7 Thoth.
underworld during the daily journey of the sun. °8 Or Rostau; the underworld.
“THE BOOK OF THE DEAD” (ca. 1500 Bce) 83

Letopolis, I have done no crookedness. Hail Flame Hail Foreteller who came forth from Wenes,! I
that came forth backwards, I have not stolen the have not made disturbance.
god’s offerings. Hail Bone-breaker who came forth Hail You of the altar who came forth from the
from Heracleopolis,”’ I have not told lies. Hail Green secret place, I have not hoodwinked.
of Flame who came forth from Memphis, I have not Hail You whose face is behind him who came
taken food. Hail You of the cavern who came forth forth from the Cavern of Wrong, I have neither mis-
from the west, I have not been sullen. Hail White of conducted myself nor copulated with a boy.
teeth who came forth from the Fayum,'®° I have not Hail Hot-foot who came forth from the dusk, I
transgressed. Hail Blood-eater who came forth from have not been neglectful.
the shambles, I have not killed a sacred bull. Hail You of the darkness who came forth from
Hail Eater of entrails who came forth from the the darkness, I have not been quarrelsome.
House of Thirty, I have not committed perjury. Hail Bringer of your offering who came forth
Hail Lord of Truth who came forth from Maati,'®! from Sais,!° I have not been unduly active.
I have not stolen bread Hail Owner of faces who came forth from
Hail Wanderer who came forth from Bubastis, I Nedjefet,'!° I have not been impatient.
have not eavesdropped. Hail Accuser who came forth from Wetjenet, I
Hail Pale One who came forth from Heliopolis, I have not transgressed my nature, I have not washed
have not babbled. out the picture of a god.
Hail Doubly evil who came forth from Andjet,!” I Hail Owner of horns who came forth from
have not disputed except concerning my own property. Zawty,'!! I have not been voluble in speech.
Hail Wememty-snake'®? who came forth from the Hail Nefertum!’” who came forth from Memphis,
place of execution, I have not fornicated with a child. I have done no wrong, I have seen no evil.
Hail You who see whom you bring who came forth Hail Tempsep who came forth from Busiris, I
from the House of Min,'™ I have not misbehaved. have not made conjuration against the pharaoh.
Hail You who are over the Old One who came Hail You who acted according to your will, who
forth from Imau,'® I have not made terror. came forth from Tjebu,''? I have not waded in water.
Hail Demolisher who came forth from Xois, 106 I Hail Water-smiter who came forth from the Abyss,
have not transgressed. I have not been loud-voiced.
Hail Disturber who came forth from Weryt, I Hail Prosperer of the common folk who came
have not been hot-tempered. forth from your house, I have not reviled mankind.
Hail Youth who came forth from the Heliopolitan Hail Bestower of good who came forth from the
nome,!” I have not been deaf to words of truth. Harpoon nome,'”* I have not been puffed up.
Hail Bestower of powers who came forth from the
°° Egyptian Ehnas; capital of the twentieth nome of Upper City, I have not made distinctions for myself.
Egypt.
100 An oasis in the northern part of Upper Egypt.
101 The first nome of Lower Egypt, embodying the word 108 Hermopolis in Greek; the fifteenth nome of Upper
“truth”; capital at Memphis. Egypt, center of the worship of Thoth
102 The ninth nome of Lower Egypt. 109 Capital of the fifth nome of Lower Egypt, Zau in Egyp-
103 One of the Egyptian judgment deities. tian; origin of the Saite Dynasty of the sixth century BCE.
104 God of male sexual potency; god of Akhmim, the 10 The fourteenth nome of Upper Egypt.
ninth nome of Upper Egypt. '1T ycopolis in Greek, modern Asyut; the thirteenth
105 Capital of the third nome of Lower Egypt. nome of Upper Egypt.
106 K hasut in Egyptian, an ancient city of the Nile delta, 112 A healing god of Memphis, son of Ptah and Sekhmet.
the capital city of the Fourteenth Dynasty, which pre- 113 Aphroditopolis in Greek; capital of the tenth nome of
ceded the Hyksos. Upper Egypt.
107 Tunu in Egyptian; the thirteenth nome of Lower Egypt. 114 The seventh nome of Lower Egypt.
84 EGYPT AND THE BRONZE AGE (5000-1200 BcE)

Hail Serpent with raised head, who came forth Hail Carrier-off of His Portion who came forth
from the cavern, I am not wealthy except with my —_ from the Silent Land, I have not blasphemed god in
own property. my city.

26
cSQ>

HATSHEP SU’ S“EXBEBRRI@IN

TO. PUNT (ca. 1470 BcE)

An illustration from Hatshepsut’s mortuary temple depicts Queen Ati of Punt receiving the embassy
from Egypt.

Hatshepsut (1479-1458 sce) was easily the greatest and most able of all the native Egyptian
female pharaohs. She asserted that she was the daughter not of Pharaoh Thutmose I, but of
the god Amon himself. She portrayed herself wearing all of the regalia of a male pharaoh,
including the beard, and referred to herself using masculine pronouns. In the temple of
Amon at Karnak she recalled her achievements. In a temple she built in honor of Pakhet, the
lioness goddess of war, Hatshepsut spoke of her role in the Egyptian recovery after the ex-
pulsion of the Hyksos. A lengthy text, preserved carved and painted on the walls of her
mortuary (memorial) temple and accompanied by illustrations, discussed the naval expedi-
tion that she sent to Punt, a mysterious land south of Egypt on the coast of the Red Sea, in
the ninth year of her reign. The text perhaps overstates the importance of a simple trading
expedition, making it into a statement of the extent of Hatshepsut’s authority. After her
HATSHEPSUT’S EXPEDITION TO PUNT (ca. 1470 Bce)
85

death, Hatshepsut's stepson and successor, Thutmose III (1458-1425 ace), attempted to erase
her name and image from history. It was not until the early twentieth century that many
monuments telling of her deeds were discovered.

Source: E. Naville, “The Life and Monuments of the Queen,” in Theodore M. Davis, ed., The Tomb of Hatshopsiti
(London,
Constable: 1906), 25-41.

[Inscription from the temple of Amon in Karnak]!5 [The Expedition to Punt: Brief inscriptions from
I have done this with a loving heart for my father Hatshepsut’s burial temple at Deir el-Bahri accom-
Amon, I did not forget whatever he had ordained, pany the illustrations of the voyage.]
now, my heart turns to and fro, in thinking what will
the people say, they who will see my monument in [Hatshepsut begins by claiming she was the wife not
after years, and shall speak of what I have done. I of Thutmose I but of the god Amon.]
swear, as I am loved of Ra, as I wear the white crown, Amon took the form of the noble Pharaoh Thutmose
as I appear in the red crown, as I rule this land like and found the queen sleeping in her room. When the
the son of Isis, so as regards these two great obelisks, pleasant odors that proceeded from him announced
in order that my name may endure in this temple. his presence she woke. He gave her his heart and
showed himself in his godlike splendor. When he ap-
[Inscription from the temple of Pakhet, known to the proached the queen she wept for joy at his strength
Greeks as Speos Artemidos, at Beni Hasan] and beauty and he gave her his love.!'?
Hear, all ye nobles and common folk in their multi-
tudes! I did these things by the design of my heart, [Hatshepsut reports that Thutmose I made her his
and no indolent one could sleep because of me! I re- heir.]
stored what had decayed; I annulled the former priv- Then His Majesty said to them: “This daughter of
ileges that existed since the time the Asiatics!!® were mine, Khnumetamon!”° Hatshepsut—may she live! —I
in the region of Avaris!!’ of Lower Egypt! The im- have appointed as my successor upon my throne. She
migrants among them disregarded the tasks that shall direct the people in every sphere of the palace; it
were assigned to them, thinking that Ra would not is she indeed who shall lead you. Obey her words,
consent when the deified Thutmosis I assigned the unite yourselves at her command.” The royal nobles,
rulership to my majesty.''? When I was established the dignitaries, and the leaders of the people heard this
over the thrones of Ra, I became known through a proclamation of the promotion of his daughter, the
period of three years as a born conqueror. And when Pharaoh of Upper and Lower Egypt, Ma’at-ka-Ra’?!—
I came as pharaoh my uraeus threw fire against my may she live eternally! His daughter, the Pharaoh of
enemies! Upper and Lower Egypt, Ma’at-ka-Ra—may she live
eternally.

‘15 James Henry Breasted, ed., Ancient Records of Egypt:

The Eighteenth Dynasty (Chicago: University of Chicago 9 Similar to the story that Alexander the Great was the
Press, 1906), 131-132. son not of King Philip II, but of the god Zeus (see Read-
16 The Hyksos. ing 62).
‘17 The capital city of the Hyksos, in the northeastern Nile 120 One of Hatshepsut’s names, incorporating the name of
delta. the god Amon.
18 Hatshepsut blames the opposition to her when she '21 Another of the names of Hatshepsut, incorporating the
came to the throne on foreign immigrants. names of Ma’at, goddess of justice, and Ra, god of the sun.
86 EGYPT AND THE BRONZE AGE (5000-1200 BcE)

[The fleet, led by Nehasi, a word meaning “the [The Egyptian ships are loaded with trade goods.]
Nubian,” moors at the mouth of a river that. empties The loading of the cargo boats with great quantities
into the Red Sea.] of the marvels of the land of Punt, with all the good
The navigation on the sea, the starting on the good woods of the divine land, heaps of pieces of ani,!””
journey to the divine land, the landing happily in the and trees of green ani, with pure ivory, with pure
land of Punt by the soldiers of the pharaoh, according gold of the land of Amu,'” with cinnamon wood,
to the prescription of the Lord of the gods, Amon, Lord khesit wood, with balsam, resin, antimony, with cy-
of the thrones of the two lands, in order to bring the nocephali,!** monkeys, greyhounds, with skins of
precious products of the whole land, because of his panthers of the south, with inhabitants of the country
great love toward Hatshepsut. Never did such a thing and their children. Never were brought any such
happen to the pharaohs who were in the land eternally. things to any pharaoh since the beginning of the
world.
[Nehasi lands with nine soldiers and presents for the
queen of Punt are displayed on a table.] [The fleet returns to Thebes.]
The landing of the royal messenger in the divine land, The navigation, the landing at Thebes with joy by the
with the soldiers who accompany him, in the pres- soldiers of the pharaoh. With them are the chiefs of
ence of the chiefs of Punt, to bring all goods from the the land, they bring such things as were never
sovereign, to Hathor the lady of Punt, in order that she brought to any pharaoh, in products of the land of
may grant life, strength and health to Her Majesty. Punt, through the power of the venerable god
Amon-Ra, the Lord of the thrones of the two lands.
[King Parohu and Queen Ati of Punt then appear.]
The coming of the chiefs of Punt, bowing and stoop- [Hatshepsut greets the fleet.]
ing in order to receive these soldiers, they give praise The pharaoh himself, Pharaoh Ma’at-kara,!*> takes
to Hatshepsut. They say in asking for peace, “You a bushel; she stretches forth her hand to measure
have arrived here on what way, to which land that the heaps the first time; it is an object of rejoicing to
the Egyptians did not know. Have you come through measure the fresh ani of Amon, the Lord of the
the way of the sky or have you travelled on water Throne of the Two Lands, the Lord of the Sky.
to the green land, the divine land to which Ra has The first day of the summer [—] The good things
transported you? For the pharaoh of Egypt there is no of the land of Punt, the Lord of Shmun!?° records
closed way, we live in the breath that he gives us.” them in writing, Safekhabui!?’? makes up the ac-
counts. His Majesty herself put with her own hands
oil of ani on all her limbs. Her fragrance was like a
[King Parohu reappears with gifts that the Egyp-
divine breath, her scent reached as far as the land of
tians exaggeratedly call “tribute.” ]
Punt, her skin is made of gold, it shines like the stars
“The coming of the chief of Punt, bringing his trib-
in the hall of festival, in view of the whole land. The
ute on the shore of the sea, in the presence of the
rekhiu'”s are rejoicing, they give praises to the Lord
royal messenger.”
of the gods, they celebrate Ma’at-kara in her divine

[Nehasi prepares a reception.]

The preparing of the tent for the royal ambassador 122 Myrrh.
and the soldiers in the harbors of frankincense of '23 Perhaps in Arabia.
124 Apes.
Punt, on the shore of the sea, in order to receive the
'25 One of Hatshepsut’s names.
chiefs of this land and to present them with bread,
16 The god Thoth.
beer, wine, meat, fruits and all the good things of the 27 Wife of Thoth.
land of Egypt, as has been ordered by the sovereign. '8 Initiates into sacred mysteries.
HATSHEPSUT’S EXPEDITION TO PUNT (ca. 1470 Bce) 87

doings, as she is such a great marvel. She has no by land and by water, on mysterious shores, which
equal among the gods who were before since the join the harbors of incense, the sacred territory of the
world was. She is living Ra eternally.” divine land, my abode of pleasure. I will convey
them myself; and thy mother Hathor and Urert, the
[Hatshepsut appears before Amon, who gives his ap- lady of Punt, and Urheketu the queen of the gods.
proval and support to the mission.] They will take incense as much as they like. They
His royal majesty!’ repaired toward the staircase of will load their ships to the satisfaction of their hearts
the pharaoh of the gods, hearing his orders in the with trees of fresh incense, and all the good things of
palace, the speech of the god who investigates the the land. The Puntites who did not know the Egyp-
roads to Punt, and who opens the ways to the harbors tians, the cultivators of the divine land, I will win
of incense, who leads the soldiers on water, and on their hearts in order that they give thee their praises
land, that they may bring the good things from the and that they adore thy will, which reigns over this
divine land to this god who created her person, so land. I know them, for I am their master.”
that all should be done as was ordered by the vener-
able god, and according to the wish of her majesty. [Hatshepsut summarizes her own accomplishment.]
Said by Amon, the Lord of the Thrones of the Two My majesty put before her eyes to reach the harbor of
Lands, “Come, come in peace my daughter, the incense, to open its way, to throw open its roads, ac-
graceful, who art in my heart, Pharaoh Ma’at-kara cording to the orders of my father Amon. Says my
who makest for me fine buildings. I will give thee majesty, I let you know what was ordered to me. I
Punt, the whole of it, as far as extend the divine was obedient to my father. He put before me to estab-
lands. The divine land has never been explored, the lish Punt in his house, digging up fruit trees in the
harbors of incense had never been seen by the men of divine land, for the two sides of his divine dwelling,
Egypt; it had been heard from mouth to mouth, in his garden. As he ordered, so it was, in order to
through the saying of the ancestors; its good things increase the offerings that I vowed to him. I have not
were brought, they were brought to thy fathers, the neglected what he ordered, which was accomplished
pharaohs of Lower Egypt, one after the other, since according to my prescriptions, there was no trans-
the age of the forefathers, and to the pharaohs of gressing of what my mouth gave out on that subject,
Upper Egypt, who were before, in exchange for large he opened me a place in his heart, to me who know
payments; nobody had reached these lands except a all he loves. What he loves, he takes hold of. Ibrought
stray messenger. Henceforth I will cause them to be to him Punt in his garden, as he put it before me, to
walked over by thy soldiers. I will lead thy soldiers Thebes, he enlarged it, he walked in it.

129 Hatshepsut, referred to using masculine forms.

 27
cSO>

“HYMN TO ATON” (ca. 1350 BCE)

In this relief the pharaoh Akhenaton, his wife Nefertiti, and their children bask in the rays emanating
from their god Aton, represented by a sun disk with rays terminating in hands. Preserved in the Neues
Museum, Berlin.

One of the greatest social and religious upheavals in the history of ancient Egypt occurred
when the pharaoh Akhenaton (1351-1334 sce) attempted to make the sun god Aton, who was
represented as a solar disk from which rays ending in hands emanated, into the primary god
of Egypt. Akhenaton's devotion to Aton was manifested in the suppression of the worship of
other gods, a massive building program, the foundation of a new city, Akhetaton ("Horizon
of Aton"), in honor of his god, a new “Amarna” style of art, and literature praising Aton. In
his “Hymn to Aton," which is preserved inscribed on the walls of at least five courtiers’ tombs
and would have been part of the religious rituals honoring the god, Aton is portrayed as the
primary god of Egypt, to the exclusion of all the other gods. Some scholars have seen paral-
lels between this hymn and Psalm 104 from the Hebrew Bible.

Source: Miriam Lichtheim, ed., Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Readings, Vol. 2. The New Kingdom (Berkeley/London:
University of California Press, 1976), 96-100.

88
“HYMN TO ATON” (ca. 1350 BCE) 89

You rise beautiful from the horizon to heaven, You who cause the sperm to grow in women,
living disk, origin of life. who turns seed into people, who causes
You are arisen from the horizon, you have filled the son to live in the womb of his mother, who
every land with your beauty. silences him in stopping him crying.
You are fine, great, radiant, lofty over and above Nurse in the womb, who gives breath to cause all
every land. he has made to live,
Your rays bind the lands to the limit of all you when he goes down from the womb to breathe on
have made, the day of his birth,
You are the sun, you have reached their limits. you open his mouth in form, you make his needs.
You bind them for your beloved son. When the chick in the egg speaks in the shell,
You are distant, but your rays are on earth. you give it breath within to cause it to live,
You are in their sight, but your movements are you have made him, he is complete, to break out
hidden. from the egg,
You rest in the western horizon, and the land is and he emerges from the egg to speak to his
in darkness in the manner of death, completion,
sleepers in chambers, heads covered, no eye can and walks on his legs, going out from it.
see its other. How numerous are your works, although hidden
Anything of theirs can be taken from under their from sight.
heads, they would not know. Unique god, there is none beside you.
Every lion goes out from its den, every snake You mould the earth to your wish, you and you
bites. alone:
Darkness envelops, the land is in silence, their All people, herds and flocks,
creator is resting in his horizon. All on earth that walk on legs,
At daybreak, arisen from the horizon, shining as All on high that fly with their wings.
the disk in day, And on the foreign lands of Khar'! and Kush,”
you remove the darkness, you grant your rays, the land of Egypt.
and the two lands are in festival, awakened and You place every man in his place, you make
standing on their feet. what they need,
You have raised them up, their bodies cleansed, so that everyone has his food, his lifespan
clothing on, counted.
their arms are in adoration at your sunrise. Tongues are separated in speech, and forms
The entire land carries out its tasks, every herd too—
rests in its pastures, Their skins are made different, for you make
trees and plants are sprouting, birds flying up foreign lands different.
from their nests, You make a Flood in the underworld, and bring
their wings in adoration for your spirit. it at your desire
Every flock frolics afoot, all that fly up and to cause the populace to live, as you made them
alight, they live when you have shone for for you,
them. Lord of all they labor over, the Lord of every
Boats sail north and south too, every road is land.
opened at your sunrise, Shine for them, O disk of day, great of dignity.
and the fish on the river leap at the sight of you.
Your rays penetrate the Great Green.'*° 131 Syria.
pofaeety bsGey 132] ocated on the Nile River immediately south of Egypt;
130 The Mediterranean Sea. see Reading 70.
90 EGYPT AND THE BRONZE AGE (5000-1200 BcE)

All distant lands, you make them live, You create alone what you have made.
you place a Flood in the sky, to descend for You are in my heart, there is none other who
them, knows you
to make waves over the mountains like the Great beside your son Neferkheperura-Sole-One-of-Ra.'*°
Green, You instruct him in your plans, in your strength.
to water their fields with their settlements. The land comes into being by your action, as you
How effective they are, your plans, O Lord of make them,
Eternity! and when you have shone, they live, when you
A Flood in the sky for foreigners, for the flocks test, they die.
of every land that go on foot, You are lifetime, in your body, people live by
and a Flood to come from the underworld for you.
Egypt, Eyes are on your beauty until you set.
your rays nursing every meadow, you shine and All work is stopped when you set on the west.
they live and grow for you. Shine, and strengthen all for the pharaoh.
You make the seasons to nurture all you make, Motion is in every leg, since you founded the
winter to cool them, heat so they may taste you. earth,
You have made the far sky to shine in it, you raise them for your son who come from your
to see what you make, while you are far, and body,
shining in your form as living disk. the pharaoh who lives on Right, Lord of the Two
Risen, shining, distant, near, you make millions Lands, Neferkheperura-Sole-One-of-Ra,
of forms from yourself, lone one, son of Ra who lives on Right, Lord of Risings,
cities, towns, fields, the road of rivers. Akhenaton, great in his lifespan,
Every eye sees you in their entry. and the great pharaoh’s wife whom he loves, lady
You are the disk of day, master of your move, of of the two lands,
the existence of every form. Neferneferuaton' Nefertiti, eternally alive.

'33The Throne Name of Akhenaton.

'* Another name of Nefertiti, who may have ruled jointly
with Akhenaton.
 28
cSO>
EGYPTIAN LOVE LETTERS
(47130088)

A statuette of ca. 1425 ace from Karnak, now preserved in the Neues Museum in Berlin, depicts the
administrator Amenhotep-User seated with his wife, Tendwadj, in a typical affectionate pose.

Ancient Egyptian men and women were not shy about expressing their personal and even
erotic feelings toward each other, as attested in a great number of surviving documents. The
following expressions of attraction, love, and devotion, all composed, primarily on papyrus,
by anonymous authors, date to the Middle and New Kingdoms.

Source: Translated from Johanna Margarete Kellner, Unter dem Schutze der Hathor. Agyptische Marchen und Hymnen (Weimar:
Gustav Kiepenheuer Verlag, 1954).

91
92 EGYPT AND THE BRONZE AGE (5000-1200 BcE)

(Woman:) She moves in a shimmer of perfection, her

Come, my brother, swim to me! complexion is superb,
The water is deep in my love Her eyes are marvellously seductive,
That carries me to you. On her lip linger persuasive words.
We are in the midst of the stream, Never does she speak one word too many!
I clasp the flowers to my breast Her neck is slender, ample her breast,
That is naked and drips with water. Her hair is lapis-lazuli;
But the moon makes them bloom like the lotus. Her arms more splendid than gold
I give you my flowers And her fingers like lotus petals.
because they are beautiful, Her robe is tightly caught in around her waist.
And you are holding my hand Revealing the most beautiful legs in all the
In the middle of the water. world.
(Man:) You cannot help following her with your eyes
The little sycamore wherever she goes,
That she planted with her own hand She is such an unrivalled goddess in appearance.
Opens its mouth to speak.
Its rustling is as sweet Source: J. E.Manchip White, trans., in Samivel [pseudonym],
As a draught of honey. The Glory of Egypt (London: Thames & Hudson, 1955).
How beautiful its graceful branches
In their greenness. (Woman:)
On it hangs young fruit and fruit that is ripe, Am I not here with [you]?
Redder than the blood-red jasper. Where have you set your heart (upon going)?
The love of my loved one is on the other shore. Should you not embrace [me]?
An arm of the river lies between us, Has my deed come back [upon me]?
And crocodiles lurk on the sand-banks. If you seek to caress my thighs
But I enter the water, I plunge into the flood; a
My eager heart carries me swiftly over the Is it because you have thought of eating that you
waves; would go forth?
I swim as surely as though I were walking on Is it because you are a slave to your belly?
solid ground. Is it because you [care about] clothes?
Love, it is love that gives me strength, I have a bedsheet!
Averting the perils of the river. Is it because you are hungry that you would
leave?
Source: J. E. Manchip White, trans., in Samivel [pseudonym], (Then) take my breasts
The Glory of Egypt (London: Thames & Hudson, 1955). That their gift may flow forth to you.
Better a day in the embrace [of] my brother
(Man:) Than a thousand myriads while [—]
My loved one is unique, without a peer,
More beautiful than any other, Source: Michael V. Fox, Song of Songs and the Ancient Egyp-
See, she is like the star that rises on the horizon tian Love Songs (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press 5)
At the dawn of an auspicious year. 1983).
 29
cD
THE PEACE TREATY BETWEEN
RAMSES Il AND HATTUSILIS III
Gl SOeBeE: EGYPEIAN
AND HITTITE VERSIONS

The text, on a clay tablet, of the Akkadian version of the treaty between Ramses II and Hattusilis III is
preserved in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum.

In 1258 sce, following the great Battle of Kadesh in 1274 ace, where Ramses II (1279-1212 sce),
Pharaoh of Egypt, and the Hittite king Muwatalli II (ca. 1295-1272 sce) fought to a draw after
decades of intermittent warfare, Hattusilis Ill (ca. 1267-1237), the grandson of Muwatalli,
and Ramses finally made peace. Their treaty, which survives in both its Egyptian and its
Akkadian (a commonly used diplomatic language) versions, is the first surviving international
peace treaty, and a copy of it hangs on the walls of the United Nations in New York. The ver-
sions are essentially the same with regard to the fundamental clauses, although each side
claimed that the other had first sued for peace, and both versions include longer elabora-
tions or patriotic sections that are not in the other. This suggests that the versions were not
meant to reproduce a single master copy. The two powers established the boundary between
them; promised not to attack each other; entered into a mutual defense alliance, including

93
94 EGYPT AND THE BRONZE AGE (5000-1200 BcE)

assistance in civil wars; agreed to return refugees and fugitives (the first attested extradition
agreement); and permitted free trade across the border. To seal the bargain, Ramses married
Maathorneferure, the daughter of Hattusilis. The incomplete Egyptian version is preserved
both ona stele at Karnak and at Ramses's mortuary temple, the Ramesseum near Luxor, and
the Hittite version began to be uncovered in 1906 in excavations at the Hittite capital city
of Hattusa (modern Bogazkéy) and now is preserved in Istanbul. All of the clauses in the Hit-
tite version appear in the Egyptian version; a sense of the missing part of the Egyptian ver-
sion can be gained from the surviving Hittite version.

Source: C. W. Goodwin, trans., Records of the Past, Being English Translations of the Assyrian and Egyptian Monuments,
Vol. 4 (London: Bagster, 1875), 27-34.

[The section numbers are not part of the original single sections can refer to different topics. Sections
documents but have been added to help to identify without numbers in one version do not appear, as
similar sections. The numbers refer to similar topics; such, in the other version.]
different sections can refer to the same topic, and

(a) Egyptian Version

[prologue] of On,'* to Amon of Ramessu-Meriamen, to Ptah of
The twenty-first year, the twenty-first day of Tybif, in Ramessu-Meriamem, to Set'** the most glorious son
the reign of Pharaoh Ra-User-Ma,|* approved by the of Nut'*®; may they grant him an eternity of
Sun,'° Son of the Sun, Ramessu-Meriamen,!*’ en- thirty-years’ festivals, an infinity of years of peace,
dowed with life eternal and for ever; lover of all lands, all nations, being bowed down beneath his
Amon-Ra,!** Harmachu,'*? Ptah'° of Memphis, Mut feet for ever.
Lady of Asheru,'! and Khonsu Neferhotep'?; in-
vested upon the throne of Horus, among the living, 1. There came a royal herald.’ The King of
like his father Harmachu, eternally and for ever. On Kheta,'*’ Kheta-Sira,'*® had sent to the Phar-
this day behold His Majesty was in the city of the aoh to beg for peace of Pharaoh Ra-User-
House of Ramessu-Meriamen, making propitiations Ma,” approved of the Sun, Son of the Sun,
to his father Amon-Ra, to Harmachu, to Atum Lord Ramessu-Meriamen, endowed with life for

'55 Ramses II, the pharaoh of Egypt.

36 Here Ramses lists all the gods whose support he has. '3 Heliopolis, capital of the thirteenth nome of Lower
37 Another name for Ramses. Egypt, center of the worship of the gods Ra and Atum.
38 A union of the gods Amon and Ra; the most important
‘The god of the red desert as opposed to Horus, god of
god during the Middle and New Kingdoms. fertile black land.
»° A manifestation of the sun god. 'S The goddess of the sky.
“0 A creator god; also a god of justice. 46 An ambassador.
“| The consort of the god Amon of Thebes; Asheru was 47 “atti” in the Hittite version.
the sacred lake in the temple of Mut at Karnak. ‘8 The Egyptian name for Hattusilis, the Hittite king.
” The god of time. ' Ramses II, the pharaoh of Egypt.
THE PEACE TREATY BETWEEN RAMSES II AND HATTUSILIS III (1258 BCE)
DS

ever and ever, like his father the Sun continu- at peace with him for ever. It happened in the
ally. Copy of the plate of silver that the King of time of Mautenara the King of Kheta, my
Kheta, Kheta-Sira, sent to the Pharaoh by the brother, after his decease, Kheta-Sira sat as King
hand of his herald Tartisbu, and his herald of Kheta upon the throne of his father. Behold, I
Rames, to beg for peace of His Majesty Ra- am at one in heart with Ramessu-Meriamen, the
User-Ma, approved of the Sun, Son of the Sun, great ruler of Egypt [—] of peace, of brother-
Ramessu-Meriamen, Chief of Rulers, whose hood; it shall be better than the peace and the
boundaries extend to every land at his pleasure, brotherhood, which was before this.
the covenant made by the King of Kheta, 5. Behold, I the King of Kheta with Ramessu-
Kheta-Sira, the powerful, son of Marassa,!*° Meriamen the great ruler of Egypt, am in good
the King of Kheta, the powerful, grandson of peace, in good brotherhood; the children’s chil-
Sapalala, the King of Kheta, the powerful; dren of the King of Kheta shall be in good broth-
upon the plate of silver, with Ra-User-Ma, ap- erhood and peace with the children’s children of
proved of the Sun, the great ruler of Egypt, the Ramessu-Meriamen the great ruler of Egypt. As
powerful, son of Amon-Ma'*' the great ruler of our treaty of brotherhood, and our arrangements
Egypt, the powerful, grandson of Ra-Men- with the land of Kheta, so to them also shall be
Peru.' The great ruler of Egypt, the powerful: peace and brotherhood for ever; there shall no
The good conditions of peace and fraternity hostility arise between them for ever.
[—] to eternity, which were aforetime from . The King of Kheta shall not invade the land of
eternity. Egypt for ever, to carry away anything from it;
This was an arrangement of the great ruler of nor shall Ramessu-Meriamen the great ruler of
Egypt with the great Prince of Kheta, by way Egypt invade the land of Kheta for ever to
of covenant, that god might cause no hostility carry away anything from it for ever. The
to arise between them. Now it happened in the treaty of alliance that was even from the time
time of Mautenara,'* the King of Kheta, my of Sapalala,'** the King of Kheta, as well as
brother, that he fought with [—] the great ruler the treaty of alliance that was in the time of
of Egypt. But thus it shall be henceforth, even Matenara, the King of Kheta, my father, if I
from this day. Behold, Kheta-Sira the King of fulfill it, behold Ramessu-Meriamen the great
Kheta, covenants to adhere to the arrangement ruler of Egypt shall fulfill it together with us,
made by the Sun, made by Set, concerning the in each case, even from this day, we will fulfill
land of Egypt, with the land of Kheta, to cause it, executing the design of alliance.
no hostility to arise between them for ever. . If any enemy shall come to the lands of
2/3/7. Behold, this it is: Kheta-Sira the King of Ramessu-Meriamen the great ruler of Egypt,
Kheta covenants with Ra-User-Ma, approved and he shall send to the King of Kheta saying,
by the Sun, the great ruler of Egypt from this “Come and give me help against him,” then
day forth, that good peace and good brother- shall the King of Kheta [—] the King of Kheta
hood shall be between us for ever. to smite the enemy; but if it be that the King of
4/7. He shall fraternize with me, he shall be at peace Kheta shall not come himself, he shall send his
with me, and I will fraternize with him, I will be infantry and his cavalry [—] to smite his
enemy [—] of the anger of Ramessu-Meriamen.
Lt: [—] the slaves of the gates, and they shall do any
150 Mursili III, Hittite king ca. 1272-1267, predecessor of
Hattusilis III.
damage to him, and he shall go to smite them,
‘51 Seti I (1290-1279) BCE. then shall the King of Kheta together with [—]
152 Ramses I (1292-1290 BCE).
153 The Hittite king Muwatalli II (ca. 1295-1272 Bce). ‘54 The Hittite king Suppiluliuma I (ca. 1344-1322 Bcer).
96 EGYPT AND THE BRONZE AGE (5000-1200 BcE)

9/12. [—] to come to help to smite his enemies, of the city of Sarasu, Set of the city of
if it shall please Ramessu-Meriamen the Khirabu, Set [of the city of], Set of the
great ruler of Egypt to go, he shall [—] city of Sarapaina, Astarata'>’ of Kheta,
10. [—] to return all answer to the land of the god of Taitatkherri, the god of Ka
Kheta. But if the servants of the King of [—], the goddess of the city of [—], the
Kheta shall invade him, namely Ramessu- goddess of Tain [—], the god of [—] of
Meriamen [—] the hills of the rivers of the land of Kheta,
15/18/22. [—] from the lands of Ramessu-Meriamen the gods of the land of Kheta, the gods of
the great ruler of Egypt and they shall the land of Tawatana,'°® Amon the Sun,
come to the King of Kheta, then shall the Set, the gods male, the gods female, of
King of Kheta not receive them, but the the hills, the rivers of the land of Egypt,
King of Kheta shall send them to Ra-User- the great sea, the winds, the clouds.
Ma, approved of the Sun, the great ruler 26: These words that are on the tablet of
of Egypt [—] and if they shall come to the silver of the land of Kheta, and of the land
land of Kheta to do service to anyone, of Egypt. Whosoever shall not observe
they shall not be added to the land of them, the thousand gods of the land of
Kheta, they shall be given up to Ramessu- Kheta, in concert with the thousand gods
Meriamen the great ruler of Egypt. Or if of the land of Egypt shall be against his
there shall pass over [—] house, his family, his servants.
13/17/21. [—] coming from the land of Kheta, and 25. But whosoever shall observe these words
if they shall come to Ramessu-Meri- that are in the tablet of silver, be he of
amen the great ruler of Egypt, then shall Kheta [—] the thousand gods of the land
not Ra-User-Ma, approved of the Sun, of Kheta, in concert with the thousand
the great ruler of Egypt [—] and if they gods of the land of Egypt shall give
shall come to the land of Egypt to do health, shall give life to his family to-
service of any sort, then shall not Ra- gether with himself together with his
User-Ma, approved of the Sun, the great servants.
ruler of Egypt, claim them; he shall 16/20. If there shall pass over one man of the
cause them to be given up to the King of land of Egypt or two, or three and they
Kheta [—]. shall go to the land of Kheta then shall
24.!°° [—] the tablet of silver, it is declared by the King of Kheta cause them to be given
the thousand gods, the gods male, the up again to Ra-User-Ma, approved of the
gods female, those that are of the land of Sun, the great ruler of Egypt, but whoso-
Kheta, in concert with the thousand gods, ever shall be given up to Ramessu-
the gods male, the gods female, those that Meriamen, the great ruler of Egypt, let not
are of the land of Egypt, those [—] Set of his crime be set up against him, let not
Kheta, Set of the city of A [-—], Set!** of [—] himself, his wives, his children [—]
the city of Taaranta, Set of the city of 14/19/21. If there shall pass over a man from the
Pairaka, Set of the city of Khisasap, Set land of Kheta be it one only be it two, be
it three, and they come to Ra-User-Ma,
'S> A catalogue of gods who will defend the treaty, omit- approved of the Sun the great ruler of
ted from the Hittite version. Egypt let Ramessu-Meriamen the great
'° Hittite Sutech, a war god and the supreme Hittite god,
accompanied by the names of mostly otherwise unknown 'S7 Or Antarata, the consort of Sutech.
Hittite nobles. '58 A kingdom in Palestine.
THE PEACE TREATY BETWEEN RAMSES II AND HATTUSILIS III (1258 BCE)
97

ruler of Egypt seize them and cause them up against him. That which is upon the
to be given up to the King of Kheta but tablet of silver upon its front side is
whosoever shall be delivered up [—] him- the likeness of the figure of Set [—] of
self his wives, his children, moreover let Set the great ruler of heaven, the director
him not be smitten to death, moreover let of the Treaty made by Kheta-Sira the
him not suffer in his eyes, in his mouth, in great ruler of Kheta [—]
his feet, moreover let not any crime be set

(b) Hittite Version

[prologue] Tempest'™ has wanted for the country of Egypt and
It is concluded that Ra-Amasesa-Mai-Amana, the the country of Hatti according to the eternal bond,
Great King, the Pharaoh of the land of Egypt with for not letting enmity settle between them.”
Hattusili, the Great King, the King of the land of
Hatti,' his brother, for the land of Egypt and the 1. But now Ra-Amasesa-Mai-Amana, the Great
land of Hatti, in order to establish a good peace and King, the King of the country of Egypt, has
a good fraternity forever among them. Thus speaks established this bond by treaty on a silver
Ra-Amasesa, the Great King, the Pharaoh of the tablet with Hattusili, the Great King, the King
land of Egypt, the hero of the whole country, son of of the country of Hatti, his brother, starting
Minmuaria,’” the Great King, the Pharaoh of the from this day, to settle forever among them a
land of Egypt, the hero, son of the son of Minpahiri- good peace and a good fraternity.
taria,!°' the Great King, the Pharaoh of the land of 2. He is a brother to me and he is at peace with
Egypt, the hero, to Hattusili, son of Mursili, the me; and I am a brother to him and I am forever
Great King, the King of the land of Hatti, the hero, at peace with him.
son of the son of Suppiluliuma,!” the Great King, the 3. Look, we are united and a bond of fraternity
King of the land of Hatti, the hero. “Look, I have already exists among us and of peace, and it is
established a good fraternity and a good peace now better than the bond of fraternity and of peace
forever among us, in order to establish this way for- that existed between the country of Egypt and
ever a good peace and a good fraternity between the the country of Hatti.
land of Egypt and the land of Hatti. Look, in what 4. Look, Ra-Amasesa-Mai-Amana, the Great King,
refers to the Great King’s relationship, the King of the King of the country of Egypt, is at peace and
the country of Egypt, and of the Great King, the fraternity with Hattusili, the Great King, the
King of the Hittite country, since eternity the gods King of the country of Hatti.
do not allow, by reason of an eternal treaty, that 5. Look, the children of Ra-Amasesa, the Great
enmity should exist between them. Look, Ra- King, the King of the country of Egypt, they
Amasesa-Mai-Amana, the Great King, the King of will be forever in state of peace and of frater-
the country of Egypt, will establish the bond that the nity with the children of Hattusili, the Great
Sun God'® has wanted and that the God of the King, the King of the country of Hatti. They
will remain in the line of our bond of frater-
159 “K heta” in the Egyptian version. nity and of peace; the country of Egypt and the
160 Seti I (1290-1279) BCE.
163 Ra.
161 Ramses I (1292-1290 BCE).
162 King of the Hittites 1344-1322 BCE. '64 The Hittites worshiped a multitude of storm gods.
98 EGYPT AND THE BRONZE AGE (5000-1200 BcE)

country of Hatti will be forever be in a state of 11. If Ra-Amasesa, King of the country of Egypt,
peace and of fraternity as it is with us. rises in anger against his citizens after they
. Ra-Amasesa-Mai-Amana, the Great King, the have committed a wrong against him and by
King of the country of Egypt, shall never reason of this he sends (a message) to Hattusili,
attack the country of Hatti to take possession the Great King, the King of the country of
of a part of it. And Hattusili, the Great King, Hatti, my brother, has to send his troops and
the King of the country of Hatti, shall never his chariots and they have to exterminate all
attack the country of Egypt to take possession those against, and I shall [—]
of a part of it. bz: Look, the son of Hattusili, King of the country
. Look, the order fixed for eternity that the Sun of Hatti, has to assure his sovereignty of the
God and the God of the Tempest have created country of Hatti instead of Hattusili, his father,
for the country of Egypt and the country of after the numerous years of Hattusili, King of
Hatti, peace and fraternity without leaving the country of Hatti. If the children of the
place among them to any enmity. Look, Ra- country of Hatti transgress against him, then
Amasesa-Mai-Amana, the Great King, the Ra-Amasesa has to send to his help troops and
King of the country of Egypt, has established chariots and to give him support.
peace starting from this day. Look, the coun- £3: If a great person flees from the country of
try of Egypt and the country of Hatti live for- Hatti and if he comes to Ra-Amasesa, the
ever in peace and fraternity. Great King, King of the country of Egypt, then
. If a foreign enemy marches against the coun- Ra-Amasesa, the Great King, the King of the
try of Hatti and if Hattusili, the King of the country of Egypt, has to take hold of him and
country of Hatti, sends me this message: deliver him into hands of Hattusili, the Great
“Come to my help against him,’ Ra-Amasesa- King, the King of the country of Hatti.
Mai-Amana, the Great King, the King of the 14. If a man or two men who are unknown flee,
Egyptian country, has to send his troops and and if they come to Ra-Amasesa, to serve him,
his chariots to kill this enemy and to give sat- then Ra-Amasesa has to take hold of them and
isfaction to the country of Hatti. deliver them into the hands of Hattusili, King
. If Hattusili, the Great King, the King of the of the country of Hatti.
country of Hatti, rises in anger against his citi- 15. If a great person flees from the country of Egypt
zens after they have committed a crime against and he escapes to the country of Amurru or a
him and if, for this reason, you send to city and he comes to the King of Amurru, then
Ra-Amasesa the Great King, the King of the Benteshina, King of the country of Amurru, has
country of Egypt, then Ra-Amasesa-Mai- to take hold of him and take him to the King of
Amana has to send his troops and his chariots the country of Hatti; and Hattusili, the Great
and these should exterminate all those that he King, the King of the country of Hatti, shall
has risen in anger against. have him to be taken to Ra-Amasesa, the Great
10. If a foreigner marches against the country of King, the King of the country of Egypt.
Egypt and if Ra-Amasesa-Mai-Amana, the 16. If a man or two men who are unknown flee, and
Great King, the King of the country of Egypt, if they escape from the country of Egypt and if
your brother, sends to Hattusili, the King of the they do not want to serve him, then Hattusili,
country of Hatti, his brother, the following mes- the Great King, the King of the country of
sage: “Come to my help against him,” then Hat- Hatti, has to deliver them into his brother’s
tusili, King of the country of Hatti, shall send hands and he shall not allow them to inhabit the
his troops and his chariots and kill my enemy. country of Hatti.
THE PEACE TREATY BETWEEN RAMSES II AND HATTUSILIS III (1258 sce) 99

V7. If a nobleman flees from the country of Hatti, imputed; their tongue and their eyes are not to
or two men, and if they do not want to serve the be pulled out; their ears and their feet are not
King of Hatti, and if they flee from the Great to be cut off; their houses with their wives and
King’s country, the King of the land of Hatti, their children are not to be destroyed.
in order not to serve him, then Ra-Amasesa 2K. If a man flees from the country of Hatti, or two
has to take hold of them and order them be people, and if they flee from the country of Hatti,
taken to Hattusili, the Great King, King of the and if they come to the country of Egypt, and if
land of Hatti, his brother, and he shall not a nobleman flees from the country of Hatti or of
allow them to reside in the country of Egypt. a city and they flee from the country of Hatti to
18. If a nobleman or two flee from the country of go to the country of Egypt, then Ra-Amasesa
Egypt and if they leave for the Land of Hatti, has to order them to be taken to his brother.
then Hattusili, the Great King, the King of the Look, the sons of the country of Hatti and the
country of Hatti, has to take hold of them and children of the country of Egypt are at peace.
make them be taken to Ra-Amasesa, the Great Di If some people flee from the country of Egypt
King, the King of the country of Egypt, his to go to the country of Hatti, then Hattusili, the
brother. Great King, the King of the country of Hatti,
19 If a man flees from the country of Hatti, or two has to order them to be taken to his brother.
men, or three men, and if they come to 23. Look, Hattusili the Great King, the King of
Ra-Amasesa, the Great King, the King of the the country of Hatti, and Ra-Amasesa, the
country of Egypt, his brother, then Ra-Amasesa, Great King, the King of the country of Egypt,
the Great King, the King of the country of your brother, are at peace.
Egypt, has to take hold of them and to order 24. If Ra-Amasesa and the children of the country
them to be taken to Hattusili, his brother, be- of Egypt do not observe this treaty, then the
cause they are brothers. As for their crime, it gods and the goddesses of the country of Egypt
should not be imputed; their tongue and their and the gods and goddesses of the country of
eyes are not to be pulled out; their ears and Hatti shall exterminate the descendents of
their feet are not to be cut off; their houses with Ra-Amasesa, the Great King, the King of the
their wives and their children are not to be country of Egypt.
destroyed. 29: If Ra-Amasesa and the children of the country
20. If aman flees from the country of Ra-Amasesa, of Egypt observe this treaty, then the gods of
the Great King, King of the country of Egypt, the oath shall protect them and their [—] They
or two men, or three men, and if they come to who observe the words that are in the silver
Hattusili, the Great King, the King of the tablet the great gods of the country of Egypt
country of Hatti, my brother, then Hattusili, and the great gods of the country of Hatti shall
the Great King, King of the country of Hatti, allow them to live and prosper in their houses,
my brother, has to take hold of them and to their country, and with their servants.
order them to be taken to Ra-Amasesa, the 26. They who do not observe the words that are in
Great King, the King of the country of Egypt, this silver tablet, the great gods of the country
because Ra-Amasesa, the Great King, King of of Egypt as well as the great gods of the coun-
the country of Egypt, and Hattusili are broth- try of Hatti will exterminate their houses, their
ers. As for their crime, it should not be country, and their servants.
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AL
 CHAPTER 4
cSS>
Coastal Civilizations of the
Eastern Mediterranean
(2500-800 BceE)

The Bronze Age, quite correctly, is viewed as the great age of river valley civilizations. But
we ought not to think that there was nothing going on outside the river valleys at the same
time. In an unobtrusive way, other peoples were pursuing other ways of life, finding niches
of opportunity, and creating their own civilizations. These bit players of the Bronze Age,
inhabiting the Levant, the island of Crete, and mainland Greece, anticipated future main-
stream lifestyles, uses of technology, and forms of economic activity that bridged the gap
between the Bronze Age and the Iron Age and facilitated the spread of civilization out of the
river valleys to encompass much larger regions and numbers of people. These cultures also
help to correct the common presumption that Mesopotamia and Egypt were the only centers
of Bronze Age civilization and demonstrate that, by the early Iron Age, the river valley cul-
tures of the Bronze Age had run their course. Like the better-known river valley civiliza-
tions, these niche civilizations also had written documents, using their own systems of
writing that suited their own needs. Some, such as those of the Minoans, Mycenaeans, and
the city of Ebla, are preserved only on clay tablets. Other records, such as those of the
Hebrews and their descendents, eventually were written on papyrus. With the exception of
the Hebrews, these peoples left few surviving written documents, and one must make do
either with the scraps that survive or with the appearances of these peoples, such as the
Philistines and Canaanites, in the writings of other peoples, such as the Egyptians and He-
brews. The study of these documents and peoples provides historians with a more balanced
perception of what was happening in the Near East and the eastern Mediterranean as a
whole.

101
102 COASTAL CIVILIZATIONS OF THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN (2500-800 BcE)

Map 4 The Peoples of the Eastern Mediterranean Coast

in the Early Iron Age
 30
cSkp
DOCUMENTS FROM EBLA
(CA. 2400 BCE)

One of the thousands of clay tablets found in the ruins of Ebla, written using Sumerian cuneiform script.

The ancient city of Ebla in Syria was not rediscovered by archaeologists until 1968. The city
controlled a vast trading network that extended from the Mediterranean Sea into western
Iran and marked another great civilization of the third millennium sce, along with those of
Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Crete. In the first of the following two documents, both of which
were written on clay tablets in Sumerian cuneiform script ca. 2400 sce, the superintendent
of the Palace of Ebla arranges for the delivery of pack-horses, something that would be
necessary for the maintenance of Ebla's extensive trade network. In the second, a successful
general of Ebla reports back regarding the progress of a war against the city of Mari that had
been declared because Mari blocked Ebla from commercial access to lower Mesopotamia.
The campaign was so successful that the general, with or without the assent of the King of
Ebla, laid claim to the throne of Mari. One wonders, however, why his recorded campaigns
did not extend to the city of Mari itself.

Source: Giovanni Pettinato, The Archives of Ebla. An Empire Inscribed in Clay (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1981), 96-102.

103
104 COASTAL CIVILIZATIONS OF THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN (2500-800 BCE)

[Ibibu, the superintendent of the Palace of Ebla corpses. I laid siege to the towns of Raeak and Irim
writes to the ambassador of the King of Hamazi.] and A8altu and Badul, and I defeated the King of
Thus, Ibubu, the Superintendent of the Palace of the Mari. Near the borders of Nabal I raised heaps of
King, to the ambassador: “Listen, you are my brother corpses. And I defeated at Emar, and at Lalanium,
and I am your brother, to you man-brother. Whatever and near the commercial colony of Ebla, Istup-Sar,
desire issuing from your mouth I will grant and you the commander of Mari. In Emar and Lalanium I
the desire issuing from my mouth will grant. Good raised heaps of corpses. And Galalabi and [—] and
pack animals! send me, I pray: you are in fact my the commercial colony’° I liberated. I defeated Iblul-I],
brother and I am your brother. Ten beams of box- King of Mari and Ashur,’ in Zabiran, and raised seven
wood, two boxwood wagons, I, Ibubu, have given to heaps of corpses. I defeated Iblul-I], King of Mari,
the messenger. Irkab-Dau, King of Ebla, is brother of and the cities of Sada, Addali, and Arisum, in the ter-
Zizi, King of Hamazi.? Zizi, King of Hamazi, is ritory of Burman, together with the men of Sukurrim.
brother of Irkab-Damu, King of Ebla.” And thus I raised heaps of corpses. And I defeated Saran and
Tira-il, the scribe has written and to the messenger of Dammium together with Iblul-I], King of Mari. I
Zizi has given the letter. raised two heaps of corpses. Iblul-Il, King of Mari,
fled toward Nerad to his house at HaSiwan, carrying
[Enna-Dagan reports back to the King of Ebla re- with him to the city of Nema the tribute due Ebla.
garding the campaign against the city of Mari.] And I defeated Emar, raising heaps of corpses. In
Thus Enna-Dagan,’ King of Mari,* to the King of Ganane I defeated Iblul-Il, King of Mari, and the
Ebla. I laid siege to the citi of Tibalat° and the city of cities of Nabal and Sada of the territory of Gasur. I
Ilgi, and I defeated the King of Mari. In the land of raised seven heaps of corpses. I, Enna-Dagan, King of
Labanan I raised heaps of corpses. I laid siege to the Mari, defeated Iblul-I], King of Mari, and the city of
city of Tibalat and the city of Ilwi, and I defeated the Barama, for the second time, and Aburu and Tibalat
King of Mari. In the land of Angai I raised heaps of in the territory of Belan. I raised heaps of corpses.

' A word that has been variously translated as “mercenar-

ies” or “equines,” that is, some kind of horse-like animal.
Given that horses would not be ridden for more than a
thousand years and the horse-collar would not be used
for some three thousand years, this probably is a refer-
ence to some sort of pack-animal, perhaps donkeys. It is
unlikely that mercenaries would have been exchanged for
items made from boxwood.
* A city in western Iran.
> Enna-Dagan had been a general of Ebla who, after de-
feating the city of Mari, became king of Mari.
“The city of Mari, located on the upper Euphrates River, ° Presumably the aforementioned “commercial colony of
flourished as an important trading city in the third and Ebla,” another indication of Ebla’s commercial expansion.
early second millennium BCE. It was destroyed once by ’Ebla and Ashur (Assyria) established early trading rela-
the Akkadians in the twenty-third century BCE and later tions: ca. 2500 BCE the earliest known Assyrian king,
by the Babylonians around 1750 BCE. Tudiya, made a commercial treaty with Ibrium, king of
°The document cites this and other otherwise unknown Ebla, whereby Assyrian traders were able to use an
places in upper Mesopotamia. Eblaite trading center.
 3|
cSkp
MYCENAEAN LINEAR B TABLETS
tas (20,0 iBGe)

Linear B tablet An 675 from Pylos, late thirteenth century BcE, which begins with the words, “Thus the
watchers are keeping guard over the coastline,” and begins a series of five texts detailing military
dispositions. Preserved in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens.]

The Minoan civilization of Crete developed an as yet undeciphered writing system known as
“Linear A." When the Minoans were superseded by the Mycenaeans of Greece, the latter used
the Minoan writing system to write their own language, which is called “Linear B." Many
attempts were made to decipher Linear B, some based on existing languages such as Etruscan
and even Basque. It was not until the early 1950s that Linear B was deciphered by Michael
Ventris and was discovered, to the amazement of all, to be an early form of Greek. Many
people found the contents of the tablets disappointing: there were no historical narratives,
no legends, no poetry—mostly just inventories of people and material. As a consequence,
Mycenaean Linear B tablets make for dry reading. Cited here are a few typical tablets from
the southwestern Mycenaean city of Pylos; because the writing system is a syllabary,

105
106 COASTAL CIVILIZATIONS OF THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN (2500-800 BCE)

unidentified words are presented as a sequence of syllables. The last passage has been associ-
ated with troop dispositions, perhaps as a result of a threatened attack ca. 1200 Bce.

Source: John Chadwick, The Decipherment of Linear B, 2nd ed. (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1967), 158-161.

(1) (Tablet Py Ae134) Kerowos the shepherd at Asi- The deserted land of the cult association, so
atia is watching over the cattle of Thalamatas. much seed: 720 liters of wheat.
(2) (Tablet Py Ad676) At Pylos: twenty-two sons (5) (Tablet An 675)'! Thus the watchers are guarding
of the bath-attendants, eleven boys. the coast. Command of Maleus at O-wi-to-no:
(3) (Tablet Py Eb297) The priestess holds this and Ampelitawon, Orestas, Etewas, Kokkion. Fifty
claims that the deity holds the freehold, but su-we-ro-wi-jo men of O-wi-to-no at Oikhalia.
the plot owners claim that she holds only the Command of Nedwatas: Ekhemedes, Amphi-e-ta
leases of the communal plots: 474 liters of the ma-ra-te-u, Ta-ni-ko. Ten Kuparissian ke-ki-
wheat. de men at A-ru-wo-te, ten Kuparissian ke-ki-de
(4) (Tablet Py Er312) The estate of the pa-si-re-u,® men at Aithalewes, and with them the follower
so much seed: 1200 liters of wheat. The estate Kerkios. Aeriquhoitas, Elaphos, Ri-me-ne. Thirty
of the la-wa-ge-ta?: 1200 liters of wheat. The men from Oikhalia to O-wi-to-no, and 20 ke-ki-
lands of the te-re-tai,'° so much seed: 3600 de men from A-pu-ka, and with them the follower
liters of wheat; so many te-re-tai: three men. Ai-ko-ta.

* Antecedent of the later Greek word basileus, or “king.”

In Mycenaean times the pa-si-re-u seems to have been a
local administrator.
* The Mycenaean Lawagetas, from words meaning
“leader of the people,” seems to have been second in
command to the Wanax, the overall ruler, and perhaps
was a military leader.
'The Mycenaean Telestai were other important officials > ''Many of the places and descriptive words in this pas-
perhaps aristocrats ranking below the Wanax. sage cannot be identified.
 32
“Sho
THE INVASION OF THE “SEA
PEO mee S OA iGO Ber:
UGARITIC CORRESPONDENCE;
THE MEDINET HABU INSCRIPTION
OfakAMSES: dl Chb82—1151 BCE)

\ Avr NS fi Fk pel a KY 7

CasUW cone
CO Comnindns
ae a
Sod 2 3

Ne wh,Vy s %, Se a
Bonk ics Ward
\\ a; Gay

The artwork that accompanies the Medinet Habu inscription of Ramses Il shows the Egyptians, led by
a larger-than-life Ramses III, showering the Sea Peoples with arrows.

The end of the Near Eastern Bronze Age was marked by widespread dislocations, many of
which were associated with what the Egyptian records refer to as "the Peoples of the Sea,"
who appear to have been a combination of Indo-Europeans newly arrived from the central
Asian steppes accompanied by local peoples dislocated by political and economic disruption.
Shortly after 1200 sce, elements of the Sea Peoples first attacked and destroyed the Hittite
Empire of Anatolia and a number of smaller states on the eastern Mediterranean coast. In
1174 sce, a large coalition then moved against Egypt, where it was defeated by Pharaoh
Ramses Ill (1182-1151 sce). The Sea Peoples who escaped then scattered, creating more havoc

107
108 COASTAL CIVILIZATIONS OF THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN (2500-800 BcE)

throughout the Mediterranean. Correspondence preserved in the archives of the destroyed

city of Ugarit between Eshuwara, King and Grand Steward of Alashiya, and Ammurapi, King
of Ugarit, tells of raids by enemy ships now identified as belonging to the Sea Peoples. And
the funerary temple of Ramses III at Medinet Habu not only depicts scenes of the invasion
by the Sea Peoples but also preserves Ramses's victory speech and other descriptions of the
Sea Peoples's attack.

Document Source: Jean Nougaryol, Ugaritica. V: nouveaux textes accadiens, hourrites et ugaritiques des archives et
bibliothéques privées d’Ugarit (1968), nos. 22-25, pp. 83-90.

(a) Ugaritic Correspondence

[Eshuwara reports to King Ammurapi that ships good health!’ Concerning that which you wrote to
coming from the territory of Ugarit have been at- me, “Some ships of the enemy have been sighted at
tacking him.] sea’”—Assuming that this is true,'° that some ships of
Thus says Eshuwara, Grand Steward of Alashiya’?: the enemy have been spotted, then, indeed, make
“Say? to the King of Ugarit, ‘Greetings to you and yourself very resolute. In fact, as far as this concerns
your country. As to the matters regarding the enemies you, where, therefore, are your soldiers and chariots
from these peoples from your country and from your stationed? Are they not stationed in your presence?
ships, they certainly have done this, and as to this No? Are they cut off by the enemy that presses upon
transgression, these peoples from your county have you? Surround your cities with ramparts! Assemble
done it.'4 But do not take offense against me about this. there your soldiers and chariots and await the enemy
Now, the twenty ships that the enemies previously left there with a very firm step!”
in mountainous regions have not remained in place but
have departed in haste, and we do not know where [Ammurapi sends a panicked letter to Eshuwara indi-
they can be found. It is to let you know, in order to put cating that the territory of Ugarit is being overrun by
you on your guard, thatIwrite to you. Know this!” the enemy. At this point, the document trail ends, sug-
gesting that the city was destroyed soon after.]
[Eshuwara replies to Ammurapi’s response, which To my father,'’ the King of Alashiya, say,'* “Thus
does not survive and must have asserted that the says your son, the King of Ugarit: ‘I prostrate myself
enemy ships did not belong to him.] at the feet of my father; to my father, greetings! To
Thus says the king: “To Ammurapi, King of Ugarit, your palaces, your wives, your soldiers, to all that is
say, ‘Greetings to you! May the gods keep you in

'S After receiving a letter of explanation from the King of

'? Generally thought to have been on the island of Cyprus. Ugarit, the King of Alashiya now is more well disposed
The kingdom still existed ca. 1050 cE, when it was vis- toward him, given that the two kings face a common
ited by the Egyptian priest Wenamun (Document 33). threat.
'8 Eshuwara addresses his own ambassador, who speaks '6 Eshuwara still is not totally convinced that the raiders
on behalf the kingdom of Alashiya. had not been sent by Ammurapi.
The King of Alashiya seems to blaming the King of '7 A form of address suggesting, if not that Eshuwara out-
Ugarit for the actions of enemy ships that have based ranked Ammurapi, at least that he was older.
themselves in the territory of Ugarit. '8 Ammurapi addresses his own ambassador.
THE INVASION OF THE “SEA PEOPLES” (ca. 1180 BCE) 109

under the authority of the King of Alashiya, profuse, As of now, they have not returned to me and the coun-
profuse greetings! My father, know that the ships of tryside therefore is abandoned to itself. My father
the enemy have arrived. My cities have been con- needs to know this! For there are seven ships of the
sumed by fire; nasty things have been done in the enemy that have arrived against me and they have
countryside. My father is unaware that all my solders done bad things. Now, if there are any other ships of
are stationed in the country of the Hittites,!? and that the enemy, inform me of it in some way”! so that I
my ships are stationed in the country of the Lukka.”° shall know it!”

(b) The Medinet Habu Inscription

of Ramses III (1182-1151 sce)
Year 8” under the majesty of Horus, mighty Bull, camped in one place in Amor.*° They desolated his
valiant Lion, strong-armed, Lord of Might, capturing people and his land like that which is not. They came
the Asiatics, favorite of the Two Goddesses, Mighty with fire prepared before them, forward to Egypt.
in Strength, like his father Montu,”* destroying the Their main support were the Peleset,*! the Tjeker,”
Nine Bows,” driving them from their land, Pharaoh the Shekelesh,* the Denyen,** and the Weshesh.*
of Upper and Lower Egypt, Lord of the Two Lands, These lands were united, and they laid their hands
Usermare-Mariamon,”> Son of Ra, Ramses, charg- upon the land as far as the Circle of the Earth. Their
ing into the thick of the fray, turning back the hearts were confident, full of their plans.
Asiatics . . . The northerners in their islands*° were Now, it happened through this god,*° the lord of
disturbed, taken away in battle at one time. Not one gods, that I was prepared and armed to trap them
stood before their hands, from Kheta,?? Carchem- like wild fowl. He furnished my strength and caused
ish,”® Arvad,”? and Alashiya, they were wasted. They my plans to prosper. I went forth, directing these
marvelous things. I equipped my frontier in Zahi,*’

9 An empire in Anatolia; see Reading 29.

20 Perhaps ancient Lycia, on the southwestern coast of °° Territory west of the upper Euphrates River in Syria or
Anatolia. The Lukka were associated with the Sea Peoples. Canaan; after 1200 BCE the territory was occupied by the
>I Suggesting that there has been a disruption in Aramaeans.
communications. 31 Often identified as the Philistines, who settled on the
22 The inscription begins with an extended praise of coast of Palestine, to which they gave their name.
Ramses and his valor. 32 A people who also ultimately settled on the coast of Pales-
3 An Egyptian war god. tine, as attested in the “Report of Wen-Amon” (Reading 33).
24 A generic term for the foreign enemies of Egypt. 33 Tentatively identified as the later Siculi of Sicily.
5 Another name of Ramses. 34 Identified variously with the Dananiyim, a people of the
26 Such as the island kingdom of Alashiya. Hittite Empire; the Danaans, an early name for Greeks;
27 The Hittites. and the Israelite tribe of Dan, located on the Palestinian
28 An important commercial city that controlled the main coast between the Peleset and Tjeker.
ford across the upper Euphrates River in western Syria. It 35 A people of unknown origin.
survived the attack by the Sea Peoples. 36 The god Montu, with whom Ramses particularly
29 An island city off the coast of Syria; Greek Aradus; it identified.
was sacked by the Sea Peoples but later recovered. 37 Djahy in western Asia, an Egyptian name for Canaan.

Source: James Henry Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt: Historical Documents from the Earliest Times to the Persian Con-
quest, Vol. 4 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1906), nos. 64-66, 75; 36-39, 44-45.
110 COASTAL CIVILIZATIONS OF THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN (2500-800 BcE)

prepared before them. The chiefs, the captains of in- [Texts by a scene of the naval battle.]
fantry, the nobles, Icaused to equip the harbor-mouths, Lo, the northern countries, which are in their islands,
like a strong wall, with warships, galleys, and barges. are restless in their limbs; they infest the ways of the
They were manned completely from bow to stern harbor-mouths. Their nostrils and their hearts cease
with valiant warriors bearing their arms, soldiers of breathing breath when his majesty goes forth like a
all the choicest of Egypt, being like lions roaring storm-wind against them, fighting upon the strand
upon the mountain-tops. The charioteers were war- like a warrior. His power and the terror of him pen-
riors, and all good officers, ready of hand. Their etrate into their limbs. Capsized and perishing in
horses were quivering in their every limb, ready to their places, their hearts are taken, their souls fly
crush the countries under their feet. I was the valiant away, and their weapons are cast out upon the sea.
Montu, stationed before them, that they might behold His arrows pierce whomsoever he will among them,
the hand-to-hand fighting of my arms. I, Pharaoh and he who is hit falls into the water. His majesty is
Ramses, was made a far-striding hero, conscious of like an enraged lion, tearing him that confronts him
his might, valiant to lead his army in the day of battle. with his hands, fighting at close quarters on his
Those who reached my boundary, their seed is right, valiant on his left, like Set*®; destroying the
not; their heart and their soul are finished forever foe, like Amon-Ra.*! He has laid low the lands, he
and ever. As for those who had assembled before has crushed every land beneath his feet, the Phar-
them on the sea, the full flame was in their front, aoh of Upper and Lower Egypt, the Lord of the Two
before the harbor-mouths, and a wall of metal upon Lands, Usermare-Meriamon.
the shore surrounded them. They were dragged,
overturned, and laid low upon the beach, slain and [Text by the Pharaoh and his court.]
made heaps from stern to bow of their galleys, Utterance of his majesty to the king’s-children, the
while all their things were cast upon the water. princes, the king’s butlers, and the charioteers:
Thus I turned back the waters to remember Egypt; “Behold ye, the great might of my father, Amon-Ra.
when they mention my name in their land, may it The countries which came from their isles in the
consume them, while I sit upon the throne of Hara- midst of the sea, they advanced to Egypt, their hearts
khte,** and the serpent-diadem is fixed upon my relying upon their arms. The net was made ready for
head, like Ra. I permit not the countries to see the them, to ensnare them. Entering stealthily into the
boundaries of Egypt as a remembrance. As for the river-mouth, they fell into it. Caught in their place,
Nine Bows, I have taken away their land and their they were dispatched, and their bodies stripped. I
boundaries; they are added to mine. Their chiefs showed you my might which was in that which my
and their people come to me with praise. I carried majesty wrought while I was alone. My arrow struck,
out the plans of the All-Lord, the august, divine and none escaped my arms or my hand. I flourished
father, lord of the gods. like a hawk among the fowl; my talons descended
upon their heads. Amon-Ra was upon my right and
[Text over Ramses in his chariot.] upon my left, his might and his power were in my
The Pharaoh, rich in might, at his going forth to the limbs, a tumult for you; commanding for me that
north, great in fear, the dread of the Asiatics, like my counsels and my designs should come to pass.
Ba’al,* valiant in strength, ready for battle against Amon-Ra established the defeat of my enemies,
the Asiatics, marching far in advance, smiting tens giving to me every land in my grasp.”
of thousands in heaps in the space of an hour.

“° An Egyptian storm god.

38 A god who combined Ra and Horus. “The primary god of the Egyptian New Kingdom, with a
* A Semitic storm god. large temple complex at Karnak at Thebes.
 33
cCLD
THE REPORT OF WEN-AMON
(cA 105 02ecr)

illiene ea 3

wart betes a ae
ieesititet pes i act
a = nzyalo conn cul
ae)
Sek
marcia
cel,ira PY
fate
ahale %
sineec- pepe
e\aies : AG Here j
i ey.

The “Report of Wen-Amon,” written in Egyptian hieroglyphic script about 1000 ace, is preserved at
the Pushkin Museum in Moscow.

During its Third Intermediate Period (1077-664 sce), Egypt split into multiple kingdoms. The
once-powerful Egyptian Empire became just a memory and Egypt lost the respect of neigh-
bors such as the Philistines and Phoenicians. Early in this period, Wen-Amon, a priest of
Amon from Karnak and a representative of the Delta Pharaoh Smendes (1076-1052 sce), was
sent to Phoenicia to purchase cedar ship timber. After being robbed in Philistine territory,
Wen-Amon arrived in the Phoenician city of Byblos, where he was rudely received by a local
prince. Subsequently, ill winds brought him to Cyprus, where he was nearly murdered. Many
specialists believe that the “Story of Wen-Amon," preserved in a single papyrus copy written
in hieroglyphic script about 1000 sce, is a work of fiction rather than the autobiographical
account it purports to be, but however that may be, this account provides precious insights
into the otherwise poorly known history of the peoples of the eastern Mediterranean coast
during the early Iron Age.

Source: James Henry Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, Historical Documents from the Earliest Times to the Persian Con-
quest, Vol. IV, The Twentieth to the Twenty-Sixth Dynasties (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1906), nos. 557-591,
274-287.

111
112 COASTAL CIVILIZATIONS OF THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN (2500-800 BcE)

Year 5, fourth month of summer, day 16, the day of Tjekerbaal,** the prince of Byblos!” He said to me,
departure of Wen-Amon, the Elder of the Portal of “Are you serious? Are you joking? Indeed I do not
the Temple of Amon, Lord of Thrones-of-the- understand the demand you make to me. If it had
Two-Lands, to fetch timber for the great noble been a thief belonging to my land who had gone
boat of Amon-Ra, King of the Gods, which is down to your ship and had stolen your money, I
upon the river and is called Amon-user-he. On the would replace it for you from my storehouse, until
day of my arrival at Tanis,* the place where your thief, whatever his name, had been found. But
Smendes** and Tentamon* are, I gave them the the thief who robbed you, he is yours, he belongs to
dispatches of Amon-Ra, King of the Gods. They your ship. Spend a few days here with me; I will
had read them out before them and they said, “I search for him.”
will do, I will do as Amon-Ra, King of the Gods, I stayed nine days moored in his harbor. Then I
our Lord has said.” went to him and said to him, “Look, you have not
I stayed until the fourth month of summer in found my money. Let me depart with the ship cap-
Tanis. Then Smendes and Tentamon sent me off with tains, with those who go to sea.”
the ship’s captain Mengebet, and I went down upon
the great sea of Syria in the first month summer, day [Wen-Amon travels to Byblos. On the way he steals
1. I arrived at Dor, a Tjeker*® town; and Beder, its thirty deben of silver from a Tjeker ship to replace
prince, had fifty loaves, one jug of wine, and one what had been stolen from him.]
ox-haunch brought to me. Then a man of my ship fled They” departed and I celebrated in a tent on the shore of
after stealing one vessel of gold worth 5 deben,*® the sea in the harbor of Byblos. And made a hiding place
four jars of silver worth 20 deben, and a bag with 11 for Amon-of-the-Road and placed possessions in it.
deben of silver; total of what he stole: gold 5 deben, Then the prince of Byblos sent to me saying, “Leave my
silver 31 deben. harbor!” I sent to him, saying, “Where shall I go? If you
That morning when I had risen, I went to where have a ship to carry me, let me be taken back to Egypt.”
the prince was and said to him, “I have been robbed I spent twenty-nine days in his harbor, and he spent time
in your harbor. Now you are the prince of this land, sending to me daily to say, “Leave my harbor!”
you are the one who controls it. Search for my Now while the prince was offering to his gods,
money! Indeed the money belongs to Amon-Ra, the god took hold of a young man of his and put him
King of the Gods, the Lord of the lands. It belongs to in a trance. He said to him, “Bring the god up! Bring
Smendes; it belongs to Herihor,*’ my Lord, and to the the envoy who is carrying him! It is Amon who sent
other magnates of Egypt. It belongs to you; it belongs him. It is he who made him come!” Now it was while
to Weret; it belongs to Mekmer; it belongs to the entranced one was entranced that night that I had
found a ship headed for Egypt. I had loaded all my
belongings into it and was watching for the darkness,
* A new city in the northeastern Nile delta. saying, “When it descends I will load the god so that
8 Pharaoh 1076-1052 BCE, the successor of Pharaoh no other eye shall see him.”
Ramses XI and founder of the Twenty-first dynasty, ruler Then the harbor master came to me, saying, “Wait
of Lower Egypt only. Smendes was of Libyan descent
until morning, says the prince!” I said to him, “Was
from the people known in Egypt as the Meshwesh.
it not you who daily took time to come to me, saying,
“4 Daughter of Ramses XI and wife of Smendes.
*S The Tjeker were one of the Sea Peoples and must have ‘Leave my harbor’? Do you now say, ‘Wait this
settled here after being defeated in the attack on Egypt in night,’ in order to let the ship that I found depart, and
1174 Bce. This is the last surviving reference to them.
“° An Egyptian unit of weight, in the New Kingdom equal ‘8 The names, it seems, of rulers along the Mediterranean
to 3.2 ounces (91 grams). coast.
“’ The High Priest of Amon at Thebes. ” The sailors.
THE REPORT OF WEN-AMON (ca. 1050 BCE) 1s

then you will come to to say, ‘Go away’?” He went Egypt, and they had been unloaded into their store-
and told it to the prince. Then the prince sent to the houses. You, what have you brought for me?”
captain of the ship, saying, “Wait until morning, says He had the daybook of his forefathers* brought
the prince.” and had it read before me. They found entered in his
When morning came, the prince sent and brought book a thousand deben of silver and all sorts of
me up, while the god rested in the tent where he was things. He said to me, “If the ruler of Egypt were the
on the shore of the sea. I found him seated in his Lord of what is mine and I were his servant, he
upper chamber with his back against a window, and would not have sent silver and gold to say, ‘Carry out
the waves of the great sea of Syria broke behind his the business of Amon.’ It was not a royal gift that
head. I said to him, “Blessings of Amon!” He said to they gave to my father! I, too, I am not your servant,
me, “How long is it to this day since you came from nor am I the servant of him who sent you! If I shout
the place where Amon is?” I said to him, “Five whole aloud to the Lebanon, the sky opens and the logs lie
months until now.” He said to me, “If you are right, here on the shore of the sea! Give me the sails you
where is the dispatch of Amon that was in your hand? brought to move your ships, loaded with logs for
Where is the letter of the High Priest of Amon that Egypt! Give me the ropes you brought to lash the
was in your hand?” I said to him, “I gave them to pines that I am to fell in order to make them for you
Smendes and Tentamon.” Then he became very [---] that I am to make for you for the sails of your
angry and said to me, “Now then, dispatches, letters ships, or the yards may be too heavy and break, and
you have none. Where is the ship of pinewood that you may die in the midst of the sea. For Amon makes
Smendes gave you? Where is its Syrian crew? Did he thunder in the sky ever since he placed Set™ beside
not entrust you to this foreign ship’s captain in order him! Indeed, Amon has founded all the lands. He
to have him kill you and have them throw you into founded them after having first founded the land of
the sea? From whom would one then seek the god? Egypt from which you have come. Thus craftsman-
And you, from whom would one seek you?” So he ship came from it in order to reach the place where I
said to me. am! Thus learning came from it in order to reach the
I said to him, “Is it not an Egyptian ship? Those place where I am! What are these foolish travels they
who sail under Smendes are Egyptian crews. He has made you do?”
no Syrian crews.” He said to me, “Are there not I said to him, “Wrong! These are not foolish trav-
twenty ships here in my harbor that do business with els that I am doing. There is no ship on the river that
Smendes? As for Sidon, that other place you passed, does not belong to Amon. His is the sea and his the
are there not another fifty ships there that do busi- Lebanon of which you say, ‘It is mine.’ It is a grow-
ness with Werekter~ and haul to this house?” ing ground for Amon-user-he, the Lord of every ship.
I was silent in this great moment. Then he spoke Truly, it was Amon-Ra, King of the Gods, who said
to me, saying, “On what business have you come?” I to Herihor, my master, ‘Send me!’ And he made me
said to him, “I have come in quest of timber for the come with this great god. But look, you have let this
great noble boat of Amon-Ra, King of the Gods. great god spend these twenty-nine days moored in
What your father did, what the father of your father your harbor. Did you not know that he was here? Is
did, you too will do it.” So I said to him. He said to he not he who he was? You are prepared to haggle
me, “True, they did it. If you pay me for doing it, I over the Lebanon with Amon, its Lord? As to your
will do it. My relations carried out this business after saying, the former kings sent silver and gold, if they
Pharaoh had sent six ships laden with the goods of had owned life and health, they would not have sent

51 Apparently a record of past economic transactions in

which the kingdom was involved.
50 A Phoenician merchant stationed in Tanis. °° The Egyptian storm god.
114 COASTAL CIVILIZATIONS OF THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN (2500-800 BcE)

these things. It was in place of life and health that your Lord, has fallen upon you.” And he was angry
they sent these things to your fathers! But Amon-Ra, with him and said, “Leave him alone.”
King of the gods, he is the Lord of life and health, As I stood before him, he addressed me, saying,
and he was the Lord of your fathers! They passed “_ook, the business my fathers did in the past, I have
their lifetimes offering to Amon. You too, you are done it, although you did not do for me what your
the servant of Amon!” fathers did for mine. Look, the last of your timber
“If you will say ‘I will do’ to Amon, and will has arrived and is ready. Do as I wish, and come to
carry out his business, you will live, you will pros- load it. For has it not been given to you? Do not come
per, you will be healthy, you will be beneficent to to look at the terror of the sea. For if you look at the
your whole land and your people. Do not desire what terror of the sea, you will see my own! Indeed, I have
belongs to Amon-Ra, King of the Gods! Indeed, a not done to you what was done to the envoys of
lion loves his possessions! Have your scribe brought Khaemwese,® after they had spent seventeen years
to me that I may send him to Smendes and Tenta- in this land. They died on the spot.” And he said to
mon, the pillars Amon has set up for the north of his his butler, “Take him to see the tomb where they lie.”
land; and they will send all that is needed. I will send I said to him, “Do not make me see it. As for
him to them, saying ‘Have it brought until I return to Khaemwese, the envoys he sent you were men and he
the south; then I shall refund you all your expenses.” himself was a man. You have not here one of his
So I spoke to him. envoys, although you say, “Go and see your compan-
He placed my letter in the hand of his messenger, ions.’ Should you not rejoice and have a stela made for
and he loaded the keel, the prow-piece, and the yourself, and say on it, ‘Amon-Ra, King of the Gods
stern-piece, together with four other hewn logs, sent me Amon-of-the-Road, his envoy, together with
seven in all, and sent them to Egypt. His messenger Wen-Amon, his human envoy, in quest of timber for
who had gone to Egypt returned to me in Syria in the the great noble boat of Amon-Ra, King of the Gods. I
first month of winter, Smendes and Tentamon having felled it; I loaded it; I supplied my ships and my crews.
sent four jars and one kakmen-vessel of gold; five I let them reach Egypt so as to beg for me from Amon
jars of silver; ten garments of royal linen; ten fifty years of life over and above my allotted fate.’
hrd-garments* of fine linen; five hundred smooth And if it comes to pass that in another day an envoy
linen mats; five hundred ox-hides; five hundred comes from the land of Egypt who knows writing and
ropes; twenty sacks of lentils; and thirty baskets of he reads out your name on the stela, you will receive
fish. And she™ sent to me: five garments of fine linen; water of the west like the gods who are there.”
five hrd-garments of fine linen; one sack of lentils; He said to me, “A great speech of admonition is
and five baskets of fish. what you have said to me.” I said to him, “As to the
The prince rejoiced. He assigned three hundred many things you have said to me, if I reach the place
men and three hundred oxen, and he set supervisors where the High Priest of Amon is and he sees your
over them to have them fell the timbers. They were accomplishment, it is your accomplishment that will
felled and they lay there during the winter. In the draw profit to you.”
third month of summer they dragged them to the I went off to the shore of the sea, to where the logs
shore of the sea. The prince came out and stood by were lying. And I saw eleven ships that had come in
them, and he sent to me saying, “Come!” Now when from the sea and belonged to the Tjeker who were
I had been brought into his presence, the shadow of saying, “Arrest him! Let no ship of his leave for the
his sunshade fell on me. Then Penamon, a butler of land of Egypt!” Then I sat down and wept. And the
his, intervened, saying “The shadow of Pharaoh, secretary of the prince came out to me and said to

3 Otherwise unknown.
+4 Tentamon. °° A son of the pharaoh Ramses II (1279-1212 Bce).
THE REPORT OF WEN-AMON (ca. 1050 BCE) 115

me, “What is it?” I said to him, “Do you not see the Alashiya.°° Then the town’s people came out against
migrant birds going down to Egypt a second time? me to kill me. But I forced my way through them to
Look at them travelling to the cool water! Until when where Hatiba, the princess of the town was. I met her
shall I be left here? For do you not see those who coming from one of her houses to enter another. I
have come to arrest me?” saluted her and said to the people who stood around
He went and told it to the prince. And the prince her, “Is there not one among you who understands
began to weep on account of the words said to him, Egyptian?” And one among them said, “I understand
for they were painful. He sent his secretary out to it.” I said to him, “Tell my lady that I have heard it
me, bringing two jugs of wine and a sheep. And he said as far away as Thebes, the place where Amon is,
sent me Tentne, an Egyptian songstress who was ‘If wrong is done in every town, in the land of
with him, saying, “Sing for him! Do not let his heart Alashiya right is done.’ Now is wrong done here too
be anxious.” And he sent to me, saying, “Eat, drink; every day?”
do not let your heart be anxious. You shall hear what She said: “What is it you have said?” I said to
I will say tomorrow.” her: “If the sea rages and the wind drives me to the
When morning came, he had his assembly sum- land where you are, will you let me be received so as
moned. He stood in their midst and said to the Tjeker, to kill me, although I am the envoy of Amon? Look,
“What have you come for?” They said to him, “We as for me, they would search for me until the end of
have come after the accursed ships that you are send- time. As for this crew of the prince of Byblos, whom
ing to Egypt with our enemy.” He said to them, “I they seek to kill, will not their Lord find ten crews
cannot arrest the envoy of Amon in my country. Let of yours and kill them also?” She had the people
me send him off, and you go after him to arrest him.” summoned and they were reprimanded. She said to
He had me board and sent off from the harbor of me: “Spend the night [---]” [The story breaks off
the sea. And the wind drove me to the land of here.|

56 Cyprus.
 34
cCO>
THE HEBREWS IN EGYPT
AND THE LEGEND OF MOSES
(cary d300 Bee EXOD S72

The story of Moses being found in a basket floating on the Nile River by the pharaoh’s daughter has
been a popular one in art since the Renaissance, as in this painting done ca. 1730 ce by the Italian
painter Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, now in the Scottish National Gallery in Edinburgh.

In the Hebrew Bible, the Hebrews were brought to Egypt by Joseph, the son of the patriarch
Isaac, perhaps during the Hyksos period (1730-1534 sce). Subsequently, they were enslaved
and forced to labor on construction projects. A popular story, similar to that about Sargon of
Akkad (Reading 16; compare also Reading 73), recounted the origins of Moses, who became
the most important Hebrew prophet and, according to Hebrew tradition, led the enslaved
Hebrews out of Egypt ca. 1270 sce.

Source: Hebrew Bible, Exodus 1:7—2:7; American Revised Standard Version (1901).

116
THE HEBREWS IN EGYPT AND THE LEGEND OF MOSES (ca. 1300 BcE):; EXODUS 1:7-2:7 117

And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that them.” And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying,
generation. And the children of Israel were fruitful, “Every son that is born to the Hebrews you shall cast
and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.”
exceeding mighty; and the land was filled with them. And there went a man of the house of Levi,’ and
Now there arose a new pharaoh over Egypt, who took to wife a daughter of Levi. And the woman con-
knew not Joseph. And he said unto his people, ceived, and bore a son, and when she saw him that he
“Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more was a goodly child, she hid him three months. And
and mightier than we. Come, let us deal wisely with when she could not longer hide him, she got for him
them, lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, a basket® of bulrushes,°! and daubed it with bitumen
when there falleth out any war, they also join them- and with pitch. And she put the child therein, and
selves unto our enemies, and fight against us, and get laid it in the reeds by the river’s edge. And his sister
them up out of the land.” Therefore they did set over stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.
them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at
And they built for Pharaoh store-cities, Pithom*’ and the river, and her maidens walked along by the river-
Ramesses.°* But the more they afflicted them, the side. She saw the basket among the reeds, and sent
more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. her handmaid to fetch it. And she opened it, and saw
And they were grieved because of the children of the child: and, behold, the babe wept. And she had
Israel. And the Pharaoh of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the
midwives, and he said, “When you do the office of a Hebrews’ children.” Then said his sister to Phar-
midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon aoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call thee a nurse of
the birth-stool, if it be a son, then ye shall kill him, but the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for
if it be a daughter, then she shall live.” But the mid- thee?” And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.”
wives feared God and did not as the Pharaoh of Egypt And the maiden went and called the child’s mother.
commanded them, but saved the men-children alive. And Pharaoh’s daughter said unto her, “Take this
And the Pharaoh of Egypt called for the midwives child away, and nurse it for me, and I will give thee
and said unto them, “Why have you done this thing, thy wages.” And the woman took the child, and
and have saved the men-children alive?” And the nursed it. And the child grew, and she brought him
midwives said unto Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew unto Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son.
women are not as the Egyptian women, for they are And she called his name Moses, and said, “Because
lively, and are delivered before the midwife comes to I drew him out of the water.”

59 One of the twelve tribes of Israel.

60 The same word is used for Noah’s ark.
6! That is, papyrus stalks.
62 She presumably noticed that the child was circumcised.
6 The name Moses actually derives from the Egyptian
word mes, meaning “son,” as seen, for example, in the
57Location unknown. Egyptian name Thutmose, meaning “Son of Thoth.” Not
58 Pj-Ramesses was a new Egyptian capital built near knowing Egyptian, later Hebrews derived the name from
Avaris in the eastern delta during the reign of Ramses II the Hebrew word mashah, meaning “drawn out” (that is,
(1279-1231 BCE). drawn out of the Nile).
 35
cSCO>

LAWS OF THE HEBREW BIBLE

(Cay 123:0 9BCE) ~EXODUS2 8

*
A whole library of early Jewish documents was discovered beginning in 1947 in a cave at Qumran on
the Dead Sea. These “Dead Sea Scrolls” include fragments of a Hebrew scroll copied ca. 100 sce and
containing the book of Leviticus, the book of ancient Hebrew law.

During their time in the Sinai, the Hebrews finalized their covenant with God, who again
promised to make the Hebrews his chosen people and to lead them into the Promised
Land. For their part, the Hebrews agreed to obey Yahweh's laws and to worship no other
god but Yahweh. The first laws were given by Yahweh to the Hebrews when Moses came
down from Mount Sinai after the Exodus. They begin with the Ten Commandments and
then continue with a lengthy list of regulations that has many points of contact with
much earlier Near Eastern laws, as seen, for example, in the Law Codes of Ur-Nammu
and Hammurabi (Readings 19 and 20). Many of the laws reflect life in a purely agricul-
tural society.

Source: Hebrew Bible, Exodus 20; American Revised Standard Version (1901).

So Moses went down unto the people, and told them. Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve
And God spoke all these words, saying, “I am Yahweh them, for I Yahweh thy God am a jealous God, visiting
thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the
out of the house of bondage. third and upon the fourth generation of them that hate
Thou shalt have no other gods before me. me, and showing loving kindness unto thousands of
Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image, nor them that love me and keep my commandments.
any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or Thou shalt not take the name of Yahweh thy God
that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water in vain, for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless that
under the earth. taketh his name in vain.

118
LAWS OF THE HEBREW BIBLE (ca. 1230 BcE): EXODUS 20
119

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six If he come in by himself, he shall go out by himself;
days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work, but the if he be married, then his wife shall go out with him.
seventh day is a sabbath unto Yahweh thy God; in it If his master give him a wife and she bear him
thou shalt not do any work. sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be
Honor thy father and thy mother, that thy days may her master’s, and he shall go out by himself.
be long in the land that Yahweh thy God giveth thee. But if the servant shall plainly say, I love my
Thou shalt not kill. master, my wife, and my children, I will not go out
Thou shalt not commit adultery. free, then his master shall bring him unto God, and
Thou shalt not steal. shall bring him to the door, or unto the door-post,
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy and his master shall bore his ear through with an
neighbor. awl, and he shall serve him for ever.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, thou shalt And if aman sell his daughter to be a maid-servant,
not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his man-servant, nor she shall not go out as the men-servants do.
his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any- If she please not her master, who hath espoused
thing that is thy neighbor’s.” her to himself, then shall he let her be redeemed, to
And all the people perceived the thunderings, and sell her unto a foreign people he shall have no power,
the lightnings, and the voice of the trumpet, and the seeing he hath dealt deceitfully with her.
mountain smoking, and when the people saw it, they And if he espouse her unto his son, he shall deal
trembled, and stood afar off. And they said unto with her after the manner of daughters.
Moses, “Speak thou with us, and we will hear, but let If he take him another wife, her food, her raiment,
not God speak with us, lest we die.” And Moses said and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish.
unto the people, “Fear not, for God is come to prove And if he do not these three things unto her, then
you, and that his fear may be before you, that ye sin shall she go out for nothing, without paying money.
not.” And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew He that smiteth a man, so that he dieth, shall
near unto the thick darkness where God was. And surely be put to death.
Yahweh said unto Moses, “Thus thou shalt say unto And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him
the children of Israel, Ye yourselves have seen that I into his hand,” then I will appoint thee a place whither
have talked with you from heaven. Ye shall not make he shall flee.
other gods with me; gods of silver, or gods of gold, ye And if a man come presumptuously upon his
shall not make unto you. An altar of earth thou shalt neighbor, to slay him with guile,® thou shalt take
make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy him from mine altar, that he may die.
burnt-offerings, and thy peace-offerings, thy sheep, And he that smiteth his father, or his mother, shall
and thine oxen. In every place where I record my be surely put to death.
name I will come unto thee and I will bless thee. And And he that stealeth a man, and selleth him, or if he
if thou make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build be found in his hand, he shall surely be put to death.
it of hewn stones, for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, And he that curseth his father or his mother, shall
thou hast polluted it. Neither shalt thou go up by surely be put to death.
steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not un- And if men contend, and one smite the other with
covered thereon. a stone, or with his fist, and he die not, but keep his
Now these are the ordinances that thou shalt set bed, if he rise again, and walk abroad upon his staff,
before them: then shall he that smote him be quit, only he shall
If thou buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall
serve, and in the seventh he shall go out free for 4 That is, unpremeditated murder.
nothing. 65 Premeditated murder.
120 COASTAL CIVILIZATIONS OF THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN (2500-800 BcE)

pay for the loss of his time, and shall cause him to be Or if it be known that the ox was wont to gore in time
thoroughly healed. past, and its owner hath not kept it in, he shall surely pay
And if a man smite his servant, or his maid, with ox for ox, and the dead beast shall be his own.
a rod, and he die under his hand, he shall surely be If a man shall steal an ox, or a sheep, and kill it,
punished. Notwithstanding, if he continue a day or or sell it, he shall pay five oxen for an ox, and four
two, he shall not be punished, for he is his money. sheep for a sheep.
And if men strive together, and hurt a woman If the thief be found breaking in,°’ and be smitten
with child, so that her fruit depart, and yet no harm so that he dieth, there shall be no bloodguiltiness®
follow, he shall be surely fined, according as the for him. If the sun be risen upon him, there shall be
woman’s husband shall lay upon him, and he shall bloodguiltiness for him.
pay as the judges determine. But if any harm follow, A thief shall make restitution. If he have nothing,
then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for then he shall be sold for his theft.
tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burn- If the theft be found in his hand alive, whether it
ing, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. be ox, or ass, or sheep, he shall pay double.
And if a man smite the eye of his servant, or the If a man shall cause a field or vineyard to be
eye of his maid, and destroy it, he shall let him go free eaten, and shall let his beast loose, and it feed in
for his eye’s sake. And if he smite out his man-servant’s another man’s field, of the best of his own field,
tooth, or his maid-servant’s tooth, he shall let him go and of the best of his own vineyard, shall he make
free for his tooth’s sake. restitution.
And if an ox gore a man or a woman to death, the If fire break out, and catch in thorns, so that the
ox shall be surely stoned, and its flesh shall not be shocks of grain, or the standing grain, or the field are
eaten, but the owner of the ox shall be quit. consumed, he that kindled the fire shall surely make
But if the ox was wont to gore in time past, and it restitution.
hath been testified to its owner, and he hath not kept If a man shall deliver unto his neighbor money or
it in, but it hath killed a man or a woman, the ox shall goods for safekeeping, and it be stolen out of the
be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death. man’s house, if the thief be found, he shall pay double.
If there be laid on him a compensation,” then he If the thief be not found, then the master of the
shall give for the redemption of his life whatsoever is house shall come near unto God, to see whether he
laid upon him. have not put his hand unto his neighbor’s goods.
Whether it have gored a son, or have gored a For every matter of trespass, whether it be for
daughter, according to this judgment shall it be done ox, for ass, for sheep, for raiment, or for any manner
unto him. of lost thing, whereof one saith, “This is it,’ the
If the ox gore a man-servant or a maid-servant, cause of both parties shall come before God. He
there shall be given unto their master thirty shekels whom God shall condemn shall pay double unto
of silver, and the ox shall be stoned. his neighbor.
And if a man shall open a pit, or if a man shall dig a If a man deliver unto his neighbor for safekeeping
pit and not cover it, and an ox or an ass fall therein, the an ass, or an Ox, or a sheep, or any beast, to keep, and
owner of the pit shall make it good, he shall give money it die, or be hurt, or driven away, no man seeing it,
unto the owner thereof, and the dead beast shall be his.
And if one man’s ox hurt another’s, so that it
®7 At night.
dieth, then they shall sell the live ox, and divide the
°8In most cases, a person who killed someone else ac-
price of it, and the dead also they shall divide.
quired bloodguilt, which could be expiated in various
ways, such as by making a payment to the deceased per-
°° As an alternative to being stoned, the owner of the ox son’s family.
could be allowed to pay a compensation. °° That is, to swear an oath.
LAWS OF THE HEBREW BIBLE (ca. 1230 sce): EXODUS 20 121

the oath of Yahweh shall be between them both, Thou shalt not delay to offer of thy harvest, and of
whether he hath not put his hand unto his neighbor’s the outflow of thy presses.”
goods, and the owner thereof shall accept it, and he The first-born of thy sons shalt thou give unto me.’!
shall not make restitution. Likewise shalt thou do with thine oxen, and with
But if it be stolen from him, he shall make restitu- thy sheep. Seven days it shall be with its dam; on the
tion unto the owner thereof. eighth day thou shalt give it me.
If it be torn in pieces by a wild animal, let him And ye shall be holy men unto me, therefore ye
bring it for witness; he shall not make good that which shall not eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the
was torn. field; ye shall cast it to the dogs.
And if a man borrow anything from his neighbor, Thou shalt not take up a false report; put not thy
and it be hurt, or die, the owner of it not being pre- hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.
sent, he shall surely make restitution. Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil, nei-
If the owner of it is present, he shall not make it ther shalt thou speak in a cause to turn aside after a
good. If it be a hired thing, the loss is covered by the multitude to wrest justice, neither shalt thou favor a
fee paid. poor man in his cause.
And if a man entice a virgin that is not betrothed, If thou meet thine enemy’s ox or his ass going
and lie with her, he shall surely pay a dowry for her astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.
to be his wife. If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying
If her father utterly refuse to give her unto him, he under his burden, thou shalt forbear to leave him,
shall pay money according to the dowry of virgins. thou shalt surely release it with him.
Thou shalt not suffer a sorceress to live. Thou shalt not wrest the justice due to thy poor in
Whosoever has sexual relations with a beast shall his cause.
surely be put to death. Keep thee far from a false matter, and the inno-
He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto cent and righteous slay thou not, for I will not justify
Yahweh only, shall be utterly destroyed. the wicked.
And a foreign visitor shalt thou not wrong, neither And thou shalt take no bribe, for a bribe blindeth
shalt thou oppress him, for ye were foreign visitors in them that have sight, and perverteth the words of the
the land of Egypt. righteous.
Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child. And a foreign visitor shalt thou not oppress, for ye
If thou afflict them at all, and they cry at all unto know the heart of a foreign visitor, seeing ye were
me, I will surely hear their cry, and my wrath shall foreign visitors in the land of Egypt.
wax hot, and I will kill you with the sword, and
your wives shall be widows, and your children
fatherless.
If thou lend money to any of my people with thee
that is poor, thou shalt not be to him as a creditor,
neither shall ye lay upon him interest.
If thou at all take thy neighbor’s cloak as a pledge,
thou shalt restore it unto him before the sun goeth
down, for that is his only covering, it is his cloak for 70 At Sukkot, the harvest festival, known as the Festival
his skin, wherein shall he sleep? And it shall come to of the Booths after the temporary shelters farmers con-
pass, when he crieth unto me, that I will hear, for I structed when harvesting their crops.
am gracious. 7! As priests; later in Jewish history the first-born were
Thou shalt not revile God, nor curse a ruler of thy redeemed from priestly service by a monetary payment
people. to someone from a priestly family.
 36
SO
THE “VICTORY HYMN”
OF MERNEPTAH (1208 sce):
“THE ISRAEL STELE”

The black granite Merneptah Stele, preserved in the Cairo Museum, was engraved on the back of a stele
of the pharaoh Amenhotep III (ca. 1386-1349 Bce) and tells of the pharaoh Merneptabh’s victory over
Libyans and other peoples. The image at the top shows Merneptah, backed on one side by the mother
goddess Mut and on the other by the moon god Khonsu, being given a sword by the god Amon-Ra.

The earliest attested use of the designation Israel is found on a stele erected at Thebes in
the mortuary temple of the pharaoh Merneptah (1212-1202 sce). It primarily commemo-
rated victories in 1208 sce over the Libyans. Its final lines also refer to a military campaign
in Palestine in which Israel was defeated. The stele thus indicates that as of just before
1200 sce, the Hebrews already were known as “Israel.” At this time, Israel apparently was an
insignificant place, being named after three Canaanite cities that Merneptah also had
overcome.

Source: James Henry Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, Historical Documents from the Earliest Times to the Persian Conquest,
Vol. III, The Nineteenth Dynasty (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1906), nos. 607—610, 259-261.

122
THE “VICTORY HYMN” OF MERNEPTAH (1208 sce): “THE ISRAEL STELE” 123

Year 5, third month of the third season,” third day, The wretched, fallen chief of Libya fled by favor of
under the majesty of Horus, Mighty Bull, Rejoicing night alone, with no plume upon his head; his two feet
in Truth; Pharaoh of Upper and Lower Egypt; Binre- failed. His women were taken before his face, the grain
Meriamon,” Son of Ra; Merneptah-Hotephirma, of his supplies was plundered, and he had no water in
magnifying might, exalting victorious sword of Horus, the skin to keep him alive. The face of his brothers was
Mighty Bull, smiter of the Nine Bows,” whose name hostile to slay him, one fought another among his lead-
is given forever and ever. ers. Their camp was burned and made a roast, all his
His victories are published in all lands, to cause possessions were food for the troops. When he arrived
that every land together may see, to cause the glory of in his country, he was the complaint of every one in his
his conquests to appear; Pharaoh Merneptah, the Bull, land. Ashamed, he bowed himself down, an evil fate
Lord of strength, who slays his foes, beautiful upon removed his plume. They all spoke against him, among
the field of victory, when his onset occurs; he is the the inhabitants of his city: “He is in the power of the
Sun, driving away the storm that was over Egypt, al- gods, the Lords of Memphis; the Lord of Egypt has
lowing Egypt to see the rays of the sun, removing the cursed his name, Meryey,” the abomination of
mountain of copper” from the neck of the people so Memphis, from son to son of his family, forever. Binre-
that he might give breath to the people who were Meriamon is in pursuit of his children, Merneptah-
smothered. He gratified the heart of Memphis on their Hotephirma is appointed to be his fate.”
foes, making Tatenen”® rejoice over his enemies. He He has become a proverb for Libya. The youth say
opened the gates of the walled city that were stopped to youth, concerning his victories, “It has not been
up, and caused his temples to receive their food, Phar- done to us before, since the time of Ra,” say they.
aoh Merneptah, the unique one, who establishes the Every old man says to his son, “Alas for Libya!”
hearts of hundreds of thousands of myriads, so that They have ceased to live in the pleasant fashion of
breath enters into their nostrils at the sight of him. He walking in the field; their going about is stopped in a
has penetrated the land of Temeh”’ in his lifetime, and single day. The Tehenu®® are consumed in a single
put eternal fear in the heart of the Meshwesh.”* He has year. Sutekh*! has turned his back upon their chief;
turned back Libya, who invaded Egypt, and great fear their settlements are desolated with his approval.
of Egypt is in their hearts. Their advanced columns There is no work of carrying baskets in these days.
they left behind them, their feet made no stand, but Concealment is good; there is safety in the cavern.
fled. Their archers threw down their bows, and the The great Lord of Egypt, possessor of might and vic-
heart of their fleet ones was weary with marching. tory! Who will fight, knowing his stride? The fool,
They loosed their water skins and threw them to the the witless is he who receives him; he shall not know
ground, their sacks were taken and thrown out. the morrow, who transgresses his boundary.
Since the time of the gods, say they, Egypt has
been the only daughter of Ra; his son is he who sits
? That is, the month of Ipip, the eleventh month of the upon the throne of Shu.” No one can make a design
Egyptian year. to invade her people, for the eye of every god is
73 One of the several names of Merneptah. behind him who would violate her; the eye captures
7% A generic term for foreign enemies. the rear of her foes. A great wonder has happened for
75 A “mountain of copper” in Kimash (central Arabia)
was a source of Egyptian copper; the term also was used,
as here, as a metaphor for anything big and solid. 7 The Libyan chieftain.
76 An Egyptian creation god, god of the primordial Nile 8° Libyans.
silt when the earth first rose from chaos. 81 Set, a god of the desert who murdered his brother Osiris.
77 Libya. 82 A god created by the first god Atum; he and his sister
78 A Libyan coastal people who infiltrated the Nile Delta Tefnut, goddess of moisture, were the parents of Nut,
during the reign of Ramses II (1279-1212 BCE) and later. goddess of the sky, and Geb, god of the earth.
124 COASTAL CIVILIZATIONS OF THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN (2500-800 BCE)

Egypt, the power of which has made her invader a Great joy has come in Egypt, rejoicing comes
living prisoner. The divine pharaoh exults over his forth from the towns of Tomeri.?? They converse of
enemies in the presence of Ra. Meryey, the evil-doer, the victories that Merneptah has achieved among the
whom the god, the Lord who is in Memphis, has Tehenu: “How amiable is he, the victorious ruler!
overthrown, has been judged in Heliopolis,*’ and the How magnified is the pharaoh among the gods! How
divine Ennead* declared him guilty of his crimes. fortunate is he, the commanding Lord! Sit happily
The All-Lord® has said: “On behalf of Memphis down and talk, or walk far out upon the way, for
give the sword to my son, the upright of heart, the there is no fear in the heart of the people. The strong-
good and kindly Merneptah, the advocate of Heli- holds are left to themselves, the wells are opened.
opolis, who opens the towns that were closed up.°*° The messengers skirt the battlements of the walls,
Let him set free multitudes who are bound in every shaded from the sun, until their watchmen wake.
district, let him give offerings to the temples, let him The soldiers lie sleeping, and the border scouts are in
send in incense before the god, let him cause the the field at their own desire. The herds of the field are
princes to recover their possessions, let him cause left as cattle sent forth, without herdsmen, crossing
the poor to enter their cities.” the fullness of the stream. There is no uplifting of a
They say among the Lords of Heliopolis®’ regard- shout in the night: “Stop! Behold, one comes, one
ing their son, Merneptah: “Give to him duration like comes with the speech of strangers!” One comes and
Ra, let him be advocate of him who is oppressed in goes with singing, and there is no lamentation of
every country. Egypt has been assigned to him as the mourning people. The towns are settled again anew;
portion for himself forever. His strength is its people. as for the one that ploweth his harvest, he shall eat it.
Lo, when one dwells in the time of this hero, the Ra has turned himself to Egypt; he was born, des-
breath of life comes immediately. tined to be her protector, the Pharaoh Merneptah.
Meryey, the wretched, vanquished chief of Libya,
came to invade the ““Walls-of-the-Sovereign’’** whose The princes are prostrate, saying: “Mercy!”
son shines in his throne, the Pharaoh Merneptah. Ptah Not one raises his head among the Nine Bows.
said concerning the vanquished chief of Libya: “AII Desolation is for Tehenu; Hatti™ is pacified;
his crimes shall be gathered and returned upon his Plundered is Canaan with every evil;
head. Deliver him into the hand of Merneptah, that he Carried off is Ashkelon®; seized upon is
may make him disgorge what he has swallowed, like a Gezer™;
crocodile. Behold, the swift® is the captor of the swift; Yanoam”’ is made as that which does not exist;
and the Pharaoh shall snare him, for Amon shall bind Isiral?® is laid waste, its seed is not;
him in his hand and shall deliver him to his”? ka®! in Hurru”’ is become a widow for Egypt!
Hermonthis,”” to the Pharaoh Merneptah.” All lands together, they are pacified.

8 The main cult center of the gods Atum and Ra, the god
of the noonday sun. * Egypt.
** The nine primary gods of Egypt, worshipped at Heliopolis. The Hittites, see Reading 29. Merneptah never came
85 The god Atum. anywhere near the Hittite kingdom of Anatolia.
8° Presumably as a result of the Libyan raids. °° One of the five cities of the Philistines, seaward of an-
87 That is, the Ennead of Heliopolis. cient Israel.
88 An epithet of the city of Memphis. °° A Canaanite city northwest of Jerusalem.
8 A bird, similar to a swallow. °7 A city in Palestine.
°° That is, Merneptah’s. *8 Generally identified as Israel on the basis not only of
*! One of the souls of the ancient Egyptians. the name, but also of its location near the other places
*? An Egyptian city of Upper Egypt, cult center of the just mentioned.
bull god Montu, just south of Thebes. % Syria.
 37
COLD
DEBORAH THE JUDGE DEFEATS
ieee MINAAIN IT ES (CA TOSO Ber:
VG oe be)5

Chariots such as this one found in the tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamon would have been used by the
Canaanites in their attack on the Hebrews in the time of the judge Deborah.

After the Hebrew settlement in Canaan, perhaps ca. 1230 Bce, there was no central govern-
ment. In times of emergencies, such as when there were threats to Hebrew faith in the god
Yahweh or when the Hebrews were confronted with attacks by their neighbors, in particular
by the Canaanites, leaders known as “judges” could arise who created temporary coalitions
among the tribes for the purpose of dealing with the situation. The unsettled nature of the

125
126 COASTAL CIVILIZATIONS OF THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN (2500-800 BCE)

times gave women opportunities to hold significant leadership positions, as occurred around
1050 sce when the judge Deborah, as reported in the Hebrew Bible, raised an army against
the Canaanites.

Source: Hebrew Bible, Judges 4:1-5:31; American Revised Standard Version (1901).

And the children of Israel again did that which was him into thy hand.” And Barak said unto her, “If
evil in the sight of Yahweh, when Ehud was dead. thou wilt go with me, then I will go, but if thou wilt
And Yahweh sold them into the hand of Jabin, King not go with me, I will not go.” And she said, “I will
of Canaan,'° who reigned in Hazor'”; the captain of surely go with thee; notwithstanding, the journey
whose host was Sisera, who dwelt in Harosheth' of that thou takest shall not be for thine honor, for
the Gentiles.!°° And the children of Israel cried unto Yahweh will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.”
Yahweh, for Sisera had nine hundred chariots of And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to
iron, and for twenty years he mightily oppressed the Kadesh. And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to-
children of Israel. Now Deborah, a prophetess, the gether to Kadesh, and there went up ten thousand
wife of Lappidoth, judged Israel_at that time. And men at his feet, and Deborah went up with him.
she dwelt under the palm-tree of Deborah between Now, Heber the Kenite'®? had separated himself
Ramah and Beth-el in the hill-country of Ephraim!™: from the Kenites, even from the children of Hobab
and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment. the brother-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent
And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out as far as the oak in Zaanaim, which is by Kadesh.
of Kadesh-Naphtali,’® and said unto him, “Hath not And Sisera was told that Barak the son of Abinoam
Yahweh, the God of Israel, commanded, saying, “Go had gone up to Mount Tabor. And Sisera gathered
and draw unto Mount Tabor,! and take with thee ten together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots
thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the of iron, and all the people that were with him, from
children of Zebulun.!”’ And I will draw unto thee, to Harosheth of the Gentiles, unto the river Kishon.
the river Kishon,!® Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army, And Deborah said unto Barak, “Up!, for this is the
with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver day in which Yahweh hath delivered Sisera into thy
hand. Is not Yahweh gone out before thee?” So Barak
went down from Mount Tabor, and ten thousand
100 Known as Ki-na-ah-na to the Egyptians, Canaan was a men after him.”
generic term for the eastern coast of the Mediterranean, And Yahweh discomfited Sisera, and all his char-
including Lebanon and Palestine. The Philistines, who
iots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword
occupied a strip of seacoast, were a separate people from
before Barak, and Sisera alighted from his chariot,
the Canaanites.
'0l The most important Canaanite city at the time of the and fled away on his feet. But Barak pursued after
Hebrew settlement in Canaan, located just north of the the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the
Sea of Galilee. Gentiles. And all the host of Sisera fell by the edge of
102 An otherwise unknown Canaanite fort. the sword; there was not a man left. Howbeit Sisera
103 Non-Hebrews. fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of
104 One of the twelve Hebrew tribes. Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin,
'5 The ancient Canaanite city of Kadesh, now occupied the King of Hazor, and the house of Heber the
by the Hebrew tribe of Naphtali. Kenite. And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said
106A mountain in Lower Galilee in Israel.
unto him, “Turn in, my Lord, turn in to me; fear not.”
107 Another Hebrew tribe.
08 A river in Israel that flows into the Mediterranean near
the city of Haifa. '° A nomadic people known for metalwork.
DEBORAH THE JUDGE DEFEATS THE CANAANITES (ca. 1050 Bcg): JUDGES 4:1-5:31 a7

And he turned in unto her into the tent, and she cov- into the ground, for he was in a deep sleep. So he
ered him with a rug. And he said unto her, “Give me, swooned and died. And, behold, as Barak pursued
I pray thee, a little water to drink, for I am thirsty.” Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him,
And she opened a jar of milk, and gave him drink, “Come, and I will show thee the man whom thou
and covered him. And he said unto her, “Stand in the seekest.” And he came unto her, and, behold, Sisera
door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth lay dead, and the tent-pin was in his temples. So God
come and inquire of thee, and say, ‘Is there any man subdued on that day Jabin, the King of Canaan, before
here?’ that thou shalt say, “No.” the children of Israel. And the hand of the children of
Then Jael, Heber’s wife, took a tent-pin, and took a Israel prevailed more and more against Jabin the
hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and King of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin, King
smote the pin into his temples, and it pierced through of Canaan. And the land had rest forty years.
 38
ae ar

KING SOLOMON CONSOLIDATES

HS AW EA @RET Yetta Ss Ors
1 KINGS*S 10

Nothing survives of the Jewish temple built by Solomon, which was destroyed after the New
Babylonians captured Jerusalem in 587 sce. A second temple, built under Persian rule beginning in
538 BcE, was destroyed by the Romans in 70 ce. In the late seventh century ce, an Islamic shrine, the
Dome of the Rock, was built on the site of the Jewish temple. All that remains of the earlier Jewish
temples is a section of the massive retaining wall built ca. 19 Bce by Herod the Great, now known as
the “Wailing [or Western] Wall,” shown here.

During its early years it appeared that the Jewish kingdom would follow the same pattern of
development as the other small lron Age states of the Levant, such as those of the Phoeni-
cians. King Solomon (970-930 sce), for example, consolidated his authority not only by

128
KING SOLOMON CONSOLIDATES HIS AUTHORITY (ca. 950 BcE): 1 KINGS 5-10 129

making alliances with foreign powers, including the Phoenicians, Egyptians, and the Queen
of Sheba, but also by constructing a single Jewish center of worship in Jerusalem. The ac-
count of the reign of Solomon given in Jewish scripture also provides precious insights into
the Phoenicians, who were one of the most important Hebrew trading partners.

Source: Hebrew Bible, 1 Kings 5-10; American Revised Standard Version (1901).

And Hiram,'"° King of Tyre, sent his servants unto receive them, and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in
Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him giving food for my household.”
king in the room of his father, for Hiram was ever an So Hiram gave Solomon timber of cedar and
admirer of David. And Solomon sent to Hiram, timber of fir according to all his desire. And Solo-
saying, “Thou knowest how that David, my father, mon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat
could not build a house for the name of Yahweh his for food to his household, and twenty measures of
God for the wars that were about him on every side, pure oil. Thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year.
until Yahweh put them under the soles of his feet. But And Yahweh gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised
now Yahweh my God hath given me rest on every him, and there was peace between Hiram and Solo-
side; there is neither adversary, nor evil occurrence. mon; and they two made a league together. And the
And, behold, I purpose to build a house for the name king commanded, and they hewed out great stones,
of Yahweh my God, as Yahweh spoke unto David my costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with
father, saying, “Thy son, whom I will set upon thy wrought stone. And Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s
throne in thy room, he shall build the house for my builders and the Gebalites!!? did fashion them, and
name.’ Now, therefore, command thou that they cut prepared the timber and the stones to build the house.
me cedar-trees out of Lebanon"; and my servants And it came to pass in the four hundred and eighti-
shall be with thy servants; and I will give thee hire for eth year after the children of Israel were come out of
thy servants according to all that thou shalt say: for the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s
thou knowest that there is not among us any that reign over Israel, in the month Ziv, which is the second
knoweth how to cut timber like unto the Sidonians.” month, that he began to build the house of Yahweh.
And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of And the house that King Solomon built for Yahweh,
Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, “Blessed the length thereof was threescore cubits,''* and the
be Yahweh this day, who hath given unto David a breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof
wise son over this great people.” And Hiram sent to thirty cubits. So Solomon built the house, and finished
Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message that thou it. And he built the walls of the house within with
hast sent unto me: I will do all thy desire concerning
timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir. My
servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto '2 A people living inland from the Phoenician city of
the sea, and I will make them into rafts to go by sea Sidon.
unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will 13 The source of one of the greatest chronological prob-
cause them to be broken up there, and thou shalt lems in the Bible, this passage dates the Exodus to
around 1446 BcE, but the book of Exodus itself places the
Exodus during the reign of a Pharaoh Ramses, the first of
whom ruled ca. 1292-1290 BcE. References to massive
110 King of Tyre from 980 to 947 BcE. He made Tyre into building projects along with the Merneptah stele (Read-
the most powerful of the Phoenician trading cities. ing 36) favor the later date.
111 Ancient Phoenicia. For another example of Phoenicia 114 A Hebrew cubit was about 20 inches, making the
as a source of ceremonial timber, see Reading 33. temple 100 feet long, 33 1/3 feet wide, and 50 feet high.
130 COASTAL CIVILIZATIONS OF THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN (2500-800 BcE)

boards of cedar: from the floor of the house unto the of Naphtali,!!° and his father was a man of Tyre, a
walls of the ceiling, he covered them on the inside worker in brass; and he was filled with wisdom and
with wood, and he covered the floor of the house with understanding and skill to work all works in brass.
boards of fir. And he prepared a sanctuary in the midst And he came to King Solomon, and wrought all
of the house within, to set there the Ark of the Cove- his work. For he fashioned the two pillars of brass,
nant!'!> of Yahweh. So Solomon overlaid the house eighteen cubits high apiece, and a line of twelve
within with pure gold: and he drew chains of gold cubits compassed either of them about. And he set
across before the sanctuary and he overlaid it with up the pillars at the porch of the temple. And
gold. And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until Hiram made the ceremonial basins, shovels, and
all the house was finished. In addition, the whole altar sprinkling bowls. So Hiram made an end of doing
that belonged to the sanctuary he overlaid with gold. all the work that he wrought for King Solomon in
So also made he for the entrance of the temple door- the house of Yahweh.
posts of olive-wood, out of a fourth part of the wall, And it came to pass at the end of twenty years,
and two doors of fir-wood. The two leaves of the one wherein Solomon had built the two houses, the
door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door house of Yahweh and the king’s house, for which
were folding. So was he seven years in building it. Hiram, the King of Tyre, had furnished Solomon
And Solomon was building his own palace thir- with cedar-trees and fir-trees, and with gold, accord-
teen years, and he finished all his palace. For he built ing to all his desire, that then King Solomon gave
the palace of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. And
was a hundred cubits, and the breadth thereof fifty Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities that Sol-
cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits,!!© upon omon had given him; and they pleased him not. And
four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon he said, “What cities are these that thou hast given
the pillars. He made also a palace for Pharaoh’s me, my brother?” And he called them the land of
daughter, whom he had taken to wife,'”” like unto this Cabul'”° unto this day. And Hiram sent to the king
porch. All these were of costly stones, even of hewn sixscore talents of gold. The Pharaoh of Egypt”! had
stone, according to measure, sawed with saws, within gone up, and taken Gezer,'”? and burnt it with fire,
and without, even from the foundation unto the and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and
coping, and so on the outside unto the great court. given it for a portion unto his daughter, Solomon’s
And the foundation was of costly stones, even great wife. As for all the people! that were left of the
stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits. Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Hivites,
And King Solomon sent and fetched Hiram!'® and the Jebusites, who were not of the children of
out of Tyre. He was the son of a widow of the tribe Israel, their children that were left after them in the
land, whom the children of Israel were not able ut-
terly to destroy, of them did Solomon raise a levy of
'lS The chest containing the stone on which the Ten Com- bondservants unto this day.
mandments were inscribed.
6 That is 116 2/3 feet long, 83 1/3 feet wide, and 50 feet
high, more than four times as large as the temple.
"7 Indicating serious diplomatic ties to Egypt. The unnamed
pharaoh may be Netjerkheperre-setepenamun Siamun 9 So this was a mixed marriage between a Hebrew and a
(986-967), sixth pharaoh of the Twenty-first Dynasty. Phoenician.
8 Not King Hiram of Tyre, but an artisan, also named '0A word meaning good-for-nothing.
Hiram. Because his mother is described here as being of '2! Probably Siamun.
the Israelite tribe of Naphtali, and in Chronicles as of the "2 Gezer also had been captured by the Pharaoh
tribe of Dan, it has been suggested that there were two Merneptah, see Reading 36.
Phoenician bronzeworkers named Hiram. '3 Of the entire Hebrew kingdom.
KING SOLOMON CONSOLIDATES HIS AUTHORITY (ca. 950 Bck): | KINGS 5-10 131

And King Solomon made a navy of ships in stones. And King Solomon gave to the Queen of
Ezion-geber,!** which is beside Elath, on the shore of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, besides
the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. And Hiram sent in that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So
the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge she turned back, and went to her own land, she and
of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. And they her servants.
came to Ophir,!*° and fetched from thence gold, four The king had at sea a navy of Tarshish!”? with the
hundred and twenty talents,'*° and brought it to King navy of Hiram. Once every three years came the navy
Solomon. of Tarshish, bringing gold and silver, ivory, and apes,
And when the Queen of Sheba!’ heard of the and peacocks. So King Solomon exceeded all the
fame of Solomon concerning the name of Yahweh, kings of the earth in riches and in wisdom. And all the
she came to test him with hard questions. And she earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his
came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with wisdom, which God had put in his heart. And they
camels that bore spices, and very much gold, and brought every man his tribute, vessels of silver, and
precious stones; and when she was come to Solo- vessels of gold, and raiment, and armor, and spices,
mon, she communed with him of all that was in her horses, and mules, a rate year by year. And the horses
heart. And she gave the king a hundred and twenty that Solomon had were brought out of Egypt, and the
talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and king’s merchants received them in droves, each drove
precious stones. There came no more such abun- at a price. And a chariot came up and went out of
dance of spices as these that the Queen of Sheba Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and a horse for
gave to King Solomon. And the navy also of Hiram, a hundred and fifty; and so for all the kings of the Hit-
that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from tites, and for the kings of Syria, did they bring them
Ophir great plenty of almug-trees'”® and precious out by their means.

124A seaport on the northernmost coast of the Gulf of

Aqaba.
125 A famous source of gold of unknown location; various
sites ranging from Ethiopia to southern Arabia to south-
ern India have been suggested.
126 A talent was about fifty-six pounds.
127 Probably to be identified with the Semitic kingdom of
Saba in Yemen, which also is mentioned by the Assyrians
and the Roman geographer Strabo.
129 Not Tartessus in southern Spain, as often is thought,
!28 Perhaps juniper trees. but perhaps Tarsus near the southeastern coast of Anatolia.
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 CHAPTER 5
TH

lron Age Empires

(850—500 BcE)

Just as in the Bronze Age, empires also developed in the Iron Age as one people or nation
imposed its authority on another. But whereas the Bronze Age empires had been fairly short
term and unstable, lacking in cohesiveness, the Iron Age empires showed an increasing abil-
ity to control larger and larger amounts of territory and to gain economic advantages from it.
The Assyrians created an empire based on military might and economic exploitation that
eventually included both the Mesopotamian and the Egyptian river valleys. But the Assyri-
ans were unable to win the goodwill of their conquered peoples, and their empire eventually
fell to revolt. Several successors to the Assyrians practiced empire building on a smaller
scale, but it was the Persians who ultimately created the greatest and most successful Near
Eastern empire by developing a system that benefited not only themselves but also their con-
guered peoples. The Near Eastern empires of the Assyrians, New Babylonians, and Persians
continued to use stone and the traditional Mesopotamian clay tablets for writing purposes.

133
134 IRON AGE EMPIRES (850-500 BCE) ~

200 400 oo Royal Road

————a +--+ Boundaries of the Satrapies

200 400Km

Map 5 The Satrapies of the Persian Empire

 39
cSQ>
inlesBLAC KoOBELLISK
OF SHALMANESER III (825 sce)

A panel from the four-sided “Black Obelisk” of Shalmaneser III depicts Jehu, king of Judah, pledging
loyalty to Shalmaneser. Text discussions accompany the relief illustrations. Preserved in the British
Museum in London.

Assyrian kings ostentatiously advertised their achievements, in particular their military con-
quests, on stone monuments placed throughout the empire. King Shalmaneser III (858-824
ace) erected two surviving monuments to his accomplishments, a monolith found at Kurkh
and the “Black Obelisk” found at Kouyunjik, constructed in 825 sce of black limestone and
now in the British Museum. The four sides of the obelisk are divided into five compartments
that depict tribute bring brought to the Assyrian court by Assyrian subjects and vassals.
These monuments provide detailed descriptions of thirty-one campaigns, mostly pillaging
and plundering expeditions, in which Shalmaneser claimed to have defeated the Aramaeans,
the Babylonians, the kingdom of Urartu, and the Medes and to have made Jehu, king of
Judah, into an Assyrian vassal. They illustrate the extent to which ancient Assyria was con-
sumed by the cult of the ruler, in which a king's authority was directly related to his role as
leader of the army and his ability to collect loot from subjects, vassals, and neighboring
136 IRON AGE EMPIRES (850-500 BCE)

peoples. The following account comes primarily from the obelisk, with a few additions from
the monolith.

Source: V. Scheil, trans., “Inscriptions of Shalmaneser II,” in A. H. Sayce, ed., Records of the Past Being English Translations
of the Ancient Monuments of Egypt and Western Asia, new series, Vol. 4 (London: Bagster, 1890), 36-79.

Assur, the great Lord, the King of all the great gods; the gods has made good and has caused all the world
Anu,” King of the spirits of heaven and the spirits of to kiss his feet; the noble offspring of Tiglath-Adar’*
earth, the god, Lord of the world; Bél the Supreme,’ who has laid his yoke upon all lands hostile to him,
Father of the gods, the Creator; Hea,* King of the deep, and has swept them like a whirlwind. Assur the great
determiner of destinies; the King of crowns,° drinking lord in the determination of his heart turned upon me
in brilliance; Ramanu,° the crowned hero, Lord of his illustrious eyes and called me to the government of
canals; the Sun-god’ the Judge of heaven and earth, the Assyria, and gave me to hold the mighty weapon that
urger on of all; Merodach,* Prince of the gods, Lord of overthrows the rebellious and invested me with the
battles; Adar,’ the terrible, Lord of the spirits of heaven sacred crown, the lordship over all lands, and strongly
and the spirits of earth, the exceeding strong god; urged me to conquer and subjugate.
Nergal,!° the powerful god, king of the battle; Nebo," At the beginning of my reign, when on the throne
the bearer of the high scepter, the god, the Father above; of royalty mightily I had seated myself, the chariots
Beltis, the wife of Bél, mother of the great gods; Istar,!” of my host I collected. The city of Aridu,!> the strong
sovereign of heaven and earth, whom the face of hero- city of Ninni,'° I besieged, I captured, its numerous
ism perfectest; the great gods, determining destinies, soldiers I slew, its spoil I carried away. I erected a
making great my kingdom. pyramid of heads at the entrance of his city. Their
I am Shalmaneser, king of multitudes of men, youths and maidens I delivered to the flames.
prince and hero of Assur, the strong king, King of all In my first year the Euphrates in its flood I crossed.
the Four Zones of the Sun and of multitudes of men, To the sea of the setting sun'’ I went. My weapons on
the marcher over the whole world; son of Assur- the sea I rested. Victims for my gods I took. To Mount
Nasir-Pal,'* the supreme hero, whom his heroism over Amanus'® I went up. Logs of cedar-wood and pine-
wood I cut. To the country of Lallar'? I ascended.
'The primary god of the Assyrians. Difficult paths and inaccessible mountains whose
? The Sumerian god An, overall god of the heavens, see peaks rose to the sky like the point of an iron sword I
Reading 1. cut with axes of bronze and copper. The chariots and
3The Babylonian god Marduk, equivalent to the Sume-
troops I caused to cross. To the city of Khupushkia”® I
rian god Enlil, the creator god, see Readings | and 18.
approached. Khupushkia with 100 towns that were de-
4Ea, or Enki; god of the sea, wisdom, and the under-
pendent on it I burned with fire. Kakia, a king of the
world; see Reading 13.
° Sin, or Nanna, the moon god. country of Nairi,”! and the rest of his troops trembled
°“The Thunderer,” another name for the storm god Adad.
7The sun god Samas, Babylonian Shamash. ' Tiglath-Adar, or Tukulti-Ninurta II (891-884 BCE).
’The Babylonian god Marduk; see Reading 1. 'S Eridu in Sumeria.
° A sun god. '©The goddess Inanna, or Ishtar.
'0 A war god and god of the dead. '’The Mediterranean Sea, west of Assyria.
'! Or Nabu, Assyrian and Babylonian god of wisdom; the 'STIn the Nur Mountains in south-central Turkey, the loca-
scribe of Marduk. tion of valuable cedar forests.
'The fertility goddess Ishtar or Inanna; see Readings 13 "In the Zagros Mountains in eastern Turkey.
and 17. 0 Modern Siirt near Lake Van.
'S Assur-Nasir-Pal II (884-859 BCE). *! Near Lake Van in eastern Turkey.
THE BLACK OBELISK OF SHALMANESER III (825 Bce) 137

before the splendor of my arms and fled to the strong which is upon the river ’Sagurri,”’ which the kings
mountains. Chasing them, I ascended the mountains. I of the Hittites call the city of Pitru,?* I took for
fought a hard battle in the midst of the mountains and myself.
utterly destroyed them. I brought back from the moun- During the eponymy” of Dayan-Assur from the
tains chariots, troops, and horses trained to the yoke. city of Nineveh I departed. The Euphrates in its
The terror of the glory of Assur my lord overwhelmed upper part I crossed. After Akhuni the son of Adin I
them; they descended and grasped my feet. Taxes and went. The heights on the banks of the Euphrates as
tribute I imposed upon them. From the city of Khu- his stronghold he made. The mountains I attacked, I
pushkia I departed. To Sugunia the stronghold of captured. Akhuni with his gods, his chariots, his
Arame of Urartu” I approached. The city I besieged, I horses, his sons and his daughters I carried away. To
captured, their numerous soldiers I slew. Its spoil I car- my city Assur I brought them.
ried away. I erected a pyramid of heads at the entrance In my fifth year to the country of Kasyari*? I as-
of his city. Fourteen towns that were dependent on it I cended. The strongholds I captured. Elkhitti of the
burned with fire. From Sagunia I departed. To the sea”* Serurians in his city I shut up. His tribute to a large
of the country of Nairi I descended. I purified my weap- amount I received.
ons in the sea; I sacrificed victims to my gods. In those In my sixth year the Euphrates in its upper part I
days an image of my person I made; I inscribed upon it crossed. The tribute of the kings of the Hittites, all of
the glory of Assur the great lord, my lord, and the them, I received. Rimmon-idri of Damascus,
mightiness of my empire; I erected it overlooking the Irkhulina of Hamath,*! and the kings of the Hittites
sea. and of the sea-coasts to the forces of each other
In my second year to the city of Bit-Adini** I ap- trusted, and to make war and battle against me came.
proached. The stronghold of Akhuni the son of Adin By the command of Assur, the great Lord, my Lord,
I approached. Under the protection of Assur and the with them I fought. A destruction of them I made.
great gods, my lords, I fought with him, I utterly de- Their chariots, their war-carriages, their war-material
feated him. The cities of Akhuni the son of Adin I I took from them. 20,500 of their fighting men with
captured. In his city I shut him up. The city I be- arrows I slew.
sieged, I captured. I destroyed with my weapons 300 In my seventh year to the head of the river, the
of his fighting-men. A pyramid of heads I erected at springs of the Tigris, the place where the waters rise,
the entrance to his city. The Euphrates in its flood I I went. An image of my Royalty of large size I con-
crossed. The city of Dabigu,*° a choice city of the structed. The laws of Assur my Lord, the records of
Hittites*° together with the cities that were dependent my victories, whatsoever in the world I had done, in
upon it I captured. the midst of it I wrote; in the middle of the country I
In my third year Akhuni the son of Adin fled set it up.
from the face of my mighty weapons, and the city of
Bit-Adini, his royal city, he fortified. The Euphrates
I crossed. The city unto Assyria I restored. The
27 The Sajur River, which flows into the Euphrates River
town that is on the further side of the Euphrates,
in Syria.
28 A town founded by the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pilezer I
22 A powerful kingdom in the area of Lake Van. ca. 1100 BcE but later occupied by the Aramaeans.
3Lake Van. 2° Assyrian years were named after the limmus, epony-
24 An Aramaean kingdom near the Euphrates River, mous magistrates who presided over the annual New
modern Tel-Barsip. Year’s festival; a complete limmu list survives for the
5 A fortress city. years 892-648 BCE.
26 The Neo-Hittites of Syria, not the earlier Hittites of 30Tn northern Mesopotamia.
Anatolia. 31 An important city on the Orontes River in Syria.
138 IRON AGE EMPIRES (850-500 BCE)

In my eighth year did Merodach-bila-yu’sate, his In my seventeenth year the Euphrates I crossed. To
foster-brother, rebel against Merodach-suma-iddin, the land of Amanus I ascended. Logs of cedar I cut.
King of Gan-Dunias.*” Strongly had he fortified the In my eighteenth year for the sixteenth time the
land. To exact punishment against Merodach-suma- Euphrates I crossed. Hazael of Damascus to battle
iddin I went. The city of the waters of the Dhurnat came. 1,221 of his chariots, 470 of his war-carriages
I took. with his camp I took from him.
In my ninth campaign to the country of Kaldu*? I In my nineteenth campaign for the eighteenth
descended. Their cities I captured. The tribute of the time the Euphrates I crossed. To the land of Amanus
kings of the country of Kaldu I received. I ascended. Logs of cedar I cut.
In my tenth year for the eighth time the Euphrates In my 20th year for the 20th time the Euphrates I
I crossed. The cities of "Sangara of the city of the crossed. To the land of Kahue I went down. Their
Carchemishians* J captured. cities I captured. Their spoil I carried off.
In my eleventh year for the ninth time the Eu- In my 21st campaign, for the 21st time the Euphra-
phrates I crossed. Rimmon-idri of Damascus and tes I crossed. To the cities of Hazael of Damascus I
twelve of the kings of the Hittites with one another’s went. Four of his fortresses I took. The tribute of the
forces strengthened themselves. A destruction of Tyrians, the Sidonians, and the Gebalites** I received.
them I made. In my 22nd campaign for the 22nd time the Eu-
In my twelfth campaign for the tenth time the Eu- phrates I crossed. To the country of Tabalu*’ I went
phrates I crossed. To the land of Pagar-khubuna I down. In those days as regards the 24 kings of the
went. Their spoil I carried away. country of Tabalu their wealth I received. To conquer
In my thirteenth year to the country of Yaeti I as- the mines of silver, of salt, and of stone for sculpture
cended. Their spoil I carried away. I went.
In my fourteenth year the country I assembled; In my 23rd year the Euphrates I crossed. The city of
the Euphrates I crossed. Twelve kings against me Uetas, his strong city, which belonged to Lalla of the
had come. I fought. A destruction of them I made. land of the Milidians*® I captured. The kings of the
In my fifteenth year among the sources of the country of Tabalu had set out. Their tribute I received.
Tigris and the Euphrates I went. An image of my In my 24th year, the lower Zab I crossed. To the
Majesty in their hollows I erected. land of Zimru I went down. Yan’su king of the Zimri
In my sixteenth year the waters of the Zab* I from the face of my mighty weapons fled and to save
crossed. To the country of Zimri*° I went. Merodach- his life ascended the mountains. His fighting men I
mudammik, King of the land of Zimru, to save his slew. His spoil I carried away. The cities I threw
life the mountains ascended. His treasure, his army, down, dug up, and with fire burned. The rest of them
and his gods to Assyria I brought. Yan’su son of to the mountains ascended. The peaks of the moun-
Khanban to the kingdom over them I raised.*” tains I attacked, I captured. Their fighting men I
slew. Their spoil and their goods I caused to be
brought down. From the country of Zimru I de-
32 An Aramaean city of Syria. parted. The tribute of 27 kings of the country of
33 The Chaldeans, a Semitic people of Babylonia, later
Par’sua*! I received. From the country of Par’sua I
shared in the overthrow of the Assyrian Empire.
4 Carchemish was a powerful Neo-Hittite city located on
the border between Syria and Turkey. *8 Sidon, Tyre, and Gebal all were Phoenician trading
*> A river that originates near Lake Van and joins the cities.
Tigris River in Mesopotamia. In Cappadocia in Anatolia.
6 Northeast of Assyria. “°Milid, later Melitene, lay on the west bank of the
37The Assyrians often would set up vassal rulers in terri- Euphrates River.
tories that they did not directly annex. 4! Persia.
THE BLACK OBELISK OF SHALMANESER III (825 sce) 139

departed. To the strongholds of the country of the In my 28th year when in the city of Kalhu*’ I was
Amadai,” and the countries of Arazias*? and stopping news had been brought me that men of the
Kharkhar* I went down. Their fighting men I slew. Patinians** had slain Lubarni their Lord and had
Their spoil I carried away. The cities I threw down, raised ’Surri, who was not heir to the throne, to the
dug up, and burned with fire. An image of my Maj- kingdom. Dayan-Assur the Tartan, the Commander
esty in the country of KharkharaI set up. Yan’su son of the widespreading army at the head of my host, I
of Khaban with his abundant treasures, his gods, his urged, I sent. The Euphrates in its flood he crossed.
sons, his daughters, his soldiers in large numbers I In the city of Cinalua, his royal city, a slaughter he
carried off. To Assyria I brought them. made. As for ’Surri the usurper, exceeding fear of
In my 25th campaign the Euphrates at its flood I Assur my Lord overwhelmed him, and to the death
crossed. The tribute of the kings of the Hittites, all of of his destiny he went. The men of the country of the
them, I received. The country of Amanus I traversed. Patinians from before the sight of my mighty weap-
To the cities of Cati of the country of the Kahuians I ons fled, and the children of ’Surri together with the
descended. The city of Timur, his strong city I be- soldiers, the rebels, whom they had taken, they deliv-
sieged, I captured. Their fighting men I slew. Its spoil ered to me. Those soldiers on stakes I fixed. ’Sa’situr
I carried away. The cities to a countless number I of the country of Uzza my feet grasped. To the king-
threw down, dug up, and burned with fire. dom over them I placed him. Silver, gold, lead,
In my 26th year for the seventh time the country bronze, iron, and the horns of wild bulls to a count-
of the Amanus I traversed. For the fourth time to the less number I received.
cities of Cati of the country of the Kahuians I went. In my 29th year to the country of Cirkhi I as-
The city of Tanacun, the strong city of Tulca I ap- cended. Their cities I threw down, dug up, and
proached. Exceeding fear of Assur my Lord over- burned with fire. Their country like a thunderstorm I
whelmed him and when he had come out my feet he swept. Exceeding fear over them I cast.
grasped. His hostages I took. Silver, gold, iron, oxen, In my 30th year when in the city of Kalhu I was
and sheep, as his tribute I received. stopping, Dayan-Assur the Tartan, the Commander
In my 27th year the chariots of my armies I of the wide-spreading army at the head of my army,
mustered. Dayan-Assur, the Tartan,** the Com- I urged, I sent. The river Zab he crossed. To the midst
mander of the wide-spreading army, to the country of the cities of Udaci of the country of the Mannaeans”
of Armenia I urged, I sent.*° The river Arzane he he approached. Udaci of the country of the Mannae-
crossed. ’Seduri of the country of the Armenians ans from before the sight of my mighty weapons fled,
heard, and he trusted to the strength of his numer- and the city of Zirta,°° his royal city, he abandoned.
ous host; and to make conflict and battle against To save his life he ascended the mountains. After
me he came. With him I fought. A destruction of him I pursued. His oxen, his sheep, his spoil, to a
him I made. With the flower of his youth his broad countless amount I brought back. His cities I threw
fields I filled. down, dug up, and burned with fire. From the coun-
try of the Mannaeans he departed. To the cities of
Sulu’sunu of the country of Kharru he approached.
“2 The first historical mention of the Medes of Iran.
431n Media, near ancient Ecbatana.
4 Tn Iran. 47 An Assyrian capital city, Arabic Nimrud, the site of
45 The Commander-in-Chief of the Assyrian army, rank- several significant archaeological excavations.
ing second only to the king. 48 A people living near Amanus who controlled the cedar
46 From this point on it appears that Dayan-Assur is lead- forests.
ing the army, although Shalmaneser, who would have 49 A people of northwestern Iran, later annexed by the
been getting up in years, still takes credit for the Medes.
campaigns. °° Or Izurtu, perhaps modern Qalaichi.
140 IRON AGE EMPIRES (850-500 BcE)

The city of Mairsuru, his royal city, together with the and staves, I received. The tribute of the country of
cities that depended on it I captured. To Sulu’sunu Muzri: camels with double backs, an ox of the river
together with his sons mercy I granted. To his coun- ’Saceya, horses, wild asses, elephants, and apes, I re-
try I restored him. A payment and tribute of horses I ceived. The tribute of Merodach-pal-itstsar of the
imposed. My yoke upon him I placed. To the country country of the ’Sukhians: silver, gold, pitchers of
of Par’sua I went down. The tribute of the kings of gold, tusks of the wild bull, staves, antimony, gar-
the country of Par’sua I received. As for the rest of ments of many colors, and linen, I received. The trib-
the country of Par’sua that did not reverence Assur, ute of Garparunda of the country of the Patinians:
its cities I captured. Their spoil, their plunder to As- silver, gold, lead, bronze, gums, articles of bronze,
syria I brought. tusks of wild bulls, and ebony, I received.
In my 31st year, to the cities of the Par’sua I went.
The cities of Bustu, Sala-khamanu and Cini-khamanu, [The relief captions on the Black Obelisk]
fortified towns, together with 23 cities that depended Tribute of Sia, the Gilzanite. I received from him:
upon them I captured. Their fighting-men I slew. Their silver, gold, lead, copper vessels, staves for the hand
spoil I carried off. To the country of Zimri I went down. of the king, horses, two-humped camels.
Exceeding fear of Assur and Merodach overwhelmed Tribute of Jehu,*! son of Omri. I received from him:
them. Their cities they abandoned. To inaccessible silver, gold, a golden bowl, a golden beaker, golden
mountains they ascended. Two hundred and fifty of goblets, pitchers of gold, lead, staves for the hand of
their cities I threw down, dug up, and burned with fire. the king, javelins.
Tribute of the land of Musri. I received from him:
[The epigraphs accompanying the reliefs on the two-humped camels, a river-ox, a sakéa, a siisu, ele-
Black Obelisk] phants, monkeys, apes.
The tribute of Sia of the country of the Guzanians: Tribute of Marduk-apal-usur of Suhi. I received from
silver, gold, lead, articles of bronze, scepters for the him: silver, gold, pitchers of gold, ivory, javelins,
king’s hand, horses and camels with double backs, I biia, brightly colored linen garments.
received. The tribute of Yahua son of Khumri: silver, Tribute of Karparunda of Hattina. I received from
gold, bowls of gold, vessels of gold, goblets of gold, him: silver, gold, lead, copper, copper vessels, ivory,
pitchers of gold, lead, scepters for the king’s hand, cypress.

>! King of Judah, the southern Jewish kingdom.

 40
cCD
THE PRISM OF SENNACHERIB
(CA. 689 BCE)

The hexagonal “Prism of Sennacherib,” made from clay, is 38 centimeters (15 inches) high and 14
centimeters (5.5 inches) wide. It was illegally excavated from the mound of the ancient city of Nippur
near Mosul in Iraq around 1919. It now is preserved in the Oriental Institute in Chicago. Other
contemporary copies of the text are in the British Museum and in Jerusalem.

Another account of the campaigns of Assyrian kings from about 135 years later is found in
the five hundred lines of Akkadian writing, known as the “Annals of Sennacherib," that are
preserved on the baked clay "Prism of Sennacherib." The cuneiform text primarily documents
the acquisition of loot during eight military campaigns of the Assyrian king Sennacherib Ill
(704-681 sce). The prism was created circa 689 sce. It is best known for the report in the third
campaign of Sennacherib's attack on the southern Hebrew kingdom of Judah in 701 sce,
which can be compared to the account of the same event in the Hebrew Bible and to the
campaigns of the earlier king Shalmaneser III (Reading 39).

Source: Daniel David Luckenbill. The Annals of Sennacherib (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1924), 23-47, 128-131.
http://www.utexas.edu/courses/classicalarch/readings/sennprism1.html &c.

141
142 IRON AGE EMPIRES (850-500 BCE)

To me, Sennacherib, the Great King, the Mighty in Erech, Nippur, Kish, Harsagkalamma, Kutha and
King, King of the Universe, King of Assyria, King Sippar,® together with the citizens, the sinners,” I
of the Four Quarters of the Universe, the wise ruler,” brought out, as booty I counted. On my return the
favorite of the great gods, guardian of the right, lover Tu’muna Rihihu, Yadakku, Ubudu Kibre, Malahu,
of justice, who lends support, who comes to the aid Gurumu, Ubulu, Damunu, Gambulu Hindaru, Ru’ua,
of the needy, who turns to pious deeds, perfect hero, Bukudu, Hamranu, Hagaranu, Nabatu, Li’tau, Ara-
mighty man, first among all princes, the powerful maeans who were not submissive, all of them I con-
one who consumes the insubmissive, who strikes the quered. 208,000 people, great and small, male and
wicked with the thunderbolt, the god Assur, the great female, horses, mules, asses, camels, cattle and sheep,
mountain, an unrivaled kingship has entrusted, without number, a heavy booty, I carried off to
above all those who dwell in palaces, has made pow- Assyria.” In the course of my campaign, I received
erful my weapons; he has brought in submission at from Nabu-belshumate, governor of the city of
my feet all the black-headed people* from the upper Hararate,° gold, silver, great musukkani-trees,“
sea of the setting sun™ to the lower sea of the rising asses, camels, cattle and sheep, as his onerous contri-
sun,» and mighty kings feared my warfare, leaving bution. The warriors of Hirimme, wicked enemies, I
their abodes and flying alone, like the sudinnu, the cut down with the sword. Not one escaped. Their
bird of the cliffs, to some inaccessible place. corpses I hung on stakes surrounding the city.
In my first campaign I accomplished the defeat In my second campaign, Assur my Lord, en-
of Merodach-baladan, King of Babylonia, together couraged me, and against the land of the Kassites
with the army of Elam, his ally, in the plain of Kish.°’ and the land of the Yasubigallai,°° who from of old
In the midst of that battle he forsook his camp, and had not been submissive to the kings, my fathers, I
made his escape alone, so he saved his life. The char- marched. In the midst of the high mountains I rode
iots, horses, wagons, mules, that he left behind at the on horseback where the terrain was difficult, and had
onset of battle, my hands seized. Into his palace, my chariot drawn up with ropes. Where it became too
which is in Babylon, joyfully I entered. I opened his steep, I clambered up on foot like the wild-ox. The
treasure-house: gold, silver, vessels of gold and silver, cities of Bit-Kilamzah, Hardishpi, and Bit-Kubatti,®
precious stones of every kind, goods and property their strong, walled cities, I besieged, I captured.
without number, heavy tribute, his harem, his courti- People, horses, mules, asses, cattle, and sheep, I
ers and officials, singers, male and female, all of his brought out from their midst and counted as booty.
artisans, as many as there were, the servants of his And their small cities, which were numberless, I de-
palace, I brought out, I counted as spoil. In the might stroyed, I devastated, I turned into ruins. The houses
of Assur my Lord, 75 of his strong walled cities, of of the steppe, the tents, wherein they dwelt, I set on
Chaldea,** and 420 small cities within their borders, fire and turned them into flames. I turned round, and
I surrounded, I conquered, their spoil I carried off. made that Bit-Kilamzah into a fortress, I made its
The Arabs, Aramaeans,°’ and Chaldeans who were

°° Sumerian cities.
» Literally, “shepherd,” or “pastor.” *! That is, the rebels.
>The Sumerian term for the people of Mesopotamia. * An act of deportation that was the typical Assyrian
*4The Mediterranean Sea. method for demoralizing conquered peoples.
°° The Persian Gulf. * A fortress in Babylonia.
56703 BCE. 4 Rosewood.
°7 An ancient Sumerian city. 65702 BCE.
8 Babylonia. °°In the Zagros Mountains east of Assyria.
°° From Syria. °7 Cities in the Zagros Mountains.
THE PRISM OF SENNACHERIB (CA. 689 BCE) 143

walls stronger than they had ever been before and In my third campaign” I went against the Hittite-
settled therein people of the lands my hands had con- land.” Lule, King of Sidon, the terrifying splendor of
quered.®* The people of the land of the Kassites and the my sovereignty overcame and far off into the midst
land of the Yasubigallai, who had fled before my arms, of the sea he fled. There he died. Great Sidon, Little
I brought down out of the mountains and settled them Sidon, Bit-Zitti, Zaribtu, Mahalliba, Ushu, Akzib,
in Hardishpi and Bit-Kubatti. In the hands of my offi- Akko,” his strong, walled cities, where there were
cial, the governor of Arrapha,° I counted them. I had a fodder and drinking places for his garrisons, the ter-
stela made, and the might of my conquering hand, rors of the weapon of Assur, my Lord, overpowered,
which I had established upon them, I had inscribed and they bowed in submission at my feet. Tuba’lu I
thereon. In the midst of the city I set it up. seated on the royal throne over them,’ and tribute
The front of my yoke I turned and took the road to for my majesty I imposed upon him for all time,
the land of the Elippi.”” Before my approach Ispabara, without ceasing.
their king, forsook
his strong cities, his treasure-houses, From Menachem the Shamsimurunite, Tuba’lu the
and fled to distant parts. Over the whole of his wide Sidonite, Abdi-liti the Arvadite, Uru-milki the Gublite,
land I swept like a hurricane. The cities Marubishti Mitinti the Ashdodite, Budu-ilu the Beth-Ammonite,
and Akkuddu, his royal residence-cities, together Kammusu-nadbi the Moabite, Malik-rammu the
with 34 small cities of their environs, I besieged, I Edomite,” kings of Amurru,’ all of them, numerous
captured, I destroyed, I devastated, I burned with fire. presents, as their heavy tribute, they brought before
The people, great and small, male and female, horses, me for the fourth time, and kissed my feet. But as for
mules, asses, camels, cattle and sheep, without Sidka, King of Ashkelon,” who had not submitted to
number, I carried off. I brought him to naught, I di- my yoke, the gods of his father-house, himself, his
minished his land. Sisirtu and Kummahlum, strong wife, his sons, his daughters, his brothers, the seed of
cities, together with the small cities of their environs, his father-house, I tore away and brought to Assyria.
the province of Bit-Barrfi in its totality, I cut off from Sharru-lu-dari, son of Rukibti, their former king, I set
his land and added it to the territory of Assyria. Elen- over the people of Ashkelon and I imposed upon him
zash I turned into the royal city and stronghold of that the payment of tribute as presents to my majesty. He
district. I changed its former name, calling its name bore my yoke. In the course of my campaign, Beth-
Kar-Sennacherib. Peoples of the lands my hands had Dagon, Joppa, Banaibarka, Asuru, cities of Sidka,
conquered I settled therein. To my official, the gover- who had not speedily bowed in submission at my feet,
nor of Harhar,”! I accounted it. Thus I extended my I besieged, I conquered, I carried off their spoil.
land. On my return, I received the heavy tribute of the The officials, nobles, and people of Ekron®® had
distant Medes, whose name no one among the kings, thrown Padi, their king, bound by oath and curse of
my fathers, had ever heard.” To the yoke of my rule I
made them submit. 3701 BCE.
™ The Neo-Hittites of northern Syria, not the earlier Hit-
tites of Anatolia.
68 That is, deported populations. ® Cities in Phoenicia.
69 Modern Kirkuk in northeastern Iraq; originally a city 76 As an Assyrian vassal ruler.
of the Gutians. 77 Sidon, Arvad, Gubla (Byblos), Ashdod, Shamsimuru,
70 A kingdom on the western slopes of the Zagros and Beth-Ammon were cities in the area of Phoenicia
Mountains in Iran. and Canaan, whereas Ammon, Moab, and Edom were
In the central western Zagros Mountains of Iran, in the territories inland from Judaea.
territory of the Medes. 78 The Amorites of western Mesopotamia and Syria.
72 The Medes in fact had been defeated by Shalmaneser 79 A Philistine city south of Ashdod.
III more than 130 years earlier; see Reading 39. 80 A Philistine city thirty-five kilometers west of Jerusalem.
144 IRON AGE EMPIRES (850-500 BCE)

Assyria, into fetters of iron and had given him over turned back to his misery. The cities of his, which I
to Hezekiah,*! the Jew, who kept him in confinement had despoiled, I cut off from his land and to Mitinti,
like an enemy. Their® heart became afraid, and they King of Ashdod, Padi, King of Ekron, and Silli-bel,
called upon the Egyptian kings, the bowmen, chari- King of Gaza, I gave. And thus I diminished his land.
ots, and horses of the King of Meluhha,® a countless I added to the former tribute and laid upon him the
host, and these came to their aid. In the neighbor- giving up of his land as well as imposts-gifts for my
hood of Eltekeh, their ranks being drawn up before majesty. As for Hezekiah, the terrifying splendor of
me, they offered battle. Trusting in the aid of Assur, my majesty overcame him, and the Urbi®* and the
my Lord, I fought with them and brought about their mercenary troops that he had brought in to strengthen
defeat. The Egyptian charioteers and princes, to- Jerusalem, his royal city, deserted him. In addition to
gether with the charioteers of the Kushite king,** my the 30 talents of gold and 800 talents of silver, there
hands took alive in the midst of the battle. Eltekeh were gems, antimony, jewels, large sandu-stones,
and Timnah I besieged, I captured and took away couches of ivory, house-chairs of ivory, elephant hide,
their spoil. I drew near to Ekron and slew the gover- ivory, ebony, boxwood, all kinds of heavy treasures,
nors and nobles who had committed sin and hung as well as his daughters, his harem, his male and
their bodies on stakes around the city. The citizens female musicians, that he had brought after me to
who sinned and treated Assyria lightly, I counted as Nineveh, my royal city. To pay tribute and to do servi-
spoil. The rest of them, who were not carriers of sin tude, he dispatched his messengers.
and contempt, for whom there was no punishment, I In my fourth campaign Assur, my Lord, gave me
spoke their pardon. Padi, their king, I brought out of courage, and I mustered my numerous armies and
Jerusalem, set him on the royal throne over them, gave the command to proceed against Bit-Yakin.*’ In
and imposed upon him my kingly tribute. the course of my campaign I accomplished the over-
As for Hezekiah, the Jew, who did not submit to throw of Shuzubi, the Chaldean, who sat in the midst
my yoke, 46 of his strong, walled cities, as well as the of the swamps, at Bitutu. The chills of my battle fell
small cities in their neighborhood, which were with- upon that one, and tore his heart; like a criminal he
out number, I besieged and took by levelling with fled alone, and his place was seen no more. The front
battering-rams and by bringing up siege-engines, by of my yoke I turned and to Bit-Yakin I took the way.
attacking and storming on foot, by mines, tunnels and That same Merodach-baladan, whose defeat I had
breaches.* I brought away from them and counted as brought about in the course of my first campaign and
spoil 200,150 people, great and small, male and whose forces I had shattered, feared the roar of my
female, horses, mules, asses, camels, cattle and sheep, mighty arms and the onset of my terrible battle and
without number. Himself, like a caged bird I shut up he gathered together the gods of his whole land in
in Jerusalem his royal city. Earthworks I threw up their shrines and loaded them into ships and fled like
against him. Anyone coming out of the city-gate I a bird to Nagite-rakki,** which is in the middle of the
sea. His brothers, the seed of his father-house, whom
he had left by the sea-shore, together with the rest of
’1 King of the southern Hebrew kingdom of Judah ca.
the people of his land, I brought out of Bit-Yakin,
715-686 BCE.
from the midst of the swamps and canebrakes, and
® The Jews.
counted as spoil. I turned about and ruined and dev-
3 Tn Sumerian times the Indus River civilization, but
during this period a reference to Kush, south of Egypt. astated his cities; I made them like ruin-heaps. Upon
** Shebitku (707-690 BCE), a member of the Twenty-fifth,
or Kushite, Dynasty of Egypt; see Reading 70. 86 Arabs.
* The Assyrian corps of military engineers was expert in 87 Another name for Chaldea in southeastern
the methods for capturing walled cities. For the Assyrian Mesopotamia.
siege of Jerusalem, see also Reading 41. 88 Tn Elam, across the Persian Gulf.
THE PRISM OF SENNACHERIB (ca. 689 BCE) 145

his ally, the King of Elam, I poured out terror. On my In my sixth campaign the rest of the people of
return, I placed on his royal throne Assur-nadin-shum, Bit-Yakin, who had run off before my powerful weap-
my oldest son, offspring of my loins. I put him in ons like wild asses and had gathered together the
charge of the wide land of Sumer and Akkad. gods of their whole land in their shrines, had crossed
In my fifth campaign, the warriors of Tumurru, the great sea of the rising sun and in Nagitu of Elam
Sharum, Ezama, Kibshu, Halgidda, Kua, and Kana, had established their abodes. In Hittite ships I crossed
whose abodes were set on the peak of Mt. Nipur,*? a the sea. Nagitu Nagitu-di’bina, together with the
steep mountain, like the nests of the eagle, king of lands of Hilmu, Billatu, and Hupapanu, provinces of
birds, were not submissive to my yoke. I had my Elam, I conquered. The people of Bit-Yakin, together
camp pitched at the foot of Mt. Nipur and with my with their gods, and the people of the King of Elam, I
choice bodyguard and my relentless warriors, I, like carried off. Not a rebel escaped. I had them loaded in
a strong wild-ox, went before them. I surmounted vessels, brought over to this side, and started on the
gullies, mountain torrents, and waterfalls, dangerous way to Assyria. The cities that were in those prov-
cliffs in my sedan-chair. Where it was too steep for inces I destroyed, I devastated, I burned with fire. Into
my chair, I advanced on foot. Like a young gazelle, I tells and ruins I turned them. On my return, Shuzubu,
mounted the highest peaks pursuing them. Wherever the Babylonian, who during an uprising in the land
my knees found a resting-place, I sat down on some had turned to himself the rule of Sumer and Akkad, I
mountain boulder and drank the cold water from a defeated in a battle on the plain. I seized him alive
waterskin for my thirst. To the summits of the moun- with my own hands, I threw him into bonds and fet-
tains I pursued them and brought about their over- ters of iron and brought him to Assyria. The King of
throw. I captured their cities and carried off their Elam, who had gone over to his side and had aided
spoil, I destroyed, I devastated, I burned with fire. him, I defeated. His forces I scattered and I shattered
The front of my yoke I turned. Against Maniae, his army.
King of Ukku” of the land of Daie, who was not In my seventh campaign, Assur, my Lord, sup-
submissive, I took the road. Before my day, none of ported me, and I advanced against Elam. Bit-Ha’iri
the kings who lived before me, had traveled the un- and Rasa, cities on the border of Assyria that the
blazed trails and wearisome paths that run along Elamite had seized by force during the time of my
these rugged mountains. At the foot of Mt. Anara father, in the course of my campaign I conquered and
and Mt. Uppa, mighty mountains, I had my camp I despoiled. I settled my garrisons in them and re-
pitched, and on a house-chair I, together with my stored them to the borders of Assyria. I placed them
seasoned warriors, made my wearisome way through under the commandant of Dér. 34 strong cities, to-
their narrow passes, and with great difficulty climbed gether with the small cities in their areas, which were
to the highest peak of the mountains. Maniae saw the countless, I besieged, I conquered, I despoiled, I de-
clouds of dust raised by the feet of my armies, aban- stroyed, I devastated, I burned with fire, with the
doned Ukku, his royal city, and fled to distant parts. smoke of their conflagration I covered the wide heav-
I besieged Ukku, I captured it, and took away its ens like a hurricane. The Elamite Kudur-nahundu
spoil. All kinds of goods and merchandise, the treas- heard of the overthrow of his cities. Terror over-
ure of his palace, I carried away from it and counted whelmed him. The people of the rest of his cities he
it as booty. Furthermore, 33 cities within the bounds brought into the strongholds. He himself left Madaktu,
of his province I captured. People, asses, cattle and his royal city, and took his way to Haidala which is in
sheep, I carried away from them as spoil. I destroyed, the distant mountains. I gave the word to march
I devastated, and I burned with fire. against Madaktu, his royal city. In the month of rain,
extreme cold set in and the heavy storms sent down
89 Mt. Judi in southeastern Turkey. rain upon rain and snow. I was afraid of the swollen
90 A mountain kingdom north of Mt. Nipur. mountain streams. The front of my yoke I turned and
146 IRON AGE EMPIRES (850-500 BCE)

took the road to Nineveh. At that time, at the com- dust of their feet covering the wide heavens, like a
mand of Assur, my Lord, Kudur-nahundu, the King mighty storm with masses of dense clouds, they drew
of Elam, in less than three months died suddenly on up in battle array before me in the city of Halulé, on
a day not of his fate. After him, Umman-menanu, his the bank of the Tigris. They blocked my passage and
younger brother, who possessed neither sense nor offered battle.
judgment, sat on his throne. As for me, I prayed victory over the mighty foe to
In my eighth campaign,”! after Shuzubu had re- Assur, Sin, Shamash, Bél, Nabi, Nergal, Ishtar of
volted, and the Babylonians, wicked devils, had Nineveh, and Ishtar of Arbela. They quickly gave ear
closed the city-gates their hearts planning resistance, to my prayers and came to my aid. Like a lion I
Shuzubu the Chaldean, a weakling, who had no raged; I put on a coat of mail. A helmet, emblem of
knees, a slave, subject to the governor of the city of victory, I placed upon my head. My great battle char-
the city of Lahiri, the fugitive Arameans gathered iot, which brings the foe low, I hurriedly mounted in
around him, the runaway, the murderer, the bandit. the anger of my heart. The mighty bow, which Assur
Into the marshes they descended and started a rebel- had given me, I seized in my hands; the javelin,
lion. But I completely surrounded him. I pressed him piercing to the life, I grasped. Against all of the
to the life. Through fear and hunger he fled to Elam. armies of wicked enemies, I cried out, rumbling like
When plotting and treachery were hatched against a storm. I roared like Adad. At the word of Assur, the
him, he fled from Elam and entered Shuanna.°? The great Lord, my Lord, on flank and front I pressed
Babylonians placed him on the throne, for which he upon the enemy like the onset of a raging storm.
was not fit, and entrusted to him the government of With the weapons of Assur, my Lord, and the terrible
Sumer and Akkad. They opened the treasury of the onset of my attack, I stopped their advance, I suc-
Esagila temple”? and the gold and silver belonging to ceeded in surrounding them, I decimated the enemy
Bél™ and Sarpanit®; they brought forth the property host with arrow and spear. I bored through all of
of the temples of their gods. And to Umman-menanu, their bodies. Humban-undasha, the field-marshall of
King of Elam, who had neither sense nor judgment, the King of Elam, a trustworthy man, commander of
they sent them as a bribe saying, “Gather your army, his armies, his chief support, together with his nobles
prepare your camp, haste to Babylon, stand at our who wear the golden belt-daggar and whose wrists
side, for you are our trust.” That Elamite, whose are encircled with thick rings of shining gold like fat
cities I had conquered and turned into ruins on my steers who have hobbles put on them, quickly I cut
earlier campaign against Elam, without thinking re- them down and defeated them. I cut their throats,
ceived the bribes from them, gathered his army and and I cut off their precious lives like a string. Like
camp, collected his chariots and wagons, and hitched the many waters of a storm, I made their gullets and
his horses and mules to them. An enormous vassal entrails run down upon the wide earth.
army he called to his side. The largest portion of My prancing steeds harnessed for my riding
them took the road to Akkad. Closing in on Babylon, plunged into the streams of their blood as into a river.
they exchanged courtesies with Shuzubu, the Chaldean The wheels of my war chariot, which brings the
King of Babylon, and brought their army to a halt. wicked and evil low, were spattered with blood and
Like the onset of locust swarms of the springtime, they filth. With the bodies of their warriors I filled the plain
steadily progressed against me to offer battle. With the like grass. Their testicles I cut off and I tore out their
privates like the seeds of cucumbers of Siwan.®® I cut
°1691 BCE. off their hands. The heavy rings of brightest gold that
*»? Babylon. were on their wrists I took away. With sharp swords I
°° A temple of Marduk in Babylon. pierced their belts and took away the belt-daggers of
°4 Marduk.
°> The consort of Marduk. °° The third month of the Assyrian year, May-June.
THE PRISM OF SENNACHERIB (ca. 689 BCE) 147

gold and silver that were on their persons. The rest of Assyrian workmanship,” which far surpassed the
his nobles, together with Nabi-shum-ishkun, son of former one in size and beauty, according to the plan of
Moerodach-baladan, who was frightened at my on- wise architects, I had them build for my royal resi-
slaught and had gone over to their side, my hands dence. Mighty cedar beams, the product of Amanus,
seized in the midst of the battle. The chariots and their the shining mountain, I stretched over them. Door-
horses, whose riders had been slain at the beginning leaves of liari-wood I covered with a sheathing of
of the terrible battle, and who had been left to them- bright bronze and set up in their doors. Out of white
selves, kept running back and forth for two double- limestone, which is found in the land of the city of
hours; I stopped their headlong flight. Balada,” I had mighty statues fashioned and posi-
That Umman-menanu, King of Elam, together tioned on the right and left of the entrances. For the
with the King of Babylon and the princes of Chaldea, equipment of the black-headed people, the stabling of
who had gone over to their side, the terror of my battle horses, mules, colts, riding camels, chariots, wagons,
overturned their bodies like a bull. They abandoned carts, quivers, bows and arrows, all kinds of battle
their tents and to save their lives they trampled the equipment: teams of horses and mules that possessed
bodies of their soldiers; they fled like young pigeons enormous strength, and were broken to the yoke. I
that are pursued. Their hearts were torn; they held greatly enlarged its court of the gates. That palace,
their urine but let their dung go into their chariots. In from its foundation to its coping, I constructed, I fin-
pursuit of them, I dispatched my chariots and horses ished. A stele with my name inscribed on it I set up in
after them. Those among them who had escaped, who it.
had fled for their lives, wherever the charioteers met In the days to come among the kings, my sons,
them, they cut them down with the sword. whose name Assur and Ishtar shall name for the rule
After that time, after Ihad completed the palace in of land and people, when that palace shall become
the midst of the city of Nineveh for my royal resi- old and ruined, may some future prince restore its
dence, had filled it with beautiful furnishings, to the ruins, look upon the stele with my name inscribed on
astonishment of all the people, the side-palace, which it, anoint it with oil, pour out a libation upon it, and
the former kings, my ancestors, had built for the care return it to its place. Then Assur and Ishtar will hear
of the camp, the stabling of the horses, and general his prayers. He who destroys my inscription and my
storage, because it had no terrace, because its site was name, may Assur, the great Lord, the father of the
too small, because its construction had not been skill- gods, treat him as an enemy, take away the scepter
fully done, so that, as the days went by, its foundation- and throne from him, and overthrow his rule. The
platform had become weak, its foundation had given month of Tammuz; eponym of Gahilu,!®° governor of
way and its roof had fallen in, I tore down in its en- Hatarikka.
tirety. A large tract of land in the meadows and envi-
rons of the city I confiscated, according to plan, and
added to it. The site of the former palace I abandoned.
With the ground of the meadows that I had seized
from the riverflats, I filled in a terrace, I raised its top
200 tipki®”’ on high. In a favorable month on an auspi-
cious day, on the top of that terrace, following the
cunning of my heart, a palace of limestone and cedar,
of Hittite workmanship, also a lofty palace of
98 For Near Eastern palace construction, see also
Reading 38.
°° Near Mosul in Iraq.
97 The thickness of a row of bricks. 100T_ immu in 689 BCE.
 4|
cSCQ>

PFHESASSY RIA Ne SlEGrEs@hirs

JERUSALEM (701 Bce): HEBREW
BIBleE;*2-KIN'
GCGSoets 1956

In a relief from the Assyrian palace at Nineveh, Assyrian soldiers impale Hebrew captives during the
siege of Lachish in 701 Bce. Preserved in the British Museum in London.

The book of 2 Kings in the Hebrew Bible contains a detailed account of the Assyrian king
Sennacherib's attack on Jerusalem in 701 sce. There are many points of contact between this
report and that provided by Sennacherib himself (Reading 40), such as the Assyrian capture of a
number of Galilean cities. But in other regards, the two versions place different interpretations on
the Assyrian withdrawal from Jerusalem. Especially worthy of note here is the multilingual Assyr-
ian general and his direct interactions with the Jewish negotiators and the people of Jerusalem.

Source: Hebrew Bible, 2 Kings 18:13—19:38; American Standard Version (1901).

Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did = Assyria appointed unto Hezekiah king of Judah three
Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.!°!
fortified cities of Judah, and took them. And Hezekiah
king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria to Lachish,
saying, “I have offended; return from me: that which '0l Sennacherib’s account (Reading 40) cites the same
thou puttest on me will I bear.’ And the king of — amount of gold but eight hundred talents of silver.

148
THE ASSYRIAN SIEGE OF JERUSALEM (701 sce): HEBREW BIBLE, 2 KINGS 18:13—19:38 149

And Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found word from the Lord? The Lord himself told me to
in the house of Jehovah, and in the treasures of the march against this country and destroy it.!°
king’s palace.'” At that time did Hezekiah cut off the
Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah, and Shebna, and Joah
gold from the doors of the temple of Jehovah, and
from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had said to the field commander, “Please speak to your
servants in Aramaic, because we understand it. Do
overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria. And the
not speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the
king of Assyria sent his field commander from
people on the wall.”1°°
Lachish'® to king Hezekiah with a great army unto
But the commander replied, “Was it only to your
Jerusalem. And they went up and came to Jerusalem.
master and you that my master sent me to say these
And when they were come up, they came and stood
things, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who,
by the conduit of the upper pool, which is in the high-
like you, will have to eat their own filth and drink
way of the fuller’s field. And when they had called to
their own urine?” Then the commander stood and
the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of
called out in Hebrew:
Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebnah
the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder. Hear the word of the Great King, the King of
The field commander said to them, Assyria! This is what the king says: “Do not let
Hezekiah deceive you. He cannot deliver you from
Tell Hezekiah: “This is what the Great King, the my hand. Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust
King of Assyria, says: “On what are you basing this in the Lord when he says, ‘The Lord will surely
confidence of yours? You say you have strategy and deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand
military strength, but you speak only empty words. of the King of Assyria.” Do not listen to Hezekiah.
On whom are you depending, that you rebel against This is what the King of Assyria says: “Make
me? Look now, you are depending on Egypt, that peace with me and come out to me. Then every one
splintered reed of a staff, which pierces a man’s of you will eat from his own vine and fig tree and
hand and wounds him if he leans on it. Such is the drink water from his own cistern, until I come and
Pharaoh of Egypt’ to all who depend on him. And take you to a land like your own, a land of grain
if you say to me, “We are depending on the Lord and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards, a
our God,’ is he not the one whose high places and land of olive trees and honey. Choose life and not
altars Hezekiah removed, saying to Judah and death!” Do not listen to Hezekiah, for he is mis-
Jerusalem, “You must worship before this altar in leading you when he says, “The Lord will deliver
Jerusalem?” Come now, make a bargain with my us.” Has the god of any nation ever delivered his
master, the King of Assyria: I will give you two land from the hand of the King of Assyria? Where
thousand horses, if you can put riders on them. are the gods of Hamath!”’ and Arpad!°*? Where are
How can you repulse one officer of the least of my the gods of Sepharvaim,!” Hena,"!° and Ivvah?!!
master’s officials, even though you are depending Have they rescued Samaria!” from my hand? Who
on Egypt for chariots and horsemen? Furthermore,
have I come to attack and destroy this place without
105 The general seems to be familiar with Hebrew proph-
ets who interpreted foreign attacks as god’s judgment
against the sinful Hebrews.
102 Ror the temple and royal palace of Jerusalem, see 106 King Hezekiah’s envoys clearly wanted to keep their ne-
Reading 38 above. gotiations with the Assyrians secret from the people at large.
103 A Jewish city being besieged and about to be captured 107 An important Canaanite city of Syria.
by Sennacherib. 108 An Aramaean city and kingdom of northwestern Syria.
104 Named later in this passage as Taharga. But Taharqa 109A city on the middle Euphrates River.
was Pharaoh from 690 to 664 BCE, not in 701 BcE, the 0 A city of Syria.
date of this episode, so the pharaoh in question here must 1 A city of Syria.
be Taharqa’s much less distinguished predecessor, his '2 Capital of the northern Hebrew kingdom of Israel,
cousin Shebitku (707—690 BCE). conquered by the Assyrians in 721 BCE.
150 IRON AGE EMPIRES (850-500 BcE)

of all the gods of these countries has been able to earth. Give ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O
save his land from me? How then can the Lord de- Lord, and see; listen to the words Sennacherib has
liver Jerusalem from my hand? sent to insult the living God. It is true, O Lord, that
the Assyrian kings have laid waste these nations and
But the people remained silent and said nothing in their lands. They have thrown their gods into the fire
reply, because the king had commanded, “Do not and destroyed them, for they were not gods but only
answer him.” wood and stone, fashioned by men’s hands. Now, O
Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administra- Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all
tor, Shebna the secretary, and Joah son of Asaph the kingdoms on earth may know that you alone, O Lord,
recorder went to Hezekiah, with their clothes torn,!”? are God.”
and told him what the field commander had said. When Then Isaiah’! son of Amoz sent a message to
King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put Hezekiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel,
on sackcloth and went into the temple of the Lord. says: ‘I have heard your prayer concerning Sen-
When the field commander heard that the King of nacherib King of Assyria.’ This is the word that the
Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the Lord has spoken against him: ‘Because you rage
king fighting against Libnah.'* Now Sennacherib re- against me and your insolence has reached my ears,
ceived a report that Tirhakah,' the Kushite pharaoh I will put my hook in your nose and my bit in your
of Egypt, was marching out to fight against him. So mouth, and I will make you return by the way you
he again sent messengers to Hezekiah with this came. Therefore this is what the Lord says con-
word: “Say to Hezekiah, King of Judah: “Do not let cerning the King of Assyria: “He will not enter this
the god you depend on deceive you when he says, city or shoot an arrow here. He will not come before
‘Jerusalem will not be handed over to the King of it with shield or build a siege ramp against it. By the
Assyria.’ Surely you have heard what the kings of way that he came he will return; he will not enter
Assyria have done to all the countries, destroying this city, declares the Lord, ‘I will defend this city
them completely. And will you be delivered? Did the and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David
gods of the nations that were destroyed by my forefa- my servant.”
thers deliver them: the gods of Gozan,''© Haran,!”” That night the angel of the Lord went out and
Rezeph'* and the people of Eden!’ who were in the smote a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the
Hill of Assar'?°? Where is the King of Hamath, the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next
King of Arpad, the King of the city of Sepharvaim, morning, there were all the dead bodies. So Sen-
or of Hena or Ivvah?” nacherib, King of Assyria, broke camp and with-
Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers drew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. And
and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the Lord it came to pass, as he was worshipping in the house
and spread it out before the Lord. And Hezekiah of Nisroch!?? his god, that Adrammelech and
prayed to the Lord: “O Lord, God of Israel, enthroned Sharezer'’™ his sons smote him with the sword, and
between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the they escaped into the land of Armenia. And Esarhad-
kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and don his son reigned in his stead.

3 As a sign of mourning. "19 A plain.

4 A Jewish town, location unknown. '20 A city of Mesopotamia.
'!S Taharga was Pharaoh from 690 to 664 sce. For the '21 A Hebrew prophet.
Empire of Kush, see Reading 70. '? Otherwise unknown; word etymology would suggest
116 A region of eastern Syria where captive Israelites were something to do with an eagle.
exiled. '°3 Sennacherib was murdered by his eldest son Arda-
'7 A city of northwestern Mesopotamia. Mulissi, who had been passed over in the succession in
'8Perhaps Rasapha, a city west of the Euphrates River. favor of Esarhaddon (681-669 Bce).
 a2
cSO>
JUDITH AND HOLOFERNES
(CA. 587 BCE): HEBREW BIBLE,
JUDITH

The beheading of the Neo-Babylonian general Holofernes by the Jew Judith has been a popular artistic
motif since the Middle Ages. This manuscript illumination, perhaps from Kéln, dates to circa 1360.

The book ofJudith in the Hebrew Bible relates that during the invasion of Judah by the New
Babylonian Empire in 587 sce the city of Bethulia was besieged. It was in such sorry straits
that the Jewish governor Uzziah decided to turn the city over to the Babylonians unless god
sent help within five days. Judith, a highly respectable widow, then told the city's elders that
she had a secret plan for defeating the Babylonian general Holofernes. What she did not tell
them was that her plan involved seducing Holofernes. Her plan succeeded, but did not pre-
vent the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem soon afterward. The places and characters in the
story are otherwise unknown.

Source: Judith 1-13; based on King James translation.

Judith was a widow in her house three years and four upon them. And there was none that gave her an ill
months. She also was of a goodly countenance and word, as she feared God greatly. Now when she
very beautiful to behold. Her husband Manasses had heard the evil words of the people against the gover-
left her gold, and silver, and menservants and maid- nor, that they fainted for lack of water, for Judith had
servants, and cattle, and lands, and she remained heard all the words that Uzziah had spoken unto

151
152 IRON AGE EMPIRES (850-500 BCE)

them, and that he had sworn to deliver the city unto figs, and with fine bread; so she folded all these
the Assyrians!** after five days, then she sent her things together, and laid them upon her. Thus they
waiting woman to call Uzziah and Chabris and went forth to the gate of the city of Bethulia, and
Charmis,'” the ancients of the city. found standing there Uzziah and the ancients of the
And they came unto her, and she said unto them, city, Chabris and Charmis. And when they saw her,
“Hear me now, O ye governors of the inhabitants of that her countenance was altered, and her apparel
Bethulia,'*° for your words that ye have spoken was changed, they wondered at her beauty very
before the people this day are not right, touching this greatly, and said unto her, “May God, the God of our
oath that ye made and pronounced between God and fathers give thee favor, and accomplish thine enter-
you, and you have promised to deliver the city to our prises to the glory of the children of Israel, and to the
enemies, unless within these days the Lord turn to exaltation of Jerusalem.’ Then they worshipped
help you. Now therefore, O brethren, let us shew an God. And she said unto them, “Command the gates
example to our brethren, because their hearts depend of the city to be opened unto me, that I may go forth
upon us, and because the sanctuary, and the house, to accomplish the things whereof ye have spoken
and the altar, rest upon us.” Then said Judith unto with me.” So they commanded the young men to
them, “Hear me, and I will do a thing, which shall go open unto her, as she had spoken.
throughout all generations to the children of our Thus they went straight forth in the valley and the
nation. Ye shall stand this night in the gate, and I will first watch of the Assyrians met her, and took her, and
go forth with my waiting woman: and within the asked her, “Of what people art thou? And whence
days that ye have promised to deliver the city to our comest thou? And whither goest thou?” And she said,
enemies Yahweh our God will visit Israel by mine “T am a woman of the Hebrews, and am fled from
hand. But enquire not ye of mine act, for I will not them: for they shall be given you to be consumed.
declare it unto you, until the things be finished that I And I am coming before Holofernes!”’ the chief cap-
do.” Then said Uzziah and the princes unto her, “Go tain of your army, to declare words of truth, and I will
in peace, and Yahweh be before thee, to take venge- shew him a way whereby he shall go and win all the
ance on our enemies.” hill country, without losing the body or life of any one
Judith called her maid, and went down into the of his men.” And they brought her to the tent of Hol-
house in which she abode in the sabbath days and in ofernes. Then the servants of Holofernes brought her
her feast days, and pulled off the sackcloth that she into the tent, and she slept until midnight, and she
had on, and put off the garments of her widowhood, arose when it was toward the morning watch, and sent
and washed her body all over with water, and to Holofernes, saying, “Let my lord now command
anointed herself with precious ointment, and braided that thine handmaid may go forth unto prayer.” Then
the hair of her head, and put a tiara upon it, and put Holofernes commanded his guard that they should
on her garments of gladness, wherewith she was clad not stay her. Thus she abode in the camp three days,
during the life of Manasses her husband. And she and went out in the night into the valley of Bethulia,
took sandals upon her feet, and put about her brace- and washed herself in a fountain of water by the camp.
lets, and her chains, and her rings, and her earrings, And in the fourth day Holofernes made a feast for
and all her ornaments, and decked herself bravely, to his own servants only, and called none of the officers
allure the eyes of all men that should see her. Then to the banquet. Then said he to Bagoas the eunuch,
she gave her maid a bottle of wine, and a cruse of oil, who had charge over all that he had, “Go now, and
and filled a bag with parched grain, and lumps of persuade this Hebrew woman who is with thee, that
she come unto us, and eat and drink with us. For, lo, it
'24The term used for the New Babylonian invaders.
'5None of these individuals are known outside of this story.
126 An otherwise unknown Jewish city. '7 An otherwise unknown New Babylonian general.
JUDITH AND HOLOFERNES (Ca. 587 cE): HEBREW BIBLE, JUDITH 153

will be a shame for our person if we shall let such a standing by his bed, said in her heart, ‘““O Yahweh,
woman go, not having had her company; for if we God of all power, look at this present upon the works
draw her not unto us, she will laugh us to scorn.” Then of mine hands for the exaltation of Jerusalem. For
went Bagoas from the presence of Holofernes, and now is the time to help thine inheritance, and to ex-
came to her, and he said, “Let not this fair damsel fear ecute thine enterprises to the destruction of the ene-
to come to my lord and to be honored in his presence, mies that are risen against us.”
and drink wine, and be merry with us, and be made Then she came to the pillar of the bed, which was
this day as one of the daughters of the Assyrians who at Holofernes’ head, and took down his scimitar
serve in the house of Nebuchadnezzar.'**” Then said from thence, and approached to his bed, and took
Judith unto him, “Who am I now, that I should gain- hold of the hair of his head, and said, “Strengthen
say my lord? Surely whatsoever pleaseth him I will do me, O Yahweh, God of Israel, this day.’ And she
speedily, and it shall be my joy unto the day of my smote twice upon his neck with all her might, and
death.” So she arose, and decked herself with her ap- she took away his head from him and tumbled his
parel and all her woman’s attire, and her maid went body down from the bed and pulled down the canopy
and laid soft skins on the ground for her over against from the pillars. And anon then she went forth, and
Holofernes, which she had received from Bagoas for gave Holofernes’ head to her maid, and she put it in
her daily use, that she might sit and eat upon them. her bag of meat. So they two went together according
Now when Judith came in and sat down, Hol- to their custom unto prayer, and when they passed
ofernes’ heart was ravished with her, and his mind the camp, they compassed the valley and went up the
was moved, and he desired greatly her company, for mountain of Bethulia and came to the gates thereof.
he had waited a time to deceive her, from the day that Then said Judith afar off to the watchmen at the
he had seen her. Then said Holofernes unto her, gate, “Open, open now the gate: God, even our God,
“Drink now, and be merry with us.” So Judith said, is with us, to shew his power yet in Jerusalem, and
“T will drink now, my lord, because my life is magni- his forces against the enemy, as he hath even done
fied in me this day more than all the days since I was this day.” Now when the men of her city heard her
born.” Then she took and ate and drank before him voice, they made haste to go down to the gate of their
what her maid had prepared. And Holofernes took city and they called the elders of the city. And then
great delight in her, and drank more wine than he they ran all together, both small and great, for it was
had drunk at any time in one day since he was born. strange unto them that she had come. So they opened
Now when the evening was come, his servants the gate and received them and made a fire for a light
made haste to depart, and Bagoas shut his tent with- and stood round about them. Then she said to them
out, and dismissed the waiters from the presence of with a loud voice, “Praise, praise God, praise God, I
his lord, and they went to their beds, for they were all say, for he hath not taken away his mercy from the
weary because the feast had been long. And Judith house of Israel, but hath destroyed our enemies by
was left alone in the tent and Holofernes lying alone mine hands this night.”
upon his bed, for he was filled with wine. Now Judith So she took the head out of the bag, and shewed
had commanded her maid to stand without her bed- it, and said unto them, “Behold the head of Hol-
chamber, and to wait for her coming forth, as she did ofernes, the chief captain of the army of Assur,!”’
daily, for she said she would go forth to her prayers, and behold the canopy, wherein he did lie in his
and she spoke to Bagoas according to the same drunkenness, and Yahweh hath smitten him by the
purpose. So all went forth and none was left in the hand of a woman.'*° As Yahweh liveth, who hath
bedchamber, neither little nor great. Then Judith,
!29 Actually Babylonia, not Assyria.
128 New Babylonian king ca. 634-562 BCE who captured '30 Compare the story of Deborah, Reading 37, “Yahweh
Jerusalem in 597 BCE and then destroyed it in 587 BCE. will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.”
154 IRON AGE EMPIRES (850-500 BcE)

kept me in my way that I went, my countenance hath brought to nought the enemies of thy people.” Then
deceived him to his destruction, and yet hath he not said Uzziah unto her, “O daughter, blessed art thou of
committed sin with me, to defile and shame me.” Then the most high God above all the women upon the earth;
all the people were wonderfully astonished, and bowed and blessed be Yahweh, who hath created the heavens
themselves and worshipped god, and said with one and the earth, who hath directed thee to the cutting off
accord, “Blessed be thou, O our God, who hast this day of the head of the chief of our enemies.”

43
oC

THE CYRUS LEGEND

(cA. 580 BCE)

A fifteenth-century French manuscript depicts the dream of Astyages, in which a great vine grew from
the womb of Mandane, the mother of Cyrus.

After the destruction of the Assyrian Empire at the end of the seventh century ace by the
Medes and Chaldeans, the Medes established a powerful kingdom that extended from Iran
to central Anatolia. At this time the Persians, even though they had kings of their own, were
vassals of the Medes. In the mid-sixth century, the Persian Cyrus, a descendent of the Persian
royal family, led a revolt against the Medes and founded the Persian Empire. As was the case
with many important persons of antiquity, legends grew up about Cyrus's origins, such as
this tale related in the mid-fifth century sce by the Greek historian Herodotus. The story is
THE CYRUS LEGEND (ca. 580 BcE) 155

an example of acommon folk tale motif of the noble child raised in disguise, much as in the
legends of Romulus and Remus (Reading 73) and King Arthur.

Source: Herodotus, 1.108-119, G. C. Macaulay, The History of Herodotus (London/New York: Macmillan, 1890).

And when Mandane’*! was married to Cambyses,'*” than he now is, will I agree to his will or serve him in
in the first year Astyages saw another vision. It such a murder as this. And for many reasons I will not
seemed to him that from the womb of this daughter a slay the child; first because he is a kin to me, and then
vine grew, and this vine overspread the whole of because Astyages is old and without male issue, and if
Asia. Having seen this vision and delivered it to the after he is dead the power shall come through me, does
interpreters of dreams, he sent for his daughter, being not the greatest of dangers then await me? To secure
then with child, to come from the land of the Per- me, this child must die; but one of the servants of Asty-
sians. And when she had come he kept watch over ages must be the slayer of it, and not one of mine.”
her, desiring to destroy that which should be born of Thus he spoke, and straightway sent a messenger to
her, for the Magian!* interpreters of dreams signified that one of the herdsmen of Astyages who he knew fed
to him that the offspring of his daughter should be his herds on the pastures that were most suitable for his
king in his place. Astyages then desiring to guard purpose, and on the mountains most haunted by wild
against this, when Cyrus was born, called Harpagus, beasts. The name of this man was Mithridates, and he
aman who was of kin near him and whom he trusted was married to one who was his fellow-slave, and the
above all the other Medes, and had made him name of the woman to whom he was married was Kyno
manager of all his affairs, and to him he said, in the tongue of the Hellenes!’ and in the Median tongue
“Neglect not by any means, Harpagus, the matter Spaco, for what the Hellenes call kyna'*> the Medes call
that I shall lay upon thee to do, and beware lest thou spaca. Now, it was on the skirts of the mountains that
set me aside, and choosing the advantage of others this herdsman had his cattle-pastures, from Ecbatana!°°
instead, bring thyself afterward to destruction. Take toward the north wind and toward the Euxine Sea.'°’
the child that Mandane bore and carry it to thy house For here in the direction of the Saspeirians!** the
and slay it, and afterward bury it in whatsoever Median land is very mountainous and lofty and thickly
manner thou thyself desirest.’ To this he made covered with forests; but the rest of the land of Media is
answer, “O king, never yet in any past time didst thou all level plain. So when this herdsman came, being
discern in me an offense against thee, and I keep summoned with much urgency, Harpagus said these
watch over myself also with a view to the time that words, “Astyages bids thee take this child and place it
comes after, that I may not commit any error toward on the most desolate part of the mountains, so that it
thee. If it is indeed thy pleasure that this should so be may perish as quickly as possible.'*? And he bade me to
done, my service at least must be fitly rendered.” say that if thou do not kill it, but in any way shalt pre-
Thus he made answer, and when the child had been serve it from death, he will slay thee by the most evil
delivered to him adorned as for death, Harpagus went kind of destruction, and I have been appointed to see
weeping to his wife all the words that had been spoken that the child is laid forth.”
by Astyages. And she said to him, “Now, therefore,
what is it in thy mind to do?” and he made answer, “Not
according as Astyages enjoined, for not even if he shall
come to be yet more out of his senses and more mad 134 Greeks.
135 A female dog.
136 A capital city of the Medes.
131 Daughter of Astyages, King of the Medes ca. 585-550 BCE. 137 The Black Sea.
132 King of the Persians ca. 600-559, vassal of the Medes. 138 A people of central Asia; see the map for Chapter 9.
133 The Magi were the priests of the Medes. 139 Compare the story of Romulus and Remus, Reading 73.
156 IRON AGE EMPIRES (850-500 BcE)

Having heard this and having taken up the child, bearing the other. And having adorned it with all the
the herdsman went back by the way he came, and ar- adornment of the other child, he bore it to the most
rived at his dwelling. And his wife also, as it seems, desolate part of the mountains and placed it there.
having been every day on the point of bearing a child, And when the third day came after the child had
by a providential chance brought her child to birth been laid forth, the herdsman went to the city, leav-
just at that time, when the herdsman was gone to the ing one of his underherdsmen to watch there, and
city. And both were in anxiety, each for the other, the when he came to the house of Harpagus he said that
man having fear about the child-bearing of his wife, he was ready to display the dead body of the child;
and the woman about the cause why Harpagus had and Harpagus sent the most trusted of his spearmen,
sent to summon her husband, not having been wont and through them he saw and buried the herdsman’s
to do so aforetime. So as soon as he returned and child. This then had had burial, but him who was
stood before her, the woman seeing him again afterward called Cyrus the wife of the herdsman had
beyond her hopes was the first to speak, and asked received, and was bringing him up, giving him no
him for what purpose Harpagus had sent for him so doubt some other name, not Cyrus.
urgently. And he said, “Wife, when I came to the city And when the boy was ten years old, it happened
I saw and heard that which I would I had not’ seen, with regard to him_as follows, and this made him
and which IJ should wish had never chanced to those known. He was playing in the village in which were
whom we serve. For the house of Harpagus was all stalls for oxen, he was playing there, I say, with other
full of mourning, and I being astonished thereat went boys of his age in the road. And the boys in their play
within, and as soon as | entered I saw laid out to view chose as their king this one who was called the son
an infant child gasping for breath and screaming, of the herdsman, and he set some of them to build
which was adorned with gold ornaments and embroi- palaces and others to be spearmen of his guard, and
dered clothing. And when Harpagus saw me he bade one of them no doubt he appointed to be the eye of
me forthwith to take up the child and carry it away the king,'"° and to one he gave the office of bearing
and lay it on that part of the mountains that is most the messages, appointing a work for each one sever-
haunted by wild beasts, saying that it was Astyages ally. Now one of these boys who was playing with
who laid this task upon me, and using to me many the rest, the son of Artembares a man of repute
threats, if I should fail to do this. And I took it up and among the Medes, did not do that which Cyrus ap-
bore it away, supposing that it was the child of some pointed him to do; therefore Cyrus bade the other
one of the servants of the house, for never could I boys seize him hand and foot, and when they obeyed
have supposed whence it really was; but I marvelled his command he dealt with the boy very roughly,
to see it adorned with gold and raiment, and I mar- scourging him. But he, so soon as he was let go,
velled also because mourning was made for it openly being made much more angry because he considered
in the house of Harpagus. And straightway as we that he had been treated with indignity, went down to
went by the road, I learnt the whole of the matter the city and complained to his father of the treatment
from the servant who went with me out of the city that he had met with from Cyrus, calling him not
and placed in my hands the babe, namely that it was Cyrus, for this was not yet his name, but the son of
in truth the son of Mandane the daughter of Asty- the herdsman of Astyages. And Artembares in the
ages, and of Cambyses the son of Cyrus, and that anger of the moment went at once to Astyages, taking
Astyages bade slay it. And now here it is.” the boy with him, and he declared that he had suf-
To the herdsman it seemed that, the case standing fered things that were unfitting and said, “O king, by
thus, his wife spoke well, and forthwith he did so.
The child that he was bearing to put to death, this he
delivered to his wife, and his own, which was dead, ‘©The “Eyes and Ears of the King” were officials sent to
he took and placed in the chest in which he had been spy on government officials.
THE CYRUS LEGEND (ca. 580 BCE) 157

thy slave, the son of a herdsman, we have been thus So when the herdsman had made known the truth,
outraged,” showing him the shoulders of his son. Astyages now cared less about him, but with Harpa-
And Astyages having heard and seen this, wish- gus he was very greatly displeased and bade his
ing to punish the boy to avenge the honor of Artem- spearmen summon him. And when Harpagus came,
bares, sent for both the herdsman and his son. And Astyages asked him thus, “By what death, Harpagus,
when both were present, Astyages looked at Cyrus didst thou destroy the child whom I delivered to thee,
and said, “Didst thou dare, being the son of so mean born of my daughter?” and Harpagus, seeing that the
a father as this, to treat with such unseemly insult the herdsman was in the king’s palace, turned not to any
son of this man who is first in my favor?” And he false way of speech, lest he should be convicted and
replied thus, “Master, I did so to him with right. For found out, but said, “O king, so soon as I received the
the boys of the village, of whom he also was one, in child, I took counsel and considered how I should do
their play set me up as king over them, for I appeared according to thy mind, and how without offense to
to them most fitted for this place. Now the other boys thy command I might not be guilty of murder against
did what I commanded them, but this one disobeyed thy daughter and against thyself. I did therefore thus:
and paid no regard, until at last he received the pun- I called this herdsman and delivered the child to him,
ishment due. If therefore for this I am worthy to saying first that thou wert he who bade him slay it,
suffer any evil, here I stand before thee.” and in this at least I did not lie, for thou didst so com-
While the boy thus spoke, there came upon Asty- mand. I delivered it, I say, to this man commanding
ages a sense of recognition of him and the lineaments him to place it upon a desolate mountain, and to stay
of his face seemed to him to resemble his own, and by it and watch it until it should die, threatening him
his answer appeared to be somewhat over free for his with all kinds of punishment if he should fail to ac-
station, while the time of the laying forth seemed to complish this. And when he had done that which was
agree with the age of the boy. Being struck with ordered and the child was dead, I sent the most
amazement by these things, for a time he was speech- trusted of my eunuchs and through them I saw and
less; and having at length with difficulty recovered buried the child. Thus, O king, it happened about
himself, he said, desiring to dismiss Artembares, in this matter, and the child had this death that I say.”
order that he might get the herdsman by himself So Harpagus declared the truth, and Astyages
alone and examine him, “Artembares, I will so order concealed the anger that he kept against him for that
these things that thou and thy son shall have no cause which had come to pass, and first he related the
to find fault’; and so he dismissed Artembares, and matter over again to Harpagus according as he had
the servants upon the command of Astyages led been told it by the herdsman, and afterward, when it
Cyrus within. And when the herdsman was left alone had been thus repeated by him, he ended by saying
with the king, Astyages being alone with him asked that the child was alive and that that which had come
whence he had received the boy, and who it was who to pass was well, “for,” continued he, “I was greatly
had delivered the boy to him. And the herdsman said troubled by that which had been done to this child,
that he was his own son, and that the mother was and IJ thought it no light thing that I had been made at
living with him still as his wife. But Astyages said variance with my daughter. Therefore consider that
that he was not well advised in desiring to be brought this is a happy change of fortune, and first send thy
to extreme necessity, and as he said this he made a son to be with the boy who is newly come, and then,
sign to the spearmen of his guard to seize him. So he, seeing that I intend to make a sacrifice of thanksgiv-
as he was being led away to the torture, then declared ing for the preservation of the boy to those gods to
the story as it really was; and beginning from the be- whom that honor belongs, be here thyself to dine
ginning he went through the whole, telling the truth with me.”
about it, and finally ended with entreaties, asking When Harpagus heard this, he did reverence and
that he would grant him pardon. thought it a great matter that his offense had turned
158 IRON AGE EMPIRES (850-500 BCE)

out for his profit and moreover that he had been seemed that Harpagus was satisfied with food,
invited to dinner with happy augury; and so he went Astyages asked him whether he had been pleased
to his house. And having entered it straightway, he with the banquet; and when Harpagus said that he
sent forth his son, for he had one only son of about had been very greatly pleased, they who had been
thirteen years old, bidding him go to the palace of commanded to do this brought to him the head of
Astyages and do whatsoever the king should com- his son covered up, together with the hands and the
mand; and he himself being overjoyed told his wife feet. And standing near they bade Harpagus un-
that which had befallen him. But Astyages, when cover and take of them that which he desired. So
the son of Harpagus arrived, cut his throat and di- when Harpagus obeyed and uncovered, he saw the
vided him limb from limb, and having roasted some remains of his son, and seeing them he was not
pieces of the flesh and boiled others he caused them overcome with amazement but contained himself.
to be dressed for eating and kept them ready. And Astyages asked him whether he perceived of what
when the time arrived for dinner and the other animal he had been eating the flesh, and he said that
guests were present and also Harpagus, then before he perceived, and that whatsoever the king might
the other guests and before Astyages himself were do was well pleasing to him. Thus having made
placed tables covered with flesh of sheep; but before answer and taking up the parts of the flesh that still
Harpagus was placed the flesh of his own son, all remained he went to his house; and after that, I sup-
but the head and the hands and the feet, and these pose, he would gather all the parts together and
were laid aside covered up in a basket. Then when it bury them.
 44
CSL

THE BEHISTUN INSCRIPTION

CGA? Oe BGe)

The Behistun inscription, carved into a cliffside on Mount Behistun near Kermanshah in western Iran,
describes the rise to power of the Persian king Darius |.

In order to get the news out about important events during their reigns, Persian kings had huge
rock reliefs carved onto the sides of cliffs. For Darius | (522-486 sce), the most important event
of his reign was the first, his proclamation as Great King, which occurred under somewhat irregu-
lar circumstances. Although Darius was, or at least claimed to be, a direct descendent of the first

ayy
160 IRON AGE EMPIRES (850-500 BCE)

Persian king Achaemenes, he was only a distant cousin of Cyrus, the founder of the Persian
Empire. It therefore was crucially important that he establish his legitimacy, and one of the
means he employed to do this was the creation of this rock carving that told the story of his rise
to power. It not only depicted him fully enthroned as king but also had an accompanying inscrip-
tion, written in Persian, Babylonian, and Elamite. The account contained in a massive inscription
carved into the side of Mount Behistun in Iran is candid about the problems that Darius had es-
tablishing his control over the empire, and, in typical near-eastern fashion, attributes his legiti-
macy to the support of a god, in this case Ahura Mazda, the primary god of the Zoroastrian
religion. It provides in excruciating detail accounts, with exact places and dates, of the battles
that Darius fought in his quest to secure the throne.

Source: L. W. King and R. C. Thompson, The Sculptures and Inscription of Darius the Great on the Rock of Behistiin in Persia
(London: British Museum, 1907).

Column One countries by the Sea, Lydia, the Greeks,

(1) I am Darius, the Great King, King of Kings, Media, Armenia, Cappadocia, Parthia, Dran-
the King of Persia, the king of countries, the giana, Aria, Chorasmia, Bactria, Sogdia, Gan-
son of Hystaspes, the grandson of Arsames, dara, Scythia, Sattagydia, Arachosia, and
the Achaemenid. Maka; twenty-three lands in all.'**
(2) King Darius says: My father is Hystaspes; the (7) King Darius says: These are the countries that
father of Hystaspes was Arsames; the father of are subject to me; by the grace of Ahura Mazda
Arsames was Ariaramnes; the father of Ariar- they became subject to me; they brought trib-
amnes was Teispes; the father of Teispes was ute unto me. Whatsoever commands have
Achaemenes. been laid on them by me, by night or by day,
(3) King Darius says: That is why we are called have been performed by them.
Achaemenids; from antiquity we have been noble; (8) King Darius says: Within these lands, whoso-
from antiquity has our dynasty been royal.'"! ever was a friend, him have I surely protected;
(4) King Darius says: Eight of my dynasty were whosoever was hostile, him have I utterly de-
kings before me; I am the ninth. Nine in suc- stroyed. By the grace of Ahura Mazda these
cession we have been kings.'” lands have conformed to my decrees; as it was
(5) King Darius says: By the grace of Ahura commanded unto them by me, so was it done.
Mazda am I king; Ahura Mazda has granted (9) King Darius says: Ahura Mazda has granted
me the kingdom.'* unto me this empire. Ahura Mazda brought me
(6) King Darius says: These are the countries that help, until I gained this empire; by the grace of
are subject unto me, and by the grace of Ahura Ahura Mazda do I hold this empire.
Mazda I became king of them: Persia, Elam, (10) King Darius says: The following is what was
Babylonia, Assyria, Arabia, Egypt, the done by me after I became king. A son of
Cyrus, named Cambyses, one of our dynasty,
'41Tn order to establish his legitimacy, Darius painstak- was king here before me. That Cambyses had a
ingly demonstrates his connection to the royal family. brother, Smerdis by name, of the same mother
'2 Tncluding his distant cousins, and direct predecessors,
Cyrus and Cambyses.
'3 Throughout the narrative Darius harps on the support '4 For these satrapies, see the map at the beginning of
that he received from the god Ahura Mazda. this chapter.
THE BEHISTUN INSCRIPTION (ca. 520 BCE) 161

and the same father as Cambyses. Afterward, who dared to act against Gaumata, the Magian,
Cambyses slew this Smerdis. When Cambyses until I came. Then I prayed to Ahura Mazda;
slew Smerdis, it was not known unto the people Ahura Mazda brought me help. On the tenth day
- that Smerdis was slain. Thereupon Cambyses of the month Bagayadis'° I, with a few men, slew
went to Egypt. When Cambyses had departed that Gaumata, the Magian, and the chief men
into Egypt, the people became hostile, and the who were his followers. At the stronghold called
lie multiplied in the land, even in Persia and SikayauvatiS, in the district called Nisaia in
Media, and in the other provinces. Media, I slew him; I dispossessed him of the
(11) King Darius says: Afterward, there was a cer- kingdom. By the grace of Ahura Mazda Ibecame
tain man, a Magian,'** Gaumata by name, who king; Ahura Mazda granted me the kingdom.
raised a rebellion in Paishiyauvada,"“° in a moun- (14) King Darius says: The kingdom that had been
tain called Arakadri§. On the fourteenth day of wrested from our line I brought back and I re-
the month Viyaxana'*’ did he rebel. He lied to established it on its foundation. The temples
the people, saying: “I am Smerdis, the son of that Gaumata, the Magian, had destroyed, I
Cyrus, the brother of Cambyses.” Then were all restored to the people, and the pasture lands,
the people in revolt, and from Cambyses they and the herds and the dwelling places, and the
went over unto him, both Persia and Media, and houses that Gaumata, the Magian, had taken
the other provinces. He seized the kingdom; on away. I settled the people in their place, the
the ninth day of the month Garmapada'*® he people of Persia, and Media, and the other
seized the kingdom. Afterward, Cambyses died provinces. I restored that which had been
of natural causes.” taken away, as it was in the days of old. This
(12) King Darius says: The kingdom of which did I by the grace of Ahura Mazda, I labored
Gaum§ata, the Magian, dispossessed Cam- until I had established our dynasty in its place,
byses, had always belonged to our dynasty. as in the days of old; I labored, by the grace of
After that Gaumata, the Magian, had dispos- Ahura Mazda, so that Gaumata, the Magian,
sessed Cambyses of Persia and Media, and of did not dispossess our house.
the other provinces, he did according to his (15) King Darius says: This was what I did after I
will. He became king. became king.
(13) King Darius says: There was no man, either Per- (16) King Darius says: After I had slain Gaumata, the
sian or Mede or of our own dynasty, who took the Magian, a certain man named A&Sina, the son of
kingdom from Gaumiata, the Magian. The people Upadarma, raised a rebellion in Elam, and he
feared him exceedingly, for he slew many who spoke thus unto the people of Elam: “T am king in
had known the real Smerdis. For this reason did Elam.” Thereupon the people of Elam became
he slay them, “that they may not know that I am rebellious, and they went over unto that A&Sina:
not Smerdis, the son of Cyrus.” There was none he became king in Elam. And a certain Babylo-
nian named Nidintu-Bél, the son of Kin-Zér,
raised a rebellion in Babylon: he lied to the
145 One of the magi, the priests of the Medes. people, saying: “I am Nebuchadnezzar, the son of
146 Probably on the border between Persia and Elam to the Nabonidus.” Then did all the province of Babylo-
northwest. nia go over to Nidintu-Bél, and Babylonia rose in
471] March 522. rebellion. He seized on the kingdom of
| July 22:
Babylonia."
149 In Egypt in 522. Cambyses actually was said to have
accidentally fallen on his sword while getting on his
horse. One must wonder whether someone was holding 15029 September 522.
the sword at the time. '513 October 522.
162 IRON AGE EMPIRES (850-500 BcE)

(17) King Darius says: Then I sent to Elam. That Cyaxares.”!°> Then did the Medes who were in
A&&ina was brought unto me in fetters, and I the palace revolt from me and go over to
killed him. Phraortes. He became king in Media.
(18) King Darius says: Then I marched against that (31) King Darius says: Then I went forth from Baby-
Nidintu-Bél, who called himself Nebuchad- lon and came into Media. When I had come to
nezzar. The army of Nidintu-Bél held the Media, that Phraortes, who called himself king
Tigris; there it took its stand, and on account of in Media, came against me unto a city in Media
the waters the river was unfordable. Thereupon called Kunduru to offer battle. Then we joined
I floated my army on inflated skins, others I battle. Ahura Mazda brought me help; by the
made camel-borne, for the rest I brought grace of Ahura Mazda did my army utterly over-
horses. Ahura Mazda brought me help; by the throw that rebel host. On the twenty-fifth day of
grace of Ahura Mazda we crossed the Tigris. the month Adukanai&a we fought the battle.'°
Then did I utterly overthrow that host of (32) King Darius says: Thereupon that Phraortes
Nidintu-Bél. On the twenty-sixth day of the fled thence with a few horseman to a district in
month Aciyddiya!? we joined battle. Media called Rhagae. Then I sent an army in
(19) King Darius says: After that I marched against pursuit. Phraortes was taken and brought unto
Babylon. But before I reached Babylon, that me. I cut off his nose, his ears, and his tongue,
Nidintu-Bél, who called himself Nebuchad- and I put out one eye, and he was kept in fetters
nezzar, came with a host and offered battle at a at my palace entrance, and all the people beheld
city called Zazana,' on the Euphrates. Then him. Then did I crucify him in Ecbatana'>’; and
we joined battle. Ahura Mazda brought me the men who were his foremost followers, those
help; by the grace of Ahura Mazda did I utterly at Ecbatana within the fortress, I flayed and
overthrow the host of Nidintu-Bél. The enemy hung out their hides, stuffed with straw.
fled into the water; the water carried them away. (34) King Darius says: This is what was done by
On the second day of the month Anadmaka!* we me in Media.
joined battle. (35) King Darius says: The Parthians'** and Hyrca-
nians'® revolted from me, and they declared
Column Two themselves on the side of Phraortes. My father
(20) King Darius says: Then did Nidintu-Bél flee Hystaspes was in Parthia and the people for-
with a few horsemen into Babylon. Thereupon sook him; they became rebellious. Then Hys-
I marched to Babylon. By the grace of Ahura taspes marched forth with the troops that had
Mazda I took Babylon, and captured Nidintu-Bél. remained faithful. At a city in Parthia called
Then I slew that Nidintu-Bél in Babylon. ViSpauzatis he fought a battle with the Parthi-
(21) King Darius says: While I was in Babylon, ans. Ahura Mazda brought me help; by the
these provinces revolted from me: Persia, Elam, grace of Ahura Mazda my army utterly defeated
Media, Assyria, Egypt, Parthia, Margiana, that rebel host. On the second day of the month
Sattagydia, and Scythia. Viyaxana'™™ the battle was fought by them.
(24) King Darius says: A certain Mede named
Phraortes revolted in Media, and he said to the
'> The most famous king of the Medes; he assisted in the
people: “I am Khshathrita, of the family of
destruction of the Assyrian Empire in 612 BCE. So this
was a serious revolt.
'56 8 May 521.
152 13 December 522. 'S7 A capital city of the Medes and Persians; in western Iran.
'3 Or Susa, an ancient city of western Iran, later a capital '8 For the Parthians, see Reading 69.
city of the Medes and Persians. '? On the southern coast of the Caspian Sea.
5418 December 522. 1608 March 521.
THE BEHISTUN INSCRIPTION (Ca. 520 Bce) 163

(36) King Darius says: Then did I send a Persian fifth day of the month Garmapada'®™ was the
army unto Hystaspes from Rhagae. When that battle fought by them. And they seized that
army reached Hystaspes, he marched forth Vahyazdata, and the men who were his chief
with the host. At a city in Parthia called followers were also seized.
Patigrabana he gave battle to the rebels. Ahura (43) King Darius says: Then did I crucify that
Mazda brought me help; by the grace of Ahura Vahyazdata and the men who were his chief
Mazda Hystaspes utterly defeated that rebel followers in a city in Persia called Uvadaicaya.
host. On the first day of the month Garma- (44) King Darius says: This is what was done by
pada'*' the battle was fought by them. me in Persia.
(37) King Darius says: Then was the province (49) King Darius says: While I was in Persia and in
mine. This is what done by me in Parthia. Media, the Babylonians revolted from me a
(40) King Darius says: A certain man named second time. A certain man named Arakha, an
Vahyazdata dwelt in a city called Tarava in a Armenian, son of Haldita, rebelled in Babylon.
district in Persia called Vautiya. This man re- At a place called Dubdala, he lied unto the
belled for the second time in Persia, and thus people, saying: “I am Nebuchadnezzar, the son
he spoke unto the people: “I am Smerdis, the of Nabonidus.” Then did the Babylonian
son of Cyrus.” Then the Persian people who people revolt from me and they went over to
were in the palace fell away from allegiance. that Arakha. He seized Babylon, he became
They revolted from me and went over to that king in Babylon.
Vahyazdata. He became king in Persia. (50) King Darius says: Then did I send an army
(41) King Darius says: Then did I send out the Per- unto Babylon. A Persian named Intaphrenes,
sian and the Median army that was with me. A my servant, I appointed as their leader, and
Persian named Artavardiya, my servant, I thus I spoke unto them: “Go, smite that Baby-
made their leader. The rest of the Persian army lonian host that does not acknowledge me.”
came unto me in Media. Then went Arta- Then Intaphrenes marched with the army unto
vardiya with the army unto Persia. When he Babylon. Ahura Mazda brought me help; by
came to Persia, at a city in Persia called Rakha, the grace of Ahura Mazda Intaphrenes over-
that Vahyazdata, who called himself Smerdis, threw the Babylonians and brought over the
advanced with the army against Artavardiya to people unto me. On the twenty-second day of
give him battle. They then fought the battle. the month Markdasana’'™ they seized that
Ahura Mazda brought me help; by the grace of Arakha who called himself Nebuchadnezzar,
Ahura Mazda my host utterly overthrew the and the men who were his chief followers.
army of Vahyazdata. On the twelfth day of the Then I made a decree, saying: “Let that Arakha
month Thiravahara'” was the battle fought by and the men who were his chief followers be
them. crucified in Babylon!”
(42) King Darius says: Then that Vahyazdata fled
thence with a few horsemen unto Pishiyauvada. Column Four
From that place he went forth with an army a Ol) King Darius says: This is what was done by
second time against Artavardiya to give him me in Babylon.
battle. At a mountain called Parga they fought (52) King Darius says: This is what I have done. By
the battle. Ahura Mazda brought me help; by the grace of Ahura Mazda have I always acted.
the grace of Ahura Mazda my host utterly After I became king, I fought nineteen battles in
overthrew the army of Vahyazdata. On the a single year and by the grace of Ahura Mazda I

1611] July 521. 163 15 July 521.

16294 May 521. 16497 November 521.
164 IRON AGE EMPIRES (850-500 BcE)

overthrew nine kings and I made them captive.'® my house, him I favored; he who was hostile,
One was named Gaumiata, the Magian; he lied, him I destroyed.
saying “I am Smerdis, the son of Cyrus.” He (68) King Darius says: These are the men who were
made Persia to revolt. Another was named with me when I slew Gaumata the Magian, who
A®Xina, the Elamite; he lied, saying: “I am the was called Smerdis; then these men helped me
King of Elam.” He made Elam to revolt. An- as my followers: Intaphrenes, son of Vayaspara,
other was named Nidintu-Bél, the Babylonian; a Persian; Otanes, son of Thukhra, a Persian;
he lied, saying: “I am Nebuchadnezzar, the son Gobryas, son of Mardonius, a Persian; Hy-
of Nabonidus.” He made Babylon to revolt. An- darnes, son of Bagabigna, a Persian; Megaby-
other was named Martiya, the Persian; he lied, zus, son of Datuvahya, a Persian; Ardumani§,
saying: “I am Ummanni§, the King of Elam.” son of Vakauka, a Persian.
He made Elam to revolt. Another was Phraortes, (69) King Darius says: You who may be king here-
the Mede; he lied, saying: “I am Khshathrita, of after, protect the family of these men.
the dynasty of Cyaxares.” He made Media to (70) King Darius says: By the grace of Ahura
revolt. Another was Tritantaechmes, the Sagar- Mazda this is the inscription that I have made.
tian; he lied, saying: “I am king in Sagartia, of It was in Aryan script, and it was composed on
the dynasty of Cyaxares.” He made Sagartia to clay tablets and on parchment. Besides, a
revolt. Another was named Frada, of Margiana; sculptured figure of myself I made. Besides, I
he lied, saying: “I am King of Margiana.”’ He made my lineage. And it was inscribed and
made Margiana to revolt. Another was was read off before me. Afterward this inscrip-
Vahyazdata, a Persian; he lied, saying: “I am tion I sent off everywhere among the prov-
Smerdis, the son of Cyrus.” He made Persia to inces. The people unitedly worked upon it.
revolt. Another was Arakha, an Armenian; he
lied, saying: “I am Nebuchadnezzar, the son of Column Five 166

Nabonidus.” He made Babylon to revolt. (74) King Darius says: Afterward with an army I
(3) King Darius says: These nine kings did I cap- went off to Scythia'®’ after the Scythians who
ture in these wars. wear the pointed cap. These Scythians went
54) King Darius says: As to these provinces that from me. When IJ arrived at the river, I crossed
revolted, lies made them revolt, so that they beyond it then with all my army. Afterward, I
deceived the people. Then Ahura Mazda deliv- smote the Scythians exceedingly; one of their
ered them into my hand; and I did unto them leaders I took captive; he was led bound to me,
according to my will. and I killed him. Another chief of them, by
(62) King Darius says: This is what I have done in name Skunkha, they seized and led to me.
one single year; by the grace of Ahura Mazda Then I made another their chief, as was my
have I always acted. Ahura Mazda brought me desire. Then the province became mine.!®
help, and the other gods, all that there are. (75) King Darius says: Those Scythians were faith-
(63) King Darius says: On this account Ahura less and Ahura Mazda was not worshipped by
Mazda brought me help, and all the other gods, them. I worshipped Ahura Mazda; by the
all that there are, because I was not wicked, grace of Ahura Mazda I did unto them accord-
nor was [ a liar, nor was I a tyrant, neither I nor ing to my will.
any of my family. I have ruled according to
righteousness. Neither to the weak nor to the
166 A rather brief addendum.
powerful did I do wrong. Whosoever helped
'7In 519 BcE. For the Scythians, see Reading 68.
' This is wishful thinking; the Persians never conquered
'’ The inscription inserts here a summary of the revolts the Scythians. A subsequent invasion of Scythia in
Darius suppressed during his first year of rule. 513 BCE likewise was unsuccessful.
 CHAPTER 6
cSh

Greece in the Dark and Archaic

Ages (1100-500 Bce)

The origins of the ancient Greek culture of the fifth century BCE, a period generally recog-
nized as the Golden Age of Greece, are to be found during the periods known as the Dark
and Archaic Ages, which lasted from roughly 1100 to 500 Bcs. During these periods, the
Greeks recovered from the decline and fall of the Mycenaean civilization to create an even
more complex and sophisticated civilization based on the political institution known as the
polis, or city-state. The revival of Greek culture was marked not only by developments in
Greek art and architecture, but also by the evolution of Greek literature, especially in the
fields of poetry and philosophy.

165
166 GREECE IN THE DARK AND ARCHAIC AGES (1100-500 BcE)

caine Olbia
é
1anass
Ns
Marseille

ETRUSGANS _, DACIANS
CORSICAG@alalia \ ™ ILLYRIANS
eRome
es oea0 Sinope Phasis
SARDINIAJ nae Tarsntumae® STHRACIANS Se Hefaclea ““%,, Lrapezus
le Amisus

Cirta® Messana
SICIEY,
Thapsus “Syracuse Tarsus
N AFRICA eae ee
ea, IRHODESSalammis * PHOENICIA
CRETE Cittum
Apollonia

fe Greek colonies o 200 400 Mi

Phoenician colonies =
0 200 400 Km

Map 6 Greek Colonization during the Archaic Age

 45
cSQ>
THE TROJAN WAR (ca. 1185 BCE):
HOMER, /LIAD, BOOK 6, LINES
315-494

On this Athenian black-figured amphora, now in the Vatican Museum, painted ca. 525 sce by the
Exekias painter, the Greek heroes Achilles and Ajax throw dice during some down time during the
siege of Troy. The numbers “three” and “four” come from their mouths.

Homer's epic poem the lliad, the earliest surviving work of western literature, is set at the end
of the Mycenaean period, ca. 1175 sce, and told part of the story of the Greek attack on the

167
168 GREECE IN THE DARK AND ARCHAIC AGES (1100-500 BcE)

city of Troy, picking up when the Greek siege was already well underway and ending before
the fall of the city. The poem describes the Greek hero Achilles's rage after King Agamemnon
had taken away a favorite concubine, Achilles's subsequent refusal to fight, the death of
Achilles's best friend Patroclus, and Achilles's resultant return to battle and his killing of the
Trojan hero Hector. Homer's works were central to the development and preservation of Greek
concepts of masculinity and aristocratic arété (virtue). These concepts were especially mani-
fested in warfare, through the actions not only of Mycenaean kings, such as Agamemnon of
Mycenae, Menelaus of Sparta, Achilles of Phthia, Odysseus of Ithaca, and Ajax of Salamis, but
also of Trojan nobles, such as King Priam and Priam's sons Hector and Paris. The characters
manifested their human qualities, as seen in Hector's rebuking of Paris for his reluctance to
fight and in his obvious love for his wife Andromache and son Astyanax.

Source: A. T. Murray, trans., Homer. The Iliad, Vol. 1 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1924).

Hector went his way to the palace of Alexander,' the did godlike Alexander make answer, saying: “Hector,
fair palace that he himself had built with the men seeing that thou dost chide me duly, and not beyond
that were in that day the best builders in deep-soiled what is due, therefore will I tell thee, and do thou take
Troy; these had made him a chamber and hall and thought and hearken unto me. Not so much by reason
court hard by the palaces of Priam? and Hector in the of wrath and indignation against the Trojans sat I in
citadel. There entered in Hector, dear to Zeus, and in my chamber, but I was minded to yield myself to
his hand he held a spear of eleven cubits, and before sorrow. Even now my wife sought to turn my mind
him blazed the spear-point of bronze, around which with gentle words and urged me to the war, and I,
ran a ring of gold. He found Paris in his chamber mine own self, deem that it will be better so; victory
busied with his beauteous arms, his shield and his shifteth from man to man. But come now, tarry a
corselet, and handling his curved bow, and Argive* while, let me don my harness of war, or go thy way,
Helen‘ sat amid her serving-women and appointed to and I will follow, and methinks I shall overtake thee.”
them their glorious handiwork. So said he, and Hector of the flashing helm an-
And at sight of him Hector rebuked him with swered him not a word, but unto him spoke Helen
words of shame: “Strange man, thou dost not well to with gentle words: “O Brother of me that am a dog, a
nurse this anger in thy heart. Thy people are perish- contriver of mischief and abhorred of all, I would
ing about the town and the steep wall in battle, and it that on the day when first my mother gave me birth
is because of thee that the battle-cry and the war are an evil storm-wind had borne me away to some
ablaze about this city,° thou wouldest thyself vent mountain or to the wave of the loud-resounding sea,
wrath on any other, whomso thou shouldest haply see where the wave might have swept me away or ever
shrinking from hateful war. Nay, then, rouse thee, lest these things came to pass. Howbeit, seeing the gods
soon the city blaze with consuming fire.” And to him thus ordained these ills, would that I had been wife
to a better man, that could feel the indignation of his
fellows and their many revilings. But this man’s un-
' An alternate name for Paris, son of Priam and brother of
derstanding is not now stable, nor ever will be here-
Hector.
* The king of Troy. after, of this I deem that he will even reap the fruit.
> That is, a native of the city of Argos in Greece. But come now, enter in, and sit thee upon this chair,
“The former wife of the Greek king Menelaus of Sparta. my brother, because above all others has trouble en-
Tt was Paris’s kidnaping of Helen that had led to the compassed thy heart because of shameless me, and
Trojan War. the folly of Alexander, on whom Zeus hath brought
THE TROJAN WAR (ca. 1185 BcE): HOMER, ILIAD, BOOK 6, LINES 315-494 169

an evil doom, that even in days to come we may be a be thy doom, neither hast thou any pity for thine
song for men that are yet to be.” infant child nor for hapless me that soon shall be thy
Then made answer to her great Hector of the widow, for soon will the Achaeans all set upon thee
flashing helm: “Bid me not sit, Helen, for all thou and slay thee.'° But for me it would be better to go
lovest me, thou wilt not persuade me. Even now my down to the grave if I lose thee, for nevermore shall
heart is impatient to bear aid to the Trojans that any comfort be mine, when thou hast met thy fate,
sorely long for me that am not with them. Nay, but but only woes. Neither father have I nor queenly
rouse thou this man, and let him of himself make mother. My father verily goodly Achilles slew, for
haste, that he may overtake me while yet I am within utterly laid he waste the well-peopled city of the Cili-
the city. For I shall go to my home, that I may behold cians, even Thebe of lofty gates. He slew Eétion, yet
my housefolk, my dear wife, and my infant son, for I he despoiled him not, for his soul had awe of that, but
know not if any more I shall return home to them he burnt him in his armor, richly prepared, and
again, or if even now the gods will slay me beneath heaped over him a barrow, and all about were
the hands of the Achaeans.’* elm-trees planted by nymphs of the mountain,
So saying, Hector of the flashing helmet departed, daughters of Zeus who bears the aegis.'' And the
and came speedily to his well-built house. But he found seven brothers that were mine in our halls, all these
not white-armed Andromache in his halls. She with her on the selfsame day entered into the house of Hades,
child and a fair-robed handmaiden had taken her stand for all were slain by swift-footed, godly Achilles,
upon the wall, weeping and wailing. Hector hastened amid their kine of shambling gait and _ their
from the house back over the same way along the well- white-fleeced sheep. And my mother, that was queen
built streets. When now he had come to the gate, as he beneath wooded Placus, her brought he hither with
passed through the great city, the Scaean gate, whereby the rest of the spoil, but thereafter set her free, when
he was minded to go forth to the plain, there came run- he had taken ransom past counting, and in her fa-
ning to meet him his bounteous wife, Andromache, ther’s halls Artemis the archer slew her. Nay, Hector,
daughter of great-hearted Eétion,’ Eétion that dwelt be- thou art to me father and queenly mother, thou art
neath wooded Placus, in Thebe under Placus, and was brother, and thou art my stalwart husband. Come
Lord over the men of Cilicia,® for it was his daughter now, have pity, and remain here on the wall, lest thou
that bronze-harnessed Hector had to wife. She now met make thy child an orphan and thy wife a widow. And
him, and with her came a handmaid bearing in her for thy host, station it by the wild fig-tree, where the
bosom the tender boy, a mere babe, the well-loved son city may best be scaled, and the wall is open to as-
of Hector, like to a fair star. Him Hector was wont to sault. For thrice at this point came the most valiant in
call Scamandrius, but other men Astyanax.’ company with the two Ajaxes’” and glorious Idome-
Then Hector smiled, as he glanced at his boy in neus!? and the sons of Atreus'* and the valiant son of
silence, but Andromache came close to his side
weeping, and clasped his hand and spoke to him,
saying: “Ah, my husband, this prowess of thine will !0 Andromache prophesizes Hector’s death. Her own sub-
sequent fate is discussed in Euripides’s play “The Trojan
Women,” Reading 58.
6 Another name for the Greeks. | A shield carried by the gods Zeus and Athena, some-
7 The king of Thebe, a city near Troy. He was killed in a times depicted bearing the head of the Gorgon that could
raid by Achilles. turn anyone who looked on it into stone.
8 Not the Cilicia on the south-eastern Anatolian coast, but 12 The two Greek heroes the “Greater” and “Lesser” Ajax.
another, legendary, Cilicia near Troy. '3 King of Crete, grandson of King Minos.
9 Because myths and legends survived in different ver- ‘44The son of Pelops and Hippodameia (see Reading 51)
sions, it was not uncommon for the same person to be and the father of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and/or
called by different names. Argos, and Menelaus, king of Sparta.
170 GREECE IN THE DARK AND ARCHAIC AGES (1100-500 BcE)

Tydeus,'> and made essay to enter: whether it be that fair-girdled nurse shrank the child crying, af-
one well-skilled in soothsaying told them, or haply frighted at the aspect of his dear father, and seized
their own spirit urges and bids them there.” with dread of the bronze and the crest of horse-hair,
Then spoke to her great Hector of the flashing as he marked it waving dreadfully from the top of
helm, “Woman, I too take thought of all this, but won- the helmet. Aloud then laughed his dear father and
drously have I shame of the Trojans, and the Trojans’ queenly mother, and forthwith glorious Hector took
wives, with trailing robes, if like a coward I skulk the helm from his head and laid it all-gleaming
apart from the battle. Nor doth mine own heart suffer upon the ground. But he kissed his dear son, and
it, seeing I have learnt to be valiant always and to fondled him in his arms, and spoke in prayer to
fight amid the foremost Trojans, striving to win my Zeus and the other gods: “Zeus and ye other gods,
father’s great glory and mine own. For of a surety grant that this my child may likewise prove, even as
know I this in heart and soul: the day shall come I, pre-eminent amid the Trojans, and as valiant in
when sacred Ilios!® shall be laid low, and Priam, and might, and that he rule mightily over Ilios. And
the people of Priam with goodly spear of ash. Yet not some day may some man say of him as he cometh
so much doth the grief of the Trojans that shall be in back from war, ‘He is better far than his father, and
the aftertime move me, neither Hecuba’s'” own, nor may he bear the blood-stained spoils of the foeman
king Priam’s, nor my brethren’s, many and brave, he hath slain, and may his mother’s heart wax
who then shall fall in the dust beneath the hands of glad.”
their foemen, as doth thy grief, when some So saying, he laid his child in his dear wife’s
brazen-coated Achaean shall lead thee away weep- arms, and she took him to her fragrant bosom,
ing and rob thee of thy day of freedom.!* Then haply smiling through her tears, and her husband was
in Argos shalt thou ply the loom at another’s bidding, touched with pity at sight of her, and he stroked her
or bear water from Messeis or Hypereia,!’ sorely with his hand, and spoke to her, saying: “Dear wife,
against thy will, and strong necessity shall be laid in no wise, I pray thee, grieve overmuch at heart; no
upon thee. And some man shall say as he beholdeth man beyond my fate shall send me forth to Hades;
thee weeping: ‘Lo, the wife of Hector, that was only his doom, methinks, no man hath ever es-
pre-eminent in war above all the horse-taming Tro- caped, be he coward or valiant, when once he hath
jans, in the day when men fought about Ilios.’ So been born. Nay, go thou to the house and busy thy-
shall one say, and to thee shall come fresh grief in self with thine own tasks, the loom and the distaff,
thy lack of a man like me to ward off the day of and bid thy handmaids ply their work: but war shall
bondage. But let me be dead, and let the heaped-up be for men, for all, but most of all for me, of them
earth cover me, ere I hear thy cries as they hale thee that dwell in Ilios.” So spoke glorious Hector and
into captivity.” took up his helm with horse-hair crest, and his dear
So saying, glorious Hector stretched out his wife went forthwith to her house, oft turning back,
arms to his boy, but back into the bosom of his and shedding great tears.

'’ The Greek hero Diomedes, later King of Argos.

'6 A poetic name for Troy. 'SExactly what happened; see Reading 58.
The wife of Priam, King of Troy. ' The names of two springs at Argos in Greece.
 46
chp
THE “DORIAN INVASION”
AND THE ORIGIN OF THE GREEK
eiseoucA. 100 BCE):
MERQLDOTUS, HISTORIES,
PAO) Kol CRAP hERS« 55-58

Little material evidence remains for the migration of the “Dorians” into southern Greece. Linguistic
evidence, however, does attest to the movements of peoples. By the time ancient Greece entered the
historical period in the eighth century sce, speakers of originally northern Dorian dialects of Greek
had moved south to inhabit the Peloponnesus, Crete, and even southern lonia. lonic, Aeolic, and Attic
speakers, representing the earlier Mycenaean populations, had been either pushed aside or forced to
migrate to lonia.

The Greek historian Herodotus, writing in Athens around 430 sce, gives a general account of
the events termed “the Dorian Invasions," presenting them as transfers of populations. The
Dorians’ original home, he suggests, was in northern central Greece next to Thessaly. The
lonian people, he proposes, were descended from an original “Pelasgian” population. In his
discussion of the origins of Greek peoples, Herodotus too uses the evidence of languages.
Herodotus has been called “the father of history” because of his practice of assembling

171
172 GREECE IN THE DARK AND ARCHAIC AGES (1100-500 BcE)

evidence and then analyzing it. At the same time, however, he, like Greek tragedians, placed
heavy weight on fulfilling the will of the gods.

Source: George Rawlinson, Henry Rawlinson, and John Gardner Wilkinson, trans., The History of Herodotus. A New English
Version (London: Murray, 1862).

And having made presents to the men of Delphi, Pelasgian® and the first a Hellenic people. The one
Croesus”? consulted the Oracle the third time, for never migrated from its place in any direction, whereas
from the time when he learnt the truth of the Oracle, the other” was very exceedingly given to wanderings,
he made abundant use of it. And consulting the for in the reign of Deucalion?’ this people dwelt in
Oracle he inquired whether his monarchy would Phthiotis,”8 and in the time of Dorus”? the son of Hellen*°
endure for a long time. And the Pythian prophetess”! in the land lying below Ossa and Olympus, which is
answered him thus: called Histiaiotis,?! and when it was driven from Histi-
aiotis by the sons of Cadmus, it dwelt in Pindus® and
But when it cometh to pass that a mule of the Medes was called Makednian,** and thence it moved afterward
shall be monarch to Dryopis,** and from Dryopis it came finally to Pelo-
Then by the pebbly Hermos, O Lydian delicate- ponnesus, and began to be called Dorian.
footed, What language however the Pelasgians used to
Flee and stay not, and be not ashamed to be calléd
speak I am not able with certainty to say. But if one
a coward.
must pronounce judging by those that still remain of
the Pelasgians who dwelt in the city of Creston above
When they came to him, Croesus was pleased more
the Tyrsenians, and who were once neighbors of the
by these lines than by all the rest, for he supposed
people now called Dorian, dwelling then in the land
that a mule would never be ruler of the Medes in-
that is now called Thessaliotis, and also by those that
stead of a man, and accordingly that he himself and
remain of the Pelasgians who settled at Plakia and
his heirs would never cease from their rule.”? Then
Skylake in the region of the Hellespont, who before
after this he gave thought to inquire which people of
that had been settlers with the Athenians, and of the
the Hellenes*? he should esteem the most powerful
natives of the various other towns that are really Pelas-
and gain over to himself as friends. And inquiring he
gian, although they have lost the name. If one must
found that the Lacedemonians™ and the Athenians
had the pre-eminence, the first of the Dorian and the
others of the Ionian people. For these were the most 5 In Greek legend, an indigenous people who inhabited
eminent peoples in ancient time, the second being a Greece before the arrival of the Greeks.
6 The Dorians.
0 King of Lydia in the mid-sixth century BCE, Croesus °7For the story of Deucalion, see Reading 8.
often consulted the oracle of Apollo at Delphi in *8 Phthiotis was a region in central Greece ruled by
north-central Greece. As a result of a misunderstood Achilles.
oracle, he went to war with the Persian king Cyrus in *’ The eponymous founder of the Dorian people.
548, was defeated, and lost his kingdom. +0 King of northern Greece; a son of Deucalion.
21 The prophetress of Apollo at the temple at Delphi. 3! A region of Thessaly in northern Greece.
? Croesus did not realize that the “mule” was the Persian * The Pindus mountain range between Thessaly and
king Cyrus, who had a Mede for a mother and a Persian Epirus.
for a father; see Reading 48. The ancient homeland of the Macedonians.
3 Greeks. ** A region between southern Thessaly and Aetolia in
*4 An alternate name for Spartans. northern Greece.
HUMAN SOCIETY IN THE EARLY ARCHAIC AGE (ca. 700 BcE) 173

pronounce judging by these, the Pelasgians used to As for the Hellenic people, it has used ever the
speak a barbarian language. If therefore all the Pelas- same language, as I clearly perceive, since it first
gian people was such as these, then the Attic people, took its rise, but since the time when it parted off
being Pelasgian, at the same time when it changed and feeble at first from the Pelasgian people, setting forth
became Hellenic, unlearnt also its language. For the from a small beginning it has increased to that great
people of Creston do not speak the same language number of peoples that we see, and chiefly because
with any of those who dwell about them, nor yet do the many barbarian peoples have been added to it be-
people of Phakia, but they speak the same language sides. Moreover it is true, as I think, of the Pelasgian
one as the other: and by this it is proved that they still people also, that so far as it remained barbarian it
keep unchanged the form of language that they never made any great increase.
brought with them when they migrated to these places.

47
cSQ>

HUMAN SOCIETY IN THE EARLY

ARCHAIC AGE (ca. 700 BCE):
Pepto WORKS AIAND DAYS;
LINES 1-736

his assistant at
In a miniature self-portrait on the edge of one of his pots, a potter shows himself and
work at a potter’s wheel in Athens, ca. 535 BcE.
174 GREECE IN THE DARK AND ARCHAIC AGES (1100-500 BcE)

The Works and Days is a didactic (instructional) poem of some eight hundred lines addressed
around 700 sce by the poet Hesiod, a native of Askra in Boeotia in central Greece, to his
brother Perses. It proposes to discuss the nature of human society, including why the Greeks
were so beset by strife and conflict. It begins by summarizing the Five Ages of Humans, run-
ning from the original Golden Age to the lron Age of Hesiod’s own day, when people are forced
to labor continuously in order to survive. Hesiod then proceeds to discuss the most effective
means of pursuing these labors, which revolve around farming. The proper time for perform-
ing various agricultural activities is determined by an astronomical calendar. The poem has
been interpreted as reflecting an agricultural crisis that resulted in many Greeks leaving Greece
for settlements in lonia during the second wave of Greek colonization, ca. 750-550 sce.

Source: Hugh G. Evelyn-White, trans. Hesiod, The Homeric Hymns, and Homerica, Loeb Classical Library (London:
Heinemann, 1914).

Perses, I would tell of true things. There is not one men who lived in the time of Cronus** when he was
kind of Strife*> alone, but all over the earth there are reigning in heaven. And they lived like gods without
two. For one fosters evil war and battle, being cruel: sorrow of heart, remote and free from toil and grief:
her no man loves. But the other is far kinder to men. miserable age rested not on them, but with legs and
She stirs up even the shiftless to toil, for a man grows arms never failing they made merry with feasting
eager to work when he considers his neighbor, a rich beyond the reach of all evils. They dwelt in ease and
man who hastens to plough and plant and put his peace upon their lands with many good things, rich
house in good order, and neighbor vies with his in flocks and loved by the blessed gods.
neighbor as he hurries after wealth. This Strife is After earth had covered this generation, they who
wholesome for men. And potter is angry with potter, dwell on Olympus made a second generation that
and craftsman with craftsman, and beggar is jealous was of silver*? and less noble by far. It was like the
of beggar, and minstrel of minstrel. Perses, lay up golden race neither in body nor in spirit. A child was
these things in your heart, and do not let that Strife brought up at his good mother’s side for a hundred
who delights in mischief hold your heart back from years, an utter simpleton, playing childishly in his
work. own home. But when they were full grown, they
Before now human peoples lived on earth remote lived only a little time in sorrow, for they could not
and free from ills and hard toil and heavy sickness keep from wronging one another, nor would they
that bring the Fates**° upon men, for in misery men sacrifice on the holy altars of the blessed ones. Then
grow old quickly. First of all the deathless gods who Zeus the son of Cronus was angry and destroyed
dwell on Olympus made a golden race*’ of mortal them, because they would not give honor to the
blessed gods who live on Olympus.
> Strife, personified as the goddess Eris, was driven by When earth had covered this generation also,
the obsession of Greek men with competition and was the Zeus the Father made a third generation of mortal
bane of Greek existence. It beset Greek society on all
levels, ranging from personal interactions to relations 38 A Titan, known to the Romans as Saturn, who castrated
between Greek cities. his father Uranus with a sickle and became king of the
36 Goddesses depicted as elderly women who control gods. The time of Cronus’s rule was known as the
human destiny: Clotho spun the thread of life, Lachesis “Golden Age.” Cronus, in turn, was overthrown by his
measured how long it would be, and Atropos cut it off at own son Zeus, who imprisoned most of the Titans in Tar-
the end. tarus in the underworld. See Readings 5 and 6.
37 The Golden Age. » The Silver Age.
HUMAN SOCIETY IN THE EARLY ARCHAIC AGE (ca. 700 BCE) 175

men, a bronze race,*° sprung from ash-trees, and it their nurture, for might shall be their right: and one
was in no way equal to the Silver Age, but was ter- man will sack another’s city. There will be no favor
rible and strong. They loved deeds of violence; they for the man who keeps his oath or for the just or for
ate no bread, but were hard of heart. Great was their the good, but rather men will praise the evil-doer and
strength and unconquerable the arms that grew from his violent dealing. Strength will be right and rever-
their shoulders on their strong limbs. Their armor ence will cease to be, and the wicked will hurt the
was of bronze, and their houses of bronze, and of worthy man, speaking false words against him, and
bronze were their implements: there was no black will swear an oath upon them. Envy, foul-mouthed,
iron. These were destroyed by their own hands and delighting in evil, with scowling face, will go along
passed to the dank house of chill Hades.*! with wretched men one and all.
When earth had covered this generation also, But you, Perses, listen to right and do not foster vio-
Zeus the son of Cronus made yet another, the fourth, lence, for violence is bad for a poor man. Even the
upon the fruitful earth, which was nobler and more prosperous person cannot easily bear its burden, but is
righteous, a god-like race of hero-men who are called weighed down under it when he has fallen into delu-
demi-gods,” the race before our own, throughout the sion. The better path is to go by on the other side toward
boundless earth. Grim war and dread battle destroyed Justice, for Justice beats Outrage when she comes at
a part of them, some when it had brought them in length to the end of the race. But for those who practice
ships over the great sea gulf to Troy for rich-haired violence and cruel deeds far-seeing Zeus, the son of
Helen’s sake. But to the others father Zeus the son of Cronus, ordains a punishment.** You princes, mark
Cronus gave a living and an abode apart from men, well this punishment, for the deathless gods are near
and made them dwell at the ends of earth in the Islands among men and mark all those who oppress their fel-
of the Blessed** along the shore of deep swirling lows with crooked judgments, and consider not the
Ocean. And these equally have honor and glory. anger of the gods.
And again far-seeing Zeus made yet another gen- The eye of Zeus, seeing all and understanding all,
eration, the fifth, of men who are upon the bounteous beholds these things too, if so he will, and fails not to
earth. Thereafter, would that I were not among the mark what sort of justice is this that the city keeps
men of the fifth generation, but either had died before within it. Now, therefore, may neither I myself be
or been born afterward. For now truly is a race of righteous among men, nor my son —for then it is a
iron,** and men never rest from labor and sorrow by bad thing to be righteous —if indeed the unrighteous
day, and from perishing by night, and the gods shall shall have the greater right. But I think that all-wise
lay sore trouble upon them. The father will not agree Zeus will not yet bring that to pass. The son of Cronus
with his children, nor the children with their father, has ordained this law for men, that whoever knows
nor guest with his host, nor comrade with comrade, the right and is ready to speak it, far-seeing Zeus
nor will brother be dear to brother as aforetime. Men gives him prosperity, but whoever deliberately lies in
will dishonor their parents as they grow quickly old, his witness and forswears himself, and so hurts Jus-
and will carp at them, chiding them with bitter words, tice and sins beyond repair, that man’s generation is
hard-hearted they, not knowing the fear of the gods. left obscure thereafter. Badness can be got easily and
They will not repay their aged parents the cost of in shoals. The road to her is smooth, and she lives
very near us. But between us and Goodness the gods
have placed the sweat of our brows: long and steep is
40 The Bronze Age.
4| The underworld.
“2 The Heroic Age, the only age not named after a metal. 45 The theme that the gods punish those who do not obey
43 The “Hesperides,” sometimes identified as the Canary their will ran throughout Greek culture, and is seen, for
Islands or the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean. example, in the Histories of Herodotus and in Greek
44 The Iron Age, the worst of all the ages. tragedies.
176 GREECE IN THE DARK AND ARCHAIC AGES (1100-500 BcE)

the path that leads to her, and it is rough at the first, Two or three times, maybe, you will succeed, but if
but when a man has reached the top, then is she easy you trouble them further, it will not avail you, and all
to reach, although before that she was hard. your talk will be in vain. Nay, I bid you find a way to
Work is no disgrace; it is idleness that is a dis- pay your debts and avoid hunger.
grace. But if you work, the idle will soon envy you as First of all, get a house, and a woman and an ox
you grow rich, for fame and renown attend on wealth. for the plough, a slave woman and not a wife, to
And whatever be your lot, work is best for you, if you follow the oxen as well, and make everything ready
turn your misguided mind away from other men’s at home. Do not put your work off until to-morrow,
property to your work and attend to your livelihood for a sluggish worker does not fill his barn. When the
as I bid you. An evil shame is the needy man’s com- piercing power and sultry heat of the sun abate, and
panion, shame that both greatly harms and prospers almighty Zeus sends the autumn rains, the wood you
men: shame is with poverty, but confidence with cut with your axe is least liable to worm. Get two
wealth. Do not let a flaunting woman coax and cozen ploughs ready and work on them at home, one all of
and deceive you: she is after your barn. The man a piece, and the other jointed. It is far better to do
who trusts womankind trust deceivers. There should this, for if you should break one of them, you can put
be an only son, to feed his father’s house, for so the oxen to the other. Get two oxen, bulls of nine
wealth will increase in the home, but if you leave a years, for their strength is unspent and they are in the
second son you should die old. Yet Zeus can easily prime of their age: they are best for work. Let a brisk
give great wealth to a greater number. More hands fellow of forty years*’ follow them, with a loaf of
mean more work and more increase. four quarters and eight slices for his dinner. No
younger man will be better than he at scattering the
[Then there follows advice on farming] seed and avoiding double-sowing.
When the Pleiades,*° daughters of Atlas,’ are rising, As soon as the time for ploughing is proclaimed,
begin your harvest, and your ploughing when they then make haste, you and your slaves alike, in wet and
are going to set. Forty nights and days they are in dry, to plough in the season for ploughing, and
hidden and appear again as the year moves round, bestir yourself early in the morning so that your fields
when first you sharpen your sickle. This is the law of may be full. Plough in the spring, but fallow>® and
the plains, and of those who live near the sea, and broken up in the summer will not belie your hopes.
who inhabit rich country, the glens and vales far Let a slave follow a little behind with a mattock and
from the tossing sea: strip to sow and strip to plough make trouble for the birds by hiding the seed, for good
and strip to reap, if you wish to get in all Demeter’s*® management is the best for mortal men as bad man-
fruits in due season. Else, afterward, you may chance agement is the worst. In this way your grain-ears will
to be in want, and go begging to other men’s houses, bow to the ground with fullness. But if you plough the
but without avail; as you have already come to me. good ground at the solstice,*’ you will reap sitting,
But I will give you no more nor give you further grasping a thin crop in your hand, binding the sheaves
measure. Foolish Perses! Work the work that the awry, dust-covered, not glad at all, so you will bring
gods ordained for men, lest in bitter anguish of spirit all home in a basket and not many will admire you.
you with your wife and children seek your livelihood Stop by the blacksmith and its crowded lounge in
among your neighbors, and they do not heed you. winter time when the cold keeps men from field
work. While it is yet midsummer command your
“© Commemorated by the star cluster of the same name,
which in Hesiod’s time began rising the first week ” Presumably a slave.
in May. °° Land that is not sown with crops but is given time to
“’The son of the Titan Iapetus, Atlas held up the sky. recover its fertility.
“8 The goddess of grain; Ceres to the Romans. >! The summer solstice, 21 June, the longest day of the year.
HUMAN SOCIETY IN THE EARLY ARCHAIC AGE (ca. 700 BCE) 177

slaves: “It will not always be summer, build barns.” one who lives near you, but look well about you and
Set your slaves to winnow” Demeter’s holy grain, see that your marriage will not be a joke to your
when strong Orion*? first appears, on a smooth neighbors. For a man wins nothing better than a
threshing-floor in an airy place. Then measure it and good wife, and, again, nothing worse than a bad one,
store it in jars. And so soon as you have safely stored a greedy soul who roasts her man without fire and
all your grain indoors, I bid you put your bondman** brings him to a raw old age.
out of doors and look for a servant-girl with no chil- Do not stand upright facing the sun when you
dren, for a servant with a child to nurse is trouble- make water,*’ but remember to do this when it has
some. Bring in fodder and litter so as to have enough set, toward its rising. And do not make water as you
for your oxen and mules. After that, let your men rest go, whether on the road or off the road, and do not
their poor knees and unyoke your pair of oxen. uncover yourself: the nights belong to the blessed
Bring home a wife to your house when you are of gods. A scrupulous man who has a wise heart sits
the right age, while you are not far short of thirty down or goes to the wall of an enclosed court. Do not
years nor much above; this is the right age for mar- expose yourself befouled by the fireside in your
riage. Let your wife have been grown up four years* house, but avoid this. Do not beget children when
and marry her in the fifth. Marry a maiden,” so that you are come back from an ill-omened burial, but
you can teach her careful ways, and especially marry after a festival of the gods.

52 To remove the chaff from the grain, but only after the
harvested stalks had been allowed to dry for more than a
month.
53 A constellation named after a gigantic mythological
hunter, the son of Poseidon and the Gorgon Euryale; in
Greece, Orion began to rise in mid-June.
54 That is, the plow man already mentioned. Moving him
out would make room for the servant girl.
55 After puberty, or about seventeen years old.
56 That is, a virgin. 57 Urinate.
 48
cSO>

BATTUS AND THE FOUNDING

OF CYRENE (cA. 630 Bee):
HERODOTUS, HISTORIES,
BOOK 4, SECTIONS 145-159

A Laconian (Spartan) black-figured kylix (wide drinking cup) dated to 560—550 sce depicts King
Arcesilaus | (ca. 600-580 ace) of the Greek trading colony of Cyrene in Libya, the son of Battus, sitting
on the deck of a merchant chip and overseeing the weighing of silphium, the main product of Cyrene,
which is put but below deck. Silphium was used as a condiment and for medicinal purposes, for coughs,
and as a contraceptive.

During the first wave of Greek colonization, ca. 750-550 sce, Greek cities sent colonists out
to found new cities on the shores of the Mediterranean and Black seas. Hundreds of

178
BATTUS AND THE FOUNDING OF CYRENE (CA. 630 BCE) 179

independent new cities thus were created, all replications of the cities back on mainland
Greece. The process by which colonies were established is depicted in the historian Herodo-
tus's account, written in Athens in the mid-fifth century sce, of the founding of the city of
Cyrene on the coast of Libya in the 630s sce.

Source: George Rawlinson, Henry Rawlinson, and John Gardner Wilkinson, trans., The History of Herodotus. A New English
Version (London: Murray, 1862).

About this very time another great expedition was whence they came. Thus compelled to return, they
undertaken against Libya. Grinus, the son of Aesan- settled on an island near the Libyan coast, which was
ius, a descendent of Theras and king of the island of called Plataea.
Thera,*® went to Delphi to offer a hecatomb® on In this place they continued two years, but at the
behalf of his native city. He was accompanied by a end of that time, as ill luck followed them, they left
large number of the citizens, and among the rest by the island to the care of one of their number, and
Battus, the son of Polymnestus. On Grinus consult- went to Delphi, where they made complaint at the
ing the Oracle about sundry matters, the Pythoness shrine to the effect that, notwithstanding they had
gave him for answer that he should found a city in colonized Libya, they prospered as poorly as before.
Libya. Grinus replied to this, “I am too far advanced The Pythoness in reply told them that if they and
in years for such a work. Bid one of these youngsters Battus would make a settlement at Cyrene® in Libya,
undertake it.” As he spoke, he pointed toward Battus. things would go better with them. Battus and his
When the embassy returned to Thera, small account friends, when they heard this, sailed back to Plataea:
was taken of the oracle by the Theraeans, as they it was plain the god would not hold them acquitted of
were quite ignorant where Libya was, and were not the colony until they were absolutely in Libya. So,
so venturesome as to send out a colony in the dark. taking with them the man whom they had left upon
Seven years passed from the utterance of the the island, they made a settlement on the mainland
oracle, and not a drop of rain fell in Thera: all the directly opposite Plataea, fixing themselves at a
trees in the island, except one, were killed with the place called Aziris,~ which is closed in on both sides
drought. The Theraeans upon this sent to Delphi, by the most beautiful hills, and on one side is washed
and were reminded reproachfully that they had never by a river.
colonized Libya. They of Thera resolved that men Here they remained six years, at the end of which
should be sent to join the colony and Battus was time the Libyans induced them to move, promising
chosen to be king and leader of the colony. The that they would lead them to a better situation. So
Theraeans sent out Battus with two penteconters, the Greeks left Aziris and were conducted by the
and with these he proceeded to Libya, but, not know- Libyans toward the west, their journey being so ar-
ing what else to do, the men returned and arrived off ranged, by the calculation of their guides, that they
Thera. The Theraeans received them with showers passed in the night the most beautiful district of that
of missiles and ordered them to sail back from whole country, which is the region called Irasa. The
Libyans brought them to a spring, which goes by the
name of Apollo’s fountain,® and told them, “Here,
58 Modern Santorini; the Minoan colony on Thera was
destroyed by a volcanic eruption ca. 1500 BCE.
59 A sacrifice of a hundred oxen.
60 The priestess at the temple of Apollo at Delphi. The 6! On the Mediterranean coast just west of Egypt.
oracle often was consulted about the foundation of © Tn eastern Cyrenaica.
colonies. 63 A fountain that provided water for the city of Cyrene.
180 GREECE IN THE DARK AND ARCHAIC AGES (1100-500 BcE)

Greeks, is the proper place for you to settle, for here every quarter into Libya, to join the settlement. The
the sky leaks.” Cyrenaeans had offered to all comers a share in their
During the lifetime of Battus, the founder of the lands, for the Oracle had spoken as follows:
colony, who reigned forty years, and during that of
his son Arcesilaus, who reigned sixteen, the Cyre- He that is backward to share in the pleasant Libyan
naeans continued at the same level, neither more nor acres,
fewer in number than they were at the first. But in the Sooner or later, I warn him, will feel regret at
reign of the third king, Battus, surnamed the Happy, his folly.
the advice of the Pythoness brought Greeks from

49
cSQ>
PERSONALS P@ETRY (cA G00 Bee.
SAPPHO2O PRES ries

An Athenian red-figured kalathos (bowl) of around 470 ace depicts the poet Alcaeus, holding a lyre,
and Sappho. The two were reputed to have been lovers.

In the early seventh century sce, Greeks began to write lyric poetry, which gets its name
because it was sung to playing on a lyre, as a means of self-centered personal expression
that stressed the value of the individual. One finds, for example, descriptions of heterosexual
and homosexual love that look surprisingly modern. One of the most famous lyric poets
was
Sappho of Lesbos, who wrote ca. 600 sce. Soon after 600 she was exiled to Sicily for
PERSONAL POETRY (ca. 600 sce): SAPPHO OF LESBOS 181

unknown reasons. Only a few examples of her poetry still survive, mostly embedded in the
works of other authors.

Source: Ambrose Philips, trans., in William Hyde Appleton, ed., Greek Poets in English Verse (Cambridge, MA: Riverside
Press, 1893).

“Ode to a Loved One” Heard’st and camest, leaving thy glorious father’s
Palace golden,
Blest as the immortal gods is he, Yoking thy chariot. Fair the doves that bore thee,
The youth who fondly sits by thee, Swift to the darksome earth their course
And hears and sees thee, all the while, directing,
Softly speaks and sweetly smiles. Waving their thick wings from the highest
heaven
Twas this deprived my soul of rest, Down through the ether.
And raised such tumults in my breast,
For, while I gazed, in transport tossed, Quickly they came. Then thou, O blessed
My breath was gone, my voice was lost, goddess,
All in smiling wreathed thy face immortal,
My bosom glowed; the subtle flame Bade me tell thee the cause of all my suffering,
Ran quick through all my vital frame; Why now I called thee;
Over my dim eyes a darkness hung;
My ears with hollow murmurs rung; What for my maddened heart I most was
longing.
In dewy damps my limbs were chilled; “Whom,” thou criest, “dost wish that sweet
My blood with gentle horrors thrilled: Persuasion
My feeble pulse forgot to play; Now win over and lead to thy love, my Sappho?
I fainted, sank, and died away. Who is it wrongs thee?

“The Moon” For, although now he flies, he soon shall follow,

Soon shall be giving gifts who now rejects them.
The stars about the lovely moon Even though now he love not, soon shall he
Fade back and vanish very soon, love thee
When, round and full, her silver face Even though thou wouldst not.”
Swims into sight, and lights all space
Come then now, dear goddess, and release me
“Hymn to Aphrodite” From my anguish. All my heart’s desiring
Grant thou now. Now too again as aforetime,
Throned in splendor, immortal Aphrodite! Be thou my ally.
Child of Zeus, Enchantress, I implore thee
Slay me not in this distress and anguish, “Song of the Rose”
Lady of beauty.
If Zeus chose us a King of the Flowers in
Hither come as once before thou camest, his mirth,
When from afar thou heard’st my voice He would call to the rose, and would royally
lamenting, crown it,
 182 GREECE IN THE DARK AND ARCHAIC AGES (1100-500 BcE)

For the rose, ho, the rose! is the grace of the To the red lips of Cypris™ invoked for a guest!
earth, Ho, the rose having curled its sweet leaves for
Is the light of the plants that are growing the world
upon it! Takes delight in the motion its petals keep up,
For the rose, ho, the rose! is the eye of the As they laugh to the wind as it laughs from
flowers, the west.
Is the blush of the meadows that feel
themselves fair, “To Evening”
Is the lightning of beauty that strikes through the
bowers O Hesperus!® Thou bringest all things home;
On pale lovers that sit in the glow unaware. All that the garish day hath scattered wide;
Ho, the rose breathes of love! ho, the rose lifts The sheep, the goat, back to the welcome fold;
the cup Thou bring’st the child, too, to his mother’s side.

o>

THE PRE-SOCRATIC
PHIL@OS© PHERSslease53 0 -Be ri:
PORPRYRie Hee |FEa@
PY THAGORAS

A Roman copy of a Greek bust of Pythagoras now in the Capitoline Museum in Rome.

**Another name for the love goddess Aphrodite, who came from Cyprus.
The evening star; the planet Venus.
THE PRE-SOCRATIC PHILOSOPHERS (ca. 530 BCE): PORPHYRY, THE LIFE OF PYTHAGOR
AS 183

The Archaic Age also saw the rise of Greek scientific thought known as "philosophia” (“love
of wisdom," or philosophy), influenced by contact with the astronomical and mathematical
thought of the much more ancient civilization of Babylonia. lonian pre-Socratic philoso-
phers (who lived before the famous philosopher Socrates of Athens), several of whom came
from Miletus, a major point of commercial contact with the Near East, speculated on issues
such as cosmogony (the creation and composition of matter and the universe) and the nature
of the gods. Rather than attributing the origin of the universe and the world to the activities
of gods, as in mythology, philosophers looked for rational explanations that usually did not
involve gods directly at all. Pythagoras of Samos, who, like many lonians fled the Persians
and migrated to Croton in southern Italy ca. 530 ce, understood the universe in terms of
mathematical harmony. He not only invented the Pythagorean Theorem, used for calculating
the lengths of the sides of triangles, but also believed in reincarnation. The extracts pre-
sented here are from the "Life of Pythagoras” written in the late third century ce by the Neo-
platonic philosopher Porphyry of Tyre, who, like Pythagoras, was a committed vegetarian.

Source: Kenneth Sylvan Guthrie, trans., Pythagoras: Source Book and Library (Alpine, NJ: Platonist Press, 1920).

Many think that Pythagoras was the son of When the Samians were oppressed with the tyr-
Mnesarchus, but they differ as to the latter’s origin, anny of Polycrates,”! Pythagoras saw that life in such
some thinking him a Samian,” while Neanthes, in the a state was unsuitable for a philosopher, and so
fifth book of his Fables, states he was a Syrian, from planned to travel to Italy. When he reached Italy he
the city of Tyre.°’ It is said that he learned the mathe- stopped at Croton.” His presence was that of a free
matical sciences from the Egyptians, Chaldeans,® man, tall, graceful in speech and gesture, and in all
and Phoenicians, for of old the Egyptians excelled in things else. The arrival of this great traveler, en-
geometry, the Phoenicians in numbers and propor- dowed with all the advantages of nature, and pros-
tions, and the Chaldeans in astronomical theorems, perously guided by fortune, produced on _ the
divine rites, and worship of the gods. Other secrets Crotonians so great an impression that he won the
concerning the course of life he received and learned esteem of the elder magistrates by his many and ex-
from the Magi.” Pythagoras used the greatest purity, cellent discourses. They ordered him to exhort the
and was shocked at all bloodshed and killing, so that young men, and then the boys who flocked out of the
he not only abstained from animal food, but never in school to hear him, and lastly the women, who came
any way approached butchers or hunters. He opened together on purpose. Through this he achieved great
in his own country a school, which even now is called reputation, he drew great audiences from the city,
Pythagoras’s Semicircles, in which the Samians meet not only of men, but also of women, among whom
to deliberate about matters of common interest. Out- was an especially illustrious person named Theano.”
side the city he made a cave adapted to the study of his He also drew audiences from among the neighboring
philosophy, in which he abode day and night, dis- barbarians,“ among whom were magnates and
coursing with a few of his associates. He was now kings. What he told his audiences cannot be said
forty years old, says Aristoxenus.”°

66 That is, from the island of Samos in the eastern Aegean Sea. | The tyrant of Samos ca. 538 to 522 BCE.
67 In Phoenicia. ” A Greek colony from Achaea in Calabria on the south-
68 Or New Babylonians, known for their expertise in ern coast of Italy.
astronomy. 73 A philosopher of Croton, said by some to have been
6 The Zoroastrian priests of the Persians Pythagoras’s wife.
7 A Greek philosopher and pupil of Aristotle. ™ The native peoples of Italy.
184 GREECE IN THE DARK AND ARCHAIC AGES (1100-500 BcE)

with certainty, for he enjoined silence upon his hear- demonstrated that he had been Euphorbus,®* the son
ers. But the following is a matter of general informa- of Panthous. Verified predictions of earthquakes are
tion. He taught that the soul was immortal and that handed down, also that he immediately chased a pes-
after death it transmigrated into other animated tilence, suppressed violent winds and hail, and
bodies. After certain specified periods, the same calmed storms both on rivers and on seas for the
events occur again, so that nothing was entirely new. comfort and safe passage of his friends.
He taught that all animated beings were kin, and His friends he loved exceedingly, being the first to
should be considered as belonging to one great declare that the goods of friends are common, and
family. Pythagoras was the first one to introduce that a friend was another self. While they were in
these teachings into Greece. good health he always conversed with them; if they
His speech was so persuasive that he made more were sick, he nursed them; if they were afflicted in
than two thousand adherents. Out of desire to live mind, he solaced them, some by incantations and
with him, they built a large auditorium, to which both magic charms, others by music. His utterances were
women and boys were admitted. His ordinances and of two kinds, plain or symbolic. His teaching was
laws were received by them as divine precepts, and twofold: of his disciples some were called Students,
without them they would do nothing. Indeed, they and others Hearers. The Students learned the fuller
ranked him among the divinities. They held all prop- and more exactly elaborate reasons of science,
erty in common. During his travels in Italy and Sicily whereas the Hearers heard only the chief heads of
he founded various cities. By his disciples he infused learning, without more detailed explanations.
into them an aspiration for liberty, thus restoring to He cultivated philosophy, the scope of which is to
freedom Croton, Sybaris, Catana, Rhegium, Himera, free the mind implanted within us from the impedi-
Agrigentum, Tauromenium, and others,” on whom ments and fetters within which it is confined, without
he imposed laws through Charondas the Catanean,” whose freedom none can learn anything sound or
and Zaleucus the Locrian,” which resulted in a long true, or perceive the unsoundedness in the operation
era of good government, emulated by all their neigh- of sense. Pythagoras thought that the mind alone
bors. Simichus the tyrant of the Centorupini,’”* on sees and hears, whereas all the rest are blind and
hearing Pythagoras’s discourse, abdicated his rule deaf. That is the reason he made so much use of
and divided his property between his sister and the mathematical disciplines and speculations, which
citizens. Some Lucanians, Messapians, Picentini- are intermediate between the physical and the incor-
ans,’? and Romans came to him. poreal realm. Like bodies, mathematical disciplines
Pythagoras continuously harped on the maxim, have a threefold dimension and yet they share the
“We ought, to the best of our ability avoid, and even impassibility of incorporeals. As degrees of prepara-
extirpate from the body with fire and sword, sick- tion for the contemplation of the really existent
ness; from the soul, ignorance; from the belly, things, by an artificial reason they divert the eyes of
luxury; from a city, sedition; from a family, discord; the mind from corporeal things, whose manner and
and from all things excess.” He reminded his associ- state never remain in the same condition, to a desire
ates of the lives lived by their souls before it was for true*! food. By means of these mathematical sci-
bound to the body, and by irrefutable arguments ences therefore, Pythagoras rendered men truly
happy, by this artistic introduction of truly consistent
” Cities in southern Italy and Sicily that previously had things. The Pythagoreans specialized in the study of
been governed by tyrants or by other cities. numbers to explain their teachings symbolically, as
7© From Catania in Sicily.
™ From Locri in southern Italy. 8° A Trojan who was killed by the Greek hero Menelaus
78 A people of Sicily. during the Trojan War.
™ Peoples of Italy. 81 That is, spiritual.
THE PRE-SOCRATIC PHILOSOPHERS (ca. 530 BcE): PORPHYRY, THE LIFE OF PYTHAGORAS 185

do geometricians, inasmuch as the primary forms who was accustomed to read in human bodies’ nature
and principles are hard to understand and express, and manners the disposition of the man, bade him
otherwise, in plain discourse. depart and go about his business. Cylon, being of a
Pythagoras and his associates were long held in rough and violent disposition, took it as a great af-
such admiration in Italy, so that many cities invited front, and became furious. He therefore assembled
them to undertake their administration. At last, how- his friends, began to accuse Pythagoras, and con-
ever, they incurred envy, and a conspiracy was spired against him and his disciples. Pythagoras then
formed against them as follows. Cylon, a Crotonian, went to Delos® to visit the Syrian Pherecydes,® for-
who in origin, nobility, and wealth was the most merly his teacher, who was dangerously sick, to
pre-eminent, was of a severe, violent, and tyrannical nurse him. Pythagoras’s friends then gathered to-
disposition, and did not scruple to use the multitude gether in the house of Milo* the wrestler, and were
of his followers to achieve his ends. As he esteemed all stoned and burned when Cylon’s followers set the
himself worthy of whatever was best, he considered house on fire. Only two escaped. Pythagoras fled to
it his right to be admitted to Pythagorean fellowship. the temple of the Muses, in Metapontum.® There he
He therefore went to Pythagoras extolled himself, abode forty days, and starving, died.
and desired his conversation. Pythagoras, however,

82 A small island in the south-central Aegean Sea.

83 A philosopher from the island of Syros who was among
the first to teach of the transmigration of souls, the belief
popularized by Pythagoras.
84 The winner of the Olympic wrestling matches six times
and of the “grand slam” of victories at all four of the
pan-Hellenic games five times in a row.
85 A Greek colony from Achaea on the Gulf of Tarentum
on the southern coast of Italy.
 5|
cSQ>

GREEK ARETE (ca. 476 BCE):

PINDAR, “OLYMPIAN ODE” 1

An Athenian black-figured amphora depicts two bareback riders in the Olympic horse race. Preserved
in the Tampa Museum of Art.

The last and greatest of the Greek lyric poets was Pindar of Thebes, who was born around
522 ace. In the first half of the fifth century Bce, he composed choral lyric, in an archaic style,
on the topic of “arété"or excellence and dealing with the uncertainties and the glories of life.
His "Victory odes," accompanied by music and dance, praised the achievements of distin-
guished winners at the Panhellenic games, whose victories had been aided by the gods. The
odes are full of obscure and convoluted grammar, language, and mythological allusions that
attest to their Greek cultural background. No one who was not Greek could possibly

186
GREEK ARETE (ca. 476 BcE): PINDAR, “OLYMPIAN ODE” 1 187

understand them. One of these odes honored Hiero |, the tyrant of Syracuse from 478 to 467
Bce, whose horse won the horse race at the Olympic Games at Olympia in 476 sce.

Source: Ernest Myers, trans., The Extant Odes of Pindar Translated into English (London: Macmillan, 1874).

Best is Water of all, and Gold as a flaming fire in the men’s speech concerning them. For Charis,”> who
night shineth eminent amid lordly wealth, but if you maketh all sweet things for mortal men, by lending
desire prizes in the games, O my soul, to tell, then, as honor unto such maketh oft the unbelievable thing to
for no bright star more quickening than the sun must be believed; but the days that follow after are the
thou search in the void firmament by day, so neither wisest witnesses.”° It is fitting for a man that con-
shall we find any games greater than the Olympic cerning gods he speaks honorably, for the reproach is
whereof to utter our voice. For hence cometh the glo- less. Of thee, son of Tantalus,”’ I will speak contrari-
rious hymn and entereth into the minds of the skilled wise to them who have gone before me, and I will tell
in song, so that they celebrate the son®* of Cronus, how when thy father had bidden thee to that most
when to the rich and happy hearth of Hiero*’ they are seemly feast at his beloved Sipylos,”* repaying to the
come, for he wieldeth the scepter of justice in Sicily gods their banquet, then did he of the Bright Tri-
of many flocks, culling the choice fruits of all kinds dent,”’ his heart vanquished by love, snatch thee and
of arété (excellence), and with the flower of music is bear thee behind his golden steeds to the house of
he made splendid, even such strains as we sing august Zeus in the highest, whither again on a like
blithely at the table of a friend. errand came Ganymede” in the after time.
Take from the peg the Dorian lute, if in any wise But when thou hadst vanished, and the men who
the glory of Pherenikus* at Pisa®’ hath swayed thy sought thee long brought thee not to thy mother,
soul unto glad thoughts, when by the banks of someone of the envious neighbors said secretly that
Alpheus” he ran, and gave his body ungoaded in the over water heated to boiling they had hewn asunder
course, and brought victory to his master, the with a knife thy limbs, and at the tables had shared
Syracusans’ king, who delighteth in horses. among them and eaten sodden fragments of thy
Bright is his fame in Lydian Pelops’ colony,”! in- flesh.!°! But to me it is impossible to call one of the
habited by a goodly people, whose founder mighty
earth-enfolding*’ Poseidon loved, what time from
the vessel of purifying Clotho”? took him with the
**Tn his youth, Pelops was dismembered by his father
bright ivory furnishment of his shoulder.* Verily
Tantalus, cooked into a stew, and served to the gods.
many things are wondrous, and haply tales decked
Only the goddess Demeter took a bite, from his shoulder.
out with cunning fables beyond the truth make false When Pelops was reassembled, a piece of ivory was in-
serted to replace the missing piece.
86 Greek Zeus, Roman Jupiter. °5 One of the Charites, or Graces, the goddesses of charm.
87 Tyrant of Syracuse from 478 to 467 BCE. 96 |_ater in the poem Pindar claims that the stew story is false,
88 The name of Hiero’s horse. for Hiero claims descent himself from Tantalus and Pelops.
89 A city in the northwestern Peloponessus that controlled °7 That is, Pelops.
Olympia, where the Olympic Games were held. 98 A mountain in Lydia, the homeland of Pelops.
90 A river in the Peloponessus. °° Poseidon, god of the sea, represented in iconography by
°! The Peloponessus, named after Pelops, the son of a trident.
Tantalus. 100 A Trojan hero who was abducted by Zeus in the form
%2 Along with being god of the sea, Poseidon also was the of an eagle. He was granted immortality and served as
god of earthquakes. cupbearer of the gods.
93 One of the three Fates, along with Lachesis and Atropos. 10! Compare the story of Harpagus in Reading 43.
 188 GREECE IN THE DARK AND ARCHAIC AGES (1100-500 BcE)

blessed gods cannibal; I keep aloof; in telling ill tales delayeth to give his daughter in marriage. Now a great
is often little gain. peril alloweth not of a coward: and forasmuch as men
Now if any man ever had honor of the guardians must die, wherefore should one sit vainly in the dark
of Olympus, Tantalus was that man; but his high for- through a dull and nameless age, and without lot in
tune he could not digest, and his excess of fortune noble deeds? Not so, but I will dare this strife: do thou
won him an overwhelming woe, in that the Father'” give the issue I desire.”
hath hung above him a mighty stone that he would Thus spoke he, nor were his words in vain, for the
gladly ward from his head, and therewithal he is god made him a glorious gift of a golden car and
fallen from joy.'? winged untiring steeds. So he overcame Oenomaus and
This hopeless life of endless misery he endureth won the maiden for his bride. And he begat six sons,
with other three, for that he stole from the immortals chieftains, whose thoughts were ever of brave deeds,
and gave to his fellows at a feast the nectar and am- and now hath he his part in honor of blood-offerings at
brosia, whereby the gods had made him incorrupti- his grave beside Alpheus’ stream, and hath a frequented
ble. But if a man thinketh that in doing nothing he tomb, whereto many strangers resort, and from far off
shall be hidden from god, he erreth. he beholdeth the glory of the Olympian games in the
Therefore also the immortals sent back again his courses called of Pelops, where there is striving of swift
son to be once more counted with the short-lived race feet and of strong bodies brave to labor, and he that
of men. And he when toward the bloom of his sweet overcometh hath for the sake of those games a sweet
youth the down began to shade his darkening cheek, tranquillity throughout his life for evermore.
he took counsel with himself speedily to take to him Now the good that cometh of today is ever sover-
for his wife the noble Hippodameia!™ from her Pisan eign unto every man. My part it is to crown Hiero
father’s hand. And he came and stood upon the margin with an equestrian strain in Aeolian mood,'® and
of the hoary sea, alone in the darkness of the night, sure am I that no host among men that now are shall I
and called aloud to the deep-voiced Wielder of the ever glorify in sounding labyrinths’? of song more
Trident, and he appeared unto him nigh at his foot. learned in the learning of honor and withal with more
Then he said unto him, “Lo now, O Poseidon, if the might to work thereto. A god hath guard over thy
kind gifts of the Cyprian goddess! are anywise hopes, O Hiero, and taketh care for them with a pecu-
pleasant in thine eyes, restrain Oenomaus’ bronze liar care, and if he fail thee not, I trust that I shall
spear, and send me unto Elis'°° upon a chariot exceed- again proclaim in song a sweeter glory yet, and find
ing swift, and give the victory to my hands.!°7 Thir- thereto in words a ready way, when to the fair-shining
teen lovers already hath Oenoméaus slain, and still hill of Cronus I am come. Her strongest-winged dart
my Muse hath yet in store. Of many kinds is the
greatness of men, but the highest is to be achieved by
We Zeus: kings. Look not thou for more than this. May it be
103 Tantalus, a native of Phrygia in Anatolia, was said to thine to walk loftily all thy life, and mine to be the
have stolen the ambrosia and nectar of the gods from a friend of winners in the games, winning honor for my
banquet to which he had been invited and as a conse-
art'!© among Hellenes!"! everywhere.
quence was imprisoned forever in Tartarus, the lowest
level of the underworld.
'4Daughter of Oenomiaus, King of Pisa in the western
Peloponnesus.
105 Aphrodite. 108 A minor musical key.
_? The area of Greece around Olympia. '° Complex passages, as in the labyrinth built at Knossos
'°7 A suitor had to defeat Oenomaus in a chariot race in on Crete to imprison the Minotaur.
order to win the hand of the latter’s daughter Hippoda- "? Pindar’s own form of arété lay in writing poetry.
maia: all past suitors had been killed for losing the race. "ll Greeks.
 52
cOk>
GREEK TYRANTS: THE SWORD OF
PPOE VPPS =(CA 316 0ercr CG ER@s
eee He\iN EDS POLTAT LONS «506
AND SIDONIUS APOLLINARIS,
sl alek ix Sete

An Athenian vase painting of ca. 470 ace depicts a tyrant’s worst fear. Here, the Athenian tyrant
Hipparchus, the son of the tyrant Peisistratus, is assassinated in 514 by Harmodius and Aristogeiton.
The murder occurred not for political reasons but as a result of a lovers’ quarrel. From the Martin von
Wagner Museum, University of Wiirzburg.

189
190 GREECE IN THE DARK AND ARCHAIC AGES (1100-500 BcE)

During the Greek Archaic Age (776-500 sce), newly monied people demanded greater rights
from the governing aristocrats. In cities where the aristocrats resisted making any changes at
all, it was only a matter of time until there was an overthrow of the state. Disadvantaged
groups, including rich merchants, ruined farmers, and the urban poor, would sponsor an
illegal ruler called a tyrant, and the period 650-500 sce is known as the Age of Tyrants
because so many Greek cities used this means of dealing with intransigent aristocrats. Not all
tyrants were bad, as the modern sense of their name would suggest. There were good tyrants,
bad tyrants, and mediocre tyrants. Because tyrants were unconstitutional rulers, they always
feared assassination, a theme reprised by John Wilkes Booth, who supposedly declared “Sic
semper tyrannis” ("And thus always to tyrants") when he assassinated Abraham Lincoln in
1865. A popular story about the tyrant Dionysius II of Syracuse (367-357, 346-344 BCE) un-
derlined the anxious life of a tyrant. Dionysius himself escaped assassination and died in
poverty in exile in Corinth. The tale was told by the Roman orator Cicero in the first century
Bce and then again in Gaul five hundred years later in the letters of the Prefect of Rome, later
bishop of Clermont, Sidonius Apollinaris, attesting to its longevity and continued relevance.

(a) Cicero, Tusculan Disputations 5.61

Indeed this tyrant [Dionysius I of Syracuse] himself should stand by his table and that they, watching for
gave his judgment as to how fortunate he was. For a sign from Damocles, should attentively wait on
when one of his flatterers, Damocles, mentioned in him. There were unguents and garlands, perfumes
conversation the wealth of Dionysius, the majesty of were burning, tables were piled up with the most
his rule, the abundance of his possessions, the mag- select foods. Damocles seemed to himself fortunate.
nificence of the royal palace and denied that there In the middle of this luxury Dionysius ordered that a
had ever been anyone more fortunate, he said, “So, shining sword, fastened from the ceiling by a horse-
Damocles, because this life delights you, do you hair, be let down so that it hung over the neck of that
wish to taste it yourself and make trial of my for- fortunate man. And so he looked neither at those
tune?” When Damocles said that he desired this, handsome waiters nor the wonderful silver work, nor
Dionysius gave orders that the man be placed on a did he stretch his hand to the table. Now the very
golden couch covered with a most beautiful woven wreaths slipped off. Finally he begged the tyrant that
rug, embroidered with splendid works; he adorned he should be allowed to depart because he no longer
many sideboards with chased silver and gold; then he wanted to be fortunate.
gave orders that chosen boys of outstanding beauty
GREEK TYRANTS: THE SWORD OF DAMOCLES (ca. 360 BCE) 19]

(b) Sidonius Apollinaris, Letter 2.13

Source: O. M. Dalton, trans., The Letters of Sidonius, two vols. (Oxford: Clarendon, 1915).

A prominent, noble man of high culture, whose tal- rare viands were brought in on plate of yet greater
ents raised him to Quaestor’s!'!” rank, a man of great rarity; just as the Falernian'!® foamed in great gem-
influence among the nobility, I mean Fulgentius,!! like cups and unguents tempered the ice-cold crystal;
used to say that whenever the thrice-loathed burden just as the whole room breathed cinnamon and frank-
of a crown set Maximus'™ longing for his ancient incense and exotic perfumes floated to every nostril;
ease, he would often hear him exclaim, “Happy thou, just as the garlands were drying on heads drenched
O Damocles, whose royal duress did not outlast a with nard,!!” behold a bare sword, swinging from the
single banquet!” History tells us that Damocles was a ceiling right over his purple-mantled shoulders, as if
Sicilian of Syracuse, and an acquaintance of the every instant it must fall and pierce his throat. The
tyrant Dionysius. One day, when he was extolling to menace of that heavy blade on that horsehair thread
the skies the privileges of his patron’s life without curbed his greed and made him reflect on Tantalus!”°;
any comprehension of its drawbacks, Dionysius said the awful thought oppressed him that all he swal-
to him, “Would you like to see for yourself, at this lowed might be rendered through gaping wounds. He
very board, what the blessings and the curses of roy- wept, he prayed, he sighed in every key, and when at
alty are like?” “I should think I would,” replied the last he was let go, he was off like a flash, flying the
other. Instantly the dazzled and delighted creature wealth and the delights of kings as fast as most men
was stripped of his commoner’s garb and made re- follow after them. A horror of high estate brought
splendent with robes of Tyrian and Tarentine dye.'!° him back with longing to the mean, nicely cautioned
They set him on a gold couch with coverings of silk, never again to think or call the mortal happy who
a figure glittering with gems and pearls. But just as a lives ringed round with army and guards, or broods
Sardanapalian!"* feast was about to begin, and bread heavy over his spoils while the steel presses no less
of fine Leontine!’ wheat was handed round; just as heavily upon him than he himself upon his gold.

12 At this time, the “Quaestor of the Sacred Palace” was

the imperial official in charge of legal matters.
13 A old and good friend of Sidonius.
14 The short lived emperor Petronius Maximus (455). He
attempted to flee Rome disguised as a slave when the city
was sacked by the Vandals but was apprehended by the
mob and dismembered.
15 The Phoenician city of Tyre produced a legendary
purple dye; Tarentum on the southern coast of Italy also
produced a purple dye.
116 Sardanapalus was the legendary last king of Assyria
whose decadent pleasure-seeking lifestyle led to the fall 118 A famous wine produced south of Rome on the border
of the Assyrian Empire. between Latium and Campania.
1177_eontini was a Greek colony near Syracuse in Sicily 119 An oil from the spikenard plant used as a perfume.
that controlled a fertile plain. 120 Ror Tantalus of Greek mythology, see Reading 51.
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 CHAPTER 7
cSS>
Sparta, Athens, and the Classical
Age (500-387 Bce)

By the end of the Archaic Age, circa 500 BCE, the Greeks were on their way to becoming the
greatest economic and even cultural force in the Mediterranean world. But politically they
continued to be disunited and spent much of their time squabbling with each other. Until this
point, the Greeks had confronted no serious foreign threats and had been able to develop
socially and politically without outside interference. But the Classical Age of Greek history
(500-323 BCE) brought the Greeks first into conflict with the greatest power in the world, the
Persian Empire, and then into destructive conflict with each other, all while they were reach-
ing a point of their own civilization. In particular, the Classical Age generally is viewed as
representing the height of Greek literature, as particularly manifested in the fields of drama,
philosophy, and history. Many literary works of great sophistication and cultural signifi-
cance survive from this period.

193
194 SPARTA, ATHENS, AND THE CLASSICAL AGE (500-387 BCE)

eSpart%
CONIA

Map 7 Ancient Greece during the Classical Age

 53
cSO>
SPARTAN EDUCATION
faxes OB Cr): -PEOEPARGH ;
PPP REC)Pel YOUSRGES

In this sketch by Edgar Degas (ca. 1860-1880), with Mt. Taygetus in the background, Spartan girls,
wearing characteristic slit tunics, challenge Spartan boys during their physical training. The whole
Spartan population had to be well trained to defend the Spartan way of life.

According to Spartan tradition, about 700 sce the Spartan lawgiver Lycurgus devised a con-
stitution called the “Great Rhetra” that established the uniquely Spartan system of life
known as the "Good Rule." The Rhetra was intended to create unity by eliminating the politi-
cal importance of the family by making all male citizens equal and by focusing everyone's
loyalty on the polis, or city-state. The Spartan commitment to simplicity was reflected in
Spartan speech, which was in terse, pithy, ironic sentences, a speaking style that came to be
known as “laconic” (from Laconia, the Spartan home territory). The second-century ce Greek
writer Plutarch composed a series of biographies of famous Romans and Greeks. His life of
Lycurgus described the upbringing and role of Spartan women, which was quite different
from that of women in other Greek cities.

Source: John Dryden, Plutarch: The Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, revised by A. H. Clough, Vol. 1 (Boston: Little,
Brown, 1910).

195
196 SPARTA, ATHENS, AND THE CLASSICAL AGE (500-387 BCE)

In order to accomplish the good education of their gratified with their honor among the maidens, and
youth (which, as I said before, he thought the most those who were disparaged were as sensibly touched
important and noblest work of a lawgiver'), he went with it as if they had been formally reprimanded,
so far as to take into consideration their very concep- and so much the more, because the kings and the
tion and birth, by regulating their marriages. For Ar- elders, as well as the rest of the city, saw and heard
istotle? is wrong in saying, that, after he had tried all all that passed.
ways to reduce the women to more modesty and so- Nor was there anything shameful in this naked-
briety, he was at last forced to leave them as they ness of the young women. Modesty attended them
were, because that in the absence of their husbands, and all wantonness was excluded. It taught them sim-
who spent the best part of their lives in the wars, plicity and a care for good health, and gave them
their wives, whom they were obliged to leave abso- some taste of higher feelings, admitted as they thus
lute mistresses at home, took great liberties and as- were to the field of noble action and glory. Hence it
sumed the superiority, and were treated with was natural for them to think and speak as Gorgo, for
overmuch respect and called by the title of lady or example, the wife of Leonidas,’ is said to have done,
queen. The truth is that in their case he also took all when some foreign lady, as it would seem, told her
possible care. He ordered the maidens to exercise that the women of Lacedaemon were the only women
themselves with wrestling, running, throwing the in the world who could rule men; “With good
quoit,* and casting the dart, to the end that the fruit reason,” she said, “for we are the only women who
they conceived might, in strong and healthy bodies, give birth to men.”
take firmer root and find better growth, and withal These public processions of the maidens, and
that they, with this greater vigor, might be the more their appearing naked in their exercises and dances,
able to undergo the pains of child-bearing. And so were incitements to marriage, operating upon the
that he might take away their overgreat tenderness young with the rigor and certainty, as Plato° says, of
and fear of exposure to the air, and all acquired love, if not of mathematics. But besides all this, to
womanishness, he ordered that the young women promote marriage yet more effectually, those who
should go naked in the processions, as well as the continued bachelors were in a degree disfranchised
young men, and dance, too, in that condition, at cer- by law; for they were excluded from the sight of
tain solemn feasts, singing certain songs, while the those public processions in which the young men and
young men stood around, seeing and hearing them. maidens danced naked. In winter-time, the officers
On these occasions the women now and then made, compelled them to march naked themselves round
by jests, a befitting reflection upon those who had the marketplace, singing as they went a song to their
misbehaved themselves in the wars, and again sang own disgrace, that they justly suffered this punish-
encomiums upon those who had done any gallant ment for disobeying the laws. Moreover, they were
action, and by these means inspired the younger sort denied that respect and observance that the younger
with an emulation of their glory. Those that were men paid their elders, and no man, for example,
thus commended went away proud, elated, and found fault with what was said to Dercyllidas,° al-
though so eminent a commander, upon whose ap-
proach one day, a young man, instead of rising,
'The lawgivers of Greek cities wrote down laws that hith-
erto had been known only to aristocratic “law remember-
ers”; for the lawgiver Draco of Athens, see Reading 54.
* An Athenian philosopher of the mid-fourth century BCE “The Spartan king who died at.the Battle of Thermopylae
whose work the Politics attempted to describe the func- in 480 BCE.
tioning of human society; see Reading 65. ° A famous Athenian philosopher of the early fourth cen-
3A game in which rings were thrown so as to land over a tury BCE.
metal spike or wooden post. ° A bachelor, thus without any children.
SPARTAN EDUCATION (ca. 750 BcE): PLUTARCH, LIFE OF LYCURGUS 197

retained his seat, remarking, “No child of yours will Lycurgus allowed a man who was advanced in years
make room for me.” and had a young wife to recommend some virtuous
In their marriages, the husband carried off his and approved young man so that she might have a
bride as if by kidnaping, nor were their brides ever child by him, who might inherit the good qualities of
small and of tender years,’ but in their full bloom and the father and be a son to himself. On the other side,
ripeness. After this, she who superintended the wed- an honest man who had love for a married woman
ding comes and clips the hair of the bride close round upon account of her modesty and the well-favoredness
her head, dresses her up in man’s clothes, and leaves of her children, might, without formality, beg her
her upon a mattress in the dark. Afterward comes the company of her husband, so that he might raise, as it
bridegroom, in his everyday clothes, sober and com- were, from this plot of good ground worthy and well-
posed, as having supped at the common table, and, allied children for himself.
entering privately into the room where the bride lies, And indeed, Lycurgus was of a persuasion that
unties her virgin zone and takes her to himself. After children were not so much the property of their par-
staying some time together, he returns composedly ents as of the whole commonwealth, and, therefore,
to his own apartment, to sleep as usual with the other would not have his citizens begot by the first-comers,
young men. And so he continues to do, spending his but by the best men that could be found. The laws of
days, and, indeed, his nights, with them, visiting his other nations seemed to him very absurd and incon-
bride in fear and shame, and with circumspection, sistent, where people would be so solicitous for their
when he thought he should not be observed. She, dogs and horses as to exert interest and to pay money
also, on her part, uses her wit to help and find favora- to procure fine breeding, and yet kept their wives
ble opportunities for their meeting, when company is shut up, to be made mothers only by themselves, who
out of the way. In this manner they lived a long time, might be foolish, infirm, or diseased; as if it were not
insomuch that they sometimes had children by their apparent that children of a bad breed would prove
wives before ever they saw their faces by daylight. their bad qualities first upon those who kept and
Their interviews, being thus difficult and rare, served were rearing them, and well-born children, in like
not only for continual exercise of their self-control, manner, their good qualities. These regulations,
but brought them together with their bodies healthy founded on natural and social grounds, were cer-
and vigorous, and their affections fresh and lively, tainly so far from that scandalous liberty that was
unsated and undulled by easy access and long con- afterward charged upon their women, that they knew
tinuance with each other, whereas their partings not what adultery meant. It is told, for instance, of
were always early enough to leave behind unextin- Geradas, a very ancient Spartan, that, being asked by
guished in each of them some remaining fire of long- a stranger what punishment their law had appointed
ing and mutual delight. for adulterers, he answered, “There are no adulterers
After guarding marriage with this modesty and in our country.” “But,” replied the stranger, “suppose
reserve, Lycurgus was equally careful to banish there were?” “Then,” answered he, “the offender
empty and womanish jealousy. For this object, ex- would have to give the plaintiff a bull with a neck so
cluding all licentious disorders, he made it, neverthe- long as that he might drink from the top of Taygetus
less, honorable for men to give the use of their wives of the Eurotas river below it.” The man, surprised at
to those whom they should think fit, so that they this, said, “Why, ’tis impossible to find such a bull.”
might have children by them, ridiculing those in Geradas smilingly replied, “’Tis as possible as to
whose opinion such favors are so unfit for participa- find an adulterer in Sparta.” So much I had to say of
tion as to fight and shed blood and go to war about it. their marriages.
Nor was it in the power of the father to dispose of
the child as he thought fit; he was obliged to carry it
7 Unlike other Greeks, where child brides were common. before certain judges at a place called Lesche. These
198 SPARTA, ATHENS, AND THE CLASSICAL AGE (500-387 BCE)

judges were some of the elders of the phylé® to which enrolled in certain companies and classes, where
the child belonged. It was their business to view the they all lived under the same order and discipline,
infant carefully, and, if they found it stout and well doing their exercises and taking their play together.
made, they gave order for its rearing, and allotted to Of these, he who showed the most conduct and cour-
it one of the nine thousand shares of land? for its age was made captain. The boys had their eyes
maintenance. But if they found it puny and ill-shaped, always upon him, obeyed his orders, and underwent
they ordered it to be taken to what was called the patiently whatsoever punishment he inflicted, so that
Apothetae, a sort of chasm under Taygetus, think- the whole course of their education was one contin-
ing it neither for the good of the child itself, nor for ued exercise of a ready and perfect obedience. The
the public interest, that it should be brought up, if it old men, too, were spectators of their performances,
did not, from the very outset, appear made to be and often raised quarrels and disputes among them,
healthy and vigorous. Upon the same account, the to have a good opportunity of finding out their differ-
women did not bathe the new-born children with ent characters, and of seeing which would be valiant,
water, as is the custom in all other countries, but which a coward, when they should come to more dan-
with wine, to prove the temper and complexion of gerous encounters. Reading and writing they gave
their bodies, from a notion they had that epileptic them, just enough to serve their turn. Their chief care
and weakly children faint and waste away upon was to make them good subjects, and to teach them
their being thus bathed while, on the contrary, those to endure pain and conquer in battle. To this end, as
of a strong and vigorous habit acquire firmness and they grew in years, their discipline was proportion-
get a temper by it, like steel. There was much care ately increased. Their heads were close-clipped, they
and art, too, used by the nurses. They had no swad- were accustomed to go barefoot, and for the most
dling bands; the children grew up free and uncon- part to play naked.
strained in limb and form, and not dainty and After they were twelve years old, they no longer
fanciful about their food; not afraid in the dark, or were allowed to wear any undergarments. They had
of being left alone; and without peevishness, or ill- one coat to serve them a year; their bodies were hard
humor, or crying. Upon this account Spartan nurses and dry, with but little acquaintance of baths and
often were hired by people of other countries; it is perfumes; these human indulgences they were al-
recorded that she who suckled Alcibiades!® was a lowed only on some few particular days in the year.
Spartan. They lodged together in little bands upon beds made
Lycurgus would not have masters bought out of of the rushes that grew by the banks of the river
the market for his young Spartans, nor such as should Eurotas, which they were to break off with their
sell their pains,’ nor was it lawful, indeed, for the hands without a knife; if it were winter, they min-
father himself to raise children after his own fancy. gled some thistle-down with their rushes, which it
As soon as boys were seven years old they were to be was thought had the property of giving warmth. By
the time they were come to this age there was not
any of the more hopeful boys who had not a lover to
’The Dorian Greeks were divided into three phylai (peo-
bear him company. The old men, too, had an eye
ples), often in older works called “tribes,” each of which
upon them, coming often to the grounds to hear and
was subdivided into smaller kinship groups: phratries
see them contend either in wit or strength with one
(clans), genai (extended families), and oikoi (households).
See Reading 46. another, and this as seriously and with as much con-
° Full Spartan citizens were allotted landholdings that cern as if they were their fathers, their guardians, or
supported them while they performed their military their magistrates, so that there scarcely was any
services. time or place without someone present to put them
'° A famous Athenian general during the Peloponnesian War. in mind of their duty, and punish them if they had
'' That is, the Spartans had no child-care workers. neglected it.
SPARTAN EDUCATION (ca. 750 pce): PLUTARCH, LIFE OF LYCURGUS
199

Besides all this, there was always one of the best their stealing, that a youth, having stolen a young fox
and most honest men in the city appointed to under- and hid it under his coat, suffered it to tear out his
take the charge and governance of them. He again very bowels with its teeth and claws and died upon
arranged them into their several bands, and set over the place, rather than let it be seen. What is practised
each of them for their captain the most temperate to this very day in Lacedaemon is enough to gain
and boldest of those, whom they called Jrens, who credit to this story, for I myself have seen several of
usually were twenty years old, two years out of boy- the youths endure whipping to death at the foot of the
hood. The oldest of the boys were Mell-Irens, that is, altar of Diana surnamed Orthia.
those who shortly would be men. This young man, The /ren, or under-master, used to stay a little
therefore, was their captain when they fought and with them after supper, and one of them he bade to
their master at home. He used them for the offices of sing a song, to another he put a question that required
the house, sending the eldest of them to fetch wood, an advised and deliberate answer, for example, Who
and the weaker and less able to gather salads and was the best man in the city? What he thought of
herbs, and these they must either go without or steal, such an action of such a man? They trained them
which they did by creeping into the gardens or con- thus early to pass a right judgment upon persons and
veying themselves cunningly and closely into the things, and to inform themselves of the abilities or
eating-houses. If they were caught in the act, they defects of their countrymen. If they had not an
were whipped without mercy for thieving so ill and answer ready to the question, Who was a good or
awkwardly. They stole, too, all other meat they could who an ill-reputed citizen, they were looked upon as
lay their hands on, looking out and watching all op- of a dull and careless disposition, and to have little or
portunities, when people were asleep or more care- no sense of virtue and honor; besides this, they were
less than usual. If they were caught, they were not to give a good reason for what they said, and in as
only punished with whipping, but hunger, too, being few words and as comprehensive as might be. He
reduced to their ordinary allowance, which was but that failed of this, or answered not to the purpose,
very slender, and so contrived on purpose, so that had his thumb bit by the master. Sometimes the Iren
they might set about to help themselves and be forced did this in the presence of the old men and magis-
to exercise their energy and craftiness. trates, that they might see whether he punished them
This was the principal design of their hard fare. justly and in due measure or not, and when he did
There also was another not inconsiderable intent, that amiss, they would not reprove him before the boys,
they might grow taller, for the vital spirits, not being but, when they were gone, he was called to an ac-
overburdened and oppressed by too great a quantity of count and underwent correction, if he had run far
nourishment, which necessarily discharges itself into into either of the extremes of indulgence or severity.
thickness and breadth, do, by their natural lightness, Their lovers and favorers, too, had a share in the
rise, and the body, giving and yielding because it is young boy’s honor or disgrace, and there goes a story
pliant, grows in height. The same thing seems, also, to that one of them was fined by the magistrate because
conduce to beauty of shape; a dry and lean habit is a the lad whom he loved cried out effeminately as he was
better subject for nature’s configuration, which the fighting. And although this sort of love was so approved
gross and over-fed are too heavy to submit to properly. among them that the most virtuous matrons would
Just as we find that women who take laxatives while make professions of it to young girls, yet rivalry did not
they are with child bear leaner and smaller but better- exist, and if several men’s fancies met in one person, it
shaped and prettier children, the material they come was rather the beginning of an intimate friendship,
of having been more pliable and easily molded. The while they all jointly conspired to render the object of
reason, however, I leave others to determine. their affection as accomplished as possible.
To return from whence we have digressed. So se- They taught them, also, to speak with a natural and
riously did the Lacedaemonian children go about graceful raillery, and to comprehend much matter of
200 SPARTA, ATHENS, AND THE CLASSICAL AGE (500-387 BCE)

thought in few words. For Lycurgus, who ordered, as the anecdotes of him; as appears by his answer to
we saw, that a great piece of money should be but of one who by all means would set up a democracy in
an inconsiderable value, on the contrary would allow Lacedaemon. “Begin, friend,” said he, “and set it up
no discourse to be current that did not contain in few in your family.” Another asked him why he allowed
words a great deal of useful and curious sense. Chil- of such mean and trivial sacrifices to the gods. He
dren in Sparta, by a habit of long silence, came to give replied, “That we may always have something to
just and sententious answers; for, indeed, as loose and offer to them.” Being asked what sort of martial ex-
incontinent livers are seldom fathers of many chil- ercises or combats he approved of, he answered, “All
dren, so loose and incontinent talkers seldom origi- sorts, except that in which you stretch out your
nate many sensible words. King Agis, when some hands.” Similar answers, addressed to his country-
Athenian laughed at their short swords, and said that men by letter, are ascribed to him; as, being con-
the jugglers on the stage swallowed them with ease, sulted how they might best oppose an invasion of
answered him, “We find them long enough to reach their enemies, he returned this answer, “By continu-
our enemies with”; and as their swords were short and ing poor, and not coveting each man to be greater
sharp, so, it seems to me, were their sayings. than his fellow.” Being consulted again whether it
They reach the point and arrest the attention of were requisite to enclose the city with a wall, he sent
the hearers better than any. Lycurgus himself seems them word, “The city is well fortified that hath a wall
to have been short and sententious, if we may trust of men instead of brick.”

'2 A sign of surrender.

 54
ae Or)

THE CONSTITUTIONS OF ATHENS

(800-507 sce): ARISTOTLE, THE
POP PPEN PAN ECON SELMILEEION

One of two surviving copies of Aristotle’s “Athenian Constitution,” dating to ca. 100 ce, written on
papyrus and preserved in the British Library in London.

The Athenian philosopher Aristotle, who worked in the mid-fourth century ce, proposed to
study how human society functioned by collecting 170 constitutions of a multitude of cities
and peoples, including that of the city of Carthage (see Reading 71). The result was his
famous work the Politics (see Reading 65). A separate study, “The Athenian Constitution,"
was lost to history until it was discovered at Oxyrhyncus in Egypt in 1879 preserved on two
leaves of a papyrus codex originally written around 100 ce. A second, longer, version was
discovered in 1890. The first section describes the evolution of the Athenian constitution up
to the year 403 sce, including the aristocratic, oligarchic, and democratic constitutions, and
the second part discusses Athenian institutions.
Source: Fredrick G. Kenyon, trans., Aristotle, The Athenian Constitution (London: Bell, 1914).

[The Ancient Aristocratic Constitution: ca. 800 BcE] —_magistrates were elected according to qualifications
Now the ancient constitution," as it existed before of birth and wealth. At first they governed for life,
the time of Draco,'* was organized as follows. The — but subsequently for terms of ten years. The first

3 That is, the aristocratic constitution.

'4 A lawgiver, like Lycurgus of Sparta, who in 621 BCE issued the first written constitution and law code of Athens. The
laws were known for their harshness; hence, the modern word “draconian” to refer to a particularly severe measure.

201
202 SPARTA, ATHENS, AND THE CLASSICAL AGE (500-387 BCE)

magistrates, both in date and in importance, were the hold a preliminary hearing. Such then was the ar-
King, the Polemarch,'° and the Archon." The earliest rangement of the magistracies. The Council of the
of these offices was that of the King, which existed Areopagus~” had as its constitutionally assigned duty
from ancestral antiquity. To this was added, sec- the protection of the laws but in point of fact it ad-
ondly, the office of Polemarch, on account of some of ministered the greater and most important part of the
the kings proving feeble in war, for it was on this government of the state, and inflicted personal pun-
account that Ion!” was invited to accept the post on ishments and fines summarily upon all who misbe-
an occasion of pressing need. The last of the three haved themselves. This was the natural consequence
offices was that of the Archon, which most authori- of the facts that the Archons were elected under
ties state to have come into existence in the time of qualifications of birth and wealth,” and that the Are-
Medon.'® Others assign it to the time of Acastus,’ opagus was composed of those who had served as
and adduce as proof the fact that the nine Archons Archons, for which latter reason the membership of
swear to execute their oaths “as in the days of Acas- the Areopagus is the only office that has continued to
tus,’ which seems to suggest that it was in his time be a life-magistracy to the present day.
that the descendents of Codrus”® retired from the
kingship in return for the prerogatives conferred [The Constitution of Draco: 621 BCE]
upon the Archon. Whichever way it be, the differ- Such was, in outline, the first constitution, but not
ence in date is small. That it was the last of these very long after the archonship of Aristaichmus,”*
magistracies to be created is shown by the fact that Draco enacted his ordinances. Now his constitution
the Archon has no part in the ancestral sacrifices, as had the following form. The franchise”> was given to
the King and the Polemarch have, but exclusively in all who could furnish themselves with a military
those of later origin. So it is only at a comparatively equipment. The nine Archons and the Treasurers
late date that the office of Archon has become of were elected by this body from persons possessing
great importance, through the dignity conferred by an unencumbered property of not less than ten
these later additions. The Thesmothetes”! were ap- minas,”° the less important officials from those who
pointed many years afterward, when these offices could furnish themselves with a military equipment,
already had become annual, with the object that they and the Strategoi”’ and Hipparchoi** from those who
might publicly record all legal decisions, and act as
guardians of them with a view to determining the
*2 A council of elders composed of ex-archons that was
issues between litigants. Accordingly their office, the primary governing body of Athens under the
alone of those that have been mentioned, was never aristocracy.
of more than annual duration. *3 Only aristocrats met the birth qualification, and there
The Thesmothetes had power to decide cases fi- was no way for someone not born an aristocrat to
nally on their own authority, not, as now, merely to become one.
*4621 BcE. Athenian years were dated by the holders of
one of the archonships, in the same way that the Romans
'S The chief general. dated years by the names of their consuls.
'© A chief magistrate in Greek cities. *> Full citizenship, with the right to vote, hold office, and
'’ The first Athenian Polemarch. be a member of the Council.
'8 The son of Codrus, the first king of Athens. °° A unit of weight; there were sixty minas in a talent
') Another son of Codrus who succeeded his brother, (about fifty-six pounds), and sixty shekels in a mina. This
Medon. reform opened up to wealthy nonaristocrats the opportu-
° The last of the legendary kings of Athens, ca. 1089- nity to hold office.
1068 BCE. *7 Generals.
*1 The six guardians of the laws in ancient Athens. *8 Commanders of the cavalry.
THE CONSTITUTIONS OF ATHENS (800-507 Bcg): ARISTOTLE, THE ATHENIAN CONSTITUTION 203

could show an unencumbered property of not less Public Contracts [Poletai], the Eleven, and the Ex-
than a hundred minas, and had children born in chequer Clerks [Colacretai], he assigned to the Pen-
lawful wedlock over ten years of age. There was also tacosiomedimnoi, the Hippeis, and the Zeugitai,
to be a Council, consisting of four hundred and one giving offices to each class in proportion to the value
members, elected by lot from among those who pos- of their rateable property. To those who ranked
sessed the franchise. Both for this and for the other among the Thetes he gave nothing but a place in the
magistracies the lot was cast among those who were Assembly and in the juries. A man had to rank as a
over thirty years of age, and no one might hold office Pentacosiomedimnos if he made, from his own land,
twice until every one else had had his turn, after five hundred measures, whether liquid or solid.
which they were to cast the lot afresh. If any member Those ranked as Hippeis who made three hundred
of the Council failed to attend when there was a sit- measures, or, as some say, those who were able to
ting of the Council or of the Assembly, he paid a fine, maintain a horse. Those ranked as Zeugitai who
to the amount of three drachmas if he was a Penta- made two hundred measures, liquid or solid; and the
cosiomedimnos,”’ two if he was one of the Hippeis,*° rest ranked as Thetes, and were not eligible for any
and one if he was a Zeugités.*! The Council of Are- office.
opagus was guardian of the laws, and kept watch The elections to the various offices Solon enacted
over the magistrates to see that they executed their should be by lot, out of candidates selected by each
offices in accordance with the laws. Any person who of the phylai.** Each phylé selected ten candidates
felt himself wronged might lay an accusation before for the nine archonships, and among these the lot
the Council of Areopagus, on declaring what law was cast. Such was Solon’s legislation with respect to
was broken by the wrong done to him. the nine Archons; whereas in early times the Council
of Areopagus summoned suitable persons according
[The Oligarchic Constitution of Solon: 596/594 BcE] to its own judgement and appointed them for the year
Next Solon” drew up a constitution® and enacted to the several offices. There were four phylai, as
new laws; and the ordinances of Draco ceased to be before. Each phylé was divided into three trittyes.*
used, with the exception of those relating to murder. Solon also appointed a Council of Four Hundred, a
He divided the population according to property into hundred from each phylé. He assigned to the Council
four classes, just as it had been divided before, of the Areopagus the duty of superintending the
namely, Pentacosiomedimnoi, Hippeis, Zeugitai, laws, acting as before as the guardian of the constitu-
and Thetes. The various magistracies, namely, the tion in general. It kept watch over the affairs of the
nine Archons, the Treasurers, the Commissioners for state in most of the more important matters, and cor-
rected offenders, with full powers to inflict either
fines or personal punishment. It also tried those who
29500 bushel men,” an indication of their annual income conspired for the overthrow of the state.
in measures of grain or olive oil. Such, then, was Solon’s legislation concerning the
30 Originally, those rich enough to own a horse; some- magistracies. There are three points in the constitu-
times also called “Knights.” tion of Solon that appear to be its most democratic
31“Yoke men,” referring to their being yoked together in
the line of battle.
32 An aristocrat appointed to create an oligarchic 34 The Ionian Greeks were divided into four phylai (peo-
constitution. ples) to which all citizens of a city belonged; each was
33 The oligarchic constitution of Solon formalized the subdivided into smaller kinship groups: phratries (clans),
collection between wealth and the opportunity to hold genai (extended families), and oikoi (households). See
office and reduced the power of the aristocratic Reading 46.
Areopagus. SS Phindse:
204 SPARTA, ATHENS, AND THE CLASSICAL AGE (500-387 BCE)

features: first and most important, the prohibition of described by the names of their demes. Accordingly
loans on the security of the debtor’s person; secondly, it is by the names of their demes that the Athenians
the right of every person who so willed to claim re- speak of one another.
dress on behalf of anyone to whom wrong was being By these reforms the constitution became much
done; thirdly, the institution of the appeal to the jury- more democratic than that of Solon. The laws of
courts, and it is to this last, they say, that the masses Solon had been obliterated by disuse during the
have owed their strength most of all, because when period of the tyranny, while Cleisthenes substituted
the democracy is master of the voting-power it is new ones with the object of securing the goodwill of
master of the constitution. the masses. Among these was the law concerning os-
tracism.*! Next they began to elect the generals by
[The Democratic Constitution of Cleisthenes: 507 BCE] phylai, one from each phylé, whereas the Polemarch
The people had good reason to place confidence in remained the commander of the whole army. Then,
Cleisthenes.*° Accordingly, now that he was the pop- eleven years later, they won the Battle of Marathon,”
ular leader, three years after the expulsion of the ty- and two years after this victory, when the people had
rants,*’ in the archonship of Isagoras,** his first step now gained self-confidence, they f first time
was to distribute the whole population into ten phylai made use of the law of ostracism.hishad
ofginaly
in place of the existing four, with the object of inter- been passed-as a precaution against men in\ high
mixing the members of the different phylai, and so office, bécause Peisistratus* took advantage of his
securing that more persons might have a share in the position as a popular leader and general to’ make
franchise. Next he made the Council to consist of himself tyrant. Then in the very next yearyin the ar-
five hundred members instead of four hundred, each chonship of Telesinus, they for the first time since the
phylé now contributing fifty, whereas formerly each tyranny elected, phylé by phylé, the nine Archons by
had sent a hundred. Further, he divided the country lot out-of the five hundred candidates selected by the
into thirty groups of demes,*’ ten from the districts demes, all the earlier ones having been elected by
about the city, ten from the coast, and ten from the vote. For three years they continued to ostracize the
interior. These he called trittyes; and he assigned friends of the tyrants, on whose account the law had
three of them by lot to each phylé, in such a way that been passed, but in the following year they began to
each should have one portion in each of these three remove others as well, including anyone who seemed
localities.*° All who lived in any given deme he de- to be more powerful than was expedient. Two years
clared fellow-demesmen, to the end that the new citi- later, the mines of Maroneia** were discovered, and
zens might not be exposed by the habitual use of the state made a profit of a hundred talents from the
family names, but that men might be officially working of them. Some persons advised the people
to make a distribution of the money among them-
selves, but this was prevented by Themistocles.*° He
36 An Athenian aristocrat who attempted to lessen aristo-
cratic influence even further and create a more demo-
cratic constitution. “'Every year Athenian citizens voted to see whether there
7 Between 546 and 510 BcE Athens was governed by the would be an ostracism election. If there was, anyone re-
tyrant Peisistratus and his two sons, Hipparchus and ceiving more than six thousand votes was required to go
Hippias. For Greek tyrants, see Reading 52. into exile for ten years.
38 507 BCE. “Tn 490 BCE.
*° Subdivisions of the territory of Athens, including, at “’ Tyrant of Athens from 546 until 527 BCE.
this time, the city itself. “*Ca. 483 BCE, significant silver mines were discovered at
“0 As a result, whereas Solon’s trittyes were based on Athens at Laurion; Maroneia was in the same area.
family membership, Cleisthenes’s were based on geo- * An important Athenian politician who regularly advo-
graphical residence. cated for the importance of sea power.
 THE BATTLE OF SALAMIS (480 sce): HERODOTUS, HISTORIES, BOOK 8
205

Poe the money and with it he had a hundred tri- Three years later,** all the ostracized persons were
remes” built, and it was with these ships that they __ recalled, on account of the advance
of the army of
fought the battle of Salamis‘’ against the barbarians. Xerxes.”

35
cSQD
MitebbarAciLsLoe 2G)Fe SAdeAMILS
(480 Bce): HERODOTUS,
gtORE 5 HBO) O:Kee®

Only a single surviving artifact, the so-called Lenormant relief, from Athens ca. 410 Bce, shows the
position of the rowers in an Athenian trireme.

The Battle of Salamis in 480 sce was the pivotal battle of the Persian Wars. In 480 sce, the
Persian king Xerxes crossed from Asia to Europe and defeated the Greeks at the Battle of

4° Warships with three banks of oars powered by about 48 That is, three years after the discovery of the mines.
two hundred citizen rowers. ” Persian king from 486 until 465 BCE.
47Tn 480 BCE.
206 SPARTA, ATHENS, AND THE CLASSICAL AGE (500-387 BcE)

Thermopylae in northern Greece. The Persians also fought the Greeks to a draw at the naval
Battle of Artemesium, off the northern coast of the island of Euboea, where both sides lost
a roughly equal number of warships. This was a war of attrition that the heavily outnum-
bered Greeks could not hope to win. The Persians then advanced south, and all the cities of
central Greece capitulated. The Greek opposition withdrew to a line of defense across the
Isthmus of Corinth, leaving Athens undefended. Athens was captured without a fight and
burned in retaliation for the burning of the Persian capital of Asia at Sardis in 498 sce. The
Greeks then debated their next step. The Peloponnesians favored withdrawing the Greek
fleet to defend the Peloponnesus, but the Athenian general Themistocles, by threatening to
withdraw the Athenian fleet and population and flee to Sicily, convinced the Greeks to resist
the Persian fleet at Salamis. The historian Herodotus, writing in Athens around 440 sce, pro-
vides a patriotic description of the course of the battle, which also attested to the personal
role of the Persian king Xerses and the heroic acts of Artemisia, Queen of Halicarnassus.
After the Greek victory, it was popularly believed that the oracle of Apollo at Delphi saying
that the Athenians should “trust to their wooden walls” when the Persians attacked was a
reference to the Athenian wooden warships.

Source: George Rawlinson, Henry Rawlinson, and John Gardner Wilkinson, trans., The History of Herodotus. A New English
Version (London: Murray, 1862).

When the captains from the various nations were come burning everything. The Persians found the city for-
together at Salamis, a council of war was summoned; saken. Xerxes, thus was completely master of Athens.
and Eurybiades® proposed that anyone who liked to Meanwhile, at Salamis, the Greeks no sooner
advise, should say which place seemed to him the fit- heard what had befallen the Athenian citadel than
test, among those still in the possession of the Greeks, they fell into such alarm that some of the captains did
to be the scene of a naval combat. Attica, he said, was not even wait for the council to come to a vote, but
not to be thought of now; but he desired their counsel as embarked hastily on board their vessels, and hoisted
to the remainder. The speakers mostly advised that the sail as if to take flight immediately. The rest came to
fleet should sail away to the Isthmus, and there give a vote that the fleet should give battle at the Isthmus.
battle in defense of the Peloponnese. They urged as a Themistocles, as he entered his own vessel, was met
reason for this that if they were worsted in a sea-fight at by Mnesiphilus, an Athenian, who exclaimed, “If
Salamis they would be shut up in an island where they these men sail away from Salamis, thou wilt have no
could get no help; but if they were beaten near the Isth- fight at all for the one fatherland, for they all will scat-
mus, they could escape to their homes. As the captains ter themselves to their own homes, and neither Eury-
from the Peloponnese were advising this, there came biades nor anyone else will be able to hinder them.
an Athenian to the camp, who brought word that the Thus will Greece be brought to ruin.” Themistocles,
barbarians”! had entered Attica, and were ravaging and without answering a word, went straight to the vessel
of Eurybiades. He persuaded Eurybiades, by his im-
portunity, to again collect the captains to council. He
addressed him as follows:
°° A Spartan commander placed in overall command of
the Greek naval forces because the Spartans refused to With thee it rests, O Eurybiades!, to save Greece, if
serve under an Athenian. thou wilt only hearken unto me, and give the enemy
>! The typical Greek disparaging term for any non- battle here, rather than yield to the advice of those
Greeks, including the highly civilized Persians. among us, who would have the fleet withdrawn to
THE BATTLE OF SALAMIS (480 sce): HERODOTUS, HISTORIES, BOOK 8 207

the Isthmus. If thou wilt stay here and behave like a advantage now. This then is my advice. Spare thy
brave man, all will be well—if not, thou wilt bring ships, and do not risk a battle, for these people are
Greece to ruin. For the whole fortune of the war as much superior to thy people in seamanship, as
depends on our ships. Be thou persuaded by my men to women.*° What so great need is there for
words. If not, we will take our families on board, thee to incur hazard at sea? Art thou not master of
and go, just as we are, to Siris, in Italy, which is ours Athens, for which thou didst undertake thy expedi-
from of old, and which the prophecies declare we tion? Is not Greece subject to thee? Keep thy fleet
are to colonize some day or other.*? You then, when near the land, then thou wilt easily accomplish all
you have lost allies like us, will hereafter call to for which thou art come hither. The Greeks cannot
mind what I now have said. hold out against thee very long; thou wilt soon part
them asunder, and scatter them to their several
At these words of Themistocles, Eurybiades changed homes. On the other hand, if thou art hasty to fight,
his determination; principally, as I believe, because he I tremble lest the defeat of thy sea force bring harm
feared that if he withdrew the fleet to the Isthmus, the likewise to thy land army.
Athenians would sail away, and knew that without the
Athenians, the rest of their ships could be no match Xerxes, when the words of the several speakers were
for the fleet of the enemy. He therefore decided to reported to him, was pleased beyond all others with
remain, and give battle at Salamis. And now, the dif- the reply of Artemisia, and whereas, even before
ferent chiefs, on learning the decision of Eurybiades, this, he had always esteemed her much, he now
at once made ready for the fight. praised her more than ever. Nevertheless, he gave
Reinforced by the contingents of various states, the orders that the advice of the greater number should
barbarians* reached Athens, where they were visited be followed. Orders were now given to stand out to
by Xerxes, who had conceived a desire to go aboard and sea. The ships proceeded toward Salamis and took
learn the wishes of the fleet. So he came and sat in a seat up the stations to which they were directed, without
of honor; and the sovereigns of the nations, and the cap-
let or hindrance from the enemy. The day, however,
was too far spent for them to begin the battle, for
tains of the ships, were sent for, to appear before him.
Xerxes, to try them, sent Mardonius™ and questioned night already approached, so they prepared to engage
each, whether a sea-fight should be risked or no. All
upon the morrow.
The Greeks now made ready for the coming fight.
gave the same answer, advising to engage the Greeks,
At the dawn of day, the Greeks put to sea with all
except only Artemisia,*° who spoke as follows:
their fleet. The fleet had scarce left the land when
Say to the king, Mardonius, that these are my words they were attacked by the barbarians. At once most
to him: I was not the least brave of those who fought of the Greeks began to back water, and were about
at Euboea, nor were my achievements there among touching the shore, when Ameinias of Pallene, one
the meanest; it is my right, therefore, O my lord, to of the Athenian captains, darted forth in front of the
tell thee plainly what I think to be most for thy line, and charged a ship of the enemy, whereupon the
rest of the fleet came up to help Ameinias and en-
gaged with the Persians. It also is reported that a
52 Themistocles thus threatened to take the two hundred phantom in the form of a woman appeared to the
Athenian warships to Italy, thus making it totally impos- Greeks, and, in a voice that was heard from end to
sible for the Greek navy to resist the Persian navy. end of the fleet, cheered them on to the fight, first,
3 That is, the Persian navy. however, rebuking them, and saying, “Strange men,
>4The primary general of Xerxes.
how long are ye going to back water?” Far the greater
55 The queen of Halicarnassus in Ionia. The five ships
that she commanded at the Battle of Salamis were
reputed to be the best in the Persian navy after the ships 56 An ironic statement, given Artemisia’s own superiority
of Phoenician Sidon. to most of the male captains in the Persian fleet.
208 SPARTA, ATHENS, AND THE CLASSICAL AGE (500-387 BCE)

number of the Persian ships engaged in this battle there died only a few, for, as they were able to swim,
were disabled, either by the Athenians or by the Ae- all those that were not slain outright by the enemy
ginetans.*’ For as the Greeks fought in order and escaped from the sinking vessels and swam across to
kept their line, whereas the barbarians were in con- Salamis. But on the side of the barbarians more per-
fusion and had no plan in anything that they did, the ished by drowning than in any other way, because
issue of the battle could scarce be other than it was. they did not know how to swim. The great destruc-
Yet the Persians fought far more bravely here than at tion took place when the ships that had been first en-
Euboea, and indeed surpassed themselves; each did gaged began to flee, for they who were stationed in
his utmost through fear of Xerxes, for each thought the rear, anxious to display their valor before the
that the king’s eye was upon himself. eyes of the king, made every effort to force their way
What part the several nations, whether Greek or to the front, and thus became entangled with such of
barbarian, took in the combat, I am not able to say their own vessels as were retreating.
for certain. Artemisia, however, I know, distin- The Greeks who gained the greatest glory of all in
guished herself in such a way as raised her even the sea-fight off Salamis were the Aeginetans, and after
higher than she stood before in the esteem of the them the Athenians. The individuals of most distinc-
king. For after confusion had spread throughout the tion were Polycritus the Aeginetan, and two Athenians,
whole of the king’s fleet, and her ship was closely Eumenes of Anagyrus and Ameinias of Pallene, the
pursued by an Athenian trireme, she, having no way latter of whom had pressed Artemisia so hard. And
to flee, because in front of her were a number of assuredly, if he had known that the vessel carried
friendly vessels, and she was nearest of all the Per- Artemisia on board, he would never have given over
sians to the enemy, resolved on a measure that in fact the chase until he had either succeeded in taking her or
proved her safety. Pressed by the Athenian pursuer,”® else been taken himself. For the Athenian captains
she bore straight against one of the ships of her own had received special orders touching the queen, and
party and sank it, and thereby she had the good for- moreover a reward of ten thousand drachmas had been
tune to procure herself a double advantage. For the proclaimed for anyone who should make her prisoner
commander of the Athenian trireme thought imme- because there was great indignation felt that a woman
diately that her vessel was a Greek, or else had de- should appear in arms against Athens.*? However, as I
serted from the Persians, and was now fighting on said before, she escaped, and so did some others whose
the Greek side; he therefore gave up the chase. ships survived the engagement; and these were all now
Thus in the first place she saved her life by the assembled at the port of Phalerum.©°
action, while further, it fell out that in the very act of As soon as the sea-fight was ended, the Greeks drew
doing the king an injury she raised herself to a together to Salamis all the wrecks that were to be found
greater height than ever in his esteem. For as Xerxes in that quarter, and prepared themselves for another en-
beheld the fight, bystanders observed to him, “Seest gagement, supposing that the king would renew the
thou, master, how well Artemisia fights, and how she fight with the vessels that still remained to him. Xerxes,
has just sunk a ship of the enemy?” Then Xerxes when he saw the extent of his loss, began to be afraid
asked if it were really Artemisia’s doing; and they lest the Greeks might decide to sail straight to the
answered, “Certainly; for they knew her standard.” Hellespont and break down the bridges there, in which
Xerxes in reply observed, “My men have behaved case he would be blocked up in Europe, and run great
like women, my women like men!” risk of perishing. He therefore made up his mind to flee.
There perished a vast number of men of high
repute, Persians, Medes, and allies. Of the Greeks
** Greek men felt extremely threatened by talented and
able women.
57 Aegina was an island city south of Athens. °° The port of Athens, given that Athens was not located
%8 Ameinias of Pallene, a deme of Athens. directly on the seacoast.
 56
cSO>
PERIGLES’S “FUNERAL ORATION
AND THE PLAGUE IN ATHENS
(431-430 sce): THUCYDIDES,
SPORTS BOOK 2a3 42-54

A Roman copy of a Greek portrait bust of ca. 430 BcE of the Athenian leader Pericles, now
in the British Museum.

In the first phase of the Peloponnesian War (431-421 sce), the strategy of the Spartans, on the
one hand, who had uncontested superiority on land, was to invade Attica each year and destroy
the crops and olive trees. On the other hand, the policy of the Athenian leader Pericles was to
withdraw the Athenian population behind their walls and refuse to fight until the Spartans
withdrew their forces in the fall. Pericles hoped simply to hold out by supplying the city by sea,
keeping control over the empire, and using Athens's control of the sea to raid the Peloponnesus.
In the winter of 431/430 sce, after the campaigning season was over, Pericles presented the
traditional funeral eulogy in honor of the Athenians who had fallen in battle the previous
year. He took the opportunity to glorify Athens, Athenian government, and his own policies.
What Pericles did not anticipate, however, was that in the second year of the war the unsani-
tary conditions resulting from so many people crowded into the city would result in a terrible
plague that killed thousands of people. The plague also struck in 429, when Pericles himself
died of it, and 427 sce. Suggestions of the nature of the plague have included typhus, typhoid

209
210 SPARTA, ATHENS, AND THE CLASSICAL AGE (500-387 BcE)

fever, and Ebola. A graphic description of how the plague progressed was given by the Athe-
nian historian Thucydides, himself a failed general, in his “Histories” of the Peloponnesian War.
Thucydides is seen as the creator of “scientific history,” which attributes historical events not
to the will of the gods but to the actions of human beings engaged in struggles for power.

Source: Benjamin Jowett, trans., Thucydides (Cambridge, UK: Clarendon, 1881), 115-129.

During the same winter,°! in accordance with an an- a worthy thing that such an honor should be given
cestral custom, the funeral of those who first fell in at their burial to the dead who have fallen on the
this war was celebrated by the Athenians at the field of battle. But I should have preferred that,
public charge. The ceremony is as follows: Three when men’s deeds have been brave, they should be
days before the celebration they erect a tent in which honored in deed only, and with such an honor as
the bones of the dead are laid out, and every one this public funeral, which you are now witnessing.
brings to his own dead any offering which he Then the reputation of many would not have been
pleases. At the time of the funeral the bones are imperilled on the eloquence or want of eloquence of
placed in chests of cypress wood, which are con- one, and their virtues believed or not as he spoke
veyed on wagons; there is one chest for each tribe. well or ill. For it is difficult to say neither too little
They also carry a single empty litter decked with a nor too much; and even moderation is apt not to
pall for all whose bodies are missing, and cannot be give the impression of truthfulness. The friend of
recovered after the battle. The procession is accom- the dead who knows the facts is likely to think that
panied by anyone who chooses, whether citizen or the words of the speaker fall short of his knowledge
stranger, and the female relatives of the deceased are and of his wishes; another who is not so well in-
present at the place of interment and make lamenta- formed, when he hears of anything which surpasses
tion. The public sepulcher is situated in the most his own powers, will be envious and will suspect
beautiful spot outside the walls; there they always exaggeration. Mankind are tolerant of the praises of
bury those who fall in war; only after the battle of others so long as each hearer thinks that he can do
Marathon the dead, in recognition of their pre-emi- as well or nearly as well himself, but, when the
nent valor, were interred on the Held. When the re- deed is beyond him, jealousy is aroused and he
mains have been laid in the earth, some man of begins to be incredulous. However, since our ances-
known ability and high reputation, chosen by the tors have set the seal of their approval upon the
city, delivers a suitable oration over them; after practice, I must obey, and to the utmost of my power
which the people depart. Such is the manner of in- shall endeavor to satisfy the wishes and beliefs of
terment; and the ceremony was repeated from time all who hear me.
to time throughout the war. Over those who were the I will speak first of our ancestors, for it is right
first buried Pericles was chosen to speak. At the fit- and becoming that now, when we are lamenting the
ting moment he advanced from the sepulcher to a dead, a tribute should be paid to their memory. There
lofty platform, which had been erected in order that has never been a time when they did not inhabit this
he might be heard as far as possible by the multi- land, which by their valor they have handed down
tude, and spoke as follows: from generation to generation, and we have received
“Most of those who have spoken here before me from them a free state. But if they were worthy of
have commended the lawgiver who added this ora- praise, still more were our fathers, who added to
tion to our other funeral customs; it seemed to them their inheritance, and after many a struggle transmit-
ted to us their sons this great empire. And we our-
61 Tn 431 BCE. selves assembled here today, who are still most of us
PERICLES’S FUNERAL ORATION AND THE PLAGUE IN ATHENS (431-430 Bce) Past

in the vigor of life, have chiefly done the work of the whole earth flow in upon us; so that we enjoy the
improvement, and have richly endowed our city with goods of other countries as freely as of our own.
all things, so that she is sufficient for herself both in Then, again, our military training is in many re-
peace and war. Of the military exploits by which our spects superior to that of our adversaries. Our city is
various possessions were acquired, or of the energy thrown open to the world, and we never expel a for-
with which we or our fathers drove back the tide of eigner or prevent him from seeing or learning any-
war, Hellenic or barbarian, I will not speak; for the thing of which the secret if revealed to an enemy
tale would be long and is familiar to you. But before might profit him. We rely not upon management or
I praise the dead, I should like to point out by what trickery, but upon our own hearts and hands. And in
principles of action we rose to power, and under what the matter of education, whereas they from early
institutions and through what manner of life our youth are always undergoing laborious exercises
empire became great. For I conceive that such thoughts which are to make them brave, we live at ease, and
are not unsuited to the occasion, and that this numer- yet are equally ready to face the perils which they
ous assembly of citizens and strangers may profita- face. And here is the proof. The Lacedaemonians
bly listen to them. come into Attica not by themselves, but with their
Our form of government does not enter into ri- whole confederacy following; we go alone into a
valry with the institutions of others. We do not copy neighbor’s country; and although our opponents are
our neighbors, but are an example to them. It is true fighting for their homes and we on a foreign soil, we
that we are called a democracy, for the administra- have seldom any difficulty in overcoming them. Our
tion is in the hands of the many and not of the few. enemies have never yet felt our united strength; the
But while the law secures equal justice to all alike in care of a navy divides our attention, and on land we
their private disputes, the claim of excellence is also are obliged to send our own citizens everywhere. But
recognized; and when a citizen is in any way distin- they, if they meet and defeat a part of our army, are as
guished, he is preferred to the public service, not as a proud as if they had routed us all, and when defeated
matter of privilege, but as the reward of merit. Nei- they pretend to have been vanquished by us all.
ther is poverty a bar, but a man may benefit his coun- If then we prefer to meet danger with a light heart
try whatever be the obscurity of his condition. There but without laborious training, and with a courage
is no exclusiveness in our public life, and in our pri- which is gained by habit and not enforced by law, are
vate intercourse we are not suspicious of one another, we not greatly the gainers? Since we do not antici-
nor angry with our neighbor if he does what he likes; pate the pain, although, when the hour comes, we
we do not put on sour looks at him which, though can be as brave as those who never allow themselves
harmless, are not pleasant. While we are thus uncon- to rest; and thus too our city is equally admirable in
strained in our private intercourse, a spirit of rever- peace and in war.
ence pervades our public acts; we are prevented from For we are lovers of the beautiful, yet with econ-
doing wrong by respect for authority and for the laws, omy, and we cultivate the mind without loss of manli-
having an especial regard to those which are or- ness. Wealth we employ, not for talk and ostentation,
dained for the protection of the injured as well as to but when there is a real use for it. To avow poverty
those unwritten laws which bring upon the transgres- with us is no disgrace; the true disgrace is in doing
sor of them the reprobation of the general sentiment. nothing to avoid it. An Athenian citizen does not ne-
And we have not forgotten to provide for our weary glect the status because he takes care of his own
spirits many relaxations from toil; we have regular household; and even those of us who are engaged in
games and sacrifices throughout the year; at home the business have a very fair idea of politics. We alone
style of our life is refined; and the delight which we regard a man who takes no interest in public affairs,
daily feel in all these things helps to banish melan- not as a harmless, but as a useless character; and if few
choly. Because of the greatness of our city the fruits of of us are originators, we are all sound judges of a
212 SPARTA, ATHENS, AND THE CLASSICAL AGE (500-387 BCE)

policy. The great impediment to action is, in our opin- I have dwelt upon the greatness of Athens because
ion, not discussion, but the want of that knowledge I want to show you that we are contending for a
which is gained by discussion preparatory to action, higher prize than those who enjoy none of these priv-
For we have a peculiar power of thinking before we ileges, and to establish by manifest proof the merit of
act and of acting too, whereas other men are coura- these men whom I am now commemorating. Their
geous from ignorance but hesitate upon reflection. loftiest praise has been already spoken. For in mag-
And they are surely to be esteemed the bravest spirits nifying the city I have magnified them, and men like
who, having the clearest sense both of the pains and them whose virtues made her glorious. And of how
pleasures of life, do not on that account shrink from few Hellenes can it be said as of them, that their
danger. In doing good, again, we are unlike others; we deeds when weighed in the balance have been found
make our friends by conferring, not by receiving equal to their fame! It seems to me that a death such
favors. Now he who confers a favor is the firmer as theirs has been gives the true measure of a man’s
friend, because he would fain by kindness keep alive worth; it may be the first revelation of his virtues, but
the memory of an obligation; but the recipient is colder is at any rate their final seal. For even those who
in his feelings, because he knows that in requiting an- come short in other ways may justly plead the velour
other’s generosity he will not be winning gratitude but with which they have fought for their country; they
only paying a debt. We alone do good to our neighbors have blotted out the evil with the good, and have ben-
not upon a calculation of interest, but in the confi- efited the state more by their public services than
dence of freedom and in a frank and fearless spirit. they have injured her by their private actions. None
To sum up: I say that Athens is the school of Hellas, of these men were enervated by wealth or hesitated
and that the individual Athenian in his own person to resign the pleasures of life; none of them put off
seems to have the power of adapting himself to the the evil day in the hope, natural to poverty, that a
most varied florins of action with the utmost versatil- man, though poor, may one day become rich. But,
ity and grace. This is no passing and idle word, but deeming that the punishment of their enemies was
truth and fact; and the assertion is verified by the sweeter than any of these things, and that they could
position to which these qualities have raised the fall in no nobler cause, they determined at the hazard
state. For in the hour of trial Athens alone among her of their lives to be honorably avenged, and to leave
contemporaries is superior to the report of her. No the rest. They resigned to hope their unknown chance
enemy who comes against her is indignant at the re- of happiness; but in the face of death they resolved to
verses which he sustains at the hands of such a city; rely upon themselves alone. And when the moment
no subject complains that his masters are unworthy came they were minded to resist and suffer, rather
of him. And we shall assuredly not be without wit- than to fly and save their lives; they ran away from
nesses; there are mighty monuments of our power the word of dishonor, but on the battlefield their feet
which will make us the wonder of this and of suc- stood fast, and in an instant, at the height of their
ceeding ages; we shall not need the praises of Homer fortune, they passed away from the scene, not of
or of any other panegyrist whose poetry may please their fear, but of their glory.
for the moment, although his representation of the Such was the end of these men; they were worthy
facts will not bear the light of day. For we have com- of Athens, and the living need not desire to have a
pelled every land and every sea to open a path for our more heroic spirit, although they may pray for a less
valor, and have everywhere planted eternal memori- fatal issue. The value of such a spirit is not to be ex-
als of our friendship and of our enmity. Such is the pressed in words. Anyone can discourse to you for
city for whose sake these men nobly fought and died; ever about the advantages of a brave defense which
they could not bear the thought that she might be you know already. But instead of listening to him I
taken from them; and every one of us who survive would have you day by day fix your eyes upon the
should gladly toil on her behalf. greatness of Athens, until you become filled with the
PERICLES’S FUNERAL ORATION AND THE PLAGUE IN ATHENS (431-430 BCE) 213

love of her; and when you are impressed by the spec- were a part of his life before they were taken from
tacle of her glory, reflect that this empire has been him. Some of you are of an age at which they may
acquired by men who knew their duty and had the hope to have other children, and they ought to bear
courage to do it, who in the hour of conflict had the their sorrow better; not only will the children who
fear of dishonor always present to them, and who, if may hereafter be born make them forget their own
ever they failed in an enterprise, would not allow lost ones, but the city will be doubly a gainer. She
their virtues to be lost to their country, but freely will not be left desolate, and she will be safer. For a
gave their lives to her as the fairest offering which man’s counsel cannot have equal weight or worth,
they could present at her feast. The sacrifice which when he alone has no children to risk in the general
they collectively made was individually repaid to danger. To those of you who have passed their prime,
them; for they received again each one for himself a I say, ‘Congratulate yourselves that you have been
praise which grows not old, and the noblest of all happy during the greater part of your days; remem-
sepulchers—speak not of that in which their remains ber that your life of sorrow will not last long, and be
are laid, but of that in which their glory survives, and comforted by the glory of those who are gone. For
is proclaimed always and on every fitting occasion the love of honor alone is ever young, and not riches,
both in word and deed. For the whole earth is the as some say, but honor is the delight of men when
sepulcher of famous men; not only are they com- they are old and useless.’
memorated by columns and inscriptions in their own To you who are the sons and brothers of the de-
country, but in foreign lands there dwells also an un- parted, I see that the struggle to emulate them will be
written memorial of them, graven not on stone but in an arduous one. For all men praise the dead, and, how-
the hearts of men. Make them your examples, and ever pre-eminent your virtue may be, hardly will you
esteeming courage to be freedom and freedom to be be thought, I do not say to equal, but even to approach
happiness, do not weigh too nicely the perils of war. them. The living have their rivals and detractors, but
The unfortunate who has no hope of a change for the when a man is out of the way, the honor and good-will
better has less reason to throw away his life than the which he receives is unalloyed. And, if I am to speak
prosperous who, if he survive, is always liable to a of womanly virtues to those of you who will hence-
change for the worse, and to whom any accidental forth be widows, let me sum them up in one short ad-
fall makes the most serious difference. To a man of monition: To a woman not to show more weakness
spirit, cowardice and disaster coming together are than is natural to her sex is a great glory, and not to be
far more bitter than death striking him unperceived talked about for good or for evil among men.
at a time when he is full of courage and animated by I have paid the required tribute, in obedience to
the general hope. the law, making use of such fitting words as I had.
Wherefore I do not now commiserate the parents The tribute of deeds has been paid in part; for the
of the dead who stand here; I would rather comfort dead have been honorably interred, and it remains
them. You know that your life has been passed amid only that their children should be maintained at the
manifold vicissitudes; and that they may be deemed public charge until they are grown up: this is the
fortunate who have gained most honor, whether an solid prize with which, as with a garland, Athens
honorable death like theirs, or an honorable sorrow crowns her sons living and dead, after a struggle like
like yours, and whose days have been so ordered that theirs. For where the rewards of virtue are greatest,
the term of their happiness is likewise the term of there the noblest citizens are enlisted in the service
their life. Iknow how hard it is to make you feel this, of the state. And now, when you have duly lamented,
when the good fortune of others will too often every one his own dead, you may depart.” Such was
remind you of the gladness which once lightened the order of the funeral celebrated in this winter,
your hearts. And sorrow is felt at the want of those with the end of which ended the first year of the
blessings, not which a man never knew, but which Peloponnesian War.
214 SPARTA, ATHENS, AND THE CLASSICAL AGE (500-387 BCE)

As soon as summer returned,” the Peloponnesian reappear. For I was myself attacked, and witnessed
army, comprising as before two-thirds of the force of the sufferings of others.
each confederate state, under the command of the The season was admitted to have been remarka-
Lacedaemonian® king Archidamus,™ the son of bly free from ordinary sickness; and if anybody was
Zeuxidamus, invaded Attica, where they established already ill of any other disease, it was absorbed in
themselves and ravaged the country. They had not this. Many who were in perfect health, all in a
been there many days when the plague broke out at moment, and without any apparent reason, were
Athens for the first time. A similar disorder is said to seized with violent heats in the head and with red-
have previously smitten many places, particularly ness and inflammation of the eyes. Internally the
Lemnos,® but there is no record of such a pestilence throat and the tongue were quickly suffused with
occurring elsewhere, or of so great a destruction of blood, and the breath became unnatural and fetid.
human life. For a while physicians, in ignorance of There followed sneezing and hoarseness; in a short
the nature of the disease, sought to apply remedies; time the disorder, accompanied by a violent cough,
but it was in vain, and they themselves were among reached the chest. Then, fastening lower down, it
the first victims, because they oftenest came into con- would move the stomach and bring on all the vomits
tact with it. No human art was of any avail, and as to of bile to which physicians have ever given names,
supplications in temples, enquiries of oracles, and the and they were very distressing. An ineffectual retch-
like, they were utterly useless, and at last men were ing producing violent convulsions attacked most of
overpowered by the calamity and gave them all up. the sufferers; some as soon as the previous symp-
The disease is said to have begun south of Egypt toms had abated, others not until long afterward. The
in Aethiopia; thence it descended into Egypt and body externally was not so very hot to the touch, nor
Libya, and after spreading over the greater part of yet pale; it was of a livid color inclining to red, and
the Persian empire, suddenly fell upon Athens.® It breaking out in pustules and ulcers. But the internal
first attacked the inhabitants of the Piraeus,” and it fever was intense; the sufferers could not bear to
was supposed that the Peloponnesians had poisoned have on them even the finest linen garment; they in-
the cisterns, no conduits having as yet been made sisted on being naked, and there was nothing that
there. It afterward reached the upper city, and then they longed for more eagerly than to throw them-
the mortality became far greater. As to its probable selves into cold water. And many of those who had
origin or the causes that might or could have pro- no one to look after them actually plunged into the
duced such a disturbance of nature, every man, cisterns, for they were tormented by unceasing thirst,
whether a physician or not, will give his own opin- which was not in the least assuaged whether they
ion. But I shall describe its actual course, and the drank little or much. They could not sleep and a rest-
symptoms by which anyone who knows them before- lessness that was intolerable never left them.
hand may recognize the disorder should it ever While the disease was at its height the body, in-
stead of wasting away, held out amid these sufferings
in a marvelous manner, and either they died on the
° In 430 Bc, the second year of the Peloponnesian War. seventh or ninth day, not of weakness, for their
° From Lacedaemon, the original Spartan homeland in
strength was not exhausted, but of internal fever,
the Peloponnesus.
which was the end of most. If they survived, then the
64 Archidamus (476-427 BCE) gave his name to the
“Archidamian War” (431-421 Bcg), the first phase of the disease descended into the bowels and there pro-
Peloponnesian War. duced violent ulceration; severe diarrhea at the same
6° A large island in the northeastern Aegean Sea. time set in, and at a later stage caused exhaustion,
°° The plague’s trajectory suggests that it was spread via which finally with few exceptions carried them off.
commerce. For the disorder that had originally settled in the
°7 A fortified port and naval base for the city of Athens. head passed gradually through the whole body, and,
PERICLES’S FUNERAL ORATION AND THE PLAGUE IN ATHENS (431-430 BcE) 215

if a person got over the worst, often would seize the relations of the dying were at last growing weary and
extremities and leave its mark, attacking the genitals ceased to make lamentations, overwhelmed by the
and the fingers and the toes. Some escaped with the vastness of the calamity. But whatever instances
loss of these, some with the loss of their eyes. Some there may have been of such devotion, more often the
again had no sooner recovered than they were seized sick and the dying were tended by the pitying care of
with a forgetfulness of all things and knew neither those who had recovered, because they knew the
themselves nor their friends. course of the disease and were themselves free from
The malady took a form not to be described, and apprehension. For no one was ever attacked a
the fury with which it fastened upon each sufferer second time, or not with a fatal result. All men con-
was too much for human nature to endure. There was gratulated them, and they themselves, in the excess
one circumstance in particular that distinguished it of their joy at the moment, had an innocent fancy
from ordinary diseases. The birds and animals that that they could not die of any other sickness.
feed on human flesh, although so many bodies were The crowding of the people out of the country into
lying unburied, either never came near them, or died the city aggravated the misery, and the newly arrived
if they touched them. This was proved by a remark- suffered most. For, having no houses of their own,
able disappearance of the birds of prey, who were not but inhabiting in the height of summer stifling huts,
to be seen either about the bodies or anywhere else, the mortality among them was dreadful, and they
whereas in the case of the dogs the fact was even perished in wild disorder. The dead lay as they had
more obvious, because they live with man. died, one upon another, while others hardly alive
Such was the general nature of the disease: I omit wallowed in the streets and crawled about every
many strange peculiarities that characterized indi- fountain craving for water. The temples in which
vidual cases. None of the ordinary sicknesses at- they lodged were full of the corpses of those who
tacked anyone while it lasted, or, if they did, they died in them, for the violence of the calamity was
ended in the plague. Some of the sufferers died from such that men, not knowing where to turn, grew
want of care, others equally who were receiving the reckless of all law, human and divine. The customs
greatest attention. No single remedy could be deemed that hitherto had been observed at funerals were uni-
a specific, for that which did good to one did harm to versally violated, and they buried their dead each one
another. No constitution was of itself strong enough as best he could. Many, having no proper appliances,
to resist or weak enough to escape the attacks; the because the deaths in their household had been so
disease carried off all alike and defied every mode of frequent, made no scruple of using the burial-place
treatment. Most appalling was the despondency that of others. When one man had raised a funeral pyre,
seized upon anyone who felt himself sickening; for others would come, and throwing on their dead first,
he instantly abandoned his mind to despair and, in- set fire to it; or when some other corpse was already
stead of holding out, absolutely threw away his burning, before they could be stopped would throw
chance of life. Appalling too was the rapidity with their own dead upon it and depart.
which men caught the infection, dying like sheep if There were other and worse forms of lawlessness
they attended on one another, and this was the prin- that the plague introduced at Athens. Men who had
cipal cause of mortality. When they were afraid to hitherto concealed their indulgence in pleasure now
visit one another, the sufferers died in their solitude, grew bolder. For, seeing the sudden change, how the
so that many houses were empty because there had rich died in a moment, and those who had nothing
been no one left to take care of the sick, or if they immediately inherited their property, they reflected
ventured to assist, they perished, especially those that life and riches were alike transitory, and they
who aspired to heroism. For they went to see their resolved to enjoy themselves while they could, and to
friends without thought of themselves and were
ashamed to leave them, even at a time when the very 68 Because they had gained immunity.
216 SPARTA, ATHENS, AND THE CLASSICAL AGE (500-387 BCE)

think only of pleasure. Who would be willing to sac- All the time during which the Peloponnesians™ re-
rifice himself to the law of honor when he knew not mained in the country and the armament of the
whether he would ever live to be held in honor? The Athenians continued at sea the plague was raging
pleasure of the moment and any sort of thing that both among the troops and in the city. The fear that
conduced to it took the place both of honor and of it inspired was said to have induced the enemy to
expediency. Already a far heavier sentence had been leave Attica sooner than they intended, for they
passed and was hanging over a man’s head; before heard from deserters that the disease was in the city,
that fell, why should he not take a little pleasure? and they likewise saw the burning of the dead. Still,
Such was the grievous calamity that now afflicted in this invasion the whole country was ravaged by
the Athenians; within the walls their people were them, and they remained about forty days, which
dying, and without, their country was being ravaged. was the longest stay they ever made.

® The Spartan army.

 Sif
cSQ>
AN ASSESSMENT OF ATHENIAN
DEMOCRACY (eAqu-42'5°piery
THE “OLD OLIGARCH”

Athens’s economic imperialism was manifested in its coinage, which served as currency in all the
markets controlled by the Athenians. A “Coinage Decree” of ca. 447 even imposed Athenian coinage,
weights, and measures on all Athenian allies. The primary Athenian coin was the large silver
tetradrachm, or four-drachm piece. It bore the head of Athena on the obverse and Athena’s owl and an
olive sprig on the reverse. The legend AGE (“Athe”) identified Athens as the issuing city. These coins
were intended for large-scale transactions as opposed to small purchases in the agora (marketplace).
One tetradrachm was about four days’ salary for a mercenary soldier.

The Athenian democracy (see Reading 54) was not uniformly popular among the citizens of
Athens. A rather negative and personal portrayal was presented by an anonymous author
known as "The Old Oligarch," who, in a curmudgeonly manner, suggests that neither the
aristocrats, whom the author calls “the good people," nor the masses of the unprivileged

PANU
218 SPARTA, ATHENS, AND THE CLASSICAL AGE (500-387 BcE)

were really qualified to lead the government because both groups only sought to advance
their private interests. The text acknowledges the benefits of naval power and may have
been written by a wealthy merchant who had profited from democratic policies even if he
did not agree with them. The text is preserved among the works of the early fourth century
ace Athenian historian Xenophon and usually is dated to around 425 sce.

Source: E. C. Marchant and G. W. Bowersock, eds., Pseudo-Xenophon. Constitution of the Athenians. In Xenophon VII. Scripta
minora, Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1968), 459-507.

And as for the fact that the Athenians have chosen holding these magistracies but leaving them instead in
the kind of constitution that they have, I do not think the hands of the most influential men. However, such
well of their doing this inasmuch as in making their magistracies as are salaried and domestically profita-
choice they have chosen to let the worst people be ble the people are keen to hold.
better off than the good.” Therefore, on this account Then there is a point that some find extraordinary,
I do not think well of their constitution. But because that the Athenians everywhere assign more to the
they have decided to have it so, I intend to point out worst persons, to the poor, and to the popular types
how well they preserve their constitution and accom- than to the good men: in this very point they will be
plish those other things for which the rest of the found manifestly preserving their democracy. For
Greeks criticize them. the poor, the popular, and the base, insofar as they
First Iwant to say this: there the poor and the people are well off and the likes of them are numerous, will
generally are right to have more than the highborn and increase the democracy; but if the wealthy, good men
wealthy for the reason that it is the people who man the are well off, the men of the people create a strong
ships and impart strength to the city; the steersmen, opposition to themselves. And everywhere on earth
the boatswains, the sub-boatswains, the look-out offic- the best element is opposed to democracy. For among
ers, and the shipwrights: these are the ones who impart the best people there is minimal wantonness and in-
strength to the city far more than the hoplites, the high- justice but a maximum of scrupulous care for what is
born, and the good men. This being the case, it seems good, whereas among the people there is a maxi-
right for everyone to have a share in the magistracies, mum of ignorance, disorder, and wickedness, for
both allotted’! and elective, and for anyone to be able poverty inclines them to disgraceful actions, and be-
to speak his mind if he wants to. Then there are those cause of a lack of money some men are uneducated
magistracies that bring safety or danger to the people and ignorant.
as a whole depending on whether or not they are well Someone might say that they ought not to let eve-
managed: of these the people claim no share (they do ryone speak on equal terms and serve on the Coun-
not think they should have an allotted share in the gen- cil,”* but rather just the cleverest and finest. Yet the
eralships or cavalry commands).” For these people Athenians’ policy is also excellent in this very point
realize that there is more to be gained from their not of allowing even the worst people to speak. For if the
good men were to speak and make policy, it would be
splendid for the likes of themselves but not so for the
The “aristoi,” that is, the “best people,” as they called
men of the people. But, as things are, any wretch who
themselves.
wants to can stand up and obtain what is good for him
7| That is, chosen by lot.
” Generals were elected because it was thought that gen- and the likes of himself. Someone might say, ““What
erals needed military skills; although the rich usually
were elected, there was no regulation preventing a poor ™ The Council of 500, introduced by Cleisthenes (see
man from being chosen. Reading 54).
AN ASSESSMENT OF ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY (ca. 425 Bcg): THE “OLD OLIGARCH” 219

good would such a man propose for himself and the learned to row, for of necessity a man who is often at
people?” But they know that this man’s ignorance, sea takes up an oar, as does his slave, and they learn
baseness, and favor are more profitable than the good naval terminology. Both through experience of voy-
man’s virtue, wisdom, and ill will. A city would not ages and through practice they become fine steers-
be the best on the basis of such a way of life, but the men. Some are trained by service as steersmen on an
democracy would be best preserved that way. For the ordinary vessel, others on a freighter, others, after
people do not want a good government under which such experience, on triremes.’’ Many are able to row
they themselves are slaves; they want to be free and as soon as they board their ships, because they have
to rule. Bad government is of little concern to them. been practicing beforehand throughout their whole
What you consider bad government is the very source lives. But the Athenian infantry, which has the repu-
of the people’s strength and freedom. If it is good tation of being very weak, has been deliberately so
government you seek, you will first observe the clev- constituted: they consider that they are weaker and
erest men establishing the laws in their own interest. fewer than their enemies,” but they are stronger, even
Then the good men will punish the bad; they will on land than such of their allies as pay the tribute, and
make policy for the city and not allow madmen to they think their infantry sufficient if they are more
participate or to speak their minds or to meet in as- powerful than their allies.
sembly. As a result of these excellent measures the Moreover, the rulers of the sea can do just what
people would swiftly fall into slavery. rulers of the land sometimes can do, ravage the ter-
In regard to the allies,” the Athenians sail out and ritory of the stronger. For wherever there is no
lay information, as they are said to do; they hate the enemy (or wherever enemies are few), it is possible
aristocrats inasmuch as they realize that the ruler is to put in along the coast and, if there is an attack, to
necessarily hated by the ruled and that if the rich and go back on board one’s ship and sail away; one who
aristocratic men in the cities are strong, the rule of does this is less badly off than one who comes to
the people at Athens will last for a very short time. help with infantry. Further, the rulers of the sea can
This is why they” disfranchise the aristocrats, take sail away from their own land to anywhere at all,
away their money, expel and kill them, whereas they whereas a land power can take a journey of only a
promote the interests of the lower class. The Athe- few days from its own territory. Progress is slow,
nian aristocrats protect their opposite numbers in the and going on foot one cannot carry provisions suf-
allied cities, because they realize that it will be to ficient for a long time, whereas imports reach the
their advantage always to protect the finer people in rulers of the sea.
the cities. Someone might say that the Athenians’ Wealth they alone of the Greeks and non-Greeks
strength consists in the allies’ ability to pay are capable of possessing. If some city is rich in
tribute-money, but the rabble thinks it more advanta- ship-timber, where will it distribute it without the
geous for each one of the Athenians to possess the consent of the rulers of the sea? Again if some city is
resources of the allies and for the allies themselves to rich in iron, copper, or flax, where will it distribute
possess only enough for survival and to work with- without the consent of the rulers of the sea? Moreo-
out being able to plot defection. ver, it is from these very things that I have my ships:
Furthermore, as a result of their possessions abroad timber from one place, iron from another, copper
and the tenure of magistracies that take them abroad, from another, flax from another, wax from another.
both they” and their associates have imperceptibly In addition, they will forbid export to wherever any
of our enemies are, on pain of being unable to use the
% The cities coerced into being part of the Athenian
Empire.
The Athenian poor. 7 Athenian warships with three banks of oars.
% The Athenian poor. 78 The Spartans.
220 SPARTA, ATHENS, AND THE CLASSICAL AGE (500-387 BcE)

sea. And I, without doing anything, have all this reputation; but if anyone wants to attack private per-
from the land because of the sea. sons, they bid him do so, knowing perfectly well that
But there is one thing the Athenians lack. If they the person so treated usually is a person of either
were thalassocrats” living on an island, it would be wealth, high birth, or influence.** Some few poor and
possible for them to inflict harm, if they wished, but plebeian types are indeed abused in comedy but only
as long as they ruled the sea, to suffer none, neither if they have been meddling in others’ affairs and
the ravaging of their land nor the taking on of ene- trying to rise above their class, so that the people feel
mies. As it is, they place their property on islands no vexation at seeing such persons abused in comedy.
while trusting in the naval empire and they allow It is my opinion that the people at Athens know
their land to be ravaged, for they realize that if they which citizens are good and which bad, but that in
concern themselves with this, they will be deprived spite of this knowledge they cultivate those who are
of other greater goods. complaisant and useful to themselves, even if bad;
Further, for oligarchic* cities it is necessary to keep and they tend to hate the good. For they do not think
to alliances and oaths. If they do not abide by agree- that the good are naturally virtuous for the people’s
ments or if injustice is done, there are the names of the benefit, but for their hurt. On the other hand, some
few who made the agreement. But whatever agree- persons are not by nature democratic although they
ments the populace makes can be repudiated by refer- are truly on the people’s side. I pardon the people
ring the blame to the one who spoke or took the vote, themselves for their democracy. One must forgive
while the others declare that they were absent or did not everyone for looking after his own interests. But
approve of the agreement made in the full assembly. If whoever is not a man of the people and yet prefers to
it seems advisable for their decisions not to be effective, live in a democratic city rather than in an oligarchic
they invent myriad excuses for not doing what they do one has readied himself to do wrong and has realized
not want to do. And if there are any bad results from the that it is easier for an evil man to escape notice in a
people’s plans, they charge that a few persons, working democratic city than in an oligarchic.
against them, ruined their plans; but if there is a good As for the constitution of the Athenians I do not
result, they take the credit for themselves. praise its form; but because they have decided to
They do not permit the people to be ill spoken of have a democracy, I think they have preserved the
in comedy,*! so that they may not have a bad democracy well by the means that I have indicated.

” A “thalassocracy,” a Greek word meaning “rule by

sea,” was a State that based its power on its navy.
8° For oligarchy, that is, rule by the well-to-do, see Read-
ing 54.
81 In Athenian comedy it was permitted to refer to con-
temporary political events in a humorous manner, but
even then an author had to be careful not to offend the
wrong people; see Reading 59. Alluding to contemporary * The comedies of Aristophanes, for example, regularly
events in tragedies could be even more dangerous; see lampooned individuals, such as Socrates, who were
Reading 58. thought to threaten the dynamics of Athenian life.
 58
chp
ATHENIAN ANTI-WAR SENTIMENT
AND PERCEPTIONS OF WOMEN
(415 sce): EURIPIDES, TROJAN
WOMEN

A fresco from the “House of the Menander” in Pompeii (79 ce) depicts the treatment of Trojan woman
after the fall of Troy. Ajax tears Cassandra away from the Palladium, the ancient wooden statue of
Athena that fell from heaven and was kept at the Temple of Athena in Troy, and other Trojan women
are carried off into slavery in the background. Cassandra’s father Priam, the king of Troy, sadly looks on.
This sacrilege brought the wrath of the gods on the Greeks. The Palladium later was said to have been
brought from Troy to Italy by Aeneas and eventually kept in the Temple of Vesta in Rome.

221
Ep) SPARTA, ATHENS, AND THE CLASSICAL AGE (500-387 BcE)

Although it was common, and indeed expected, that Athenian comedies would discuss contem-
porary events, doing so in tragedy, because of its much more serious nature and devastating
endings, was forbidden. Indeed, shortly after 494 the poet Phrynicus was fined for presenting
a tragedy entitled "The Taking of Miletus," which reminded the Athenians of their disastrous
involvement in the lonian revolt against the Persians in 498. Tragedians, therefore, had to be
more circumspect about references to current events. Thus, the Athenian playwright Euripides's
drama "The Trojan Women," presented in 415 sce, approached the topic of the horrors of war by
discussing the fate of the Trojan women after the capture of Troy by the Greeks. The four
women in the play—Hecuba, Cassandra, Andromache, and Helen—would have been familiar to
the audience as the four women who appeared in the last book of Homer's Iliad. Although no
mention was made of current events, no one in the audience would have missed the implied
connection to the possible fate of the city of Athens in the Peloponnesian War (431-404 sce)
and a more specific allusion to the Athenian punishment of the island city of Melos only the
year before for trying to secede from the Athenian Empire. The Athenians captured the city
with the assistance of Melian traitors and made good their threats, killing all the men and sell-
ing the women and children into slavery: Euripides won only the second prize for his efforts.

Source: E. P. Coleridge, trans., The Plays of Euripides, Translated into English Prose, Vol. | (London: Bell, 1906).

SCENE: In front ofAgamemnon’s tent near Troy, a tall Spartan Helen,*’ daughter of Tyndareus,** justly counted
woman with white hair is lying on the ground asleep. In among the captives. And wouldst thou see that queen of
the background is a battlefield behind which stand the misery, Hecuba;*’ thou canst, for there she lies before
partially destroyed walls of Troy. At one side are dead the gates, weeping many a bitter tear for many a tribula-
bodies of armed men and on the other side are tents tion. For at Achilles’ tomb, although she knows this not,
holding the captive women of Troy. Just before sunrise, her daughter Polyxena has died most piteously. Like-
the god Poseidon is dimly seen before the walls. wise is Priam? dead, and her children too: Cassan-
POSEIDON, GOD OF THE SEA: I am leaving Ilium,** dra,’ whom the god Apollo left to be a virgin,
that famous town, and the altars that I love, for when frenzied maid,” hath Agamemnon,” in contempt of
dreary desolation seizes on a town, the worship of the
gods decays and loses respect. Scamander’s* banks re-
echo long and loud the screams of captive maids, as by 88 Stepfather of Helen of Troy, whose actual father was
lot they receive their masters. Arcadia® taketh some, the god Zeus.
and some the folk of Thessaly*®; others are assigned to ® The wife of king Priam of Troy and mother of nineteen
children, including Hector, Paris, Cassandra, and
Theseus’ sons, the Athenian chiefs. And such of the
Polyxena.
Trojan women as are not yet portioned out are in these
°° King of Troy and husband of Hecuba.
tents, set apart for the leaders of the host, and with them *! Daughter of Priam.
*°Tn an effort to seduce her, the god Apollo gave
83 A poetic name for Troy, going back to Hittite sources. Cassandra the power of prophecy, but when she refused
84 The river that ran near Troy. his advances he cursed her so that her true prophesies
8 A region of central Greece. never would be believed. Prophetresses were thought to
86 A region of northern Greece. have been driven mad by Apollo when they gave their
87 The wife of Menelaus of Sparta; she either ran off with prophecies; see also Reading 88.
or was kidnaped by Paris of Troy and thus caused the *? King of Mycenae and Argos and leader of the Greek
Trojan War. army.
ATHENIAN ANTI-WAR SENTIMENT AND PERCEPTIONS OF WOMEN (415 BCE) 223

the god’s ordinance and of piety, forced to a dishon- This is Troy no more, no longer am I queen in Ilium.
ored wedlock. Farewell, O city prosperous once! Although fortune change, endure thy lot; sail with
Farewell, ye ramparts of hewn stone! Had not the stream, and follow fortune’s tack, steer not thy
Pallas,* daughter of Zeus, decreed thy ruin, thou vessel of life against the tide, because chance must
would be standing firmly still. guide thy course. Ah me! Ah me! What else but tears
is now my hapless lot, whose country, children, hus-
[Enter the Goddess Athena, Daughter of Zeus] band, all are lost? Oh that I should sit here over
Athena: Dost not know the insult done to me and against the tent of Agamemnon. Forth from my
to the shrine I love? home to slavery they hale my aged frame, while from
Poseidon: Surely, in the hour that Ajax” tore Cas- my head in piteous manner the hair is shorn for grief.
sandra thence. Ah! Hapless wives of those mail-clad sons of Troy!
Athena: Yea, and the Achaeans” did naught, said Ah! Poor maidens, luckless brides, come weep, for
naught to him.”’ Ilium is now but a ruin.
Poseidon: And yet ‘twas by thy mighty aid they
sacked Ilium. [Enter CHORUS OF CAPTIVE TROJAN WOMEN]
Athena: For which cause I would join with thee to Semi-Chorus: O Hecuba why these cries, these
work their bane. piercing shrieks? What mean thy words? For I heard
Poseidon: My powers are ready at thy will. What thy piteous wail echo through the building, and a
is thy intent? pang of terror shoots through each captive Trojan’s
Athena: When they have set sail from Ilium for breast, as pent within these walls they mourn their
their homes. On them will Zeus also send his rain and slavish lot.
fearful hail, and inky tempests from the sky; yea, and Hecuba: My child, even now the hands of Argive”’
he promises to grant me his lightning-bolts to hurl on rowers are busy at their ships.
the Achaeans and fire their ships. And do thou, for Semi-Chorus: Ah, woe is me! what is their intent?
thy part, make the Aegean strait to roar with mighty Will they really bear me hence in sorrow from my
billows and whirlpools, and fill Euboea’s hollow bay country in their fleet?
with corpses, that Achaeans may learn henceforth to Hecuba: | know not, although I guess our doom.
reverence my temples and regard all other deities.”* Semi-Chorus: O misery! Woe to us Trojan
women, soon to hear the order given, “Come forth
[Exit] from the house; the Argives are preparing to return.”
Hath a herald from the Danaans!” already come? To
Hecuba (awakening, to herself): Lift thy head, whom am I, poor captive, given as a slave?
unhappy lady, from the ground, thy neck upraise. Hecuba: Thou art not far from being allotted now.
Semi-Chorus IT: Oh woe! What Argive or Phthio-
tian’! chief will bear me far from Troy? Alas!
*4 Another name for Athena. Hecuba: Ahme! Ah me! Whose slave shall Ibecome
5 Not the Ajax who was one of the primary Greek heroes in my old age? In what far clime? The wretched copy of
and known as ““Telamonian Ajax” or “Greater Ajax,” but a corpse, set to keep the gate or tend their children, I
a second Ajax, “Lesser Ajax.” who once held royal rank in Troy.
96 Another name for the Greeks.
°7Tn fact the Greeks, and in particular Odysseus, did
rebuke Ajax for his sacrilegious violation of Cassandra in
Athena’s temple, where she had taken refuge. °° From Argos in the northeastern Peloponnesus.
°8 Many of the Greeks had difficulties returning home, 100 A poetic name for Greeks.
especially Odysseus, who wandered the Mediterranean !01 Phthiotis, or Phthia, was a region in central Greece
for ten years. ruled by Achilles.
224 SPARTA, ATHENS, AND THE CLASSICAL AGE (500-387 BCE)

[Enter the Greek Herald TALTHYBIUS] Hecuba: O god! Now smite the close-shorn head!
Talthybius: The lot has decided your fates al- Tear your cheeks with your nails. God help me! I
ready, if that was what you feared. have fallen as a slave to a treacherous foe I hate, a
Hecuba: Then tell me, whose prize is my daugh- monster of lawlessness, one that by his double tongue
ter, hapless Cassandra? hath turned against us all that once was friendly in
Talthybius: King Agamemnon hath chosen her his camp, changing this for that and that for this
out for himself. again. Oh weep for me, ye Trojan women! Undone!
Hecuba: To be the slave-girl of his Spartan wife? Undone and lost! Ah woe, a victim to a most un-
Ah me! happy lot!
Talthybius: Nay, to share with him his stealthy love.
Hecuba: What! Phoebus’ virgin-priestess, to [Enter CASSANDRA Carrying Torches]
whom the god with golden locks granted the boon of Cassandra: Bring the light, uplift and show its
maidenhood? flame! I am doing the god’s service, see! Blest am I,
Talthybius: The dart of love hath pierced his the maiden soon to wed a princely lord in Argos.
heart, love for the frenzied maid. Hail Hymen, king of marriage! Because thou, my
Hecuba: What have ye done to my child whom mother, art ever busied with tears and lamentations
late ye took from me? in thy mourning for my father’s death and for our
Talthybius: Do you mean Polyxena, or whom do country dear, I at my own nuptials am making this
you inquire about? torch to blaze and show its light, in thy honor, O
Hecuba: To whom hath the lot assigned her? Hymen, king of marriage.
Talthybius: To minister at Achilles’ tomb hath Hecuba: Ah, my child! how little did I ever dream
been appointed her. that such would be thy marriage, a captive, and of
Hecuba: Woe is me! I the mother of a dead man’s Argos too!
slave! What custom, what ordinance is this among Cassandra: O mother, rejoice in my royal match.
Hellenes, good sir? Lead me to my lord Agamemnon, that famous king
Talthybius: Count thy daughter happy: ‘tis well of the Achaeans, he will find in me a bride more
with her. fraught with woe to him than Helen. For I will slay
Hecuba: What wild words are these? Say, is she him and lay waste his home to avenge my father’s
still alive? and my brethren’s death. Wherefore, mother mine,
Talthybius: Her fate is one that sets her free from thou shouldst not pity thy country or my betrothal,
trouble.' for this my marriage will destroy those whom thou
Hecuba: And what of mail-clad Hector’s wife, and I most hate.!°4
sad Andromache? Declare her fate. Talthybius: Had not Apollo turned thy wits astray,
Talthybius: She too was a chosen prize; Achilles’ thou wouldst not have sent my chiefs on their way
son did take her. with such ominous predictions. Follow me now to
Hecuba: As for me whose hair is white with age, the ships to grace the wedding of our chief.
who need to hold a staff to be to me a third foot, Cassandra: Fare thee well, mother mine! Dry
whose servant am I to be? thy tears, O country dear! After yet a little while my
Talthybius: Odysseus, King of Ithaca, hath taken brothers sleeping in the tomb and my own father
thee to be his slave. true shall welcome me; yet shall victory crown my

'2 An epithet of the god Apollo. '* After Agamemnon returned home, he and Cassandra
'3 Hecuba does not yet realize that this obscure reply were murdered by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover
means that Polyxena is dead. Aegisthus.
ATHENIAN ANTI-WAR SENTIMENT AND PERCEPTIONS OF WOMEN (415 BCE) 225

advent amongst the dead, when I have overthrown Andromache: J saw her with mine eyes, and cov-
the home of our destroyers, the house of the sons ered her corpse with a mantle. Her death was a hap-
of Atreus.!° pier fate than this my life.
Hecuba: Death and life are not the same, my
[Exit TALTHYBIUS and CASSANDRA] child; the one is annihilation, the other keeps a place
Hecuba: Ah, woe is me! And this is what I bear and for hope.
am to bear for one weak woman’s wooing!'°° O my Andromache: “Tis all one, I say, ne’er to have
daughter, O Cassandra! How cruel the lot that ends been born and to be dead, and better far is death than
thy virgin days! And thou, Polyxena! My child of life with misery. For the dead feel no sorrow any
sorrow, where, oh!, where art thou? None of all the more and know no grief, but he who has known pros-
many sons and daughters I have borne comes to aid perity and has fallen on evil days feels his spirit
a wretched mother. Why then raise me up? What straying from the scene of former joys.
hope is left us? Of all the prosperous crowd, count
none a happy man before he die.!”” [Enter TALTHYBIUS]
Talthybius: Oh hate me not, thou that first were
[Enter ANDROMACHE with ASTYANAX] Hector’s wife, the bravest of the Phrygians! For my
Hecuba: Whither art thou borne, unhappy wife, tongue would fain not tell that which the Danaans
mounted on that car, side by side with Hector’s bronze and sons of Pelops'” both command. ‘Tis decreed
arms and Phrygian'®® spoils of war, with which thy son is—how can I tell my news? I know no words
Achilles’ son will deck the shrines of Phthia on his to break the sorrow lightly to thee.
return from Troy? Andromache: | thank thee for thy consideration,
Andromache: My Achaean masters drag me hence. unless indeed thou hast good news to tell.
Hecuba: Woe is thee! Talthybius: They mean to slay thy son''®; there is
Andromache: Come, my husband, come to me! my hateful message to thee.
Hecuba: Ah hapless wife! Thou callest on my son Andromache: O god! This is worse tidings than
who lieth in the tomb. my forced marriage.
Andromache: Thy wife’s defender, come! Talthybius: So spoke Odysseus. He said they
Hecuba: O my country, O unhappy land, I weep should not rear so brave a father’s son. From Troy’s
for thee now left behind; now dost thou behold thy battlements he must be thrown.
piteous end. Andromache: My child! My own sweet babe and
Chorus: What sweet relief to sufferers ‘tis to priceless treasure! Thy death the foe demands, and
weep, to mourn, lament, and chant the dirge that tells thou must leave thy wretched mother. Hector will not
of grief! rise to bring thee salvation. One awful headlong leap
Andromache: Thy daughter Polyxena is dead, from the dizzy height and thou wilt dash out thy life
slain at Achilles’ tomb, an offering to his lifeless with none to pity thee. In vain it seems these breasts
corpse. did suckle thee, wrapped in thy swaddling-clothes.
Hecuba: O woe is me! Kiss thy mother now for the last time, twine thy arms
about my neck and join thy lips to mine!

105 The son of Pelops and Hippodameia (see Reading 51)

and the father of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and/or 109 Ironically, a native of Phrygia or Lydia near Troy who
Argos, and Menelaus, king of Sparta. became king of Pisa in the northwestern Peloponnesus.
106 That is, Paris’s wooing of Helen. His son Atreus was the father of Agamemnon and
107 A Greek commonplace. Menelaus.
108 The Trojans also were known as Phrygians. 110 Astyanax; see Reading 45.
226 SPARTA, ATHENS, AND THE CLASSICAL AGE (500-387 BcE)

Talthybius: Come, child, leave fond embracing of it makes but little difference to the dead, although
thy woeful mother, and mount thy ancestral towers, they get a gorgeous funeral, for this is but a cause of
there to draw thy parting breath. idle pride to the living.

[Exit ANDROMACHE and TALTHYBIUS with [The corpse is carried off to burial]
ASTYANAX] Talthybius: Ye captains, whose allotted task it is
Hecuba: O child, son of my hapless boy, an unjust to fire this town of Priam, to you I speak. No longer
fate robs me and thy mother of thy life. Woe for my keep the firebrand idle in your hands, but launch the
city! Woe for thee! What is wanting now to our utter flame, that when we have destroyed the city of Ilium
and immediate ruin? we may set forth in gladness on our homeward
voyage from Troy. And thou, unhappy grey haired
[Enter TALTHYBIUS and attendants, bearing the woman, follow, yonder come servants from Odys-
corpse of ASTYANAX on HECTOR’s shield] seus to fetch thee, for to him thou art assigned by lot
Talthybius: Hecuba, one ship alone delays its to be a slave far from thy country.
plashing oars, for Neoptolemus is already out at sea Hecuba: Woe! Thrice woe upon me! Ilium is
and with him goes Andromache, who drew many a ablaze, the homes of Pergamos!!' and its towering
tear from me, wailing her country and crying her fare- walls are now one sheet of flame.
well to Hector’s tomb. And she craved her master Chorus: As the smoke soars on wings to heaven,
leave to bury this poor dead child of Hector. But now so sinks our city to the ground before the spear. With
will I go to dig a grave for him, that our united efforts furious haste both fire and foeman’s spear devour
shortening our task may speed our ship toward home. each house.
Hecuba: | am being dragged and hurried away.
[Exit TALTHYBIUS] Chorus: O the sorrow of that cry!
Hecuba: O ye Achaeans, more reason have ye to Hecuba: From my own dear country, to dwell be-
boast of your prowess than your wisdom. Why have neath a master’s roof. Woe is me! O Priam, Priam,
ye in terror of this child been guilty of murder never unburied, left without a friend, naught dost thou
matched before? know of my cruel fate.
Chorus: Wail for the dead. Chorus: Woe for our unhappy town! And yet to
Hecuba: Woe is me! the Achaean fleet advance.
Chorus: Alas! For thy unending sorrow. Hecuba: Woe for thee, O land that nursed my
Hecuba: Go, bury now in his poor tomb the dead, little babes!
wreathed all duly as befits a corpse. And yet I deem Chorus: Ah! Woe!

'' Another name for Troy, later applied to the kingdom of

Pergamum in western Anatolia.
 59
cSQ>
ATHENIAN ANTI-WAR SENTIMENT
AND PERCEPTIONS OF WOMEN
(411 Bce): ARISTOPHANES,
LYSISTRATA

In most cases, ancient Greek women had little opportunity for self-expression, being generally
relegated to domestic duties. One exception to this was the Heraean Games, where a women’s
footrace took place at Olympia on the same racetrack as used for the men’s Olympic Games. The
winner received an olive crown and part of a cow.

Oe,
228 SPARTA, ATHENS, AND THE CLASSICAL AGE (500-387 BCE)

In 411 ace, in the middle of the Peloponnesian War, the Athenian comic poet Aristophanes
authored the Lysistrata, in which the women of Athens, Sparta, and other Greek cities, led
by the Athenian Lysistrata, crafted a plan for ending the war: they all would refuse to have
sex with their husbands until the men stopped fighting. It would not have been safe to ex-
press an unpatriotic desire about ending the war openly in the Assembly or in more serious
literature, but in a comedy, this inflammatory topic could be brought up. The play also be-
trays many of the stereotypes that Greek men had about Greek women.

Source: Aristophanes, Lysistrata, in The Eleven Comedies, Vol. 1 (London: Athenian Society, 1912), 254ff; unknown translator
rumored to be Oscar Wilde.

SCENE: At the base of the Orchestra are two build- Lysistrata: But I tell you, the business that calls
ings, the house of Lysistrata, and the entrance to the them here is far and away more urgent.
Acropolis; a winding and narrow path leads up to the Cleonice: And why do you summon us, dear Ly-
latter. Between the two buildings is the opening of the sistrata? What is it all about?
Cave of Pan on the northern slope of the Acropolis. Lysistrata: About a big thing.
Lysistrata is pacing up and down in front of her house. Cleonice (taking this in a different sense; with
great interest): And is it thick too?
Lysistrata: Ah! If only they had been invited to a Lysistrata: Yes, very thick.
Bacchic revelling," or a feast of Pan'’’ or Aphrodite or Cleonice: And we are not all here on the spot!
Genetyllis,!"* why, the streets would have been impass- Imagine!
able for the thronging tambourines! Now there’s never Lysistrata (wearily): Oh! If it were what you sup-
a woman here. Ah! Except my neighbor Cleonice, pose, there would be never an absentee. No, no, it
whom I see approaching yonder. Good day, Cleonice. concerns a thing I have turned about and about this
Cleonice: Good day, Lysistrata; but pray, why this way and that so many sleepless nights. It means just
dark, forbidding face, my dear? Believe me, you don’t this: Greece saved by the women!
look a bit pretty with those black, lowering brows. Cleonice: By the women! Why, its salvation hangs
Lysistrata: Oh, Cleonice, my heart is on fire; Iblush on a poor thread then!
for our sex. Men will have it we are tricky and sly. Lysistrata: Our country’s fortunes depend on us.
Cleonice: And they are quite right, upon my word! If the Boeotian''> and Peloponnesian!’ women join
Lysistrata: Yet, look you, when the women are us, Greece is saved.
summoned to meet for a matter of the greatest im- Cleonice: But how should women perform so wise
portance, they lie in bed instead of coming. and glorious an achievement, we women who dwell in
Cleonice: Oh! They will come, my dear; but it’s the retirement of the household, clad in diaphanous gar-
not easy, you know, for women to leave the house. ments of yellow silk and long flowing gowns, decked
One is busy pottering about her husband; another is out with flowers and shod with dainty little slippers?
getting the servant up; a third is putting her child Lysistrata: Ah, but those are the very sheet-
asleep or washing the brat or feeding it. anchors!’ of our salvation, those yellow tunics, those
scents and slippers, those cosmetics and transparent
robes.
'!2 A celebration in honor of the wine god Dionysus at-
tended only by women; see Reading 79. "' Boeotia was in central Greece; its major city was Thebes.
13 A fertility god, associated with sexuality, with the "6 The Peloponnesus was the southernmost part of
hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat. Greece; its major cities were Sparta and Argos.
4 The goddess of birth. '” Emergency anchors made of anything that would float.
ATHENIAN ANTI-WAR SENTIMENT AND PERCEPTIONS OF WOMEN (411 sce) 229

Cleonice: How so, pray? Cleonice (making another inspection): Yes, on my

Lysistrata: There is not a man who will wield a word! And her “garden” is so thoroughly weeded too!
lance against another. Lysistrata (pointing to the Corinthian): And who
-Cleonice: Quick, I will get me a yellow tunic is this?
from the dyer’s. Lampito: “Tis an honest woman, by my faith! She
Lysistrata: . . . or want a shield. comes from Corinth.
Cleonice: Vl run and put on a flowing gown. Cleonice: Oh! Honest, no doubt then, as honesty
Lysistrata: . . or draw a sword. goes at Corinth.!?
Cleonice: 111 haste and buy a pair of slippers this Lampito: But who has called together this council
instant. of women, pray?
Lysistrata: Now tell me, would not the women Lysistrata: 1 have.
have done best to come? Lampito: Well then, tell us what you want of us.
(Myrrhine, another Athenian, enters, followed by Cleonice: Yes, please tell us! What is this very
other women.) important business you wish to inform us about?
Myrrhine: Are we late, Lysistrata? Tell us, pray; Lysistrata: I will tell you. But first answer me one
what, not a word? question.
Lysistrata: | cannot say much for you, Myrrhine! Cleonice: Anything you wish.
You have not bestirred yourself overmuch for an Lysistrata: Don’t you feel sad and sorry because
affair of such urgency. the fathers of your children are far away from you
Myrrhine: 1 could not find my girdle in the dark. with the army? For I'll wager there is not one of you
However, if the matter is so pressing, here we are; so whose husband is not abroad at this moment.
speak. Cleonice: Mine has been the last five months in
Cleonice: No, let’s wait a moment more, until the Thrace,!”° looking after Eucrates.'?!
women of Boeotia arrive and those from the Myrrhine: It’s seven long months since mine left
Peloponnese. for Pylos.'”
Lysistrata: Yes, that is best. . . Ah! here comes Lampito: As for mine, if he ever does return from
Lampito. service, he’s no sooner home than he takes down his
(Lampito, a husky Spartan damsel, enters with shield again and flies back to the wars.
three others, two from Boeotia and one from Corinth.) Lysistrata: And not so much as the shadow of a
Good day, Lampito, dear friend from Lacedae- lover! Since the day the Milesians betrayed us,!”? I have
mon.!!§ How well and handsome you look! what a
rosy complexion! And how strong you seem. Why,
you could strangle a bull surely!
9 4 clever way of suggesting that there was not much
Lampito: Yes, indeed, I really think I could. It is
honesty at Corinth.
because I do gymnastics and practice the bottom-
120 A mountainous area northeast of Greece; modern
kicking dance.
Bulgaria.
Cleonice (opening Lampito’s robe): And what '21 An Athenian general in Thrace in 412 Bcg; brother of
superb breasts! Nicias, who had negotiated the truce with Sparta in 421.
Lysistrata: And this young woman, where is she 122 After an Athenian defeat of the Spartans in 425 BCE,
from? Athens gained control of the site of the Mycenaean city
Lampito: She is a noble lady from Boeotia. Pylos, located on the southwestern coast of the Pelopon-
Lysistrata: Ah! My pretty Boeotian friend, you nesus. The place became an Athenian strongpoint and
are as blooming as a garden. required constant reinforcements.
123 Ty 412 BcE, after the Athenian defeat at Syracuse in
Sicily, the Ionian city of Miletus revolted against Athens
8 The territory surrounding Sparta. and became a base for the Spartans.
230 SPARTA, ATHENS, AND THE CLASSICAL AGE (500-387 BCE)

never once seen an eight-inch gadget,!** even to be a be the time to refuse, and they will hasten to make
leather consolation to us poor widows. Now tell me, if I peace, I am convinced of that!
have discovered a means of ending the war, will you all Cleonice: But, oh dear, suppose our husbands
second me? drag us into our bedchamber?
Cleonice: Yes verily, by all the goddesses, I swear Lysistrata: Hold on to the door posts.
I will, even if I have to put my gown in pawn. Cleonice: But if they beat us?!?’
Myrrhine: And so will I, even if I must be split in Lysistrata: Then yield to their wishes, but with a
two like a flat-fish, and have half myself removed. bad grace; there will be no pleasure in it for them.
Lampito: And I too; why to secure peace, I would Besides, there are a thousand ways of tormenting
climb to the top of Mount Taygetus.'° them. Never fear, they'll soon tire of the game; there’s
Lysistrata: Then I will out with it at last, my no satisfaction for a man, unless the woman shares it.
mighty secret! Oh! sister women, if we would compel Cleonice: Very well, if you must have it so, we agree.
our husbands to make peace, we must refrain. Lampito: For ourselves, no doubt we shall per-
Cleonice: Refrain from what? Tell us, tell us! suade our husbands to conclude a fair and honest
Lysistrata: We must refrain from the male alto- peace; but there is the Athenian populace, how are
gether. Nay, why do you turn your backs on me? Where we to cure these folk of their warlike frenzy?
are you going? So, you bite your lips, and shake your Lysistrata: Have no fear; we undertake to make
heads, eh? Why these pale, sad looks? Why these tears? our own people listen to reason.
Come, will you do it, yes or no? Do you hesitate? Lampito: That’s impossible, as long as they have
Cleonice: I will not do it, let the war go on. Any- their trusty ships and the vast treasures stored in the
thing, anything but that! Bid me go through the fire, temple of Athena.
if you will, but to rob us of the sweetest thing in all Lysistrata: Ah! But we have seen to that; this very
the world, Lysistrata darling! day the Acropolis will be in our hands. That is the
Lysistrata (to Myrrhine): And you? task assigned to the older women. While we are here
Myrrhine: Yes, | agree with the others; I too would in council, they are going, under pretence of offering
sooner go through the fire. sacrifice, to seize the citadel.
Lysistrata: But you, my dear, you from hardy Lampito: Well said indeed! Everything is going
Sparta, if you join me, all may yet be well; help me, for the best.
second me, I beg you. Lysistrata: Come, quick, Lampito, and let us bind
Lampito: ‘Tis a hard thing, by the two goddesses!”° ourselves by an inviolable oath.
it is! For a woman to sleep alone without ever a strong Lampito: Recite the terms; we will swear to them.
male in her bed. But there, peace must come first. Lysistrata: With pleasure. Where is our Scythian
Lysistrata: Oh, my darling, my dearest, best friend, policewoman?'*® Lay this shield on the earth before
you are the only one deserving the name of woman! us, its hollow upwards. In Aeschylus, they sacrifice a
Cleonice: But if, may the gods forbid, we do re- sheep, and swear over a shield; we will do the same.
frain altogether from what you say, should we get Cleonice: No, Lysistrata, one cannot swear peace
peace any sooner? over a shield, surely.
Lysistrata: Of course we should, by the two god-
desses! We need only sit indoors with painted cheeks,
and meet our mates lightly clad in transparent gowns
'27 Spousal abuse was a regular part of ancient Greek
of Amorgos silk, and perfectly depilated. They will
domestic life.
get their tools up and be wild to lie with us. That will
'°8 After the Battle of Salamis in 480 BcE, the Athenians
bought 300 Scythian archers to serve as a local police
124 & dildo. force. In other comedies, Aristophanes also makes jokes
!25 A mountain near Sparta. about the Scythians’ inability to pronounce Greek. For
'26Demeter and her daughter Persephone. Scythians, see Reading 68.
ATHENIAN ANTI-WAR SENTIMENT AND PERCEPTIONS OF WOMEN (411 Bce) 231

Lysistrata: Then listen to me. Let’s set a great Cleonice: 1 will be cold as ice, and never stir a
black bowl on the ground; let’s sacrifice a skin of limb...
Thasian'”’ wine into it, and take oath not to add one Lysistrata: 1 will neither extend my Persian slip-
single drop of water.!*° pers toward the ceiling...
Lampito: Ah! That’s an oath pleases me more Cleonice: I will neither extend my Persian slip-
than I can say. pers toward the ceiling...
Lysistrata: Set the bowl down on the ground, and Lysistrata: Nor will I crouch like the lions en-
lay your hands on the victim. Almighty goddess, graved on a knife-handle.
Peitho,'*' and thou, bowl, boon comrade of joy and Cleonice: Nor will I crouch like the lions en-
merriment, receive this our sacrifice, and be propi- graved on a knife-handle.
tious to us poor women! Lysistrata: And if I keep my oath, may I be suf-
Cleonice (as Lysistrata pours the wine into the fered to drink of this wine.
bowl): Oh! The fine red blood! How well it flows! Cleonice (more courageously): And if I keep my
Lysistrata: Come, then, Lampito, and all of you, oath, may I be permitted to drink this wine.
put your hands to the bowl, and you, too, Cleonice. Lysistrata: But if I break it, let my bowl be filled
You must all swear, and pledge yourselves by the with water.
same promises: I will have naught to do whether Cleonice: But if I break it, let my bowl be filled
with lover or husband... with water.
Cleonice (faintly): 1 will have naught to do Lysistrata: Will you all take this oath?
whether with lover or husband... All: We do.
Lysistrata: Albeit he come to me with an Lysistrata: Then I'll now consume this remnant.
erection... (She drinks.)
Cleonice (her voice quavering): Albeit he come to Cleonice (reaching for the cup): Enough, enough,
me with an erection . . . (in despair) Oh! Lysistrata, I my dear; now let us all drink in turn to cement our
cannot bear it! friendship. (They pass the cup around and all drink.
Lysistrata (ignoring this outburst): 1 will live at A great commotion is heard off stage.)
home unbulled... Lampito: Listen! what do those cries mean?
Cleonice: I will live at home unbulled... Lysistrata: It’s what I was telling you; the women
Lysistrata: Beautifully dressed and wearing a have just occupied the Acropolis. So now, Lampito,
saffron-coloured gown you return to Sparta to organize the plot, while your
Cleonice: Beautifully dressed and wearing a saf- comrades here remain as hostages.'** For ourselves,
fron-coloured gown... let us go and join the rest in the citadel, and let us
Lysistrata: To the end I may inspire my husband push the bolts well home.
with the most ardent longings. Cleonice: But don’t you think the men will march
Cleonice: To the end I may inspire my husband up against us?
with the most ardent longings. Lysistrata: | laugh at them. Neither threats nor
Lysistrata: Never will I give myself flames shall force our doors; they shall open only on
voluntarily... the conditions I have named.
Cleonice: Never will I give myself voluntarily ... Cleonice: Yes, yes, by Aphrodite; otherwise we
Lysistrata: 1 will be cold as ice, and never stir a should be called cowardly and wretched women.
limb... (She follows Lysistrata out.)

129 Thasos was a large island in the northern Aegean Sea.

130 Ancient Greeks and Romans generally drank wine 132 As a sign of good faith it was customary in interna-
liberally mixed with water. tional agreements to exchange hostages who would be
131 The goddess of persuasion and seduction. honored guests.
 60
cSCO>

THE DEATH: OF SOGRATES

(3996 CE): sPLATO,
PHAEDO 15.115A-118A

A second-century ce Roman marble copy of a portrait bust meant to represent Socrates, made from a
Greek original dating to the fourth century cE, now in the Alte Museum in Berlin.

The Athenian teacher Socrates, the most famous user of sophistic rhetoric (although not a
sophist himself because he accepted no fees and made no promises), taught in Athens during
the Peloponnesian War. He left no writings of his own, so his teachings have come down to
us secondhand through the writings of his pupil, the Athenian philosopher Plato. Socrates's
teaching involved attempts to understand universal moral concepts that all humans compre-
hend. In order to understand these concepts and the human interactions that they affect,
Socrates asked questions such as, “What is justice?" His question-and-answer way of at-
tempting to gain insight into these questions is still known as the Socratic method. Socrates
rather simplistically assumed that if one could define concepts such as “virtue,” then one
would necessarily be virtuous and that lack of virtue was simply the result of ignorance. In
399 sce, Socrates was charged with corrupting the youth and atheism, that is, teaching that
the gods did not exist. What probably really troubled the Athenians, however, was Socrates's
penchant for teaching people to question their beliefs about such matters as the proper role
of government. In the uneasy times after the end of the Peloponnesian War, these were

232
THE DEATH OF SOCRATES (399 sce): PLATO, PHAEDO 15.115A—118A 233

touchy issues. At his trial before the Council of 500 (see Readings 54 and 57), Socrates in-
sulted the jury by using the occasion to present his teachings. He was convicted by a vote of
280 to 220, and the death sentence was imposed by an even greater vote, probably in the
hope, even of his supporters, that he would follow the usual course of action by those sen-
tenced to death and go into exile. Socrates refused even to make an appeal for leniency,
which might well have been granted, stating that Athens could kill his physical body but
never his soul. On the appointed day, with his friends and pupils around him, Socrates carried
out his own execution by drinking hemlock, and a fatal numbness crept up from his legs to
his vital organs. Plato's dialogue “The Phaedo," told from the perspective of Phaedo of Elis,
one of Socrates's students, tells of Socrates's suicide.

Source: Benjamin Jowett, The Apology, Phaedo, and Crito of Plato (New York: Collier, 1909).

When he had finished speaking, Crito!* said: “And surety'** for me now, as he was surety for me at the
have you any commands for us, Socrates, anything trial, but let the promise be of another sort, for he
to say about your children, or any other matter in was my surety to the judges that I would remain, but
which we can serve you?” you must be my surety to him that I shall not remain,
“Nothing particular,’ he said, “Only, as I have but go away and depart; and then he will suffer less
always told you, I would have you look to your- at my death, and not be grieved when he sees my
selves; that is a service that you may always be body being burned or buried. I would not have him
doing to me and mine as well as to yourselves. And sorrow at my hard lot, or say at the burial, ‘Thus we
you need not make professions, for if you take no lay out Socrates,’ or, ‘Thus we follow him to the
thought for yourselves, and walk not according to grave or bury him,’ for false words are not only evil
the precepts that I have given you, not now for the in themselves, but they infect the soul with evil. Be
first time, the warmth of your professions will be of of good cheer then, my dear Crito, and say that you
no avail.” are burying my body only, and do with that as is
“We will do our best,” said Crito, “But in what usual, and as you think best.”
way would you have us bury you?” When he had spoken these words, he arose and
“In any way that you like, only you must get hold went into the bath-chamber with Crito, who bid us
of me, and take care that I do not walk away from wait, and we waited, talking and thinking of the sub-
you.” Then he turned to us, and added with a smile, ject of discourse, and also of the greatness of our
“T cannot make Crito believe that I am the same So- sorrow. He was like a father of whom we were being
crates who has been talking and conducting the ar- bereaved, and we were about to pass the rest of our
gument; he fancies that I am the other Socrates lives as orphans. When he had taken the bath his chil-
whom he will soon see, a dead body, and he asks, dren were brought to him (he had two young sons and
‘How shall he bury me?’ And although I have spoken an elder one) and the women of his family also came,
many words in the endeavor to show that when I have and he talked to them and gave them a few directions
drunk the poison I shall leave you and go to the joys in the presence of Crito. He then dismissed them and
of the blessed, these words of mine, with which I returned to us.
comforted you and myself, have had, as I perceive, Now the hour of sunset was near, for a good deal
no effect upon Crito. And therefore I want you to be of time had passed while he was within. When he
came out, he sat down with us again after his bath,

'3 An old, wealthy friend of Socrates who offered to fi- 134 A person who guarantees that another person will
nance Socrates’s escape from prison. fulfil their obligations.
234 SPARTA, ATHENS, AND THE CLASSICAL AGE (500-387 BCE)

but not much was said. Soon the jailer, who was the of poison. Socrates said, “You, my good friend, who
servant of The Eleven,!* entered and stood by him, are experienced in these matters, shall give me di-
saying, “To you, Socrates, whom I know to be the rections how I am to proceed.” The man answered,
noblest and gentlest and best of all who ever came to “You have only to walk about until your legs are
this place, I will not impute the angry feelings of heavy, and then to lie down, and the poison will act.”
other men, who rage and swear at me when, in obedi- At the same time he handed the cup to Socrates, who
ence to the authorities, I bid them drink the poison, in the easiest and gentlest manner, without the least
indeed, I am sure that you will not be angry with me, fear or change of color or feature, looking at the man
for others, as you are aware, and not I, are the guilty with all his eyes, as his manner was, took the cup and
cause. And so fare you well, and try to bear lightly said, “What do you say about making a libation!’’
what must needs be. You know my errand.” Then out of this cup to any god? May I, or not?” The man
bursting into tears he turned away and went out. answered, “We only prepare, Socrates, just so much
Socrates looked at him and said, “I return your as we deem enough.” “I understand,” he said, “Yet I
good wishes, and will do as you bid.” Then, turning may and must pray to the gods to prosper my journey
to us, he said, “How charming the man is. Ever since from this to that other world, may this, then, which is
I have been in prison he has always been coming to my prayer, be granted to me.”
see me, and at times he would talk to me, and was as Then holding the cup to his lips, quite readily and
good as could be to me, and now see how generously cheerfully he drank off the poison. And hitherto
he sorrows for me. But we must do as he says. Crito, most of us had been able to control our sorrow; but
let the cup be brought, if the poison’* is prepared; if now when we saw him drinking, and saw too that he
not, let the attendant prepare some.” had finished the draught, we could no longer forbear,
“Yet,” said Crito, “the sun is still upon the hill- and in spite of myself my own tears were flowing
tops, and many a one has taken the draught late, fast, so that I covered my face and wept over myself,
and after the announcement has been made to for certainly I was not weeping over him, but at the
him. He has eaten and drunk, and indulged in sen- thought of my own calamity in having lost such a
sual delights; do not hasten then, there is still companion. Nor was I the first, for Crito, when he
time.” found himself unable to restrain his tears, had got up
Socrates said, “Yes, Crito, and they of whom you and moved away, and I followed, and at that moment,
speak are right in doing thus, for they think that they Apollodorus, who had been weeping all the time,
will gain by the delay. But I am right in not doing broke out into a loud cry that made cowards of us all.
thus, for I do not think that I should gain anything by Socrates alone retained his calmness. “What is this
drinking the poison a little later, that I should be strange outcry?”, he said, “I sent away the women
sparing and saving a life that is already gone. I could mainly in order that they might not offend in this
only laugh at myself for this. Please then do as I say, way, for I have heard that a man should die in peace.
do not refuse me.” Be quiet, then, and have patience.”
Crito, when he heard this, made a sign to the serv- When we heard that, we were ashamed, and re-
ant and the servant went in and remained for some frained our tears, and he walked about until, as he
time, and then returned with the jailer carrying a cup said, his legs began to fail, and then he lay on his
back, according to the directions, and the man who
'35 Athenian officials who kept order in the agora (market- gave him the poison now and then looked at his feet
place) and supervised the prisons. and legs, and after a while he pressed his foot hard
'36 The poison used was hemlock, technically called and asked him if he could feel; and he said, “No,”;
Conium maculatum. It is an alkaloid poison that causes
death by disrupting the central nervous system and para-
lyzing the respiratory muscles. ‘7 That is, to pour some of the liquid out as an offering.
THE DEATH OF SOCRATES (399 sce): PLATO, PHAEDO 15.115A-118A 235

and then his leg, and so upwards and upwards, and “The debt shall be paid,” said Crito, “Is there any-
showed us that he was cold and stiff. And he felt thing else?” There was no answer to this question,
them himself, and said, “When the poison reaches but in a minute or two a movement was heard, and
the heart, that will be the end.” He was beginning to the attendants uncovered him. His eyes were set, and
grow cold about the groin, when he uncovered his Crito closed his eyes and mouth.
face, for he had covered himself up, and said (they Such was the end of our friend, whom I may truly
were his last words), he said: “Crito, I owe a rooster call the wisest, and justest, and best of all the men
to Asclepius.'** Will you remember to pay the debt?” whom I ever have known.

138 The god of healing.

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 CHAPTER 8
cSO5

Alexander the Great and the

Hellenistic Age (387-31 Bce)

During the Classical Age (500-323 BCE), the Greeks had the opportunity to become the pre-
eminent military and political power of the Mediterranean world, but their inability to
get along eventually weakened them and left them open to attack from outside. Unity finally
was imposed on Greece by the kingdom of Macedon to the north. Soon thereafter, the
Macedonian king Alexander the Great defeated the Persians and created the largest empire
yet known. Alexander’s conquests opened Greece up to much greater interaction with the
eastern world and created the Hellenistic Age (323-31 BCE) of Greek history.

237)
238 ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND THE HELLENISTIC AGE (387-31 BcE)

ARABIA

Seleucid Empire
3 Ptolemaic Kingdom
a Antigonid Kingdom
Other States
200 400Km d< Site of Battle

Map 8 The Successors of Alexander the Great

 6|
cSQ>
THE “SACRED BAND”
a)Tae tiled Dll 3 Aden.con,BAL):
ReaCola adele EWP ELOPIDAS

In 1818, a British tourist out horseback riding near the village of Chaeronea tripped over a rock that
was revealed to be a massive stone lion. The so-called “Lion of Thebes” was erected, it is thought, in
honor of the Battle of Chaeronea (338 sce), where Philip Il of Macedon had defeated Thebes and other
Greek cities. In subsequent excavations, 254 skeletons were found, laid in seven rows. Given that the
Theban Sacred Band included 300 men, it has been surmised that the bodies belong to them.

In the early decades of the fourth century sBce, the army of Thebes in central Greece was based
on a professional core of 150 superbly trained male couples, each consisting of an older and
a younger man, known as the “Sacred Band." In 375 sce, the Sacred Band became the first
Greek army unit to defeat a larger army of Spartans. This destroyed the stereotype of Spartan
invincibility and marked the rise of Thebes as a new Greek power after the Athenians and
Spartans had so grievously weakened themselves during the Peloponnesian War and its after-
math leading up to the King's Peace in 387. The Sacred Band is discussed most extensively in

UNS
240 ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND THE HELLENISTIC AGE (387-31 BCE)

the "Life of Pelopidas," a famous Theban general, authored by the second-century ce Greek
biographer Plutarch.

Source: John Dryden, Plutarch: The Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, revised by A. H. Clough, Vol. 1 (Boston: Little,
Brown, 1910).

The Thebans, meantime, singly had many skirmishes killed.’ But these encounters, although they raised
with the Spartans in Boeotia, and fought some bat- the victors’ spirits, did not thoroughly dishearten the
tles, not great indeed, but important as training and unsuccessful.* for there was no set battle, or regular
instructing them. They thus had their minds raised fighting, but mere incursions on advantage, in which,
and their bodies inured to labor, and they gained both according to occasion, they charged, retired again, or
experience and courage by these frequent encounters, pursued. But the Battle of Tegyrae,’ which seemed a
so much so that we have it related that Antalcidas,! prelude to Leuctra,'° won Pelopidas great reputation,
the Spartan, said to Agesilaus,” returning wounded for none of the other commanders could claim any
from Boeotia, “Indeed, the Thebans have paid.-you hand in the design, nor the enemies any show of vic-
handsomely for instructing them in the art of war, tory. The city of the Orchomenians!! siding with the
against their wills.”? In real truth, however, Agesilaus Spartans, and having received two companies for its
was not their master in this, but rather those Thebans guard, he kept a constant eye upon, and watched his
that prudently and opportunely, as men do young opportunity. Hearing that the garrison had moved
dogs, set them on their enemies, and brought them into Locris,’* and hoping to find Orchomenus de-
safely off after they had tasted the sweets of victory fenseless, he marched with his Sacred Band and
and resolution. some few horsemen. But when he approached the
Of all those leaders, Pelopidas deserves the most city and found that a reinforcement of the garrison
honor, insofar as after they had once chosen him was on its march from Sparta, he made a circuit
general, he was every year in command as long as he round the foot of the mountains and retreated with
lived, either as captain of the Sacred Band, or, what his little army through Tegyrae, that being the only
was most frequent, as chief captain of Boeotia.* way he could pass.
About Plataea and Thespiae> the Spartans were As the Thebans were retreating from Orchomenus
routed and put to flight, and Phoebidas, who had sur- toward Tegyrae, the Spartans, at the same time
prised the Cadmea, slain;° and at Tanagra a consider- marching from Locris, met them. As soon as they
able force was worsted, and the leader Panthoides came in view, advancing through the straits, some-
one told Pelopidas, “We are fallen into our enemy’s
hands.” He replied, “And why not they into ours?,”
' A Spartan diplomat who negotiated the “King’s Peace” and immediately commanded his horse to come up
in 387 BCE, also known as the “Peace of Antalcidas.”
2 An experienced and able king of Sparta from ca. 400 to ’ The Spartan harmost of Tanagra, where Panthoides was
360 BCE. killed in another skirmish.
> Because Agesilaus had campaigned in Boeotia and thus ® The Spartans.
“instructed” the Thebans in warfare. ’ A battle in 375 BCE where a numerically inferior Theban
“A region of east central Greece. army under Pelopidas defeated a larger Spartan army, the
‘Cities in Boeotia. first time this ever had happened.
°In 378 BCE, the Spartan harmost (military governor) of '0 A massive defeat of the Spartan army by the Theban
Thespiae Phoebidas, who had captured the Cadmea (the general Epaminondas in 371 BCE.
acropolis of Thebes) in 382, was defeated and killed by ''Orchomenus was an ancient city of Boeotia, going back
the Thebans, including the Sacred Band, in a skirmish to Mycenaean times.
near Thespiae. ' An area of the eastern coast of central Greece.
THE “SACRED BAND” OF THEBES (375-338 BcE): PLUTARCH, LIFE OF PELOPIDAS 241

from the rear and charge, while he himself drew his of young men attached to each other by personal affec-
infantry, being three hundred in number, into a close tion, and a pleasant saying of Pammenes is current,
body, hoping by that means, at whatsoever point he that Homer’s Nestor'® was not well skilled in ordering
made the attack, to break his way through his more an army when he advised the Greeks to rank phylé"”
numerous enemies. The Spartans had two compa- with phylé, and family with family, together, so that,
nies (the company consisting, as Ephorus’? states, of “So phylé might aid phylé, and kinsmen aid kinsmen,”
five hundred; Callisthenes'* says seven hundred; but that he should have joined lovers and their be-
others, as Polybius,'> nine hundred), and their lead- loved. For men of the same phylé or family little value
ers, Gorgoleon and Theopompus, confident of suc- one another when dangers press; but a band cemented
cess, advanced upon the Thebans. The charge was by friendship grounded upon love is never to be
made with much fury, chiefly where the commanders broken, and invincible; because the lovers, ashamed
were posted, that the Spartan captains who engaged to be base in sight of their beloved, and the beloved
Pelopidas were first killed and those immediately before their lovers, willingly rush into danger for the
around them suffered severely. The whole army was relief of one another. Nor can that be wondered at be-
thus disheartened, and opened a lane for the Thebans cause they have more regard for their absent lovers
as if they desired to pass through and escape. But than for others present, as in the instance of the man
when Pelopidas entered, and turning against those who, when his enemy was going to kill him, earnestly
that stood their ground, still went with a bloody requested him to run him through the breast, that his
slaughter, an open flight ensued among the Spartans. lover might not blush to see him wounded in the back.
They returned home extremely encouraged with It is a tradition likewise that Iolaus, who assisted Her-
their achievements. For in all the great wars there had cules in his labors and fought at his side, was beloved
ever been against Greeks or barbarians, the Spartans of him; and Aristotle observes that, even in his time,
were never before beaten by a smaller company than lovers plighted their faith at Iolaus’s tomb. It is likely,
their own; nor, indeed, in a set battle, when their therefore, that this band was called sacred on this ac-
number was equal. Hence their courage was thought count, for Plato calls a lover a divine friend. It is stated
irresistible, and their high repute before the battle that it was never beaten until the Battle at Chaeronea,
made a conquest already of enemies, who thought and when Philip,'* after the fight, took a view of the
themselves no match for the men of Sparta even on slain, and came to the place where the three hundred
equal terms. But this battle first taught the other that fought his phalanx lay dead together, he won-
Greeks that when the youth are ashamed of baseness, dered, and understanding that it was the band of
and ready to venture in a good cause, when they flee lovers, he shed tears and said, “Perish any man who
disgrace more than danger, there, wherever it be, are suspects that these men either did or suffered any-
found the bravest and most formidable opponents. thing that was base.”
Gorgidas, according to some, first formed the It was not the disaster of Laius,’° as the poets im-
Sacred Band of three hundred chosen men, to whom, agine, that first gave rise to this form of attachment
as being a guard for the citadel, the state allowed pro- among the Thebans, but their lawgivers, designing to
vision, and all things necessary for exercise, and hence soften while they were young their natural fierceness,
they were called the city band, as citadels of old were
usually called cities. Others say that it was composed
'6The king of Pylos in the southwestern Peloponnesus.
'7 A large subgroup of Greeks: the Dorians had three and
13 A Greek historian of the mid-fourth century BCE. the Ionians four.
4 A Greek historian who accompanied Alexander the '8 At the Battle of Chareonea in 338 BCE, the Macedonian
Great (336-323) on his campaigns in Asia; he eventually king Philip II defeated the Thebans and killed the entire
was executed for treason. Sacred Band.
15 A Greek historian who wrote during the second century '9 A legendary king of Thebes who assaulted and kid-
BCE. naped Chrysippus, the son of Pelops, king of Pisa.
242 ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND THE HELLENISTIC AGE (387-31 BCE)

brought, for example, the flute into great esteem, both resolution, they had no fair opportunity of showing
in serious and sportive occasions, and gave great en- what they could do. But Pelopidas, having suffi-
couragement to these friendships in the palaestra,”° to ciently tried their bravery at Tegyrae, where they
temper the manners and characters of the youth. With had fought alone and around his own person, never
a view to this they did well, again, to make Harmony, afterward divided them, but, keeping them entire,
the daughter of Mars and Venus, their tutelar deity, and as one man, gave them the first duty in the great-
because, where force and courage is joined with est battles. For as horses ran brisker in a chariot than
gracefulness and winning behavior, a harmony singly, not so that their joint force divides the air
ensues that combines all the elements of society in with greater ease but because being matched one
perfect consonance and order. against the other emulation kindles and inflames
Gorgidas distributed this Sacred Band all through their courage, thus he thought brave men, provoking
the front ranks of the infantry, and thus made their one another to noble actions, would prove most ser-
gallantry less conspicuous. Not being united in one viceable, and most resolute, where all were united
body, but mingled with so many others of inferior together.

62
cSk>
THE YOUNG ALEXANDER THE
GREAdol Gade 3 20334eR Gk)
PLUTARCH, LIFE OF ALEXANDER

A silver tetradrachm (four-drachm coin) of Alexander the Great depicts him wearing the lion skin of
Hercules, son of Zeus. This portrayal would have been consistent with his claim that he himself was
the son not of Philip Il of Macedon but of the god Zeus.

*°The exercise ground, where men worked out in the nude.

THE YOUNG ALEXANDER THE GREAT (Ca. 350-334 BcE): PLUTARCH, LIFE OF ALEXANDER 243

It was believed that during his youth, Alexander the Great demonstrated many of the quali-
ties and character attributes that would result in his creating the largest empire the world
yet had known. When, at the age of only twenty-three, he invaded the mighty and massive
Persian Empire, which could raise an army of a quarter of a million soldiers and commanded
resources of more than 200,000 talents of silver, his prospects looked bleak. The
second-century ce Greek biographer Plutarch reported a famous story depicting Alexander's
character that took place when he was only about ten years old.

Source: John Dryden, Plutarch: The Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, revised by A. H. Clough, Vol. 1 (Boston: Little,
Brown, 1910).

Philonicus the Thessalian brought the horse Bucephalus without either striking or spurring him. Presently,
to Philip, offering to sell him for thirteen talents,”! when he found him free from all rebelliousness, and
but when they went into the field to try him, they only impatient for the course, he let him go at full
found him so very vicious and unmanageable, that speed, inciting him now with a commanding voice,
he reared up when they endeavored to mount him, and urging him also with his heel. Philip and his
and would not so much as endure the voice of any of friends looked on at first in silence and anxiety for
Philip’s attendants. Upon which, as they were lead- the result, until seeing him turn at the end of his
ing him away as wholly useless and untractable, Al- career, and come back rejoicing and triumphing for
exander, who stood by, said, “What an excellent what he had performed, they all burst out into accla-
horse do they lose for want of address and boldness mations of applause, and his father shedding tears, it
to manage him!” Philip at first took no notice of what is said, for joy, kissed him as he came down from his
he said; but when he heard him repeat the same thing horse, and in his transport said, “O my son, look thee
several times, and saw he was much vexed to see the out a kingdom equal to and worthy of thyself, for
horse sent away, “Do you reproach,” said he to him, Macedonia is too little for thee.”
“those who are older than yourself, as if you knew Philip sent for Aristotle, the most learned and
more, and were better able to manage him than most celebrated philosopher of his time, and re-
they?” “I could manage this horse,” replied he, warded him with a munificence proportional to and
“better than others do.” “And if you do not,” said becoming the care he took to instruct his son. It
Philip, “what will you forfeit for your rashness?” “T would appear that Alexander received from him not
will pay,” answered Alexander, “the whole price of only his doctrines of Morals and of Politics, but
the horse.” At this the whole company fell to laugh- also something of those more abstruse and pro-
ing. As soon as the wager was settled among them, found theories that these philosophers, by the very
Alexander immediately ran to the horse, and taking names they gave them, professed to reserve for oral
hold of the bridle, turned him directly toward the communication to the initiated, and did not allow
sun, having, it seems, observed that he was disturbed many to become acquainted with. Doubtless also it
at and afraid of the motion of his own shadow. Then, was to Aristotle that he owed the inclination he had,
letting him go forward a little, still keeping the reins not to the theory only, but likewise to the practice
in his hands, and stroking him gently when he found of the art of medicine.
him begin to grow eager and fiery, he let fall his Alexander was but twenty years old when his
upper garment softly, and with one nimble leap se- father was murdered, and succeeded to a kingdom
curely mounted him, and when he was seated, by beset on all sides with great dangers and rancorous
little and little drew in the bridle, and curbed him enemies. For not only the barbarous nations that bor-
dered on Macedonia were impatient of being gov-
2! Of silver. A talent was about fifty-six pounds.
erned by any but their own native princes, but Philip
244 ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND THE HELLENISTIC AGE (387-31 BCE)

likewise, although he had been victorious over the defended themselves with a zeal and courage beyond
Greeks, yet, as the time had not been sufficient for their strength, being much outnumbered by their en-
him to complete his conquest and accustom them to emies. But when the Macedonian garrison sallied out
his sway, had simply left all things in a general disor- upon them from the citadel,’® they were so hemmed
der and confusion. It seemed to the Macedonians a in on all sides that the greater part of them fell in the
very critical time; and some would have persuaded battle. The city itself was taken by storm, and sacked
Alexander to give up all thought of retaining the and razed. Alexander’s hope was that so severe an ex-
Greeks in subjection by force of arms, and rather to ample might terrify the rest of Greece into obedi-
apply himself to win back by gentle means the alle- ence,”’ so that, except the priests, and some few who
giance of the phylai® who were designing revolt, and had heretofore been the friends and connections of the
try the effect of indulgence in arresting the first mo- Macedonians, the family of the poet Pindar, and those
tions toward revolution. But he rejected this counsel as who were known to have opposed the public vote for
weak and timorous, and looked upon it to be more pru- the war, all the rest, to the number of thirty thousand,
dent to secure himself by resolution and magnanimity, were publicly sold for slaves. It also is computed that
than, by seeming to submit to anyone, to encourage all upwards of six thousand were put to the sword.
to trample on him. In pursuit of this opinion, he re- After this he received the Athenians into favor,
duced the barbarians to tranquility, and put an end to although they had shown themselves so much con-
all fear of war from them. He made a rapid expedition cerned at the calamity of Thebes that out of sorrow
into their country as far as the river Danube, where he they omitted the celebration of the Mysteries,”* and
gave Syrmus, King of the Triballians,”’ an entire over- entertained those who escaped with all possible hu-
throw. And hearing the Thebans were in revolt, and manity. Whether it were, like the lion, that his pas-
the Athenians in correspondence with them, he im- sion was now satisfied, or that, after an example of
mediately marched through the pass of Thermopylae, extreme cruelty, he had a mind to appear merciful, it
saying to Demosthenes,” who had called him a child happened well for the Athenians; for he not only for-
while he was in Illyria and in the country of the Tribal- gave them all past offenses, but bade them look to
lians and a youth when he was in Thessaly, that he their affairs with vigilance, remembering that if he
would appear a man before the walls of Athens. should miscarry, they were likely to be the arbiters of
When he came to Thebes, to show how willing he Greece.
was to accept of their repentance for what was past, Soon after, the Greeks, being assembled at the
he only demanded of them Phoenix and Prothytes, Isthmus,” declared their resolution of joining with
the authors of the rebellion, and proclaimed a gen- Alexander in the war against the Persians, and pro-
eral pardon to those who would come over to him. claimed him their general.*° While he stayed here,
But when the Thebans merely retorted by demand- many public ministers and philosophers came from all
ing Philotas and Antipater”> to be delivered into their
hands, and by a proclamation on their part invited all
who would assert the liberty of Greece to come over *6 The acropolis of Thebes, known as the “Cadmea”; see
to them, he presently applied himself to make them Reading 61.
feel the last extremities of war. The Thebans indeed 27Tn this, Alexander was successful.
*® The Eleusinian Mysteries, an annual festival in honor
of the harvest goddess Demeter and her daughter
* The different Macedonian peoples. Persephone.
*3 A Thracian people of the central Balkans. ** The Isthmus of Corinth, which separates the Pelopon-
*4 An Athenian orator who in his “Philippic” speeches nesus from the rest of Greece.
had advised the Athenians to resist the expansion of Al- *° Marking the reestablishment of the Hellenic League,
exander’s father Philip II, King of Macedon. an alliance of Macedonia with Greek city-states initially
*° Two of Alexander’s leading generals. established by Alexander’s father, Philip IT.
THE YOUNG ALEXANDER THE GREAT (Ca. 350-334 BcE): PLUTARCH, LIFE OF ALEXANDER 245

parts to visit him and congratulated him on his elec- the moroseness of the philosopher, that if he were not
tion, but contrary to his expectation, Diogenes of Alexander, he would choose to be Diogenes.
Sinope,*’ who then was living at Corinth, thought so Soon after, the Greeks, being assembled at the
little of him, that instead of coming to compliment Isthmus, declared their resolution of joining with
him, he never so much as stirred out of the suburb called Alexander in the war against the Persians, and pro-
the Cranium, where Alexander found him lying in the claimed him their general. His army, by their compu-
sun. When he saw so much company near him, he tation who make the smallest amount, consisted of
raised himself a little, and condescended to look upon thirty thousand foot and four thousand horse; and
Alexander; and when he kindly asked him whether he those who make the most of it, speak but of forty-
wanted anything, “Yes,” said he, “I would have you three thousand foot and three thousand horse. Aristo-
stand from between me and the sun.” Alexander was so bulus” says he had not a fund of above seventy talents
struck at this answer, and surprised at the greatness of for their pay, nor had he more than thirty days’ provi-
the man, who had taken so little notice of him, that as he sion, if we may believe Duris; Onesicritus*® tells us he
went away he told his followers, who were laughing at was two hundred talents in debt.*4

32 A friend of Alexander’s father, Philip II, who accompa-

nied Alexander on his expeditions.
33 A Greek historian who accompanied Alexander on his
expeditions.
31 A famous Cynic philosopher; the Cynics advocated the 34 Compared with the 200,000 talents of silver and huge
amount of gold that the Persians had in their treasury.
abandonment of all human conventions.
 63
ALEXANDER’S EXPEDITION INTO
INDIA (326-324 Bce): PLUTARCH,
PEE EGE GAL EX Aisle)
teas

A very rare silver decadrachm (ten-drachm coin) issued at Babylon ca. 325 ace depicts on the obverse
Alexander the Great on his horse Bucephalus attacking a war elephant in India and on the reverse
Alexander holding the thunderbolt of Zeus and being crowned by the goddess victory. The coin was
issued in commemoration of Alexander’s campaigns in India, which were still underway at the time it
was struck.

In his “Life of Alexander,” the second-century ce Greek biographer Plutarch relates that at
the end of 326, Alexander invaded India. In the next year, at the hard-fought Battle of the
Hydaspes River (modern Jhelum), the Macedonians were confronted by the war elephants of
the Indian king Porus. Alexander again emerged victorious and proposed next to attack the
powerful Nanda Empire of the Ganges River valley. But the Macedonian army soldiers were
getting their fill of war. Finally, at the Hyphasis River (modern Beas), the army mutinied and
refused to take one step farther east. After sulking in his tent for three days, Alexander fi-
nally agreed to turn back, but to avoid the appearance of a retreat, the Macedonians re-
turned along the Indus River valley, fighting every inch of the way as the Indians defended
themselves desperately, village by village. After reaching the Indian Ocean in 325, Alexander

246
ALEXANDER’S EXPEDITION INTO INDIA (326-324 sce): PLUTARCH, LIFE OF ALEXANDER 247

made a foolish and harrowing trek across the Gedrosian Desert of southern Iran to get back
to Persepolis. Many never made it back at all.

Source: John Dryden, Plutarch: The Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, revised by A. H. Clough, Vol. 1 (Boston: Little,
Brown, 1910).

Alexander, now intent upon his expedition into India, provided of them than you, I am ready to let you
took notice that his soldiers were so charged with share with me; but if fortune has been more liberal to
booty that it hindered their marching. Therefore, at you than me, I have no objection to be obliged to
break of day, as soon as the baggage wagons were you.” This discourse pleased Alexander so much
laden first he set fire to his own, and to those of his that, embracing him, “Do you think,” said he to him,
friends, and then commanded those to be burnt that “your kind words and courteous behavior will bring
belonged to the rest of the army. An act that in the you off in this interview without a contest? No, you
deliberation of it had seemed more dangerous and shall not escape so. I shall contend and do battle with
difficult than it proved in the execution, with which you so far, that however obliging you are, you shall
few were dissatisfied for most of the soldiers, as if not have the better of me.” Then receiving some pre-
they had been inspired, uttering loud outcries and sents from him, he returned him others of greater
warlike shoutings, supplied one another with what value, and to complete his bounty gave him in money
was absolutely necessary, and burnt and destroyed ready coined one thousand talents,*’ at which his old
all that was superfluous, the sight of which redoubled friends were much displeased, but it gained him the
Alexander’s zeal and eagerness for his design. And, hearts of many of the barbarians.
indeed, he was now grown very severe and inexora- The best soldiers of the Indians, now entering into
ble in punishing those who committed any fault. For the pay of several of the cities, undertook to defend
he put Menander, one of his friends, to death for de- them, and did it so bravely, that they put Alexander to
serting a fortress where he had placed him in garri- a great deal of trouble, until at last, after a capitula-
son, and shot Orsodates, one of the barbarians who tion, upon the surrender of the place, he fell upon
revolted from him, with his own hand. them as they were marching away, and put them all
The extent of King Taxiles’*° dominions in India to the sword: This one breach of his word remains as
was thought to be as large as Egypt, abounding in a blemish upon his achievements in war, which he
good pastures, and producing beautiful fruits. The otherwise had performed throughout with that jus-
king himself had the reputation of a wise man, and at tice and honor that became a king. Nor was he less
his first interview with Alexander he spoke to him in incommoded by the Indian philosophers, who in-
these terms: “To what purpose,” said he, “should we veighed against those princes who joined his party,
make war upon one another, if the design of your and solicited the free nations to oppose him. He took
coming into these parts be not to rob us of our water several of these also and caused them to be hanged.
or our necessary food, which are the only things that Alexander, in his own letters, has given us an ac-
wise men are indispensably obliged to fight for? As count of his war with Porus.*® He says that the two
for other riches and possessions, as they are ac- armies were separated by the Hydaspes River,” on
counted in the eye of the world, if I am better whose opposite bank Porus continually kept his

35Tn an isolated area of Bactria or Sogdiana near India. 37 A talent was about fifty-six pounds.
36 An Indian king, favored by Alexander, who ruled be- 38 The Indian king of the territory east of the Hydaspes
tween the Indus and Hydaspes rivers in the Punjab in River in the Punjab.
northwestern India. 39 Modern Jhelum River.
248 ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND THE HELLENISTIC AGE (387-31 BCE)

elephants in order of battle, with their heads toward performed with good success. For by this means both
their enemies, to guard the passage, whereas he, on wings being broken, the enemies fell back in their re-
the other hand, made every day a great noise and treat upon the center, and crowded in upon their ele-
clamor in his camp, to dissipate the apprehensions of phants. There rallying, they fought a hand-to-hand
the barbarians. One stormy dark night he passed the battle, and it was the eighth hour of the day before
river, at a distance from the place where the enemy they were entirely defeated. This description the con-
lay, onto a little island, with part of his foot and the queror himself has left us in his own epistles.
best of his horse. Here there fell a most violent storm Almost all the historians agree in relating that
of rain, accompanied with lightning and whirlwinds, Porus was four cubits and a span high,*? and that
and seeing some of his men burnt and dying with the when he was upon his elephant, which was of the
lightning, he nevertheless quitted the island and made largest size, his stature and bulk were so consistent
over to the other side. The Hydaspes, he says, now that he appeared to be proportionately mounted, as a
after the storm, was so swollen and grown so rapid as horseman on his horse. This elephant, during the
to have made a breach in the bank, and a part of the whole battle, gave many singular proofs of sagacity
river was now pouring in here, so that when he came and of particular care of the king, whom as long as
across it was with difficulty he got a footing of the he was strong and ina condition to fight, he defended
land, which was slippery and unsteady, and exposed to with great courage, repelling those who set upon
the force of the currents on both sides. This is the occa- him; and as soon as he perceived him overpowered
sion when he is related to have said, “O ye Athenians, with his numerous wounds and the multitude of darts
will ye believe what dangers I incur to merit your that were thrown at him, to prevent his falling off, he
praise?” This, however, is Onesicritus’s*° story. softly knelt down and began to draw out the darts
Alexander says that the men left their boats here with his proboscis. When Porus was taken prisoner,
and crossed the gap in their armor, up to the breast in and Alexander asked him how he expected to be
water, and that then he advanced with his horse about used, he answered, “As a king.” For that expression, he
twenty furlongs*! before his foot, concluding that if said, when the same question was put to him a second
the enemy charged him with their cavalry he would time, comprehended everything. And Alexander, ac-
be too strong for them; if with their foot, his own cordingly, not only suffered him to govern his own
would come up time enough to his assistance. Nor kingdom as satrap under himself, but gave him also
did he judge wrongly, for being charged by a thou- the additional territory of various independent phylai
sand horse and sixty armed chariots, which advanced that he subdued, a district that, it is said, contained
before their main body, he took all the chariots and fifteen nations and five thousand considerable towns,
killed four hundred horse upon the place. Porus, by besides abundance of villages. To another govern-
this time, guessing that Alexander himself had crossed ment, three times as large as this, he appointed
over, came on with his whole army, except a party that Philip, one of his friends.
he left behind to hold the rest of the Macedonians in Some little time after the battle with Porus,
play if they should attempt to pass the river. But Bucephalus“ died, as most of the authorities state,
Alexander, apprehending the multitude of the enemy, under cure of his wounds, or, as Onesicritus says, of
and to avoid the shock of their elephants, divided his fatigue and age, being thirty years old. Alexander
forces and attacked their left wing himself and com- was no less concerned at his death than if he had lost
manded Coenus” to fall upon the right, which was
“’ The cubit was the length of a forearm, about eighteen
“0 A Greek historian who accompanied Alexander on his inches, and the span was the width of a hand or half a
expeditions. cubit, about nine inches, making Porus six feet, nine
“| A furlong equals 660 feet. inches tall.
* One of Alexander’s most able generals. “For Alexander’s horse Bucephalus, see Reading 62.
ALEXANDER’S EXPEDITION INTO INDIA (326-324 sce); PLUTARCH, LIFE OF ALEXANDER 249

an old companion or an intimate friend, and built a vanquished. But at last the reasonable persuasions of
city, which he named Bucephalia, in memory of him, his friends and the cries and lamentations of his sol-
on the bank of the river Hydaspes. He also, we are diers, who in a suppliant manner crowded about the
told, built another city, and called it after the name of entrance of his tent, prevailed with him to think of
a favorite dog, Peritas, which he had brought up him- returning. Yet he could not refrain from leaving
self. So Sotion assures us he was informed by behind him various deceptive memorials of his ex-
Potamon of Lesbos. pedition, to impose upon aftertimes, and to exagger-
This last combat with Porus took the edge off the ate his glory with posterity, such as arms larger than
Macedonians’ courage, and stayed their further pro- were really worn, and mangers for horses, with bits
gress into India. For having found it hard enough to and bridles above the usual size, which he set up, and
defeat an enemy who brought but twenty thousand distributed in several places. He erected altars, also,
foot and two thousand horse into the field, they to the gods, which the kings of the Praesians even in
thought they had reason to oppose Alexander’s our time do honor to when they pass the river, and
design of leading them on to pass the Ganges, too, offer sacrifice upon them after the Grecian manner.
which they were told was thirty-two furlongs broad Sandrocottus, then a boy, saw Alexander there, and
and a hundred fathoms deep,* and the banks on the is said often afterward to have been heard to say, that
further side covered with multitudes of enemies.*° he missed but little of making himself master of
For they were told the kings of the Gandaritans and those countries; their king, who then reigned, was so
Praesians*’ expected them there with eighty thou- hated and despised for the viciousness of his life and
sand horse, two hundred thousand foot, eight thou- the meanness of his extraction.
sand armed chariots, and six thousand fighting Alexander now was eager to see the ocean.°° To
elephants. Nor was this a mere vain report, spread to which purpose he caused a great many tow-boats and
discourage them. For Sandrocottus,*® who not long rafts to be built, in which he travelled gently down
after reigned in those parts, made a present of five the rivers*! at his leisure, yet so that his navigation
hundred elephants at once to Seleucus,”” and with an was neither unprofitable nor inactive. For by several
army of six hundred thousand men subdued all India. descents upon the bank, he made himself master of
Alexander at first was so grieved and enraged at the fortified towns, and consequently of the country
his men’s reluctance that he shut himself up in his on both sides. But at a siege of a town of the Malli-
tent and threw himself upon the ground, declaring, if ans, who have the repute of being the bravest people
they would not pass the Ganges, he owed them no of India, he ran in great danger of his life. For having
thanks for anything they had hitherto done, and that beaten off the defendants with showers of arrows, he
to retreat now was plainly to confess himself was the first man that mounted the wall by a
scaling-ladder, which, as soon as he was up, broke
and left him almost alone, exposed to the darts that
45 A furlong equals 660 feet, making the Ganges four the barbarians threw at him in great numbers from
miles wide; a fathom is 6 feet. below. In this distress, turning himself as well as he
46 The Nanda Empire. could, he leaped down in the midst of his enemies,
47 Gandhara lay on the Indus River in northwestern India; and had the good fortune to light upon his feet. The
the Praesians (a word meaning “easterners”) came from
brightness and clattering of his armor when he came
the same region.
to the ground made the barbarians think they saw
48 Known in India as Chandragupta, the creator of the
rays of light, or some bright phantom playing before
Mauryan Empire after Alexander left India.
49 The general who after Alexander’s death gained control his body, which frightened them so at first that they
of the eastern part of the empire (see Reading 64). In
305 cE he granted his holdings in India to Sandrocottus 50 The Indian Ocean.
for the war elephants. 5! The Indus and its tributaries.
250 ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND THE HELLENISTIC AGE (387-31 BCE)

ran away and dispersed. until seeing him seconded but Macedonians a great deal of trouble. These men,
by two of his guards, they fell upon him hand-to-hand, called Gymnosophists,* were reputed to be ex-
and some, while he bravely defended himself, tried to tremely ready and succinct in their answers, which
wound him through his armor with their swords and he made trial of, by putting difficult questions to
spears. And one who stood further off drew a bow them, letting them know that those whose answers
with such strength that the arrow, finding its way were not pertinent should be put to death, on which
through his cuirass, stuck in his ribs under the breast. he made the eldest of them judge. The first being
This stroke was so violent that it made him give asked which he thought the most numerous, the dead
back, and set one knee to the ground, upon which the or the living, answered, “The living because those
man ran up with his drawn scimitar, thinking to dis- who are dead are not at all.” Of the second, he de-
patch him, and had done it, if Peucestes and Limnaeus sired to know whether the earth or the sea produced
had not interposed, who were both wounded, Limnaeus the largest beasts; who told him, “The earth, for the
mortally, but Peucestes stood his ground, while sea is but a part of it.” His question to the third was,
Alexander killed the barbarians. But this did not free which is the cunningest of beasts? “That,” said he,
him from danger, for, besides many other wounds, at ‘which men have not yet found out.” He bade the
last he received so weighty a stroke of a club upon his fourth tell him what argument he used to Sabbas to
neck that he was forced to lean his body against the persuade him to revolt. “No other,” said he, “than
wall, still, however, facing the enemy. that he should either live or die nobly.” Of the fifth he
At this extremity, the Macedonians made their asked, which was the eldest, night or day? The phi-
way in and gathered round him. They took him up, losopher replied, “Day was eldest, by one day at
just as he was fainting away, having lost all sense of least.” But perceiving Alexander not well satisfied
what was done near him, and conveyed him to his with that account, he added, that he ought not to
tent, upon which it was presently reported all over wonder if strange questions had as strange answers
the camp that he was dead. But when they had with made to them. Then he went on and inquired of the
great difficulty and pains sawed off the shaft of the next, what a man should do to be exceedingly be-
arrow, which was of wood, and so with much trouble loved. “He must be very powerful,” said he, “without
got off his cuirass, they came to cut the head of it, making himself too much feared.” The answer of the
which was three fingers broad and four long, and seventh to his question, how a man might become a
stuck fast in the bone. During the operation he was god, was, “By doing that which was impossible for
taken with almost mortal swoonings, but when it men to do.” The eighth told him, “Life is stronger
was out he came to himself again. Yet although all than death, because it supports so many miseries.”
danger was past, he continued very weak, and confined And the last being asked, how long he thought it
himself a great while to a regular diet and the method decent for a man to live, said, “Till death appeared
of his cure, until one day hearing the Macedonians more desirable than life.’ Then Alexander turned to
clamoring outside in their eagerness to see him, he him whom he had made judge, and commanded him
took his cloak and went out. And having sacrificed to give sentence. “All that I can determine,” said he,
to the gods, without more delay he went on board “4s, that they have every one answered worse than an-
again, and as he coasted along subdued a great deal other.” “Nay,” said the king, “then you shall die first,
of the country on both sides, and several considera- for giving such a sentence.” “Not so, O king,” replied
ble cities. the gymnosophist, “unless you said falsely that he
In this voyage he took ten of the Indian philoso- should die first who made the worst answer.” In con-
phers prisoners who had been most active in per- clusion he gave them presents and dismissed them.
suading Sabbas” to revolt, and had caused the
>From “gymnos,” or “naked,” because they were
2 An Indian prince. unclothed.
ALEXANDER’S EXPEDITION INTO INDIA (326-324 sce): PLUTARCH, LIFE OF ALEXANDER 251

But to those who were in greatest reputation among and quiet. The meaning of this similitude being that
them, and lived a private quiet life, he sent Onesicri- he ought to reside most in the middle of his empire,
tus, one of Diogenes™ the Cynic’s disciples, desiring and not spend too much time on the borders of it.
them to come to him. Calanus,> it is said, very arro- Alexander’s voyage down the rivers took up seven
gantly and roughly commanded him to strip himself months’ time, and when he came to the sea, he sailed
and hear what he said naked, otherwise he would not to an island that he himself called Scillustis, others
speak a word to him, although he came from Jupiter Psiltucis, where going ashore, he sacrificed, and
himself. But Dandamis” received him with more ci- made what observations he could as to the nature of
vility, and hearing him discourse of Socrates,*’ Py- the sea and the sea-coast. Then having besought the
thagoras,°* and Diogenes, told him he thought them gods that no other man might ever go beyond the
men of great parts and to have erred in nothing so bounds of this expedition, he ordered his fleet, of
much as in having too great respect for the laws and which he made Nearchus*? admiral and Onesicritus
customs of their country. Others say Dandamis only pilot, to sail round about, keeping the Indian shore
asked him the reason why Alexander undertook so on the right hand, and returned himself by land
long a journey to come into those parts. Taxiles, how- through the country of the Orites,°° where he was
ever, persuaded Calanus to wait upon Alexander. His reduced to great straits for want of provisions, and
proper name was Sphines, but because he was accus- lost a vast number of his men, so that of an army of
tomed to say Cale, which in the Indian tongue is a one hundred and twenty thousand foot and fifteen
form of salutation to those he met with anywhere, the thousand horse, he scarcely brought back above a
Greeks called him Calanus. He is said to have shown fourth part out of India, they were so diminished by
Alexander an instructive emblem of government, disease, ill diet, and the scorching heats, but most by
which was this. He threw a dry shrivelled hide upon famine. For their march was through an uncultivated
the ground, and trod upon the edges of it. The skin country whose inhabitants fared hardly, possessing
when it was pressed in one place still rose up in an- only a few sheep, and those of a wretched kind,
other, whereever he trod round about it, until he set his whose flesh was rank and unsavory on account of
foot in the middle, which made all the parts lie even their continual feeding upon sea-fish.

54 The founder of the philosophical school of the Cynics;

see Reading 62.
55 One of the Gymnosophists.
56 Another of the Gymnosophists.
57 See Reading 60. 59 Later the author of an ethnographic study of India.
58 See Reading 50. 60 The Gedrosian Desert, in southern Iran.
 64
cSO>

THE*WARS: OF HE SUIGERSS@RS
alate
(323¢3.01e BCE) ey SaAHIN » Wea is
HISTORIES, -BOOK1S3

A silver tetradrachm (four-drachm coin) issued ca. 311-305 ace by Alexander’s general Seleucus, who
became satrap of Babylonia in the division of Alexander’s empire after his death. Seleucus showed his
respect for local culture not only by not divorcing his Persian wife but also by portraying on the obverse
of this coin an image of the eastern god Ba’al of Tarsus seated and holding a scepter and on the reverse a
lion walking left with an anchor, a Seleucid symbol, above.

After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 sce, some generals, especially Perdiccas,
Eumenes, and Polyperchon, wished to hold the empire together in the name of Alexander's
infant son. But most other generals looked to their own advantage. The generals therefore
parceled out sections of the empire among themselves. These included Perdiccas, Craterus,
Antipater, the guardian of Alexander's infant son Alexander IV; and Polyperchon, governor
of Greece and Macedonia; as well as Eumenes; Antigonus the One-Eyed; Lysimachus; Ptolemy;

Zod
THE WARS OF THE SUCCESSORS (323-301 sce): JUSTIN, PHILIPPIC HISTORIES, BOOK 13 253

and Seleucus, who in the initial division, respectively, received Cappadocia and Paphlagonia,
“Greater Phrygia,” Thrace, Egypt, and “The Command of the Camp.” Conflicts immediately
ensued as these generals attempted to expand their holdings, and there was a rapid shakeout
as many soon fell by the wayside. Alliances changed quickly as the generals ganged up on
anyone who appeared to be getting too powerful. Soon only a handful were left. Just when
it looked like Antigonus the One-Eyed and his son Demetrius “The Besieger of Cities” were on
the verge of reconstituting Alexander's Empire, they were defeated in 301 sce at the Battle
of Ipsus in 301 by a coalition including Ptolemy, Lysimachus, and Seleucus. It was not until
281 ect, when the eighty-year-old Seleucus defeated Lysimichus at the Battle of Courope-
dium, that the Wars of the Successors finally came to an end. The story of these conflicts was
related in the “Philippic Histories” of the Augustan writer Pompeius Trogus. His work does
not survive, but an epitome made circa the second or third century ce by Marcus Junianus
Justinus, or simply Justin, does.

Source: John Selby Watson, trans., Marcus Junius Justinus, Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus (London: Bohn, 1853).

When this allotment,” like a gift from the Fates,” Polyperchon to govern Greece and Macedonia, lent
was made to each, it was to many of them a great oc- their aid to Antigonus. Perdiccas, as the aspect of
casion for improving their fortunes, for not long affairs was unfavorable, called Arridaeus® and
after, as if they had divided kingdoms, not govern- Alexander the Great’s son, then in Cappadocia,”
ments, among themselves, they became princes in- the charge of both of whom had been committed to
stead of prefects,’ and not only secured great power him, to a consultation concerning the management of
to themselves but also bequeathed it to their descend- the war. It seemed more to the purpose to begin with
ents. Afterward a war arose between Antigonus™ and Egypt, lest, while they were gone into Macedonia,
Perdiccas.© Craterus and Antipater, who, having Asia should be seized by Ptolemy.” Ptolemy, by his
made peace with the Athenians, had appointed wise exertions in Egypt, was acquiring great power.
He had secured the favor of the Egyptians by his ex-
traordinary prudence. He had attached the neighbor-
© The division of Alexander’s empire made in Babylon ing princes by acts of kindness and courtesy. He had
after his death in 323 BCE. extended the boundaries of his kingdom by getting
® Goddesses depicted as elderly women who control possession of the city Cyrene,’! and was grown so
human destiny: Clotho spun the thread of life, Lachesis great that he did not fear his enemies so much as he
measured how long it would be, and Atropos cut it off at
was feared by them.
the end.
® That is, governors.
Nicknamed “Monopthalmos,” “The One-Eyed.” He
received “Greater Phrygia” in central Anatolia in the ®7 Philip III (323-317), Alexander’s incapable brother who
original division of territories but went on to reconquer succeeded him as King of Macedon.
nearly the entire empire. 8 Alexander IV only would have been a few years old at
6 After Alexander’s death he was appointed guardian of the time.
Alexander’s young son Alexander IV and, as “Regent of 6? A mountainous region of northern Anatolia that
the Empire,” for a brief time was the effective ruler of the remained under the control of a Persian dynasty until it
empire. was incorporated into the Roman Empire in 17 CE.
Craterus and Antipater also were guardians of 79 One of the main instigators of the division of
Alexander IV and wanted to maintain the integrity of the Alexander’s empire; he received the rich satrapy of Egypt.
empire. 7| For Cyrene, see Reading 48.
254 ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND THE HELLENISTIC AGE (387-31 BCE)

Ptolemy, having increased his strength from the the minds of the men with the unexpected nature of
forces of this city, made preparations for war against the events. When he returned to his camp, letters
the coming of Perdiccas. But the hatred that Perdic- were found scattered through it in which great re-
cas had incurred by his arrogance did him more wards were offered to any that should bring the head
injury than the power of the enemy. For his allies, of Eumenes to Antigonus.
detesting his overbearingness went over in troops to In the meantime Antigonus came up with his
Antipater. Neoptolemus,” too, who had been left army, and having pitched his camp, offered battle on
to support Eumenes,” intended not only to desert to the following day. Nor did Eumenes delay to engage
Antipater but also to betray the force of his party. with him, but, being defeated, he fled to a fortress,
Eumenes, understanding his design, thought it a where, when he saw that he must submit to the hazard
matter of necessity to engage the traitor in the field. of a siege, he dismissed the greater part of his army,
Neoptolemus, being worsted, fled to Antipater and lest he should either be delivered to the enemy by
Polyperchon, and persuaded them to surprise consent of the multitude, or the sufferings of the siege
Eumenes, by marching without intermission, while should be aggravated by too great a number. He then
he was full of joy for his victory, and freed from ap- sent a deputation to Antipater, who was the only gen-
prehension by Neoptolemus’ flight. But this project eral that seemed a match for the power of Antigonus,
did not escape Eumenes. The plot was in conse- to entreat his aid; and Antigonus, hearing that succor
quence turned upon the contrivers of it, and they who was dispatched by Antipater to Eumenes, gave up the
expected to attack him unguarded were attacked siege. Eumenes was thus for a time, indeed, relieved
themselves when they were on their march and wea- from fear of death, but, as so great a portion of his
ried with watching through the previous night. In army had been sent away, he had no great hope of
this battle, Polyperchon was killed. Neoptolemus, ultimate safety. After taking everything into consid-
too, engaging hand to hand with Eumenes, and main- eration, therefore, he thought it best to apply to the
taining a long struggle with him, in which both were Argyraspides” of Alexander the Great, a body of
wounded more than once, was at last overpowered men that had never yet been conquered.
and fell. At length, when it was announced that Antigonus
Eumenes, therefore, being victorious in two suc- was approaching with his army, he obliged the Argy-
cessive battles, supported in some degree the spirits raspides to march into the field, where, slighting the
of his party, which had been cast down by the deser- orders of their general, they were defeated by the
tion of their allies. At last, however, Perdiccas having bravery of the enemy. In this battle they lost, with
been killed,“ Eumenes was declared an enemy by their wives and children, not only their glory from so
the army, and the conduct of the war against him was many wars but also the booty obtained in their long
committed to Antigonus. When Eumenes found that service. Immediately after, without the knowledge of
Perdiccas was slain, that he himself was declared an their leaders, they sent deputies to Antigonus, re-
enemy by the Macedonians, and that the conduct of questing that “he would order what was theirs to be
the war against him was committed to Antigonus, he restored to them.” Antigonus promised that he would
at once made known the state of affairs to his troops, restore what they asked if they would deliver up
lest report should either exaggerate matters, or alarm Eumenes to him, saying that his single victory was
so far more glorious to Antigonus than so many other
” A Macedonian general who had been assigned the sa- victories had been to Alexander, and that whereas
trapy of Armenia. Alexander subdued the east, Antigonus had defeated
3 A supporter of Perdiccas, he received the territories of those by whom the east had been subdued.
Paphlagonia and Cappadocia, which had not yet been
conquered. ™ The “Silver Shields,” an elite body of Alexander’s
7% Assassinated in 321 BCE. troops.
THE WARS OF THE SUCCESSORS (323-301 sce): JUSTIN, PHILIPPIC HISTORIES, BOOK 13 255

Perdiccas and his brother, with Eumenes and styled “basileus” (“king”) by the people. Ptolemy
Polyperchon, and other leaders of the opposite party, also, so that he might not appear of less authority
having been killed,” the contention among the suc- among his subjects, was called “king” by his army.
cessors of Alexander seemed to be at an end, when, Cassander and Lysimachus, too, when they heard of
on a sudden, a dispute arose among the conquerors these proceedings, assumed regal dignity them-
themselves, for Ptolemy, Cassander,”’ and Lysima- selves. They all abstained, however, from taking the
chus,”* demanding that the money taken among the insignia of royalty,®° as long as any sons of their
spoil, and the provinces, should be divided. Antigo- king®’ survived. Such forbearance was there in them,
nus said that he would admit no partners in the ad- that, although they had the power, they yet content-
vantages of a war of which he alone had undergone edly remained without the distinction of kings as
the perils. And that he might seem to engage in an long as Alexander had a proper heir. But Ptolemy
honorable contest with his confederates, he gave out and Cassander, and the other leaders of the opposite
that his object was to avenge the death of Olympias,” faction, perceiving that they were individually weak-
who had been murdered by Cassander, and to release ened by Antigonus,*® whereas each regarded the war,
the son of Alexander, his king, with his mother,°° not as the common concern of all, but as merely af-
from their confinement at Amphipolis.®! On hearing fecting himself, and all were unwilling to give as-
this news, Ptolemy and Cassander, forming an alli- sistance to one another, as if victory would be only
ance with Lysimachus and Seleucus,® made vigor- for one, and not for all of them, appointed, after en-
ous preparations for war by land and sea. Ptolemy couraging each other by letters, a time and place for
had possession of Egypt, with the greater part of a conference, and prepared for the contest with
Africa, Cyprus, and Phoenicia. Macedonia and united strength. Cassander, being unable to join in it,
Greece were subject to Cassander. Antigonus had because of a war near home, dispatched Lysimachus
taken possession of Asia and the eastern countries. to the support of his allies with a large force.
Demetrius, the son of Antigonus, was defeated in the Before the war with Antigonus was commenced
first engagement by Ptolemy, at Gamala.*? by Ptolemy and his allies, Seleucus, on a sudden,
Ptolemy meanwhile engaged a second time with leaving Greater Asia, came forward as a fresh enemy
Demetrius at sea,** and, having lost his fleet, and left to Antigonus. The merit of Seleucus was well
the victory to the enemy, fled back to Egypt. Antigo- known, and his birth had been attended with ex-
nus, being elated with this victory, gave orders that traordinary circumstances. His mother Laodice,
he himself, as well as his son Demetrius, should be being married to Antiochus, a man of eminence
among Philip’s generals, seemed to herself, in a
7 Bumenes was executed by Antigonus in 316 BCE, but dream, to have conceived from a union with Apollo
Polyperchon survived until 304 BCE or later. and, after becoming pregnant, to have received from
77 The son of Antipater; in 317 BCE he became King of him, as a reward for her compliance, a ring, on the
Macedon. stone of which was engraved an anchor and which
78 The satrap of Thrace, northeast of Greece in the she was advised to give to the child that she should
Balkans. bring forth. A ring similarly engraved was found the
7 The mother of Alexander the Great. next day in the bed, and the figure of an anchor,
80 Roxanne, Alexander’s first wife. which was visible on the thigh of Seleucus when he
81 One of the capital cities of Macedonia, on the northern
coast of the Aegean Sea.
82 The satrap of Babylonia, who had been accumulating 85 The first time that any of the successors referred to
additional territory in the eastern regions of the empire. themselves as “king.” Others soon followed.
83 The Battle of Gaza, in 312 BCE. 86 Such as wearing the royal diadem.
84 The Battle of Myus, a city in Caria in southern 87 The child Alexander IV.
Anatolia. 88Tn 301 BCE.
256 ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND THE HELLENISTIC AGE (387-31 BcE)

was born, made this dream extremely remarkable.*? were united, a battle was fought, in which Antigonus
After the division of the Macedonian empire among was slain, and his son Demetrius put to flight.?! But
the followers of Alexander, he carried on several the allied generals, after thus terminating the war
wars in the east. He first took Babylon,” and then, with the enemy, turned their arms again upon each
his strength being increased by this success, subdued other, and, as they could not agree about the spoil,
the Bactrians. After settling his affairs in the east, they were divided into two parties. Seleucus joined
Seleucus proceeded to join in the war against Anti- Demetrius, and Ptolemy joined Lysimachus. Thus
gonus. As soon as the forces of all the confederates new wars arose.

65
ae OF)

THE SUBORDINATION OF WOMEN

AND>SbAMES (eAact25>BGHs
ARISTODLE, POLITICS, BOOKA

A Roman marble copy of a Greek original bronze bust of Aristotle made by Lysippus ca. 330 BcE.

*° The anchor then became a Seleucid insignia and often

appeared on their coins.
*°Tn the Babylonian War, 312-311 BCE, Seleucus drove
Antigonus out of Babylonia, thus ending the possibility
of a reunification of Alexander’s empire. *! The Battle of Ipsus in 301 BCE.
THE SUBORDINATION OF WOMEN AND SLAVES (ca. 325 BCE): ARISTOTLE, POLITICS, BOOK 1
Zi

The first great practical, as opposed to theoretical, philosopher was Aristotle, a native of
northern Greece. After studying medicine with his father and philosophy with Plato in
Athens, he was employed by Philip Il of Macedon as the tutor of Alexander the Great. He
returned to Athens in 335 sce and founded his own school, called the Lyceum. In his work the
Politics, Aristotle formulated his concept of an ideal society that was not based on pure
hypothesis, like Plato's, but on a collection of the constitutions of a multitude of actual
human governments. Aristotle believed that virtuous people could govern themselves. He
introduced the concept of “natural slavery," suggesting that people were suited by nature to
be slaves if, like beasts, all that could be expected from them was labor. But he also argued
that people who were not naturally suited to be slaves should not be enslaved. Aristotle
viewed women as being subordinate to men but ranking higher than slaves.

Source: Benjamin Jowett, trans., The Politics of Aristotle (London: Colonial Press, 1900).

Every state is a community of some kind, and every another, and whether any scientific result can be at-
community is established with a view to some good, tained about each one of them.
for people always act in order to obtain that which He who thus considers things in their first growth
they think is good. But, if all communities aim at and origin, whether a state or anything else, will
some good, the state or political community, which obtain the clearest view of them. In the first place
is the highest of all, and which embraces all the rest, there must be a union of those who cannot exist with-
aims at good in a greater degree than any other, and out each other, namely, of male and female, that the
at the highest good. race may continue (and this is a union that is formed,
Some people think that the qualifications of a not of deliberate purpose, but because, in common
statesman, king, householder, and master are the with other animals and with plants, people have a
same, and that they differ, not in kind, but only in the natural desire to leave behind them an image of
number of their subjects. For example, the ruler over themselves), and a concept of natural ruler and sub-
a few is called a master; over more, the manager of a ject, that both may be preserved. For whoever can
household; over a still larger number, a statesman or foresee by the exercise of mind is by nature intended
king, as if there were no difference between a great to be lord and master, and whoever can with their
household and a small state. The distinction that is body give effect to such foresight is a subject, and by
made between the king and the statesman is as fol- nature a slave; hence master and slave have the same
lows: when the government is personal, the ruler is a interest. Now nature has distinguished between the
king; when, according to the rules of the political female and the slave. For the female is not niggardly,
science, the citizens rule and are ruled in turn, then like the smith who fashions the Delphian knife”? for
he is called a statesman. many uses. She makes each thing for a single use,
But all this is a mistake, for governments differ in and every instrument is best made when intended for
kind, as will be evident to anyone who considers the one and not for many uses. But among barbarians no
matter according to the method that hitherto has distinction is made between women and slaves, be-
guided us. As in other departments of science, so in cause there is no natural ruler among them: they are
politics, the compound should always be resolved a community of slaves, male and female. Therefore
into the simple elements or least the parts of the
whole. We therefore must look at the elements of » A double-edged knife that can be used for several pur-
which the state is composed in order that we may see poses, much like the Delphic oracles could have several
how the different kinds of rule differ from one meanings.
258 ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND THE HELLENISTIC AGE (387-31 BCE)

the poets say, “It is right that Hellenes”® should rule self-sufficing, the state comes into existence, origi-
over barbarians,” as if they thought that the barbar- nating in the bare needs of life, and continuing in
ian and the slave were by nature one. existence for the sake of a good life. And therefore, if
Out of these two relationships between man and the earlier forms of society are natural, so is the
woman, master and slave, the first thing to arise is state, for it is the end result of them, and the nature of
the family, and Hesiod is right when he says, “First a thing is its end result. For what each thing is when
house and wife and an ox for the plough,” for the ox fully developed, we call its nature, whether we are
is the poor man’s slave. The family is the association speaking of a man, a horse, or a family. Besides, the
established by nature for the supply of men’s every- final cause*’ and end of a thing is the best, and to be
day wants, and the members of it are called by Cha- self-sufficing is the end and the best. Hence it is evi-
rondas”® “companions of the cupboard,’ and by dent that the state is a creation of nature, and that
Epimenides*® the Cretan, “companions of the man is by nature a political”? animal.
manger.” But when several families are united, and Seeing then that the state is made up of house-
the association aims at something more than the holds, before speaking of the state we must speak of
supply of daily needs, the first society to be formed the management of the household. The parts of
is the village. And the most natural form of the vil- household management correspond to the persons
lage appears to be that of a colony from the family, who compose the household, and a complete house-
composed of the children and grandchildren, who hold consists of slaves and freemen. Now we should
are said to be suckled “with the same milk.” And this begin by examining everything in its fewest possible
is the reason why Hellenic states were originally elements, and the first and fewest possible parts of a
governed by kings; because the Hellenes were under family are master and slave, husband and wife, father
royal rule before they came together, as the barbari- and children. We have therefore to consider what
ans still are. each of these three relations is and ought to be: I
Every family is ruled by the eldest, and therefore mean the relation of master and servant, the mar-
in the colonies of the family the kingly form of gov- riage relation (the conjunction of man and wife has
ernment prevailed because they were of the same no name of its own), and thirdly, the procreative rela-
blood. As Homer says, “Each one gives law to his tion (this also has no proper name). Let us first speak
children and to his wives.” For they lived dispers- of master and slave, looking to the needs of practical
edly, as was the manner in ancient times. Wherefore life and also seeking to attain some better theory of
men say that the gods have a king, because they their relation than exists at present. For some are of
themselves either are or were in ancient times under opinion that the rule of a master is a science, and that
the rule of a king. For they imagine, not only the the management of a household, and the mastership
forms of the gods, but their ways of life to be like of slaves, and the political and royal rule, as I was
their own. saying at the outset, are all the same. Others affirm
When several villages are united in a single com- that the rule of a master over slaves is contrary to
plete community, large enough to be nearly or quite nature and that the distinction between slave and
freeman exists by law only, and not by nature; and
being an interference with nature is therefore unjust.
*3 Greeks.
The master is only the master of the slave, he does
4 See Reading 47. Aristotle has misquoted Hesiod, who
recommended getting a slave woman, not a wife. not belong to him, whereas the slave is not only the
*> A famous sixth-century BCE lawgiver of Catania in slave of his master, but wholly belongs to him. Hence
Sicily.
°° A legendary philosopher of Knossos in Crete in the *’ Aristotle identified four “causes” of change, called the
seventh century BCE who fell asleep for fifty-seven years final, formal, material, and efficient.
and awoke with the gift of prophecy. ** From “polis,” or “city-state,” referring to life in a city.
THE SUBORDINATION OF WOMEN AND SLAVES (ca. 325 BcE): ARISTOTLE, POLITICS, BOOK 1 259

we see what is the nature and office of a slave; he under the rule of a master. For he who can be, and
who is by nature not his own but another’s man is by therefore is, another’s and he who participates in ra-
nature a slave; and he may be said to be another’s tional principle enough to apprehend, but not to have,
man who, being a human being, is also a possession. such a principle, is a slave by nature. Whereas the
And a possession may be defined as an instrument of lower animals cannot even apprehend a principle,
action, separable from the possessor. they obey their instincts.
But is there anyone thus intended by nature to be And indeed the use made of slaves and of tame
a slave, and for whom such a condition is expedient animals is not very different, for both with their
and right, or rather is not all slavery a violation of bodies minister to the needs of life. Nature would
nature? There is no difficulty in answering this ques- like to distinguish between the bodies of freemen
tion, on grounds both of reason and of fact. For that and slaves, making the one strong for servile labor
some should rule and others be ruled is a thing not and the other upright, and, although useless for such
only necessary, but expedient. From the hour of their services, useful for political life in the arts both of
birth, some are marked out for subjection, others for war and peace. But the opposite often happens, that
rule. And there are many kinds both of rulers and some have the souls and others have the bodies of
subjects, and that rule is the better which is exercised freemen. And doubtless if men differed from one an-
over better subjects, for example, to rule over men is other in the mere forms of their bodies as much as
better than to rule over wild beasts. The male is by the statues of the gods do from men, all would ac-
nature superior and the female inferior; the one rules knowledge that the inferior class should be slaves of
and the other is ruled. This principle, of necessity, the superior. And if this is true of the body, how
extends to all mankind. Where then there is such a much more just that a similar distinction should exist
difference as that between soul and body, or between in the soul? But the beauty of the body is seen,
men and animals (as in the case of those whose busi- whereas the beauty of the soul is not seen. It is clear,
ness is to use their body, and who can do nothing then, that some men are by nature free, and others
better), the lower sort are by nature slaves, and it is slaves, and that for these latter slavery is both expe-
better for them as for all inferiors that they should be dient and right.
 66
cCO>

STOLE lSM4(3 00 BEEP EP Peres:

THE ENCHIRIDION

A marble Roman copy of the first century ce of a portrait bust of the Stoic philosopher Zeno of
Citium, the creator of Stoicism, from a Greek original of the fourth century BCE, now in the Alte
Museum in Berlin.

The Stoic philosophy was introduced by Zeno, a native of Citium on Cyprus who settled in
Athens about 300 sce. His teachings were centered on a physical universe that was highly
structured into a pattern that was established by a rational governing force called the
“logos.” The universe was like a finely tuned machine and each person represented one part
of the machine. It was everyone's duty to perform the role that they had been assigned by
god. The Stoic creed was, “Lead me, O Zeus, wherever you will, and | will follow willingly, and
if |do not, you will drag me." The only choice a Stoic had was either to accept the inevitable,
which already had been determined by the logos, or to fight against it and inevitably be
destroyed. The importance given to the performance of duty made Stoicism well suited for
individuals committed to public service. Reflecting earlier views, the tenets of Stoic philoso-
phy were set forth in the early second century ce in the Enchiridion ("Manual") of Epictetus,
an ex-slave from Hierapolis in Anatolia who taught in Rome and Greece. For Epictetus,
Stoicism was not just a theoretical model but was meant to be put into practice in real life.

Source: Elizabeth Carter, trans., The Works of Epictetus, Translated from the Original Greek (London: Richardson, 1758),
reprinted in W. H. D. Rouse, ed., The Moral Discourses of Epictetus, (London—Toronto: Dent, 1910).

260
STOICISM (300 sce): EPICTETUS, THE ENCHIRIDION 261

Some things are in our control and others not. Things your own control, you will never incur anything to
in our control are opinion, pursuit, desire, aversion, which you are averse. But if you are averse to sick-
and, in a word, whatever are our own actions. Things ness, or death, or poverty, you will be wretched.
not in our control are body, property, reputation, Remove aversion, then, from all things that are not in
command, and, in one word, whatever are not our our control, and transfer it to things contrary to the
own actions. The things in our control are by nature nature of what is in our control. But, for the present,
free, unrestrained, unhindered; but those not in our totally suppress desire: for, if you desire any of the
control are weak, slavish, restrained, belonging to things that are not in your own control, you must
others. Remember, then, that if you suppose that necessarily be disappointed; and of those that are,
things that are slavish by nature are also free, and and which it would be laudable to desire, nothing is
that what belongs to others is your own, then you yet in your possession. Use only the appropriate ac-
will be hindered. You will lament, you will be dis- tions of pursuit and avoidance, and even these lightly,
turbed, and you will find fault both with gods and and with gentleness and reservation.
men. But if you suppose that only to be your own With regard to whatever objects give you de-
which is your own, and what belongs to others such light, are useful, or are deeply loved, remember to
as it really is, then no one will ever compel you or tell yourself of what general nature they are, begin-
restrain you. Further, you will find fault with no one ning from the most insignificant things. If, for ex-
or accuse no one. You will do nothing against your ample, you are fond of a specific ceramic cup,
will. No one will hurt you, you will have no enemies, remind yourself that it is only ceramic cups in gen-
and you not be harmed. eral of which you are fond. Then, if it breaks, you
Aiming therefore at such great things, remember will not be disturbed. If you kiss your child, or
that you must not allow yourself to be carried, even your wife, say that you only kiss things that are
with a slight tendency, toward the attainment of human, and thus you will not be disturbed if either
lesser things. Instead, you must entirely quit some of them dies.
things and for the present postpone the rest. But if When you are going about any action, remind
you would both have these great things, along with yourself what nature the action is. If you are going to
power and riches, then you will not gain even the bathe, picture to yourself the things that usually
latter, because you aim at the former too: but you happen in the bath: some people splash the water,
will absolutely fail of the former, by which alone some push, some use abusive language, and others
happiness and freedom are achieved. steal. Thus you will more safely go about this action
Work, therefore to be able to say to every harsh if you say to yourself, “I will now go bathe, and keep
appearance, “You are but an appearance, and not ab- my own mind in a state conformable to nature.” And
solutely the thing you appear to be.” And then exam- in the same manner with regard to every other action.
ine it by those rules that you have, and first, and For thus, if any hindrance arises in bathing, you will
chiefly, by this: whether it concerns the things that have it ready to say, “It was not only to bathe that I
are in our own control or those that are not, and if it desired, but to keep my mind in a state conformable
concerns anything not in our control, be prepared to to nature, and I will not keep it if I am bothered by
say that it is nothing to you. things that happen.
Remember that following desire promises the at- Men are disturbed, not by things, but by the prin-
tainment of that of which you are desirous; and aver- ciples and notions that they form concerning things.
sion promises the avoiding that to which you are Death, for instance, is not terrible, else it would have
averse. He, however, who fails to obtain the object of appeared so to Socrates.” But the terror consists in
his desire is disappointed, and he who incurs the our notion of death that it is terrible. When therefore
object of his aversion wretched. If, then, you confine
your aversion to those objects only that are contrary
to the natural use of your faculties, which you have in °° For Socrates’s view on death, see Reading 60.
262 ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND THE HELLENISTIC AGE (387-31 BCE)

we are hindered, or disturbed, or grieved, let us never Remember that you are an actor in a drama, of
attribute it to others, but to ourselves, that is, to our such a kind as the author'® pleases to make it. If
own principles. An uninstructed person will lay the short, of a short one; if long, of a long one. If it is his
fault of his own bad condition upon others. Someone pleasure you should act a poor man, a cripple, a gov-
just starting instruction will lay the fault on himself. ernor, or a private person, see that you act it natu-
Someone who is perfectly instructed will place rally. For this is your business, to act well the
blame neither on others nor on himself. character assigned you; to choose it is another’s.
Do not be prideful with any excellence that is not Remember that he who gives ill language or a
your own. If a horse should be prideful and say, “T blow does not cause insults, but rather the principle
am handsome,” it would be supportable. But when that represents these things as insulting. When,
you are prideful, and say, “I have a handsome horse,” therefore, anyone provokes you, be assured that it is
know that you are proud of what is, in fact, only the your own opinion that provokes you. Try, therefore,
good of the horse. What, then, is your own? Only in the first place, not to be hurried away with the ap-
your reaction to the appearances of things. Thus, pearance. For if you once gain time and respite, you
when you behave conformably to nature in reaction will more easily command yourself.
to how things appear, you will be proud with reason, If you ever happen to turn your attention to exter-
for you will take pride in some good of your own nals, so as to wish to please anyone, be assured that
Do not demand that things happen as you wish, you have ruined your scheme of life. Be contented,
but wish that they happen as they do happen, and you then, in everything with being a philosopher, and, if
will go on well. you wish to be thought so likewise by anyone, appear
If you want to improve, reject such reasonings as so to yourself, and it will suffice you.
these: “If I neglect my affairs, I will have no income; Is anyone preferred before you at an entertain-
if I do not correct my servant, he will be bad.” For ment, or in a compliment, or in being admitted to a
it is better to die with hunger, exempt from grief consultation? If these things are good, you ought to
and fear, than to live in affluence with perturbation; be glad that he has gotten them, and if they are evil,
and it is better your servant should be bad, than you do not be grieved that you have not gotten them. And
unhappy. remember that you cannot, without using the same
Begin therefore from little things. Is a little oil means that others do to acquire things not in our own
spilt? A little wine stolen? Say to yourself, “This is control, expect to be thought worthy of an equal
the price paid for apathy, for tranquillity, and nothing share of them. For how can he who does not frequent
is to be had for nothing.’ When you call your serv- the door of any great man, does not attend him, does
ant, it is possible that he may not come; or, if he does, not praise him, have an equal share with him who
he may not do what you want. But he is by no means does? You are unjust, then, and insatiable, if you are
of such importance that it should be in his power to unwilling to pay the price for which these things are
give you any disturbance. sold, and would have them for nothing. For how
If you want to improve, be content to be thought much is lettuce sold? A denarius, for instance. If an-
foolish and stupid with regard to external things. Do other, then, paying denarius, takes the lettuce, and
not wish to be thought to know anything, and even if you, not paying it, go without them, do not imagine
you appear to be somebody important to others, dis- that he has gained any advantage over you. For as he
trust yourself. For it is difficult to both keep your fac- has the lettuce, so you have the denarius that you did
ulty of choice in a state conformable to nature, and at not give. So, in the present case, you have not been
the same time acquire external things. But while you
are careful about the one, you must of necessity ne- 100 That is the “logos,” which set the entire universe on its
glect the other. preordained course.
STOICISM (300 sce): EPICTETUS, THE ENCHIRIDION 263

invited to such a person’s entertainment, because you Well, keep your own situation toward him. Consider
have not paid him the price for which a supper is not what he does, but what you are to do to keep your
sold. It is sold for praise; it is sold for attendance. own faculty of choice in a state conformable to
Give him then the value, if it is for your advantage. nature. For another will not hurt you unless you
But if you would, at the same time, not pay the one please. You will then be hurt when you think you are
and yet receive the other, you are insatiable, and a hurt. In this manner, therefore, you will find, from
blockhead. Have you nothing, then, instead of the the idea of a neighbor, a citizen, a general, the corre-
supper? Yes, indeed, you have: the not praising him, sponding duties if you accustom yourself to contem-
whom you do not like to praise; the not bearing with plate the several relations.
his behavior at coming in. Upon all occasions we ought to have these
Duties universally are measured by relations. Is maxims ready at hand: “Conduct me, Jove, and you,
anyone a father? If so, it is implied that the children O Destiny, wherever your decrees have fixed my sta-
should take care of him, submit to him in everything, tion, and I follow cheerfully, and, if Ido not, wicked
patiently listen to his reproaches, his correction. But and wretched, I must follow still’?!'; or
he is a bad father. Are you naturally entitled, then, to “Whoever yields properly to Fate is deemed wise
a good father? No, only to a father. Is a brother unjust? among men, and knows the laws of heaven.”

101 A saying attributed to Cleanthes, a Stoic philosopher

who followed Zeno as the head of the Stoic school in
Athens. 102 A saying attributed to the Greek tragedian Euripides.
 6/
cCO>

REVOLT OF THE MACCABEES

(167 BcE)e THESBOOK
OF MACCABEES

A silver tetradrachm (four-drachm coin) of the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes depicts the head
of Antiochus on the obverse wearing a diadem (a piece of cloth tied around the head) signifying royal
status. The reverse portrays Zeus seated and holding a scepter in his left hand and the goddess Nike
(Victory) in his right. The legend reads, “King Antiochus Epiphanes [‘God Manifest’], Bearer of Victory.”

After the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-164 bce), the son of Antiochus III (222-187
ace), came to power in the Seleucid Empire, he attempted to unify the empire by enforcing
the adoption of Greek customs on the Jews of Palestine. This offended many of the Jews in
the kingdom. In 167 sce, one of them, Mattathias, resisted and raised a rebellion. Mattathias
was succeeded as leader of the rebellion by his son Judas Maccabaeus, who gave it its name.
A full account of the Maccabean revolt is preserved in the biblical Book of Maccabees.

Source: “First Book of Maccabees,” New Revised Standard Version.

264
REVOLT OF THE MACCABEES (167 sce): THE BOOK OF MACCABEES 265

After Alexander’ son of Philip, the Macedonian, who Gentile custom, removed the marks of circumcision,!!!
came from the land of Kittim,'% had defeated King and abandoned the holy covenant. They joined with
Darius of the Persians and the Medes, he succeeded the Gentiles and sold themselves to do evil.
him as king. He fought many battles, conquered When Antiochus saw that his kingdom was estab-
strongholds, and put to death the kings of the earth. He lished, he determined to become king of the land of
advanced to the ends of the earth and plundered many Egypt, in order that he might reign over both king-
nations. When the earth became quiet before him, he doms. So he invaded Egypt with a strong force, with
was exalted, and his heart was lifted up. He gathered a chariots and elephants and cavalry and a large fleet.!!”
very strong army and ruled over countries, nations, He engaged King Ptolemy'!? of Egypt in battle, and
and princes, and they became tributary to him. After Ptolemy turned and fled before him, and many were
this he fell sick and perceived that he was dying. So he wounded and fell. He captured the fortified cities in
summoned his most honored officers, who had been the land of Egypt, and he plundered the land of Egypt.
brought up with him from youth, and divided his king- After subduing Egypt,'* Antiochus returned in the
dom among them while he was still alive.'®° And after one hundred forty-third year.'!!> He went up against
Alexander had reigned twelve years,'°° he died. Then Israel and came to Jerusalem with a strong force. He
his officers began to rule, each in his own place. They arrogantly entered the sanctuary'!® and took the
all put on crowns after his death, and so did their de- golden altar, the lampstand for the light, and all its
scendents after them for many years, and they caused utensils. He took also the table for the Bread of the
many evils on the earth. From them came forth a sinful Presence,'"” the cups for drink offerings, the bowls,
root, Antiochus Epiphanes, son of King Antiochus.'° the golden censers, the curtain, the crowns, and the
He had been a hostage in Rome. He began to reign in gold decoration on the front of the temple; he stripped
the one hundred thirty-seventh year of the kingdom of it all off. He took the silver and the gold, and the costly
the Greeks.'” vessels; he took also the hidden treasures that he
In those days certain renegades came out from found. Taking them all, he went into his own land.!!®
Israel and misled many, saying, “Let us go and make
a covenant with the Gentiles!®’ around us, for since we
11 Permanent restoration of the foreskin was accom-
separated from them many disasters have come upon
plished by epispasm, or decircumcision, which involved
us.” This proposal pleased them, and some of the
slicing the skin of the penis circumferentially to loosen it,
people eagerly went to the king, who authorized them extending it over the glans, and then tying it off until it
to observe the ordinances of the Gentiles. So they had reattached itself. A temporary process, infibulation,
built a gymnasium!’? in Jerusalem, according to involved pulling the skin of the penis over the glans and
then tying it off or pinning it with a fibula.
Tn 168 BCE.
103 Ror Alexander, see also Readings 62 and 63. '3Tn 170 BcE Antiochus invaded Egypt and defeated
104 Specifically Cyprus, but, in this case, used to refer King Ptolemy VI (180-145 sce); in 168 he invaded Egypt
generically to “the west.” again and defeated both Ptolemy VI and his younger
105 An error. Alexander failed to indicate the disposition brother, Ptolemy VIII (169-116).
of his empire, which led to a long period of conflicts 114 Not exactly. Antiochus was forced by the Romans to
among his generals; see Reading 64. evacuate Egypt.
106 Ajexander actually reigned from 336 until 323 BCE. 115 Of the Seleucid Empire, 168 BCE.
107 The Seleucid king Antiochus I (281-261 BCE). 116 Of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem.
108 That is, the Seleucid Empire, begun by Seleucus I in 117 _oaves of bread always kept as an offering to God on a
311 BCE. special table in the Jewish temple in Jerusalem.
109 Non-Jews. 118 Antiochus needed the money to pay off the war indem-
110 A Greek exercise ground, where participants exercised nity imposed by the Romans on his father by the Treaty
in the nude. of Apamea in 188 BCE.
266 ALEXANDER THE GREAT AND THE HELLENISTIC AGE (387-31 BCE)

Then the king wrote to his whole kingdom that all friends of the king, and you and your sons will be
should be one people, and that all should give up honored with silver and gold and many gifts.”
their particular customs. All the Gentiles accepted But Mattathias answered and said in a loud voice,
the command of the king. Many even from Israel “ven if all the nations that live under the rule of the
gladly adopted his religion; they sacrificed to idols king obey him, and have chosen to obey his com-
and profaned the sabbath. And the king sent letters mandments, everyone of them abandoning the reli-
by messengers to Jerusalem and the towns of Judah; gion of their ancestors, I and my sons and my
he directed them to follow customs strange to the brothers will continue to live by the covenant of our
land, to forbid burnt offerings and sacrifices and ancestors. Far be it from us to desert the law and the
drink offerings in the sanctuary, to profane sab- ordinances. We will not obey the king’s words by
baths!” and festivals, to defile the sanctuary and the turning aside from our religion to the right hand or to
priests, to build altars and sacred precincts and the left.’ When he had finished speaking these
shrines for idols, to sacrifice swine and other unclean words, a Jew came forward in the sight of all to offer
animals, and to leave their sons uncircumcised. They sacrifice on the altar in Modein, according to the
were to make themselves abominable by everything king’s command. When Mattathias saw it, he burned
unclean and profane, so that they would forget the with zeal and his heart was stirred. He gave vent to
law and change all the ordinances. He added, “And righteous anger; he ran and killed him on the altar.
whoever does not obey the command of the king At the same time he killed the king’s officer who was
shall die.” forcing them to sacrifice, and he tore down the altar.
In those days Mattathias son of John son of Then Mattathias cried out in the town with a loud
Simeon, a priest of the family of Joarib, moved from voice, saying: “Let every one who is zealous for the
Jerusalem and settled in Modein.!”° He had five sons, law and supports the covenant come out with me!”
John surnamed Gaddi, Simon called Thassi, Judas Then he and his sons fled to the hills and left all that
called Maccabeus,'*! Eleazar called Avaran, and they had in the town.
Jonathan called Apphus. He saw the blasphemies At that time many who were seeking righteous-
being committed in Judah and Jerusalem. Then Mat- ness and justice went down to the wilderness to live
tathias and his sons tore their clothes, put on sack- there, they, their sons, their wives, and their live-
cloth, and mourned greatly. The king’s officers who stock, because troubles pressed heavily upon them.
were enforcing the apostasy'”* came to the town of And it was reported to the king’s officers, and to the
Modein to make them offer sacrifice. Many from troops in Jerusalem the city of David, that those who
Israel came to them, and Mattathias and his sons had rejected the king’s command had gone down to
were assembled. Then the king’s officers spoke to the hiding places in the wilderness. Many pursued
Mattathias as follows: “You are a leader, honored them, and overtook them; they encamped opposite
and great in this town, and supported by sons and them and prepared for battle against them on the sab-
brothers. Now be the first to come and do what the bath day. The troops said to them, “Enough of this!
king commands, as all the Gentiles and the people of Come out and do what the king commands, and you
Judah and those that are left in Jerusalem have done. will live.” But the Jews replied, “We will not come
Then you and your sons will be numbered among the out, nor will we do what the king commands and so
profane the sabbath day.” Then the enemy quickly
"9 Saturday, the Jewish day of worship. attacked them. But they did not answer them or hurl
120 A town in Judaea near Jerusalem. a stone at them or block up their hiding places, for
'21 A word meaning “the hammer.” they said, “Let us all die in our innocence; heaven and
'22 To abandon one religion and adopt another one. earth testify for us that you are killing us unjustly.”
REVOLT OF THE MACCABEES (167 BcE): THE BOOK OF MACCABEES 267

So they attacked them on the sabbath, and they died, all who offered themselves willingly for the law. And
with their wives and children and livestock, to the all who became fugitives to escape their troubles
number of a thousand persons. joined them and reinforced them. They organized an
When Mattathias and his friends learned of it, army, and struck down sinners in their anger and
they mourned for them deeply. And all said to their renegades in their wrath; the survivors fled to the
neighbors: “If we all do as our kindred have done Gentiles for safety. And Mattathias and his friends
and refuse to fight with the Gentiles for our lives and went around and tore down the altars. They forcibly
for our ordinances, they will quickly destroy us from circumcised all the uncircumcised boys that they
the earth.” So they made this decision that day: “Let found within the borders of Israel. They hunted down
us fight against anyone who comes to attack us on the the arrogant, and the work prospered in their hands.
sabbath day; let us not all die as our kindred died in They rescued the law out of the hands of the Gentiles
their hiding places.” Then there united with them a and kings, and they never let the sinner gain the
company of Hasideans,!** mighty warriors of Israel, upper hand.

123 A Jewish religious sect.

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 CHARAER 9
cSO>
Civilization Beyond the Near East,
Greece, and Rome (2300-31 BcE)

By 31 BCE, at the end of the Hellenistic Age, the western Mediterranean city of Rome in Italy
had risen to become the strongest, indeed the only, power in the Mediterranean world. But
before embarking on an account of Rome’s rise to power, one might step back and consider
the other peoples who existed on the periphery of the Near Eastern, and, in particular, the
Greek and Roman, worlds. The characteristics and significance of these peoples all too often
have been unappreciated, both then and now. In the modern day, these peoples can be sub-
merged or marginalized as a consequence of the natural focus on the two civilizations that
had such a tremendous impact on the future development of western history and culture.
And in Greek and Roman antiquity, views of the peoples who lived beyond the known world
became more and more fanciful the farther away one got. Indeed, in the mid-fifth century
BCE, the Greek historian Herodotus expressed the view that “the extreme regions of the
earth, which surround and shut up within themselves all other countries, produce the things
that are the rarest.” But in many ways, cultures besides Greece and Rome, some of them far
from the Mediterranean world, also influenced the future, not only because of their own
impact on the Greek and Roman world but also because we always must remind ourselves
that the Greeks and Romans were not the only civilizations of antiquity. The following
examples consider the peoples on the fringes of the Greek and Roman worlds, during the
Hellenistic Period and before. All of them, with the exception of the “Stele of Piye,” were
written by Greeks and Romans, not by the peoples who are being discussed, so the reader
must bear in mind that descriptions written by other peoples may not, and probably do not,
reflect the perceptions that these peoples actually had of themselves.

269
270 CIVILIZATION BEYOND THE NEAR EAST, GREECE, AND ROME (2300-31 BCE)

yet Oui 8 Fn
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5 ne *PPadocia
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8
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Nile River

Map 9 A visual presentation of the world as described by the Greek historian Herodotus about 440 Bce.
Herodotus rejected the prevalent ideas that Libya (Africa), Europe, and Asia were all the same size and that a
single ocean encircled the whole world.
 68
cSQ>
Pires yelrhhANS (516 pee):
HERODOPWS;: THE-HISTORIES,
BOOK 4

An Attic red-figured plate dated to ca. 510 sce and now in the British Museum depicts a Scythian
archer running left and pulling an arrow out of a quiver.

In the course of his discussion of the attack on the Scythians in 513 sce by the Persian king
Darius, the Greek historian Herodotus, writing about 440 sce, added a lengthy digression
about Scythian customs, reflecting a contemporary Greek fascination with the curious prac-
tices of peoples they referred to as “barbarians.”

Source: George Rawlinson, Henry Rawlinson, and John Gardner Wilkinson, trans., The History of Herodotus. A New English
Version (London: Murray, 1862).

The Scythians are provided with the most important all the rest, Zeus, and Earth, whom they consider to
necessaries. Their manners and customs come now be the wife of Zeus; and after these Apollo, Heavenly
to be described. They worship only the following Aphrodite, Hercules, and Ares. These gods are wor-
gods, namely, Hestia,' whom they reverence beyond shipped by the whole nation; the Royal Scythians?

'The goddess of the hearth, Roman Vesta. ? The Scythian royal family.

Pf
ae CIVILIZATION BEYOND THE NEAR EAST, GREECE, AND ROME (2300-31 BCE)

offer sacrifice likewise to Poseidon. In the Scythian district, at the seat of government, there stands a
tongue Hestia is called Tabiti, Zeus (very properly, in my temple of this god, whereof the following is a de-
judgment) Papaeus, Earth Apia, Apollo Goetosyrus, Ce- scription. It is a vast pile of brushwood, in length and
lestial Venus Argimpasa, and Neptune Thagimasadas. breadth three furlongs*; in height somewhat less. It
They use no images, altars, or temples, except in the has a square platform upon the top, three sides of
worship of Ares, but in his worship they do use them. which are precipitous, whereas the fourth slopes so
The manner of their sacrifices is everywhere and that people may walk up it. Each year a hundred and
in every case the same. The victim? stands with its fifty wagon-loads of brushwood are added to the
two fore-feet bound together by a cord, and the pile, which sinks continually by reason of the rains.
person who is about to offer, taking his station An antique iron sword is planted on the top of every
behind the victim, gives the rope a pull, and thereby such mound, and serves as the image of Ares. Yearly
throws the animal down. As it falls he invokes the sacrifices of cattle and of horses are made to it, and
god to whom he is offering, after which he puts a more victims are offered thus than to all the rest of
noose round the animal’s neck, and, inserting a small their gods. When prisoners are taken in war, out of
stick, twists it round, and so strangles him. No fire is every hundred men they sacrifice one, not however
lighted, there is no consecration, and no pouring out with the same rites as the cattle, but with different
of drink-offerings, but as soon as the beast is stran- ones. Libations of wine are first poured upon their
gled the sacrificer skins it and then sets to work to heads after which they are slaughtered over a vessel.
boil the flesh. The vessel then is carried up to the top of the pile,
As Scythia, moreover, is utterly barren of fire- and the blood poured upon the scimitar. While this
wood, a plan has had to be contrived for boiling the takes place at the top of the mound, below, by the side
flesh, which is the following. After flaying the beasts, of the temple, the right hands and arms of the slaugh-
they take out all the bones, and, if they possess such tered prisoners are cut off and tossed on high into the
gear, put the flesh into boilers made in the country, air. Then the other victims are slain and those who
which are very like the cauldrons of the Lesbians, have offered the sacrifice depart, leaving the hands
except that they are of a much larger size. Then plac- and arms where they may chance to have fallen, and
ing the bones of the animals beneath the cauldron, the bodies also, separate. Such are the observances of
they set them alight, and so boil the meat. If they do the Scythians with respect to sacrifice. They never
not happen to possess a cauldron, they make the ani- use swine for the purpose, nor indeed is it their
mal’s paunch hold the flesh, and pouring in at the custom to breed them in any part of their country.
same time a little water, lay the bones under and light In what concerns war, their customs are the fol-
them. The bones burn beautifully, and the paunch lowing. The Scythian soldier drinks the blood of the
easily contains all the flesh when it is stript from the first man he overthrows in battle. Whatever number
bones, so that by this plan an ox is made to boil itself, he slays, he cuts off all their heads, and carries them
and other victims also to do the like. When the meat to the king because he is thus entitled to a share of
is all cooked, the sacrificer makes an offering of a the booty, wherefore he forfeits all claim if he does
portion of the flesh and of the entrails by casting not produce a head. In order to strip the skull of its
them on the ground before him. They sacrifice all covering, he makes a cut round the head above the
sorts of cattle, but most commonly horses. ears, and, laying hold of the scalp, shakes the skull
Such are the victims offered to the other gods, out; then with the rib of an ox he scrapes the scalp
and such is the mode in which they are sacrificed, clean of flesh, and softening it by rubbing between
but the rites paid to Ares are different. In every the hands, uses it thenceforth as a napkin. The Scyth-
ian is proud of these scalps, and hangs them from his

3A four-footed animal such as a cow, bull, or horse. * A furlong equals 660 feet.
THE SCYTHIANS (513 sce): HERODOTUS, THE HISTORIES, BOOK 4
273

bridle-rein; the greater the number of such napkins uttering his prophecy. Then, while he still is speak-
that a man can show, the more highly is he esteemed ing, he gathers the rods together again, and makes
among them. Many make themselves cloaks, like the them up once more into a bundle. This mode of divi-
capotes® of our peasants, by sewing a quantity of nation is of home growth in Scythia. The Enarees, or
these scalps together. Others flay the right arms of woman-like men, have another method, which they
their dead enemies, and make of the skin, which say Aphrodite taught them. It is done with the inner
stripped off with the nails hanging to it, a covering for bark of the linden-tree. They take a piece of this
their quivers. Now the skin of a man is thick and bark, and, splitting it into three strips, keep twining
glossy, and would in whiteness surpass almost all the strips about their fingers, and untwining them,
other hides. Some even flay the entire body of their while they prophesy.
enemy, and stretching it upon a frame carry it about Whenever the Scythian king falls sick he sends for
with them wherever they ride. Such are the Scythian the three soothsayers of most renown at the time, who
customs with respect to scalps and skins. come and make trial of their art in the mode above
The skulls of their enemies, not indeed of all, but described. Generally, they say that the king is ill be-
of those whom they most detest, they treat as follows. cause such and such a person, mentioning his name,
Having sawn off the portion below the eyebrows, and has sworn falsely by the royal hearth. This is the
cleaned out the inside, they cover the outside with usual oath among the Scythians, when they wish to
leather. When a man is poor, this is all that he does, swear with very great solemnity. Then the man ac-
but if he is rich, he also lines the inside with gold. In cused of having foresworn himself is arrested and
either case the skull is used as a drinking-cup. They brought before the king. The soothsayers tell him that
do the same with the skulls of their own kith and kin by their art it is clear he has sworn a false oath by the
if they have been at feud with them and have van- royal hearth, and so caused the illness of the king. He
quished them in the presence of the king. When stran- denies the charge, protests that he has sworn no false
gers whom they deem of any account come to visit oath, and loudly complains of the wrong done to him.
them, these skulls are handed round and the host tells Upon this the king sends for six new soothsayers,
how that these were his relations who made war upon who try the matter by soothsaying. If they too find the
him, and how that he got the better of them; all this man guilty of the offense, straightway he is beheaded
being looked upon as proof of bravery. by those who first accused him and his goods are di-
Once a year the governor of each district, at a set vided among them: if, on the contrary, they acquit
place in his own province, mingles a bowl of wine him, other soothsayers, and again others, are sent for,
from which all Scythians who have slain foes have a to try the case. Should the greater number decide in
right to drink, whereas those who have slain no favor of the man’s innocence, then they who first ac-
enemy are not allowed to taste of the bowl but sit cused him forfeit their lives.
aloof in disgrace. No greater shame than this can The mode of their execution of soothsayers is the
happen to them. Such as have slain a very large following: a wagon is loaded with brushwood and oxen
number of foes, have two cups instead of one and are harnessed to it. The soothsayers, with their feet
drink from both. tied together, their hands bound behind their backs,
Scythia has an abundance of soothsayers, who and their mouths gagged, are thrust into the midst of
foretell the future by means of a number of willow the brushwood. Finally the wood is set alight, and
wands. A large bundle of these wands is brought and the oxen, being startled, are made to rush off with the
laid on the ground. The soothsayer unties the bundle, wagon. It often happens that the oxen and the sooth-
and places each wand by itself, at the same time sayers are both consumed together, but sometimes
the pole of the wagon is burnt through, and the oxen
escape with a scorching. Lying diviners are burnt in
5A long hooded coat. the way described for other causes besides the one
274 CIVILIZATION BEYOND THE NEAR EAST, GREECE, AND ROME (2300-31 BcE)

here spoken of. When the king puts one of them to wounding themselves slightly with a knife or an awl,
death, he takes care not to let any of his sons survive: drop some of their blood into the wine; then they
all the male offspring are slain with the father, only plunge into the mixture a scimitar, some arrows, a
the females being allowed to live. battle-axe, and a javelin, all the while repeating
Oaths among the Scythians are accompanied prayers. Lastly the two contracting parties drink
with the following ceremonies: a large earthen bowl each a draught from the bowl, as do also the chief
is filled with wine, and the parties to the oath, men among their followers.

69
ae OF)

THE PARTHIANS
(cA. 250-100 Bce): JUSTIN,
PAHHILIPPIC HISTORIES peB@O@iKe4il

A spiral-haired Parthian of the first century ce depicted wearing a belted, decorated tunic with a
dagger at his side and perhaps engaged in worship. From the ancient province of Khwuzestan in
western Iran. Preserved in the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

The Parthians were a steppe people said to have been related to the Scythians. According to
legend, the Parthians originated with the Scythian Arsaces, the leader of a people known as
the Parni who lived on the lower Oxus (Amu Darya) River on the southern Eurasian
steppe.
In 238 sce they invaded and occupied the Seleucid satrapy of Parthia in northeastern Iran,
from which they took their name. Arsaces founded the Arsacid Dynasty of Parthian kings.
The
THE PARTHIANS (ca. 250-100 Bc): JUSTIN, PHILIPPIC HISTORIES, BOOK 41
PU)

Parthians, being located intermediate between the western Mediterranean world and the
world of the Far East, served as important conduits for commerce and culture between west
and east. In the west they interacted first with the Seleucid Empire and then with the Romans
before being overthrown by the Sasanid Persians in the 220s ce. This account of Parthian his-
tory comes from the “Philippic Histories" of the Augustan writer Pompeius Trogus, which were
summarized circa the second or third century ce by Marcus Junianus Justinus, or simply Justin.

Source: John Selby Watson, Marcus Junius Justinus, Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus (London: Bohn, 1853).

The Parthians originally were exiles from Scythia.® nations, and pressed with various other formidable
This is apparent from their very name, for in the contests.
Scythian language exiles are called Parthi. During The Parthians, being forced to quit Scythia by
the time of the Assyrians’ and Medes,’ they were the discord at home, gradually settled in the deserts be-
most obscure of all the people of the east. Subse- tween Hyrcania,’? the Dahae, the Arci, the Sparni,
quently, too, when the empire of the east was trans- and the Marsiani.!? They then advanced their bor-
ferred from the Medes to the Persians, they were but ders, although their neighbors, who at first made no
as a herd without a name, and fell under the power of Opposition, at length endeavored to prevent them, to
the stronger.’ At last they became subject to the Mac- such an extent, that they not only got possession of
edonians,'? when they conquered the east; so that it the vast level plains, but also of steep hills, and
must seem wonderful to every one, that they should heights of the mountains; and hence it is that an
have reached such a height of good fortune as to rule excess of heat or cold prevails in most parts of the
over those nations under whose sway they had been Parthian territories, because the snow is troublesome
merely slaves. Being assailed by the Romans, also, in on the higher grounds and the heat in the plains.
three wars,’ under the conduct of the greatest gener- The government of the nation, after their revolt
als, and at the most flourishing period of the Repub- from the Macedonian power,’* was in the hands of
lic, they alone, of all nations, were not only a match kings. Next to the royal authority is the order of the
for them, but came off victorious. It may, however, people, from which they take generals in war and
have been a greater glory to them, indeed, to have magistrates in peace. Their language is something
been able to rise amid the Assyrian, Median, and between those of the Scythians and Medes, being a
Persian empires, so celebrated of old, and the most compound of both. Their dress was formerly of a
powerful dominion of Bactria, peopled with a thou- fashion peculiar to themselves; afterward, when their
sand cities, than to have been victorious in war power had increased, it was like that of the Medes,
against a people that came from a distance, espe- light and full flowing. The fashion of their arms is
cially when they were continually harassed by severe that of their own country and of Scythia. They have
wars with the Scythians and other neighboring an army, not like other nations, of free men, but
chiefly consisting of slaves, the numbers of whom
daily increase, the power of manumission being al-
© See Reading 68. lowed to none, and all their offspring, in consequence,
7See Readings 39 and 40. being born slaves. These bondmen they bring up as
8 See Reading 43.
°“Parthia” was one of the satrapies of the Persian
Empire; see Reading 44. !2On the southern coast of the Caspian Sea.
During the campaigns of Alexander the Great. For some of these peoples, see the map at the beginning
‘| Perhaps campaigns undertaken by Crassus (54—53 BCE), of this chapter.
Ventidius (40 BcE), and Mark Antony (37 BCE). 4 The Seleucid Empire.
276 CIVILIZATION BEYOND THE NEAR EAST, GREECE, AND ROME (2300-31 BcE)

carefully as their own children, and teach them, with people is proud, quarrelsome, faithless, and insolent,
great pains, the arts of riding and shooting with the for they think that a certain roughness of behavior is
bow. As anyone is eminent in wealth, so he furnishes becoming to men and gentleness only to women.
the king with a proportionate number of horsemen for They are always restless and ready for any commo-
war. Indeed when fifty thousand cavalry encountered tion, at home or abroad. They are taciturn by nature,
Antony,'> as he was making war upon Parthia, only more ready to act than speak, and consequently they
four hundred of them were free men. shroud both their successes and miscarriages in si-
Of engaging with the enemy in close fighting and of lence. They obey their princes, not from humility, but
taking cities by siege, they know nothing. They fight on from fear. They are libidinous, but frugal in diet. To
horseback, either galloping forward or turning their their word or promise they have no regard, except as
backs. Often, too, they counterfeit flight so that they far as suits their interest.
may throw their pursuers off their guard against being After the death of Alexander the Great, when the
wounded by their arrows. The signal for battle among kingdoms of the east were divided among his succes-
them is given, not by trumpet but by drum. Nor are sors, the government of Parthia was committed to
they able to fight long, but they would be irresistible Stasanor, a foreign ally, because none of the Macedo-
if their vigor and perseverance were equal to the fury of nians would deign to accept it.'7 Subsequently, when
their onset. In general, they retire before the enemy in the Macedonians were divided into parties by civil
the very heat of the engagement, and, soon after their discord, the Parthians, with the other people of Upper
retreat, return to the battle afresh, so that, when you Asia, followed Eumenes, and, when he was defeated,
feel most certain that you have conquered them, you went over to Antigonus.'® After his death they were
have still to meet the greatest danger from them. Their under the rule of Seleucus Nicator,!? and then under
armor, and that of their horses, is formed of plates, lap- Antiochus” and his successors, from whose great-
ping over one another like the feathers of a bird, and grandson Seleucus”! they first revolted, at the time of
covers both man and horse entirely. Of gold and silver, the First Punic war, when Lucius Manlius Vulso and
except for adorning their arms, they make no use. Marcus Attilius Regulus were Consuls.” For their
Each man has several wives for the sake of grati- revolt, the dispute between the two brothers, Seleu-
fying desire with different objects. They punish no cus and Antiochus,” procured them impunity, for
crime more severely than adultery, and accordingly while they sought to wrest the throne from one an-
they not only exclude their women from entertain- other they neglected to pursue the revolters.
ments but also forbid them the very sight of men. At the same period, also, Theodotus, governor of
They eat no flesh but that which they take in hunting. the thousand cities of Bactria, revolted,** and assumed
They ride on horseback on all occasions; on horses
they go to war, and to feasts; on horses they discharge
public and private duties; on horses they go abroad, '’ According to Justin himself, at the “Partition of Baby-
meet together, traffic, and converse. Indeed the dif- lon” in 323 BCE, Stasanor was granted the administration
ference between slaves and freemen is, that slaves go of the Dranci and Arci, and Nicanor was granted the
on foot, but freemen only on horseback. Their gen- Parthians.
eral mode of burial is dilaniation'® by birds or dogs; '§ For these conflicts, see Reading 64.
'° Seleucus I (311-281 BcE), who founded the Seleucid
the bare bones they at last bury in the ground. In their
Empire.
superstitions and worship of the gods the principal
20 Antiochus I “The Great” (281-261 BCE), son of Seleucus I.
veneration is paid to rivers. The disposition of the
*I Seleucus II (246-225 sce). :
*2 256 BCE; rather earlier than the reign of Seleucus II.
'S The Roman Triumvir Mark Antony, who invaded *3 Antiochus Hierax (246-226 sce), a brother and rival of
Parthia in 37 BCE. Seleucus II.
'6 Tearing into pieces. 4Tn 250 BCE.
THE PARTHIANS (ca. 250-100 sce): JUSTIN, PHILIPPIC HISTORIES, BOOK 41
277

the title of king; and all the other people of the east, Macedonians, or Romulus*! among the Romans, died
influenced by his example, fell away from the Mace- at a mature old age, and the Parthians paid this honor
donians. One Arsaces, a man of uncertain origin, but to his memory, that they called all their kings thence-
of undisputed bravery, happened to arise at this time; forward by the name of Arsaces.*? His son and suc-
and he, who was accustomed to live by plunder and cessor on the throne, whose name also was Arsaces,?3
depredations, hearing a report that Seleucus was over- fought with the greatest bravery against Antiochus,
come by the Gauls in Asia, and being consequently the son of Seleucus, who was at the head of a hundred
freed from dread of that prince, invaded Parthia with thousand foot and twenty thousand horse, and was at
a band of marauders, overthrew Andragorus, Seleu- last taken into alliance with him.
cus’ lieutenant, and, after putting him to death,” The third king of the Parthians was Priapatius,**
took upon himself the government of the country. Not but he was also called Arsaces, for, as has just been
long after, too, he made himself master of Hyrcania,”” observed, they distinguished all their kings by that
and thus, invested with authority over two nations, name, as the Romans use the titles of Caesar and Au-
raised a large army, through fear of Seleucus and The- gustus. He, after reigning fifteen years, died, leaving
odotus, King of the Bactrians. But being soon relieved two sons, Mithridates and Phraates. The elder,
of his fears by the death of Theodotus, he made peace Phraates,* being, according to the custom of the
and an alliance with his son, who was also named nation, heir to the crown, subdued the Mardi, a
Theodotus, and not long after, engaging with king Se- strong people, by force of arms, and died not long
leucus, who came to take vengeance on the revolters, after, leaving several sons, whom he set aside, and
he obtained a victory,”* and the Parthians observe the left the throne, in preference, to his brother Mithri-
day on which it was gained with great solemnity, as dates,*° a man of extraordinary ability, thinking that
the date of the commencement of their liberty. more was due to the name of king than to that of
Seleucus being then recalled into Asia by new dis- father, and that he ought to consult the interests of his
turbances, and respite being thus given to Arsaces, he country rather than those of his children.
settled the Parthian government, levied soldiers, built Almost at the same time that Mithridates as-
fortresses, and strengthened his towns. He founded a cended the throne among the Parthians, Eucratides*’
city also, called Dara, in Mount Zapaortenon, of began to reign among the Bactrians, both of them
which the situation is such, that no place can be more being great men. But the fortune of the Parthians,
secure or more pleasant, for it is so encircled with being the more successful, raised them, under this
steep rocks that the strength of its position needs no prince, to the highest degree of power, whereas the
defenders, and such is the fertility of the adjacent soil, Bactrians, harassed with various wars, lost not only
that it is stored with its own produce. Such too is the their dominions, but their liberty, for having suffered
plenty of springs and wood, that it is amply supplied from contentions with the Sogdianians, the Drangi-
with streams of water and abounds with all the pleas- ans, and the Indians, they were at last overcome, as if
ures of hunting. Thus Arsaces, having at once ac- exhausted, by the weaker Parthians. Eucratides, how-
quired and established a kingdom, and _ having ever, carried on several wars with great spirit, and
become no less memorable among the Parthians than although much reduced by his losses in them, yet,
Cyrus” among the Persians, Alexander®’ among the
31 See Reading 73.
25 A satrap of Seleucus II who had revolted in the mid-240s. 2 The royal family of the Parthians was called the Arsacids.
6Tn 238 BCE. 33 Arsaces II, King of Parthia from 211 to 185 BCE.
27On the southern coast of the Caspian Sea. 34 King of Parthia from 185 to 170 BCE.
28. Ca. 235 BCE: 35 Phraates I, King of Parthia from 168 to 165 BCE.
29 See Reading 43. 36 Mithridates I, King of Parthia from 165 to 132 BCE.
30 See Readings 62 and 63. 37 King of Bactria ca. 170-145 BcE.
278 CIVILIZATION BEYOND THE NEAR EAST, GREECE, AND ROME (2300-31 BCE)

when he was besieged by Demetrius,** King of the and Medes, and after fortune on each side had been
Indians, with a garrison of only three hundred sol- some time fluctuating, victory at length fell to the
diers, he repulsed, by continual sallies, a force of Parthians when Mithridates, enforced with this ad-
sixty thousand enemies. Having accordingly escaped, dition to his power, appointed Bacasis over Media,
after a five months’ siege, he reduced India under his while he himself marched into Hyrcania. On his
power. But as he was returning from the country, he return from thence, he went to war with the king of
was killed on his march by his son, with whom he the Elymaeans,”? and having conquered him, added
had shared his throne, and who was so far from con- this nation also to his dominions, and extended the
cealing the murder, that, as if he had killed an enemy, Parthian empire, by reducing many other peoples
and not his father, he drove his chariot through his under his yoke, from Mount Caucasus to the river
blood, and ordered his body to be cast out unburied. Euphrates. Being then taken ill, he died in an hon-
During the course of these proceedings among orable old age, and not inferior in merit to his great-
the Bactrians, a war arose between the Parthians grandfather Arsaces.

*8 Several Greek kings of this name are attested; this

one may be Demetrius II, who may have reigned °° Elymais was in southern Persia on the northwestern
ca. 175-150. BCE. shore of the Persian Gulf.
 70
cSQ>
Pee eR Or CUstie 3] spel:
Pee CARORY SPELA-OF Pye?

The “Victory Stela” of Piye, also known as Piankhi, a six-foot-tall slab of granite now in the Cairo
Museum, was discovered in 1862 at the temple of Amon at Gebel Barkal in modern Sudan. The scene
at the top shows Piye standing before the seated god Amon and receiving the submission of Namlot,
ruler of Khmunu (Hermopolis), three Libyan kings, and several princes who crouch subserviently on
the ground.

Ca. 731 sce, Tefnakhte, a Libyan prince based in the Egyptian nome of Sais, began to expand
south, seizing Memphis and continuing upstream. He was opposed by the Kushite pharaoh
Piye (753-722 sce), the founder of Egypt's Twenty-sixth Dynasty, who captured Hermopolis
and Memphis and received Tefnakhte's submission. After his remarkably lenient treatment of
the rebels, Piye then withdrew to his capital city of Napata in Kush. Piye's exploits were re-
counted in a lengthy 159-line account written in hieroglyphic script inscribed on the “Victory
Stela” of Piye.

Source: James Henry Breasted, “The Piankhi Stela,” in Ancient Records of Egypt, Vol. 4 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1906), nos. 817-852, 419-430.

279
280 CIVILIZATION BEYOND THE NEAR EAST, GREECE, AND ROME (2300-31 BcE)

Year 21, first month of the first season, under the prince of Hatweret, has overthrown the wall of Nefrus,
majesty of the Pharaoh of Upper and Lower Egypt, he has demolished his own city, for fear of him who
Meriamon-Piankhi,*”’ living forever. The command might take it from him, in order to besiege another
that my majesty speaks, “Hear of what I did, more city. Behold, he goes to follow at the heels of Tef-
than the ancestors. I, beloved of the gods, achieving nakhte, having cast off allegiance to His Majesty.”
with his hands, Meriamon-Piankhi, am a pharaoh, Then His Majesty sent to the princes and com-
divine emanation, living image of Atum,*' who came manders of the army who were in Egypt the com-
forth from the womb, adorned as a ruler, of whom mander Purem, and the commander Lemersekeny,
those greater than he were afraid, whose father knew and every commander of His Majesty who was in
and whose mother recognized that he would rule in Egypt, saying, “Hasten into battle line, engage in
the egg, the Good God.” battle. Let not the peasants go forth to the field, let
One came to say to His Majesty, “A chief of the not the plowmen plow, beset the frontier of the Hare
west,” the great prince of Neter, Tefnakhte* is in the nome” fight against it daily. Force battle upon him.
nome of Xois,** in Hapi, in Ayan, in Pernub, and in Hasten to them; these princes whom he has brought
Memphis*. He has seized the whole west from the for his support: Libyans and favorite soldiers, force
back-lands to Ithtowe, coming southward with‘a nu- battle upon them. Say, “Yoke the war horses, the best
merous army, while the Two Lands*® are united of thy stable; draw up the line of battle! Thou know-
behind him, and the princes and rulers of walled est that Amon is the god who has sent us.’”
towns are as dogs at his heels. No stronghold has Then they threw themselves upon their bellies
closed its doors in the nomes of the south, and every before His Majesty, saying, “It is thy name that
city of the west has opened the doors for fear of him. endues us with might, and thy counsel is the
He turned to the east, they opened to him likewise. mooring-post of thy army. Thy bread is in our bellies
Behold, he besieges Heracleopolis,*” he has com- on every march, thy beer quenches our thirst. It is thy
pletely invested it, not letting comers-out come out, valor that giveth us might, and there is strength at the
and not letting goers-in go in, fighting every day. remembrance of thy name; for no army prevails
Then His Majesty heard with courageous heart, whose commander is a coward. Who is thy equal
laughing, and joyous of heart. The princes and com- therein? Thou art a victorious pharaoh, achieving
manders of the army who were in their cities sent to with his hands, chief of the work of war.”
His Majesty daily, saying, “Wilt thou be silent, even to They sailed down-stream, they arrived at
forgetting the Southland?** While Tefnakhte advances Thebes, they did according to all that His Majesty
his conquest and finds none to repel his arm. Namlot, had said. They sailed down-stream upon the river,
they found many ships coming up-streams bearing
40 An alternate name for Piye. soldiers, sailors, and commanders, every valiant man
4 See Reading 4. of the Northland, equipped with weapons of war, to
” Libya. fight against the army of His Majesty. Then there was
43 From the nome of Sais in Lower Egypt; founder of the made a great slaughter among them, whose number
short-lived Twenty-fourth Dynasty. Although the account
was unknown. Their troops and their ships were
of the stele of Piye would lead the reader to believe that
captured, and brought as living captives to the
Tefnakhte had been fully defeated, he in fact remained
place where His Majesty was. They then went to
independent and reclaimed his royal title after Piye de-
the nome of Heracleopolis, demanding battle. Prince
parted. A stele of Tefnakhte also survives.
“4 The sixth nome of Lower Egypt. Namlot and Prince Yewepet, Chief of the Meshwesh,°°
45 All places in Lower Egypt, the area of the Nile delta.
4© Upper and Lower Egypt. ” The fifteenth nome, with its capital at Khmunu (Greek
“7 Capital of the twentieth nome of Upper Egypt. Hermopolis).
‘48 The southern part of Upper Egypt. %° Libyans.
THE EMPIRE OF KUSH (731 sce): “THE VICTORY STELA OF PIYE” 281

Sheshong of Per-Osiris, Lord of Ded, Great Chief of valiant man of the Northland. Then the battering-ram
the Meshwesh, Zeamonefonekh of Per-Benebded to- was employed against it, its wall was overthrown, and
gether with his eldest son, who was commander of a great slaughter was made among them of unknown
the army of Per-Thutuprehui. Every prince, the rulers number; also the son of the chief of Me, Tefnakhte.
of the walled towns in the west, in the east, the is- Then they sent to His Majesty concerning it, but his
lands in the midst, were united of one mind as fol- heart was not satisfied therewith. Then they fought
lowers of the great chief of the west, ruler of the against Hatbenu, its interior was breached, the army
walled towns of the Northland, prophet of Neit, mis- of His Majesty entered into it. Then they sent to His
tress of Sais, sem priest of Ptah, Tefnakhte. They Majesty, but his heart was not satisfied therewith.
went forth against them; then they made a great First month of the first season, ninth day; His Maj-
slaughter among them, greater than anything. Their esty went northward to Thebes, and completed the
ships were captured upon the river. When the land Feast of Amon at the festival of Opet.°* His Majesty
brightened early in the morning, the army of His sailed northward to the city of the Hare nome. His
Majesty crossed over against them. Army mingled Majesty came forth from the cabin of the ship, the
with army; they slew a multitude of people among horses were yoked up, the chariot was mounted. The
them; horses of unknown number: a rout ensued terror of His Majesty reached to the end of the Asiat-
among the remnant. They fled to the Northland, ics, every heart was heavy with the fear of him. Then
from the blow, great and evil beyond everything. His Majesty went forth, enraged at his soldiers like a
Prince Namlot fled up-stream southward, when it panther, saying, “Is the steadfastness of your fighting
was told him, “Hermopolis is in the midst of the foe this slackness in my affairs? Has the year reached its
from the army of His Majesty, who capture its people end, when the fear of me has been inspired in the
and its cattle.” Then he entered into Hermopolis, while Northland? A great and evil blow shall smite them.”
the army of His Majesty was upon the river, in the He set up for himself the camp on the southwest of
harbor of the Hare nome. Then they heard of it, and Hermopolis and besieged it daily. Days passed and
they surrounded the Hare nome on its four sides, not Hermopolis was foul to the nose without her usual
letting comers-out come out, and not letting goers-in fragrance. Then Hermopolis threw herself upon her
go in. belly, and pled before the pharaoh. Messengers came
Then His Majesty was enraged thereat like a pan- forth and descended bearing everything beautiful to
ther, saying, “Have they allowed a remnant of the behold: gold, every splendid costly stone, clothing in
army of the Northland to remain? Allowing him that a chest, and the diadem that was upon his head, the
went forth of them to go forth, to tell of his cam- uraeus that inspired the fear of him. Then they sent
paign? Not causing their death, in order to destroy his wife, the prince’s wife, and prince’s daughter,
the last of them? I swear, as Ra loves me! I will Nestent, to plead with the pharaoh’s wives, pharaoh’s
myself go northward, that I may destroy that which concubines, pharaoh’s daughters, and pharaoh’s sis-
he has done, that I may make him turn back from ters, to throw herself upon her belly in the harem,
fighting, forever.” before the pharaoh’s wives, saying, “We come to you,
Then the army that was there in Egypt heard of O pharaoh’s wives, pharaoh’s daughters, and phar-
the wrath that His Majesty felt toward them. Then aoh’s sisters, that ye may appease Horus, lord of the
they fought against Per-Mezed of the Oxyrhynchite palace, whose fame is great and his triumph mighty.
nome,°! they took it like a flood of water, and they The prince threw himself upon his belly before
sent to His Majesty, but his heart was not satisfied His Majesty, saying, “Be appeased, Horus, Lord of
therewith. Then they fought against Tetehen, great in the Palace, it is thy might that has done it. I am one
might. They found it filled with soldiers, with every
52 An annual festival held in Thebes in honor of the gods
51 The nineteenth nome of Upper Egypt. Amon and Mut and their child Khonsu.
282 CIVILIZATION BEYOND THE NEAR EAST, GREECE, AND ROME (2300-31 BcE)

of the pharaoh’s slaves, paying impost into the treas- If an hour passes without opening to me, behold, ye
ury.” Then he presented much silver, gold, lapis are of the number of the fallen.” Then they came out,
lazuli, malachite, bronze, and all costly stones. Then with the son of the chief of Me, Tefnakhte. The army
he filled the treasury with this tribute; he brought a of His Majesty entered into it, without slaying one of
horse in the right hand and a sistrum*® in the left all the people. His treasuries were assigned to the
hand, of gold and lapis lazuli. Treasury, and his granaries to the divine offerings of
Then His Majesty appeared in splendor in his his father, Amon-Ra, lord of Thebes.
palace, proceeded to the house of Thoth,** lord of His Majesty sailed north to Memphis; then he
Hermopolis, and he slew bulls, calves, and fowl for sent to them, saying, “Shut not up, fight not, thou
his father Thoth, lord of Hermopolis. His Majesty abode of Shu in the beginning. I would offer an obla-
proceeded to the house of Prince Namlot, he entered tion to Ptah and to the gods dwelling in Memphis.
every chamber of the prince’s house, his treasury and The people of Memphis shall be safe and sound; not
his magazines. He caused that there be brought to even a child shall weep. Look ye to nomes of the
him the prince’s wives and prince’s daughters; they south; not a single one has been slain therein, except
saluted His Majesty in the fashion of women, but His the enemies who blasphemed against the god, who
Majesty turned not his face to them. Then his-pos- were dispatched as rebels.”
sessions were assigned to the treasury, and his gra- Then they closed their stronghold; they sent forth
nary to the divine offerings of Amon in Karnak.» an army against some of the soldiers of His Majesty.
The ruler of Heracleopolis, Pefnefdibast, came, Lo, that chief of Sais*’ arrived at Memphis in the
bearing tribute to the palace: gold, silver, every night, charging his infantry and his sailors, all the
costly stone, and horses of the choicest of the stable. best of his army, a total of 8000 men, charging them
He threw himself upon his belly before His Majesty; very earnestly: “Behold, Memphis is filled with
he said: “Hail to thee, Horus, mighty Pharaoh, Bull troops of all the best of the Northland, with barley
subduer of Bulls! The Nether World had seized me, and spelt and all kinds of grain, the granaries are
and I was submerged in darkness, upon which the running over. I will go, and I will give something to
light now has shone. I found not a friend in the evil the chiefs of the north, and in a few days I will
day, who was steadfast in the day of battle; but thou, return.” He mounted upon a horse, he went north in
O mighty Pharaoh, thou hast expelled the darkness fear of His Majesty.
from me. I will labor together with thy subjects, and When day broke, at early morning, His Majesty
Heracleopolis shall pay taxes into thy treasury, thou reached Memphis. When he landed on the north of
likeness of Harakhte,*° chief of the imperishable it, he found that the water had approached to the
stars. As he was, so art thou Pharaoh; as he perishes walls, the ships mooring at the walls of Memphis.
not so thou shalt not perish, O Pharaoh of Upper and Then His Majesty saw it was strong, and that the wall
Lower Egypt, Piankhi, living forever.” was raised by a new rampart, and battlements
His Majesty sailed north to the opening of the manned with mighty men. There was found no way
canal beside Illahun; he found Per-Sekhemkhperre of attacking it. Every man told his opinion among the
with its valiant wall raised and its stronghold closed, army of His Majesty, according to every rule of war.
filled with every valiant man of the Northland. Then Every man said; “Let us besiege it; lo, its troops are
His Majesty sent to them, saying: “Ye living in death! numerous.” Others said, “Let a causeway be made
against it, let us elevate the ground to its walls.”
3 A sacred rattle Then His Majesty was enraged against it like a
The god of wisdom. panther. Then he sent forth his fleet and his army to
°° An extensive temple complex on the Nile in Upper assault the harbor of Memphis; they brought to him
Egypt.
°° A god who combined Ra and Horus. 7” Tefnakhte.
THE EMPIRE OF KUSH (731 Bc): “THE VICTORY STELA OF PIYE” 283

every ferry-boat, every cargo-boat, every transport, where His Majesty was, with flattery, saying, “Be
and the ships, as many as there were, which had thou appeased! I have not beheld thy face for shame; I
moored in the harbor of Memphis. His Majesty him- cannot stand before thy flame, I tremble at thy might.
self came to line up the ships, as many as there were. Lo, thou art Nubti,® presiding over the Southland,
His Majesty commanded his army, “Forward against Montu,® the Bull of mighty arm. To whatsoever city
it! Mount the walls! Penetrate the houses over the thou hast turned thy face, thou hast not found your
river. If one of you gets through upon the wall, let servant®! there, until I reached the islands of the sea,
him not halt before it, so the enemy may not repulse trembling before thy might. Is not the heart of thy
you.” Then Memphis was taken, a multitude of majesty appeased, with these things that thou hast
people were slain therein, and brought as living cap- done to me? For I am verily a wretched man. By thy
tives to the place where His Majesty was. His Maj- ka, the terror of thee is in my body, and the fear of
esty proceeded to the house of Ptah, his purification thee in my bones. I have not sat in the beer-hall, nor
was performed in the Dewat-chamber. has the harp been played for me. Cleanse thy servant
Then all the nomes that were in the district of of his fault, let my possessions be received into the
Memphis, heard: Herypedemy, Penineywe, the Tower Treasury, of gold and every costly stone, and the best
of Beyew, the Oasis of Bit. They opened the strong- of the horses, even payment for everything. Let me
holds and fled away; none knew the place whither go forth to the temple, that Imay cleanse myself with
they had gone. Prince Yewepet came, and the chief of a divine oath.” Tefnakhte presented the pharaoh with
the Meshwesh, Akenesh, and the hereditary prince, silver and gold, clothing, and every splendid, costly
Pediese, together with all the princes of the North- stone. He went forth to the temple, he worshiped the
land, bearing their tribute, to behold the beauty of His god, he cleansed himself with a divine oath, saying,
Majesty. Then the treasuries and granaries of Mem- “T will not transgress the command of the Pharaoh, I
phis were assigned to the divine offerings of Amon. will not overstep that which the Pharaoh saith. I will
His Majesty proceeded to Heliopolis.°* He came, not do a hostile act against a prince without thy knowl-
proceeding to the house of Ra, and entered into the edge. I will do according to that which the Pharaoh
temple with great praise. The chief ritual priest says, and I will not transgress that which he has com-
praised the god, that rebels might be repelled from manded.” Then His Majesty was satisfied therewith.
the pharaoh. The pharaoh himself stood alone, he Then the ships were laden with silver, gold, copper,
broke through the bolts, opened the double doors, clothing, and everything of the Northland, every
and beheld his father, Ra. product of Syria, and all sweet woods of God’s Land.
Then came those rulers and princes of the North- His Majesty sailed up-stream, with glad heart, the
land, all the chiefs who wore the feather, every vizier, shores on his either side were jubilating in the pres-
all chiefs, and every prince’s confidant, from the ence of His Majesty; singing and jubilating as they
west, from the east, and from the islands in the midst, said, “O mighty, mighty Ruler, Piankhi, O mighty
to see the beauty of His Majesty. Said these rulers Ruler, thou comest having gained the dominion of the
and princes to His Majesty, “Dismiss us to our cities, Northland. Thou makest bulls into women. Happy
that we may open our treasuries, that we may choose the heart of the mother who bore thee, and the man
as much as thy heart desires, that we may bring the who begat thee. Those who are in the valley give to
best of our stables, the first of our horses.” Then His her praise, the cow that hath borne a bull, Thou art
Majesty did so. unto eternity, thy might endureth, O Ruler, beloved
Then the chief of the Meshwesh, Tefnakhte, heard of Thebes.”
of it and caused a messenger to come to the place
59 Another name for the god Set.
60 A war god.
58 The main cult center of the gods Atum and Ra. 6! Tefnakhte.
 7|
ae Oi,

THE CONSTITUTION OF
CARTHAGE (cA. 340 BCE):
ARISTOTLE PO TICS ABO Oke
CEPYP Tek

A reconstructed plan in the Bardo Museum in Tunis, Tunisia, depicts the city of Carthage in antiquity.
The outer merchant harbor and inner war harbor are in the foreground and the Byrsa, the high fortified
strong point, is at the back.

Even though the Carthaginians would have been considered “barbarians” by Greek stand-
ards, in his book the Politics, the late-fourth-century philosopher Aristotle nevertheless
thought them civilized enough to include their constitution in his catalogue of model forms

284
THE CONSTITUTION OF CARTHAGE (ca. 340 sce): ARISTOTLE, POLITICS, BOOK 2, CHAPTER 11 285

of government, illustrating well the ambivalence that even the most chauvinistic of ancient
peoples felt toward other peoples.

Source: Benjamin Jowett, trans., The Politics of Aristotle (London: Colonial Press, 1900), 49-S1.

The Carthaginians also are considered to have an ex- government that we have mentioned. But of the de-
cellent form of government, which differs from that flections from aristocracy and constitutional govern-
of any other state in several respects, although it is in ment, some incline more to democracy and some to
some ways very like the Spartan. Indeed, all three oligarchy. The kings and elders, if unanimous, may
states, the Spartan,” the Cretan, and the Carthagin- determine whether they will or will not bring a
ian, nearly resemble one another, and are very differ- matter before the people, but when they are not unan-
ent from any others. Many of the Carthaginian imous, the people decide on such matters as well.°°
institutions are excellent. The superiority of their And whatever the kings and elders bring before the
constitution is proved by the fact that the common people is not only heard but also determined by them,
people remain loyal to the constitution. The Carthag- and anyone who likes may oppose it; now this is not
inians never have had any rebellion worth speaking permitted in Sparta and Crete. That the magistrates
of, and never have been under the rule of a tyrant. of five who have under them many important matters
Among the points in which the Carthaginian consti- should be co-opted,®’ that they should choose the su-
tution resembles the Spartan are the following: the preme council of One Hundred and Four and should
common tables of the clubs answer to the Spartan hold office longer than other magistrates (for they are
phiditia, and their magistracy of the Hundred-Four® virtually rulers both before and after they hold
to the Ephors; but, whereas the Ephors are any office), these are oligarchical features, their being
chance persons, the magistrates of the Carthaginians without salary and not elected by lot, and any similar
are elected according to merit: this is an improve- points, such as the practice of having all suits tried by
ment. They have also their kings and their Gerousia, the magistrates, and not some by one class of judges
or council of elders, who correspond to the kings and or jurors and some by another, as at Sparta, are char-
elders of Sparta. Their kings, unlike the Spartan, acteristic of aristocracy.
are not always of the same family, nor that an ordi- The Carthaginian constitution deviates from aris-
nary one, but if there is some distinguished family tocracy and inclines to oligarchy, chiefly on a point
they are selected® out of it and not appointed by sen- where popular opinion is on their side. For men in
iority: this is far better. Such officers have great general think that magistrates should be chosen not
power, and therefore, if they are persons of little only for their merit, but for their wealth: a man, they
worth, they do a great deal of harm, and they already say, who is poor cannot rule well, for he has not the
have done harm at Sparta. leisure. If, then, election of magistrates for their
Most of the defects or deviations from the perfect wealth be characteristic of oligarchy, and election
state, for which the Carthaginian constitution would for merit of aristocracy, there will be a third form
be censured, apply equally to all the forms of under which the constitution of Carthage is compre-
hended, for the Carthaginians choose their magis-
trates, and particularly the highest of them, their
®& See Reading 53. kings and generals, with an eye both to merit and to
63 The Council of 104 oversaw the Carthaginian wealth. But we must acknowledge that, in thus
government.
641n the fifth century, single kings were replaced by two
Suffets, who also were called kings. 66 Tn a popular assembly.
65 By the Gerousia. 67From among the wealthy, not elected.
286 CIVILIZATION BEYOND THE NEAR EAST, GREECE, AND ROME (2300-31 Bce)

deviating from aristocracy, the legislator has com- a lower stamp of man who has incurred a great ex-
mitted an error. Nothing is more absolutely neces- pense will not. Wherefore they should rule who are
sary than to provide that the highest class, not only able to rule best. And even if the legislator does not
when in office but also when out of office, should care to protect the good from poverty, he should at
have leisure and not disgrace themselves in any way, any rate secure leisure for them when in office. It
and to this their-attention should be first directed. would seem also to be a bad principle that the same
Even if you must have regard to wealth, in order to person should hold many offices, which is a favorite
secure leisure, yet it is surely a bad thing that the practice among the Carthaginians, for one business
greatest offices, such as those of kings and generals, is better done by one man.
should be bought. The law that allows this abuse The government of the Carthaginians is oligar-
makes wealth of more account than virtue, and the chical, but they successfully escape the evils of oli-
whole state becomes avaricious. garchy by enriching one portion of the people after
For, whenever the chiefs of the state deem any- another by sending them to their colonies. This is
thing honorable, the other citizens are sure to follow their panacea and the means by which they give sta-
their example, and, where virtue has not the first bility to the state. Accident favors them, but the leg-
place, their aristocracy cannot be firmly established. islator should be able to provide against revolution
Those who have been at the expense of purchasing without trusting to accidents. As things are, if any
their places will be in the habit of repaying them- misfortune occurred, and the bulk of the subjects re-
selves, and it is absurd to suppose that a poor and volted, there would be no way of restoring peace by
honest man will be wanting to make gains, and that legal methods.
 72
com>
THE EXPANSION OF THE CELTS
INTO GREECE AND ANATOLIA
(279-277 sce): JUSTIN, PHILIPPIC
HISTORIES, BOOKS 24-28

A golden torque, or neck ring, worn by Celtic warriors as a magical amulet that supposedly protected
them in battle. The torque was forged as a single piece around the neck and was most easily removed
by decapitation, which Celtic warriors practiced after they had killed an enemy in battle. The use of
decapitation also was adopted by the Roman army.

As of the sixth century sce, Celts, also known to the Greeks and Romans as Gauls, occupied
the inland regions of western Europe, that is, Spain, Gaul, northern Italy, Britain, and the
areas along the Danube River. Although they were politically disunified, they shared the
same complex culture and civilization. In the early third century sce, not long after the dis-
memberment of the Empire of Alexander, groups of Celts began to move south into Greece.
Some reached as far as Anatolia.

Source: John Selby Watson, Marcus Junius Justinus, Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus (London: Bohn, 1853).

287
288 CIVILIZATION BEYOND THE NEAR EAST, GREECE, AND ROME (2300-31 BcE)

The Gauls, when the land that-had produced them from the Dardanians,” offering him twenty thousand
was unable, because of their excessive increase of armed men for his assistance, he spurned, adding in-
population, to contain them, sent out three hundred sulting language, and saying that “the Macedonians
thousand men as a sacred spring,® to seek new set- would be in a sad condition if, after having subdued
tlements. Of these adventurers part settled in Italy,” the whole east without assistance, they now required
and took and burnt the city of Rome, and part pene- aid from the Dardanians to defend their country; and
trated into the remotest parts of Ilyricum under the that he had for soldiers the sons of those who had
direction of a flight of birds, for the Gauls are skilled served under Alexander the Great,” and had been
in augury beyond other nations. Making their way victorious throughout the world.” This answer being
amid great slaughter of the barbarous phylé’s,”° they repeated to the Dardanian prince, he observed that
fixed their abode in Pannonia.’! They were a savage, the famous kingdom of Macedonia would soon fall
bold, and warlike nation, and were the first after Her- as a sacrifice to the rashness of a raw youth.
cules, to whom that undertaking procured great ad- The Gauls, under the command of Belgius,”’ sent
miration for his valor, and a belief in his immortality, deputies to Ptolemy to sound out the disposition of
to pass the unconquered heights of the Alps, and the Macedonians, offering him peace if he wanted to
places uninhabitable from excess of cold. After purchase it, but Ptolemy bragged to his courtiers that
having subdued the Pannonians, they carried on var- the Gauls sued for peace from fear of war. Nor was
ious wars with their neighbors for many years. Suc- his manner less boastful before the ambassadors
cess encouraging them, they betook themselves, in than before his own adherents, saying that he would
separate bands, some to Greece, and some to Mace- grant peace only on condition that they would give
donia,” laying waste all before them with the sword. their chiefs as hostages and deliver up their arms; for
Such indeed was the terror of the Gallic name, that he would put no trust in them until they were dis-
even kings, before they were attacked, purchased armed. When the deputies brought back this answer,
peace from them with large sums of money. the Gauls laughed and exclaimed throughout their
Ptolemy” alone, the King of Macedonia, heard of camp that Ptolemy would soon see whether they had
the approach of the Gauls without alarm, and, hur- offered peace from regard for themselves or for him.
ried on by the madness that distracted him for his Some days after a battle was fought, and the Mace-
unnatural crimes, went out to meet them with a few donians were defeated and cut to pieces. Ptolemy,
undisciplined troops, as if wars could be dispatched after receiving several wounds, was captured and his
with as little difficulty as murders.“ An embassy head, cut off and stuck on a lance, was carried round
the whole army to strike terror into the enemy.’
68 When some ancient groups of people became too large, Flight saved a few of the Macedonians; the rest were
they would declare a “Sacred Spring,” in which all of the either taken or slain.
children born in a certain year would be sent away to find When the news of this event was spread through
new homes after they had reached the age of about twenty. all Macedonia, the gates of the cities were shut and
° During the fifth century BCE, groups of Gallic Celts all places were filled with mourning. Sometimes the
seized the Po River valley in northern Italy from the
Macedonians lamented their bereavement, from the
Etruscans.
loss of their children; sometimes they were seized
7 Peoples.
with dread, lest their cities should be destroyed; and
7™|Modern Hungary.
Tn 279 BCE.
Ptolemy Keraunos (“The Thunderbolt”), the eldest son ” Dardania was a region northeast of Macedonia.
of Ptolemy I of Egypt, who briefly seized control of 76 See Readings 62 and 63.
Macedonia in 281. ” A Gallic leader sometimes thought to be connected to
™ Among others, Ptolemy had murdered Seleucus I (see the Belgae (“Belgians”), a Celtic people of northern Gaul.
Reading 64) in 281 BCE. ”’ The Celts had a reputation as head hunters.
THE EXPANSION OF THE CELTS INTO GREECE AND ANATOLIA (279-277 BCE) 289

at other times they called on the names of their kings, immortal gods, saying, with a profane jest, that the
Alexander and Philip,” as deities, to protect them; gods, being rich, ought to be liberal to men. He sud-
saying that under them they were not only secure, but denly, therefore, directed his march toward Delphi,**
conquerors of the world, and begging that they would regarding plunder more than religion and caring for
guard their country, whose fame they had raised to gold more than for the wrath of the deities, “Who,”
heaven by the glory of their exploits, and give assis- he said, “stood in no need of riches, as being accus-
tance to the afflicted, whom the insanity and rash- tomed rather to bestow them on mortals.”
ness of Ptolemy had ruined. While all were thus in The temple of Apollo at Delphi is situated on
despair, Sosthenes,®° one of the Macedonian chiefs, Mount Parnassus, on a rock steep on all sides. A con-
thinking that nothing would be effected by prayers, course of people, who, collecting from the parts
assembled such as were of age for war, repulsed the around on account of veneration for the majesty of
Gauls in the midst of their exultation at their victory, the god had settled on the rock, formed a city there.
and saved Macedonia from devastation. For these Thus, not walls, but precipices, not defenses formed
great services, he, although of humble extraction, by the hand, but by nature, protect the temple and the
was chosen before many nobles that aspired to the city, so that it is utterly uncertain whether the strength
throne of Macedonia. Although he was saluted as of the place, or the influence of the deity residing in
king by the army, he made the soldiers take an oath it, attracts more admiration. The central part of the
to him, not as king, but as general. rock falls back in the shape of an amphitheater, and,
In the meantime Brennus,*! under whose command in consequence, if ever shouts are raised or if the
a part of the Gauls had made an attack into Greece,®* noise of trumpets is mingled with them the sound,
having heard of the success of their countrymen, who, from the rocks echoing and re-echoing to one an-
under the leadership of Belgius, had defeated the other, is heard many times repeated, and louder than
Macedonians, and being indignant that so rich a it was made at first. The effect on those who are ig-
booty, consisting of the spoils of the east, had been norant of its cause and are struck with wonder at it
so lightly abandoned, assembled an army of a hun- produces a greater awe of the power of the god. In
dred and fifty thousand foot and fifteen thousand the winding of the rock, about half way up the hill,
horse,*? and suddenly invaded Macedonia. As he was there is a small plain and in it a deep fissure in the
laying waste the fields and villages, Sosthenes met ground that is open for giving oracles, for a cold ex-
him with his army of Macedonians in full array, but halation, driven upwards by some force, as it were by
being few in number, and in some consternation, a wind, produces in the minds of the priestesses a
they were easily overcome by the more numerous certain madness and compels them, filled with the
and powerful Gauls. The defeated Macedonians re- influence of the god, to give answers to such as con-
tired within the walls of their cities and the victori- sult them.*> Hence many rich presents of kings and
ous Brennus, meeting with no opposition, ravaged nations are to be seen there, which, by their magnifi-
the lands throughout the whole of Macedonia. Soon cence, testify the grateful feelings of those that have
after, as if the spoils of mortals were too mean for
him, he turned his thoughts to the temples of the
84 On the northern coast of the Gulf of Corinth, the site of
a richly endowed oracle and shrine of Apollo.
79 Alexander the Great and his father, Philip II. 85 The priestesses of Apollo served as oracles and re-
80 Macedonian general who ruled as a king from 279 to sponded to questions posed to them, as by the Theraeans
278 BCE. (Reading 48), by King Croesus of Lydia (Reading 46), by
81 A Gallic leader of the same name as the Brennus who the Athenians prior to the second Persian invasion of
sacked Rome in 390 BCE (see Reading 77). Greece (Reading 55), by Romulus when he founded
ern 2 19 BCE. Rome (Reading 73), and by the Romans during the
83 A gross exaggeration. Second Punic War (Reading 78).
290 CIVILIZATION BEYOND THE NEAR EAST, GREECE, AND ROME (2300-31 BcE)

paid their vows, and their belief in the oracles given when they came to be weighed than they were in
by the deity. appearance.
Brennus, when he came within sight of the temple, The Gauls, animated by these assertions, and dis-
deliberated for some time as to whether he should at ordered at the same time on account of the wine that
once make an attempt upon it or should allow his they had drunk the day before, rushed to battle with-
soldiers, wearied with their march, a night to refresh out any fear of danger. The Delphians, on the other
themselves. The captains of the Aeniani and Thes- hand, placing more confidence in the god than in
salori,®° who had joined him for a share in the booty, their own strength, resisted the enemy with con-
advised that no delay should be made, while the tempt, and, from the top of the hill, repelled the
enemy were unprovided for defense and the alarm at Gauls as they climbed up, partly with pieces of rock
their coming still fresh, that in the interval of a night, and partly with their weapons. Amid this contest be-
the courage of the enemy would perhaps revive and tween the two, the priests of all the temples as well as
assistance come to them, and that the approaches, the priestesses themselves, with their hair loose and
which now were open, might be blocked up. But the with their decorations and fillets, rushed, trembling
common soldiers, when, after a long endurance of and frantic, into the front ranks of the combatants,
scarcity, they found a country abounding with wine exclaiming that the god had come, that they had seen
and other provisions, had dispersed themselves over him leap down into his temple through the opening
the fields, rejoicing as much at the plenty as if they roof, that, while they were all humbly imploring aid
had gained a victory, and leaving their standards de- of the deity, a youth of extraordinary beauty, far
serted wandered about to seize on everything like above that of mortals, and two armed virgins,
conquerors. This conduct gave some respite to the coming from the neighboring temples of Diana and
Delphians. Minerva,®’ met them; that they had not only per-
At the first report that the Gauls were approach- ceived them with their eyes but also had heard also
ing, the country people are said to have been prohib- the sound of a bow and the rattling of arms, and they
ited by the Oracle from carrying away their grain therefore conjured them with the strongest entreaties
and wine from their houses. The salutariness of this not to delay, when the gods were leading them on, to
prohibition was not understood, until, because this spread slaughter among the enemy, and to share the
abundance of wine and other provisions had been victory with the powers of heaven. Incited by these
thrown in the way of the Gauls as a stop to their pro- exhortations, they all rushed eagerly to the field of
gress, reinforcements from their neighbors had time battle, where they themselves also soon perceived
to collect. The Delphians, accordingly, supported by the presence of the divinity, for a part of the moun-
the strength of their allies, secured their city before tain, broken off by an earthquake, overwhelmed a
the Gauls, who clung to the wine-skins on which host of the Gauls and some of the densest bodies of
they had seized, could be recalled to their standards. the enemy were scattered abroad, not without
Brennus had sixty-five thousand infantry, selected wounds, and fell to the earth. A tempest then fol-
from his whole army; of the Delphians there were lowed, which destroyed, with hail and cold, those
not more than four thousand, in utter contempt of that were suffering from bodily injuries.
whom Brennus, to rouse the courage of his men, General Brennus himself, unable to endure the
pointed to the vast quantity of spoil before them, de- pain of his wounds, ended his life with his dagger.
claring that the statues and four-horse chariots, of The other general, after punishing the advisers of the
which a great number were visible at a distance, were war, made off from Greece with all haste, accompa-
made of solid gold, and would provide greater prices nied with ten thousand wounded men. But neither

%° Peoples of central Greece who had joined up with the

Gauls. 87 Greek Artemis and Athena.
THE EXPANSION OF THE CELTS INTO GREECE AND ANATOLIA (279-277 BCE) 291

was fortune more favorable to those who fled, for in The ambassadors, returning to their countrymen,
their terror they passed no night under shelter and no and exaggerating every thing excessively, set forth at
day without hardship and danger. Continual rains, once the wealth and unsuspiciousness of the king;
snow congealed by the frost, famine, fatigue, and, saying that his camp was filled with gold and silver,
what was the greatest evil, the constant want of sleep, but secured neither by rampart nor trench, and that
consumed the wretched remains of the unfortunate the Macedonians, as if they had sufficient protection
army. The nations and people too, through whom in their wealth, neglected all military duties, appar-
they marched, pursued their stragglers in order to de- ently thinking that, as they had plenty of gold, they
spoil them. Hence it happened that, of so great an had no use for steel.
army that, little before, presuming on its strength By this statement, the desires of a covetous people
contended even against the gods, not a man was left were sufficiently stimulated to take possession of
to be a memorial of its destruction. such spoil. The example of Belgius, too, had its influ-
After peace was made between the two kings, An- ence with them, who, a little before, had cut to pieces
tigonus®® and Antiochus, a new enemy suddenly the army of the Macedonians and their king. Being
started up against Antigonus as he was returning to all of one mind, therefore, they attacked the king’s
Macedonia. The Gauls who had been left behind to camp by night, but he, foreseeing the storm that
defend the borders of their country by their general threatened him, had given notice to his soldiers to
Brennus when he marched into Greece, armed fifteen remove all their baggage and to conceal themselves
thousand foot and three thousand horse and having noiselessly in a neighboring wood, and the camp was
routed the forces of the Getae and Triballi,”° and pre- only saved because it was deserted. The Gauls, when
paring to invade Macedonia, sent ambassadors to they found the camp destitute not only of defenders
Antigonus to offer him peace if he would pay for it, but also of sentinels, suspecting that there was not a
and to play the part of spies, at the same time, in his flight but some stratagem on the part of the enemy,
camp. Antigonus, with royal munificence, invited were for some time afraid to enter the gates.” At last,
them to a banquet, and entertained them with a sump- leaving the defenses entire and untouched, and more
tuous display of luxuries. The Gauls were so struck like men come to explore than to plunder, they took
with the vast quantity of gold and silver set before possession of the camp, and then, carrying off what
them, and so tempted with the richness of such a spoil, they found, they directed their course toward the
that they returned more inclined to war than they had coast. Here, as they were incautiously plundering the
come. The king also ordered his elephants to be vessels and fearing no attack, they were cut down by
shown them, as monsters unknown to those barbari- the sailors and a part of the army that had fled thither
ans, and his ships laden with stores to be displayed, with their wives and children.”? Such was the slaugh-
little thinking that he was thus exciting the desire to ter among them that the report of this victory pro-
seize his treasures among those whom he sought to cured Antigonus peace, not only from the Gauls, but
strike with terror by the ostentation of his strength.?! from his other barbarous neighbors.”
The nation of the Gaul was at that time so prolific
that they filled all Asia as with one swarm. The kings
88 Antigonus Gonatas (277-239 BCE), son of Demetrius of the east carried on no wars without a mercenary
Poliorcetes, the son of Antigonus I “the One-Eyed”; he
still lacked a kingdom.
89 Antiochus I (281-261 BCE), son of Seleucus I and ruler ° For a similar situation during the sack of Rome by the
of the Seleucid Empire. Gauls in 390 BCE, see Reading 77.
9 Peoples of Thrace, north of Greece and Macedonia. 3 The Gauls in fact were destroyed by Antigonus and his
°! The rest of the story suggests that Antigonus, an experi- army in a successful ambush.
enced general, was in fact trying to lure the Gauls into an °%4 The Battle of Lysimacheia in 277 BcE. Antigonus’s vic-
ambush. tory gained for him the throne of Macedonia.
292 CIVILIZATION BEYOND THE NEAR EAST, GREECE, AND ROME (2300-31 BcE)

army of Gauls, nor, if they were driven from their power in security, nor recover it if lost, without the as-
thrones, did they seek protection with any other people sistance of Gallic valor. Hence, being called by the
than the Gauls. Such indeed was the terror of the Gallic king of Bithynia to his aid, and having gained him the
name, and the unvaried good fortune of their arms, victory over his enemies, they shared his kingdom with
that princes thought they could neither maintain their him and called their part of it Gallograecia.”°

°° That is,“Gallic Greece.” In 278 BCE Nicomedes, King of Bithynia, invited several bands
of Gauls into Anatolia as
mercenaries. They remained and established their own kingdoms in central Anatolia in what
came to be called Galatia.
 CHAPTER 10
cCO>

The Rise of Rome and the

Roman Republic (753-120 sce)

During the course of the Iron Age, the centers of new cultural and political development
continued to move ever farther to the west. The third and final great center of cultural devel-
opment in the ancient world, after the Near East and Greece, was Rome. After its foundation
as a small farming village on the Tiber River in the mid-eighth century BCE, Rome assimi-
lated both population and culture from its neighbors, creating a truly multicultural society.
Then, over the course of the Roman Republic, Rome expanded to become the greatest power
of the ancient Mediterranean world. In spite of its increasingly important position in the
Mediterranean world, Rome was rather slow to create its own literary heritage. Thus, for the
period before the first century BCE, not many primary sources were created or survive, and
literary coverage for the crucial early period of Roman history must be drawn largely from
later sources.

293
294 THE RISE OF ROME AND THE ROMAN REPUBLIC (753-120 BcE)

Ve ve ar —, % é x
Cegg Rhodes ae 2} Soe Ecbatana
~ 9 Seanyray\ Ctesiphon
; fs Arnaccts Seleucia
e
Nerusalem Babylon Susa

el Antigonids Carthage
ZA Seleucids Rome and allies
——=——aas
0 300 600Km

Map 10 The Roman Republic, Carthage, and the Hellenistic Kingdoms as of 264 Bce
 73
cSho
THE FOUNDING OF ROME
(753 BCE) PLUTARGH “LIFE OF
ROMULUS

A small copper coin issued ca. 330-335 ce under the emperor Constantine | (306-337) depicts on the
obverse a helmeted bust of the goddess Roma with the legend “The City of Rome” and on the reverse
a scene from the legends surrounding the foundation of Rome, the infants Romulus and Remus being
suckled by a wolf.

By the time that Roman history began to be written down ca. 200 sce, stories of Rome's past
existed in many different versions. The most popular version of the founding of Rome in-
volved the twins Romulus and Remus, descended in legend from the hero Aeneas of Troy,
who himself was the son of the goddess Venus. The story included several curious elements
that had to be incorporated because they were integral parts of the legend. It is up to
modern historians to attempt to disentangle the historical kernels of truth from the legend-
ary accretions. The foundation of Rome by Romulus inaugurated the period of "Rome of the
Kings" (753-509 ace). This account comes from the “Parallel Lives" authored by the Greek
biographer Plutarch in the mid-second century ce. Plutarch’s account makes it clear that
there were different versions of the details of the story in circulation.

Source: John Dryden, The Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, revised by A. H. Clough, Vol. 1 (Boston: Little, Brown, 1910).

295
296 THE RISE OF ROME AND THE ROMAN REPUBLIC (753-120 BcE)

The story that has the widest credence and the great- swollen and violent, he was afraid to go close up to it,
est number of vouchers was first published among the and setting his burden now near the bank, went his
Greeks, in its principal details, by Diocles of way. Then the overflow of the swollen river took and
Peparethus,' and Fabius Pictor? follows him in most bore up the basket, floating it gently along, and car-
points. Here again there are variations in the story, but ried it down to a fairly smooth spot.
its general outline is as follows. The descendents of Now there was a wild fig-tree hard by, which they
Aeneas’ reigned as kings in Alba, and the succession called Ruminalis, either from Romulus, as is gener-
devolved at length upon two brothers, Numitor and ally thought, or because cud-chewing, or ruminating,
Amulius. Amulius divided the whole inheritance into animals spent the noon-tide there for the sake of the
two parts, setting the treasures and gold that had been shade, or best of all, from the suckling of the babes
brought from Troy over against the kingdom, and there, for the ancient Romans called the breast
Numitor chose the kingdom. Amulius, then, in pos- “ruma.’” Here, then, the babes lay, and the she-wolf of
session of the treasure and made more powerful by it story here gave them suck, and a woodpecker came to
than Numitor, easily took the kingdom away from his help in feeding them and to watch over them. Now
brother. Fearing lest that brother’s daughter should these creatures are considered sacred to Mars and
have children, he made her a priestess of Vesta, bound this was the chief reason why Rhea Silvia was be-
to live unwedded and a virgin all her days. Her name lieved when she declared that Mars was the father of
is variously given as Ilia, or Rhea, or Silvia. her babes. And yet it is said that she was deceived into
Not long after this, she was discovered to be with doing this, and really lost her virginity to Amulius
child, contrary to the established law forthe Vestals. himself, who came to her in armor.’ But some say that
She did not, however, suffer the capital punishment the name of the children’s nurse, by its ambiguity, de-
that was her due,* because the king’s daughter, flected the story into the fabulous. For the Latins not
Antho, interceded successfully in her behalf, but she only called she-wolves “lupae,” but also prostitutes.
was kept in solitary confinement, that she might not As for the babes, they were taken up and reared
be delivered without the knowledge of Amulius. De- by Faustulus, a swineherd of Amulius, and no man
livered she was of two boys, and their size and beauty knew of it, or, as some say with a closer approach to
were more than human. Wherefore Amulius was all probability, Numitor did know of it, and secretly
the more afraid, and ordered a servant to take the aided the foster-parents in their task. They applied
boys and cast them away. This servant’s name was themselves to generous occasions and pursuits, not
Faustulus, according to some, but others give this esteeming sloth and idleness generous, but rather
name to the man who took the boys up. Obeying the bodily exercise, hunting, running, driving off rob-
king’s orders, the servant put the babes into a basket bers, capturing thieves, and rescuing the oppressed
and went down toward the river, intending to cast from violence. For these things, indeed, they were
them in, but when he saw that the stream was much famous far and near.
When a quarrel arose between the herdsmen of
Numitor and Amulius, and some of the latter’s cattle
' A Greek author of ca. 400 BcE, the earliest known histo-
were driven off, the brothers would not suffer it, but
rian to write about the foundation of Rome.
fell upon the robbers, put them to flight, and inter-
? The first Roman writer of history, who wrote in Greek
cepted most of the booty. To the displeasure of
ca. 200 BCE.
7A Trojan hero who escaped Troy during its sack by the Numitor they gave little heed, but collected and took
Greeks and traveled around the Mediterranean, eventu- into their company many needy men and many slaves,
ally settling at Alba Longa not far from the future site of exhibiting thus the beginnings of seditious boldness
Rome; see Reading 88. and temper.
“Vestal Virgins who violated their vows of chastity nor-
mally were buried alive. > That is, dressed like Mars.
THE FOUNDING OF ROME (753 sce): PLUTARCH, LIFE OF ROMULUS 2H)

But once when Romulus was busily engaged in and thought how he might talk with his daughter
some sacrifice, being fond of sacrifices and of divina- concerning these matters in a secret interview, for
tion, the herdsmen of Numitor fell in with Remus as she still was kept in the closest custody.’ Meanwhile,
he was walking with a few companions, and a battle Faustulus, on hearing that Remus had been seized
ensued. After blows and wounds given and received and delivered up to Numitor, called upon Romulus to
on both sides, the herdsmen of Numitor prevailed and go to his aid, and then told him clearly the particu-
took Remus prisoner. When Numitor came home,® lars of their birth. Faustulus took the basket and went
after getting Remus into his hands, he was amazed at to see Numitor. Naturally enough, the guards at the
the young man’s complete superiority in stature and king’s gate were suspicious of him, and when he was
strength of body. Perceiving by his countenance that scrutinized by them and made confused replies to
the boldness and vigor of his soul were unsubdued their questions, he was found to be concealing the
and unharmed by his present circumstances, and basket in his cloak. Now by chance there was among
hearing that his acts and deeds corresponded with his the guards one of those who had taken the boys to
looks, but chiefly, as it would seem, because a divinity cast them into the river and were concerned in their
was aiding and assisting in the inauguration of great exposure. This man, now seeing the basket, and rec-
events, he grasped the truth by a happy conjecture. He ognizing it by its make and inscription, conceived a
asked him who he was and what were the circum- suspicion of the truth, and without any delay told the
stances of his birth, while his gentle voice and kindly matter to the king and brought Faustulus before him
look inspired the youth with confidence and hope. to be examined. In these dire and pressing straits,
Then Remus boldly said: “Indeed, I will hide Faustulus admitted that the boys were alive and well.
nothing from thee; for thou seemest to be more like Romulus was now close at hand, and many of the
a king than Amulius; thou hearest and weighest citizens who hated and feared Amulius were running
before punishing, but he surrenders men without a forth to join him. He also was leading a large force
trial. Formerly, my twin brother and I believed our- with him, divided into companies of a hundred men,
selves children of Faustulus and Larentia, servants of each company headed by a man who bore aloft a hand-
the king, but since being accused and slandered ful of hay and shrubs tied round a pole (the Latin word
before thee and brought in peril of our lives, we hear for handful is “manipulus,” and hence in their armies
great things concerning ourselves. Whether they are they still call the men in such companies “maniples”).
true or not, our present danger is likely to decide. And when Remus incited the citizens within the city to
Our birth is said to have been secret, and our nursing revolt, and at the same time Romulus attacked from
and nurture as infants stranger still. We were cast out without, the tyrant,® without taking a single step or
to birds of prey and wild beasts, only to be nourished making any plan for his own safety, from sheer per-
by them, by the breasts of a she-wolf and the morsels plexity and confusion, was seized and put to death.
of a woodpecker, as we lay in a little basket by the Amulius now being dead and matters settled in the
side of the great river. The basket still exists and is city, the brothers were neither willing to live in Alba,
kept safe, and its bronze girdles are engraved with unless as its rulers, nor to be its rulers while their
letters now almost effaced, which may perhaps here- grandfather? was still alive. Having therefore restored
after prove unavailing tokens of recognition for our the government to him and paid fitting honors to their
parents, when we are dead and gone.” mother, they resolved to dwell by themselves, and to
Then Numitor, hearing these words and conjec- found a city in the region where, at the first, they were
turing the time that had elapsed from the young
man’s looks, welcomed the hope that flattered him, 7By Numitor’s brother, King Amulius.
8 Amulius is called a “tyrant” because he was an illegal
6Tn Alba Longa, where he still lived despite having been ruler; see Reading 52.
deposed as king. ° Numitor.
298 THE RISE OF ROME AND THE ROMAN REPUBLIC (753-120 BCE)

nourished and sustained. But perhaps it was neces- Romans chiefly regard vultures when they take au-
sary, now that many slaves and fugitives were gath- guries from the flight of birds.
ered about them, either to disperse these and have no When Remus learned of the deceit he was enraged,
following at all, or else to dwell apart with them. For and as Romulus was digging a trench where his city’s
that the residents of Alba would not consent to give the wall was to run he ridiculed some parts of the work
fugitives the privilege of intermarriage with them, nor and obstructed others. At last, when he leaped across
even receive them as fellow-citizens, is clear, in the it, he was smitten by Romulus himself and fell dead
first place, from the kidnaping of the Sabine women, there. Faustulus also fell in the battle. Romulus buried
which was not a deed of wanton daring but one of ne- Remus and then set himself to building his city. A
cessity, owing to the lack of marriages by consent, for circular trench was dug around what is now the Com-
they certainly honored the women, after they had car- itium" and in this were deposited the first-fruits of all
ried them off, beyond measure.'° And in the second things the use of which was sanctioned by custom as
place, when their city was first founded, they made a good and by nature as necessary. Finally, every man
sanctuary of refuge for all fugitives, which they called brought a small portion of the soil of his native land
the sanctuary of the God of Asylum. There they re- and these were cast in among the first-fruits and min-
ceived all who came, delivering none up, neither slave gled with them. Then, taking this as a center, they
to masters, nor debtor to creditors, nor murderer to marked out the city in a circle around it. And the
magistrates, but declaring it to be in obedience to an founder, having shod a plough with a bronze plough-
oracle from Delphi that they made the asylum secure share and having yoked to it a bull and a cow, himself
for all men. Therefore the city soon was full of people, drove a deep furrow round the boundary lines while
for they say that the first houses numbered no more those who followed after him had to turn the clods,
than a thousand. This, however, was later. which the plough threw up, inward toward the city,
When they set out to establish their city, a dispute and suffer no clod to lie turned outward. With this
at once arose concerning the site. Romulus, accord- line they marked out the course of the wall, and it is
ingly, built Roma Quadrata’! (which means “square’’), called, by contraction, “pomerium.”! And where they
and wished to have a city on that site, but Remus laid intended to put in a gate, there they took the share out
out a strong precinct on the Aventine Hill,!? which of the ground, lifted the plough over, and left a vacant
was named from him Remonium, but now is called space. And this is the reason why they regard all the
Rignarium, Agreeing to settle their quarrel by the wall as sacred except the gates, for if they held the
flight of birds of omen,’ and taking their seats on the gates sacred it would not be possible, without reli-
ground apart from one another, six vultures, they say, gious scruples, to bring into and send out of the city
were seen by Remus, and twice that number by things that are necessary and yet unclean.'®
Romulus. Some, however, say that whereas Remus Now it is agreed that the city was founded on the
truly saw his six, Romulus lied about his twelve, but twenty-first of April, and this day the Romans cele-
that when Remus came to him, then he did see the brate with a festival, calling it the birthday of their
twelve. Hence it is that at the present time also the country. And at first, as it is said, they sacrificed no
living creature at that festival, but thought they ought
to keep it pure and without stain of blood, because it
'°To have a legal marriage, a couple needed to have the
right of intermarriage in the society where they were get-
commemorated the birth of their country.
ting married; because the early Romans did not have this
with their neighbors, they had to kidnap their brides. ‘The meeting place in the Forum of the Roman popular
‘Square Rome.” assemblies.
' Later a center of the plebeian opposition to the '° That is, from “post murum,” “beyond the wall.”
patricians. '® Such as corpses, which were buried outside the
'° A rite of divination known as “taking the auspices.” pomerium.
 74
cSO>
NO Nien @t ebrhe KENGS
eA ooU eG). IE LAPIS, NIGER

The oldest surviving written evidence from Rome, dating from ca. 550 sce, the “Lapis niger” (“Black
Stone”), named after a large black stone that covered the site where it was buried in the Roman
Forum, preserved in the Terme Museum in Rome.

Only a single document survives from the period of Rome of the Kings, the so-called “Black
Stone,” a fragmentary inscription carved onto tufa, a volcanic stone common in the area,
whose very archaic form of lettering uses the Etruscan alphabet, which, in turn, was based
on the alphabet used by the Greeks of southern Italy. The inscription is written in what is
called “boustrophedon" (“ox-turning") style, which alternates between left to right and right
to left. Both the archaic form of Latin and the fact that half or more of each line is missing
makes the inscription very difficult to understand, although it appears to concern religious
prohibitions about bringing draft animals into a certain area of the Roman Forum. The
following translation of necessity is rather fanciful.

Source: Paul MacKendrick, The Mute Stones Speak (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1960), 94.

299
300 THE RISE OF ROME AND THE ROMAN REPUBLIC (753-120 BcE)

Whosoever defiles this spot, let him be forfeit to the him order the summoner to seize their draft animals by
shades of the underworld, and whosoever contaminates the reins, that they may turn out of the road forthwith
this spot with refuse, it is right for the king after due and take the proper detour. Whosoever persists in trave-
process of law, to confiscate his property. Whatsoever ling this road, and fails to take the proper detour, by due
persons the king shall discover passing on this road, let —_process of law let him be sold to the highest bidder

75
cSO>

THE V1© EAN @ ele eerie

AND: THE EOUNDIN G°OF THE
ROMAN REPUBLIC (509 sce): LIVY,
FROM THEGOO MEIN GO) ae
CITY BOO Ka Gare PERS85 768

The story of the violation of the virtuous Lucretia by the evil Sextus Tarquin has struck a chord
through the ages and often has served as an inspiration for artistic renditions. This woodcut appeared
in Heinrich Steinh6wel’s translation of Giovanni Boccaccio’s De mulieribus claris (“On Famous Women’)
(Ulm: Johannes Zainer, ca. 1474).

The overthrow of Tarquinius Superbus ("Tarquin the Proud"), the last Etruscan king of Rome,
and the establishment of the Roman Republic in 509 sce was one of the most important events
in Roman history. It therefore is no surprise that the Romans had a detailed account of how
they believed this momentous change had occurred. The cast of characters in the version pre-
sented by the Roman historian Livy (ca. 60 Bce-17 ce) in his work “From the Founding of the
THE VIOLATION OF LUCRETIA AND THE FOUNDING OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC (509 sce) 301

City" included patriotic Romans, despicable Etruscans, and a virtuous Roman matron. A close
reading of the story suggests that the expulsion of the kings resulted not from a popular revolt
but from a conspiracy involving the highest officials of the Roman government of the time.

Source: B. O. Foster, trans. Livy, Books I and II (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1919).

Ardea" belonged to the Rutuli,'® who were a nation of heated with wine. “Agreed!,” they all cried, and clap-
commanding wealth for that place and period. This ping spurs to their horses were off for Rome.
very fact was the cause of the war, because the Roman Arriving there at early dusk, they thence proceeded
king’’ was eager not only to enrich himself, impover- to Collatia,”” where Lucretia was discovered behaving
ished as he was by the splendor of his public works, very differently from the daughters-in-law of the king.
but also to appease with booty the feeling of the These they had seen at a luxurious banquet, whiling
common people, who, besides the enmity they bore away the time with their young friends, whereas Lucre-
the monarch for other acts of pride, were especially tia, although it was late at night, was busily engaged
resentful that the king should have kept them em- upon her wool,’ while her maidens toiled about her in
ployed so long as artisans and doing the work of slaves. the lamplight as she sat in the hall of her house. The
An attempt was made to capture Ardea by assault. prize of this contest in womanly virtues fell to Lucretia.
Having failed in this, the Romans invested the place When Collatinus and the Tarquinii approached they
with entrenchments, and began to besiege the enemy. were graciously received, and the victorious husband
Here in their permanent camp, as is usual with a war courteously invited the young princes to his table.
not sharp but long drawn out, furlough was rather It was there that Sextus Tarquinius was seized with
freely granted, although more freely to the leaders a wicked desire to debauch Lucretia; not only her
than to the soldiers. The young princes”° for their beauty but also her proved chastity provoked him. For
part passed their idle hours together at dinners and the present, however, they ended the boyish prank of
drinking bouts. It chanced, as they were drinking in the night and returned to the camp. When a few days
the quarters of Sextus Tarquinius, where Tarquinius had gone by, Sextus Tarquinius, without letting Col-
Collatinus,”’ son of Egerius, also was a guest, that latinus know, took a single attendant and went to Col-
the subject of wives came up. Every man fell to prais- latia. Being kindly welcomed, for no one suspected
ing his own wife with enthusiasm, and, as their ri- his purpose, he was brought after dinner to a guest-
valry grew hot, Collatinus asserted that there was no chamber. Burning with passion, he waited until it
need to talk about it, for it was in their power to seemed to him that all about him was secure and eve-
know, in a few hours’ time, how far the rest were rybody fast asleep. Then, drawing his sword, he came
excelled by his own Lucretia: “Come! If the vigor of to the sleeping Lucretia. Holding the woman down he
youth is in us let us mount our horses and see for said, “Be still, Lucretia! I am Sextus Tarquinius. My
ourselves the disposition of our wives. Let every man sword is in my hand. Utter a sound, and you die!”
regard as the surest test what meets his eyes when the In fear the woman started out of her sleep. No help
woman’s husband enters unexpected.” They were was in sight, but only imminent death. Then Tarquin-
ius began to declare his love, to plead, to mingle
7 A city, like Rome, founded in the eighth century BCE, threats with prayers, to bring every resource to bear
about thirty-five kilometers southeast of Rome. upon her woman’s heart. When he found her obdurate
'8 An ancient Italic people. and not to be moved even by fear of death, he went
19 The Etruscan king Tarquinius Superbus (“Tarquin the
Proud’) (535-509 BCE). 22 A town where Collatinus’s father was stationed and
20 Tarquin had three sons, Titus, Arruns, and Sextus. which gave Collatinus his name.
21 A great-nephew of the first Etruscan king of Rome, 3 To spin wool for making the family clothing was the
Tarquinius Priscus (“Tarquin the Old”). most virtuous act that a Roman matron could perform.
302 THE RISE OF ROME AND THE ROMAN REPUBLIC (753-120 BcE)

farther and threatened her with disgrace, saying that and that where purpose has been wanting there is no
when she was dead he would kill his slave and lay him guilt. “It is for you to determine,” she answers, “what
naked by her side, that she might be said to have been is due to him. For my own part, although I acquit
put to death in adultery with a man of base condition. myself of the sin, I do not absolve myself from pun-
At this dreadful prospect her resolute modesty was ishment, nor in time to come shall ever unchaste
overcome by his victorious lust, and Tarquinius de- woman live through the example of Lucretia.”
parted, exulting in his conquest of a woman’s honor. Taking a knife that she had concealed beneath her
Lucretia, grieving at her great disaster, dispatched dress she plunged it into her heart, and sinking for-
the same message to her father in Rome and to her hus- ward upon the wound, died as she fell. The wail for
band at Ardea; she asked that they should each take a the dead was raised by her husband and her father.
trusty friend and come, that they must do this and do it Brutus, while the others were absorbed in grief, drew
quickly, for a frightful thing had happened. Spurius out the knife from Lucretia’s wound, and holding it
Lucretius”* came with Publius Valerius,2> Volesus’ son. up, dripping with gore, exclaimed, “By this blood,
Collatinus brought Lucius Junius Brutus,”° with whom most chaste until a prince wronged it, I swear, and I
he chanced to be returning to Rome when he was met take you, gods, to witness, that I will pursue Lucius
by the messenger from his wife. They found Lucretia Tarquinius Superbus and his wicked wife and all his
sitting sadly in her chamber. The entrance of her children, with sword, with fire, aye with whatsoever
friends brought the tears to her eyes, and to her hus- violence I may, and that I will suffer neither them nor
band’s question, “Is all well?” She replied, “Far from it; any other to be king in Rome!"
for what can be well with a woman when she has lost The knife he then passed to Collatinus, and from
her honor? The print of a strange man, Collatinus, is in him to Lucretius and Valerius. They were dumb-
your bed. Yet my body only has been violated. My founded at this miracle. Whence came this new spirit
heart is guiltless, as death shall be my witness. But in the breast of Brutus? As he bade them, so they
pledge your right hands and your words that the adul- swore. Grief was swallowed up in anger; and when
terer shall not go unpunished. Sextus Tarquinius is he Brutus summoned them to make war from that very
that last night returned hostility for hospitality, and moment on the power of the kings, they followed his
brought ruin on me, and on himself no less, if you are lead. They carried out Lucretia’s corpse from the
men, when he worked his pleasure upon me.” house and bore it to the market-place, where men
They give their pledges, every man in turn. They crowded about them, attracted, as they were bound
seek to comfort her, sick at heart as she is, by divert- to be, by the amazing character of the strange event
ing the blame from her to the doer of the wrong. and its heinousness. Every man had his own com-
They tell her it is the mind that sins, not the body, plaint to make of the prince’s crime and his violence.
They were moved, not only by the father’s sorrow,
*4 Spurius Lucretius Tricipitinus, Lucretia’s father. but by the fact that it was Brutus who chided their
*5 A leading Roman aristocrat who later held four consul- tears and idle lamentations and urged them to take
ates and established many of the fundamental guiding up the sword, as befitted men and Romans, against
principles of the Roman Republic; he gained the epithet those who had dared to treat them as enemies.
“Publicola,” or “Friend of the People.”
The boldest of the young men seized their weap-
*° The nephew of Tarquin the Proud; although the king
ons and offered themselves for service, and the
had executed his brother, Brutus remained second in
others followed their example. Then, leaving Lucre-
command to the king. Brutus had visited the Oracle of
Apollo at Delphi with Tarquin’s sons to ask who would tia’s father to guard Collatia, and posting sentinels so
be the next king of Rome. The Oracle replied that it that no one might announce the rising to the royal
would be the first one to kiss his mother. On their return, family, the rest, equipped for-battle and with Brutus
Brutus pretended to trip and surreptitiously kissed the in command, set out for Rome. Once there, wherever
earth. The Brutus who helped to assassinate Julius their armed band advanced it brought terror and con-
Caesar in 44 BcE claimed descent from this Brutus. fusion; but again, when people saw that in the van
THE VIOLATION OF LUCRETIA AND THE FOUNDING OF THE ROMAN REPUBLIC (509 sce) 303

were the chief men of the state, they concluded that out for the camp at Ardea to arouse the troops against
whatever it was it could be no meaningless distur- the king. The command at Rome he left with Lucre-
bance. And in fact there was no less resentment at tius, who had been appointed Prefect of the City” by
Rome when this dreadful story was known than the king some time before. During this confusion
there had been at Collatia. So from every quarter of Tullia** fled from her house, cursed wherever she
the city men came running to the Forum. went by men and women, who called down upon her
No sooner were they there than a crier summoned the furies that avenge the wrongs of kindred.
the people before the Tribune of the Celeres,”” which When the news of these events reached the camp,
office Brutus happened to be holding. There he made the king, in alarm at the unexpected danger, set out
a speech by no means like what might have been ex- for Rome to put down the revolt. Brutus, who had
pected of the mind and the spirit that he had feigned perceived the king’s approach, made a circuit to avoid
up to that day. He spoke of the violence and lust of meeting him, and at almost the same moment, al-
Sextus Tarquinius, of the shameful defilement of Lu- though by different roads, Brutus reached Ardea and
cretia, and her deplorable death, of the bereavement of Tarquinius Rome. Against Tarquinius the gates were
Tricipitinus,”* in whose eyes the death of his daughter closed and exile was pronounced. The liberator of the
was not so outrageous and deplorable as was the cause city was received with rejoicings in the camp and the
of her death. He reminded them, besides, of the pride sons of the king were driven out of it. Two of them
of the king himself and the wretched state of the com- followed their father, and went into exile at Caere, in
mons, who were plunged into ditches and sewers and Etruria. Sextus Tarquinius departed for Gabii,** as
made to clear them out. The men of Rome, he said, though it had been his own kingdom, and there the
the conquerors of all the nations round about, had revengers of old quarrels, which he had brought upon
been transformed from warriors into artisans and himself by murder and rapine, slew him.
stone-cutters. He spoke of the shameful murder of Lucius Tarquinius Superbus ruled for five and
King Tullius, and how his daughter had driven her ac- twenty years. The rule of the kings at Rome, from its
cursed chariot over her father’s body,”’ and he invoked foundation to its liberation, lasted two hundred and
the gods who punish crimes against parents. forty-four years. Two Consuls were then chosen in
With these and, I fancy, even fiercer reproaches, the Centuriate Assembly, under the presidency of
such as occur to a man in the very presence of an the Prefect of the City, in accordance with the re-
outrage, but are far from easy for an historian to re- forms of Servius Tullius.*° These were Lucius Junius
produce, he inflamed the people, and brought them Brutus and Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus.*’
to abrogate the king’s authority and to exile Lucius
Tarquinius, together with his wife and children.*°
Brutus himself then enrolled the juniors,*' who vol- 2 An official who acted in place of the king when the
untarily gave in their names, and arming them set king was not in Rome.
33 The wife of King Tarquin.
34 A Latin town eighteen kilometers east of Rome that
27The commander of the king’s bodyguard. Sextus had brought under Roman control.
8 Lucretia’s father. 35 The assembled Roman army, which had the authority to
29 Servius Tullius (575-535 BCE), the predecessor of choose its own commanders, in this case, the Consuls.
Tarquin the Proud, was murdered by his daughter Tullia 36Tn Roman legend it was believed that the establishment
and her husband Tarquin, who went on to become king. of the Centuriate Assembly, and other reforms, such as the
30 The Tribune of the Celeres had the power to summon building of the “Servian Wall,” had been accomplished
the popular assembly, so in the official Roman version of under King Servius Tullius; it now appears that these re-
the story Tarquin had been legally deposed. forms actually occurred during the early Roman Republic.
31 The “juniors” of the Roman army were young men who 37 Collatinus, however, soon was forced to resign and
fought in the field, whereas the “seniors” were older men go into exile because of his family relationship to the
who defended the city. Etruscan kings.
 76
cSCO>

THE ORIGINS OF ROMAN LAW

(451=450ence: PRE hyy Eva
(WAR rieay

The monetary fines in later editions of the “Twelve Tables” were cited in “asses,” large copper coins
that were not introduced until ca. 280 Bce, attesting to the slowness with which the Romans adopted
an actual currency. The “as” weighed one pound of copper. Such a cumbersome coin was not useful for
large transactions but would have been suitable for the payment of ritualized amounts such as those
found in the Twelve Tables.

Soon after the establishment of the Roman Republic in 509 sce, the plebeians (the unprivi-
leged citizens) began to agitate against the patricians (the Roman aristocrats) to have greater
rights. One of their earliest demands was to know the laws. As a result, in 451 Bce the patricians
appointed a board of ten men, the Decemvirs, who, analogous to the “lawgivers"” of ancient
Greece,*® were charged with writing down the laws. After being reappointed for a second

38 See Readings 53 and 54.

304
THE ORIGINS OF ROMAN LAW (451-450 sce): THE “TWELVE TABLES”
305

term in 450 sce, the Decemvirs issued the famous "Twelve Tables” of Roman law, which, with
few exceptions, did not create new law but merely recorded existing law. They stated the
fundamental concepts of Roman law, such as “mancipatio" (transferring ownership over prop-
erty), “stipulatio" (making a contract), “emancipatio" (freeing someone from slavery), and
“nexum" (reducing someone to slavery). The code also covered criminal law, with crimes such as
arson, casting spells, and stealing crops being punishable by death. Because there were no state
police or prosecutors, criminal prosecutions had to be initiated by the wronged parties them-
selves. The Twelve Tables can be compared with other ancient law codes, such as those of Ur-
Nammu and Hammurabi in Mesopotamia and of the Hebrews.*°

Source: S. P. Scott, trans., The Civil Law Including the Twelve Tables, the Institutes of Gaius, the Rules of Ulpian, the Opinions
of Paulus, the Enactments, Vol. 1 (Cincinnati: Central Trust, 1932).

Table I. Concerning the summons to court. Law VII. When litigants wish to settle their dis-
Law I. When anyone summons another before the pute among themselves, even while they are on their
tribunal of a judge, the latter must, without hesita- way to appear before the Praetor,*! they shall have
tion, immediately appear. the right to make peace. Whatever agreement they
Law II. If, after having been summoned, he does enter into shall be considered just and shall be
not appear, or refuses to come before the tribunal of confirmed.
the judge, let the party who summoned him call upon Law VIII. If the plaintiff and defendant do not
any citizens who are present to bear witness. Then let settle their dispute, as above mentioned, let them
him seize his reluctant adversary; so that he may be state their cases either in the Comitium* or the
brought into court, as a captive, by apparent force. Forum, by making a brief statement in the presence
Law III. When anyone who has been summoned of the judge,** between the rising of the sun and
to court is guilty of evasion, or attempts to flee, let noon, and, both of them being present, let them
him be arrested by the plaintiff. speak so that each party may hear.
Law IV. If bodily infirmity or advanced age Law IX. In the afternoon, let the judge grant the
should prevent the party summoned to court from right to bring the action,** and render his decision in
appearing, let him who summoned him furnish him the presence of the plaintiff and the defendant.
with an animal as a means of transport. If he is un- Law X. The setting of the sun shall be the extreme
willing to accept it, the plaintiff cannot legally be limit of time within which a judge must render his
compelled to provide the defendant with a vehicle decision.
constructed of boards or a covered litter. Table II. Concerning judgments and thefts.
Law V. If he who is summoned has either a spon- Law I. When issue has been joined in the. pres-
sor or a defender, let him be dismissed, and his rep- ence of the judge, sureties and their substitutes for
resentative can take his place in court. appearance at the trial must be furnished on both
Law VI. The defender, or the surety*° of a wealthy sides. The parties shall appear in person, unless pre-
man, must himself be rich, but anyone who desires to vented by disease of a serious character, or where
do so can come to the assistance of a person who is
poor and occupy his place. 41 The Roman magistrate who ranked just below the
Consul and oversaw the Roman court system; this office
was not created until 367 BCE.
39 See Readings 19, 20, and 35. * The area of the Forum where popular assemblies met.
40 Someone who ensures that a person will appear in * The Praetor.
court and abide by the settlement. 44 That is, the legal case.
306 THE RISE OF ROME AND THE ROMAN REPUBLIC (753-120 BCE)

vows that they have taken must be discharged to the Law VII. If a theft be detected by means of a dish
gods, or where the proceedings are interrupted and a girdle,*® it is the same as manifest theft,” and
through their absence on business for the State, or shall be punished as such.
where a day has been appointed by them to meet an Law VIII. When anyone accuses and convicts an-
alien. other of theft that is not manifest, and no stolen prop-
Law II. If any of the above mentioned occur- erty is found, judgment shall be rendered to compel
rences takes place, that is, if one of the parties is seri- the thief to pay double the value of what was stolen.
ously ill, or a vow has to be performed, or one of Law IX. Where anyone secretly cuts down trees
them is absent on business for the State, or a day has belonging to another, he shall pay twenty-five asses°°
been appointed for an interview with an alien, so that for each tree cut down.
the judge, the arbiter, or the defendant is prevented Law X. Where anyone, in order to favor a thief,
from being present, and the furnishing of security is makes a compromise for the loss sustained, he
postponed on this account, the hearing of the case cannot afterward prosecute him for theft.
shall be deferred. Law XI. Stolen property shall always be his to
Law III. Where anyone is deprived of the evi- whom it formerly belonged, nor can the lawful owner
dence of a witness let him call him with a loud voice ever be deprived of it by long possession, without
in front of his house, on three market-days.** regard to its duration, nor can it ever be acquired by
Law IV. Where anyone commits a theft by night, another, no matter in what way this may take place.
and having been caught in the act is killed, he is
legally killed. Table II. Concerning Property that is Lent.
Law V. If anyone commits a theft during the day, Law I. When anyone, with fraudulent intent, ap-
and is caught in the act, he shall be whipped, and propriates property deposited with him for safe
given up as a slave to the person against whom the keeping, he shall be condemned to pay double its
theft was committed. If he who perpetrated the theft value.
is a slave, he shall be beaten with rods and hurled Law II. When anyone collects interest on money
from the Tarpeian Rock.*’ If he is under the age of loaned at a higher rate per annum than that of the
puberty, the Praetor shall decide whether he shall be unciae,”' he shall pay quadruple the amount by way
whipped and surrendered by way of reparation for of penalty.
the injury. Law III. An alien cannot acquire the property of
Law VI. When any persons commit a theft during another by usucaption,” but a Roman citizen, who is
the day and in the light, whether they be freemen or
slaves, of full age or minors, and attempt to defend
themselves with weapons, or with any kind of imple- 4* Apparently someone making an accusation of theft
ments, and the party against whom the violence is could search the premises of the accused dressed only in
committed raises the cry of thief, and calls upon a girdle, for decency’s sake, and carrying a dish into
other persons, if any are present, to come to his as- which any stolen property could be put. This would
sistance; and this is done, and the thieves are killed ensure that the accuser was not perpetrating a false accu-
by him in the defense of his person and property, it is sation by bringing in the supposedly stolen goods
legal, and no liability attaches to the homicide. himself.
” Being caught in the act.
*° The as, a copper coin initially weighing a pound of
“8 A non-Roman. copper, was not introduced until ca. 280 BCE.
“6Tn the Roman calendar, market days occurred every *' The uncia, or ounce, was one-twelfth of a pound, or
eight days. eight and one-third percent.
*’ A rocky prominence eighty feet high on the south side To gain ownership of something by using it for a speci-
of the Capitoline Hill. fied period of time.
THE ORIGINS OF ROMAN LAW (451-450 sce): THE “TWELVE TABLES” 307

the lawful owner of the property, always shall have to whom he was delivered up; or, if the latter prefers,
the right to demand it from him. he can be sold beyond the Tiber.*
Law IV. Where anyone, having acknowledged a Law X. Where a party is delivered up to several
debt, has a judgment rendered against him requiring persons, on account of a debt, after he has been ex-
payment, thirty days shall be given to him in which posed in the Forum on three market days, they shall
to pay the money and satisfy the judgment. be permitted to divide their debtor into different
Law V. After the term of thirty days granted by parts, if they desire to do so; and if anyone of them
the law to debtors who have had judgment rendered should, by the division, obtain more or less than he is
against them has expired, and in the meantime, they entitled to, he shall not be responsible.
have not satisfied the judgment, their creditors shall
be permitted to forcibly seize them and bring them Table IV. Concerning the Rights of a Father, and of
again into court. Marriage.
Law VI. When a defendant, after thirty days have Law I. A father shall have the right of life and
elapsed, is brought into court a second time by the death over his son born in lawful marriage, and also
plaintiff, and does not satisfy the judgment, or, in the shall have the power to render him independent,
meantime, another party, or his surety does not pay it after he has been sold™ three times.
out of his own money, the creditor, or the plaintiff, Law II. If a father sells his son three times, the
after the debtor has been delivered up to him, can latter shall be free from paternal authority.
take the latter with him and bind him or place him in Law III. A father shall immediately put to death a
fetters, provided his chains are not of more than fif- son recently born who is a monster or has a form dif-
teen pounds weight; he can, however, place him in ferent from that of members of the human race.*°
others that are lighter, if he desires to do so. Law IV. When a woman brings forth a son within
Law VII. If, after a debtor has been delivered up the next ten months after the death of her husband,
to his creditor, or has been placed in chains, he de- he shall be born in lawful marriage, and shall be the
sires to obtain food and has the means, he shall be legal heir of his estate.
permitted to support himself out of his own property. Table V. Concerning Estates and Guardianships.
But if he has nothing on which to live, his creditor, Law I. No matter in what way the head of a house-
who holds him in chains, shall give him a pound of hold may dispose of his estate, and appoint heirs to
grain every day, or he can give him more than a the same, or guardians; it shall have the force and
pound, if he wishes to do so. effect of law.
Law VIII. In the meantime, the party who has Law II. Where a father dies intestate, without leaving
been delivered up to his creditor can make terms any proper heir, his nearest agnate,°° or, if there is none,
with him. If he does not, he shall be kept in chains the next of kin among his family, shall be his heir.”
for sixty days, and for three consecutive market-days Law III. When a freedman dies intestate, and
he shall be brought before the Praetor in the place of does not leave any proper heir, but his patron, or the
assembly in the Forum, and the amount of the judg- children of the latter survive him; the inheritance of
ment against him shall be publicly proclaimed. the estate of the freedman shall be adjudged to the
Law IX. After he has been kept in chains for sixty next of kin of the patron.
days, and the sum for which he is liable has been
three times publicly proclaimed in the Forum, he
shall be condemned to be reduced to slavery by him 4 And then set free.
55 This practice can be compared to the inspection of
new-born infants at Sparta; see Reading 53.
53 So as not to become an object of pity and create social 56 “A snates” were male relatives from the same “gens,” or
unrest. extended family.
308 THE RISE OF ROME AND THE ROMAN REPUBLIC (753-120 BcE)

Law IV. When a creditor or a debtor dies, his heirs for three nights, she shall pass into his power as his
can only sue, or be sued, in proportion to their shares legal wife.°’
in the estate; and any claims, or remaining property, Law VI. Where parties have a dispute with refer-
shall be divided among them in the same proportion. ence to property before the tribunal of the Praetor,
Law V. Where co-heirs desire to obtain their both of them shall be permitted to state their claims
shares of the property of an estate, which has not yet in the presence of witnesses.
been divided, it shall be divided. In order that this Law VII. Where anyone demands freedom for an-
may be properly done and no loss be sustained by the other against the claim of servitude, the Praetor shall
litigants, the Praetor shall appoint three arbiters, who render judgment in favor of liberty.
can give to each one that to which he is entitled in Law VIII. No material forming part of either a
accordance with law and equity. building or a vineyard shall be removed therefrom.
Law VI. When the head of a family dies intes- Anyone who, without the knowledge or consent of
tate, and leaves a proper heir who has not reached the owner, attaches a beam or anything else to his
the age of puberty, his nearest agnate shall obtain house or vineyard shall be condemned to pay double
the guardianship. its value.
Law VII. When no guardian has been appointed Law IX. Timbers that have been dressed and pre-
for an insane person, or a spendthrift, his nearest ag- pared for building purposes, but which have not yet
nates, or if there are none, his other relatives, must been attached to a building or a vineyard can legally
take charge of his property. be recovered by the owner, if they are stolen from
him.
Table VI. Concerning Ownership and Possession. Law X. If a husband desires to divorce his wife,
Law I. When anyone contracts a legal obligation and dissolve his marriage, he must give a reason for
with reference to his property, or sells it, by making doing so.
a verbal statement or agreement concerning the
same, this shall have the force and effect of law. If Table VI. Concerning Crimes.
the party should afterward deny his statements, and Law I. If a quadruped causes injury to anyone, let
legal proceedings are instituted, he shall, by way of the owner tender him the estimated amount of the
penalty, pay double the value of the property in damage, and if he is unwilling to accept it, the owner
question. shall, by way of reparation, surrender the animal that
Law II. Where a slave is ordered to be free by a caused the injury.
will, upon his compliance with a certain condition, Law II. If you cause any unlawful damage acci-
and he complies with the condition; or if, after having dentally and unintentionally, you must make good
paid his price to the purchaser, he claims his liberty, the loss, either by tendering what has caused it or by
he shall be free. payment.
Law III. Where property has been sold, even Law II. Anyone who, by means of incantations
though it may have been delivered, it shall by no and magic arts, prevents grain or crops of any kind
means be acquired by the purchaser until the price belonging to another from growing shall be sacri-
has been paid, or a surety or a pledge has been given, ficed to Ceres.*®
and the vendor satisfied in this manner.
Law IV. Immovable property shall be acquired by
usucaption after the lapse of two years; other prop-
°’ That is, that he will gain legal authority over her; other-
erty after the lapse of one year. wise, she remained under the legal authority of her father
Law V. Where a woman, who has not been united or, if her father were deceased, of her father’s male
to a man in marriage, lives with him for an entire relatives.
year without the usucaption of her being interrupted *’ The goddess of grain, Demeter to the Greeks.
THE ORIGINS OF ROMAN LAW (451-450 sce): THE “TWELVE TABLES” 309

Law IV. If anyone who has arrived at puberty, se- transaction, he shall become infamous” and cannot
cretly, and by night, destroys or cuts and appropri- afterward give evidence.
ates to his own use the crop of another, which the Law XII. Anyone who gives false testimony shall
owner of the land has obtained laboriously by plow- be hurled from the Tarpeian Rock.
ing and the cultivation of the soil, he shall be sacri- Law XIII. If anyone knowingly and maliciously
ficed to Ceres, and hung. kills a freeman, he shall be guilty of a capital crime.
If he is under the age of puberty, and not yet old If he kills him by accident, without malice and unin-
enough to be accountable, he shall be whipped, in tentionally, let him substitute a ram to be sacrificed
the discretion of the Praetor, and shall make good publicly by way of expiation for the homicide of the
the loss by paying double its amount. deceased and for the purpose of appeasing the chil-
Law V. Anyone who turns cattle on the land of dren of the latter.
another, for the purpose of pasture, shall surrender Law XIV. Anyone who annoys another by means
the cattle by way of reparation. of magic incantations or diabolical arts, and renders
Law VI. Anyone who, knowingly and maliciously, him inactive, or ill, or who prepares or administers
burns a building, or a heap of grain left near a build- poison to him, is guilty of a capital crime, and shall
ing, after having been placed in chains and whipped be punished with death.
shall be put to death by fire. If, however, he caused Law XV. Anyone who kills an ascendant® shall
the damage by accident and without malice, he shall have his head wrapped in a cloth, and, after having
make it good, or, if he has not the means to do so, he been sewed up in a sack, shall be thrown into the water.
shall receive a lighter punishment. Law XVI. Where anyone is guilty of fraud in the
Law VII. When a person, in any way, causes an administration of a guardianship, he shall be con-
injury to another that is not serious he shall be pun- sidered infamous; and, even after the guardianship
ished with a fine of twenty asses. has been terminated, if any theft is proved to have
Law VIII. When anyone publicly abuses another been committed, he shall, by the payment of double
in a loud voice or writes a poem for the purpose of damages, be compelled to make good the loss that
insulting him or rendering him infamous,” he shall he caused.
be beaten with a rod until he dies. Law XVII. When a patron defrauds his client, he
Law IX. When anyone breaks a member of an- shall be dedicated to the infernal gods.
other, and is unwilling to come to make a settlement
with him, he shall be punished by the law of Table VIII. Concerning the Laws of Real Property.
retaliation.” Law I. A space of two feet and a half must be left
Law X. When anyone knocks a tooth out of the between neighboring buildings.
gum of a freeman, he shall be fined three hundred Law II. Societies and associations that have the
asses; if he knocks one out of the gum of a slave, he right to assemble can make, promulgate, and confirm
shall be fined a hundred and fifty asses. for themselves such contracts and rules as they may
Law XL If anyone, after having been asked, ap- desire, provided nothing is done by them contrary to
pears either as a witness or a balance-holder at a sale public enactments or which does not violate the
or the execution of a will and refuses to testify when common law.
this is required to prove the genuineness of the
61 The punishment of infamia brought a diminution of
5° Personal honor was very important and disrespect of one’s citizenship rights.
one’s personal honor was a grave offense. ® An older male relative.
60 That is, by the imposition of the same injury, the “eye for 63 That is, sacrificed to the gods of the underworld.
an eye” law, as in the Code of Hammurabi (Reading 20) 64 The right to form private associations was severely
and the Hebrew laws (Reading 35). restricted in the future; see Reading 79.
310 THE RISE OF ROME AND THE ROMAN REPUBLIC (753-120 BcE)

Law III. The space of five feet shall be left be- Law III. When a judge, or an arbiter appointed to
tween adjoining fields, by means of which the owners hear a case, accepts money, or other gifts, for the
can visit their property, or drive and plow around it. purpose of influencing his decision, he shall suffer
No one shall ever have the right to acquire this space the penalty of death.
by usucaption. Law IV. No decision with reference to the life or
Law IV. If any persons are in possession of ad- liberty of a Roman citizen shall be rendered except
joining fields and a dispute arises with reference to by the vote of the Greater Comitia.*”
the boundaries of the same, the Praetor shall appoint aw V. Public accusers in capital cases shall be
three arbiters, who shall take cognizance of the case, ppointed by the people.
After the boundaries have been established, he shal Law]VI. If anyone should cause nocturnal assem-
assign to each party that to which he is entitled. blies in the city, he shall be put to death.
Law V. When a tree overhangs the land of a w VII. If anyone should stir up war against his
neighbor so as to cause injury by its branches and its country, or delivers a Roman citizen into the hands
shade, it shall be cut off fifteen feet from the ground. of the enemy, he shall be punished with death.
Law VI. When the fruit of a tree falls upon the
premises of a neighbor, the owner of the tree shall Table X. Concerning Religious Law.
have a right to gather and remove it. Law I. An oath shall have the greatest force and
Law VII. When rain falls upon the land of one effect for the purpose of compelling good faith.
person in such a quantity as to cause water to rise and Law II. Where a family adopts private religious
injure the property of another, the Praetor shall ap- rites every member of it can, afterward, always make
point three arbiters for the purpose of confining the use of them.
water and providing against damage to the other party. Law III. No burial or cremation of a corpse shall
Law VIII. Where a road runs in a straight line, it take place in a city.
shall be eight feet, and where it curves, it shall be Law IV. No greater expenses or mourning than is
sixteen feet in width. proper shall be permitted in funeral ceremonies.
Law IX. When a man’s land lies adjacent to the Law V. No one shall, hereafter, exceed the limit
highway he can enclose it in any way that he chooses; established by these laws for the celebration of fu-
but if he neglects to do so, any other person can drive neral rites.
an animal over the land wherever he pleases.© Law VI. Wood employed for the purpose of con-
structing a funeral pyre shall not be finished, but
Table IX. Concerning Public Law. shall be rough and unpolished.
Law I. No privileges or statutes shall be enacted Law VII. When a corpse is prepared for burial at
in favor of private persons, to the injury of others home, not more than three women with their heads
contrary to the law common to all citizens, and covered with mourning veils shall be permitted to per-
which individuals, no matter of what rank, have a form this service. The body may be enveloped in
right to make use of. purple robes, and when borne outside, ten flute players,
Law II. The same rights shall be conferred upon, at the most, may accompany the funeral procession.
and the same laws have been enacted for good and Law VIII. Women shall not during a funeral lac-
steadfast Roman citizens, shall be considered to have erate their faces, or tear their cheeks with their nails,
been enacted for all the people residing in and nor shall they utter loud cries bewailing the dead.
beyond Latium.%° Law IX. No bones shall be taken from the body of
a person who is dead, or from his ashes after
6 For a similar practice in ancient Egypt, see Reading 22.
6 That is, Roman citizens who reside outside of Roman °’ The Centuriate, or Army, Assembly.
territory. 68 As in Reading 79.
THE ORIGINS OF ROMAN LAW (451-450 scr): THE “TWELVE TABLES” 311

cremation, in order that funeral ceremonies may Law XVII. No one can acquire by usucaption
again be held elsewhere. When, however, anyone either the vestibule or approach to a tomb or the tomb
dies in a foreign country, or is killed in war, a part of itself.
his remains may be transferred to the burial place of Law XVIII. No assembly of the people shall take
his ancestors. place during the obsequies of any man distinguished
Law X. The body of no dead slave shall be anointed, in the State.
nor shall any drinking take place at his funeral, nor
shall a banquet of any kind be instituted in his honor. Table XI. Supplement to the Five Preceding Tables.
Law XI. No wine flavored with myrrh, or any other Law I. Affairs of great importance shall not be
precious beverage, shall be poured upon a corpse transacted without the vote of the people, with whom
while it is burning, nor shall the funeral pyre be sprin- rests the power to appoint magistrates, to condemn
kled with wine. citizens, and to enact laws. Laws subsequently passed
Law XII. Large wreaths shall not be borne at a always take preference over former ones.
funeral; nor shall perfumes be burned on the altars. Law II. Those who belong to the Senatorial Order
Law XIII. Anyone who has rendered himself de- and are styled Fathers shall not contract marriage
serving of a wreath as the reward of bravery in war with plebeians.”
or through his having been the victor in public con-
tests or games, whether he has obtained it through Table XII. Supplement to the Five Preceding Laws.
his own exertions or by means of others in his own Law I. No one shall render sacred” any property
name, and by his own money, through his horses, or with reference to which there is a controversy in
his slaves, shall have a right to have the said wreath court, where issue has already been joined; and if
placed upon his dead body, or upon that of any of his anyone does render such property sacred, he shall
ascendants, as long as the corpse is at his home, as pay double its value as a penalty.
well as when it is borne away, so that, during his fu- Law II. If the claim of anyone in whose favor
neral rites he may enjoy the honor that in his lifetime judgment was rendered after the property had been
he acquired by his bravery or his good fortune. illegally seized, or after possession of the same had
Law XIV. Only one funeral of an individual can been delivered, is found to be false, the Praetor shall
take place, and it shall not be permitted to prepare appoint three arbiters by whose award double the
several biers. amount of the profits shall be restored by him in
Law XV. Gold, no matter in what form it may be whose favor the judgment was rendered.
present, shall, by all means, be removed from the Law III. If a slave, with the knowledge of his
corpse at the time of the funeral, but if anyone’s teeth master, should commit a theft, or cause damage to
should be fastened with gold, it shall be lawful either anyone, his master shall be given up to the other
to burn or bury it with the body.” party by way of reparation for the theft, injury, or
Law XVI. No one, without the knowledge or con- damage committed by the slave.
sent of the owner, shall erect a funeral pyre or a tomb
nearer than sixty feet to the building of another.

69? The Romans had two forms of interment, inhumation

70 A very contentious ruling added to the lawcode in
(the burial of the body intact) and cremation (the burning
450 BCE.
of the body, followed by the gathering of the bones for
7! Dedicate to the gods.
burial).
 7/
cCQ>

THE'SACK- OF*R@ME* By
PE sGAW HS e(3 S05 Gel emial eyee
FROM FHE POUNDING Oat
ClFY¥" BOOK -5* CHAPTER ea

After the sack of Rome by the Gauls in 390 sce, the Romans decided it would be a good idea to build a
defensive wall around the city. The largest surviving portion of the resulting “Servian Wall,” which
centuries later was thought to have been built by King Servius Tullius in the seventh century BCE, stands
next to the main train station in Rome.

SH
THE SACK OF ROME BY THE GAULS (390 scr) 313

It was not until 396 sce, with the defeat of the Etruscan city of Veii, that the Romans were able
markedly to increase their territory. Immediately after this victory, however, Roman fortunes
took a decided turn for the worse. In 390 sce, as graphically recounted by the Roman historian
Livy (ca. 60 Bce-17 ce) in his work “From the Founding of the City," a raiding party of Gauls from
the Po River valley attacked Rome. The Roman army, packed together in the traditional phalanx
formation, was completely flabbergasted by the horrifying, undisciplined charge of the howling
Celtic warriors. The Romans turned tail and ran, leaving the Gauls to occupy, sack, and burn the
city of Rome, destroying in the process any written records, such as the original copy of the
Twelve Tables, that existed. After the sack, it was only by paying a hefty ransom that the Romans
were able to induce the Gauls to depart. According to one account, after the Romans com-
plained that the ransom paid to the Gauls was too great, the Gallic chieftain Brennus threw his
sword onto the scales and said, "Vae victis," that is, “Woe to the conquered.” The Romans also
patriotically claimed that under the Dictator Camillus they eventually regrouped and defeated
the Gauls before they could depart with their treasure. The Romans vowed that such a disaster
would never happen again.

Source: Canon Roberts, trans., Titus Livius. The History of Rome, Vol. 1 (London: Dent, 1905).

In this year” Marcus Caedicius, a member of the plebs, The people of Clusium were appalled by this
reported to the tribunes that while he was in the Via strange war, when they saw the numbers, the extraordi-
Nova’ he heard in the silence of the night a voice more nary appearance of the men, and the kind of weapons
powerful than any human voice bidding the magis- they used, and heard that the armies of Etruria had
trates be told that the Gauls were approaching. No been often routed by them on both sides of the Po. Al-
notice was taken of this, partly owing to the humble though they had no claim on Rome, either on the
rank of the informant, and partly because the Gauls ground of alliance or friendly relations, unless it was
were a distant and therefore an unknown nation. Am- that they had not defended their kinsmen at Veii’®
bassadors came from Clusium” begging for assistance against the Romans, they nevertheless sent ambassa-
against the Gauls. The tradition is that this nation, at- dors to ask the Senate for assistance. Active assistance
tracted by the report of the delicious fruits and espe- they did not obtain. The three sons of M. Fabius Am-
cially of the wine, a novel pleasure to them, crossed the bustus’’ were sent as ambassadors to negotiate with the
Alps and occupied the lands formerly cultivated by the Gauls and warn them not to attack those from whom
Etruscans. As a matter of fact, Gauls crossed into Italy they had suffered no injury, who were allies and friends
two centuries before they attacked Clusium and took of Rome, and who, if circumstances compelled them,
Rome. Nor were the Clusines the first Etruscans with must be defended by the armed force of Rome. They
whom the Gallic armies came into conflict; long before preferred that actual war should be avoided, and that
that they had fought many battles with the Etruscans they should make acquaintance with the Gauls, who
who dwelt between the Apennines and the Alps.” were strangers to them, in peace rather than in arms.
A peaceable enough mission, had it not contained
envoys of a violent temper, more like Gauls than
72390 BCE.
® The “New Way,” the second road built in Rome; it
branched off from the first, the Via Sacra (“Sacred 7 An Etruscan city that had been conquered very recently,
Way”), and ran along the base of the Palatine Hill. in 396 BCE, by the Romans.
™ An Etruscan city. ™ The “Pontifex Maximus” (Chief priest) of Rome. The
™ For the Celtic expansion into northern Italy, see Fabii were one of the most distinguished aristocratic
Reading 72. families of Rome.
314 THE RISE OF ROME AND THE ROMAN REPUBLIC (753-120 BcE)

Romans.” After they had delivered their instructions despoiling the body the Gauls recognized him, and
in the council of the Gauls, the following reply was the word was passed through the whole army that it
given: “Although we are hearing the name of Romans was a Roman ambassador. Forgetting their rage
for the first time, we believe nevertheless that you are against the Clusines, and breathing threats against
brave men, because the Clusines are imploring your the Romans, they sounded the retreat.
assistance in their time of danger. Because you prefer Some Gauls were for an instant advance on Rome.
to protect your allies against us by negotiation rather The older men thought that ambassadors should first
than by armed force, we on our side do not reject the be sent to Rome to make a formal complaint and
peace you offer, on condition that the Clusines cede demand the surrender of the Fabii as satisfaction for
to us Gauls, who are in need of land, a portion of that this violation of the Law of Nations. After the am-
territory that they possess to a greater extent than bassadors had stated their case, the Senate, while
they can cultivate. On any other conditions peace disapproving of the conduct of the Fabii and recog-
cannot be granted. We wish to receive their reply in nizing the justice of the demand that the barbarians
your presence, and if territory is refused us we shall made, were prevented by political interests from
fight, while you are still here, so that you may report placing their convictions on record in the form of a
to those at home how far the Gauls surpass all other recommendation in the case of men of such high
men in courage.” rank. In order, therefore, that the blame for any
The Romans asked them what right they had to defeat that might be incurred in a war with the Gauls
demand, under threat of war, territory from those might not rest on them alone, they referred the con-
who were its owners, and what business the Gauls sideration of the Gauls’ demands to the people. Here
had in Etruria. The haughty answer was returned personal popularity and influence had so much more
that they carried their right in their weapons, and weight that the very men whose punishment was
that everything belonged to the brave. Passions were under discussion were elected Consular Tribunes*!
kindled on both sides; they flew to arms and joined for the next year.
battle. Thereupon, contrary to the Law of Nations,” The Gauls regarded this procedure as it deserved
the envoys seized their weapons, for the Fates®® al- to be regarded, namely, as an act of hostility, and
ready were urging Rome to its ruin. The fact of three after openly threatening war, returned to their
of the noblest and bravest Romans fighting in the people. Burning with rage, for as a nation they cannot
front line of the Etruscan army could not be con- control their passions, they seized their standards
cealed, so conspicuous was the valor of the strangers. and hurriedly set out on their march. At the sound of
And what was more, Q. Fabius rode forward at a their tumult as they swept by, the affrighted cities
Gallic chieftain, who was impetuously charging flew to arms and the country folk took to flight.
right at the Etruscan standards, ran his spear through Horses and men, spread far and wide, covered an im-
his side and slew him. While he was in the act of mense tract of country; wherever they went they
made it understood by loud shouts that they were
going to Rome. But although they were preceded by
78 A stereotype of Gauls was that they were quick tem- rumors and by messages from Clusium, and then
pered and violent.
from one town after another, it was the swiftness of
™ The “Tus gentium” (“Law of Nations”) were established
their approach that created most alarm in Rome. An
customs that applied to all peoples. Ambassadors were
supposed to be inviolate and were not supposed to engage army hastily raised by a levy en masse marched out
in military conflicts while they were on their missions.
8° Goddesses depicted as elderly women who control ‘'TIn 444 BcE, when the plebs demanded the right to hold
human destiny: Clotho spun the thread of life, Lachesis the office of Consul, the patricians abolished the consul-
measured how long it would be, and Atropos cut it off at ate and replaced it with the office of Military Tribune
the end. with Consular Powers, which plebeians could hold.
THE SACK OF ROME BY THE GAULS (390 sce)
315

to meet them. The two forces met hardly eleven miles the rest of the army, no sooner was the battle-shout
from Rome, at a spot where the Allia River, flowing heard on their flank by those nearest to the reserves,
in a very deep channel from the Crustuminian Moun- and then by those at the other end of the line heard in
tains, joins the river Tiber a little below the road to their rear, than they fled, whole and unhurt, almost
Crustumerium.” The whole country in front and before they had seen their untried foe, without any
around was now swarming with the enemy, who, being attempt to fight or even to give back the battle-shout.
as a nation given to wild outbreaks, had by their hide- None were slain while actually fighting; they were
ous howls and discordant clamor filled everything cut down from behind while hindering one another’s
with dreadful noise. flight in a confused, struggling mass. Along the bank
The Consular Tribunes had secured no position of the Tiber, whither the whole of the left wing had
for their camp, had constructed no entrenchments fled, after throwing away their arms, there was great
behind which to retire, and had shown as much dis- slaughter. Many who were unable to swim or were
regard of the gods as of the enemy, for they formed hampered by the weight of their cuirasses and other
their order of battle without having obtained favora- armor were sucked down by the current. The greater
ble auspices.’ They extended their line on either number, however, reached Veii in safety, yet not only
wing to prevent their being outflanked, but even so were no troops sent from there to defend Rome but not
they could not make their front equal to the enemy’s, even was a messenger dispatched to report the defeat
while by thus thinning their line they weakened the to Rome. All the men on the right wing, which had
center so that it could hardly keep in touch. On their been stationed some distance from the river and nearer
right was a small eminence that they decided to hold to the foot of the hill, made for Rome and took refuge
with reserves, and this disposition, although it was in the Citadel without even closing the city gates.
the beginning of the panic and flight, proved to be The Gauls for their part were almost dumb with
the only means of safety to the fugitives. For Bren- astonishment at so sudden and extraordinary a vic-
nus, the Gallic chieftain, fearing some ruse in the tory. At first they did not dare to move from the spot,
scanty numbers of the enemy, and thinking that the as though puzzled by what had happened, then they
rising ground was occupied in order that the reserves began to fear a surprise, at last they began to despoil
might attack the flank and rear of the Gauls while the dead, and, as their custom is, to pile up the arms
their front was engaged with the legions, directed his in heaps. Finally, as no hostile movement was any-
attack upon the reserves, feeling quite certain that if where visible, they commenced their march and
he drove them from their position, his overwhelming reached Rome shortly before sunset. The cavalry,
numbers would give him an easy victory on the level who had ridden on in front, reported that the gates
ground. So not only Fortune but tactics also were on were not shut, there were no pickets on guard in front
the side of the barbarians. of them, no troops on the walls. This second sur-
In the other army there was nothing to remind one prise, as extraordinary as the previous one, held
of Romans either among the generals or the private them back, and fearing a nocturnal conflict in the
soldiers. They were terrified and all they thought streets of an unknown city, they halted and bivou-
about was flight, and so utterly had they lost their acked between Rome and the Anio.** Reconnoitering
heads that a far greater number fled to Veii, although parties were sent out to examine the circuit of the
the Tiber lay in their way, rather than by the direct walls and the other gates, and to ascertain what plans
road to Rome, to their wives and children. For a short their enemies were forming in their desperate plight.
time the reserves were protected by their position. In As for the Romans, because the greater number
had fled from the field in the direction of Veii instead
82 A Latin town conquered by the Romans around 500 BCE.
83 Religious rites intended to secure the good will of the 84The modern Aniene River; it joins the Tiber River just
gods before important undertakings. north of Rome.
316 THE RISE OF ROME AND THE ROMAN REPUBLIC (753-120 BCE)

of Rome, it was universally believed that the only national policy; if only the men of military age sur-
survivors were those who had found refuge in Rome, vived the impending ruin of the city, then the loss of
and the mourning for all who were lost, whether the crowd of old men left behind in the city could be
living or dead, filled the whole city with the cries of easily borne; in any case, they themselves were cer-
lamentation. But the sounds of private grief were sti- tain to perish. To reconcile the aged plebeians® to
fled by the general terror when it was announced that their fate, the men who had been Consuls and en-
the enemy were at hand. Presently the yells and wild joyed triumphs gave out that they would meet their
war-whoops of the squadrons were heard as they fate side by side with them, and not burden the scanty
rode round the walls. All the time until the next day’s force of fighting men with bodies too weak to carry
dawn the citizens were in such a state of suspense arms or defend their country.
that they expected from moment to moment an attack Thus they sought to comfort one another, these
on the city. They expected it first when the enemy aged men doomed to death. Then they turned with
approached the walls, for they would have remained words of encouragement to the younger men on their
at the Allia had not this been their object; then just way to the Citadel and Capitol, and solemnly com-
before sunset they thought the enemy would attack mended to their strength and courage all that was left
because there was not much daylight left; and then of the fortunes of a city that for 360 years” had been
when night was fallen they imagined that the attack victorious in all its wars. As those who were carry-
was delayed until then to create all the greater terror. ing with them all hope and succor finally separated
Finally, the approach of the next day deprived them from those who had resolved not to survive the fall of
of their senses; the entrance of the enemy’s standards the city the misery of the scene was heightened by
within the gates was the dreadful climax to fears that the distress of the women. Their tears, their dis-
had known no respite. tracted running about as they followed first their hus-
But all through that night and the following day bands then their sons, their imploring appeals to
the citizens afforded an utter contrast to those who them not to leave them”! to their fate, made up a pic-
had fled in such terror at the Allia. Realising the ture in which no element of human misery was
hopelessness of attempting any defense of the city wanting.
with the small numbers that were left, they decided After all the arrangements that circumstances
that the men of military age and the able-bodied permitted had been made for the defense of the Capi-
among the senators should, with their wives and tol, the old men returned to their respective homes
children, withdraw into the Citadel® and the Capi- and, fully prepared to die, awaited the coming of the
tol,8° and after getting in stores of arms and provi- enemy. Those who had filled curule offices” re-
sions, should from that fortified position defend their solved to meet their fate wearing the insignia of their
gods, themselves, and the great name of Rome. The former rank and honor and distinctions. They put on
Flamen®’ and priestesses of Vesta®® were to carry the the splendid dress that they wore when conducting
sacred things of the State far away from the blood- the chariots of the gods or riding in triumph through
shed and the fire, and their sacred cult should not be
abandoned as long as a single person survived to ob-
serve it. If only the Citadel and the Capitol, the abode * Who at this point time still were not eligible to be
Consuls.
of gods; if only the Senate, the guiding mind of the
* Rounded; actually 363 years from the founding of
Rome in 753 BCE.
85 A high point on the north end of the Capitoline Hill. *! The elderly men.
86 The Temple of “Jupiter the Best and Greatest” atop the ** Offices whose holders had the power of imperium
Capitoline Hill. (the power to command armies) and were permitted to
87 The Flamen dialis, the high priest of Jupiter. use the curule chair; at this time, this included Consular
88 The six Vestal Virgins. Tribunes, Consuls, and Dictators.
 THE SACK OF ROME BY THE GAULS (390 scr)
317

the city, and thus arrayed, they seated themselves in they stood, gazing at them as if they were statues,
their ivory chairs in front of their houses. Some writ- until, as it is asserted, one of the patricians, M. Pa-
ers record that, led by Marcus Fabius, the Pontifex pirius, roused the passion of a Gaul, who began to
Maximus, they recited the solemn formula in which stroke his beard, which in those days was universally
they devoted themselves to death for their country.” worn long, by smiting him on the head with his ivory
As the Gauls were refreshed by a night’s rest after staff. He was the first to be killed, the others were
a battle that had at no point been seriously contested, butchered in their chairs. After this slaughter of the
and as they were not now taking the city by assault or magnates, no living being was thenceforth spared;
storm, their entrance the next day was not marked by the houses were rifled, and then set on fire.
any signs of excitement or anger. Passing the Colline Now, whether it was that the Gauls were not all
Gate,* which was standing open, they came to the animated by a passion for the destruction of the city,
Forum and gazed round at the temples and at the or whether their chiefs had decided on the one hand
Citadel, which alone wore any appearance of war. to present the spectacle of a few fires as a means of
They left there a small body to guard against any intimidating the besieged into surrender from a
attack from the Citadel or Capitol while they were desire to save their homes, and on the other, by ab-
scattered, and then they dispersed in quest of plunder staining from a universal conflagration, hold what
through streets in which they did not meet a soul. remained of the city as a pledge by which to weaken
Some poured in a body into all the houses near, their enemies’ determination, it is certain that the
others made for the most distant ones, expecting to fires were far from being so indiscriminate or so ex-
find them untouched and full of spoils. tensive as might be expected on the first day of a
Appalled by the very desolation of the place and captured city. As the Romans beheld from the Cita-
dreading lest some stratagem should surprise the del the city filled with the enemy who were running
stragglers, they returned to the neighborhood of the about in all the streets while some new disaster was
Forum in close order. The houses of the plebeians constantly occurring, first in one quarter then in an-
were barricaded, the halls of the patricians stood other, they could no longer control their eyes and
open, but they felt greater hesitation about entering ears, let alone their thoughts and feelings. In what-
the open houses than those which were closed. They ever direction their attention was drawn by the shouts
gazed with feelings of real veneration upon the men of the enemy, the shrieks of the women and boys, the
who were seated in the porticoes of their mansions, roar of the flames, and the crash of houses falling in,
not only because of the superhuman magnificence of thither they turned their eyes and minds as though
their apparel and their whole bearing and demeanor, set by Fortune to be spectators of their country’s fall,
but also because of the majestic expression of their powerless to protect anything left of all they pos-
countenances, wearing the very aspect of gods. So sessed beyond their lives.

°3 The ceremony of devotio (“devotion”), in which a con-

tract was made with the gods; in exchange for sacrificing
_ themselves, distinguished Romans expected that the gods
would give their support to Rome.
°4 The site of a crucial battle in 83 BCE between the rebel °° This would have destroyed many records of earlier
general Sulla and supporters of the Senate. Roman history.
 78
cSQ>

THE BATTLE OF CANNAE (216 BCE):

LIVY, FROM THE FOUNDING
OF THE GIT Y-BOGK 22
CHAPTERS 34-57

= cl

A Carthaginian silver double shekel, now in the British Museum in London, issued by the general
Hamilcar Barca, the father of Hannibal, in Spain ca. 230 ace. The obverse depicts the god Melqart in the
form of Hercules, with a club over his shoulder, and the reverse portrays a Carthaginian war elephant.
Most of Hannibal’s elephants died crossing the Alps; the survivors only participated in one battle, at the
Trebia River in 218, and only one, nicknamed “The Syrian,” survived the war.

The Battle of Cannae in 216 sce was Rome's defining moment. After the Romans had lost fifty
thousand soldiers in the first two years of the war, at Cannae Hannibal's smaller army sur-
rounded the much larger Roman one and totally destroyed it. The Romans lost another fifty
thousand men; only ten thousand escaped to tell the tale. It appeared that the Romans were
about to lose the war. But not only did they continue the fight; they even expanded the
theaters of operation. Livy's account of the battle begins with the contentiousness that
arose over the Consular elections for 216 sce, where two bitterly opposed Consuls were
elected, Gaius Terentius Varro, an inexperienced rabble rousing plebeian whose emotional
appeals to the plebs opposed the delaying tactics of the dictator Quintus Fabius Maximus

318
THE BATTLE OF CANNAE (216 sce): LIVY, FROM THE FOUNDING OF THE CITY 319

and rashly promised a quick end to the war with Hannibal, and Lucius Aemilius Paullus, a
distinguished, experienced, and cautious patrician implacably opposed to Varro and the ple-
beians. The two were at odds throughout the campaign, with disastrous results. The Roman
historian Livy (ca. 60 sce-17 ce) in his work "From the Founding of the City," described the
events leading up to the battle and the battle itself in great detail.

Source: Canon Roberts, trans., Titus Livius. The History of Rome, Vol. 3 (London: Dent, 1905).

The elections”® were held amid a bitter struggle be- have all been initiated into the same mysteries; when
tween the patricians and the plebs. C. Terentius they are no longer looked down upon by the patri-
Varro,”’ a member of their own order, had ingratiated cians they at once begin to look down upon the plebs.
himself with the plebs by his attacks upon the lead- One consulship at all events belongs to the Roman
ing men in the state and by all the tricks known to plebs; the people will freely dispose of it and give it
the demagogue. His success in shaking the influence to the man who prefers an early victory to prolonged
of Fabius” and weakening the authority of the Dicta- command.”
tor had invested him with a certain glory in the eyes Harangues like these kindled intense excitement
of the mob, and they did their utmost to raise him to among the plebs. There also were three patrician can-
the consulship. The patricians opposed him with didates in the field, P Cornelius Merenda, L. Manlius
their utmost strength, dreading lest it should become Vulso, and M. Aemilius Lepidus, and two plebeians
acommon practice for men to attack them as a means who now were ennobled, C. Atilius Serranus and
of rising to an equality with them. Q. Baebius Heren- Q. Aelius Paetus. But the only one elected was
nius, a relation of Varro’s, strengthened the feeling in C. Terentius Varro, so that the elections for appoint-
favor of his own candidate. “It was by the nobility,” ing his colleague were in his hands. The nobility
he declared, “who had for many years been trying to compelled L. Aemilius Paullus to come forward. On
get up a war, that Hannibal was brought into Italy, the next election day, after all Varro’s opponents had
and when the war might have been brought to a close, retired, Paullus was given to him not so much to be
it was they who were unscrupulously protracting it. his colleague as to oppose him on equal terms.
We shall never see the end of the war until we have The armies were increased, but as to what addi-
elected as our Consul a man who is really a plebeian, tions were made to the infantry and cavalry, the au-
that is, one from the ranks. The plebeian nobility” thorities vary so much, both as to the numbers and
nature of the forces, that I should hardly venture to
assert anything as positively certain. Some say that
10,000 recruits were called out to make up the losses;
°° For the year 216 BCE.
others, that four new legions were enrolled so that
°7 Varro was a complete outsider, a “new man,” that is, a
person none of whose ancestors had held the office of they might carry on the war with eight legions. Some
Consul. authorities record that both horse and foot in the le-
8 Quintus Fabius Maximus, who had been appointed gions were made stronger by the addition of 1000
Dictator after the disastrous Roman defeat at the Battle of infantry and 100 cavalry to each, so that they con-
Lake Trasimene in 217 BCE. By implementing his “Fabian tained 5000 infantry and 300 cavalry, whereas the
Strategy” of restricting military operations to raids and allies!©° furnished double the number of cavalry and
guerilla warfare but not engaging Hannibal’s main army,
Fabius got the nickname “Cunctator,” “The Delayer.”
9 Plebeians who, unlike Varro, did have a Consul in their 100 The “socii,” or Italian allies, defeated peoples and
family background. The consulate had been open to ple- cities of Italy not governed by Rome but expected to con-
beians since 367 BCE. tribute troops for Rome’s wars.
320 THE RISE OF ROME AND THE ROMAN REPUBLIC (753-120 BCE)

an equal number of infantry. Thus, according to troops of 10, for all the men in each company or
these writers, there were 87,200 men in the Roman troop to take a voluntary oath to each other that they
camp when the Battle of Cannae'”' was fought. One would not leave their comrades for fear or for flight,
thing is quite certain; the struggle was resumed with and that they would not quit the ranks save to fetch or
greater vigor and energy than in former years, be- pick up a weapon, to strike an enemy, or to save a
cause the Dictator had given them reason to hope comrade. This voluntary covenant was now changed
that the enemy might be conquered.'” But before the into a formal oath taken before the tribunes.
newly raised legions left the city the Decemvirs'” Before they marched out of the city, Varro deliv-
were ordered to consult the Sibylline Books! owing ered several violent harangues, in which he declared
to the general alarm that had been created by fresh that the war had been brought into Italy by the nobles,
portents. It was reported that showers of stones had and would continue to feed on the vitals of the Repub-
fallen simultaneously on the Aventine in Rome and lic if there were more generals like Fabius; he, Varro,
at Aricia; that the statues of the gods among the would finish off the war the very day he caught sight
Sabines had sweated blood, and cold water had of the enemy. His colleague, Paullus, made only one
flowed from the hot springs. This latter portent cre- speech, in which there was much more truth than the
ated more terror, because it had happened several people cared to hear. He passed no strictures on
times. In the colonnade near the Campus Martius! Varro, but he did express surprise that any general,
several men had been killed by lightning. The proper while still in the city before he had taken up his com-
expiation of these portents was ascertained from the mand, or become acquainted with either his own
Sibylline Books. army or that of the enemy, or gained any information
After completing the enrolment the Consuls as to the lie of the country and the nature of the
waited a few days for the contingents furnished by ground, should know in what way he should conduct
the Latins and the allies to come in. Then a new de- the campaign and be able to foretell the day on which
parture was made; the soldiers were sworn in by the he would fight a decisive battle with the enemy.
Military Tribunes.'°° Up to that day there had only As for himself, Paullus said that he would not an-
been the military oath binding the men to assemble ticipate events by disclosing his measures, for, after
at the bidding of the Consuls and not to disband until all, circumstances determined measures for men
they received orders to do so. It had also been the much more than men made circumstances subservi-
custom among the soldiers, when the infantry were ent to measures. He hoped and prayed that such
formed into companies of 100, and the cavalry into measures as were taken with due caution and fore-
sight might turn out successful; so far rashness, be-
'01Tn Apulia in far southeastern Italy, the site of one of sides being foolish, had proved disastrous. He made
Rome’s most disastrous military defeats. it quite clear that he would prefer safe to hasty coun-
' By his policy of harrassing but not directly confronting sels, and in order to strengthen him in this resolve
Hannibal. Fabius is said to have addressed him on his departure
'3 The “Ten Men in Charge of Carrying out Sacrificial in the following terms:
Duties,” five patricians and five plebeians. They were in
“You are mistaken, Lucius Paullus, if you imag-
charge of consulting the Sibylline Books.
ine that you will have less difficulty with Gaius
'* Books believed to have been purchased from a Sibyl
(a prophetress) by King Tarquin the Proud. They were
Terentius than with Hannibal. I rather think the
consulted in times of emergencies to find the proper expi- former will prove a more dangerous enemy than the
atory rites needed to regain the favor of the gods. latter. With the one you will only have to contend in
'5 The “Field of Mars,” where, in earlier Roman history, the field, the opposition of the other you will have to
the army was accustomed to assemble. meet everywhere and always. Against Hannibal and
' Rach legion had six Military Tribunes, chosen by the his legions you will have your cavalry and infantry,
Senate and by vote of the people. when Varro is in command he will use your own
THE BATTLE OF CANNAE (216 sce): LIVY, FROM THE FOUNDING OF THE CITY
3y]|

men against you. If he carries out his threat and army, and two separate camps were formed, the new
brings on an action at once, some place or other will camp, which was the smaller one, being nearer to
be rendered more notorious by our defeat than even Hannibal, while in the old camp the larger part of the
Trasimene.'”” The only rational method of carrying army and the best troops were stationed.
on war against Hannibal is the one that I have fol- An incident occurred that still further encouraged
lowed. We are carrying on war in Italy, in our own Varro’s impetuous and headstrong temperament.
country on our own soil, everywhere round us are Parties were sent to drive off the foragers; a confused
citizens and allies, and time and circumstance are fight ensued owing to the soldiers rushing forward
making us more efficient, more circumspect, more without any preconcerted plan or orders from their
self-reliant. Hannibal, on the other hand, is in a for- commanders, and the contest went heavily against
eign and hostile land, far from his home and country, the Carthaginians. As many as 1700 of them were
confronted everywhere by opposition and danger; killed, the loss of the Romans and the allies did not
nowhere by land or sea can he find peace; nowhere amount to more than 100. The Consuls commanded
does he see anything that he can call his own, he has on alternate days, and that day happened to be Paul-
to live on each day’s pillage. He has hardly a third of lus’ turn. He checked the victors who were pursuing
the army with which he crossed the Ebro.!°8 He has the enemy in great disorder, for he feared an ambus-
lost more by famine than by the sword, and even the cade. Varro was furious, and loudly exclaimed that
few he has cannot get enough to support life. Do you the enemy had been allowed to slip out of their
doubt then, that if we sit still we shall get the better hands, and if the pursuit had not been stopped the
of a man who is growing weaker day by day, who has war could have been brought to a close. Hannibal did
neither supplies nor reinforcements nor money? not very much regret his losses. On the contrary, he
Varro, although he is a Roman Consul, will desire believed that they would serve as a bait to the im-
just what Hannibal the Carthaginian commander de- petuosity of the Consul and his newly-raised troops,
sires. Hannibal will only feel contempt for a man and that he would be more headstrong than ever.
who runs all risks; he will be afraid of one who never What was going on in the enemy’s camp was quite as
takes a rash step.” well known to him as what was going on in his own;
The Consul’s reply was far from being a cheerful he was fully aware that there were differences and
one, for he admitted that the advice given was true, quarrels between the commanders, and_ that
but not easy to put into practice. What power or au- two-thirds of the army consisted of new recruits.
thority would a Consul have against a violent and Owing to the want of grain, Hannibal decided to
headstrong colleague? With these words Paullus, it is move into the warmer parts of Apulia, where the
said, set forward, escorted by the foremost men harvest was earlier and where, owing to the greater
among the patricians; the plebeian Consul was at- distance from the enemy, desertion would be ren-
tended by his plebeian friends, more conspicuous for dered more difficult for the fickle-minded part of his
their numbers than for the quality of the men who force. He ordered campfires to be lighted, and a few
composed the crowd. When they came into camp the tents left where they could be easily seen, in order
recruits and the old soldiers were formed into one that the Romans, remembering a similar strata-
gem,'” might be afraid to move. Statilius, however,
was sent to reconnoiter with his Lucanians.'"° He re-
07 The Roman defeat at the Battle of Lake Trasimene the
ported that he had caught a distant view of the enemy
year before, where incompetent Roman generals had al-
in line of march, and the question of pursuit was
lowed the Roman army to be trapped between a moun-
tain and a lake.
108 The Spanish river that marked the northern boundary 109 A stratagem previously used by the Dictator Fabius
of Carthaginian territory. It was Rome’s violation of the Maximus to escape from Hannibal.
Ebro Treaty of 226 that had led to the Second Punic War. '10 An Italic people of southern Italy.
322 THE RISE OF ROME AND THE ROMAN REPUBLIC (753-120 Bce)

discussed. As usual, the views of the two Consuls anything happened to the legions flung recklessly
were opposed, but almost all present supported and betrayed into an ill-considered and imprudent
Varro, not a single voice was given in favor of Paul- action, he was free from all responsibility for it, al-
lus, except that of Servilius, Consul in the preceding though he would have to share in all the conse-
year. The opinion of the majority of the council pre- quences. “See to it,” he said to Varro, “that those
vailed, and so, driven by destiny, they went forward who are so free and ready with their tongues are
to render Cannae famous in the annals of Roman equally so with their hands in the day of battle.“
defeats. It was in the neighborhood of this village While time was thus being wasted in disputes in-
that Hannibal had fixed his camp with his back to the stead of deliberation, Hannibal withdrew the bulk of
sirocco that blows from Mount Vulture'!' and fills his army, who had been standing most of the day in
the arid plains with clouds of dust. This arrangement order of battle, into camp. He sent his Numidians,
was a very convenient one for his camp, and it proved however, across the river'* to attack the parties who
to be extremely advantageous afterward, when he were getting water for the smaller camp. They had
was forming his order of battle, for his own men, hardly gained the opposite bank when with their
with the wind behind them, blowing only on their shouting and uproar they sent the crowd flying in
backs, would fight with an enemy who was blinded wild disorder, and galloping on as far as the outpost
by volumes of dust. in front of the rampart, they nearly reached the gates
The Consuls followed the Carthaginians, and of the camp. It was looked upon as such an insult for
when they reached Cannae and had the enemy in a Roman camp to be actually terrorized by irregular
view they formed two entrenched camps. Hannibal auxiliaries that one thing, and one thing alone, held
now saw his hopes fulfilled, that the Consuls would back the Romans from instantly crossing the river
give him an opportunity of fighting on ground natu- and forming their battle line—the supreme com-
rally adapted for the movements of cavalry, the arm mand that day rested with Paullus. The following day
in which he had so far been invincible, and accord- Varro, whose turn it now was, without any consulta-
ingly he placed his army in order of battle, and tried tion with his colleague, exhibited the signal for battle
to provoke his foe to action by repeated charges of and led his forces drawn up for action across the river.
his Numidians.'!* The Roman camp was again dis- Paullus followed, for although he disapproved of the
turbed by a mutinous soldiery and Consuls at vari- measure, he was bound to support it. After crossing,
ance, Paullus bringing up against Varro the fatal they strengthened their line with the force in the
rashness of Sempronius and Flaminius,''* Varro re- smaller camp and completed their formation. On the
torting by pointing to Fabius as the favorite model of right, which was nearest to the river, the Roman cav-
cowardly and inert commanders, and calling gods alry were posted, then came the infantry; on the ex-
and men to witness that it was through no fault of his treme left were the cavalry of the allies, their infantry
that Hannibal had acquired, so to speak, a prescrip- were between them and the Roman legions. The jave-
tive right to Italy; he had had his hands tied by his lin men with the rest of the light-armed auxiliaries
colleague; his soldiers, furious and eager for fight, formed the front line. The Consuls took their stations
had had their swords and arms taken away from on the wings, Terentius Varro on the left, Aemilius
them. Paullus, on the other hand, declared that if Paullus on the right.
As soon as it grew light Hannibal sent forward the
"l An extinct volcano in Lucania in southern Italy. Balearics''> and the other light infantry. He then
‘2 A native North African people known for its excellent crossed the river in person and as each division was
cavalry.
‘3 Sempronius had lost the Battle of the Trebia River in "The Aufidus River, just south of the battle site.
218 BcE and Flaminius had lost the Battle of Lake ''S From the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea
Trasimene in 217. east of Spain; known for their skill as slingers.
 THE BATTLE OF CANNAE (216 Bce): LIVY, FROM THE FOUNDING OF THE CITY 323

brought across he assigned it its place in the line. The their way straight forward, until at last the horses
Gallic and Spanish horse he posted near the bank on were standing in a closely pressed mass, and the
the left wing in front of the Roman cavalry; the right riders seized their opponents and tried to drag them
wing was assigned to the Numidian troopers. The from their horses. It had become mainly a struggle of
center consisted of a strong force of infantry, the infantry, fierce but short, and the Roman cavalry was
Gauls and Spaniards in the middle, the Africans at repulsed and fled. Just as this battle of the cavalry
either end of them. You might fancy that the Afri- was finished, the infantry became engaged, and as
cans were for the most part a body of Romans from long as the Gauls and Spaniards kept their ranks un-
the way they were armed, they were so completely broken, both sides were equally matched in strength
equipped with the arms, some of which they had and courage. At length after long and repeated ef-
taken at the Trebia, but the most part at Trasimene. forts the Romans closed up their ranks, echeloned
The Gauls and Spaniards had shields almost of the their front,’'’ and by the sheer weight of their deep
same shape but their swords were totally different, column bore down the division of the enemy that was
those of the Gauls being very long and without a stationed in front of Hannibal’s line and was too thin
point, the Spaniard, accustomed to thrust more than and weak to resist the pressure. Without a moment’s
to cut, had a short handy sword, pointed like a pause they followed up their broken and hastily re-
dagger. These nations, more than any other, inspired treating foe until they took to headlong flight. Cut-
terror by the vastness of their stature and their fright- ting their way through the mass of fugitives, who
ful appearance: the Gauls were naked above the offered no resistance, they penetrated as far as the
waist, the Spaniards had taken up their position Africans who were stationed on both wings, some-
wearing white tunics embroidered with purple, of what further back than the Gauls and Spaniards who
dazzling brilliancy. The total number of infantry in had formed the advanced center. As the latter fell
the field was 40,000, and there were 10,000 cavalry. back the whole front became level, and as they con-
Hasdrubal was in command of the left wing, Ma- tinued to give ground it became concave and
harbal of the right; Hannibal himself with his brother crescent-shaped, the Africans at either end forming
Mago commanded the center. It was a great conveni- the horns. As the Romans rushed on incautiously be-
ence to both armies that the sun shone obliquely on tween them, they were enfiladed'"* by the two wings,
them, whether it was that they had purposely so which extended and closed round them in the rear.
_ placed themselves, or whether it happened by acci- On this, the Romans, who had fought one battle to no
dent, because the Romans faced the north, the purpose, left the Gauls and Spaniards, whose rear
Carthaginans the south. The wind, called by the in- they had been slaughtering, and commenced a fresh
habitants the Vulturnus,''® was against the Romans, struggle with the Africans. The contest was a very
and blew great clouds of dust into their faces, making one-sided one, for not only were they hemmed in on
it impossible for them to see in front of them. all sides, but wearied with the previous fighting they
When the battle shout was raised the auxiliaries were meeting fresh and vigorous opponents.
ran forward, and the battle began with the light in- By this time the Roman left wing, where the allied
fantry. Then the Gauls and Spaniards on the left en- cavalry were fronting the Numidians, had become
gaged the Roman cavalry on the right; the battle was engaged, but the fighting was slack at first owing to a
not at all like a cavalry fight, for there was no room Carthaginian stratagem. About 500 Numidians, car-
for maneuvering, the river on the one side and the rying, besides their usual arms and missiles, swords
infantry on the other hemming them in, compelled
them to fight face to face. Each side tried to force 17 By advancing in misaligned columns, a tactic made
famous by the Theban general Epaminondas in the 370s
and 360s BCE.
46 The Roman god of the east wind. 48 Surrounded.
324 THE RISE OF ROME AND THE ROMAN REPUBLIC (753-120 BcE)

concealed under their coats of mail, rode out from with blood sitting on a boulder. “Lucius Aemilius,”
their own line with their shields slung behind their he said, “the one man whom the gods must hold
backs as though they were deserters, and suddenly guiltless of this day’s disaster, take this horse while
leaped from their horses and flung their shields and you have still some strength left.” The Consul re-
javelins at the feet of their enemy. They were received plied: “Cornelius, do not waste in useless pity the
into their ranks, conducted to the rear, and ordered to few moments left in which to escape from the hands
remain quiet. While the battle was spreading to the of the enemy. Go, announce publicly to the Senate
various parts of the field they remained quiet, but that they must fortify Rome before the victorious
when the eyes and minds of all were wholly taken up enemy approaches, and tell Q. Fabius privately that I
with the fighting they seized the large Roman shields have ever remembered his precepts in life and in
that were lying everywhere among the heaps of slain death. Suffer me to breathe my last among my
and commenced a furious attack upon the rear of the slaughtered soldiers.” Lentulus escaped on horse-
Roman line. Slashing away at backs and hips, they back in the rush. The other Consul escaped with
made a great slaughter and a still greater panic and about fifty cavalry to Venusia. 45,500 infantry, 2700
confusion. Amid the rout and panic in one part of the cavalry, almost an equal proportion of Romans and
field and the obstinate but hopeless struggle in the allies, are said to have been killed.
other, Hasdrubal, who was in command of that arm, Such was the battle of Cannae, a battle as famous
withdrew some Numidians from the center of the as the disastrous one at the Allia River''’; not so seri-
right wing, where the fighting was feebly kept up, and ous in its results, owing to the inaction of the enemy,
sent them m pursuit of the fugitives, and at the same but more serious and more horrible in view of the
time sent the Spanish and Gallic horse to the aid of slaughter of the army. For the flight at the Allia saved
the Africans, who were by this time more wearied by the army although it lost the city, whereas at Cannae
slaughter than by fighting. hardly fifty men shared the Consul’s flight, nearly
Paullus was on the other side of the field. In spite the whole army met their death in company with the
of his having been seriously wounded at the com- other Consul.
mencement of the action by a bullet from a sling, he Hannibal’s officers all surrounded him and con-
frequently encountered Hannibal with a compact gratulated him on his victory, and urged that after
body of troops, and in several places restored the such a magnificent success he should allow himself
battle. The Roman cavalry formed a bodyguard round and his exhausted men to rest. Maharbal, however,
him, but at last, as he became too weak to manage his the commandant of the cavalry, thought that they
horse, they all dismounted. It is stated that when ought not to lose a moment. “That you may know,”
someone reported to Hannibal that the Consul had he said to Hannibal, “what has been gained by this
ordered his men to fight on foot, he remarked, “I battle I prophesy that in five days you will be feasting
would rather he handed them over to me bound hand as victor in the Capitol. Follow me; I will go in ad-
and foot.” Now that the victory of the enemy was no vance with the cavalry; they will know that you are
longer doubtful this struggle of the dismounted cav- come before they know that you are coming.” Han-
alry was such as might be expected when men pre- nibal told Maharbal that he commended his zeal, but
ferred to die where they stood rather than flee, and the he needed time to think out his plans. Maharbal re-
victors, furious at them for delaying the victory, plied, “You know how to win victory, Hannibal, but
butchered without mercy those whom they could not you do not how to use it.”!”° That delay is believed to
dislodge. They did, however, repulse a few survivors have saved the city and the nation.
exhausted with their exertions and their wounds.
All were at last scattered, and those who could "9 Where the Romans were defeated by the Gauls in
regained their horses for flight. Cn. Lentulus, a mili- 390 BCE; see Reading 77.
tary tribune, saw, as he rode by, the Consul covered '°One of the most famous quotations of antiquity.
THE BATTLE OF CANNAE (216 Bce): LIVY, FROM THE FOUNDING OF THE CITY 325

The reports that reached Rome left no room for what was to be the end of all these terrible disasters.
hope that even these remnants of citizens and allies Meanwhile, in obedience to the Sibylline Books, some
were still surviving; it was asserted that the army with strange and unusual sacrifices were made, human sac-
its two Consuls had been annihilated and the whole of rifices among them. A Gallic man and a Gallic woman
the forces wiped out. Never before, while the city itself and a Greek man and a Greek woman were buried
was still safe, had there been such excitement and alive under the Forum Boarium.'”’ They were lowered
panic within its walls. Over and above these serious into a stone vault, which had on a previous occasion
disasters, considerable alarm was created by portents also been polluted by human victims, a practice most
that occurred. Two Vestal virgins, Opimia and Floro- repulsive to Roman feelings.
nia, were found guilty of unchastity. One was buried Yet, in spite of all their disasters, no one anywhere
alive, as is the custom, at the Colline Gate,!! the other in Rome mentioned the word “Peace,” either before
committed suicide. L. Cantilius, one of the pontifical the Consul’s return or after his arrival. Such a lofty
secretaries, now called “Minor Pontiffs,’ who had spirit did the citizens exhibit in those days that al-
been guilty with Floronia, was whipped in the Com- though the Consul!*4 was coming back from a terri-
itium by the Pontifex Maximus so severely that he ble defeat for which they knew he was mainly
died under it. This act of wickedness, coming as it did responsible, he was met by a vast concourse drawn
among so many calamities, was regarded as a portent, from every class of society, and thanks were for-
and the Decemvirs were ordered to consult the Sibyl- mally voted to him because he “had not despaired of
line Books. Q. Fabius Pictor'’? was sent to consult the the Republic.” Had he been commander-in-chief of
Oracle of Delphi as to what forms of prayer and sup- the Carthaginians there was no torture to which he
plication they were to use to propitiate the gods, and would not have been subjected.!°

123 The “Cattle Forum” in Rome.

!21 One of the gates of Rome. 124 Varro.
122’ The first Roman writer of history, who wrote in Greek 125 For Carthaginian treatment of defeated generals, see
ca. 200 BCE. Reading 71.
 79
cSO>
THE BACCHANALIAN
SCANDAL AND A CRIMINAL
INVESTIGATION OF THE IMPACT
OF FOREIGN CULTURES ON ROME
(186 Bce): LIVY, FROM THE
FOUNDING OF THE CITY,
BOOK 39, CHAPTERS 5-19,
AND “THE RECOMMENDATION
OF THE SENATE ON THE
BACCHANALIANS”

An ieee ee oie hin n the Bacchanalia engraved

on abronze
plate, stills S, prese n the Kunsthistor heme um in Vienna.

326
HE BACCHANALIAN SCANDAL AND A CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION oun,

Few examples survive of actual criminal investigations during the Roman Republic. One that does
involves investigations into the activities of worshippers of the wine god Bacchus, another name
for Dionysus, in the year 186 sce. During the course of the inquiry, Roman concerns arose regard-
ing threats to their way of life posed by exposure to foreign customs. Roman discomfort about
illegal organizations, and especially those that met at night (see the “Twelve Tables," Reading 76),
also surfaced. It is our good fortune that two detailed sources on this controversy survive, in the
Roman historian Livy's "From the Founding of the City” and in an original copy of the Recommen-
dation’ of the Senate issued to the two Consuls. Many of the same concerns that arose regarding
the Bacchanalians resurfaced centuries later with respect to the Christians; see Reading 107.

Source: Oliver J. Thatcher, ed., The Library of Original Sources (Milwaukee: University Research Extension Co., 1907), Vol. III:
The Roman World, 65-77.

(a) Livy, From the Founding of the City,

Book 39, Chapters 5-19
The following year diverted Spurius Postumius Albi- Nor were they confined to one species of vice, the
nus and Quintus Marcius Philippus'”’ from the care of promiscuous mingling of free-born men and women,
armies, and wars, and provinces, to the punishing of but from this store-house of villainy proceeded false
an intestine conspiracy. Both Consuls were advised to witnesses, counterfeit seals, false evidences, and pre-
make an inquisition concerning clandestine meetings. tended discoveries. From the same place, too, pro-
A Greek of mean condition came into Etruria, a low ceeded poison and secret murders, so that in some
operator in sacrifices, and a soothsayer, and a priest of cases, not even the bodies could be found for burial.
secret and nocturnal rites. These mysterious rites Many of their audacious deeds were brought about
were, at first, imparted to a few, but afterward com- by treachery, but most of them by force. It served to
municated to great numbers, both men and women. conceal the violence, that, on account of the loud
To their religious performances were added the pleas- shouting, and the noise of drums and cymbals, none
ures of wine and feasting, to allure a greater number of the cries uttered by the persons suffering violence
of proselytes. When wine, lascivious discourse, night, or murder could be heard abroad.
and the mingling of the sexes had extinguished every The infection of this mischief, like that from the
sentiment of modesty, then debaucheries of every contagion of disease, spread from Etruria to Rome,
kind began to be practiced, as every person found at where the size of the city affording greater room for
hand that sort of enjoyment to which he was disposed such evils and more means of concealment, cloaked it
by the passion predominant in his nature. at first, but information of it was at length brought to
the Consul, Postumius, principally in the following
manner. Publius Aebutius, whose father had held
'26 Traditionally, the Latin term “senatus consultum” has
equestrian rank in the army,'”* was left an orphan, and
been translated as “Decree of the Senate.” But the Senate
was not a constitutional body and did not issue legisla- his guardians having died, he was educated under the
tion. The most it could do was give advice and make rec-
ommendations. The advice usually was followed, and had !27 Consuls for the year 186 BCE.
the de facto force of law, but de iure, all the Senate did 128 That is, that he had been granted a “public horse,” a
was issue “Consultationes” (“Recommendations”). great honor.
328 THE RISE OF ROME AND THE ROMAN REPUBLIC (753-120 BcE)

eye of his mother Duronia, and his stepfather Titus refrain from curses, for it was his mother who or-
Sempronius Rutilus. Duronia was entirely devoted to dered him to do so, with the approbation of his step-
her husband; and Sempronius, having managed the father. “Then,” said she, “your stepfather is in haste
guardianship in such a manner that he could not give to destroy, by that act, your chastity, your character,
an account of the property, wished that his ward your hopes, and your life.”
should be either made away with, or bound to compli- To him, now surprised by such language, and in-
ance with his will by some strong tie. The Bacchana- quiring what was the matter, she said that when she
lian rites were the only way to effect the ruin of the was a Slave, she had gone into that place of worship as
youth. His mother told him, that, “during his sickness, an attendant on her mistress, but that, since she had
she had made a vow for him, that if he should recover, obtained her liberty, she had never once gone near it:
she would initiate him among the Bacchanalians.” that she knew it to be the receptacle of all kinds of
There was a freedwoman called Hispala Fecenia, a debaucheries; that it was well known that, for two
noted courtesan, but deserving of a better lot than the years past, no one older than twenty had been initi-
mode of life to which she had been accustomed when ated there. When any person was introduced he was
very young and a slave, and by which she had main- delivered as a victim to the priests, who led him away
tained herself since her manumission. As they lived in to a place resounding with shouts, the sound of music,
the same neighborhood, an intimacy subsisted be- and the beating of cymbals and drums, lest his cries,
tween her and Aebutius, which was far from being in- while suffering violation, should be heard abroad.
jurious to the young man’s character or property, for he She then entreated and besought him to put an end to
had been loved and wooed by her unsolicited, and as that matter in some way or other and not to plunge
his friends supplied his wants ungenerously, he was himself into a situation where he must first suffer, and
supported by the generosity of this woman. To such a afterward commit, everything that was abominable.
length did she go under the influence of her affection, Nor did she quit him until the young man gave her his
that, on the death of her patron, because she was under promise to keep himself clear of those rites.
the protection of no one, having petitioned the Trib- When he came home, he told his mother that he did
unes and Praetors for a guardian!” when she was not intend to be initiated. His stepfather was present at
making her will, she constituted Aebutius her sole heir. this discourse. His mother on one side and his stepfa-
As neither kept anything secret from the other, ther on the other, loading him with reproaches, drove
the young man, jokingly, bid her not be surprised if him out of the house, assisted by four slaves. The youth
he separated himself from her for a few nights; as, on repaired to his aunt Aebutia, told her the reason of his
account of a religious duty, to discharge a vow made being turned out by his mother, and the next day, by
for his health, he intended to be initiated among the her advice, gave information of the affair to the Consul
Bacchanalians. On hearing this, the woman, greatly Postumius, without any witnesses of the interview.
alarmed, cried out, “May the gods will more favora- The Consul dismissed him, with an order to come
bly!” affirming that it would be better, both for him again on the third day following. In the mean time,
and her, to lose their lives than that he should do such he inquired of his mother-in-law Sulpicia, a woman
a thing. She then imprecated curses, vengeance, and of respectable character, whether she knew an old
destruction on the head of those who advised him to matron called Aebutia, who lived on the Aventine
such a step. The young man, surprised both at her Hill. When she answered that she knew her well, and
expressions and at the violence of her alarm, bid her that Aebutia was a woman of virtue, and of the an-
cient purity of morals, he said that he required a con-
129 A temporary guardian, just for the purpose of filing the ference with her, and that a messenger should be sent
will. Women were not allowed to submit documents with for her to come. Aebutia, on receiving the message,
their own hand, so courts had stand-in men to perform came to Sulpicia’s house, and the Consul, soon after,
this service. coming in, as if by accident, introduced a conversation
HE BACCHANALIAN SCANDAL AND A CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION 329

about Aebutius, her brother’s son. The tears of the men; changed the time of celebration, from day to
woman burst forth, and she began to lament the un- night; and, instead of three days in the year, ap-
happy lot of the youth, who, after being robbed of his pointed five days of initiation in each month.
property by persons whom it least of all became, was From the time that the rites were thus made
then residing with her, being driven out of doors by common, and men were intermixed with women,
his mother, because, being a good youth, he refused and the licentious freedom of the night was added,
to be initiated in ceremonies devoted to lewdness, as there was nothing wicked, nothing flagitious, that
report goes. had not been practiced among them. There was more
The Consul, thinking that he had made sufficient frequent pollution of men with each other than with
inquiries concerning Aebutius, and that his testimony women. If any were less patient in submitting to dis-
was unquestionable, having dismissed Aebutia, re- honor, or more averse to the commission of vice,
quested his mother-in-law to send again to the Aven- they were sacrificed as victims. To think nothing un-
tine, and bring from that quarter Hispala, a lawful was the grand maxim of their religion.
freedwoman, not unknown in that neighborhood, for The men, as if bereft of reason, uttered predic-
there were some queries that he wished to make of tions, with frantic contortions of their bodies; the
her. Hispala being alarmed because she was sent for women, in the habit of Bacchantes, with their hair
by a woman of such high rank and respectable charac- disheveled, and carrying blazing torches, ran down
ter, and being ignorant of the cause, after that she saw to the Tiber, where, dipping their torches in the water,
the Lictors'*° in the porch, the multitude attending on they drew them up again with the flame unextin-
the Consul and the Consul himself, was very near guished, being composed of native sulphur and char-
fainting. The Consul led her into a retired part of the coal. Their number was exceedingly great now,
house, and, in the presence of his mother-in-law, told almost a second state in themselves, and among them
her that she need not be uneasy, if she could resolve to were many men and women of noble families.”
speak the truth she might receive a promise of protec- When she had completed her information, she en-
tion either from Sulpicia, a matron of such dignified treated the Consul that he might send her out of the
character, or from himself. And that she ought to tell country. The Consul requested his mother-in-law to
him what was accustomed to be done at the Baccha- clear some part of the house, into which Hispala
nalia, in the nocturnal orgies in the grove of Stimula. might remove. Accordingly, an apartment was as-
When the woman heard this, such terror and signed her in the upper part of it. Aebutius, also, was
trembling of all her limbs seized her, that for a long ordered to remove to the house of one of the Consul’s
time she was unable to speak. But recovering, at clients. When both the informers were by these means
length she then gave a full account of the origin of in his power, Postumius represented the affair to the
the mysteries. “At first,’ she said, “those rites were Senate. Great consternation seized on the senators,
performed by women. No man used to be admitted. not only on the public account, lest such conspiracies
They had three stated days in the year on which per- and nightly meetings might be productive of secret
sons were initiated among the Bacchanalians, in the treachery and mischief, but, likewise, on account of
daytime. The matrons used to be appointed priest- their own particular families, lest some of their rela-
esses, in rotation. Paculla Minia, a Campanian, when tions might be involved in this infamous affair.
priestess, made an alteration in every particular, as if The Senate voted, moreover, that thanks should be
by the direction of the gods. For she first introduced given to the Consul because he had investigated the
matter with singular diligence and without exciting
130 Twelve attendants of the Consul who carried the
any alarm. The senators then committed to the Con-
fasces, bundles of wooden rods with an ax-head project- suls the holding of an inquiry, out of the common
ing from them, symbolizing the power of life and death. course, concerning the Bacchanals and their noctur-
In the city proper, the ax-head was removed. nal orgies. They ordered them to take care that the
330 THE RISE OF ROME AND THE ROMAN REPUBLIC (753-120 BcE)

informers, Aebutius and Fecenia, might suffer no and not those that infatuated men’s minds with cor-
injury on that account, and to invite other informers in rupt and foreign modes of religion, and drove them,
as if goaded by the furies, to every lust and every
the matter, by offering rewards. They ordered that the
vice. That the Bacchanalian rites have subsisted for
officials in those rites, whether men or women, should
some time past in every country in Italy, and are at
be sought for, and be delivered over to the power of
present performed in many parts of this city also, I
the Consuls; and also that proclamation should be am sure you must have been informed, not only by
made that no persons initiated in the Bacchanalian report but also by the nightly noises and horrid yells
rites should presume to come together or assemble on that resound through the whole city, but still you are
account of those rites, or to perform any such kind of ignorant of the nature of that business. As regards
worship; and above all, that search should be made for the number, they are many thousands. A great part
those who had assembled or conspired for personal of them are women, and this was the source of the
abuse, or for any other flagitious practices. evil. The rest are males, but nearly resembling
The Senate resolved these things. The Consuls di- women, debauchers and the debauched, night revel-
rected the Curule Aediles!*! to make strict inquiry ers, driven frantic by wine, noises of instruments,
and clamors. The conspiracy, as yet, has no strength,
after all the priests of those mysteries, and to keep
but it has abundant means of acquiring strength, for
such as they could apprehend in custody until their
they are becoming more numerous every day.
trial; they at the same time charged the Plebeian
The impious assembly at present confines itself
Aediles'”? to take care that no religious ceremonies to outrages on private citizens because it has not yet
should be performed in private. To the Capitol acquired force sufficient to crush the Republic, but
Triumvirs'* the task was assigned to post watches in the evil increases and spreads daily. It already is too
proper places of the city and to use vigilance in pre- great for the private ranks of life to contain it, and
venting any meetings by night. aims its views at the body of the state. Unless you
After dispatching these officers to their several em- take timely precautions, Romans, their nightly as-
ployments, the Consuls mounted the rostrum; and, sembly may become as large as this, held in open
having summoned a contio'™ of the people. One of the day, and legally summoned by a Consul. Now they
Consuls, when he had finished the solemn form of one by one dread you collected together in the
contio; presently, when you shall have separated and
prayer that the magistrates are accustomed to pro-
retired to your several dwellings, in town and coun-
nounce before they address the people, proceeded thus:
try, they will again come together, and will hold a
consultation on the means of their own safety, and,
Romans, to no former contio was this solemn sup-
at the same time, of your destruction. Thus united,
plication to the gods more suitable or even more
they will cause terror to every one of you.
necessary, as it serves to remind you, that these are
How often in the ages of our fathers was it given
the deities whom your forefathers pointed out as the
in charge to the magistrates to prohibit the perfor-
objects of your worship, veneration, and prayers,
mance of any foreign religious rites; to banish stroll-
ing sacrificers and soothsayers from the Forum, the
'51 Two junior magistrates elected from the patrician class circus, and the city; to search for, and burn, books of
to oversee the city infrastructure; they had imperium and divination; and to abolish every mode of sacrificing
were allowed two lictors each. that was not conformable to the Roman practice? We
'32 Two junior magistrates chosen from among the plebe- shall do all these things with the favor and approba-
ians to care for the city. tion of the gods, who, because they were indignant
'33 Junior magistrates in charge of holding prisoners and that their divinity was dishonored by those people’s
executions; they oversaw the closest thing there was to a lusts and crimes, have drawn forth their proceedings
police force at this time. from hidden darkness into the open light and have
'34A general meeting of the entire population for infor- directed them to be exposed, not that they may
mational purposes, as opposed to a meeting of a popular escape with impunity but in order that they may be
assembly. punished and suppressed.
HE BACCHANALIAN SCANDAL AND A CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
331

The Senate has committed to me and my col- but who had not themselves committed, or com-
league an extraordinary inquisition'®> concerning
pelled others to commit, any of those acts to which
this affair. The charge of posting watches through
they were bound by the oath, all such they left in
the city during the night we have committed to the
inferior magistrates, and, for your part, it is incum-
prison.'** But those who had forcibly committed per-
bent on you to execute vigorously whatever duties sonal defilements or murders, or were stained with
are assigned you, and in the several places where the guilt of false evidence, counterfeit seals, forged
each will be placed, to perform whatever orders you wills, or other frauds, all these they punished with
shall receive, and to use your best endeavors that no death.
danger or tumult may arise from the treachery of A greater number were executed than thrown into
the party involved in the guilt. prison; indeed, the multitude of men and women
who suffered in both ways was very considerable.
They then ordered the Recommendation of the The Consuls delivered the women who were con-
Senate to be read and published a reward for any dis- demned to their relations, or to those under whose
coverer who should bring any of the guilty before guardianship they were, so that they might inflict the
them, or give information against any of the absent. punishment in private. If there did not appear any
They then issued an edict,'*° that no person whatever proper person of the kind to execute the sentence, the
should presume to buy or sell anything for the pur- punishment was inflicted in public.
pose of leaving the country; or to receive or conceal, With regard to the future, the Senate passed a rec-
or by any means aid the fugitives. On the contio ommendation that no Bacchanalian rites should be cel-
being dismissed, great terror spread throughout the ebrated in Rome or in Italy, and ordering that, in case
city; nor was it confined merely within the walls, or any person should believe some such kind of worship
to the Roman territory, for everywhere throughout incumbent upon him, and necessary; and that he could
the whole of Italy alarm began to be felt when the not, without offense to religion, and incurring guilt,
letters from guest-friends'*’ were received, concern- omit it, he should represent this to the Urban Praetor,
ing the Recommendation of the Senate, and what and the Praetor should lay the business before the
passed in the contio, and the edict of the Consuls. Senate. If permission were granted by the Senate, when
During the night, great numbers, attempting to not less than one hundred members were present, then
flee, were seized, and brought back by the Triumvirs, he might perform those rites, provided that no more
who had posted guards at all gates, and accusations than five persons should be present at the sacrifice, and
were lodged against many, some of whom, both men that they should have no common stock of money, nor
and women, put themselves to death. Those who, as any president of the ceremonies, nor priest.”
it appeared, had been only initiated, and had made Spurius Postumius some time after came to Rome,
after the priest, and in the most solemn form, the pre- and on his proposing the question, concerning the
scribed imprecations, in which the conspiracy for the reward to be given to Publius Aebutius and Hispala
perpetration of every crime and lust was contained, Fecenia, because the Bacchanalian ceremonies were
discovered by their exertions, the Senate passed a
vote, that the City Quaestors should give to each of
135 Because the Roman government had no permanent them, out of the public treasury, one hundred thou-
officials, offices, or bodies to investigate crimes against
sand asses; and that the Consuls should desire the
the state, all such investigations were ad hoc in nature.
Tribunes of the Plebs to propose to the plebs,'*° that
136 ike Praetors, who could issue certain forms of law in
the law courts, Consuls had the power, usually exercised
only outside Rome, to issue edicts based on their power 138 Not as punishment, but to await trial.
of imperium. 139 Ror the original “Recommendation of the Senate” on
'857Romans who had ties of friendship to Italians passed which this report is based, see Reading 79b.
along reports of what had transpired at the meeting. 140 That is, to the Council of the Plebs.
332 THE RISE OF ROME AND THE ROMAN REPUBLIC (753-120 BcE)

Publius Aebutius should not become a soldier against should marry her, and that the Consuls and Praetors
his wishes. then in office, and their successors, should take care
They voted also, that Hispala Fecenia should that no injury should be offered to that woman, and
enjoy the privileges of alienating her property by that she might live in safety. All these particulars
gift or deed; of marrying out of her rank, and of were proposed to the Council of the Plebs, and exe-
choosing a guardian, as if a husband had conferred cuted, in accordance with the Recommendation of
these privileges by will; that she should be at liberty the Senate, and full permission was given to the
to wed a man of honorable birth'*!; and that there Consuls to determine respecting the impunity and
should be no disgrace or ignominy to him who rewards of the other informers.'”

(b) Senatus Consultum de Bacchanalibus

(“Recommendation of the Senate on the
Bacchanalians”)
Quintus Marcius, the son of Lucius, and Spurius not less than one hundred senators are present at the
Postumius consulted the Senate on the Nones of discussion, shall have given leave. Carried.
October" at the Temple of Bellona.!*4 Marcus Claudius, No man is to be a priest; no one, either man or
son of Marcus, Lucius Valerius, son of Publius, and woman, is to be an officer to manage the temporal
Quintus Minucius, son of Gaius, were the committee affairs of the organization; nor is anyone of them to
for drawing up the report. Regarding the Bacchana- have charge of a common treasury; no one shall ap-
lia, it was resolved to give the following directions to point either man or woman to be master or to act as
those who are in alliance with us. No one of them is master; henceforth they shall not form conspiracies
to possess a place where the festivals of Bacchus are among themselves, stir up any disorder, make mutual
celebrated; if there are any who claim that it is neces- promises or agreements, or interchange pledges; no
sary for them to have such a place, they are to come one shall observe the sacred rites either in public or
to Rome to the Urban Praetor, and the Senate is to private or outside the city, unless he comes to the
decide on those matters after their claims have been Urban Praetor, and he, in accordance with the opin-
heard, provided that not less than one hundred sena- ion of the Senate, expressed when no less than one
tors are present when the affair is discussed. No man hundred senators are present at the discussion, shall
is to be a Bacchantian, neither a Roman citizen, nor have given leave. Carried.
one of the Latin name, nor any of our allies unless No one in a company of more than five persons al-
they come to the Urban Praetor, and he in accord- together, men and women, shall observe the sacred
ance with the opinion of the Senate expressed when rites, nor in that company shall there be present more

41 There usually were severe restrictions against mar-

riages between full Roman citizens and persons with a 37 October.
servile background. ‘4 Meetings of the Senate regarding warfare were held on
142 All grants of special privileges had to be approved by the Capitoline Hill in the Temple of Bellona, an ancient
the Council of the Plebs. war goddess sometimes said to be married to Mars.

Source: Nina Weston, trans., in Oliver Joseph Thatcher, ed., The Ideas That Have Influenced Civilization, in the Original Docu-
ments, Vol. III, The Roman World (Manchester, UK: Roberts-Manchester, 1901), 76-77.
HE BACCHANALIAN SCANDAL AND A CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION 333

than two men or three women, unless in accordance The Senate has justly recommended that you should
with the opinion of the Urban Praetor and the Senate as inscribe this on a bronze tablet, and that you should
written above. See that you declare it in the assembly order it to be placed where it can be easiest to read. See
for not less than three market days, so that you may to it that the revelries of Bacchus, if there be any, except
know the opinion of the Senate that this was their judg- in case there be concerned in the matter something
ment. If there are any who have acted contrary to what sacred, as was written above, be disbanded within ten
was written above, they have decided that a proceeding days after this letter shall be delivered to you.
for a capital offense should be instituted against them. In the Teuranian field.!*°

145 A comment appended to the document attesting to the

place where it was posted in Bruttium in southern Italy,
where the tablet was found.
 80
SOD uy
ee /
A ROMAN “NEW MAN’
CONFRONTS GREEK CULTURE
(234-149 BCE): PLU TARGiige ae
OF GALLO. ER esai® tix

A severely depicted portrait bust from the Museum of the Villa Torlonia in Rome and known as the
“Patrizio Torlonia,” (“The Torlonian Patrician,”) is a second-century ce copy of an original dating to
80-70 sce and is thought to represent Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder.

During the second century sce, the Romans experienced intense cultural pressures as a result of
Roman expansion, which brought exposure to different cultures and the assimilation of foreign
populations. Some Romans, such as Scipio Aemilianus, the grandson of Scipio Africanus, who

334
 A ROMAN “NEW MAN” CONFRONTS GREEK CULTURE (234-149 BCE) 335

had defeated Hannibal, embraced Greek culture and welcomed Greek writers and scholars to
Rome. But more conservative Romans were chary of excessive foreign contacts, fearing that
old Roman values and virtues were threatened by what they viewed as Greek self-indulgence,
immorality, frivolity, and general lack of respect for Roman values. No one was more conserva-
tive than Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder, a “new man" from a very undistinguished family who
rose to the august offices of Consul in 195 sce and Censor in 184 ce. As a newcomer to the
Roman nobility, Cato established a reputation for being more senatorial than the established
senators by espousing the most extreme practice of what he considered old Roman virtues.

Source: John Dryden, The Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, revised by A. H. Clough, Vol. 1 (Boston: Little, Brown, 1910).

The family of Marcus Cato, it is said, was of Tuscu- with his own hands and occupied this cottage, after
lan’*° origin. His ancestors commonly passed for three triumphs.’ He did not learn Greek until late in
men of no note whatever, but Cato himself extols his life, and was quite well on in years when he took to
father, Marcus, as a brave man and good soldier. He reading Greek books.'*° He never paid more than fif-
also says that his grandfather, Cato, often won prizes teen hundred denarii for a slave because he did not
for soldierly valor, and received from the state treas- want them to be delicately beautiful, but sturdy
ury, because of his bravery, the price of five horses workers, such as grooms and herdsmen, and these he
which had been killed under him in battle. The thought it his duty to sell when they got oldish, in-
Romans used to call men who had no family distinc- stead of feeding them when they were useless.!*!
tion, but were coming into public notice through There was at Rome a certain man of the highest
RINDI,
ee
eT
their own achievements, “New Men,” and such they birth and greatest influence, who had the power to
called Cato."7 But hehimself used to say that as far discern excellence in the bud, and the grace to culti-
as office and distinction went, he was indeed new, vate it and bring it into general esteem. This man was
but having regard to ancestral deeds of valor, he was Valerius Flaccus.'*? He had a farm next to that of
oldest of the old. Near his fields was the cottage Cato, and learned from Cato’s servants of their mas-
which had once belonged to Manius Curius, a hero ter’s laborious and frugal way of living. He was
of three triumphs. To this he would often go, and the amazed to hear them tell how Cato, early in the
sight of the small farm and the mean dwelling led morning, went on foot to the market-place and
him to think of their former owner, who, although he
had become the greatest of the Romans, had subdued
the most warlike nations, and driven Pyrrhus out of .
Italy,'** nevertheless tilled this little patch of ground ” itwas believed that the greatest virtue that a Roman
senator could manifest was to plow his own fields.
'50 Cato’s aversion to Greek culture is discussed more
(=,
oF, sively later in the text. ; qQ 0
46 From Tusculum, a city of Latium, fifteen miles south- fas Ths kind of callous behavior toward agricultural ~ .
east of Rome. \_slaVes was one of the reasons for the slave revolts of 135,
'47 More specifically, “New Men” were individuals who 104, and especially that led by Spartacus in 70 BCE (see
gained the office of Consul after never having had a con- Reading 82).
sular ancestor. '52 Ror a person from an undistinguished family to have
48 The Roman war with Pyrrhus of Epirus lasted between political success, it was necessary to have powerful pa-
280 and 275 BcE. Even though he defeated the Romans trons. In Cato’s case, it was the patrician Lucius Valerius
several times in battle, he eventually returned to Greece Flaccus, whose father had been Consul in 227 BCE and
because his extensive losses of manpower had nearly with whom Cato shared the consulate in 195 BCE and the
ruined him. office of Censor in 183 BCE.
336 THE RISE OF ROME AND THE ROMAN REPUBLIC (753-120 BCE)

pleaded the cases of all who wished his aid’; then they were wise, not to choose the most agreeable phy-
came back to his farm, where he worked with his sician, but the one who was most in earnest. He him-
servants and then sat down with them to eat of the self, he said, was such a physician, and so was Valerius
same bread and drink of the same wine. They told Flaccus, of the patricians. With him as colleague, he
Valerius many other instances of Cato’s fairness and thought he could cut and sear the luxury and effemi-
moderation, until at last Valerius gave command that nacy of the time. So truly great was the Roman people,
Cato be invited to dine with him. After this, discov- and so worthy of great leaders, that they elected Flac-
ering by converse with him that his nature was gentle cus to the office along with Cato. As Censor, Cato
and polite, and needed, like a growing tree, only cul- made Lucius Valerius Flaccus, his colleague and
tivation and room to expand, Valerius urged and at _ friend, chief senator.'*° He also expelled many mem-
last persuaded him to engage in public life at Rome. 3bers of the Senate,!® including a senator who was
(3)
Accordingly, taking up his abode in the city, his own thought to have good prospects for the consulship,
efforts as an advocate at once won him admiring cnamely, Manilius, because he embraced his wife in
friends, and the favor of Valerius brought him great ~ open day before the eyes of his daughter. For his own
honor and influence, so that he was made Military t part, he said, he never embraced his wife unless it
Tribune first, and then Quaestor.'* After this, being ~ thundered loudly and it was a pleasantry of his to
OeCw
now launched on an eminent and brilliant career, he AOEremark that he was a happy man when it thundered.
¢
shared the highest honors with Valerius, becoming ag Cato was not only his son’s reading teacher, but
Consul with him, and afterwards Censor. also his tutor in law and his athletic trainer, and he
Ten years after his consulship, Cato stood for the taught his son not merely to hurl the javelin and fight
censorship. This office towered, as it were, above in armor and ride the horse, but also to box, to endure
every other civic honor, and was, in a way, the culmi- heat and cold, and to swim lustily through the eddies
nation of a political career. Therefore, when Cato and billows of the Tiber. His History of Rome, as he
stood for it, nearly all the best known and most influ- tells us himself, he wrote out with his own hand!°”
oleper
ile
mNICE
tS
ential men of the senatorial party united to oppose and in large characters, that his son might have in his
him. The men of noble parentage among them were own home an aid to acquaintance with his country’s
moved by jealousy, thinking that nobility of birth ancient traditions. He declares that his son’s presence,
would be trampled in the mire if men of ignoble as much as that of the so-called Vestal Virgins,'>® put
origin forced their way up to the summits of honor him on his guard against indecencies of speech, and
and power, whereas those who were conscious of that he never bathed with him. This, indeed, would
base practices and of a departure from ancestral cus- seem to have been a general custom with the Romans,
toms feared the severity of the man, which was sure for even fathers-in-law avoided bathing with their
to be harsh and inexorable in the exercise of power.
Therefore, after due consultation and preparation, '® That is, Cato repaid Flaccus for his support by granting
they put up in opposition to Cato seven candidates him the title of “Princeps Senatus” (“First Man of the
for the office, who sought the favor of the multitude Senate’), the greatest honor a Roman senator could receive.
with promises of mild conduct in office, supposing '° Censors had the right both to admit new worthy mem-
that it wanted to be ruled with a lax and indulgent bers to the Senate and to expel those whom they thought
hand. Cato, on the contrary, threatened wrong-doers were guilty of misbehavior. Cato used this power to re-
venge himself on some of his enemies, and in so doing he
in his speeches, and loudly cried that the city had
eated for himself even more enemies.
need of a great purification. He adjured the people, if
ato wrote his history, which does not survive, in Latin,
contrary to the existing custom of writing in Greek. Subse-
'S3 Many newcomers to politics, such as Cicero (see Read- quently, Latin became a literary language in its own right.
ing 83), initially made names for themselves as lawyers. '8 The six most distinguished women in Rome, in whose
'¢ The typical beginning of a senatorial career. presence one always was on one’s best behavior.
 A ROMAN “NEW MAN” CONFRONUS GREEK CULTURE (234-149 sce) 337]
z NOU ChOAMaLs LW dhe ee
ons-in-law, because they were ashamed to uncover at his own instance and request by so conspicuous a
<
their nakedness. Afterward, however, when the man as Gaius Acilius,'*! Cato determined, on some
Romans had learned from the Greeks their freedom decent pretext or other, to rid and purge the city of
in going naked, they in their turn infected the Greeks them all. So he rose in the Senate and censured the
with the practice even when women were present. magistrates for keeping in such long suspense an em-
When Cato was now well on in years, there came bassy composed of men who could easily secure any-
as ambassadors from Athens to Rome, Carneades thing they wished, so persuasive were they. “We
the Academic,'*? and Diogenes, the Stoic philoso- ought,” he said, “to make up our minds one way or
pher,’® to beg the reversal of a certain decision another, and vote on what the embassy proposes, in
against the Athenian people, which imposed upon order that these men may return to their schools and
them a fine of five hundred talents. Upon the arrival lecture to the sons of Greece, while the youth of Rome
of these philosophers, the most studious of the city’s give ear to their laws and magistrates, as heretofore.”
youth hastened to wait upon them, and became their This he did, not, as some think, out of personal
devoted and admiring listeners. The charm of Car- « hostility to Carneades, but because he was wholly
neades especially, which had boundless power, and - “ = averse to philosophy, and made mock of all Greek
U
a fame not inferior to its power, won large and sym- ‘<_ culture and training, out of patriotic zeal. He said, for are ~
pathetic audiences, and filled the city, like a rushing = instance, that Socrates! was a mighty prattler, who. SRY 0)
ay~
YY

mighty wind, with the noise of his praises. Report au * aes as best he could, to be his country’ s tyrant,’
) @9s
spread far and wide that a Greek of amazing talent,
who disarmed all opposition by the magic of his “hezeaainie anion Sonar to>the laws. | He made
eloquence, had infused a tremendous passion into a fun of the school of Isocrates,!® declaring that his
the youth of the city, in consequence of which they © pupils kept on studying with him until they were old
forsook their other pleasures and pursuits and were ‘men, as if they were to practice their arts and plead
“possessed” about philosophy. The other Romans their cases before Minos in Hades.’ And seeking to
were pleased at this, and glad to see their young prejudice his son against Greek culture, he indulged
men lay hold of Greek culture and consort with such in an utterance all too rash for his years, declaring, in
admirable men. —7 the tone of a prophet or a seer, that Rome would lose
Cato, however, at the very outset, when this zeal her empire when she had become infected with
for discussion came pouring into the city, was dis- Greek letters. But time has certainly shown the emp-
tressed, fearing lest the young men, by giving this di- tiness of this ill-boding speech of his, for while the
rection to their ambition, should come to love a ~ city was at the zenith of its empire, she made every
reputation based on mere words more than one form of Greek learning and culture her own.'®
achieved by martial deeds. And when the fame of the It was not only Greek philosophers that he hated,
visiting philosophers rose yet higher in the city, and but he also was suspicious of Greeks who practiced
their first speeches before the Senate were interpreted, medicine at Rome. He had heard, it would seem, of

159 Carneades was the head of the “Academy,” the philosoph- ‘61 A Roman Senator who interpreted the speeches of the
ical school founded in Athens by Plato (see Reading 60). He Greek philosophers and wrote, in Greek, a history of Rome.
espoused “skepticism,” the belief that it was impossible to '62 For Socrates, see Reading 60.
know anything about anything exactly. ‘63 A famous Athenian teacher of oratory in the first half
160 A Greek from Seleucia in Babylonia and the head of of the fourth century BCE.
the Stoic school in Athens; see Reading 66. A third '64 Minos, the legendary king of Crete, became the judge
Greek philosopher on the embassy was Critolaus, who of deceased spirits in Hades, the underworld.
represented the “Peripatetic” school based on the teach- '65 Plutarch, a Greek himself, naturally spoke here on
ings of Aristotle, on whom see Reading 65. behalf of Greek culture.
 338 THE RISE OF ROME AND THE ROMAN REPUBLIC (753-120 BCE)

Hippocrates’! reply when the Great King of Persia had been a friend of the Roman people from the first,
consulted him, with the promise of a fee of many tal- and the Carthaginians had entered into treaty rela-
ents, namely, that he would never put his skill at the tions with Rome after their defeat by the elder
service of barbarians who were enemies of Greece. He Scipio.”! The treaty deprived them of their empire
said all Greek physicians had taken a similar oath, and and imposed a grievous money tribute upon them.
urged his son to beware of them all. He himself, he Cato, however, found the city by no means in a poor
said, had written a book of recipes, which he followed and lowly state, as the Romans supposed, but rather
in the treatment and regimen of any who were sick in teeming with vigorous fighting men, overflowing
Re family. He never required his patients to fast, but with enormous wealth, filled with arms of every sort
fed them on greens, and on bits of duck, pigeon, or and with military supplies, and not a little puffed up
mnovryh/s,
| hare. Such a diet, he said, was light and good for sick by all this. He therefore thought it no time for the
U people, except that it often causes dreams. By follow- Romans to be ordering and arranging the affairs of
ing such treatment and regimen he said he had good Masinissa and the Numidians, but that unless they
Cath, health himself, and kept his family in good health. should repress a city which had always been their
He composed speeches, then, on all sorts of sub- malignant foe, now that its power was so incredibly
jects, and histories, and as for farming, he followed it grown, they would.be involved again in dangers as
in earnest when he was young and poor, indeed, he great as eo he returned with
says he then had only two ways of getting money, speed to Rome, and advised the Senate that the
farming and frugality, but in later life he was only a former calamitous defeats of the Carthaginians had
theoretical and fancy farmer. He also composed a diminished not so much their power as their foolhar-
book on farming,'®’ in which he actually gave recipes diness, and were likely to render them in the end not
for making cakes and preserving fruit, so ambitious weaker, but more expert in war. Their present contest
was he to be superior and peculiar in everything. with Numidia was but a prelude to a contest with
The last of his public services is supposed to have Rome, whereas peace and treaty were mere names
been the destruction of Carthage.'® It was Scipio the wherewith to cover their postponement of war until a
Younger'® who actually brought the task to comple- fit occasion offered.
tion, but it was largely in consequence of the advice In addition to this, it is said that Cato contrived to
and counsel of Cato that the Romans undertook the drop a Libyan fig in the Senate, as he shook out the
war. It was in this manner. Cato was sent on an em- folds of his toga, and then, as the senators admired
bassy to the Carthaginians and to Masinissa the Nu- its size and beauty, said that the country where it
midian,!”” who were at war with one another, to grew was only three days’ sail from Rome. And in
inquire into the grounds of their quarrel. Masinissa one thing he was even more savage, namely, in
adding to his vote on any question whatsoever these
words: “In my opinion, Carthage must be destroyed.”
'66 The most famous Greek physician, from the Aegean In this way Cato is said to have brought to pass the
island of Cos; he practiced just before and after 400 BCE. third and last war against Carthage,'”> but it had no
‘67 Cato’s “On Agriculture” still survives. sooner, begun than he died.
168 Ror Carthage, see Readings 71 and 78. oS nt
SW
J oon
vy \ ai
'© Scipio Aemilianus, adopted by Scipio the son of Scipio NSbas eae:
Africanus, who had defeated Hannibal. He was a great a ¥ ix /
J

supporter of Greek culture. |‘ 171 At the Battle of Zama in 202 BCE, where Scipio de-
0 The peace treaty between Rome and Carthage in feated Hannibal.
201 BcE had prohibited the Carthaginians from going to '? A manifestation of the typical Roman paranoia about
war without permission of the Romans. As a result, the strong neighbors who might repeat the Sack of Rome by
native Numidians, led by King Masinissa, has been nib- the Gauls in 390 BCE.
bling away at Carthaginian territory, but the Romans had '° From 149 to 146 BcE, when Carthage finally was cap-
refused to allow the Carthaginians to defend themselves. tured and destroyed by Scipio Aemilianus.
 CHAPI-E R11
cSCQ>
Crisis, Recovery, and the
Creation of the Principate (150-21 sce)

During the second century BCE, Rome became the most powerful state in the Mediterranean
world, and, even though we still call it the Republic, it amassed an empire of provinces ex-
tending from Spain to Anatolia. The creation of this empire placed tremendous stress on
administration and politics. Rome’s city-state form of government was not designed to
handle an overseas empire. The need to raise large professional armies was inconsistent with
the Roman tradition of armies recruited from peasant farmers. And powerful ambitious
senators, in command of these large armies, increasingly tended to put their own personal
ambitions ahead of the best interests of the Roman state. Combined, these factors eventually
led to the fall of the Republic as it initially had been established.

339
340 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE PRINCIPATE (150-21 BcE)

HUG
° EMP ip,
Susa > ~

= 3
-| Ptolemies —
|
Rome by 120 300 600Km

Map II The Roman Republic and Its Neighbors in 120 Bce

 8|
cSO>
THE LAND LAW OF TIBERIUS
GRACCHUS (133 sce): PLUTARCH,
aM perlI S=GRACCHUS

The reforms of the Gracchi brothers were facilitated by the introduction of a secret ballot in the popular
assemblies in 139 ace, only six years earlier. The law was intended to reduce bribery and intimidation, but
a more significant result was that voters no longer could be observed directly by their patrons. On the
reverse of this denarius, issued in 113 Bce, one voter receives a ballot from an attendant and another
places his ballot in an urn.

In 133 sce, Tiberius Gracchus was a decorated war hero with impeccable family credentials:
he was the maternal grandson of Scipio Africanus, who had defeated Hannibal in 202 sce,
and his sister was married to Scipio Aemilianus, who had destroyed Carthage in 146 sce. If he
had worked within the system, he could have expected to have a stellar political career, but
instead he chose to become a reformer. Realizing that it was becoming more and more dif-
ficult to find recruits for the Roman army who met the requirement for property ownership,

341
342 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE PRINCIPATE (150-21 BCE)

as Tribune of the Plebs he proposed legislation to distribute Public Land (land owned by the
government) to landless plebeians and thus make them eligible for military service. The in-
troduction of this law brought a resurgence of the same class conflicts as had been mani-
fested between the Consuls Paullus and Varro before the Battle of Cannae in 216 cE
(Reading 78). The law was opposed vigorously by senators who had been renting the land and
looked on it as their own. Tiberius therefore ignored tradition and took his law directly to the
Council of the Plebs without consulting the Senate. The law passed. Soon thereafter, Tiberius
again violated tradition for running for Tribune of the Plebs a second time in a row. This was
too much for the senators, who instigated a riot and clubbed Tiberius to death. This was the
first use of violence in Roman politics. It would not be the last. These reforms of Tiberius and
the subsequent reforms of his brother Gaius Gracchus (123-121 sce) marked the beginning of
the end of the Roman Republic. Senators on both sides of issues were no longer able to reach
behind-the-scenes compromises as they had in the past and were increasingly willing to put
their own personal ideas about what was good for Rome ahead of the best interests of the
state as a whole. As a result, the hard-won unity within the Senate that had allowed the
Senate to govern effectively began to break down, and other groups, such as the Knights,
the Italian allies, and the plebs, assumed greater roles in politics. The pursuit of senatorial
self-interest would culminate with generals who were willing to use their armies to seize
control of the government. Tiberius's career is fulsomely discussed by the second-century cE
Greek biographer Plutarch.

Source: John Dryden, The Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, revised by A. H. Clough, Vol. 1 (Boston: Little, Brown, 1910).

Tiberius and Gaius were sons of Tiberius Gracchus, this state she lost most of her children, but three sur-
who, although he had been Censor' at Rome, twice vived; one daughter, who married Scipio the
Consul, and had celebrated two triumphs, derived Younger,” and two sons, Tiberius and Gaius, whose
his more illustrious dignity from his virtue. There- lives I now relate. These sons Cornelia reared with
fore, after the death of the Scipio who conquered such scrupulous care that although confessedly no
Hannibal, he was judged worthy to take Scipio’s other Romans were so well endowed by nature, they
daughter Cornelia in marriage. A short time after- were thought to owe their virtues more to education
ward he died, leaving Cornelia with twelve children than to nature. The younger Tiberius, accordingly,
by him. Cornelia took charge of the children and of serving in Africa under the younger Scipio, who had
the estate, and showed herself so discreet, so good a married his sister, and sharing his commander’s tent,
mother, and so magnanimous, that Tiberius was soon learned to understand that commander’s nature
thought to have been made no bad decision when he and soon led all the young men in discipline and
elected to die. For when Ptolemy the king offered to bravery; yes, he was first to scale the enemies’ wall.
share his crown with her and sought her hand in mar- While he remained with the army Tiberius was
riage, she refused him, and remained a widow. In the object of much good will, and on leaving it he
was greatly missed. Tiberius then began to agitate
his agrarian laws. The occasion of this was as fol-
'Two Censors were appointed every five years to take the lows. Of the territory that the Romans won in war
census (a survey of property ownership), oversee the
membership list of the Senate, and let out contracts for
construction work. For the office of Censor, see also *Cornelia’s daughter Sempronia married her cousin,
Reading 80. Scipio Aemilianus, grandson of Scipio Africanus.
THE LAND LAW OF TIBERIUS GRACCHUS (133 sce): PLUTARCH, LIFE OF TIBERIUS GRACCHUS 343

from their neighbors, a part they sold, and part they He did not, however, draw up his law by himself,
made public land, and assigned it for occupation to but took counsel with the citizens who were foremost
the poor and indigent among the citizens on payment in virtue and reputation, among whom were Crassus
of a small rent into the public treasury. And when the the Pontifex Maximus, Mucius Scaevola the jurist,°
rich began to offer larger rents and drove out the who then was Consul, and Appius Claudius,’ his
poor, a law was enacted forbidding the holding by father-in-law. And it is thought that a law dealing
one person of more than five hundred acres of land. with such great injustice and rapacity never was
For a short time this enactment gave a check to the drawn up in milder and gentler terms. For men who
rapacity of the rich, and was of assistance to the ought to have been punished for their disobedience
poor, who remained in their places on the land that and to have surrendered with payment of a fine the
they had rented and occupied the allotment that each land that they were illegally enjoying, these men it
had held from the outset. But later on the neighbor- merely ordered to abandon their unjust acquisitions
ing rich men, by means of fictitious personages, upon being paid the value and to admit into owner-
transferred these rentals to themselves and finally ship of them such citizens as needed assistance. But
held most of the land openly in their own names. although the rectification of the wrong was so consid-
Then the poor, who had been ejected from their land, erate, the people were satisfied to let bygones be by-
no longer showed themselves eager for military ser- gones if they could be secure from such wrong in the
vice and neglected the bringing up of children. Soon future. The men of wealth and substance, however,
all Italy was conscious of a dearth of freemen and were led by their greed to hate the law, and by their
was filled with gangs of foreign slaves, by whose aid wrath and contentiousness to hate the law-giver, and
the rich cultivated their estates, from which they had tried to dissuade the people by alleging that Tiberius
driven away the free citizens. An attempt was there- was introducing a re-distribution of land for the con-
fore made to rectify this evil by Gaius Laelius the fusion of the body politic and was stirring up a gen-
comrade of Scipio,*? but the men of influence op- eral revolution.
posed his measures, and he, fearing the disturbance But they accomplished nothing, for Tiberius,
that might ensue, desisted, and received the surname striving to support a measure that was honorable and
of “The Wise” (for the Latin word “sapiens” has that just with an eloquence that would have adorned even
meaning). Tiberius, however, on being elected Trib- a meaner cause, was formidable and invincible when-
une of the Plebs, took the matter directly in hand. ever, with the people crowding around the rostra,®
His brother Gaius, in a certain pamphlet, wrote that he took his stand there and pleaded for the poor.
as Tiberius was passing through Tuscany* on his way “The wild beasts that roam over Italy,” he would say,
to Numantia,° and observed the dearth of inhabitants “have every one of them a cave or lair to lurk in, but
in the country and that those who tilled its soil or the men who fight and die for Italy enjoy the common
tended its flocks there were barbarian slaves, he then air and light, indeed, but nothing else. Houseless and
first conceived the public policy that was the cause of homeless they wander about with their wives and
countless ills to the two brothers. The energy and children. And it is with lying lips that their impera-
ambition of Tiberius, however, were most of all kin- tors? exhort the soldiers in their battles to defend
dled by the people themselves, who posted writings tombs and shrines from the enemy, for not a man of
on porticoes, house-walls, and monuments calling them has a hereditary altar, not one of all these many
upon him to recover for the poor the public land.
° A legal expert.
7 Appius Claudius Pulcher, Consul in 143 BcE and later a
3 That is, Scipio Africanus. Censor.
4Tn northwestern Italy, homeland of the Etruscans. 8 The speaker’s platform in the Roman Forum.
5 The final stronghold of rebels in Spain. ° Victorious army generals.
344 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE PRINCIPATE (150-21 BcE)

Romans an ancestral tomb, but they fight and die to class in it, and therefore Tiberius resorted to a meas-
support others in wealth and luxury, and although ure that was illegal and unseemly, the ejection of
they are styled masters of the world they have not a Octavius from his office, for he was unable in any
single clod of earth that is their own.” other way to bring his law to the vote. In the first
Such words as these, the product of a lofty spirit place, however, he begged Octavius in public, ad-
and genuine feeling, and falling upon the ears of a dressing him with kindly words and clasping his
people profoundly moved and fully aroused to the hands, to give in and gratify the people, who de-
speaker’s support, no adversary of Tiberius could manded only their just rights, and would receive only
successfully withstand. Abandoning therefore all a trifling return for great toils and perils. But Octavius
counter-pleading, they addressed themselves to rejected the petition, and therefore Tiberius, after
Marcus Octavius,!° another one of the Tribunes of premising that, because they were colleagues in
the Plebs, a young man of sober character, discreet, office with equal powers and differed on weighty
and an intimate companion of Tiberius. On this ac- measures, it was impossible for them to complete
count Octavius at first tried to hold himself aloof, out their term of office without open war, said he saw
of regard for Tiberius, but he was forced from his only one remedy for this, and that was for one or the
position, as it were, by the prayers and supplications other of them to give up his office. Indeed, he urged
of many influential men, so he set himself in opposi- Octavius to put to the people a vote on his own case
tion to Tiberius and staved off the passage of the law. first, promising to retire at once to private life if this
Now, the decisive power is in the hands of any Trib- should be the will of the citizens. But Octavius was
une who interposes his veto, for the wishes of the unwilling, and therefore Tiberius declared that he
majority avail not if one Tribune is in opposition. would put the case of Octavius unless Octavius
Incensed at this procedure, Tiberius withdrew his should change his mind upon reflection.
considerate law, and introduced this time one that With this understanding, he dissolved the assem-
was more agreeable to the multitude and more severe bly for that day, but on the following day, after the
against the wrongdoers, because it simply ordered people had come together, he mounted the rostra
them to vacate without compensation the land that and once more attempted to persuade Octavius.
they had acquired in violation of the earlier laws. When, however, Octavius was not to be persuaded,
When the appointed day was come and Tiberius Tiberius introduced a law depriving him of his trib-
was summoning the people to the vote, the voting urns uneship, and summoned the citizens to cast their
were stolen away by the party of the rich, and great votes upon it at once. Now, there were five and thirty
confusion arose. The supporters of Tiberius, however, tribes,'' and when seventeen of them had cast their
were numerous enough to force the issue, and were votes, and the addition of one more would make it
banding together for this purpose, when Manlius and necessary for Octavius to become a private citizen,
Fulvius, men of consular dignity, fell down before Ti- Tiberius called a halt in the voting, and again en-
berius, clasped his hands, and with tears besought him treated Octavius, embracing him and kissing him in
to desist. Tiberius, conscious that the future was now the sight of the people and fervently begging him not
all but desperate, and moved by respect for the men, to allow himself to be dishonored, and not to attach
asked them what they would have him do. They re- to a friend responsibility for a measure so grievous
plied that they were not competent to advise in so and severe.
grave a crisis, and urged him with entreaties to submit
the case to the Senate. To this Tiberius consented. " Originally, Roman citizens were distributed among
But the Senate in its session accomplished noth- three tribes (from Latin tribus, “one third”) based on
ing, owing to the prevailing influence of the wealthy family descent; subsequently thirty-five geographic
tribes, based on place of residence, were used for political
'° An ancestor of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. purposes.
THE LAND LAW OF TIBERIUS GRACCHUS (133 sce): PLUTARCH, LIFE OF TIBERIUS GRACCHUS 345

On hearing these entreaties, we are told, Octavius who surrendered completely to his hatred of Tiberius.
was not altogether untouched or unmoved; his eyes For he was a very large holder of public land, and bit-
filled with tears and he stood silent for a long time. But terly resented his being forced to give it up.
when he turned his gaze toward the men of wealth and And now Attalus Philometor'® died, and Eudemus
substance who were standing in a body together, his of Pergamum brought to Rome the king’s last will
awe of them, as it would seem, and his fear of ill repute and testament, by which the Roman people was made
among them, led him to take every risk with boldness his heir. At once Tiberius courted popular favor by
and bid Tiberius do what he pleased. And so the law bringing in a bill that provided that the money of
was passed, and Tiberius ordered one of his freedmen King Attalus, when brought to Rome, should be given
to drag Octavius from the rostra, for Tiberius used his to the citizens who received a parcel of the public
freedmen as officers, and this made the sight of land, to aid them in stocking and tilling their farms.
Octavius insultingly dragged along a more pitiful one. And as regarded the cities that were included in the
Moreover, people made a rush at him, and although kingdom of Attalus, he said it did not belong to the
the men of wealth ran in a body to his assistance and Senate to deliberate about them, but he himself would
spread out their hands against the crowd, it was with submit a pertinent resolution to the people. By this
difficulty that Octavius was snatched away and safely proceeding he gave more offense than ever to the
rescued from the crowd; and a trusty servant of his Senate, and Pompeius,”’ rising to speak there, said
who stood in front of his master and protected him, that he was a neighbor of Tiberius, and therefore
had his eyes torn out, against the protest of Tiberius, knew that Eudemus of Pergamum had presented Ti-
who, when he perceived what had been going on, ran berius with a royal diadem and purple robe, believing
down with great haste to appease the tumult. that he was going to be king in Rome.!®
After this the agrarian law was passed, and three And now Tiberius’ friends, observing the threats
men were chosen for the survey and distribution of and the hostile combination against him, thought that
the public land, Tiberius himself, Appius Claudius he ought to be made Tribune again for the following
his father-in-law, and Gaius Gracchus his brother, year. Once more, therefore, Tiberius sought to win
who was not at Rome, but was serving under Scipio’” the favor of the multitude by fresh laws, reducing the
in the expedition against Numantia. These measures time of military service, granting appeal to the people
were carried out by Tiberius quietly and without op- from the verdicts of the judges, adding to the judges,
position. The aristocrats,'? however, who were vexed who at that time were composed of senators only, an
at these proceedings and feared the growing power equal number from the equestrian order, and in every
of Tiberius, heaped insult upon him in the Senate. way at length trying to maim the power of the Senate
When he asked for the customary tent at public ex- from motives of anger and contentiousness rather
pense for his use when dividing up the public land, than from calculations of justice and the public good.
they would not give it, although other men often had And when, as the voting was going on, the friends of
obtained one for less important purposes, and they Tiberius perceived that their opponents were getting
fixed his daily allowance for expenses at nine obols."* the better of the contest, because all the people were
These things were done on motion of Publius Nasica,"° not present, and in the first place resorted to abuse of
his fellow tribunes, and so protracted the time. Next,

'2 Scipio Aemilianus, who had been appointed when the

Roman offensive against the Spaniards bogged down. '6 Attalus III (138-133 Bk), king of Pergamum in western
The senators who opposed Tiberius. Anatolia.
'4 A small Greek silver coin; this was an insultingly ‘7 Blected Tribune of the Plebs in the next year, 132 BCE,
small sum. and continued to oppose the Gracchi brothers.
‘5 Publius Scipio Nasica, a cousin of Scipio Aemilianus '8 Claiming that a politician wanted to become “king”
and Consul in 138 BCE. was the worst accusation that could be made.
346 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE PRINCIPATE (150-21 BcE)

they dismissed the assembly, and ordered that it to kill Tiberius themselves, and for this purpose had
should convene on the following day. Then Tiberius, under arms a multitude of their friends and slaves.
going down into the Forum, at first supplicated the Tiberius, accordingly, reported this to those who
citizens in a humble manner and with tears in his stood about him, and they at once girded up their
eyes. Next, he declared he was afraid that his ene- togas, and breaking in pieces the spear-shafts with
mies would break into his house by night and kill which the officers keep back the crowd, distributed
him, and thereby so wrought upon his hearers that the fragments among themselves, that they might
great numbers of them took up their station about his defend themselves against their assailants. Those
house and spent the night there on guard. who were farther off, however, wondered at what
At break of day there came to the house the man was going on and asked what it meant. Whereupon
who brought the birds with which auspices are taken, Tiberius put his hand to his head, making this visible
and he threw food before them. But the birds would sign that his life was in danger, because the question-
not come out of the cage, with the exception of one, ers could not hear his voice. But his opponents, on
although the keeper shook the cage right hard and seeing this, ran to the Senate and told that body that
even the one that came out would not touch the food, Tiberius was asking for a crown; and that his putting
but raised its left wing, stretched out its leg, and then his hand to his head was a sign having that meaning.
ran back into the cage.!? At the same time also many All the senators, of course, were greatly disturbed,
of his friends on the Capitol came running to Tibe- and Nasica demanded that the Consul should come
rius with urgent appeals to hasten thither, because to the rescue of the state and put down the tyrant.
matters there were going well. And in fact things The Consul replied with mildness that he would
turned out splendidly for Tiberius at first, as soon as resort to no violence and would put no citizen to
he came into view the crowd raised a friendly shout, death without a trial; if, however, the people, under
and as he came up the hill they gave him a cordial persuasion or compulsion from Tiberius, should vote
welcome and ranged themselves about him, that no anything that was unlawful, he would not regard this
stranger might approach. vote as binding. Thereupon Nasica sprang to his feet
But after Mucius”® began once more to summon and said: “Because, then, the chief magistrate”! be-
the tribes to the vote, none of the customary forms trays the state, all you who wish to preserve the laws,
could be observed because of the disturbance that follow me!” With these words he covered his head
arose on the outskirt of the throng, where there was with the skirt of his toga and set out for the Capitol.
crowding back and forth between the friends of All the senators who followed him wrapped their
Tiberius and their opponents, who were striving to togas about their left arms”? and pushed aside those
force their way in and mingle with the rest. Moreo- who stood in their path, no man opposing them, in
ver, at this juncture Fulvius Flaccus, a senator, posted view of their dignity, but all taking to flight and
himself in a conspicuous place and because it was trampling upon one another.
impossible to make his voice heard so far, indicated Now, the attendants of the senators carried clubs
with his hand that he wished to tell Tiberius some- and staves that they had brought from home, and the
thing meant for his ear alone. Tiberius ordered the senators themselves seized the fragments and legs of
crowd to part for Flavius, who made his way up to the benches that were shattered by the crowd in its
him with difficulty, and told him that at a session of flight, and went up against Tiberius, at the same time
the Senate the party of the rich, because they could smiting those who were drawn up to protect him. Of
not prevail upon the Consul to do so, were purposing these there was a rout and a slaughter, and as Tiberius

' This was a very bad omen. *1 The Consul Mucius.

?° Publius Mucius Scaevola, one of the two Consuls and a To give themselves more room to maneuver because the
legal expert. toga was a very confining garment.
THE LAND LAW OF TIBERIUS GRACCHUS (133 sce): PLUTARCH, LIFE OF TIBERIUS GRACCHUS 347

himself turned to flee, someone laid hold of his gar- Savage treatment of his dead body. For they would
ments. So he let his toga go and fled in his tunic. But not listen to his brother’s request that he might take
he stumbled and fell to the ground among some up the body and bury it by night, but threw it into the
bodies that lay in front of him. As he strove to rise to river along with the other dead. Nor was this all; they
his feet, he received his first blow, as everybody banished some of his friends without a trial and
admits, from Publius Satyreius, one of his col- others they arrested and put to death.
leagues,”* who smote him on the head with the leg of But the Senate, trying to conciliate the people
a bench. And of the rest more than three hundred now that matters had gone too far, no longer opposed
were slain by blows from sticks and stones, but not the distribution of the public land, and proposed that
one by the sword. the people should elect a commissioner in place of
This is said to have been the first sedition at Tiberius. So they took a ballot and elected Publius
Rome, since the abolition of royal power, to end in Crassus, who was a relative of Gracchus. Moreover,
bloodshed and the death of citizens; the rest although because the people felt bitterly over the death of
neither trifling nor raised for trifling objects, were Tiberius and were clearly awaiting an opportunity
settled by mutual concessions, the nobles yielding for revenge, and because Nasica was already threat-
from fear of the multitude, and the people out of re- ened with prosecutions, the Senate, fearing for his
spect for the Senate. And it was thought that even on safety, voted to send him to Asia. For when people
this occasion Tiberius would have given way without met Nasica they did not try to hide their hatred of
difficulty had persuasion been brought to bear upon him, but grew savage and cried out upon him wher-
him, and would have yielded still more easily if his ever he chanced to be, calling him an accursed man
assailants had not resorted to wounds and bloodshed, and a tyrant, who had defiled with the murder of an
for his adherents numbered not more than three inviolable and sacred person the holiest and most
thousand. But the combination against him would awe-inspiring of the city’s sanctuaries. And so
seem to have arisen from the hatred and anger of the Nasica stealthily left Italy. He roamed and wandered
rich rather than from the pretexts that they alleged, about in foreign lands ignominiously, and after a
and there is strong proof of this in their lawless and short time ended his life at Pergamum.

23 Another one of the Tribunes of the Plebs.

 82
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An inscription put up by C. Popilius Laenas, Consul in 132 sce, reports that as Praetor, perhaps
the year before, he had rounded up 917 slaves in Sicily who belonged to absentee Italian owners.
This would have been at the end of the first large Roman slave revolt, which took place in Sicily
from 135 to 132 BceE.

Roman mistreatment of large numbers of agricultural slaves purchased at low costs led to
several massive slave revolts, as in Sicily between 135 and 132 sce and then again from 104
to 100 sce. The greatest slave revolt began in 73 sce right at home, in Italy, when Spartacus,
a Thracian slave being trained as a gladiator, organized a massive revolt that eventually in-
cluded more than 100,000 slaves. After defeating several Roman military units, the slaves
finally were defeated in 71 sce by the Roman general Crassus. Even though the revolt had
failed, the Romans did learn their lesson, and the treatment of slaves generally improved.
This also was the last of the Roman slave revolts.

Source: John Dryden, The Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, revised by A. H. Clough, Vol. 1 (Boston: Little, Brown, 1910).

348
THE SLAVE REVOLT OF SPARTACUS (73-71 sce): PLUTARCH, LIFE OF CRASSUS 349

The insurrection of the gladiators and the devastation of their boughs as they had need of, they twisted
of Italy, commonly called the War of Spartacus, began them into strong ladders long enough to reach from
upon this occasion. One Lentulus Batiates trained up a thence to the bottom, by which, without any danger,
great many gladiators in Capua,”* most of them Gauls they got down all but one, who stayed there to throw
and Thracians,”> who, not for any fault by them com- them down their arms, and after this succeeded in
mitted, but simply through the cruelty of their master, saving himself. The Romans were ignorant of all
were kept in confinement for this object of fighting one this, and, therefore, coming upon them in the rear,
with another. Two hundred of these formed a plan they assaulted them unawares and took their camp.
to escape, but being discovered, those of them who Several shepherds and herdsmen that were there,
became aware of it in time to anticipate their master, stout and nimble fellows, also revolted over to them,
being seventy-eight, got out of a cook’s shop chopping- to some of whom they gave complete arms, and made
knives and spits, and made their way through the city, use of others as scouts and light-armed soldiers.
and meeting along the way several wagons carrying Publius Varinius,® the Praetor, was now sent
gladiators’ arms to another city, they seized them and against them, whose lieutenant, Furius, with two thou-
armed themselves. And occupying a defensible place, sand men, they fought and routed. Then Cossinius”’
they chose three captains, of whom Spartacus was was sent with considerable forces to give his assis-
chief, a Thracian of one of the nomadic peoples, and a tance and advice, and Spartacus barely missed but
man not only of high spirit and valiant, but in under- very capturing him in person, as he was bathing at
standing, also, and in gentleness superior to his condi- Salinae.*° With great difficulty he made his escape,
tion, and more of a Grecian than the people of his while Spartacus possessed himself of his baggage,
country usually are. When he first came to be sold at and following the chase with a great slaughter, stormed
Rome, they say a snake coiled itself upon his face as his camp and took it, where Cossinius himself was
he lay asleep, and his wife, who at this latter time also slain. After many successful skirmishes with the
accompanied him in his flight, his countrywoman, a Praetor himself, in one of which Spartacus took his
kind of prophetess, and one of those possessed with Lictors and his own horse, he began to be great and
the bacchanal”® frenzy, declared that it was a sign por- terrible, but wisely considering that he was not to
tending great and formidable power to him with no expect to match the force of the Republic, he marched
happy event. his army toward the Alps, intending, when he had
First, then, routing those that came out of Capua passed them, that every man should go to his own
against them, and thus procuring a quantity of proper home, some to Thrace, some to Gaul. But the slaves,
soldiers’ arms, they gladly threw away their own as grown confident in their numbers and puffed up with
barbarous and dishonorable. Afterward Claudius,”’ their success, would give no obedience to him and
the Praetor, took the command against them with a went about and ravaged Italy.
body of three thousand men from Rome and besieged The Senate now not only was moved at the indig-
them within a mountain, accessible only by one nity and baseness, both of the enemy and of the in-
narrow and difficult passage, which Claudius kept surrection, but also, looking upon it as a matter of
guarded, encompassed on all other sides with steep alarm and of dangerous consequence, sent out both
and slippery precipices. Upon the top, however, grew the Consuls,*! as to a great and difficult enterprise.
a great many wild vines, and cutting down as many
28 Another Roman officer largely unknown aside from his
24 An ancient city inland from the Bay of Naples in Italy. defeat by Spartacus.
25 From a rugged area of the Balkans northeast of Greece 29 Another lieutenant of the Praetor Varinius.
and Macedonia. 30 A spa at an unknown location.
26 For Bacchanalians, see Reading 79. 31 The two Consuls were Lucius Gellius Publicola and
27 Gaius Claudius Glaber, otherwise unknown. Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus.
350 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE PRINCIPATE (150-21 Bc)

The Consul Gellius, falling suddenly upon a party of with some Cilician*’ pirate ships, he had thoughts of
Germans, who through contempt and confidence had attempting Sicily, where, by landing two thousand
straggled from Spartacus, cut them all to pieces. But men, he hoped to new kindle the war of the slaves,
when Lentulus with a large army besieged Sparta- which was but lately extinguished,** and seemed to
cus, he sallied out upon him, and, joining battle, de- need but little fuel to set it burning again. But after
feated his chief officers and captured all his baggage. the pirates had struck a bargain with him, and re-
As he made toward the Alps, Cassius, who was ceived his earnest they deceived him and sailed away.
Praetor of that part of Gaul that lies about the Po, met He thereupon retired again from the sea and estab-
him with ten thousand men, but being overcome in lished his army in the peninsula of Rhegium.*” There
the battle, he had much ado to escape himself, with Crassus came upon him, and considering the nature
the loss of a great many of his men. of the place he set to work to build a wall across the
When the Senate understood this, it was dis- isthmus, thus keeping his soldiers at once from idle-
pleased at the Consuls and, ordering them to meddle ness and his foes from forage. This great and difficult
no further, it appointed Crassus® general of the war, work he perfected in a space of time short beyond all
and a great many of the nobility went as volunteers expectation, making a ditch from one sea to the other,
with him, partly out of friendship and partly to get over the neck of land, three hundred furlongs*° long,
honor. He stayed himself on the borders of Pice- fifteen feet broad, and as much in depth, and above it
num,* expecting Spartacus would come that way, built a wonderfully high and strong wall. All of which
and sent his lieutenant, Mummius, with two legions, Spartacus at first slighted and despised, but when pro-
to wheel about and observe the enemy’s motions, but visions began to fail and he found he was walled in
upon no account to engage or skirmish. But Mum- and no more food was to be had in the peninsula,
mius, upon the first opportunity, joined battle, and taking the opportunity of a snowy, stormy night, he
was routed, having a great many of his men slain and filled up part of the ditch with earth and boughs of
a great many only saving their lives with the loss of trees and so passed the third part of his army over.
their arms. Crassus rebuked Mummius severely, and Crassus was afraid lest Spartacus should march
arming the soldiers again, he made them find sure- directly to Rome, but was soon eased of that fear
ties*4 for their arms, that they would part with them when he saw many of his men break out in a mutiny
no more, and five hundred that were the first to flee and quit him and encamp by themselves upon the
he divided into fifty tens, and one of each was to die Lucanian lake. Crassus, falling upon these, beat them
by lot, thus reviving the ancient Roman punishment from the lake, but he could not pursue the slaughter
of decimation,* where ignominy is added to the pen- because of Spartacus suddenly coming up and check-
alty of death, with a variety of appalling and terrible ing the flight. Now he began to repent that he had
circumstances, presented before the eyes of the previously written to the Senate to call Lucullus out
whole army, assembled as spectators. of Thrace*! and Pompey out of Spain,” so that he did
After he thus had reclaimed his men, he led them
against the enemy; but Spartacus retreated through *7 Cicilia was a mountainous area on the coast of southern
Lucania*® toward the sea, and in the straits meeting Anatolia known for its pirates.
38 Actually, twenty-nine years earlier, in 101 BCE.
* On the top of the toe of Italy.
*° Marcus Licinius Crassus Dives (“The Rich”); given that “° A furlong equals 660 feet.
there already were two Consuls, he was given the rank of “' Marcus Lucullus was Consul in 73 BcE and then in the
Praetor. following year was Proconsul of Macedonia, where he
*3 A region on the northeastern coast of Italy. fought the Bessi in Thrace, northeast of Greece, before
34 Guarantors. being recalled to assist in the campaign against Spartacus.
*° A punishment where every tenth man is selected to be * The Roman general Gnaeus Pompey was in Spain mop-
beaten to death by his own comrades. ping up the suppression of a revolt by the Roman general
36 A region of southern Italy. Sertorius.
THE SLAVE REVOLT OF SPARTACUS (73-71 sce): PLUTARCH, LIFE OF CRASSUS 351

all he could to finish the war before they came, that the honor was reserved to him, who would come
knowing that the honor of the action would redound and at once oblige the enemy to fight and put an end
to him that came to his assistance. Resolving, there- to the war. Crassus, therefore, eager to fight a deci-
fore, first to set upon those that had mutinied and sive battle, encamped very near the enemy, and
encamped apart, whom Gaius Cannicius and Castus began to make lines of circumvallation,** but the
commanded, he sent six thousand men before to slaves made a sally and attacked the workers. Sparta-
secure a little eminence and to do it as secretly as cus, seeing there was no avoiding it, set all his army
possible. To do so, they covered their helmets, but in array and when his horse was brought him, he
having been discovered by two women who were drew out his sword and killed him, saying that if he
sacrificing for the enemy, they would have been in won the day he would have a great many better
great danger had not Crassus immediately appeared horses of the enemies and if he lost it he should have
and engaged in a battle that proved a most bloody no need of a horse. And so making directly toward
one. Of twelve thousand three hundred whom he Crassus himself, through the midst of arms and
killed, two only were found wounded in their backs, wounds, he missed him, but slew two centurions that
the rest all having died standing in their ranks and fell upon him together. At last being deserted by
fighting bravely. those that were about him, he himself stood his
Spartacus, after this discomfiture, retired to the ground, and, surrounded by the enemy, bravely de-
mountains of Petelia,* but Quintius, one of Crassus’s fending himself, he was cut in pieces.
officers, and Scrofa, the Quaestor, pursued and over- Although Crassus had good fortune, and not only
took him. But when Spartacus rallied and faced played the part of a good general but also gallantly
them, they were utterly routed and fled, and had much exposed his person, yet Pompey received much of
ado to carry off their Quaestor, who was wounded. the credit of the action. For he met with many of the
This success, however, ruined Spartacus, because it fugitives and slew them, and wrote to the Senate that
encouraged the slaves, who now disdained any Crassus indeed had vanquished the slaves in a
longer to avoid fighting or to obey their officers. pitched battle but that he had put an end to the war.
While they were upon the march they came to their Pompey was honored with a magnificent triumph for
officers with their swords in their hands and com- his conquest over Sertorius and Spain, whereas Cras-
pelled them to lead them back again through Luca- sus could not so much as desire a triumph in its full
nia, against the Romans, the very thing that Crassus form, and it even was thought mean of him to accept
was eager for. For news already had arrived that of the lesser honor, called the ovation, for a servile
Pompey was at hand, and people began to talk openly war, and perform a procession on foot.**
i}
jk lL, aia

he mrumpnayy
\ - Hee Lacan
Aa
Sqnednar
VS DIS
\
v( *

“4 A circular line of siege works.

45 A triumph was granted for victories over foreign ene-
mies; in an ovation, a lesser ceremony, the victorious
43 On the coast of southwestern Italy. general walked rather than being driven in a chariot.
 83
cSO>

CI@ERO FIRSTS PB EHO AKe en

it7
CATRHAN EGS Ber)

A fresco by Cesare Maccari (1840-1919) in the Palazzo Madama in Rome, often reproduced in Latin
textbooks, depicts Cicero denouncing Catiline, seated alone by himself at the right, before the Senate. In
reality, however, Catiline was not actually present when Cicero delivered his famous Catilinarian speeches.

The late Roman Republican politician Marcus Tullius Cicero made his reputation as a good
speaker, especially in court cases. By successfully defending influential Roman senators, he
made them into his clients. In 64 sce, he called in his favors and was elected Consul for the
following year. In that year, Rome was faced with a crisis when Lucius Sergius Catilina, or
Catiline, a failed candidate for Consul, formed a conspiracy to take control of the govern-
ment. Cicero made several anti-Catiline speeches in the Senate, addressing Catiline as if he
were present, when in reality he was in Etruria raising his army. Citing previous examples of
when the Senate had caused the deaths of its political opponents, Cicero succeeded in

352
CICERO, FIRST SPEECH AGAINST CATILINE (63 Bc) 393

having several of Catiline's co-conspirators executed without a trial. This act was completely
contrary to Roman law and eventually led to Cicero's exile.

Source: Charles Duke Yonge, trans., Select Orations of M. T. Cicero (New York: Harper, 1877), 1-14.

When, O Catiline, do you mean to cease abusing our What? Did not that most illustrious man, Publius
patience? How long is that madness of yours still to Scipio, the Pontifex Maximus, in his capacity of a pri-
mock us? When is there to be an end of that unbri- vate citizen, put to death Tiberius Gracchus, although
dled audacity of yours, swaggering about as it does but slightly undermining the constitution” And shall
now? Do not the night guards placed on the Palatine we, who are the Consuls,” tolerate Catiline, openly
Hill,*° do not the watches posted throughout the city, desirous to destroy the whole world with fire and
does not the alarm of the people, and the union of all slaughter? For I pass over older instances, such as how
good men, does not the precaution taken of assem- Gaius Servilius Ahala with his own hand slew Spurius
bling the Senate in this most defensible place, do not Maelius when he was plotting a revolution in the
the looks and countenances of this venerable body state.*! There was, there was once such virtue in this
here present, have any effect upon you?’ Do you not Republic that brave men would repress mischievous
feel that your plans are detected? Do you not see that citizens with severer chastisement than the most bitter
your conspiracy is already arrested and rendered enemy. For we have a resolution of the Senate, a formi-
powerless by the knowledge that every one here pos- dable and authoritative recommendation against you,
sesses of it? What is there that you did last night, O Catiline; the wisdom of the Republic is not at fault,
what the night before, where it is that you were, who. nor the dignity of this senatorial body. We, we alone, I
was there that you summoned to meet you, what say it openly, we, the Consuls, are wanting in our duty.
design was there that was adopted by you, with The Senate once passed a recommendation that
which you think that any one of us is unacquainted? Lucius Opimius, the Consul, should take care that
Shame on the age and on its principles! The the Republic suffered no injury.’ Not one night
Senate is aware of these things; the Consul*® sees elapsed. There was put to death, on some mere suspi-
them, and yet this man lives. Lives! Aye, he comes cion of disaffection, Gaius Gracchus, a man whose
even into the Senate. He takes a part in the public family had borne the most unblemished reputation
deliberations; he is watching and marking down and = he dradifiona /.
checking off for slaughter every individual among ipio Nasica (see Reading 81), whom, as a consequence
of his implication in Tiberius’s murder in 133 BCE, the
us. And we, gallant men that we are, think that we
Senate in fact sent away from Rome to Asia, where he
are doing our duty to the Republic if we keep out of
died in the same year. Given the importance that Romans
the way of his frenzied attacks. You ought, O Catiline, placed on following tradition, Cicero’s acknowledgment
long ago to have been led to execution by command that Nasica acted unconstitutionally at once raises a sus-
of the Consul. The destruction that you have been picion that Cicero himself plans to do the same.
long plotting against us ought to have already fallen 5° Cicero’s colleague as Consul was Gaius Antonius Hybrida,
on your own head. the uncle of the Triumvir Mark Antony (see Reading 86).
51Tn 439 pce; Ahala in fact was charged with murder and,
like Nasica, escaped conviction only by going into exile.
46 The important hill adjoining the Forum and the site of In 121 BCE during a protest organized by Gaius
many posh residences. Gracchus, the brother of Tiberius; the first example, of
47 Cicero pretends to address Catiline as if he were actu- the “Senatus consultum ultimum” (“The Last Resolution
ally present, but he already had departed to his army in of the Senate’’), which asks the Consuls to see to the
Etruria. safety of the Republic. Gaius and three thousand of his
48 That is, Cicero himself. supporters were murdered.
354 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE PRINCIPATE (150-21 BcE)

for many generations. There was slain Marcus Ful- 2 person exists who can dare to defend you, you shall
vius, a man of consular rank, and all his children. By aS. SSlive; but you shall live as you do now, surrounded by
a like Recommendation of the Senate the safety of - ~ my many and trusty guards, so that you shall not be
the Republic was entrusted to Gaius Marius and c able to stir one finger against the Republic. Many eyes
Lucius Valerius,* the Consuls. Did not the venge- Ni and ears shall still observe and watch you, as they have
ance of the Republic, did not execution overtake = hitherto done, although you shall not perceive them.
Lucius Saturninus,** a Tribune of the Plebs, and ~: For what is there, O Catiline, that you can still
Gaius Servilius, the Praetor, without the delay of = expect, if night is not able to veil your nefarious
one single day? But we, for these twenty days, have~S S meetings in darkness, and if private houses cannot
been allowing the edge of the Senate’s authority to ‘ conceal the voice of your conspiracy within their
grow blunt, as it were. For we are in possession of a S wall, if everything is seen and displayed? Change
similar Recommendation of the Senate, but we keep 2your mind. Trust me. Forget the slaughter and con-
it locked up in its parchment, buried, I may say, in 2 flagration you are meditating. You are hemmed in on
the sheath; and according to this recommendation all sides; all your plans are clearer than the day to us;
you ought, O Catiline, to be put to death this instant. let me remind you of them. Do you recollect that on
You live, and you live not to lay aside but to persist in the 21st of October I said in the Senate, that on a
your audacity. certain day, which was to be the 27th of October,
I wish, O Conscript Fathers,*° to be merciful; I wish C. Manlius, the satellite and servant of your audac-
not to appear negligent amid such danger to the state; ity, would be in arms? Was I mistaken, Catiline, not
but I do now accuse myself of remissness and culpable only in so important, so atrocious, so incredible a
inactivity. A camp is pitched in Italy, at the entrance of fact, but; What ismuch more remarkable, in the very
Etruria, in hostility to the Republic; the number of the day? I said also/in the Senate that you had fixed the
enemy increases every day and yet the general of that / massacre of the nobles for the 28th of October, when
camp, the leader of those enemies, we see within the / many chief fen of the Senate had left Rome, not so
walls, aye, and even in the Senate, planning every day, / much for,the sake of saving themselves as of check-
some internal injury to the Republic. If, O Catiline, | SS ing your designs. Can you deny that on that very day
should now order you to be arrested, to be put to death,™\—you were so hemmed in by my guards and my vigi-
I should, I suppose, have to fear lest all good men lance that you were unable to stir one finger against
should say that I had acted tardily, rather than that the Republic, when you said that you would be con-
anyone should affirm that I acted cruelly. But yet this, tent with the flight of the rest and the slaughter of us
which ought to have been done long since, I have good who remained? What? When you made sure that you
reason for not doing as yet. I will put you to death, would be able to seize Praeneste*’ on the first of No-
then, when there shall be not one person possible to be vember by a nocturnal attack, did you not find that
found so wicked, so abandoned, as like yourself, as not that colony was fortified by my order, by my garri-
to allow that it has been rightly done. As long as one son, by my watchfulness and care? You do nothing,
you plan nothing, you think of nothing that I not only
do not hear but also that I do not see and know every
3 Consuls in 100 BCE.
particular of.
4 A rabble-rousing Tribune of the Plebs elected for the
Listen while I speak of the night before. You shall
third time in 100 BCE.
°° Gaius Servilius Glaucia; in 100 BcE when his candidacy now see that I watch far more actively for the safety
for the office of Consul was failing, he and Saturninus than you do for the destruction of the Republic. I say
engineered the murder of his opponent, which led the that you came the night before into the Scythedealers’
Senate to issue the “Last Resolution of the Senate.” Both
men then were killed.
°° The members of the Senate. °’ Modern Palestrina, twenty-two miles east of Rome.
CICERO, FIRST SPEECH AGAINST CATILINE (63 Bce) 355

street, to the house of Marcus Lecca; that many of this very Jupiter Stator,°’ in whose temple we are, the
your accomplices in the same insanity and wicked- most ancient protector of this city, that we have al-
ness came there too. Do you dare to deny it? Why are ready so often escaped so foul, so horrible, and so
you silent? I will prove it if you do deny it, for I see deadly an enemy to the Republic. But the safety of
here in the Senate some men who were there with the Republic must not be too often allowed to be
you. O ye immortal gods, where on earth are we? In risked on one man. As long as you, O Catiline, plot:
what city are we living? What constitution is ours? ted against me while I was the Consul Elect, de-,
There are here, here in our body, O Conscript fended myself not with a public guard, but by Ty
Fathers, in this the most holy and dignified assembly own private diligence. When, in the next Consular
of the whole world, men who meditate my death, and Comitia,°! you wished to slay me when I was actually
the death of all of us, and the destruction of this city, Consul, and your competitors also, in the Campus
and of the whole world. I, the Consul, see them; I ask Martius,” I checked your nefarious attempt by the
them their opinion about the Republic, and I do not assistance and resources of my own friends, without
yet attack, even by words, those who ought to be put exciting any disturbance publicly. In short, as often as
to death by the sword. You were, then, O Catiline, at you attacked me, I by myself opposed you, and that,
Lecca’s that night; you divided Italy into sections; too, although I saw that my ruin was connected with
you settled where every one was to go; you fixed great disaster to the Republic. But now you are openly
whom you were to leave at Rome, whom you were to attacking the entire republic.
take with you; you portioned out the divisions of the You are summoning to destruction and devasta-
city for conflagration; you undertook that you your- tion the temples of the immortal gods, the houses of
self would at once leave the city, and said that there the city, the lives of all the citizens; in short, all Italy.
was then only this to delay you, that I was still alive. Wherefore, because I do not yet venture to do that
Two Roman knights were found to deliver you from which is the best thing, and which belongs to my
this anxiety, and to promise that very night, before office and to the discipline of our ancestors, I will do
daybreak, to slay me in my bed. All this I knew that which is more merciful if we regard its rigor, and
almost before your meeting had broken up. I strength- more expedient for the state. For if I order you to be
ened and fortified my house with a stronger guard; I put to death, the rest of the conspirators will still
refused admittance, when they came, to those whom remain in the Republic; if, as I have long been ex-
you sent in the morning to salute me, and of whom I horting you, you depart, your companions, those
had foretold to many eminent men that they would worthless dregs of the Republic, will be drawn off
come to me at that time. from the city too. What is the matter, Catiline? Do
As, then, this is the case, O Catiline, continue as you hesitate to do that when I order you what you
you have begun. Leave the city at last. The gates are were already doing of your own accord? The Consul
open; depart. That Manlian camp” of yours has been orders an enemy to depart from the city. Do you ask
waiting too long for you as its general. And lead forth me, are you to go into banishment? I do not order it,
with you all your friends, or at least as many as you but, if you consult me, I advise it.
can. Purge the city of your presence. You will deliver
me from a great fear when there is a wall between me
and you. Among us you can dwell no longer, I will 59? The Senate was meeting not in the Senate house, but in
not bear it, I will not permit it, I will not tolerate it. the temple of Jupiter Stator (“Jupiter the Stayer from
Great thanks are due to the immortal gods, and to Flight’) near the Forum.
6 Tn late 64 BCE.
58 Catiline’s army in Etruria, under the command of 6! The Centuriate, or Army, Assembly,
Gaius Manlius, an ex-centurion of Sulla, who had seized 6 A region outside the sacred boundary of the city, near
control of the government in 88 and 82 BCE. the Tiber River.
356 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE PRINCIPATE (150-21 BcE)

But now, what is that life of yours that you are we cannot expect that you should be concerned at
leading? For I will speak to you not so as to seem your own vices, that you should fear the penalties of
influenced by the hatred I ought to feel, but by pity, the laws, or that you should yield to the necessities of
nothing of which is due to you. You came a little the Republic, for you are not, O Catiline, one whom
while ago into the Senate. In so numerous an assem- either shame can recall from infamy, or fear from
bly, who of so many friends and connections of yours danger, or reason from madness.
saluted you? If this in the memory of man never hap- You will go at last where your unbridled and mad
pened to anyone else, are you waiting for insults by desire has been long hurrying you. And this causes
word of mouth, when you are overwhelmed by the you no grief, but an incredible pleasure. Nature has
most irresistible condemnation of silence? Is it noth- formed you, desire has trained you, fortune has pre-
ing that at your arrival all those seats were vacated? served you for this insanity. Not only did you never
That all the men of consular rank, who had often desire quiet, but you never even desired any war but
been marked out by you for slaughter, the very a criminal one; you have collected a band of profli-
moment you sat down, left that part of the benches gates and worthless men, abandoned not only by all
bare and vacant? With what feelings do you think fortune but even by hope. Then what happiness will
you ought to bear this? On my honor, if my slaves you enjoy! With what delight will you exult! In what
feared me as all your fellow-citizens fear you, I pleasure will you revel! When in so numerous a body
should think I must leave my house. Do not you of friends, you neither hear nor see one good man.
think you should leave the city? If I saw that I was All the toils you have gone through have always
even undeservedly so suspected and hated by my pointed to this sort of life; your lying on the ground
fellow-citizens, I would rather flee from their sight not merely to lie in wait to gratify your unclean de-
than be gazed at by the hostile eyes of every one. sires, but even to accomplish crimes; your vigilance,
And do you, who, from the consciousness of your not only when plotting against the sleep of husbands,
wickedness, know that the hatred of all men is just but also against the goods of your murdered victims,
and has been long due to you, hesitate to avoid the have all been preparations for this. Now you have an
sight and presence of those men whose minds and opportunity of displaying your splendid endurance
senses you offend? If your parents feared and hated of hunger, of cold, of want of everything, by which in
you, and if you could by no means pacify them, you a short time you will find yourself worn out. All this
would, I think, depart somewhere out of their sight. I effected when \Iprocured your rejection from the
Now, your country, which is the common parent of all consulship, soAhat you should be reduced to make
of us, hates and fears you, and has no other opinion of attempts our country as an exile instead of being
you, than that you are meditating parricide in her able to distress it as Consul, and so that which had
case; and will you neither feel awe of her authority, been wickedly undertaken by you should be called
nor deference for her judgment, nor fear of her power? piracy rather than war.
And yet, why am I speaking? So that anything may Now that I may remove and avert, O Conscript
change your purpose? So that you may ever amend Fathers, any in the least reasonable complaint from
your life? So that you may meditate flight or think of myself, listen, I beseech you, carefully to what I say,
voluntary banishment? I wish the gods may give you and lay it up in your inmost hearts and minds. In truth,
such a mind, although I see, if alarmed at my words
you bring your mind to go into banishment, what a
** In the consular elections in 64 BCE, conservative sena-
storm of unpopularity hangs over me, if not at present,
tors preferred to support Cicero, a “new man” who was
while the memory of your wickedness is fresh, at all not a member of the nobility, against Catiline, a member
events hereafter. But it is worth while to incur that, as of an ancient and distinguished patrician family who
long as that is but a private misfortune of my own, and sought popularity among the plebeians by proposing to
is unconnected with the dangers of the Republic. But cancel all debts.
Le logiece > mock? sky _ dis|\be 40 ae
Abus ¢f DOULA +
)
 CICERO, FIRST SPEECH AGAINST CATILINE (63 BCE) 357

if my country, which is far dearer to me than my life, with posterity. And if it did threaten me to ever so
if all Italy, if the whole republic were to address me, great a degree, yet I have always been of the disposi-
tion to think unpopularity earned by virtue and
Marcus Tullius, what are you doing? Will you glory, not unpopularity. although there are some men
permit that man to depart whom you have ascer- in this body who either do not see what threatens, or
tained to be an enemy? Whom you see ready to dissemble what they do see; who have fed the hope of
become the general of the war? Whom you know to Catiline by mild sentiments, and have strengthened
be expected in the camp of the enemy as their chief,
the rising conspiracy by not believing it; influenced
the author of all this wickedness, the head of the
by whose authority many, and they not wicked, but
conspiracy, the instigator of the slaves and aban-
doned citizens, so that he shall seem not driven out only ignorant, if I punished him would say that I had
of the city by you, but let loose by you against the acted cruelly and tyrannically. But I know that if he
city? Will you not order him to be thrown into arrives at the camp of Manlius to which he is going,
prison, to be hurried off to execution, to be put to there will be no one so stupid as not to see that there
death with the most prompt severity? What hinders has been a conspiracy, no one so hardened as not to
you? Is it the customs of our ancestors? But even confess it. But if this man alone were put to death, I
private men often in this Republic have slain mis- know that this disease of the Republic would be only
chievous citizens. Is it the laws that have been checked for awhile, not eradicated for ever. But if he
passed about the punishment of Roman citizens? banishes himself, and takes with him all his friends,
But in this city those who have rebelled against the and collects at one point all the ruined men from
Republic have never had the rights of citizens. Do
every quarter, then not only will this full-grown
you fear odium with posterity? You are showing fine
plague of the Republic be extinguished and eradi-
gratitude to the Roman people that has raised you, a
cated, but also the root and seed of all future evils.
man known only by your own actions, of no ances-
tral renown, through all the degrees of honor at so We have now for a long time, O Conscript Fathers,
early an age to the very highest office, if from fear of lived among these dangers and machinations of con-
unpopularity or of any danger you neglect the safety spiracy; but somehow or other, the ripeness of all
of your fellow-citizens. But if you have a fear of un- wickedness, and of this long-standing madness and
popularity, is that arising from the imputation of audacity, has come to a head at the time of my con-
vigor and boldness, or that arising from that of inac- sulship. But if this man alone is removed from this
tivity and indecision most to be feared? When Italy piratical crew, we may appear, perhaps, for a short
is laid waste by war, when cities are attacked and time relieved from fear and anxiety, but the danger
houses in flames, do you not think that you will be will settle down and lie hid in the veins and bowels of
then consumed by a perfect conflagration of hatred?
the Republic. As it often happens that men afflicted
with a severe disease, when they are tortured with
To this holy address of the Republic, and to the heat and fever, if they drink cold water, seem at first
feelings of those men who entertain the same opin- to be relieved, but afterward suffer more and more
ion, I will make this short answer: If, O Conscript severely; so this disease that is in the Republic, if re-
Fathers, I thought it best that Catiline should be pun- lieved by the punishment of this man, will only get
ished with death, I would not have given the space of worse and worse, as the rest will be still alive.
one hour to this gladiator to live in. If, forsooth, those Wherefore, O Conscript Fathers, let the worthless
excellent men and most illustrious cities not only did be gone, let them separate themselves from the good,
not pollute themselves, but even glorified themselves let them collect in one place, let them, as I have often
by the blood of Saturninus, and the Gracchi, and said before, be separated from us by a wall. Let them
Flaccus, and many others of old time, surely I had no cease to plot against the Consul in his own house, to
cause to fear lest for slaying this parricidal murderer surround the tribunal of the Urban Praetor, to be-
of the citizens any unpopularity should accrue to me siege the Senate house with swords, to prepare
358 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE PRINCIPATE (150-21 BcE)

brands and torches to burn the city. Let it, in short, be the destruction of those who have joined themselves
written on the brow of every citizen, what are his to you in every wickedness and atrocity. Then do
sentiments about the Republic. I promise you this, O you, O Jupiter, who were consecrated by Romulus
Conscript Fathers, that there shall be so much dili- with the same auspices as this city, whom we rightly
gence in us the Consuls, so much authority in you, so call the stay of this city and Republic, repel this man
much virtue in the Roman knights, so much unanim- and his companions from your altars and from the
ity in all good men, that you shall see everything other temples, from the houses and walls of the city,
made plain and manifest by the departure of Cati- from the lives and fortunes of all the citizens; and
line, everything checked and punished. overwhelm all the enemies of good men, the foes of
With these omens, O Catiline, be gone to your im- the Republic, the robbers of Italy, men bound to-
pious and nefarious war, to the great safety of the gether by a treaty and infamous alliance of crimes,
Republic, to your own misfortune and injury, and to dead and alive, with eternal punishments.

84
cSkp
CAT WLLUSmPOEMS (CAP OOSEGE)

A wall fresco from Herculaneum, now in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples, depicts a
well-to-do Roman couple enjoying each other’s company in the same way that Catullus and his lady
love “Lesbia,” who probably is to be identified with Clodia, sister of the rabble-rousing politician
Clodius, did. Curiously, the small female figure to the left has no legs; it has been suggested that
this is not a person at all, but some kind of mechanical device, such as a clock, set ona pedestal.

The Roman poet Catullus was one of the so-called “New Poets” who composed avant garde
poetry that focused on small-scale personal matters as opposed to more traditional poetry
involving gods, heroes, and the Roman state. His poetry is characterized by much use of
 CATULLUS, POEMS (ca. 60 BCE)
by

literary allusion, different meters, and refined vocabulary. His work greatly influenced Augus-
tan poets such as Horace, Ovid, and Vergil.

Sources: Francis Warre Cornish, J. P. Postgate, and J. W. Mackail, trans., Catullus. Tibullus.
Pervigilium Veneris, revised by
G. P. Goold, Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1913); Francis
Ware Cornish, The Poems of
Gaius Valerius Catullus with an English Translation (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University
Press, 1904).

Poem 2: The Sparrow he smiles. Whatever it is, wherever he is, whatever

Sparrow, my lady’s pet, with whom she often he is doing, he smiles. It is a malady he has,
plays while she holds you in her lap, or gives you neither an elegant one as I think nor in good taste.
her fingertip to peck and provokes you to bite So I must give you a bit of advice, my good
sharply, whenever she, the bright-shining lady of Egnatius. If you were a Roman or a Sabine or a
my love, has a mind for some sweet pretty play, in Tiburtine or a thrifty Umbrian or a plump
Etruscan, or a black and tusky Lanuvian, or a
hope, as I think, that when the sharper smart of
love abates, she may find some small relief from
Transpadane, to touch on my own people too,®
her pain. Ah, might I but play with you as she or anybody else who washes his teeth with clean
does, and lighten the gloomy cares of my heart! water, still I should not like you to be smiling
everlastingly, for there is nothing more silly than
Poem 5: “Let Us Live”
a silly laugh. As it is, you are a Celtiberian, now
in the Celtiberian country. The natives rub their
Let us live and love, my Lesbia, and a penny teeth and red gums every morning with what
for all the talk of morose old sages! Suns may set they have urinated, so that the cleaner your teeth
and rise again; but we, when once our brief light are, the more urine you are shown to have drunk.
has set, must sleep through a perpetual night.
Give me a thousand kisses, then a hundred, then Poem 101: On the Burial of His Brother
still another thousand, then a hundred. Then
Wandering through many countries and over
when we shall have made up many thousands,
many seas
we shall confuse the reckoning, so that we
I come, my brother, to these sorrowful
ourselves may not know their amount, nor any
obsequies,
spiteful person have it in his power to envy us
To present you with the last guerdon of death,
when he knows that our kisses were so many.
And speak, although in vain, to your silent
ashes,
Poem 39: Lampoon of Egnatius
Because fortune has taken your own self away
Egnatius, because he has white teeth, is from me
everlastingly smiling. If people come to the Alas, my brother, so cruelly torn from me!
prisoner’s bench, when the counsel for the defense Yet now meanwhile take these offerings, which
is making everyone cry, he smiles. If they are by the custom of our fathers
wailing at the funeral of an affectionate son, when Have been handed down—a sorrowful tribute—
the bereaved mother is weeping for her only boy, for a funeral sacrifice;
Take them, wet with many tears of a brother,
64 The poetic name of the object of the poet Catullus’s affec- And for ever, O my brother, hail and farewell!
tions; she usually is identified as Clodia, the sister of the
rabble-rousing politician Clodius who was murdered in
52 BCE. The name probably includes an allusion to the famous 6 These all are references to cities or regions in Italy.
Greek woman poet Sappho of Lesbos (see Reading 49). 6° One of the Celts of Spain.
 85
cSQ>

THE SIEGE OF ALESIA (52 BCE):

GAESAR GALLIC: WARS? BOOK?
CHAPTERS 68-89

A silver denarius issued in 48 sce, four years after the defeat of Vercingetorix, depicts on the obverse
not a Roman deity, but a Gallic warrior with his hair stiffened back with dried lime in typical Gallic
fashion. On the reverse is a Gallic chariot with a driver and spear thrower. The chain around the neck
suggests that this may be Vercingetorix himself, who at this time was imprisoned in Rome. He was
strangled after Caesar’s Gallic triumph in 46 BcE.

In 52 sce, it seemed that Caesar's conquest of Gaul, which already had been formed into a
Roman province, was complete. But the Gauls®’ then found an inspirational leader, Vercinge-
torix, a chief of the Arvernians, a people of central Gaul. A massive revolt left Caesar's ten-
legion 60,000 man army besieging Vercingetorix and 80,000 Gauls in the hill fortress of
Alesia at the same time that a relief army of 100,000 Gauls was on its way. To prevent being

°’ For the earlier history of the Gauls, or Celts, see Reading 72.

360
THE SIEGE OF ALESIA (52 sce): CAESAR, GALLIC WARS, BOOK 7, CHAPTERS 68-89 361

trapped between two forces, Caesar's army put its engineering talents to work and con-
structed massive siegeworks around Alesia.

Source: W. A. McDevitte and W. S. Bohn, trans., Gaius Julius Caesar. Commentaries on the Gallic War (New York: Harper, 1869).

After his cavalry had been routed, Vercingetorix im- sides with the utmost vigor; Caesar sends the Germans
mediately began to march to Alesia, which is a town to aid our troops when distressed, and draws up the
of the Mandubii,® and ordered the baggage to be legions in front of the camp, lest any sally should be
speedily brought forth from the camp and to follow suddenly made by the enemy’s infantry. The courage
him closely. Caesar,” having conveyed his baggage to of our men is increased by the additional support of
the nearest hill, and having left two legions to guard it, the legions. The enemy, being put to flight, hinder one
pursued as far as the time of day would permit, and another by their numbers, and as only the narrower
after slaying about three thousand of the rear of the gates were left open, are crowded together in them.
enemy, encamped at Alesia on the next day. On recon- Then the Germans” pursue them with vigor even to
noitering the situation of the city, finding that the the fortifications. A great slaughter ensues; some leave
enemy were panic-stricken because the cavalry in their horses and endeavor to cross the ditch and climb
which they placed their chief reliance had been beaten, the wall. Caesar orders the legions that he had drawn
he encouraged his men to endure the toil, and began to up in front of the rampart to advance a little. The
draw a line of circumvallation” around Alesia. Gauls, who were within the fortifications, were no less
The town itself was situated on the top of a hill, in panic-stricken, thinking that the enemy were coming
a very lofty position, so that it did not appear likely to that moment against them, and unanimously shout “‘to
be taken except by a regular siege. Two rivers, on two arms’; some in their alarm rush into the town.
different sides, washed the foot of the hill. Before the Vercingetorix orders the gates to be shut, lest the camp
town lay a plain of about three miles in length, and should be left undefended. The Germans retreat, after
on every other side hills at a moderate distance, and slaying many and taking several horses.
of an equal degree of height, surrounded the town. Vercingetorix adopts the design of sending away
The army of the Gauls had filled all the space under all his cavalry by night, before the fortifications
the wall, comprising a part of the hill that looked to the should be completed by the Romans. He charges them
rising sun, and had drawn in front a trench and a stone when departing that each of them should go to his re-
wall six feet high. The circuit of the fortification com- spective state and press for the war all who were old
menced by the Romans extended eleven miles. The enough to bear arms. He states his own merits, and
camp was pitched in a strong position, and twenty- conjures them to consider his safety, and not surren-
three fortified places were raised in it, in which senti- der him who had deserved so well of the general free-
nels were placed by day, lest any sally should be made dom to the enemy for torture. He points out to them
suddenly, and by night the same were occupied by that, if they should be remiss, eighty thousand chosen
watches and strong guards. men would perish with him, and that upon making a
The work having been begun, a cavalry action calculation, he had barely grain for thirty days, but
ensues in that plain. The contest is maintained on both could hold out a little longer by economy. After giving
these instructions he silently dismisses the cavalry in
the second watch,” at the point where our works were
68 A group of Gallic peoples living in east central Gaul. not completed. He orders all the grain to be brought to
6 So as to make his report seem more objective, Caesar
always speaks of himself in the third person.
7 A circular line of siegeworks; for this tactic, see also 71 German allies of the Romans.
Reading 82. ? From about 9:00 PM until midnight.
362 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE PRINCIPATE (150-21 Bce)

himself; he ordains capital punishment to such as prevent the possibility of their being torn up, had
should not obey; he distributes among them, man by their branches only projecting from the ground.
man, the cattle, great quantities of which had been There were five rows in connection with, and inter-
driven there by the Mandubii. He began to measure secting each other; and whoever entered within them
out the grain sparingly, and by little and little, he re- were likely to impale themselves on very sharp
ceives into the town all the forces that he had posted stakes. The soldiers called these “tombstones.”
in front of it. In this manner he prepares to await the Before these, which were arranged in oblique rows in
reinforcements from Gaul and to carry on the war. the form of a quincunx,” pits three feet deep were
Caesar, on learning of these proceedings from de- dug, which gradually diminished in depth to the
serters and captives, adopted the following system of bottom. In these pits tapering stakes, of the thickness
fortification: he dug a trench twenty feet deep, with of a man’s thigh; sharpened at the top and hardened
perpendicular sides, in such a manner that the base of in the fire, were sunk in such a manner as to project
this trench should extend so far as the edges were from the ground not more than four inches; at the
apart at the top. He raised all his other works at a same time for the purpose of giving them strength
distance of four hundred feet from that ditch. He did and stability, they were each filled with trampled
that with this intention, lest a large number of the clay to the height of one foot from the bottom: the
enemy should suddenly, or by night, sally against the rest of the pit was covered over with osiers and twigs,
fortifications, or lest they should by day cast weapons to conceal the deceit. Eight rows of this kind were
against our men while occupied with the works. dug, and were three feet distant from each other.
Having left this interval, he drew two trenches fifteen They called this a “lily” from its resemblance to that
feet broad, and of the same depth; the innermost of flower. Stakes a foot long, with iron hooks attached
them, being in low and level ground, he filled with to them, were entirely sunk in the ground before
water conveyed from the river. Behind these he raised these, and were planted in every place at small inter-
a rampart and wall twelve feet high; to this he added vals; these they called “spurs.”
a parapet and battlements, with large stakes cut like After completing these works and having enclosed
stags’ horns, projecting from the junction of the para- an area of fourteen miles, he constructed, against an
pet and battlements, to prevent the enemy from scal- external enemy, fortifications of the same kind in
ing it, and surrounded the entire work with turrets, every respect,” and separate from these, so that the
which were eighty feet distant from one another. guards of the fortifications could not be surrounded
It was necessary, at one and the same time, to pro- even by immense numbers, if such a circumstance
cure timber, to lay in supplies of grain, and to raise should take place owing to the departure of the ene-
also extensive fortifications, and the available troops my’s cavalry; and in order that the Roman soldiers
were in consequence of this reduced in number, be- might not be compelled to go out of the camp with
cause they used to advance to some distance from great risk, he orders all to provide forage and grain
the camp, and sometimes the Gauls endeavored to for thirty days.
attack our works and to make a sally from the town While those things are carried on at Alesia, the
by several gates and in great force. Caesar thought Gauls, having convened a council of their chief nobil-
that further additions should be made to these works, ity, determine that all who could bear arms should not
in order that the fortifications might be defensible by be called out, which was the opinion of Vercingetorix,
a small number of soldiers. Having, therefore, cut but that a fixed number should be levied from each
down the trunks of trees or very thick branches, and state lest, if too great a multitude assembled together,
having stripped their tops of the bark, and sharpened
them into a point, he drew a continued trench every Tn the shape of the number five on dice.
where five feet deep. These stakes being sunk into ™ A wall of contravallation, facing outward rather than
this trench, and fastened firmly at the bottom, to inward.
THE SIEGE OF ALESIA (52 sce): CAESAR, GALLIC WARS, BOOK 7, CHAPTERS 68-89
363

they could neither govern nor distinguish their men, cavalry from the camp, they fill all that plain, which,
nor have the means of supplying them with grain. we have related, extended three miles in length, and
Yet such was the unanimity of the Gauls in asserting drew out their infantry a little from that place, and
their freedom and recovering their ancient renown in post them on the higher ground. The town Alesia
war, that all earnestly directed their energies and re- commanded a view of the whole plain. The besieged
sources to that war, and they collected eight thou- run together when these auxiliaries were seen;
sand cavalry, and about two hundred and forty mutual congratulations ensue, and the minds of all
thousand infantry.” All march to Alesia, sanguine are elated with joy. Accordingly, drawing out their
and full of confidence, nor was there a single indi- troops, they encamp before the town, and cover the
vidual who imagined that the Romans could with- nearest trench with hurdles” and fill it up with earth,
stand the sight of such an immense host, especially and make ready for a sally and every casualty.
in an action carried on both in front and rear, when Caesar, having stationed his army on both sides of
the besieged would sally from the town and attack the fortifications, in order that, if occasion should
the enemy, and on the outside so great forces of cav- arise, each should hold and know his own post,
alry and infantry would be seen. orders the cavalry to issue forth from the camp and
But those who were blockaded at Alesia, the day commence action. There was a commanding view
being past on which they had expected auxiliaries from the entire camp, which occupied a ridge of
from their countrymen, and all their grain being con- hills, and the minds of all the soldiers anxiously
sumed ignorant of what was going on among the awaited the issue of the battle. The Gauls had scat-
Aedui,’© convened an assembly and deliberated on tered archers and light-armed infantry here and there
the exigency of their situation. After various opin- among their cavalry to give relief to their retreating
ions had been expressed among them, some of which troops and sustain the impetuosity of our cavalry.
proposed a surrender, others a sally, while their Several of our soldiers were unexpectedly wounded
strength would support it. When different opinions by these, and left the battle. When the Gauls were
were expressed, they determined that those who, confident that their countrymen were the conquerors
owing to age or ill health, were unserviceable for in the action, and beheld our men hard pressed by
war, should depart from the town. The Mandubii, numbers, both those who were hemmed in by the
who had admitted them into the town, are compelled line of circumvallation and those who had come to
to go forth with their wives and children. When these aid them, they supported the spirits of their men by
came to the Roman fortifications, weeping, they shouts and yells from every quarter. As the action
begged of the soldiers by every entreaty to receive was carried on in sight of all, neither a brave nor
them as slaves and relieve them with food. But cowardly act could be concealed; both the desire of
Caesar, placing guards on the rampart, forbade them praise and the fear of ignominy urged on each party
to be admitted. to valor. After fighting from noon almost to sunset,
In the meantime, Commius”’ and the rest of the without victory inclining in favor of either, the
leaders, to whom the supreme command had been Germans, on one side, made a charge against the
entrusted, came with all their forces to Alesia, and enemy in a compact body, and drove them back, and
encamped not more than a mile from our fortifica- the archers were surrounded and cut to pieces. In
tions. The following day, having led forth their other parts, likewise, our men pursued to the camp
the retreating enemy, and did not give them an op-
portunity of rallying. Those who had come forth
™ Probably closer to 100,000 soldiers.
76 The longest and oldest allies of the Romans in Gaul, from Alesia returned into the town dejected and
who likewise had joined the revolt. almost despairing of success.
7 King of the Atrebates, a Belgic people, who hitherto
had been a loyal ally of Caesar. 78 Wooden frames used to cover a ditch.
364 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE PRINCIPATE (150-21 BCE)

The relieving Gauls, after the interval of a day and place when it should seem to be noon. They appoint
after making, during that time, an immense number over their forces Vergasillaunus, the Arvernian, one
of hurdles, scaling-ladders, and iron hooks, silently of the four generals and a near relative of Vercinge-
went forth from the camp at midnight and approached torix. He, having issued from the camp at the first
the fortifications in the plain. Raising a shout sud- watch and having almost completed his march a little
denly, that by this intimation those who were besieged before the dawn, hid himself behind the mountain
in the town might learn their arrival, they began to and ordered his soldiers to refresh themselves after
cast down hurdles and dislodge our men from the their labor during the night. When noon now seemed
rampart by slings, arrows, and stones, and to execute to draw nigh, he marched hastily against that camp
the other movements that are requisite in storming. that we have mentioned before, and, at the same
While the Gauls were at a distance from the forti- time, the cavalry began to approach the fortifications
fication they were more successful, owing to the im- in the plain and the rest of the forces to make a dem-
mense number of their weapons. But after they came onstration in front of the camp.
nearer, they either unawares impaled themselves on Vercingetorix, having beheld his countrymen
the spurs or were pierced by the darts from the ram- from the citadel of Alesia, issues forth from the town.
parts and towers, and thus perished. After receiving He brings forth from the camp long hooks, movable
many wounds on all sides, and having forced no part mantlets,”” wall hooks, and other things that he had
of the works, when day drew nigh, fearing lest they prepared for the purpose of making an attack. They
should be surrounded by a sally made from the higher engage on all sides at once and every expedient is
camp on the exposed flank, they retreated to their adopted. They flocked to whatever part of the works
countrymen. But those within, when they bring for- seemed weakest. The army of the Romans is distrib-
ward those things that had been prepared by Vercinge- uted along their extensive lines, and with difficulty
torix for a sally, fill up the nearest trenches. Having meets the enemy in every quarter. The shouts that
delayed a long time in executing these movements, were raised by the combatants in their rear had a
they learned the retreat of their countrymen before great tendency to intimidate our men, because they
they drew nigh to the fortifications. Thus they re- perceived that their own protection from danger de-
turned to the town without accomplishing their object. pended on the bravery of others, for generally all evils
The Gauls, having been twice repulsed with great that are distant most powerfully alarm men’s minds.
loss, consult what they should do. They avail them- Caesar, having selected a commanding situation,
selves of the information of those who were well ac- sees distinctly whatever is going on in every quarter,
quainted with the country. From them they ascertain and sends assistance to his troops when hard pressed.
the position and fortification of the upper camp. The idea uppermost in the minds of both parties is
There was, on the north side, a hill, which our men that the present is the time in which they would have
could not include in their works, on account of the the fairest opportunity of making a struggle, the
extent of the circuit, and had necessarily made their Gauls despairing of all safety unless they should suc-
camp in ground almost disadvantageous, and quite ceed in forcing the lines, and the Romans expecting
steep. Gaius Antistius Reginus, and Gaius Caninius an end to all their labors if they should gain the day.
Rebilus, two of the lieutenants, with two legions, The principal struggle is at the upper lines, to which
were in possession of this camp. The leaders of the as we have said Vergasillaunus was sent. The least
enemy, having reconnoitered the country by their elevation of ground, added to a declivity,®° exercises
scouts, select from the entire army sixty thousand a momentous influence. Some are casting missiles,
men belonging to those states that bear the highest
character for courage. They privately arrange among ” Portable shelters that offer protection from arrow and
themselves what they wished to be done, and in what slingstone fire.
manner. They decide that the attack should take 8° Low point in the terrain.
THE SIEGE OF ALESIA (52 Bce): CAESAR, GALLIC WARS, BOOK 7, CHAPTERS 68-89 365

others, forming a testudo,*! advance to the attack; messengers of what he intended to do. Caesar has-
fresh men by turns relieve the wearied. The earth, tens to share in the action.
heaped up by all against the fortifications, gives the When his arrival becomes known from the color
means of ascent to the Gauls, and covers those works of his cloak,** and the troops of cavalry and the co-
that the Romans had concealed in the ground. Our horts that he had ordered to follow him being seen,
men have no longer arms or strength. Caesar, on ob- as these low and sloping grounds were plainly visible
serving these movements, sends Labienus®? with six from the eminences, the enemy join battle. A shout
cohorts to relieve his distressed soldiers. He orders being raised by both sides, it was succeeded by a
him that if he should be unable to withstand them to general shout along the ramparts and whole line of
draw off the cohorts and make a sally, but not to do fortifications. Our troops, laying aside their javelins,
this except through necessity. Caesar himself goes to carry on the engagement with their swords. The cav-
the rest and exhorts them not to succumb to the toil. alry is suddenly seen in the rear of the Gauls; the
He shows them that the fruits of all former engage- other cohorts advance rapidly; the enemy turn their
ments depend on that day and hour. backs; the cavalry intercept them in their flight, and
The Gauls within, despairing of forcing the forti- a great slaughter ensues. Sedulius the general and
fications in the plains on account of the greatness of chief of the Lemovices® is slain; Vergasillaunus the
the works, attempt the places precipitous in ascent. Arvernian is taken alive in the flight. Seventy-four
Here they bring the engines that they had prepared. military standards are brought to Caesar, and few
By the immense number of their missiles they dis- out of so great a number return safe to their camp.
lodge the defenders from the turrets. They fill the The besieged, beholding from the town the slaugh-
ditches with clay and hurdles, then clear the way. ter and flight of their countrymen and despairing of
They tear down the rampart and breast-work with safety, lead back their troops from the fortifications. A
hooks. Caesar sends at first young Brutus® with six flight of the Gauls from their camp immediately ensues
cohorts, and afterward Gaius Fabius, his lieutenant, on hearing of this disaster, and had not the soldiers
with seven others. Finally, as the Gauls fought more been wearied by sending frequent reinforcements and
obstinately, he leads up fresh men to the assistance of the labor of the entire day, all the enemy’s forces could
his soldiers. After renewing the action, and repulsing have been destroyed. Immediately after midnight, the
the enemy, he marches in the direction in which he cavalry are sent out and overtake the rear, a great
had sent Labienus, drafts four cohorts from the near- number are taken or cut to pieces, the rest by flight
est redoubt, and orders part of the cavalry to follow escape in different directions to their respective states.
him, and part to make the circuit of the external for- Vercingetorix, having convened a council the fol-
tifications and attack the enemy in the rear. Labie- lowing day, declares, that he had undertaken that war
nus, when neither the ramparts or ditches could not on account of his own exigencies but on account
check the onset of the enemy, informs Caesar by of the general freedom, and because he must yield to
fortune, he offered himself to them for either purpose,
whether they should wish to atone to the Romans by
8! The “tortoise,” a formation the soldiers made by inter- his death, or surrender him alive. Ambassadors are
locking their rectangular shields over their heads. sent to Caesar on this subject. He orders their arms to
82 Caesar’s second in command in Gaul, he later became be surrendered, and their chieftains delivered up. He
one of Caesar’s main opponents in the civil war with
seated himself at the head of the lines in front of the
Pompey.
camp. The Gallic chieftains are brought before him.
83 A favorite cousin of Caesar who in 44 BCE brought
Caesar to the meeting of Senate where Caesar was assas-
sinated; it is this Brutus to whom Caesar referred in the 84 The scarlet “paludamentum,” or general’s cloak.
Shakespeare play “Julius Caesar” when he uttered his last 85 A Gallic people who gave their name to the city of
words, “Et tu, Brute?” (“And you too, Brutus?”). Limoges.
 BCE)
366 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE PRINCIPATE (150-21

They surrender Vercingetorix and lay down their each soldier throughout the entire army as plunder. A
arms. Reserving the Aedui and Arverni, to attempt to supplication®® of twenty-days is ordered by the Senate
win over, through their influence, their respective at Rome on learning of these successes from Caesar’s
states, he distributes one of the remaining captives to dispatches.

86
cSO>
CLEOPATRA, PHARAOH
AND QUEEN OF EGYPT
(48-31 sce): PLUTARCH, LIVES
OF CAESAR AND ANTONY

A silver denarius issued in 32 sce depicts Cleopatra and Antony. The legend on the obverse reads, “Of
Cleopatra, Queen of Kings, whose Sons are Kings,” and the reverse reads, “Of Antony, after Armenia
had been defeated.” The coin thus tactfully remains silent about the defeat of Antony’s invasion of Parthia.

Cleopatra Vil was not only the last of the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt but also the last of a line of
Egyptian pharaohs that extended back to ca. 3000 sce. Her career overlaid one of the most

86 A “supplicatio” was a period of public prayer to the gods for salvation from a crisis.
CLEOPATRA, PHARAOH AND QUEEN OF EGYPT (48-31 BCE)
367

portentous periods of Roman history, the period of civil wars that brought the end of the Roman
Republic and the creation of the Roman Empire. As a Hellenistic ruler at a time when the domina-
tion of Rome extended across the entire Mediterranean, she exhibited ambition, skill, and tact as
she attempted to carve out an Egyptian empire of her own. Plutarch's lives of Julius Caesar and
Mark Antony, written in the mid-second century ce, have much to say about the relationship
between Cleopatra and these two pre-eminent Roman generals. Cleopatra became, in succession,
the lover of both of them, and adroitly used her relationships with them to expand her own
authority and power. Antony in particular is portrayed as being completely smitten with Cleopatra
and totally under her control. Cleopatra's suicide in 30 ace, which followed on her and Antony's
defeat by Julius Caesar's adopted son Octavian at the Battle of Actium in 31 sce, brought the
independent kingdom of Egypt to an end and helped to make her one of the most admired
women of antiquity; a scene of her suicide even appeared in the Christian catacombs of Rome.
In Plutarch's Life of Caesar, the discussion of Cleopatra picks up after Caesar has followed his
defeated rival Pompey to Egypt. Caesar was compelled to spend the winter there and used that
opportunity to reorganize the administration of the Ptolemaic kingdom. In the Life of Antony, the
readings likewise commence after Caesar's victory over Pompey at the Battle of Pharsalus in
48 sce. In his youth Antony had a reputation in public as an excellent general but in private life as
a frivolous, ioose-living spendthrift. Both reputations followed him throughout his life.

Source: John Dryden, Plutarch: The Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, revised by A. H. Clough, Vol. 1 (Boston: Little,
Brown, 1910).

(Plutarch, Life of Caesar) by the charm of her society that he made a reconcili-
Caesar replied that he did not want Egyptians to be ation between her and her brother, on the condition
his counselors, and soon after privately sent for that she should rule as his colleague in the kingdom.
Cleopatra from her retirement.®’ She took a small There was a plot against Caesar by Achillas, general
boat and one only of her confidants, Apollodorus the of the king’s forces, who escaped to the army and
Sicilian, along with her, and in the dusk of the even- raised a troublesome and embarrassing war against
ing landed near the palace. She was at a loss how to Caesar. The first difficulty Caesar met with was want
get in undiscovered until she thought of putting her- of water. Another was, when the enemy endeavored
self into the coverlet of a bed and lying at length to cut off his communication by sea, he was forced to
while Apollodorus tied up the bedding and carried it set fire to his own ships, which, after burning the
on his back through the gates to Caesar’s apartment. docks, spread on and destroyed the great library.®* A
Caesar was first captivated by this proof of Cleopatra’s third was when, in an engagement near Pharos, he
bold wit and afterward was afterward so overcome threw himself into the sea and with much difficulty
swam off. At last, the king having gone off to Achillas
87Tn 51 BCE, eighteen-year-old Cleopatra VII and her
younger brother, ten-year-old Ptolemy XIII, had been 88 The great library of Alexandria, founded by King
made joint rulers of Egypt; following Egyptian tradition, Ptolemy I (323-283 BCE), was said to have been de-
the two also married. In 48 BcE Cleopatra was exiled as a stroyed on several occasions: in 48 BCE; also when the
result of a palace conspiracy. Caesar, who had pursued city was recaptured by the emperor Aurelian in 272 CE;
his rival Pompey to Egypt only to find him shockingly again when the temple of Serapis was burned by
beheaded by the retinue of young Ptolemy, recalled Christians in 391 CE (see Reading 111); and finally by
Cleopatra from exile. the Arab general ‘Amr in 641 CE (see Reading 125).
368 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE PRINCIPATE (150-21 BCE)

and his party, Caesar engaged and conquered them. have the greatest influence with him. He therefore
Many fell in that battle, and the king himself was resorted to flattery and tried to induce the Egyptian
never seen again. Upon this, Caesar left Cleopatra to go to Cilicia “decked out in fine array,’ as Homer
Queen of Egypt, who soon after had a son by him, would say. She was persuaded, and judging by the
whom the Alexandrians called Caesarion, and then proofs that she had had previously of the effect of her
departed for Syria.®° beauty upon Gaius Caesar and Gnaeus the son of
Pompey,” she had hopes that she would more easily
(Plutarch, Life of Antony) bring Antony to her feet. For Caesar and Gnaeus had
Caesar cured Antony of most of his prodigality and known her when she was still a girl and inexperi-
folly by not allowing his errors to pass unnoticed. For enced in affairs, but she was going to visit Antony at
Antony put away his reprehensible way of living and the very time when women have the most brilliant
turned his thoughts to marriage, taking to wife Fulvia, beauty and are at the acme of intellectual power.
the widow of Clodius the demagogue.”° She was a Cleopatra therefore provided herself with many
woman who took no thought for spinning or house- gifts, much money, and such ornaments as high posi-
keeping, nor would she deign to bear sway over a man tion and prosperous kingdom made it natural for her
of private station, but she wished to rule a ruler and to take, but she went putting her greatest confidence
command a commander. Therefore Cleopatra later in herself and in the charms and sorceries of her own
was indebted to Fulvia for teaching Antony to endure person. She so despised and laughed the man to
a woman’s sway, because she took him over quite scorn as to sail up the Cydnus River” in a barge with
tamed and schooled at the outset to obey women. gilded poop,” its sails spread purple, its rowers
Such, then, was the nature of Antony, when as a urging it on with silver oars to the sound of the flute
crowning evil his love for Cleopatra supervened, blended with pipes and lutes. She herself reclined be-
roused, and drove to frenzy many of the passions that neath a canopy spangled with gold, adorned like
were still hidden and quiescent in him, and dissi- Venus in a painting, while boys like Cupids in paint-
pated and destroyed whatever good and saving quali- ings stood on either side and fanned her. Likewise, the
ties still offered resistance. He was taken captive in fairest of her serving-maidens, attired like Nereids and
this manner. As he was getting ready for the Parthian Graces,”’ were stationed, some at the rudder-sweeps
war,”! he sent to Cleopatra, ordering her to meet him and others at the reefing-ropes.*® Wondrous odors
in Cilicia” in order to make answer to the charges from countless incense-offerings diffused themselves
made against her of giving to Cassius much money along the river-banks. A rumor spread on every hand
for the war.’ But Dellius, Antony’s messenger, when that Venus” had come to revel with Bacchus!” for the
he saw how Cleopatra looked and noticed her sub-
tlety and cleverness in conversation, at once per- * This is the only surviving reference to a love affair be-
ceived that Antony would not so much as think of tween Cleopatra and Gnaeus, who in 49 Bck had been
doing such a woman any harm but that she would sent by his father to obtain aid from Egypt in Pompey’s
civil war with Julius Caesar. He returned with sixty ships.
°’ The modern Berdan River, next to Tarsus.
In 47 BCE. °® The back section of a ship.
°° A political ally of Julius Caesar killed during rioting in *’ The Nereids were sea nymphs who helped sailors
Rome in 52 BCE. For Clodius’s sister Clodia, see Reading 84. during storms. The Graces, known in Greek as the
*'Tn 41 BCE. Charites, were minor female goddesses connected to
*? At the city of Tarsus, on the coast of southeastern nature and fertility.
Anatolia. *® The lines used to adjust the sails.
*’ Cassius was one of the assassins of Julius Caesar in ” The goddess of love, that is, Cleopatra.
44 BcE and had been defeated by the Triumvirs Octavian °° The dissipated god of wine, that is, Antony. For
and Antony at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BcE. Bacchus worshippers, see Reading 79.
CLEOPATRA, PHARAOH AND QUEEN OF EGYPT (48-31 Bce) 369

good of Asia. Antony, therefore, invited her to supper, kept him in constant tutelage, and released him nei-
but she thought it fitting that he should rather come to ther night nor day. She played at dice with him, drank
her. At once, then, Antony obeyed and went. Cleopatra with him, hunted with him, and watched him as he
observed in the jests of Antony much of the soldier exercised himself in arms. When by night he would
and the common man and adopted this manner also station himself at the doors or windows of the
toward him, boldly and without restraint. common folk and scoff at those within, she would go
Her beauty was in itself not altogether incompara- with him on his round of mad follies, wearing the
ble nor such as to strike those who saw her, but con- garb of a serving maiden, for Antony also would try
versation with her had an irresistible charm, and her to array himself like a servant.
presence, combined with the persuasiveness of her While Antony was indulging in such follies, he
discourse and the character that was somehow dif- was surprised by reports from two quarters: one
fused about her behavior toward others, had some- from Rome, that Lucius his brother and Fulvia his
thing stimulating about it. There was sweetness also wife had waged war with Octavian Caesar, had lost,
in the tones of her voice. Her tongue, like an instru- and were in flight from Italy, and another, that the
ment of many strings, she could readily turn to what- Parthians were subduing Asia as far as Lydia and
ever language she pleased, so that in her interviews Ionia. He learned that Fulvia had been to blame for
with barbarians she very seldom had need of an in- the war, being naturally a meddlesome and head-
terpreter, but made her replies to most of them her- strong woman and hoping to draw Antony away
self and unassisted, whether they were Ethiopians, from Cleopatra. It happened, however, that Fulvia
Troglodytes,'°! Hebrews, Arabians, Syrians, Medes fell sick and died at Sicyon.' Therefore there was an
or Parthians. Nay, it is said that she knew the speech opportunity for a reconciliation with Caesar.'°° The
of many other peoples also, although the kings of friends of the two men reconciled them, and divided
Egypt before her had not even made an effort to learn up the empire assigning the east to Antony, and the
the native language, and some actually gave up their west to Caesar. These arrangements needed a
Macedonian dialect.'!° Accordingly, she made such stronger security, and this security Fortune offered.
sport of Antony that, while Fulvia his wife was car- Octavia was a sister of Caesar. Her husband, Caius
rying on war at Rome with Caesar in defense of her Marcellus, had died a short time before and she was
husband’s interests, and while a Parthian army was a widow. Antony, too, was a widower; although he
hovering about Mesopotamia, he suffered her to did not deny his relations with Cleopatra, he would
hurry him off to Alexandria. There, indulging in the not admit that she was his wife, for his reason was
sports and diversions of a young man of leisure, he still battling with his love for the Egyptian. When
squandered and spent upon pleasures that which An- both men were agreed, they went up to Rome and
tiphon'™ calls the most costly outlay, namely, time.'** celebrated Antony’s marriage to Octavia.'”’
They had an association called The Inimitable Livers, Antony, after putting Octavia in Caesar’s charge
and every day they feasted one another, making ex- together with his children by her and Fulvia,'®
penditures of incredible profusion. crossed over into Asia. But the dire evil that had
Cleopatra, ever contributing some fresh delight been slumbering for a long time, namely, his passion
and charm to Antony’s hours of seriousness or mirth,

105 A city in Greece.

101 A people from the African coast of the Red Sea. 106 That is, Octavian.
102 That is, they only spoke standard Greek. '07Tn the fall of 40 BCE.
103 An Athenian orator of the late fifth century BCE. !08 Antony and Octavia’s daughter Antonia would become
104 Antony spent the winter of the years 41-40 BCE with the mother of the emperor Claudius (41-54 cg), the
Cleopatra in Alexandria. At the end of 40 BcE Cleopatra grandmother of the emperor Caligula (37—41 cE), and the
gave birth to twins. great-grandmother of the emperor Nero (54—68 CE).
370 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE PRINCIPATE (150-21 BcE)

for Cleopatra, which men thought had been put to much praise also upon their valor. Antony held a
rest by sensible considerations, blazed up again with review of his troops and found that twenty thousand
renewed power as he drew near to Syria. Finally, he of the infantry and four thousand of the cavalry had
spurned away all saving and noble counsels and perished, not all at the hands of the enemy but more
brought Cleopatra to Syria. When she had come, he than half by disease. He himself went down to the sea
made her a present of no insignificant addition to her and waited for Cleopatra to come. Because she was
dominions, namely, Phoenicia, Coele Syria, Cyprus, slow in arriving he was beside himself with distress,
and a large part of Cilicia, and still further, the promptly resorting to drinking and intoxication, and
balsam-producing part of Judaea and all that part of in the midst of the drinking would often spring up to
Arabia Nabataea that slopes toward the outer sea.!° look out until she put into port. Afterward, Antony
These gifts particularly annoyed the Romans. He once more invaded Armenia and took Artavasdes!"*
also made presents to many private persons of tetrar- in chains down to Alexandria, where he celebrated a
chies and realms of great peoples,'!° but the shame- triumph. And herein particularly did he give offense
fulness of the honors conferred upon Cleopatra gave to the Romans, because he bestowed the honorable
most offense. And he heightened the scandal by ac- and solemn rites of his native country upon the Egyp-
knowledging his two children by her, and called one tians for Cleopatra’s sake.''*
Alexander and the other Cleopatra, with the surname Meanwhile, at Rome Octavia was desirous of
of “Sun” for the first and of “Moon” for the other. sailing to Antony, and Caesar'! gave her permission
After sending Cleopatra back to Egypt, Antony to do so, not as a favor to her, but in order that, in
proceeded through Arabia and Armenia to the place case she were neglected and treated with scorn, he
where his forces were assembled.'"’ And yet we are might have plausible ground for war. But Cleopatra
told that all this preparation and power, which terri- was afraid that if Octavia added to the dignity of her
fied even the Indians beyond Bactria and made all character and the power of Caesar her assiduous at-
Asia quiver, was made of no avail to Antony by tentions to Antony, she would become invincible and
reason of Cleopatra. For so eager was he to spend the get complete control over her husband. She therefore
winter with her that he began the war before the pretended to be passionately in love with Antony
proper time and managed everything confusedly. He herself and reduced her body by slender diet. She put
was not master of his own faculties, but, as if he were on a look of rapture when Antony drew near and one
under the influence of drugs or of magic rites, was of melancholy when he went away. She contrived
ever looking eagerly toward her and thinking more often to be seen in tears and then would quickly wipe
of his speedy return than of conquering the enemy. the tears away and try to hide them, as if she would
not have Antony notice them. Her flatterers reviled
[After some initial successes, Antony is forced to re- Antony as hard-hearted and unfeeling, and as the de-
treat until he finally reaches the Euphrates River.] stroyer of a mistress who was devoted only to him.
The front ranks advanced little by little, and the Octavia, they said, had married him as a matter of
river'? came in sight. On its bank Antony sent his sick public policy, but Cleopatra, who was queen of so
and disabled soldiers across first. When the Parthians many people, was called Antony’s beloved. At last,
saw the river, they unstrung their bows and bade the Antony became fearful that Cleopatra would throw
Romans cross over with good courage, bestowing away her life and went back to Alexandria.
At Rome, Antony was hated for the distribution
'0° The ocean, in this case the Indian Ocean. that he made to his children in Alexandria; it was
110 Apparently a reference to the installation of client
rulers. 3 The King of Armenia.
| For the war against Parthia. "4 Ty 34 BCE.
'l2 The westernmost loop of the Euphrates River. "5 Octavian.
CLEOPATRA, PHARAOH AND QUEEN OF EGYPT (48-31 BcE) Shifll

seen to evince hatred of Rome.'’° For after placing on with united forces they sailed to Samos!”* and there
a tribunal of silver two thrones of gold, one for him- made merry.
self and the other for Cleopatra, and other lower Meanwhile, Titius and Plancus, friends of Antony
thrones for his sons, in the first place he declared and men of consular rank, being abused by Cleopatra,
Cleopatra to be Queen of Egypt, Cyprus, Libya, and ran away to Caesar and gave him information about
Coele Syria, and she was to share her throne with Antony’s will, which was on deposit with the Vestal
Caesarion.'”’ Caesarion was believed to be a son of Virgins. When Caesar asked for it, they would not
the former Caesar, by whom Cleopatra was left preg- give it to him, but if he wanted to, they told him to
nant. In the second place, he proclaimed his own come and take it. So he assembled the Senate and
sons by Cleopatra as Kings of Kings. To Alexander read it aloud to them. Caesar laid most stress on the
he allotted Armenia, Media, and Parthia (when he clause that directed that Antony’s body, even if he
would have subdued it), and to Ptolemy Phoenicia, should die in Rome, should be borne in state through
Syria, and Cilicia.'!= Cleopatra assumed a robe the Forum and then sent away to Cleopatra in Egypt.
sacred to Isis and was addressed as the New Isis. By And Calvisius, a companion of Caesar, brought for-
reporting these things to the Senate and by frequent ward charges against Antony that he had bestowed
denunciations before the people Caesar tried to in- upon Cleopatra the libraries from Pergamum, in
flame the multitude against Antony. which there were two hundred thousand volumes!”?;
Antony heard of this while he was tarrying in that at a banquet he had stood up and rubbed
Armenia, and at once he ordered Canidius!! to take Cleopatra’s feet; that he had consented to have the
sixteen legions and go down to the sea, but he himself Ephesians salute Cleopatra as mistress; and that
took Cleopatra with him and came to Ephesus.'”° many times, while he was seated on his tribunal and
Antony ordered Cleopatra to sail to Egypt and there dispensing justice, he received love letters from her
await the result of the war.!*! Cleopatra, however, and read them.
fearing that Octavia would again succeed in putting a When Caesar had made sufficient preparations, a
stop to the war, said that it was neither just to drive vote was passed to wage war against Cleopatra and
away from the war a woman whose contributions to it to take away from Antony the authority that he had
were so large nor was it for the interest of Antony to surrendered to a woman. Caesar said in addition that
dispirit the Egyptians, who formed a large part of his Antony had been drugged and was not even master
naval force. And besides, it was not easy to see how of himself. When the forces came together for the
Cleopatra was inferior in intelligence to anyone of the war,'** Antony had no fewer than five hundred fight-
princes who took part in the expedition, she who for a ing ships, among which were many vessels of eight
long time had governed so large a kingdom by herself and ten banks of oars. He also had one hundred thou-
and by long association with Antony had learned to sand infantry soldiers and twelve thousand horse-
manage large affairs. These arguments prevailed, and men. Caesar had two hundred and fifty ships of war,
eighty thousand infantry, and about as many horse-
men as his enemies.
116 The so-called “Donations of Alexandria,” at the same To such an extent, now, was Antony an appendage
time as Antony’s triumph in 34 BCE. of the woman that although he was far superior on
17 Caesarion thus became Ptolemy XV.
8 Tn addition, Cleopatra Selene was allotted Cyrenaica
and Libya. 122 An island, and city, in the Aegean Sea off the coast of
9 Antony’s most important general; he later was exe- Ionia.
cuted by Octavian. !23 To replace the books that had been burned during
120A Greek city on the Ionian coast of Anatolia. Caesar’s stay; the library of Pergamum was second only
121 Antony by now had realized that war with Octavian to that of Alexandria.
was inevitable. !24Tn 31 BCE, at Actium on the coast of western Greece.
312 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE PRINCIPATE (150-21 BCE)

land, he wished the decision to rest with his navy, to women in Cleopatra’s company persuaded them to
please Cleopatra, even though he saw that for lack of eat and sleep together. After Antony had reached the
crews his trierarchs'* were recruiting wayfarers, coast of Libya and sent Cleopatra forward into Egypt
mule-drivers, harvesters, and teen-agers, and that from Paraetonium,!”’ he had the benefit of solitude
even then their ships were not fully manned, but without end.
most of them were deficient and sailed wretchedly. Antony tried to kill himself, but was prevented by
Canidius, the commander of the land forces, advised his friends and brought to Alexandria. Here he found
Antony to send Cleopatra away and to decide the Cleopatra venturing upon a hazardous and great un-
issue by a land battle, saying that it would be a dertaking. The isthmus in Egypt that separates the
strange thing for Antony, who was most experienced Red Sea from the Mediterranean Sea and is consid-
in land conflicts, not to avail himself of his numerous ered to be the boundary between Asia and Libya, at
legionary soldiers but to distribute his forces among its narrowest point measures three hundred furlongs.
ships and fritter them away. Cleopatra, however, pre- Here Cleopatra undertook to raise her fleet out of
vailed with her opinion that the war should be de- water and drag the ships across, and after launching
cided by the ships. them in the Arabian Gulf with much money and a
During that day, then, and the three following large force, to settle outside of Egypt, thus escaping
days the sea was tossed up by a strong wind and pre- war and servitude. But because the Arabians about
vented the battle, but on the fifth, the weather becom- Petra’”® burned the first ships that were drawn up,
ing fine and the sea calm, they came to an engagement. and Antony still thought that his land forces at
The sea-fight was undecided and equally favorable to Actium were holding together, she desisted, and
both sides when suddenly the sixty ships of Cleopatra guarded the approaches to the country.
were seen hoisting their sails for flight and making Canidius in person brought him word of the loss
off through the midst of the combatants. The enemy of his forces at Actium, but none of these things
looked on with amazement. Here, Antony made it greatly disturbed him, for he gladly laid aside his
clear to all the world that he was swayed neither by hopes so that he also might lay aside his anxieties.
the sentiments of a commander nor of a brave man, After he had been received into the palace by
nor even by his own, but he was dragged along by the Cleopatra, he turned the city to the enjoyment of
woman as if he had become incorporate with her and suppers and drinking-bouts and distributions of
must go where she did. No sooner did he see her ship gifts. Cleopatra and Antony now dissolved their
sailing off than he forgot everything else, betrayed famous society of Inimitable Livers and founded an-
and ran away from those who were fighting and other, not at all inferior to that in extravagant outlay,
dying in his cause, got into a five-oared galley, and which they called the society of Partners in Death.
hastened after the woman who had already ruined They passed the time delightfully in a round of sup-
him and would make his ruin still more complete. pers. Moreover, Cleopatra was getting together col-
Cleopatra recognized him and raised a signal on her lections of all sorts of deadly poisons. She tested the
ship, so Antony came up and was taken on board, but painless working of each of them by giving them to
he neither saw nor was seen by her. Instead, he went prisoners under sentence of death. But when she saw
forward alone to the prow and sat down by himself in that the speedy poisons enhanced the sharpness of
silence, holding his head in both hands. He spent death by the pain they caused, whereas the milder
three days by himself at the prow, either because he poisons were not quick, she made trial of venomous
was angry with Cleopatra or because he was ashamed animals. She found that the bite of the asp alone
to see her, and then put in at Taenarum.!”° Here the
'°7 Modern Mersa Matruh on the Mediterranean coast of
29 Ship captains. Egypt, now a major tourist destination.
6 A coastal city near Sparta in southern Greece. "8 A powerful trading city of northern Arabia.
CLEOPATRA, PHARAOH AND QUEEN OF EGYPT (48-31 BcE) S13

induced a sleepy torpor and sinking, where there was tomb. Cleopatra, however, would not open the doors,
no spasm or groan but rather a gentle perspiration on but showed herself at a window, from which she let
the face, while the perceptive faculties were easily down ropes and cords, and she drew him up herself
relaxed and dimmed, and resisted all attempts to with the aid of the two women whom alone she had
rouse and restore them, as is the case with those who admitted with her. Smeared with blood and strug-
are soundly asleep. gling with death he was drawn up, stretching out his
When the winter was over, Caesar marched hands to her even as he dangled in the air. For the
against his enemy through Syria, and his generals task was not an easy one, and scarcely could
through Libya. When Caesar had taken up position Cleopatra, with clinging hands and strained face,
near the hippodrome, Antony sallied forth against pull up the rope. And when she had thus got him in
him and routed his cavalry. Then, exalted by his vic- and laid him down, she rent her garments over him,
tory, he went into the palace and kissed Cleopatra, beat and tore her breasts with her hands, wiped some
all armed as he was. Antony, conscious that there of his blood upon her face, and called him master,
was no better death for him than that by battle, deter- husband, and Imperator; indeed, she almost forgot
mined to attack by land and sea at once. He person- her own ills in her pity for his. But Antony stopped
ally posted his infantry on the hills in front of the her lamentations and asked for a drink of wine, either
city and watched his ships as they attacked those of because he was thirsty or in the hope of a speedier
the enemy. But the crews of his ships saluted Cae- release. When he had drunk, he advised her to con-
sar’s crews with their oars and changed sides. No sult her own safety, if she could do it without dis-
sooner had Antony seen this than he also was de- grace, and among all the companions of Caesar to
serted by his cavalry, and after being defeated with put most confidence in Proculeius,'° and not to
his infantry he retired into the city, crying out that he lament him for his last reverses, but to count him
had been betrayed by Cleopatra to those with whom happy for the good things that had been his, because
he waged war for her sake. But she, fearing his anger he had become most illustrious of men, had won
and his madness, fled for refuge into her tomb. Then greatest power, and now had been not ignobly con-
she sent messengers to tell Antony that she was dead. quered, a Roman by a Roman.
Antony believed that message, and saying to himself, Scarcely was he dead when Caesar sent Proc-
“Why doest thou longer delay, Antony? Fortune has uleius, bidding him, if possible, above all things to get
taken away thy sole remaining excuse for clinging to Cleopatra into his power alive, for he was fearful
life’’ he went into his chamber. Here, as he unfas- about the treasures in her funeral pyre, and he thought
tened his breastplate and laid it aside, he said: “O it would add greatly to the glory of his triumph if she
Cleopatra, I am not grieved to be bereft of thee, for I were led in the procession. Proculeius applied a
shall straightway join thee; but I am grieved that such ladder and went in through the window. One of the
an Imperator'”’ as I am has been found to be inferior women imprisoned with Cleopatra cried out,
to a woman in courage.” And running himself “Wretched Cleopatra, thou art taken alive,’ where-
through the belly with his sword he dropped upon the upon the queen turned about, saw Proculeius, and
couch. But the wound did not bring a speedy death. tried to stab herself, for she had at her girdle a dagger
Antony lay writhing and crying out until Diome- such as robbers wear. Proculeius ran swiftly to her,
des the secretary came from Cleopatra with orders to threw both his arms about her, and said: ““O Cleopatra,
bring him to her in the tomb. Having learned that thou art wronging both thyself and Caesar by trying
Cleopatra was alive, Antony eagerly ordered his to rob him of an opportunity to show great kindness.”
servants to raise him up, and he was carried to her At the same time he took away her weapon, and shook

130 A knight and good friend of Octavian, known for his

129 A general who has won an important victory. powers of persuasion.
374 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE PRINCIPATE (150-21 BcE)

out her clothing, to see whether she was concealing After such lamentations, she wreathed and kissed
any poison. And there was also sent from Caesar one the urn and then ordered a bath to be prepared for
of his freedmen, Epaphroditus, with injunctions to herself. After her bath, there came a man from the
keep the queen alive by the strictest vigilance. countryside carrying a basket, and when the guards
After a few days Caesar himself came to talk with asked him what he was bringing there, he opened the
her and give her comfort. She was lying on a mean basket and showed them a dish full of leaves and figs.
pallet-bed, clad only in her tunic, but she sprang up The guards were amazed at the great size and beauty
as he entered and threw herself at his feet. Her hair of the figs, whereupon the man smiled and asked
and face were in terrible disarray, her voice trem- them to take some, so they felt no mistrust and bade
bled, and her eyes were sunken. There were also vis- him take them in. After her meal, Cleopatra took a
ible many marks of the cruel blows upon her bosom; tablet that was already written upon and sealed and
in a word, her body seemed to be no better off than sent it to Caesar. When Caesar opened the tablet, he
her spirit. Nevertheless, the charm for which she was found there supplications of one who begged that he
famous and the boldness of her beauty were not alto- would bury her with Antony and quickly knew what
gether extinguished, but, although she was in such a had happened. He ordered messengers to go with all
sorry plight, they shone forth from within and made speed and investigate. But the mischief had been
themselves manifest in the play of her features. swift. When they opened the doors they found
Caesar told her that he would give her more splendid Cleopatra lying dead upon a golden couch, arrayed
treatment than she could possibly expect. Then he in royal state. Of her two women, the one called Iras
went off, supposing that he had deceived her, but he was dying at her feet, while Charmion, already tot-
rather had been deceived by her. tering and heavy-handed, was trying to arrange the
Cleopatra begged Caesar that she might be per- diadem that encircled the queen’s brow. Then some-
mitted to pour libations for Antony; and when the body said in anger: “A fine deed, this, Charmion!”
request was granted, she had herself carried to the “Tt is indeed most fine,’ she said, “and befitting the
tomb, and embracing the urn that held his ashes, she descendent of so many kings.” Not a word more did
said: “Dear Antony, I buried thee but lately with she speak, but fell there by the side of the couch. It is
hands still free; now, however, I pour libations for said that a cobra'*! was brought with those figs and
thee as a captive, and so carefully guarded that I leaves and lay hidden beneath them. When she took
cannot either with blows or tears disfigure this body away some of the figs and saw it, she said, “There it
of mine, which is a slave’s body and closely watched is, you see,” and baring her arm she held it out for the
so that it may grace the triumph over thee. Do not bite. Caesar, although vexed at the death of the
expect other honors or libations; these are the last woman, admired her lofty spirit; and he gave orders
from Cleopatra the captive. For although in life noth- that her body should be buried with that of Antony in
ing could part us from each other, in death we are splendid and regal fashion.
likely to change places, with thee, the Roman, lying
buried here, while I, the hapless woman, lie in Italy.
But if indeed there is any might or power in the gods
of that country (for the gods of this country have be-
trayed us), do not abandon thine own wife while she
lives, nor permit a triumph to be celebrated over
'' The word used here, “aspis,” meaning simply a poison-
myself in my person, but hide and bury me here with ous snake, does not refer to the European snake called
thyself, because out of all my innumerable ills not the asp, as it commonly is rendered, but to the Egyptian
one is so great and dreadful as this short time that I cobra. Ironically, a rearing cobra known as the “uraeus”
have lived apart from thee.” was affixed to the forehead of the Pharaoh.
 87
cSQ>
AN EXEMPLARY ROMAN WOMAN
(oA 2 O0UBCE). LHE “PRAISE OF
ei

A section of the “Praise of Turia,” engraved on a stone tombstone in the late first century BCE.

The “Laudatio Turiae,” or “Praise of Turia,” is an inscription on a tombstone that preserves

a husband's lengthy and very touching eulogy on the virtues of his wife. The woman's
name is not preserved on the fragmentary inscription, but she often has been identified
with the Turia who was married to Q. Lucretius Vespillo, who was proscribed by the Second

375
376 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE PRINCIPATE (150-21 BcE)

Triumvirate in 43 sce but later rose to become Consul in 19 sce. His deeds during the pro-
scriptions were described by the authors Valerius Maximus and Appian.

Source: ILS 8393: Erik Wistrand, The So-Called Laudatio Turiae (Berlingska Boktryckeriet, 1976)

(Heading) Cluvius.'*+ How you reacted to this, with what pres-

ence of mind you offered resistance, I know full
[---] of my wife well, although I was absent.
You defended our common cause by asserting the
(Left-hand column) truth, namely, that the will had not in fact been
broken, so that we should both keep the property, in-
(line 1) [---] through the honesty of your character stead of your getting all of it alone.’ It was your firm
[---] you remained [---] decision that you would defend your father’s written
You became an orphan suddenly before the day of word; you would do this anyhow, you declared, by
our wedding, when both your parents were murdered sharing your inheritance with your sister, if you were
together in the solitude of the countryside. It was unable to uphold the validity of the will. And you
mainly due to your efforts that the death of your par- maintained that you would not come under the state
ents was not left unavenged, for I had left for Mace- of legal guardianship,'°° because there was no such
donia, and your sister’s husband Cluvius!*? had gone right against you in law, for there was no proof that
to the province of Africa. your father belonged to any gens that could by law
So strenuously did you perform your filial duty by compel you to do this. For even assuming that your
your insistent demands and your pursuit of justice father’s will had become void, those who prosecuted
that we could not have done more if we had been had no such right because they did not belong to the
present. These merits you have in common with that same gens.'3’ They gave way before your firm resolu-
most virtuous lady your sister. tion and did not pursue the matter any further. Thus
While you were engaged in these things, having you on your own brought to a successful conclusion
secured the punishment of the guilty, you immedi-
ately left your own house in order to guard your
modesty and you came to my mother’s house, '54 That is, she had entered a marriage “cum manu”
where you awaited my return. Then pressure was (“with authority”), in which she came under the legal
brought to bear on you and your sister to accept the authority of her husband: Doing so disqualified her from
being an heir of her father.
view that your father’s will, by which you and I
'S Tf the will had been disallowed, Turia would have in-
were heirs, had been invalidated by his having con-
herited everything as the only surviving child still under
tracted a coemptio'*’ with his wife. If that was the
the potestas (legal authority) of her father, which indi-
case, then you together with all your father’s prop- cates that her marriage must have been “sine manu”
erty would necessarily come under the guardian- (“without authority”), in which she remained under her
ship of those involved, and your sister would be own legal authority.
left without any share at all of that inheritance, '°° Having the property put under someone else’s guardian-
because she had been transferred to the potestas of ship was to be avoided because guardians sometimes mis-
managed the property put in their care, as in Reading 79.
'57Tn Roman law, guardians were to be appointed from
'32 Otherwise unknown. among a person’s nearest agnates, that is, male relatives
'33 That is, the property had been put into trust. Guardians from the same “gens” (extended family); see Reading 76.
would have been appointed, and Turia and her husband Given that the accusers were not agnates, they had no
would not have had direct access to the property. legal right to bring a case, and the will thus stood.
AN EXEMPLARY ROMAN WOMAN (ca. 20 Bce): THE “PRAISE OF TURIA” 377

the defense you took up because of your duty to your with us. You also provided dowries for them so that
father, your devotion to your sister, and your faithful- they could obtain marriages worthy of your family.
ness toward me. The dowries you had decided upon Cluvius and I by
Marriages as long as ours are rare, marriages that common accord took upon ourselves to pay,'*? and
are ended by death and not broken by divorce. For because we approved of your generosity we did not
we were fortunate enough to see our marriage last wish that you should let your own patrimony suffer
without disharmony for fully forty years. I wish that diminution but substituted our own money and gave
our long union had come to its final end through our own estates as dowries. I have mentioned this not
something that had befallen me instead of you; it from a wish to commend ourselves but to make clear
would have been more just if I as the older partner that it was a point of honor for us to execute with our
had had to yield to fate through such an event. means what you had conceived in a spirit of generous
Why should I mention your domestic virtues: family affection.
your loyalty, obedience, affability, reasonableness, A number of other benefits of yours I have pre-
industry in working wool,'** religion without super- ferred not to mention [---]
stition, sobriety of attire, modesty of appearance?
Why dwell on your love for your relatives, your devo- (several lines missing)
tion to your family? You have shown the same atten-
tion to my mother as you did to your own parents, (Right-hand column)
and have taken care to secure an equally peaceful You provided abundantly for my needs during my
life for her as you did for your own people, and you flight'*° and gave me the means for a dignified
have innumerable other merits in common with all manner of living, when you took all the gold and
married women who care for their good name. It is jewelry from your own body and sent it to me and
your very own virtues that I am asserting, and very over and over again enriched me in my absence with
few women have encountered comparable circum- servants, money, and provisions, showing great inge-
stances to make them endure such sufferings and nuity in deceiving the guards posted by our
perform such deeds. Providentially Fate has made adversaries.
such hard tests rare for women. You begged for my life when I was abroad—it
We have preserved all the property you inherited was your courage that urged you to this step—and
from your parents under common custody, for you because of your entreaties I was shielded by the
were not concerned to make your own what you had clemency of those against whom you marshaled your
given to me without any restriction. We divided our words. Whatever you said was always said with un-
duties in such a way that I had the guardianship of daunted courage.
your property and you had the care of mine. Con- Meanwhile when a troop of men collected by
cerning this side of our relationship I pass over much, Milo,'*! whose house I had acquired through pur-
in case I should take a share myself in what is prop- chase when he was in exile, tried to profit by the
erly yours. May it be enough for me to have said this
much to indicate how you felt and thought. '39 Because Turia’s sister was under the legal authority
Your generosity you have manifested to many of Cluvius, the latter had control of her inheritance.
friends and particularly to your beloved relatives. On 140 A supporter of Pompey during the latter’s civil war
this point someone might mention with praise other with Julius Caesar, he again chose the wrong side and
women, but the only equal you have had has been was proscribed by the Second Triumvirate in 43 BcE. He
your sister. For you brought up your female relations later returned to favor and was named Consul for 19 BCE.
who deserved such kindness in your own houses '4l A rabble-rousing Tribune of the Plebs who opposed
Julius Caesar; he was exiled in 52 BcE after the murder
138 The pre-eminent virtue of Roman women; see Reading 75. of Clodius.
378 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE PRINCIPATE (150-21 BCE)

opportunities provided by the civil war and break him.'*4 What could have been more effective than the
into our house to plunder, you beat them back suc- virtue you displayed? You managed to give Caesar an
cessfully and were able to defend our home. opportunity to display his clemency and not only to
preserve my life but also to brand Lepidus’ insolent
(About 12 lines missing) cruelty by your admirable endurance.
[---] exist [---] that I was brought back to my country But why go on? Let me cut my speech short. My
by him! for if you had not, by taking care for my words should and can be brief, lest by dwelling on
safety, provided what he could save, he would have your great deeds I treat them unworthily. In grati-
promised his support in vain. Thus I owe my life no tude of your great services toward me let me display
less to your devotion than to Caesar. before the eyes of all men my public acknowledge-
Why should I now hold up to view our intimate ment that you saved my life. When peace had been
and secret plans and private conversations. How I restored throughout the world and the lawful politi-
was saved by your good advice when I was roused by cal order reestablished, we began to enjoy quiet and
startling reports to meet sudden and imminent dan- happy times. It is true that we did wish to have chil-
gers; how you did not allow me imprudently to tempt dren, who had for a long time been denied to us by
providence by an overbold step but prepared a safe an envious fate. If it had pleased Fortune to continue
hiding-place for me when I had given up my ambi- to be favorable to us as she was wont to be, what
tious designs, choosing as partners in your plans to would have been lacking for either of us? But For-
save me your sister and her husband Cluvius, all of tune took a different course, and our hopes were
you taking the same risk? There would be no end, if sinking. The courses you considered and the steps
I tried to go into all this. It is enough for me and for you attempted to take because of this would perhaps
you that I was hidden and my life was saved. be remarkable and praiseworthy in some other
But I must say that the bitterest thing that hap- women, but in you they are nothing to wonder at
pened to me in my life befell me although what hap- when compared to your other great qualities and I
pened to you. When thanks to the kindness and will not go into them.
judgment of the absent Caesar Augustus I had been When you despaired of your ability to bear chil-
restored to my county as a citizen, Marcus Lepidus,!? dren and grieved over my childlessness, you became
his colleague, who was present, was confronted with anxious lest by retaining you in marriage I might
your request concerning my recall, and you lay pros- lose all hope of having children and be distressed for
trate at his feet, and you were not only not raised up that reason. So you proposed a divorce outright and
but were dragged away and carried off brutally like a offered to yield our house free to another woman’s
slave. But although your body was full of bruises, fertility. Your intention was in fact that you yourself,
your spirit was unbroken and you kept reminding relying on our well-known conformity of sentiment,
him of Caesar’s edict with its expression of pleasure would search out and provide for me a wife who was
at my reinstatement, and although you had to listen to worthy and suitable for me, and you declared that
insulting words and suffer cruel wounds, you pro- you would regard future children as joint and as your
nounced the words of the edict in a loud voice, so that own, and that you would not effect a separation of
it should be known who was the cause of my deadly our property that hitherto had been held in common,
perils. This matter was soon to prove harmful for but that it would still be under my control and, if I
wished so, under your administration: nothing would
Octavian Augustus. be kept apart by you, nothing separate, and you
43.Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, one of the members of the
Second Triumvirate; during Antony’s and Octavian’s
campaign against Caesar’s assassins in 43 BCE, Lepidus '* Lepidus was forced into retirement by Octavian and
was left in charge back in Rome. Antony in 36 BCE.
AN EXEMPLARY ROMAN WOMAN (ca. 20 sce): THE “PRAISE OF TURIA” 379

would thereafter take upon yourself the duties and comfort me. I on my part will, however, bend my
the loyalty of a sister and a mother-in-law.'*5 way of thinking and feeling to your judgments and
I must admit that I flared up so that I almost lost be guided by your admonitions.
control of myself; so horrified was I by what you But all your opinions and instructions should give
tried to do that I found it difficult to retrieve my com- precedence to the praise you have won so that this
posure. To think that separation should be consid- praise will be a consolation for me and I will not feel
ered between us before fate had so ordained, to think too much the loss of what I have consecrated to im-
that you had been able to conceive in your mind the mortality to be remembered forever.
idea that you might cease to be my wife while I was What you have achieved in your life will not be
still alive, although you had been utterly faithful to lost to me. The thought of your fame gives me
me when I was exiled and practically dead! strength of mind and from your actions I draw in-
What desire, what need to have children could I struction so that I shall be able to resist Fortune. For-
have had that was so great that I should have broken tune did not rob me of everything because it permitted
faith for that reason and changed certainty for uncer- your memory to be glorified by praise. But along with
tainty? But no more about this! You remained with me you I have lost the tranquility of my existence. When
as my wife, for I could not have given in to you with- I recall how you used to foresee and ward off the dan-
out disgrace for me and unhappiness for both of us. gers that threatened me, I break down under my ca-
But on your part, what could have been more lamity and cannot hold steadfastly by my promise.
worthy of commemoration and praise than your ef- Natural sorrow wrests away my power of self-
forts in devotion to my interests: when I could not control and I am overwhelmed by sorrow. I am tor-
have children from yourself, you wanted me to have mented by two emotions: grief and fear—and I do
them through your good offices, and because you de- not stand firm against either. When I go back in time
spaired of bearing children, to provide me with off- to my previous misfortunes and when I envisage
spring by my marriage to another woman. what the future may have in store for me, fixing my
Would that the life-span of each of us had allowed eyes on your glory does not give me strength to bear
our marriage to continue until I, as the older partner, my sorrow with patience. Rather I seem to be des-
had been borne to the grave—that would have been tined to long mourning.
more just—and you had performed for me the last The conclusions of my speech will be that you de-
rites, and that I had died leaving you still alive and served everything but that it did not fall to my lot to
that I had had you as a daughter to myself in place of give you everything as I ought. Your last wishes I
my childlessness. have regarded as law; whatever it will be in my power
Fate decreed that you should precede me. You to do in addition, I shall do.
bequeathed me sorrow through my longing for you I pray that your Di manes'° will grant you rest
and left me a miserable man without children to and protection.

146 “The Remaining Gods,” deities that embody the spirits

of deceased loved ones; Roman tombstones often began
their epitaphs with the large letters “DM,” “To spirits that
145 To the new wife, that is. remain.”
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 CHAPTER, 12
cSS>
The Roman Peace (27 Bce—192 ce)

The Principate—the Roman Empire as established by Augustus—inaugurated a period of

more than two hundred years of peace and prosperity for the Roman world. For the most
part, the Roman army not only was successfully kept out of politics but also maintained a
secure frontier defense system that prevented foreign invasions at the same time that it per-
mitted commerce and immigration across the borders. As the Roman Empire became more
socially, culturally, and economically integrated, it embraced all of the manifold peoples
living within its diffuse frontiers and provided opportunities for advancement to all of its
residents. The evolution of a Mediterranean Culture created the most cohesive and success-
ful empire that the world had yet known. In general, the first and second centuries are known
as the period of the Pax Romana, or Roman Peace. The most unified culture and society yet
known extended from Britain to Arabia.

381
382 THE ROMAN PEACE (27 BcE-192 CE)

ATLANTIC sb Sfowre) 2 GERMEANIA

OCEAN o GNA,

1, PENNINE ALPS cay oe

UPPEK
2, COTTIAN ALPS PANNONIA
3. MARITIME ALPS

Wiafeeille
CORSICA} ~

SICILY
Cxtthage “e'Syracuse
ae S

Leptis Magna

150 300 Mi
a
150 300Km

Map 12 The Roman Empire at Its Greatest Extent at the Death of Trajan, 117 ce
 88
cSQ>
ANCHISES PROPHESIZES THE
FUTURE OF ROME (19 sce):
VERGIL, AENEID, BOOK 6

A mosaic from Hadrumetum in North Africa depicts Vergil with two of the muses, Clio, the muse of
history, and Melpomene, the muse of poetry. Preserved now in the Bardo Museum in Tunis.

The Aeneid of Vergil, which told of the ten years of wandering by Aeneas as he made his way
around the Mediterranean world from burning Troy to a settlement not far from the later
site of Rome, was the national poem of Rome during the Roman Empire. It was the first work
of literature that anyone learning to read and write Latin studied. In the sixth book, Aeneas
visits the Cumaean Sibyl, who utters prophesies on behalf of the god Apollo. The Sibyl! leads
Aeneas through the underworld, where he eventually meets his father, Anchises, who predicts
the future greatness of Rome, including the greatness of the emperor Augustus. In Vergil's
view, then, the rise of Augustus and the Roman Empire had been preordained by the gods.
The story begins here with Aeneas's arrival in Italy.

Source: H. R. Fairclough, trans., Vergil. Eclogues, Georgics, Aeneid, Loeb Classical Library, 2 vols. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard
University Press, 1916).

383
384 THE ROMAN PEACE (27 BcE-192 CE)

Thus Aeneas at last glides up to the shores of Euboean skirting mighty lands, now at last is Italy’s ever reced-
Cumae.' Dutiful? Aeneas seeks the heights, where ing shore within our grasp. Thus far only may Troy’s
Apollo sits enthroned, and a vast cavern hard by, fortune have followed us! You, too, may now fitly spare
hidden haunt of the dread Sibyl,? into whom the Delian the people of Pergamus,'! you gods and goddesses!”
seer* breathes a mighty mind and soul, revealing the all, to whom Troy and Dardania’s great glory were an
future. The huge side of the Euboean rock is hewn into offense. And you, most holy prophetess, who fore-
a cavern, into which lead a hundred wide mouths, a know the future, grant that the Teucrians may rest in
hundred gateways, from which rush as many voices, Latium,'> with the wandering gods and storm-tossed
the answers of the Sibyl. They had come to the thresh- powers of Troy. Then to Phoebus and Trivia" will I set
old, when the maiden cries: “Tis time to ask the ora- up a temple of solid marble, and festal days in Phoe-
cles; the god, lo! the god!” As thus she spoke before the bus’ name. You also a stately shrine awaits in our
doors, suddenly not countenance nor color was the realm, for here I will place your oracles and mystic
same, nor stayed her tresses braided, but her bosom utterances, told to my people, and ordain chosen men,
heaves, her heart swells with wild frenzy, and she is O gracious one. Only trust not your verses to leaves,
taller to behold, nor has her voice a mortal ring, be- lest they fly in disorder, the sport of rushing winds;
cause now she feels the nearer breath of deity. “Are you chant them yourself, I pray.” His lips ceased speaking.
slow to vow and to pray?” she cries. “Are you slow, But the prophetess, not yet acknowledging the au-
Trojan Aeneas? For until then the mighty mouths of thority of Phoebus, storms wildly in the cavern, as if
the awestruck house will not gape open.” So she spoke to shake the mighty god from her breast, but he tires
and was mute. A chill shudder ran through the Teucri- her raving mouth, tames her wild heart, and molds
ans’ sturdy frames, and their king® pours forth prayers her by constraint. And now the hundred mighty
from his inmost heart: “Phoebus,’ who never failed to mouths of the house have opened of their own will,
pity Troy’s sore agony,® who guided the Dardanian’ and bring through the air the seer’s reply: “O you
shaft and hand of Paris against the body of Aeacus’ that have at length survived the great perils of the
son,!° under your guidance did I enter so many seas, sea—yet by land more grievous woes lie in wait—
into the realm of Lavinium!> the sons of Dardanus
shall come, relieve your heart of this care. Yet they
'The Italian city of Cumae had been founded by the
shall not also rejoice in their coming. Wars, grim wars
Greek settlers from the island of Euboea.
> The Latin word is “pius,” the customary epithet applied
I see, and the Tiber foaming with streams of blood.
to Aeneas; to do one’s duty was the greatest virtue that Even now in Latium a new Achilles! has been born,
any Roman could display. As of the second century CE, himself a goddess’s son, nor shall Juno!’ anywhere
Roman emperors also bore the epithet Pius.
3A woman who makes prophecies under the influence of '' The citadel of the city of Troy.
some god, often Apollo. 'The gods and goddesses of the Greeks, such as Athena
* Apollo, who was born on the island of Delos in the and Juno, who had been bringing ruin on the Trojans.
Aegean Sea. '’ The fertile plain south of the lower Tiber River, where
>The Trojans, named after Teucer, the legendary first Rome later would be founded.
king of Troy. '* Goddess of witchcraft, Hecate in Greek, identified by
® Aeneas. the Romans with Artemis, sister of Apollo.
7 An epithet of the god Apollo. 'S A new city named by Aeneas in honor of Lavinia, the
’ The fall of Troy, on which see also Reading 58. daughter of Latinus, King of the Latins.
°Dardanus was the son of the god Zeus and Electra, the '°Turnus, King of the Rutili in Italy, who would be the
daughter of Atlas. He founded the city of Dardanus near main antagonist of Aeneas in the Aeneid.
Troy. " The sister and wife of Zeus; she opposed the Trojans
'° Achilles, who was killed by an arrow shot by Paris, son during the Trojan War because Paris had judged Venus,
of Priam, the King of Troy. and not her, to be the most beautiful of all the goddesses.
ANCHISES PROPHESIZES THE FUTURE OF ROME (19 sce): VERGIL, AENEID, BOOK 6 385

fail to dog the Trojans, while you, a suppliant in your Stygian** lake, twice to see black Tartarus.”> and if
need, what peoples, what cities of Italy will you not you are pleased to give rein to the mad endeavor,
implore! The cause of all this Trojan woe is again an hear what must first be done. There lurks in a shady
alien bride, again a foreign marriage!'® Yield not to tree a bough, golden leaf and pliant stem, held conse-
ills, but go forth all the bolder to face them as far as crate to nether Juno.”° It is not given to pass beneath
your destiny will allow!” earth’s hidden places before someone has plucked
In these words the Cumaean Sibyl chants from from the tree the golden-tressed fruitage. Search
the shrine her dread enigmas and booms from the then with eyes aloft and, when found, duly pluck it
cavern, wrapping truth in darkness. As soon as the with your hand. Only so will you survey the Stygian
frenzy ceased and the raving lips were hushed, groves and realms the living may not tread.” She
Aeneas the hero begins: “For me, no form of toils spoke, and with closed lips was silent.
arises, O maiden, that is strange or unlooked for. All With sad countenance Aeneas wends his way, and
this have I foreseen and debated in my mind. One ponders in his mind the dark issues, gazing on the
thing I pray: because here is the famed gate of the boundless forest. He prays, “O if now that golden
nether king!’ and the gloomy marsh from Acheron’s”° bough would show itself to us on the tree in the deep
overflow, be it granted me to pass into my dear wood!” Scarce had he said these words when twin
father’s sight and presence; show the way and open doves came flying from the sky and lit on the green
the hallowed portals! Amid flames and a thousand grass. Then the great hero knew them for his mother’s?’
pursuing spears, I rescued him on these shoulders, birds, and prays with joy: “Be my guides and through
and brought him safe from the enemy’s midst. He it the air steer a course into the grove, where the rich
was who prayed and charged me humbly to seek you bough shades the fruitful ground! And you, goddess-
and draw near to your threshold. Pity both son and mother, fail not my dark hour!” So speaking, he
sire, I beseech you, gracious one!” checked his steps, marking where they direct their
In such words he prayed and clasped the altar, course. Then, when they came to the jaws of noisome
when thus the prophetess began to speak: “Sprung Avernus, they perch side by side on their chosen
from blood of gods, son of Trojan Anchises, easy is goal, a tree, through whose branches flashed the con-
the descent to Avernus.”! Night and day the door of trasting glimmer of gold. Forthwith Aeneas plucks it
gloomy Dis” stands open. But to recall one’s steps and greedily breaks off the clinging bough, and car-
and pass out to the upper air, this is the task, this the ries it beneath the roof of the prophetic Sibyl.
toil! In all the mid-space lie woods, and Cocytus”’ He fulfils with haste the Sibyl’s behest. A deep
girds it, gliding with murky folds. But if such love is cave there was, yawning wide and vast, of jagged
in your heart, if such a yearning, twice to swim the rock, and sheltered by dark lake and woodland
gloom, over which no flying creatures could safely
'8 The first alien marriage had been that of Helen of wing their way; such a vapor from those black jaws
Sparta to the Trojan Paris; the second would be the was wafted to the vaulted sky whence the Greeks
marriage of Aeneas to Lavinia, the daughter of the Latin spoke of Avernus, the Birdless Place.** Here first the
king Latinus.
'° The god Hades, king of the underworld.
20 The “River of Woe,” along with the Styx, Lethe, 4The Styx was another of the rivers of the underworld.
Cocytus, and Pyriphlegethon, one of the five rivers of >5 The deepest section of the underworld, where the most
the underworld. dangerous creatures were imprisoned.
21 A volcanic crater near the city of Cumae, believed to be 26 Proserpina, Persephone in Greek, queen of the underworld.
the entrance to the underworld. 27 The goddess Venus.
2 Hades, god of the underworld. 28 From a Greek word meaning “without birds,” perhaps
23 The “River of Lamentation,” one of the rivers of the because the volcanic fumes killed any birds that flew
underworld. over the crater.
386 THE ROMAN PEACE (27 sBcE-192 CE)

priestess set in line four dark-backed heifers, and rushed all the throng, streaming to the banks; moth-
pours wine upon their brows.” Then, plucking the ers and men and bodies of high-souled heroes, their
topmost bristles from between the horns, she lays life now done, boys and unwedded girls, and sons
them on the sacred fire for first offering, calling placed on the pyre before their fathers’ eyes. They
aloud on Hecate, supreme both in Heaven and in stood, pleading to be the first ferried across, and
Hell. Others set knives to the throat and catch the stretched out hands in yearning for the farther shore.
warm blood in bowls. Aeneas himself sacrifices with But the surly boatman takes now these, now those,
the sword a black-fleeced lamb, an offering to the while others he thrusts away, back from the brink.
mother of the Eumenides” and her great sister,*! and Then aroused and amazed by the disorder, Aeneas
to you, Proserpina, a barren heifer. But just before cries, “Tell me, maiden, what means the crowding to
the rays and dawning of the early sun the ground the river? What seek the spirits? By what rule do
rumbled underfoot, the wooded ridges began to these leave the banks, and those sweep the lurid
quiver, and through the gloom dogs seemed to howl stream with oars?” To him thus briefly spoke the
as the goddess® drew nigh. The seer shrieks, “Rush aged priestess, “Anchises’ son, true offspring of
on the road and unsheathe your sword! Now, Aeneas, gods, all this crowd is helpless and graveless; yonder
is the hour for courage!” So much she said, and ferryman is Charon; those whom the flood carries
plunged madly into the opened cave. He, with fear- are the buried.*? He may not carry them over the
less steps, keeps pace with his advancing guide. dreadful banks and hoarse-voiced waters until their
On they went dimly, beneath the lonely night amid bones have found a resting place. A hundred years
the gloom, through the empty halls of Dis and his they roam and flit about these shores; then only are
phantom realm. Just before the entrance, even within they admitted and revisit the longed-for pools.”
the very jaws of Hell, Grief and avenging Cares have They pursue the journey, and draw near to the
set their bed; there pale Diseases dwell, sad Age, and river. But when the boatman saw them he rebukes
Fear, and Hunger, temptress to sin, and loathly Want, them: “Whoever you are who come to our river in
shapes terrible to view, and Death and Distress. Next, arms, tell me, even from there, why you come, and
Death’s own brother Sleep, and the soul’s Guilty Joys, check your step. Living bodies I may not carry in the
and, on the threshold opposite, the death-dealing Stygian boat.” In answer the soothsayer spoke
War, and the Furies’ iron cells, and maddening Strife, briefly: “Trojan Aeneas, famous for piety and arms,
her snaky locks entwined with bloody ribbons. descends to his father, to the lowest shades of
A road leads to the waters of Tartarean Acheron. Erebus.** If the picture of such piety in no wise
Here, a whirlpool seethes and belches into Cocytus moves you, yet know this bough,” and she shows the
all its sand. A grim ferry man guards these waters bough, hidden in her robe. At this his swelling breast
and streams. Charon, on whose chin lies a mass of subsides from its anger. No more is said, but he, mar-
unkempt hoary hair. His eyes are staring orbs of veling at the dread gift, turns his blue barge and
flame; his squalid garb hangs by a knot from his nears the shore. Then other souls that sat on the long
shoulders. Unaided, he poles the boat, tends the sails, thwarts he routs out and at once he takes aboard
and in his murky craft convoys the dead. Hither giant Aeneas. The seamy craft groaned under the
weight and through its chinks took in marshy flood.
At last, across the water, he lands seer and soldier
Before any great undertaking, sacrifices to the gods had
to be performed. unharmed on the ugly mire. .
°° The Furies, avenging goddesses who pursued and pun-
ished disrespectful people. They were the daughters of * Only the dead who have been buried are permitted to
the goddess Night; see Reading 5. pass immediately to the underworld; the unburied must
3! arth. wait a hundred years.
> Hecate. ** Another name for Tartarus and the underworld.
ANCHISES PROPHESIZES THE FUTURE OF ROME (19 sce): VERGIL, AENEID, BOOK 6 387

These realms huge Cerberus* makes ring with his disport their limbs on the grassy wrestling ground,
triple-throated baying, his monstrous bulk crouching vie in sports, and grapple on the yellow sand; some
in a cavern opposite. To him, seeing the snakes now tread the rhythm of a dance and chant songs. Others
bristling on his necks, the seer flung a morsel drowsy he sees, to right and left, feasting on the sward, and
with honey and drugged meal. He, opening his triple chanting in chorus a joyous paean within a fragrant
throat in ravenous hunger, catches it when thrown laurel grove, whence the full flood of the Eridanus”
and, with monstrous frame relaxed, sinks to earth and rolls upward through the forest. From afar Aeneas
stretches his bulk over the entire den. The warder marvels at their phantom arms and chariots. These, as
buried in sleep, Aeneas wins the entrance, and swiftly they streamed round, the Sibyl thus addressed,
leaves the bank of that stream whence none return. Musaeus” before all: “Say, happy souls, and you, best
Not far from here, outspread on every side, are of bards, what land, what place holds Anchises? For
shown the Mourning Fields; such is the name they his sake are we come.” And to her the hero thus made
bear. Here those whom stern Love has consumed with brief reply, “No one has a fixed home. We dwell in
cruel wasting are hidden. Among them, with wound shady groves and in meadows fresh with streams. But
still fresh, Phoenician Dido** was wandering in the if the wish, surmount this ridge, and soon I will set
great forest, and soon as the Trojan hero stood near you on an easy path.” He spoke and stepped on before,
and knew her, he shed tears, and spoke to her in tender and from above points out the shining fields.
love, “Unhappy Dido! Was the tale true then that Deep in a green vale father Anchises was survey-
came to me, that you were dead and had sought your ing with earnest thought the imprisoned souls and
doom with the sword? Was I, alas! the cause of your counting over the full number of his people and be-
death? I swear by whatever is sacred that unwillingly, loved children, their fates and fortunes, their works
queen, I parted from your shores. Stay your step and and ways. And as he saw Aeneas coming toward him
withdraw not from our view.” With these words over the meadow, he eagerly stretched forth both
Aeneas strove to soothe the wrath of the fiery, fierce- hands while tears streamed from his eyes and a cry fell
eyed queen. She, turning away, kept her looks fixed on from his lips, “Have you come at last, and has the duty
the ground. At length she flung herself away and, still that your father expected vanquished the toilsome
his foe, fled back to the shady grove where Sychaeus,°” way? Is it given me to see your face, my son, and hear
her lord of former days, responds to her sorrows and and utter familiar tones? Over what lands, what wide
gives her love for love. Yet none the less, stricken by seas have you journeyed to my welcome? What dan-
her unjust doom, Aeneas pities her as she goes. gers have beset you, my son? How I feared the realm
At length they came to a land of joy, the pleasant of Libya might work you harm!” And he answered:
lawns of the Elysian Fields.** Here an ampler ether “Your sad shade, father, meeting me repeatedly, drove
clothes the meadows with roseate light, and they me to seek these portals. Grant me to clasp your hand,
know their own sun, and stars of their own. Some father, and withdraw not from my embrace!” So he
spoke, his face wet with flooding tears. Thrice there
he strove to throw his arms about his neck; thrice the
35 The three-headed dog who guards the underworld. form, vainly clasped, fled from his hands.
36 The queen of Carthage, a native of Tyre in Phoenicia, Meanwhile, in a retired vale, Aeneas sees a seques-
who killed herself after Aeneas abandoned her, creating a tered grove and rustling forest thickets, and the river
pretext for the later enmity between the Carthaginians
Lethe*! drifting past those peaceful homes. About it
and Romans.
37 A priest of Tyre and former husband of Dido; he was
murdered by Dido’s brother Pygmalion, who wanted to 3° A river often associated with the Po River in northern
steal his treasure. Italy; Vergil speaks of it as if it is in the underworld.
38 The resting place of heroes and those who had led vir- 40 A legendary philosopher and poet of Athens.
tuous lives. 4| The River of Forgetfulness.
388 THE ROMAN PEACE (27 BcE-192 CE)

hovered peoples and nations unnumbered. Aeneas is keep his grandsire company, Romulus, whom his
startled by the sudden sight and asks the cause, mother Ilia shall bear of Assaracus’ stock.* Lo, under
“What is that river yonder, and who are the men Romulus’ auspices, my son, shall that glorious Rome
thronging the banks in such a host?” Then said father extend her empire to earth’s ends, her ambitions to the
Anchises, “Spirits they are to whom second bodies skies, and shall embrace seven hills with a single
are owed by Fate. At the water of Lethe’s stream they city’s wall, blessed in a brood of heroes.”
drink the soothing draught and long forgetfulness.” “Turn hither now your two-eyed gaze, and behold
“But, father, must we think that any souls pass aloft this nation, the Romans that are yours. Here is Caesar
from here to the world above and return a second and all the seed of Iulus** destined to pass under
time to bodily fetters?” “I will surely tell you, my heaven’s spacious sphere. And this in truth is he
son, and keep you not in doubt,” Anchises replies, whom you so often hear promised you, Augustus
“All these that you see, when they have rolled time’s Caesar, son of a god,*’ who will again establish a
wheel through a thousand years, the god summons in Golden Age in Latium amid fields once ruled by
vast throng to Lethe’s river, so that, their memories Saturn. He will advance his empire beyond the Gara-
effaced, they may once more revisit the vault above mantes*® and Indians to a land that lies beyond our
and conceive the desire of return to the body.” : stars, where sky-bearing Atlas wheels on his shoul-
Anchises paused, and drew his son and with him ders the blazing star-studded sphere. Against his
the Sibyl into the heart of the assembly and buzzing coming Caspian’? realms and the Maeotic land°°
throng, then chose a mound whence he might scan even now shudder at the oracles of their gods, and the
face to face the whole of the long procession, saying,” mouths of sevenfold Nile*! quiver in alarm.”
“Now then, the glory henceforth to attend the Trojan “But who is he apart, crowned with sprays of live,
people, what children of Italian stock are held in offering sacrifice? Ah, I recognize the hoary hair and
store by fate, glorious souls waiting to. inherit our beard of that king of Rome” who will make the infant
name, this shall I reveal in speech and inform you of city secure on a basis of laws. Him shall Tullus** next
your destiny. The youth you see leaning on an untip- succeed, the breaker of his country’s peace, who will
ped spear holds the most immediate place. The first rouse to war an inactive folk and armies long unused
to rise into the upper air with Italian blood in his vein
will be Silvius* of Alban name, last-born of your
“Romulus was the grandson of Numitor and son of Rhea
children, whom late in your old age your wife Lavinia
Silvia, also known as Ilia. Assaracus was the brother of
shall rear, a king and father of kings, with whom our Illus, the founder of Troy; see Reading 73.
people shall hold sway in Alba Longa. He next is *©Tulus (Julius) was another name for Ascanius, the son of
Procas, pride of the Trojan nation, then Capys and Aeneas. The Julian family of Julius Caesar and Octavian
Numitor, and he who will resurrect you by his name, claimed descent from this Iulus and thus from Aeneas
Aeneas Silvius, no less eminent in goodness and in and the goddess Venus.
arms, if ever he come to reign over Alba.** What fine ‘7 Augustus was the adopted son of Julius Caesar, who
young men are these! Further, a son of Mars shall was deified after his assassination in 44 BCE.
48 A people of the western Sahara Desert.
“The Caspian Sea, to the east of the Black Sea.
” Anchises now prophesies what the future of Aeneas °° The Maeotian Lake, the modern Sea of Azoy, a north-
and, descended from him, the Roman people will be. ern extension of the Black Sea.
48 The son either of Aeneas himself or of Aeneas’s son 5! So called because the Nile had seven mouths in the
Ascanius; he succeeded Ascanius as king of Alba Longa. Nile delta.
“4 This list of kings is different from the traditional list, *? Numa Pompilius (716-672 Bce), the second king of
which has Aeneas Silvius as the son of Silvius, then Rome, known for establishing Roman religion.
Capys four generations, then Procas six generations after 3 Tullus Hostilius (672-640 Bc), the third king of Rome,
him, followed by his son Numitor. known for wars.
 ANCHISES PROPHESIZES THE FUTURE OF ROME (19 Bcg): VERGIL,
AENEID, BOOK 6 389

to triumphs. Hard on his heels follows over-boastful to such wicked war nor vent violent valor on the
Ancus,°** who even now enjoys too much the breeze vitals of your land. And you who draw your lineage
by popular favor. Would you also see the Tarquin from heaven, be you the first to show mercy; cast the
kings,» the proud spirit of Brutus the Avenger,>° and sword from your hand, child of my blood!”
the fasces regained? He first shall receive a Consul’s “He yonder,®' triumphant over Corinth, shall drive
power and the cruel axes, and when his sons would a victor’s chariot to the lofty Capitol, famed for Achae-
stir up revolt, the father will hale them to execution ans he has slain. Yon other® shall uproot Argos, Ag-
in fair freedom’s name, unhappy man, however later amemmnon’s Mycenae, and even an heir of Aeacus,
ages will extol that deed; yet shall a patriot’s love seed of mighty Achilles: he will avenge his Trojan
prevail and unquenched thirst for fame. sires and Minerva’s polluted shrine. Who, lordly
“Now behold over there the Decii and the Drusi,°” Cato,“ could leave you unsung, or you, Cossus, who
Torquatus” of the cruel axe and Camillus” bringing the Gracchan® family or the two Scipios,” two thun-
the standards home! But they whom you see, re- derbolts of war and the ruin of Carthage, or Fab-
splendent in matching arms, souls now in harmony ricius,® in penury a prince, or you, Serranus,” sowing
and as long as they are imprisoned in night, alas, if seed in the soil? Whither, O Fabii, do ye hurry me all
once they attain the light of life, what mutual strife,
what battles and bloodshed will they cause, the
bride’s father swooping from Alpine ramparts and *' Lucius Mummius, the Roman general who destroyed
Corinth in 146 BcE.
Monoecus’ fort, her husband confronting him with
® Lucius Aemilius Paullus, who defeated Perseus of
forces from the east!® Steel not your hearts, my sons, Macedon at the Battle of Pydna in 168 Bcz.
°° A reference to the enmity between Romans and
Greeks that supposedly went back to the Trojan War;
% Ancus Martius (640-616 BCE), also known for wars. the Greek hero Ajax the Lesser polluted the temple of
* Two Etruscan kings, Tarquinius Priscus (“Tarquin the Minerva (Athena) by carrying off Cassandra, daughter
Old”) (616-578 BcE) and Tarquinius Superbus (“Tarquin of King Priam of Troy, who had taken refuge there; see
the Proud”) (534-509 Bce), the last king of Rome. Reading 58.
Omitted from Vergil’s list is Servius Tullius (578-534), °4 Marcus Porcius Cato the Elder, Consul in 195 Bce and
who reigned between the two Tarquins. Censor in 184 BCE, whose constant advice that “Carthage
*® Lucius Junius Brutus, who in 509 BcE avenged the must be destroyed” incited Rome to the Third Punic War
violation of Lucretia at the hands of Sextus Tarquin by (149-146 BcE); see Reading 80.
masterminding the overthrow of the monarchy (see °° Aulus Cornelius Cossus, who in the mid-fifth century
Reading 75) and became one of the first two Roman BCE became one of only three Roman generals to win the
consuls. He had his sons executed for trying to overthrow “spolia opima’”’ for defeating an enemy commander in
the Republic. single combat.
57 Two famous Roman families. 6° Represented by the brothers Tiberius and Gaius
8 Titus Manlius Torquatus, who in 361 defeated a huge Gracchus, who in the years 133-121 BCE began the
Gaul in single combat, decapitated him, and thus ac- changes that led to the fall of the Roman Republic; see
quired the torque that he wore around his neck, thus Reading 81.
gaining the epithet “Torquatus” (““Torque-wearer”) for 67 Scipio Africanus, who defeated Hannibal in 202 Bcg,
himself and his descendants. and his grandson Scipio Aemilianus, who ended the
°° Marcus Furius Camillus who, in a popular legend, was Third Punic War in 146 BCE.
believed to have recaptured the Roman military stan- 68 Gaius Fabricius Luscinus, Consul in 282 and 278 and
dards from the Gauls who sacked Rome in 390 BCE. Censor in 275 BCE, known for his austerity and morality.
6° A reference to the civil war between Julius Caesar, who ° Gaius Atilius Regulus Serranus, Consul during the
in 49 BCE invaded Italy via the Alps, and Pompey, who First Punic War, in 257 and 250 BCE, who was said to
had married Caesar’s daughter Julia. The town of Portus have received the news of his election as Consul while he
Monoeci is modern-day Monaco. was sowing.
390 THE ROMAN PEACE (27 BcE-192 CE)

breathless? You are he, the mightiest,’”? who could, as They wander at large over the whole region in the
no one else, through inaction preserve our state. wide airy plain, taking note of all. After Anchises
Others, I doubt not, shall with softer lines beat out had led his son over every scene, kindling his soul
the breathing bronze, coax from the marble features with longing for the glory that was to be, he then tells
to life, plead cases with greater eloquence, and with a of the wars that the hero next must wage.
pointer trace heaven’s motions and predict the risings Two gates of Sleep there are. One, they say, is
of the stars: you, Roman, be sure to rule the world, horn and offers a ready exit to true shades, the other
for these are your arts: to crown peace with justice, to shines with the sheen of polished ivory, but delusive
spare the vanquished and beat down the proud.” dreams issue upward through it from the world
Thus Father Anchises adds, “Behold how Marcel- below. Thither Anchises, discoursing thus, escorts
lus” advances, graced with the spoils of the chief he his son and with him the Sibyl, and sends them forth
slew, and towers triumphant over all! When the Roman by the ivory gate. Aeneas speeds his way to the ships
state is reeling under a brutal shock, he will steady it, and rejoins his comrades, then straight along the
will ride down Carthaginians and the insurgent Gaul, shore he sails. The anchor is cast from the prow; the
and offer up to Father Quirinus” a third set of spoils.” sterns stand ranged on the shore.

” Quinus Fabius Maximus, named dictator after the Roman defeat at the Battle of Cannae in 216 BCE by the
Carthagin-
ian Hannibal; see Reading 78.
7 Marcus Claudius Marcellus was Consul five times in the last quarter of the third century BCE. During
a war with the
Gauls, Marcellus killed the opposing general and thus won the “spolia opima.” Marcellus is glorified
here because he
was an ancestor of the Marcus Claudius Marcellus who was the nephew of the emperor Augustus
and an early choice to
be Augustus’s successor.
” An early god of the Roman state, being nearly on a par with Jupiter.
 89
cSO>
FORAGE, “THE SECULAR
HYMN” (17 Bce)

In 86 ce the emperor Domitian celebrated the next secular games after those that Augustus had held in
17 BceE, not quite 110 years later. On the reverse of this sestertius, Domitian, on a dais, distributes to a
man and child combustibles to be used for making ceremonial torches. The legend on the right reads
“Ludi saeculares” (“Secular Games”), and the letters “SVEPD” are thought to mean “combustibles
being distributed to the people.”

In 17 Bce, as part of his attempt to normalize life in the Roman world, solidify his own position, and
create a system of government that we know as the Roman Empire, Augustus celebrated a cere-
mony that was only held every 110 years or so, the Secular Games, a festival of renewal and puri-
fication that was held at a time when no one who was alive during the previous celebration was
still alive. The poet Horace was commissioned to compose a hymn to commemorate the event.

Source: Stephen De Vere translation, in William Stearns Davis, Rome and the West (Boston/New York/Chicago, Allyn & Bacon:
1913), no. 58, 174-176.

Phoebus,” and Diana,” you whose sway, Twin glories of the skies,” forever worshiped,
Mountains and woods obey! hear!
Accept our prayer this sacred year
73 Another name of the sun god Apollo.
74 Goddess of the moon, Artemis to the Greeks. ™ The sun and moon.

391
392 THE ROMAN PEACE (27 BcE-192 CE)

When, as the Sibyl’s” voice ordained Lay down your arrows, god of day!
For ages yet to come, Smile on your youths elect who singing pray.
Pure maids and youths unstained You, Crescent Queen,®’ bow down your
Invoke the gods who love the sevenfold hills of star-crowned head
Rome. And on your youthful choir a kindly influence
All bounteous Sun!”’ shed.
Forever changing, and forever one! If Rome be all your work, if Troy’s** sad band
Who in your lustrous car bear’st forth light, Safe sped by you attained the Etruscan strand,
And hid’st it, setting, in the arms of Night, A chosen remnant, vowed *
Look down on worlds outspread, yet nothing see To seek new Lares,*° and a changed abode.
Greater than Rome, and Rome’s high A remnant for whom through Ilium’s®’ blazing
sovereignty. gate
You Ilithyia,’* too, whatever name, Aeneas,** orphan of a ruined State,
Goddess, you do approve, Opened a pathway wide and free
Lucina, Genitalis,” still the same To happier homes and liberty.
Aid destined mothers with a mother’s love;. Ye gods! If Rome be yours, to placid age
Prosper the Senate’s wise recommendation, Give timely rest: to docile youth
Fertile of marriage faith and countless progeny 180 Grant the rich heritage
As centuries progressive wing their flight Of morals, modesty, and truth.
For you the grateful hymn shall ever sound; On Rome herself bestow a teaming race
Thrice by day, and thrice by night Wealth, empire, faith, and all befitting grace
For you the choral dance shall beat the ground. Deliver to Venus’ and Anchises’ heir,®?
Fates! whose unfailing word Who offers at your shrine
Spoken from Sibylline lips shall abide, Due sacrifice of milk-white kine,
Ordained, preserved, and sanctified Justly to rule, to pity and to dare,
By Destiny’s eternal law, accord To crush insulting hosts, the prostrate foeman
To Rome new blessings that shall last spare.
In chain unbroken from the Past. The haughty Mede” has learned to fear
Mother of fruits and flocks, prolific Earth!
Bind wreaths of spiked grain round Ceres’®! hair: 83 Diana, Greek Artemis, goddess of the moon, was
And may soft showers and Jove’s®* benignant air depicted with a lunar crescent in her hair.
Nurture each infant birth! ** For the Trojan refugees who were ancestors of the
Romans, see Reading 88.
*° The same sentiment as that expressed toward the end of
7 A Sibyl (a prophetress) sold to king Tarquin the Proud a Reading 88.
book of prophecies that were consulted in times of emer- 86 Household gods.
gencies to find the proper expiatory rites needed to regain *7 Another name for Troy.
the favor of the gods. ** For the Trojan hero Aeneas, the ancestor of Augustus,
77 Apollo. see Reading 88.
78 Goddess of childbirth. *° Aeneas was the son of the goddess Venus and the
” Other names for the goddess of childbirth. Trojan hero Anchises.
*° Acting through the Senate, Augustus issued legislation * The Parthians, who ruled a huge empire east of the
favoring those who had children and penalizing those Roman Empire; see Reading 69. Three years earlier
who did not; see Reading 97. Augustus had recovered from the Parthians the military
‘! The goddess of grain; Demeter to the Greeks. standards lost by the general Crassus in 53 BCE, a huge
®? Another name for Jupiter. propaganda coup.
 HORACE, “THE SECULAR HYMN” (17 scr)
393

The Alban”! axe, the Latian®” spear,

Perpetuate for cycles yet to come,
And Scythians,*? suppliant now, await Mightier in each advancing year,
The conqueror’s doom, their coming fate. The ever growing might and majesty of Rome.
Honor and peace, and pristine shame, You, too, Diana, from your Aventine,®°
And virtue’s oft dishonored name,
And Algidus”’ deep woods, look down
Have dared, long exiled, to return, and hear
And with them Plenty lifts her golden horn. The voice of those who guard the books divine,°®
Augur Apollo! Bearer of the bow! And to your youthful choir incline a loving ear.
Warrior and prophet! Loved one of the Nine! Return we home! We know that Jove
Healer in sickness! Comforter in woe! And all the gods our song approve
If still the templed crags of Palatine To Phoebus and Diana given;
And Latium’s fruitful plains to you are dear, The virgin hymn is heard in Heaven.

*! From Alba Longa, the town founded by Aeneas not far

from the future site of Rome.
* Latium, the fertile plain on which Rome was situated.
°3 Augustus recently had received an embassy from the °° One of the hills of Rome, just southwest of the Palatine
nomadic “Scythians” of southern Russia, for whom see Hill.
Reading 68. °7 Part of a dormant volcano twelve miles southeast of
*4 Ops, the goddess of plenty and fertility. Rome, site of a famous battle between Rome and the
°5 A hill of Rome that rises above the Forum; it was a posh Aequi in 457 BCE.
residential district and the later site of imperial palaces. * The Sibylline Books.
 90
cSO>

DEEDS OF THE DEIFIED

AUGUSTUS (14 °ce)

The “Deeds of the Deified Augustus” as it survives inscribed on the wall of the Temple of Augustus in
Ankara, Turkey.

One of the most historically significant texts preserved on stone, and one of the most effec-
tive pieces of propaganda ever produced, is the “Res gestae divi Augusti," or “Deeds of the
Deified Augustus,” an autobiographical account of his own achievements that Augustus
wrote when he was seventy-six and instructed the Senate to post throughout the empire, in
both Latin and Greek, after his death. This was done, but the “Res gestae" do not survive intact
anywhere. The original bronze copy from the Forum in Rome is lost, and the surviving version
had been pieced together from stone fragments found in Anatolia at Ancyra, where the best
copy survives; Apollonia; Sardis; and Antioch in Pisidia.

Source: Frederick W. Shipley, trans., Velleius Paterculus and Res Gestae Divi Augusti (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press, 1924), 344-405.

Below is a copy of the acts of the Deified Augustus by engraved upon two bronze columns” that have been
which he placed the whole world under the sover- set up in Rome.
eignty of the Roman people, and of the amounts that
he expended upon the state and the Roman people, as °°? These columns no longer survive.

394
 DEEDS OF THE DEIFIED AUGUSTUS (14 ce) 895

At the age of nineteen, on my own initiative and a reward for military service. The dictatorship of-
> at my own expense, I raised an army by means of fered me by the people and the Roman Senate, in my
2) which I restored liberty to the Republic, which had absence and later when present, in the consulship of
been oppressed by the tyranny of a faction.! For Marcus Marcellus and Lucius Arruntius! I did not
cs)
=)
which service the Senate, with complimentary reso- accept. I did not decline at a time of the greatest scar-
>a
Ss
lutions, enrolled me in its order, in the consulship of city of grain the charge of the grain-supply, which I
SS
Gaius Pansa and Aulus Hirtius,'°'! giving me at the so administered that, within a few days, I freed the
same time consular precedence in voting’; it also entire people, at my own expense, from the fear and
gave me the imperium.'® As Propraetor!™ it ordered danger in which they were. The consulship, either
me, along with the Consuls, “to see that the Republic yearly or for life, then offered me I did not accept. I
suffered no harm.”'® In the same year, moreover, as refused to accept any power offered me that_was
both Consuls had fallen in war, the people elected contrary to the traditions of our ancestors. Those
me Consul and a Triumvir'™ for settling the constitu- things that the Senate at that time wished me to
tion. Those who slew my father I drove into exile, ~ administer I carried out by virtue of my tribunician
punishing their deed by due process of law, and af- power. 109 To the day of writing this I have been
terward when they waged war upon the Republic I _SPrinceps Senatus!!° for forty years. I have been
_ twice defeated them in battle.!°’ Wars, both civil and Pontifex Maximus,!’ Augur,!'*? a member of the
foreign, I undertook throughout the world, and when _ Fifteen Commissioners for Performing Sacred
= victorious I spared all citizens who sued for pardon. SRites, one of the Seven for Sacred Feasts, an Arval
> The foreign nations that could with safety be par- “Brother, 13 4 Sodalis Titius,'* and a Fetial priest.!!>
= doned I preferredtosave rather than to destroy. The SBy Recommendation of the Senate my name was
= number of Roman citizens who bound themselves to ~S included in the Salian Hymn,'"° and it was enacted
me by military oath was about 500,000. Of these I “ by law that my person should be sacred in perpetu-
settled in colonies or sent back into their own towns ity and that so long as I lived I should hold the
after their term of service, something more than tribunician power. When I returned from Spain and
300,000, and to all I assigned lands or gave money as Gaul, in the consulship of Tiberius Nero and

100 Encompassing all of Augustus’s enemies, including the 108 Tn 22 BCE.

assassins of Julius Caesar and the supporters of Mark 109 A power that gave Augustus the right to introduce leg-
Antony (see Reading 86). islation, veto power, and the sacrosanctity of his person.
101 Tn 43 BCE. It was renewed every year and later provided a means to
102 Voting in the Senate was done in rank order; thus, date the years of an emperor’s reign.
those with the status of Consuls voted before those with 10 The first person listed on the official list of the Senate,
the status of Praetors, and so on. in rank order.
103 The power to command armies. ‘| Chief Priest of the Roman people.
104 At this point in his career, Octavian never had held any 2 The Augurs were Roman priests charged with taking
office, but there were precedents for this kind of irregular the auspices, that is, seeing the will of the gods in the
grant, as when the later triumvir Pompey was given the flights of birds.
power of a Proconsul in 78 BCE in Spain. 13 The Arval Brothers were an ancient college of twelve
105 The “Last Recommendation of the Senate ”- see Read- priests who made sacrifices to ensure good harvests.
ings 81 and 83. 114 Priests initially appointed by the Sabine king Titus
106 The “Second Triumvirate”; the other two Triumvirs Tatius.
were Mark Antony and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. 115Tn the Roman Republic, the Fetials were priests were
107 At Philippi in Macedonia in 42 BCE Augustus, with responsible for declaring war.
critical assistance from his comrade Agrippa and Mark 116A song sung in March of every year by the Salian
Antony, defeated the assassins Brutus and Cassius. priests.
 396 THE ROMAN PEACE (27 BcE-192 CE)

the temple of Apollo on the Palatine with its porti-

Publius Quinctilius,'” after successful operations in
those provinces, the Senate voted in honor of my coes, the temple of the deified Julius,!*° I restored the
Cag return the consecration of an altar'!® to Pax Augusta channels of the aqueducts that in several places were
in the Campus Martius, and on this altar it ordered Salling into disrepair through age, and doubled the
the magistrates and priests and Vestal virgins to “= capacity of the aqueduct called the Marcia by turn-
make annual sacrifice. Imade twelve distributions of 5 ing a new spring into its channel. I completed the
food from grain bought at my own expense, and in = Julian Forum.!© On my own ground I built the
saan the twelfth year of my tribunician power I gave for S temple of Mars Ultor and the Augustan Forum!”’
Made
the third time four hundred sesterces!”” to each man. “= from the spoils of war. Three times in my own name
To the municipal towns I paid money for the lands I gave a show of gladiators, and five times in the
that I assigned to soldiers in my own fourth consul- name of my sons or grandsons; in these shows there
ship’?® and afterward in the consulship of Marcus fought about ten thousand men. I conducted the Sec-
Crassus and Gnaeus Lentulus the Augur.'7! The sum ular Games’”’ in the consulship of Gaius Furnius and
that I paid for estates in Italy was about six hundred Marcus Silanus. In my own name, or that of my sons
million sesterces, and the amount that I paid for lands or grandsons, on twenty-six occasions I gave to the
in the provinces was about two hundred and sixty mil- people, in the circus, in the Forum, or in the amphi-
theater, hunts of African wild beasts, in which about
three thousand five hundred beasts were slain. I
ht
ISOUG
and.
\
or in the provinces. And later, in the consulship of gave the people the spectacle of a naval battle
Tiberius Nero and Gnaeus Piso, likewise in the con- beyond the Tiber, at the place where now stands the
sulship of Gaius Antistius and Decimus Laelius, and > grove of the Caesars, the ground having been exca-
of Gaius Calvisius and Lucius Passienus, and of _2vated for a length of eighteen hundred and a breadth
Lucius Lentulus and Marcus Messalla, and of Lucius =of twelve hundred feet. In this spectacle thirty
Caninius and Quintus Fabricius,'”* I paid cash gratui- __,beaked ships, triremes or biremes, and a large
ties to the soldiers whom I settled in their own towns =number of smaller vessels met in conflict. In these
~ at the expiration of their service, and for this purpose _)fleets there fought about three thousand men exclu-
riry
I expended four hundred million sesterces as an act of _=sive of the rowers. I freed the sea from pirates.
grace. I furnished from my own purse and my own = About thirty thousand slaves, captured in that war,
chenpatrimony tickets for grain and money, sometimes toa
Did _ who had run away from their masters and had taken
hundred thousand persons, sometimes to many more. up arms against the Republic, I delivered to their
I built the curia’”’ and the Chalcidicum!* adjoining it,
'® After his assassination, Julius Caesar, the great-uncle
and adoptive father of Augustus, was deified, that is,
"Tn 13 BcE. In 9 cE Publius Quinctilius Varus was de- made into a god.
feated and killed by the Germans at the disastrous Battle "°° The Forum of Julius Caesar, which adjoined the Re-
of the Teutoberg Forest. publican Forum on one side and the even newer Forum of
"8 The Altar of Peace, which still survives. Augustus on the other side.
''? About three months wages for an ordinary worker. "7 The Forum of Augustus, built next to the Forum of
0Tn 30 BCE. Caesar, contained a temple to “Mars the Avenger” that
'21Tn 14 BCE. Augustus had vowed to build if he was able to defeat the
'22 Between 7 and 2 BCE. assassins of Caesar.
'*3 Augustus actually merely completed the rebuilding of '*8 A purification festival, held every 110 years or so, at a
the Curia Julia, or Julian Senate house, in Rome, which time when everyone alive at the time of last one was
had been begun under Julius Caesar. dead. Augustus celebrated it in 19 BCE and the poet
'4 An annex or addition to a building. Horace composed a celebratory hymn (see Reading 89),
 DEEDS OF THE DEIFIED AUGUSTUS (14 cE) 397

masters for punishment.'”’ Iextended the boundaries Sabaeans to the town of Mariba.!°’ I settled colonies of
of all the provinces that were bordered by peoples soldiers in Africa, Sicily, Macedonia, both Spains,
not yet subject to our empire.'*° The provinces of the Achaea, Asia, Syria, Narbonese Gaul, and Pisidia.'*®
Gauls, the Spains, and Germany, bounded by the Moreover, Italy has twenty-eight colonies founded
ocean from Gades!*! to the mouth of the Elbe,!*? I under my auspices. The Parthians I compelled to re-
reduced to a state of peace.'*? The Alps, from the store to me the spoils and standards of three Roman
‘= region that lies nearest to the Adriatic as far as the armies,'*? and to seek as suppliants the friendship of
S Etruscan Sea, I brought to a state of peace without the Roman people. These standards I deposited in the
> waging on any people an unjust war. My fleet sailed inner shrine that is in the Temple of Mars Ultor. The
a from the mouth of the Rhine eastward as far as the peoples of the Pannonians,'? to which no army of
lands of the Cimbri'** to which, up to that time, no the Roman people had ever penetrated before my Prin-
3 Roman had ever penetrated either by land or by sea, cipate, having been subdued by Tiberius Nero who was
S and the Cimbri and Charydes and Semnones and then my stepson and my legate, I brought under the
a other peoples of the Germans of that same region sovereignty of the Roman people, and I pushed for-
© through their envoys sought my friendship and that ward the frontier of Illyricum as far as the bank of the
of the Roman people. On my order and under my river Danube. Embassies were often sent to me from
a) s rs
= auspices two armies were led, at almost the same the kings of India, a thing never seen before in the
sw
7] time, into Ethiopia and into Arabia that is called the camp of any general of the Romans. Our friendship
“Happy,’!> and very large forces of the enemy of was sought, through ambassadors, by the Bastarnae'*!
BS : .
< both peoples were cut to pieces in battle and many and Scythians,'” and by the kings of the Sarmatians
towns were captured. Ethiopia was penetrated as far who live on either side of the river Tanais,'* and by the
as the town of Napata, which is next to Meroé.'** In Kings of the Albani and of the Iberians'*° and of the
Arabia the army advanced into the territories of the Medes.'“¢ In my sixth and seventh consulships,'” when

2° The “pirates” and “slaves” are an allusion to '377n modern Yemen; the Sabaeans lived in the ancient
Augustus’s war with Sextus Pompey, the son of Pompey kingdom of Sheba, whence came the Queen of Sheba
the Great, who occupied Sicily and competed with who visited Solomon (Reading 38). Augustus neglects to
Augustus for power between 42 and 36 BCE. mention that the invasion of Arabia and siege of Marib of
'30 Augustus added more territory to the Roman Empire, 26-24 BCE were total disasters; most of the Roman army
especially in Pannonia (modern Hungary), than any ear- was lost to disease and battle.
lier Roman. After his conquests, the empire went into a 38Tn Anatolia.
defensive posture and, with only a few exceptions, under '39 The standards lost by the Roman Crassus at the Battle
the emperors Claudius (41-54) and Trajan (98-117), fur- of Carrhae (53 BCE), recovered by Augustus in a treaty of
ther wars of conquests virtually ceased. 20 BCE, a huge propaganda coup.
'31 Modern Cadiz in Spain. '40Tn modern Hungary.
132 A river running through Germany into the North Sea. 141 An ancient Celtic people dwelling north of the lower
133 Augustus’s attempt to expand to the Elbe River in Danube River.
Germany in fact failed disastrously in 9 CE when the ' Peoples of the southern Russian steppes; see Reading 68.
charismatic German leader Arminius destroyed three 43 The Don River in southern Russia, flowing south into
legions at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. the Sea of Azov north of the Black Sea.
134A voyage of exploration led by Augustus’s stepson 144 A nomadic people living near the Caspian Sea.
Tiberius in 5 CE. 145 Tnhabitants of Iberia (modern Georgia) in the Caucasus
135 “A rabia Felix” (“Happy Arabia”); modern Yemen. Mountains between the Black and Caspian seas.
136 Tn the Kingdom of Kush, on the Nile River south of 146 That is, the Parthians.
Egypt. 1478-27 BCE.
398 THE ROMAN PEACE (27 Bcg-192 CE)

I had extinguished the flames of civil war, after re- above my door, and a golden shield was placed in
ceiving by universal consent the absolute control of the Curia Julia”? whose inscription testified that
affairs, I transferred the Republic from my own the Senate and the Roman people gave me this in
control to the will of the Senate and the Roman recognition of my Valor, my Clemency, my justice,
people. For this service on my part I was given the and my Piety.'*° After that time I took precedence
title of Augustus by Recommendation of the Senate, of all in rank, but of power I possessed no more
and the doorposts of my house were covered with than those who were my colleagues in any
laurels by public act, and a civic crown'*® was fixed magistracy.

Le Just 0 Guhy we hu mility.

' The Senate house in Rome; construction was begun by

Caesar and finished by Augustus.
48 A crown of oak leaves awarded for saving the life of '0“Pietas,” or “Dutifulness,” was the greatest virtue that
Roman citizens. a Roman could demonstrate.
 9|
cSQ>
EP EMER PAG FJ ESWSeBEFORE
NAPS >Plt A Tbe (oan 28/37 “ep
THE NEW TESTAMENT, MATTHEW
27:11-16, MARK 5:1-—30, JOHN
18:28-40 AND 19:1-24, AND
LUKE 23:1-25

The Rossano Gospels, an illustrated manuscript produced in Italy in the sixth century ce, depict the
trial of Jesus before Pontius Pilate. Pilate is shown as a late Roman governor sitting on a raised dais and
flanked by attendants holding standards bearing the portraits of two emperors. To his left lawyers
make their case and to his right the crowd shouts its opinions. A stenographer records the
proceedings as two imperial officials in military robes present Jesus and two underlings present the
robber Barabbas.

During the early years of the Principate, Judaea was racked by dissension. Various Jewish
popular leaders, such as Simon of Peraea, an ex-slave of King Herod the Great, Judas the
Galilean, and the shepherd Athronges, laid claim to be, or were thought to be, the "messiah,"
the person that many Jews believed would unify the Jewish people, give the Jews back their

399
400 THE ROMAN PEACE (27 BcE-192 CE)

independence, and bring a new era of world peace. The Jewish teacher Yeshua bar Yosef
Nazareth, known as Jesus in English and Christos (“the annointed one") in Greek, was believed
by many to be the messiah. He caused so much anxiety for the established Jewish hierarchy
that he was put on trial before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high court, and was condemned
when he declined to deny that he was the son of God. Because the Jewish court was located
in the Roman province of Judaea, it had no authority to pass the death sentence. Only the
Roman governor, in this case the Prefect of Judaea Pontius Pilate, had the authority to do
that. So Caiaphas, the Jewish High Priest, turned Jesus over to the Romans for an additional
trial. During the proceedings, Pilate made several attempts to distance himself from what he
saw as purely local bickering. The date of Jesus's trial is uncertain, but the book of Luke
states that Jesus's baptism occurred at some time after the beginning of the ministry of
John the Baptist, “In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,” that is, in 28 ce.
Pontius Pilate was replaced as governor ca. 36 sce. This would place Jesus's trial sometime
between 28 and 36 sce. The story of Jesus's trial before Pilate presented here is a conflation
of the accounts given in all four of the New Testament gospels: the three synoptic gospels,
Matthew (27:11-16), Mark (5:1-30), and Luke (23:1-25), repeat similar versions of the same
account; the book of John gives a longer report. For other accounts of Roman trials, see
Readings 100, 103, and 113.

Source: The Bible, American Standard Version (New York, 1901).

They led Jesus therefore from Caiaphas!*! into the said unto the chief priests and the multitudes, “I find
Praetorium'’; and it was early, and they themselves no fault in this man.” But they were the more urgent,
entered not into the Praetorium, that they might not be saying, “He stirreth up the people, teaching through-
defiled, but might eat the Passover.’ Pilate'* there- out all Judaea, and beginning from Galilee'*® even
fore went out unto them, and saith, “What accusation unto this place.” But when Pilate heard it he asked
bring ye against this man?” They answered unto him, whether the man were a Galilaean. And when he
“Tf this man were not an evildoer, we should not have knew that he was of Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him
delivered him up unto thee.” And they began to accuse unto Herod,'*’ who himself also was at Jerusalem in
him, saying, “We found this man perverting our these days. Now when Herod saw Jesus he was ex-
nation and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, and ceeding glad, for he was of a long time desirous to
saying that he himself is Christ a king.” And Pilate see him because he had heard about him, and he
asked him, saying, “Art thou the King of the Jews?” hoped to see some miracle done by him. And he
And he answered him, “Thou sayest.”!>° And Pilate questioned Jesus in many words, but he answered
him nothing. And the chief priests and the scribes
'S! The High Priest of the Jews in Jerusalem. stood, vehemently accusing him. And Herod with
'S2 The headquarters building of a Roman army camp. his soldiers set him at nought, and mocked him, and
'3 The Jews had many regulations relating to ritual purity, arraying him in gorgeous apparel sent him back to
especially at the time of the celebration of festivals; see Pilate. And Herod and Pilate became friends with
Reading 35.
'54 Pontius Pilate, the Equestrian Prefect (Governor) of
the Roman province of Judaea ca. 26-36 CE. 'S°A region of Judaea neighboring the Sea of Galilee,
'SS Throughout the proceedings, Jesus refuses to speak to north of Jerusalem.
the Jewish officials and in so doing acknowledge their 'S7 Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great and Tetrarch of
authority; he speaks only to Pilate. Galilee and Perea ca. 6-39 CE.
THE TRIAL OF JESUS BEFORE PONTIUS PILATE (ca. 28/37 CE)
401

each other that very day: for before they were at Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ and the King
enmity between themselves. of the Jews?” For he knew that it was for envy that they
And Pilate called together the chief priests and the had delivered Jesus up. And while he was sitting on the
rulers and the people, and said unto them, “Ye judgment-seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, “Have
brought unto me this man as one that perverteth the thou nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have
people, and behold, I having examined him before suffered many things this day in a dream because of
you, found no fault in this man touching those things him.” Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded
whereof ye accuse him, no, nor yet Herod, for he sent the multitudes that they should ask for Barabbas, and
him back unto us, and behold, nothing worthy of destroy Jesus. The governor said unto them, “Which of
death hath been done by him. I will therefore chastise the two will ye that I release unto you?” They cried out
him, and release him.” And when the chief priests therefore again, saying, “Not this man, but Barabbas.”
and elders accused Jesus of many things, he answered Pilate saith unto them, “What then shall I do unto
nothing. And Pilate again asked Jesus, saying, “An- Jesus who is called Christ?” They all say, “Let him be
swerest thou nothing? Behold how many things they crucified.”
accuse thee of.” But Jesus no more answered any- And he said unto them the third time, “Why, what
thing, insomuch that Pilate marveled. Pilate therefore evil hath this man done? I have found no cause of
said unto them, “Take him yourselves and judge him death in him. I will therefore chastise him and re-
according to your law.” The Jews said unto him, “It is lease him.” But they were urgent with loud voices,
not lawful for us to put any man to death.” asking that he might be crucified. And their voices
Pilate therefore entered again into the Praetorium, prevailed. So when Pilate saw that he achieved noth-
and called Jesus, and said unto him, “Art thou the ing, but rather that a tumult was arising, he took
King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Sayest thou this water and washed his hands before the multitude,
of thyself, or did others tell it to thee concerning saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this righteous
me?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Thine own man. See ye to it.” And all the people answered and
nation and the chief priests delivered thee unto me. said, “His blood be on us, and on our children”’ And
What hast thou done?” Jesus answered, “My king- Pilate gave sentence that what they asked for should
dom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this be done. And he released the one who for insurrec-
world, then would my servants fight so that I should tion and murder had been cast into prison, whom
not be delivered to the Jews, but my kingdom is not they asked for. Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and
from here.” Pilate therefore said unto him, “Art thou whipped him.
a king then?” Jesus answered, “Thou sayest that Iam And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns and put
a king. To this end have I been born and to this end it on his head, and arrayed him in a purple garment,
am I come into the world, that I should bear witness and they came unto him, and said, “Hail, King of the
unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth Jews!,” and they struck him with their hands. And
my voice.” Pilate saith unto him, “What is truth?” Pilate went out again, and saith unto them, “Behold,
And when he had said this, he went out again unto I bring him out to you, that ye may know that I find
the Jews, and saith unto them, “I find no crime in him. no crime in him.” Jesus therefore came out, wearing
But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you the crown of thorns and the purple garment. And
one prisoner at the Passover.” And there was one called Pilate saith unto them, “Behold, the man!” When
Barabbas, who for a certain insurrection made in the therefore the chief priests and the officers saw him,
city, and for murder, was cast into prison.'** Pilate said they cried out, saying, “Crucify him, crucify him!”
unto them, “Whom will ye that I release unto you? Pilate saith unto them, “Take him yourselves, and
crucify him, for I find no crime in him.” The Jews
158 This from the books of Mark and Luke; according to answered him, “We have a law, and by that law he
the book of John, Barabbas was a robber. ought to die, because he made himself the Son of
402 THE ROMAN PEACE (27 BcE-192 CE)

God.” When Pilate therefore heard this saying, he Then therefore he delivered him unto them to be
was the more afraid, and he entered into the Praeto- crucified. Therefore they took Jesus, and he went out,
rium again and saith unto Jesus, ““Whence art thou?” bearing the cross for himself, unto the place called the
But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate therefore saith place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha.
unto him, “Speakest thou not unto me? Knowest There they crucified him, and with him two others, on
thou not that I have power to release thee, and have either side one, and Jesus in the middle. And Pilate
power to crucify thee?” Jesus answered him, “Thou wrote a title also, and put it on the cross. And there
wouldest have no power against me except it were was written, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the
given thee from above. Therefore he that delivered Jews.” This title therefore many of the Jews read, for
me unto thee hath greater sin.” Upon this Pilate the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the
sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, saying, city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in
“If thou release this man, thou art not Caesar’s Greek. The chief priests of the Jews therefore said to
friend. Every one that maketh himself a king spea- Pilate, “Write not, ‘The King of the Jews, but that he
keth against Caesar.” When Pilate therefore heard said, ‘Iam King of the Jews.’” Pilate answered, “What
these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on I have written I have written.” The soldiers therefore,
the judgment-seat at a place called The Pavement, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments and
but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. Now it was the Preparation made four parts, to every soldier a part, and also the
of the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from the
saith unto the Jews, “Behold, your king!” They there- top throughout. They said therefore one to another, let
fore cried out, “Away with him, away with him, cru- us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be, that
cify him!” Pilate saith unto them, “Shall I crucify the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They
your king?” The chief priests answered, ““We have no parted my garments among them, And upon my
king but Caesar.” vesture did they cast lots.
 92
cSQ>
THE EMPEROR CALIGULA
7 =leere SW ETON Sell FE
OF CALIGULA

A sestertius of the emperor Caligula depicts his three sisters, Agrippina, Drusilla, and Julia, on the reverse.
Caligula was undeniably very fond of them and subsequently was accused of incest with all of them.

In 37 ce, at the age of twenty-four, Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus succeeded
Tiberius as emperor. He was the first, but by no means the last, emperor to have had no
formal training for the position and whose only qualification was to be a member of the right
family. He was known either as Gaius, his praenomen, or as Caligula, a nickname given him as
a toddler by soldiers who had made little boots for him modeled on the caligae (boots) of the
soldiers. In the course of his brief four-year reign he became known for bizarre behavior,
especially after he suffered and recovered from a mysterious illness, which was gleefully
reported by Suetonius, an imperial biographer and court gossip who wrote in the 130s ce.

Source: J. C. Rolfe, trans., Suetonius. Volume I: The Lives of the Caesars (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1914).

403
404 THE ROMAN PEACE (27 BcE-192 CE)

He began from that time'*? on to lay claim to divine below him whereas his wife reclined above.’ Of
majesty, for after giving orders that such statues of these he is believed to have violated Drusilla when
the gods as were especially famous for their sanc- he was still a minor, and even to have been caught
tity or their artistic merit, including that of Jupiter lying with her by his grandmother Antonia, at whose
of Olympia, should be brought from Greece in house they were brought up in company. Afterward,
order to remove their heads and put his own in their when she was the wife of Lucius Cassius Longinus,
place, he built out a part of the palace as far as the an ex-Consul, he took her from him and openly
Forum, and making the temple of Castor and Pollux treated her as his lawful wife. When ill, he made her
its vestibule he often took his place between the heir to his property and the throne. The rest of his
divine brethren, and exhibited himself there to be sisters he did not love with so great affection, nor
worshipped by those who presented themselves; honor so highly, but often prostituted them to his
some hailed him as Jupiter Latiaris. At night he favorites, so that he was the readier at the trial of
used constantly to invite the full and radiant moon Aemilius Lepidus’ to condemn them as adulter-
to his embraces and his bed, whereas in the day- esses and privy to the conspiracies against him.
time he would talk confidentially with Jupiter It would be trivial and pointless to add to this an ac-
Capitolinus, now whispering and then in turn-put- count of his treatment of his relatives and friends,
ting his ear to the mouth of the god, now in louder Ptolemy, son of king Juba, his cousin, for he was the
and even angry language, for he was heard to make grandson of Marcus Antonius by Antonius’ daughter
the threat, “Lift me up, or I’ll lift you.” Finally won Selene,’ and in particular Macro himself and even
by entreaties, as he reported, and even invited to Ennia, who helped him to the throne'’; all these were
live with the god, he built a bridge over the temple rewarded for their kinship and their faithful services by
of the Deified Augustus, and thus joined his palace a bloody death. He was no whit more respectful or mild
to the Capitol.!°° When his grandmother Antonia’ toward the Senate, compelling some who had held the
asked for a private interview, he refused it except in highest offices to run in their togas for several miles
the presence of the Prefect Macro,’ and by such beside his chariot and to wait on him at table, standing
indignities and annoyances he caused her death, al- napkin in hand either at the head of his couch, or at his
though some think that he also gave her poison. feet. Others he secretly put to death, yet continued to
After she was dead, he paid her no honor, but send for them as if they were alive, and after a few days
viewed her burning pyre from his dining-room. He falsely asserting that they had committed suicide.
had his brother Tiberius put to death without warn- The following are special instances of his innate
ing, suddenly sending a Tribune of the Soldiers to brutality. When cattle to feed the wild beasts that he
do the deed; besides driving his father-in-law Si-
lanus to end his life by cutting his throat with a '6* At a Roman dinner party, three couches were arranged
razor. As for his uncle Claudius,’™ he spared him in a “(” shape; here, Caligula occupied the “low” couch
merely as a laughingstock. on the left, where the host reclined, whereas his wife was
He lived in habitual incest with all his sisters, and on the “high” couch on the right.
at a large banquet he placed each of them in turn '> Initially a confidant of Caligula and even named as his
heir, he fell out of favor and was executed for conspiracy
in 39.CE.
'S9 After recovering from some kind of mystery illness. '66 Grandson of Cleopatra and Mark Antony, he was the
'6° The Temple of Jupiter atop the Capitoline Hill. last King of Mauretania (modern Morocco) at the time of
'6l The daughter of Mark Antony and Octavia, sister of his assassination by Caligula in 40 cE.
Augustus. '*’ The Praetorian Prefect Macro initially had sponsored
‘© The Praetorian Prefect, commander of the ten thou- Caligula as emperor in 37 BCE; Caligula soon felt threat-
sand elite troops stationed just outside Rome. ened by him and coerced him and his wife Ennia, who
'63 Roman emperor 41-54 ce, the successor of Caligula. had been Caligula’s mistress, into committing suicide.
THE EMPEROR CALIGULA (37-41 cg): SUETONIUS, LIFE OF CALIGULA
405

had provided for a gladiatorial show were rather incest with his sisters and his notorious passion for
costly, he selected criminals to be devoured. Many the concubine Pyrallis, there was scarcely any
men of honorable rank were first disfigured with the woman of rank whom he did not approach. These as
marks of branding-irons and then condemned to the a rule he invited to dinner with their husbands, and
mines, to work at building roads, or to be thrown to as they passed by the foot of his couch, he would
the wild beasts, or else he shut them up in cages on inspect them critically and deliberately, as if buying
all fours, like animals, or had them sawn into pieces. slaves, even putting out his hand and lifting up the
Not all these punishments were for serious offenses, face of anyone who looked down in modesty. Then,
but merely for criticizing one of his shows, or for as often as the fancy took him he would leave the
never having sworn by his Genius.!® room, sending for the one who pleased him best,
He seldom had anyone put to death except by nu- and returning soon afterward with evident signs of
merous slight wounds, his constant order, which what had occurred, he would openly commend or
soon became well-known, being, “Strike so that he criticize his partner, recounting her charms or de-
may feel that he is dying.” When a different man fects and commenting on her conduct. To some he
than he had intended had been killed, through a mis- personally sent a bill of divorce in the name of their
take in the names, he said that the victim too had absent husbands and had it entered in the public
deserved the same fate. He often uttered the familiar records.
line of the tragic poet, “Let them hate me, so long as Having thus impoverished himself, from very
they fear me.’ Angered at the rabble for applaud- need he turned his attention to pillage through a
ing a faction!”° that he opposed, he cried, “I wish the complicated and cunningly devised system of false
Roman people had but a single neck.” At one of his accusations, auction sales, and imposts. He levied
more sumptuous banquets he suddenly burst into a fit new and unheard of taxes, at first through the publi-
of laughter, and when the Consuls, who were reclin- cans'”' and then, because their profit was so great,
ing next him, politely inquired at what he was laugh- through the centurions and tribunes of the Praetorian
ing, he replied, “What do you suppose, except that at Guard. There was no class of commodities or men on
a single nod of mine both of you could have your which he did not impose some form of tariff. On all
throats cut on the spot?” After inviting Ptolemy, eatables sold in any part of the city he levied a fixed
whom I have mentioned before, to come from his and definite charge; on lawsuits and legal processes
kingdom, and receiving him with honor, he suddenly begun anywhere, a fortieth part of the sum involved,
had him executed for no other reason than that when adding a penalty in case anyone was found guilty of
giving a gladiatorial show he noticed that Ptolemy compromising or abandoning a suit; on the daily
on entering the theater attracted general attention by wages of porters, an eighth; on the earnings of pros-
the splendor of his purple cloak. titutes, as much as each received for one embrace;
He respected neither his own chastity nor that of and a clause was added to this chapter of the law,
anyone else. He is said to have had unnatural rela- providing that those who ever had been prostitutes or
tions with Marcus Lepidus, the pantomimic actor pimps should be liable to this public tax, and that
Mnester, and certain hostages. Valerius Catullus, a even matrimony should not be exempt.
young man of a consular family, publicly proclaimed He had but one experience with military affairs or
that he had violated the emperor and worn himself war, and then on a sudden impulse. Having gone to
out in commerce with him. To say nothing of his Mevania to visit the river Clitumnus!” and its grove,
he was reminded of the necessity of recruiting his
168 The emperor’s guardian spirit.
'69A quotation from the play “Atreus” of the mid-second Tax collectors.
century BCE Latin tragedian Accius. 172A small river in Umbria that flowed to the town of
70 & chariot-racing team. Mevania; the site of sacred shrines.
406 THE ROMAN PEACE (27 BcE-192 CE)

body-guard of Batavians!” and was seized with the arranging his ballistas!”* and other artillery, and when
idea of an expedition to Germania. So without delay no one knew or could imagine what he was going to
he assembled legions and auxiliaries from all do, he suddenly bade them gather shells and fill their
quarters, holding levies everywhere with the utmost helmets and the folds of their gowns, calling them
strictness and collecting provisions of every kind on spoils from the ocean, due to the Capitol and
an unheard of scale. On reaching his camp, to show Palatine.!”
his vigilance and strictness as a commander, he Then turning his attention to his triumph,'*° in ad-
dismissed in disgrace the generals who were late in dition to a few captives and deserters from the barbar-
bringing in the auxiliaries from various places, and ians he chose all the tallest of the Gauls, and as he
in reviewing his troops he deprived many of the chief expressed it, those who were “worthy of a triumph,”
centurions who were well on in years of their rank, in as well as some of the chiefs. These he reserved for his
some cases only a few days before they would have parade, compelling them not only to dye their hair red
served their time, giving as a reason their age and and to let it grow long, but also to learn the language
infirmity; then railing at the rest for their avarice, he of the Germans and assume barbarian names.
reduced the rewards given on completion of full mili- He was very tall and extremely pale, with an un-
tary service to six thousand sesterces.'” All that he shapely body and very-thin neck and legs. His eyes
accomplished was to receive the surrender of Admin- and temples were hollow, his forehead broad and grim,
ius, son of Cunobellinus,'” King of the Britons, who his hair thin and entirely gone on the top of his head,
had been banished by his father and had deserted to although his body was hairy. Because of this to look
the Romans with a small force. Presently, finding no upon him from a higher place as he passed by, or for
one to fight with, he had a few Germans of his body- any reason whatever to mention a goat, was treated as
guard taken across the river'”® and concealed there, a capital offense. He was sound neither of body nor
and word brought him after luncheon with great mind. As a boy he was troubled with the falling sick-
bustle and confusion that the enemy were close at ness.'*! While in his youth he had some endurance, yet
hand. Upon this he rushed out with his friends and a at times because of sudden faintness he was hardly
part of the praetorian cavalry to the woods close by, able to walk, to stand up, to collect his thoughts, or to
and after cutting the branches from some trees and hold up his head. He himself realized his mental
adorning them like trophies, he returned by torchlight, infirmity, and thought at times of going into retirement
taunting those who had not followed him as timorous and clearing his brain. It is thought that his wife
and cowardly, and presenting his companions and the Caesonia'*’ gave him a drug intended for a love potion,
partners in his victory with crowns. which, however, had the effect of driving him mad. He
Finally, as if he intended to bring the war to an end, was especially tormented with sleeplessness; for he
he drew up a line of battle on the shore of the ocean,!”” never rested more than three hours at night, and even

"3 A people of the lower Rhine River often recruited for "8 Torsion weapons, like giant bows, used for shooting
service in the imperial bodyguard. spears or stones.
4 Reducing the rewards given to the soldiers always was '° A good example of how Caligula’s actions were mis-
a potentially dangerous undertaking. represented; the shells would have been crushed and used
' King of several peoples of Britain. Caligula used the to make waterproof cement for constructing harbor
appeal of Cunobellinus’s exiled son Adminius as a pre- facilities.
text to lay claim to Britain. Cunobellinus was the title '8° Ostensibly for a victory over the Germans.
character in Shakespeare’s play, Cymbeline, King of 181 Epilepsy.
Britain. '8? Milonia Caesonia, Caligula’s fourth and last wife, to
'%6 The Rhine River. whom he was quite devoted. She was murdered shortly
'7 The Atlantic Ocean. after Caligula’s assassination in 41 CE.
THE EMPEROR CALIGULA (37-41 cg): SUETONIUS, LIFE OF CALIGULA 407

for that length of time he did not sleep quietly but was the principal part, for Gaius used to taunt him, a man
terrified by strange apparitions. already well on in years, with voluptuousness and ef-
In his clothing, his shoes, and the rest of his attire feminacy by every form of insult. When he asked for
he did not follow the usage of his country and his the watch word Gaius would give him “Priapus” or
fellow-citizens, not always even that of his sex, or in “Venus,” and when Chaerea had occasion to thank
fact, that of an ordinary mortal. He often appeared in him for anything, he would hold out his hand to kiss,
public in embroidered cloaks covered with precious forming and moving it in an obscene fashion.
stones, with a long-sleeved tunic and _ bracelets; On the ninth day before the Kalends of February'**
sometimes in silk and in a woman’s robe, now in at about the seventh hour he hesitated whether or not
slippers or buskins, again in boots, such as the to get up for luncheon because his stomach was still
emperor’s body-guard wear, and at times in the low disordered from excess of food on the day before, but
shoes that are used by females. at length he came out at the persuasion of his friends.!*
He was so passionately devoted to the green fac- In the covered passage through which he had to pass,
tion’*? that he constantly dined and spent the night in some boys of good birth, who had been summoned
their stables, and in one of his revels with them he from Asia to appear on the stage, were rehearsing
gave the driver Eutychus two million sesterces in their parts, and he stopped to watch and encourage
gifts. In order to prevent the horse Incitatus from them. Had not the leader of the troop complained that
being disturbed he used to send his soldiers on the he had a chill, he would have returned and had the
day before the games and order silence in the neigh- performance given at once. From this point there are
borhood. Along with a stall of marble, a manger of two versions of the story. Some say that as he was
ivory, purple blankets and a collar of precious stones, talking with the boys, Chaerea came up behind and
he even gave this horse a house, a troop of slaves, and gave him a deep cut in the neck, having first cried,
furniture for the more elegant entertainment of the “Take that,” and that then the Tribune Cornelius Sabi-
guests invited in his name. It is also said that he nus, who was the other conspirator and faced Gaius,
planned to make him Consul. stabbed him in the breast. Others say that Sabinus,
During this frantic and riotous career several after getting rid of the crowd by means of centurions
thought of attempting his life. But when one or two who were in the plot, asked for the watchword, as sol-
conspiracies had been detected and the rest were diers do, and that when Gaius gave him “Jupiter,” he
waiting for a favorable opportunity, two men made cried “So be it,’ and as Gaius looked around, he split
common cause and succeeded, with the connivance his jawbone with a blow of his sword. As he lay upon
of his most influential freedmen and the officers of the ground and with writhing limbs called out that he
the Praetorian Guard, for although the charge that still lived, the others dispatched him with thirty
these last were privy to one of the former conspiracies wounds, for the general signal was “Strike again.”
was false, they realized that Caligula hated and Some even thrust their swords through his privates.
feared them. In fact, he exposed them to great odium At the beginning of the disturbance his bearers ran to
by once taking them aside and declaring, drawn his aid with their litter poles and presently the
sword in hand, that he would kill himself if they too Germans of his body-guard, and they slew several of
thought he deserved death, and from that time on he his assassins along with some inoffensive senators.
never ceased accusing them one to the other and Gaius lived twenty-nine years and ruled three years,
setting them all at odds. When they had decided to ten months, and eight days.
attempt his life at the exhibition of the Palatine games,
as he went out at noon, Cassius Chaerea, Tribune of a 18494 January 41 CE.
cohort of the Praetorian Guard, claimed for himself '85 A similar story was told about Julius Caesar, who had
to be persuaded to attend the Senate meeting where he
183 The fan club of the “Greens,” a chariot-racing team. was assassinated in 44 BCE.
 93
cCO>
EXPANDING THE MEMBERSHIP OF
THE SENATE 46) Ce aiige
“CLAUDIAN RECOMMENDATION
OF THE SENATE REGARDING THE
RIGHT OF HONORS FOR THE
GAU LS,” A. DESSAW) See Gale
LAPEN NS CRIP-TIOINS =N Oo ae
AND TACITUS, ANNALS, BOOK 11,
CHAPTERS. 23-20

The bottom half of a bronze tablet pre appro Gi as a Tae ta speech of Cla en
expanding Sennate member ship toGa fae ce. It was dis is displayedin
Musée des Beaux Arts in Lyon
EXPANDING THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE SENATE (48 cr)
409

This speech of the emperor Claudius (41-54 ce) to the Senate in Rome in 48 CE, engraved on
a bronze tablet erected in Lyon in Gaul, is one of the very few surviving copies of the original
words of an imperial speech. In it, Claudius admitted some Roman citizens from Gaul into the
Senate and thus began the process by which the Senate came to represent all the popula-
tions of the Empire. The speech was an official transcript and even preserved the words of
interruptions from the audience, one of the typical means by which the public could make
its views known directly to an emperor. Claudius had a reputation as a historian before be-
coming emperor, and the examples used in the speech support this impression. The speech
also is reported in the "Annals" of Tacitus, allowing one to compare the original text with the
slant given to it by a historian.

(a) Claudius, Speech to the Senate

Sources:
Column 1: E. Mary Smallwood, Documents Illustrating the Principates of Gaius Claudius and Nero (Cambridge, UK: Cam-
bridge University Press, 1967), 369.
Column 2: William Stearns Davis, ed., Readings in Ancient History: Illustrative Extracts from the Vol. II: Rome and the West
(Boston: Allyn & Bacon, 1912-13), 186-188.

[Column I] such a husband. Tarquinius was kept from positions of

“T should say at the outset that I reject the first thought honor in his own land and thus emigrated to Rome,
that will, Iam sure, be the very first thing to stand in where he became king. Between Tarquinius and either
my way: namely that you will recoil from my sugges- his son or his grandson (for our authorities disagree on
tion as though I were introducing some revolutionary this point) there came Servius Tullius. According to
innovation. Think, instead, of how many changes the Roman sources Servius Tullius had as a mother a
have taken place over the years in this state and how prisoner-of-war, Ocresia; according to the Etruscans
many forms and constitutions our state has had, from he had been the faithful companion of Caelius
the time of its very foundation. Vibenna’*’ and took part in his adventures, and later,
At one time this city was held by kings,!®° although when he was driven out by a change of fortune, he left
they did not pass it along to successors from their own Etruria with all the surviving troops of Caelius and
families. People from other families came to the seized the Caelian hill, which thus takes its name
throne and even some foreigners. Numa, for example, from his leader Caelius, and after changing his name,
succeeded Romulus, and was a Sabine; that made him for his Etruscan name was Mastarna, he was given the
a neighbor, certainly, but at the time he also was a for- name I have already mentioned, and became king, to
eigner. Another example is Tarquinius Priscus, who the very great advantage of the state. Then, after the
succeeded Ancus Martius: his father was the Corin- behavior of Tarquinius Superbus'** came to be hated
thian Demaratus and his mother was from Tarquinii, by our city, and not only his behavior but that of his
so Tarquinius Priscus supposedly had a Greek father sons, the people obviously became tired of monarchy,
and an Etruscan mother. And although well-born she and the administration of state was transferred to the
was very poor, which is why she was forced to marry Consuls, who were annual magistrates.

'86 Claudius indulges his interest in ancient history with 187 An Etruscan chieftain who aided Romulus in his wars
these historical excurses on the kings of Rome; see Read- against the Sabines.
ings 73 and 88. '88 Tarquin the Proud, the last king of Rome: see Reading 75.
410 THE ROMAN PEACE (27 Bcg-192 CE)

Why need I mention the dictatorship, more power- [Claudius]: “I will soon explain this point to you,
ful even than the consulship, which was what our an- when I submit that part of my acts that I performed
cestors came up with when wars were particularly as Censor,'®* but I do not conceive it needful to repel
hard or there was serious civil disturbance? Or why even the provincials who can do honor to the Senate
need I mention the creation of Tribunes of the Plebs, House. Here is this splendid and powerful colony of
to provide assistance for the plebs? Why mention Vienna!’ is it so long since it sent senators to us?
transfer of imperium from Consuls to the Decemvirs, From that colony comes Lucius Vestinus,'”? one of
and at the end of the reign of the Decemvirs the the glories of the equestrian order, my personal
return of imperium back to the Consuls?!” Why men- friend, whom I keep close to myself for the manage-
tion the distribution of the consular power to multiple ment of my private affairs. Let his sons be suffered,
recipients, called Military Tribunes with Consular I pray you, to become priests of the lowest rank,
Power,'”° who were first six and then eight in number? while waiting until, with the lapse of years, they can
Why should I mention the fact that offices that once follow the advancement of their dignity. As for that
were patrician ones eventually were shared with the robber”? from Vienna, I will pass over his hateful
plebeians, religious ones as well as military? name. For I detest this hero of the gymnasium, who
If I were to tell of the wars that our ancéSstors brought the consulship into his family before even
started with and that have continued down to the pre- his colony had obtained the full rights of Roman
sent day, I fear that I would appear too boastful and citizenship. I could say as much of his brother,
look as though I wanted to boast about my glory in stamped as unworthy by this unlucky relationship,
extending the empire beyond the Ocean.!”! But let and incapable henceforth of being a useful member
me instead return to my original point. Citizenship of your body.”
can [---].” 192 [Interrupting shout]: “Here now, Tiberius Caesar
Germanicus! It is time to let the Conscript Fathers?
[Column IT] understand what your talk is driving at! Already
[Claudius]: “It surely is an innovation of the divine you
’ve reached the very limits of Narbonnese Gaul!?°”
Augustus,!*? my great-uncle, and of Tiberius Caesar,'"* [Claudius]: “All these young men of rank, on
my uncle, to desire that particularly the flower of the whom I cast my glance, you surely do not regret to
colonies and of the municipal towns,” that is to say, see among the number of the senators, any more than
all those that contain men of breeding and wealth, Persicus, that most high-born gentleman and my
should be admitted to this assembly.” friend, is ashamed when he meets upon the images
[Interruption, seemingly by a senator]: “How now?
Is not an Italian senator to be preferred to a provincial ©The ancient Republican magistrate with the authority
senator?" to adlect (admit) new members to the Senate.
'°7 Modern Vienne, on the Rhéne River in central France.
'°§ Otherwise unknown but probably an ancestor of the
'8°Tn the years 451 and 450 Bce, when the Twelve Tables Lucius Vestinus who was Consul in 112 ce.
of Roman law were crafted; see Reading 76. '° Valerius Asiaticus, whose family had received Roman
Tasting from 444 until 367 BCE. citizenship ca. 80 BcE. A famous athlete, friendly with
'! The Atlantic Ocean; in 43 cE Claudius had begun the the Julio-Claudian emperors, he was the first Gaul to
Roman occupation of Britain; see Reading 94. enter the Senate and became Consul in 46 cr. In 47 cE he
'92 Some text is lost here. was accused of adultery and forced by Claudius to
'3 The first emperor, Augustus (27 BCE-14 CE). commit suicide.
'* Tiberius (14-37 cE), second Roman emperor and ad- 200A term for senators.
opted son of Augustus. °°! The original Roman province in southern Gaul, as of
'°5 Colonies and municipalities were cities of Roman citi- ca. 120 BCE; the remainder of Gaul was not annexed by
zens that had formal Roman organizational charters. Julius Caesar until 54 BcE.
EXPANDING THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE SENATE (48 CE)
411

of his ancestors the name Allobrogius.?” And if such the memory of a hundred years of steadfast fidelity,
is your thought, what would you desire more? Do I and a loyalty put to the proof in many trying cir-
have to point it out to you? Even the territory that is cumstances. My father, Drusus,? was able to force
located beyond the province of Narbonese Gaul, has Germany to submit because behind him reigned a
it not already sent you senators? For surely we have profound peace assured by the tranquillity of the
no regrets in going clear up to Lugdunum”® for the Gauls. And note well, that at the moment he was
members of our order. Assuredly, Conscript Fathers, summoned to that war, he was busy instituting the
it is not without some hesitation that I cross the limits census*”’ in Gaul, a new institution among them,
of the provinces that are well known and familiar to and contrary to their customs. And how difficult
you, but the moment is come when I must plead and perilous to us is this business of the census, al-
openly the cause of Further Gaul.” It will be ob- though all we require is that our public resources
jected that Gaul sustained a war against the divine should be known, we have learned by all too much
Julius for ten years.” But let there be opposed to this experience.”

(b) Tacitus, Annals, Book 11,

Chapters 23-25
Source: Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb, trans., Annals of Tacitus (London: Macmillan, 1876).

In the consulship of Aulus Vitellius and Lucius Vip- “Italy,” it was asserted, “is not so feeble as to be
stanus** the question of filling up the Senate was unable to furnish its own capital with a Senate. Once
discussed, and the chief men of Gallia Comata,”” as our native-born citizens sufficed for peoples of our
it was called, who had long possessed the rights of own kin, and we are by no means dissatisfied with
allies and of Roman citizens, sought the privilege of the Rome of the past. To this day we cite examples,
obtaining public offices at Rome. There was much which under our old customs the Roman character
talk of every kind on the subject, and it was argued exhibited as to valor and renown. Is it a small thing
before the emperor with vehement opposition. that Veneti and Insubres?"° already have burst into
the Senate house, unless that now a mob of foreign-
202A joke. The Allobroges were a famous Gallic people; ers, a troop of captives, so to say, is forced upon us?
Persicus’s ancestor got the name not because he was one What distinctions will be left for the remnants of our
of them, but because he defeated them. noble houses, or for any impoverished senators from
203 Modern Lyon, just north of Vienne on the Rhéne River Latium? Every place will be crowded with these mil-
in central France. lionaires, whose ancestors of the second and third
204 The part of Gaul on the far side of the Alps, contrasted generations at the head of hostile peoples destroyed
to Cisalpine Gaul, “Gaul on the Near Side of the Alps.”
205 Not quite; from 58 to 50 BcE at the latest.
206 Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus, stepson of the 208 Consuls in 48 CE.
emperor Augustus and brother of the emperor Tiberius. 209 “T
ong Haired Gaul,” the name given to the areas of
After successful campaigns against the Germans, he died Gaul annexed by Julius Caesar in 54 BcE, the same as the
in 9 BCE after a fall from his horse. “Further Gaul” cited by Claudius in the previous passage.
207 The cataloguing of property ownership for the pur- 710 Peoples of far northern Italy; the Insubres were Celts,
poses of tax assessment. the Veneti native peoples.
412 THE ROMAN PEACE (27 BcE-192 CE)

our armies with fire and sword, and actually be- What was the ruin of Sparta and Athens,”’* but
sieged the divine Julius at Alesia.*"! These are recent this, that mighty as they were in war they spurned
memories. What if there were to rise up the remem- from them as aliens those whom they had con-
quered? Our founder Romulus, on the other hand,
brance of those who fell in Rome’s citadel and at her
was so wise that he fought as enemies and then
altar by the hands of these same barbarians!?!* Let
hailed as fellow-citizens several nations on the very
them enjoy indeed the title of citizens, but let them
same day. Strangers have reigned over us. That
not vulgarize the distinctions of the Senate and the freedmen’s sons should be entrusted with public of-
honors of office.” fices is not, as many wrongly think, a sudden inno-
These and like arguments failed to impress the vation, but was a common practice in the old
emperor. He at once addressed himself to answer Republic. But, it will be said, we have fought with
them, and thus harangued the assembled Senate. the Senones.”!? I suppose then that the Volsci and
Aequi~”’ never stood in array against us. Our city
My ancestors, the most ancient of whom was made was taken by the Gauls. Well, we also gave hostages
at once a citizen and a noble of Rome, encourage to the Etruscans, and passed under the yoke of the
me to govern by the same policy of transferring to Samnites.”"! On the whole, if you review all our
this city all conspicuous merit, wherever found. wars, never has one been finished in a shorter time
And indeed I know, as facts, that the Julii came than that with the Gauls. Thenceforth they have pre-
from Alba,”!* the Coruncanii from Camerium,?" served an unbroken and loyal peace. United as they
the Porcii from Tusculum,”* and not to inquire too now are with us by manners, education, and inter-
minutely into the past, that new members have been marriage, let them bring us their gold and their
brought into the Senate from Etruria and Lucania wealth rather than enjoy it in isolation. Everything,
and the whole of Italy, that Italy itself was at last Senators, that we now hold to be of the highest antiq-
extended to the Alps, to the end that not only single uity once was new. Plebeian magistrates came after
persons but entire countries and peoples might be patrician; Latin magistrates after plebeian; magis-
united under our name.*!© We had unshaken peace trates of other Italian peoples after Latin. This prac-
at home; we prospered in all our foreign relations, tice too will establish itself, and what we are this day
in the days when Italy beyond the Po was admitted justifying by precedents, will be itself a precedent.”
to share our citizenship,”’’ and when, enrolling in
our ranks the most vigorous of the provincials, The emperor’s speech was followed by a Recom-
under color of settling our legions throughout the mendation of the Senate, and the Aedui?”? were the
world, we recruited our exhausted empire. Are we
first to obtain the right of becoming senators at
sorry that the Balbi came to us from Spain, and
Rome. This compliment was paid to their ancient al-
other men not less illustrious from Narbonese
Gaul? Their descendents are still among us, and do
liance, and to the fact that they alone of the Gauls
not yield to us in patriotism. cling to the name of brothers of the Roman people.

“11 Actually it was Julius Caesar who besieged the Gauls

at Alesia; see Reading 85.
*l2 During the Sack of Rome by the Gauls in 390 BCE; see
Reading 77.
213 Claudius’s own ancestors, the descendants of Iulus, or *18 For the disastrous consequences of the warfare be-
Ascanius, the son of the Trojan hero Aeneas, who had tween Sparta and Athens, see Reading 56.
founded the city of Alba Longa; see Reading 88. *1° Gauls of northern Italy.
*¥4 An ancient colony of Alba Longa near Rome. Italic peoples who fought the Romans during the early
215 An ancient Latin town. Roman Republic.
*16 Claudius again indulges his interests in ancient history. *! After a Roman army was trapped at the Caudine Forks
717 Cisalpine Gaul received citizenship from Julius Caesar in 321 BCE.
in 49 BCE. *22 An important people of central Gaul.
 94
cSQ>
Pete eEDEELON OF -BOUDICCA
(60-61 ce): TACITUS, ANNALS,
BQO CHAPTERS 31-237

A silver coin of the Iceni, a Celtic people of Britain, dated to the middle of the first century cE. This
coin type often is attributed to Queen Boudicca. In typical Celtic abstract style, it displays a head on
the obverse that some claim is Boudicca herself and a horse on the reverse with a wheel above.

In 43 ce the emperor Claudius (41-54 ce) began the conquest of Britain, which proceeded
smoothly until 60 ce, when Roman heavy-handedness provoked a revolt led by Boudicca, the
charismatic Queen of the Iceni, who had united the hitherto disunified Celtic peoples. Ini-
tially, the Romans were caught off guard. In particular, the able Roman commander in Brit-
ain, Suetonius Paulinus, was occupied in the far west subduing the island of Mona (Anglesey),
which had become a refuge for rebels and Celtic priests known as Druids. Boudicca's Celts
destroyed the Roman colony of Camulodunum (Colchester). London received similar treat-
ment; a ten-inch layer of red clay from the burned city still lies beneath London streets. After

413
414 THE ROMAN PEACE (27 BcE-192 CE)

one cowardly legion refused to march, Suetonius could assemble only ten thousand soldiers
to face the hundred thousand Celts. At the Battle of Watling Street, Paulinus lined up his
troops with his rear and flanks protected by forests. The Celts spent their energy on fruitless
assaults on the Roman shield wall, and then the slaughter started. Eighty thousand Celts were
killed and Boudicca poisoned herself. Having failed in their revolt, the Celts of Britain, like
those of Spain, Pannonia, and Gaul, then accommodated themselves to Roman rule.

Source: Arthur Murphy, The Works of Tacitus (Dublin: White, 1794).

During the consulship of Lucius Caesennius Paetus and the men, by mutual reproaches, inflamed each
and Publius Petronius Turpilianus,”** a dreadful ca- other to deeds of valor. They felt the disgrace of
lamity befell the army in Britain. Paulinus Suetonius yielding to a troop of women and a band of fanatic
succeeded to the command; an officer of distin- priests. They advanced their standards, and rushed
guished merit. His military talents gave him preten- on to the attack with impetuous fury.
sions; and the voice of the people, who never leave The Britons perished in the flames that they them-
exalted merit without a rival, raised him to the high- selves had kindled. The island fell, and a garrison
est eminence. By subduing the mutinous spirit of the was established to retain it in subjection. The reli-
Britons he hoped to equal the brilliant success of gious groves,””° dedicated to superstition and barba-
Corbulo in Armenia.” With this view, he resolved rous rites, were levelled to the ground. In those
to subdue the island of Mona”*s; a place inhabited by recesses, the natives stained their altars with the
a warlike people, and a common refuge for all the blood of their prisoners, and in the entrails of men
discontented Britons. In order to facilitate his ap- explored the will of the gods.”*”? While Suetonius was
proach to a difficult and deceitful shore, he ordered a employed in making his arrangements to secure the
number of flat-bottomed boats to be constructed. In island, he received intelligence that Britain had re-
these he transported over the infantry, while the cav- volted and that the whole province was up in arms.
alry, partly by fording over the shallows and partly Prasutagus, the late King of the Iceni,?** in the
by swimming their horses, advanced to gain a foot- course of a long reign had amassed considerable
ing on the island. wealth. By his will he left the whole to his two
On the opposite shore stood the Britons, close em- daughters and the emperor in equal shares, conceiv-
bodied, and prepared for action. Women were seen ing, by that stroke of policy, that he should provide at
running through the ranks in wild disorder, their hair once for the tranquility of his kingdom and his
loose to the wind, in their hands flaming torches, and family. The event was otherwise. His dominions
their whole appearance resembling the frantic rage were ravaged by the centurions, the slaves pillaged
of the Furies. The Druids were ranged in order, with his house, and his effects were seized as lawful plun-
hands uplifted, invoking the gods, and pouring forth der. His wife, Boudicca, was disgraced with a cruel
horrible imprecations. The novelty of the fight struck whipping, her daughters were ravished, and the most
the Romans with awe and terror. The exhortations of illustrious of the Iceni were, by force, deprived of the
the general diffused new vigor through the ranks,

*6 The Druids were believed to worship in groves of oak

2360-61 CE. trees.
24 Corbulo occupied Armenia in 58 CE and it became a *7Tn the same way that the Romans practiced the harus-
Roman client state. In 67 CE he was ordered by the em- pices, the inspection of the livers of sacrificial animals, to
peror Nero (54-68) to commit suicide. ascertain the will of the gods.
25 Anglesey, off the northwestern coast of Wales. *°8 A Celtic people of eastern Britain.
THE REBELLION OF BOUDICCA (60-61 cE): TACITUS, ANNALS, BOOK 14, CHAPTERS
31-37 415

positions that had been transmitted to them by their in the meantime, was detained on the isle of Mona.
ancestors. The whole country was considered as a In this alarming crisis, the veterans at the colony sent
legacy bequeathed to the plunderers. The relations of to Catus Decianus, the Procurator of the province,2!
the deceased king were reduced to slavery. for a reinforcement. Two hundred men, and those not
Exasperated by their acts of violence, and dread- completely armed, were all that officer could spare.
ing worse calamities, the Iceni had recourse to arms. The colony had but a handful of soldiers. Their
The Trinobantes”” joined in the revolt. The neigh- temple was strongly fortified and there they hoped to
boring states, not as yet taught to crouch in bondage, make a stand. But even for the defense of that place
pledged themselves, in secret councils, to stand forth no ditch was made and no palisade thrown up, nor
in the cause of liberty. What chiefly fired their indig- were the women and those disabled by age or infir-
nation was the conduct of the veterans, lately planted mity sent out of the garrison. Unguarded and unpre-
as a colony at Camulodunum.**° These men treated pared, they were taken by surprise, and, in the
the Britons with cruelty and oppression. They drove moment of profound peace, overpowered by the bar-
the natives from their habitations, and calling them barians in one general assault. The colony was laid
by the shameful names of slaves and captives, added waste with fire and sword.
insult to their tyranny. In these acts of oppression, The temple held out, but, after a siege of two days,
the veterans were supported by the common soldiers, was taken by storm. Petilius Cerealis, who com-
a class of men, by their habits of life, trained to licen- manded the Ninth Legion, marched to the relief of
tiousness, and, in their turn, expecting to reap the the place. The Britons, flushed with success, ad-
same advantages. The temple built in honor of vanced to give him battle. The legion was routed and
Claudius was another cause of discontent. In the eye the infantry cut to pieces. Cerealis escaped with the
of the Britons it seemed the citadel of eternal slavery. cavalry to entrenchments of his camp. Catus De-
The priests appointed to officiate at the altars, with a cianus, alarmed at the scene of carnage that he beheld
pretended zeal for religion, devoured the whole sub- on every side, and further dreading the indignation of
stance of the country. To overrun a colony, which lay a people whom by rapine and oppression he had
quite naked and exposed without a single fortifica- driven to despair, betook himself to flight and crossed
tion to defend it, did not appear to the incensed and over into Gaul.
angry Britons an enterprise that threatened either Suetonius, undismayed by this disaster, marched
danger or difficulty. The fact was that the Roman through the heart of the country as far as London, a
generals attended to improvements to taste and ele- place not dignified with the name of a colony but the
gance but neglected the useful. They embellished the chief residence of merchants and a great center of
province and took no care to defend it. trade and commerce. At that place he meant to fix
While the Britons were preparing to throw off the the feat of war, but reflecting on the scanty numbers
yoke, the statue of victory, erected at Camulodunum, of his little army and the fatal rashness of Cerealis,
fell from its base without any apparent cause and lay he resolved to quit the station, and, by giving up one
extended on the ground with its face averted, as if the post, secure the rest of the province. Neither suppli-
goddess yielded to the enemies of Rome. Women in cations nor the tears of the inhabitants could induce
restless ecstasy rushed among the people and with him to change his plan. The signal for the march was
frantic screams denounced impending ruin. By these given. All who chose to follow his banners were
portents the Romans were sunk in despair whereas taken under his protection. Of all who, on account of
the Britons anticipated a glorious victory. Suetonius, their advanced age, the weakness of their sex, of the
attractions of the situation, thought proper to remain

229A Celtic people dwelling south of the Iceni.

230 Colchester. 231 An imperial official in charge of tax collection.
416 THE ROMAN PEACE (27 BcE-192 CE)

behind, not one escaped the rage of the barbarians. plain where they might survey the scene of action,
The inhabitants of Verulamium,**’ a municipal and behold the wonders of British valor.
town,?** in like manner were put to the sword. The Boudicca, in a chariot, with her two daughters
genius”** of a savage people leads them always in before her, drove through the ranks. She harangued
quest of plunder, and, accordingly, the Britons left the different nations in their turn: “This,” she said,
behind them all-places of strength. Wherever they “4s not the first time that the Britons have been led to
expected feeble resistance and considerable booty, battle by a woman. But now she did not come to boast
there they were sure to attack with the fiercest rage. the pride of a long line of ancestry, nor even to re-
Military skill was not the talent of barbarians. The cover her kingdom and the plundered wealth of her
number massacred in the places that have been men- family. She took the field, like the meanest among
tioned amounted to no less than seventy thousand, them, to assert the cause of public liberty, and to
all citizens or allies of Rome. To make prisoners and seek revenge for her body seamed with ignominious
reserve them for slavery or exchange them was not in stripes, and her two daughters infamously ravished.
the character of a people who despised all the laws of From the pride and arrogance of the Romans nothing
war. They hastened to inflict death, whipping, burn- is sacred. All persons are subject to violation; the old
ing, and crucifixion as if aware they were going to endure the whip and the virgins are violated. But the
receive retribution but in the meantime were taking vindictive gods now are at hand. A Roman legion
their revenge. dared to face the warlike Britons. With their lives
The Fourteenth Legion, with the veterans of the they paid for their rashness. Those who survived the
Twentieth Legion,”* and the auxiliaries from the ad- carnage of that day lie poorly hid behind their en-
jacent stations, having joined Suetonius, his army trenchments, meditating nothing but how to save
amounted to little less than ten thousand men. Thus themselves by an ignominious flight.77’ From the din
reinforced, he resolved, without loss of time, to bring of preparation and the shouts of the British army the
on a decisive action. For this purpose he chose a spot Romans, even now, shrink back with terror. What
encircled with woods, narrow at the entrance, and will be their case when the assault begins? Look
sheltered in the rear by a thick forest. In that situation round, and view your numbers. Behold the proud
he had no fear of an ambush. The enemy, he knew, display of warlike spirits, and consider the motives
had no approach but in front. An open plain lay for which we draw the avenging sword. On this spot
before him. He drew up his men in the following we must either conquer, or die with glory. There is no
order: the legions in close array formed the center; alternative. Although a woman, my resolution is
the light-armed troops were stationed at hand to serve fixed. The men, if they please, may survive with
as occasion might require; the cavalry took post in infamy, and live in bondage.”
the wings.”*° The Britons brought into the field an in- Suetonius, in a moment of such importance, did
credible multitude. They formed no regular line of not remain silent. He expected every thing from the
battle. Detached parties and loose battalions dis- valor of his men and yet urged every topic that could
played their numbers, in frantic transport bounding inspire and animate them to the attack. ““Despise,” he
with exultation, and so sure of victory, that they said, “the savage uproar, the yells and shouts of un-
placed their wives in wagons at the extremity of the disciplined barbarians. In that mixed multitude, the
women outnumber the men. Void of spirit, unpro-
232 St. Albans. vided with arms, they are not soldiers who come to
°33 That is, a city of Roman citizens with a municipal offer battle; they are bastards, runaways, the refuse
charter. of your swords, who often have fled before you, and
34 Guiding spirit.
*35 Another of the four legions stationed in Britain. *7 The Ninth Legion of Cerialis. Another, the Second
*%6The standard offensive formation of an ancient army. Legion under Poenius Postumius, also refused to fight.
THE REBELLION OF BOUDICCA (60-61 cE): TACITUS, ANNALS, BOOK 14, CHAPTERS 31-37 417

will again betake themselves to flight when they see of a wedge. The auxiliaries followed with equal
the conqueror flaming in the ranks of war. In all en- ardor. The cavalry, at the same time, bore down upon
gagements it is the valor of a few that turns the for- the enemy, and, with their pikes, overpowered all
tune of the day. It will be your immortal glory that who dared to make a stand. The Britons betook them-
with a scanty number you can equal the exploits of a selves to flight, but their wagons in the rear obstructed
great and powerful army. Keep your ranks, discharge their passage. A dreadful slaughter followed. Neither
your javelins, rush forward to a close attack, bear sex nor age was spared. The cattle, falling in one pro-
down all with your shields, and hew a passage with miscuous carnage, added to the heaps of slain. The
your swords. Pursue the vanquished and never think glory of the day was equal to the most splendid vic-
of spoil and plunder. Conquer, and victory gives you tory of ancient times. According to some writers, not
everything.” This speech was received with warlike less than eighty thousand Britons were put to the
acclamations. The soldiers burned with impatience sword. The Romans lost about four hundred men, and
for the onset, the veterans brandished their javelins the wounded did not exceed that number. Boudicca,
and the ranks displayed such an intrepid counte- by a dose of poison, ended her life. Poenius Postu-
nance that Suetonius, anticipating the victory, gave mius, the Prefect on the Camp of the Second
the signal for the charge. Legion,”** as soon as he heard of the brave exploits of
The engagement began. The Roman legion pre- the Fourteenth and Twentieth legions, felt the dis-
sented a close embodied line. The narrow defile gave grace of having, in disobedience to the orders of his
them the shelter of a rampart. The Britons advanced general, robbed the soldiers under his command of
with ferocity and discharged their darts at random. In their share in so complete a victory.” Stung with re-
that instant, the Romans rushed forward in the form morse, he fell upon his sword and expired on the spot.

238 It is unclear why the Prefect of the Camp, who ranked

beneath the Legate of the Legion and the Military Tri-
bune, was in command of the legion.
239 Thus, of the four British legions, only two, the Second
and the Fourteenth, actually participated in Boudicca’s
defeat.
 95
cSCO>

TEE RAL = @ PM AS Aes

J@SEPHWS FH E WARS @ eit
PEWS BOOK FOG rise

An aerial view of the site of Masada, showing the Herodian fortress atop the bluff, the Roman ramp up
the side, and the remains of Roman siege camps scattered around the base of the escarpment.

In spite of Roman efforts to accommodate the religious sensibilities of the Jews of Palestine,
there always were religious incompatibilities between the Jews and the Roman government
and the Jews easily were the most restive of all the peoples included in the Roman Empire.
Large-scale Jewish revolts against Roman authority occurred in 66, 115, and 131 ce, after
which the Jews were expelled from Palestine, thus augmenting the already extensive Jewish

418
THE FALL OF MASADA (74 ce): JOSEPHUS, THE WARS OF THE JEWS, BOOK 7, CHAPTER 9
419

diaspora. The first of these rebellions occurred under the emperor Nero and resulted in a mas-
sive Roman response. The general Vespasian was appointed to suppress the revolt. In 69 ce,
after Vespasian had been declared emperor, he left the revolt in the hands of his son, Titus. In
the next year, Jerusalem was captured and sacked, but Jewish Sicarii, or Dagger-Carriers, a
fanatic group of the Jewish Zealots who had attempted to expel the Romans, had retreated
to and occupied what was thought to be the impregnable fortress of Masada, built atop a
precipitous bluff in the Judaean desert by King Herod the Great in the 30s sce. In 73 ce the
Roman army besieged Masada and began the construction of a massive earthen ramp to the
top. The work initially was done by Roman soldiers, but when the besieged Jews bombarded
them with rocks from the top of the bluff, the Romans also put captured Jews to work, and
the Jews stopped throwing stones. After three months, the ramp was complete. The Romans
broke into the fortress to find that 960 Jews had committed suicide; only 7 survived to report
what had happened. The Jewish historian Josephus provides a detailed account of the siege.

Source: From William Whiston, trans., The Works of Josephus (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1987).

Now as Eleazar**° was proceeding on in his exhorta- same time did they complete what they had resolved
tions, they all cut him off short“! and made haste to on, as if they had been executed by the hands of
do the work, full of an unconquerable ardor of mind strangers, and they had nothing else for their comfort
and moved with a demoniacal fury. So they went but the necessity they were in of doing this execution
their ways, with each one still endeavoring to be to avoid that prospect they had of the miseries they
before the others, and as if they were thinking that were to suffer from their enemies. Nor was there at
this eagerness would be a demonstration of their length any one of these men found that scrupled to
courage and good conduct. So great was the zeal act their part in this terrible execution, but every one
they were in to slay their wives and children, and of them dispatched his dearest relations.
themselves also! Nor, indeed, when they came to the Miserable men indeed were they, whose distress
work itself, did their courage fail them, as one might forced them to slay their own wives and children
imagine it would have done. Then they held fast to with their own hands, as the lightest of the evils that
the same resolution, without wavering, that they had were before them. So, being not able to bear the grief
upon hearing of Eleazar’s speech, while every one of they were under for what they had done any longer,
them still retained the natural passion of love for and esteeming it an injury to those they had slain to
their families, because the reasoning they depended live even the shortest space of time after them, they
upon appeared to them to be very just, even with presently laid all their possessions in a heap and set
regard to those that were dearest to them. The hus- fire to it. They then chose ten men by lot out of them
bands tenderly embraced their wives and took their to slay all the rest, every one of whom laid himself
children into their arms, and gave the longest parting down by his wife and children on the ground, and
kisses to them, with tears in their eyes. Yet at the threw his arms about them, and they offered their
necks to the stroke of those who by lot executed that
melancholy office. And when these ten had, without
240 Bleazar ben Ya’ir, the leader of the Jewish Sicarii
fear, slain them all, they made the same rule for cast-
(“knife-bearers”) who had occupied Masada.
ing lots for themselves, that he whose lot it was
241 When it became clear that the Romans had completed
their ramp and were about to storm the fortress, Eleazar
should first kill the other nine, and after all, should
spoke in favor of committing suicide. His supporters kill himself. Accordingly, all these had courage suf-
needed no speeches to be convinced to do this. ficient to be no way behind one another in doing or
420 THE ROMAN PEACE (27 BcE-192 CE)

suffering. So, for a conclusion, the nine offered their they put on their armor and laid bridges of planks
necks to the executioner, and he who was the last of upon their ladders from their ramp, to make an as-
all took a view of all the other bodies, lest perchance sault upon the fortress, which they did, but saw
some or other among so many that were slain should nobody as an enemy, but a terrible solitude on every
want his assistance to be quite dispatched, and when side, with a fire within the place as well as a perfect
he perceived that-they were all slain, he set fire to the silence. So they were at a loss to guess at what had
palace, and with the great force of his hands ran his happened. At length they made a shout, as if it had
sword entirely through himself and fell down dead been at a blow given by the battering-ram, to try
near to his own relations. whether they could bring anyone out that was within.
So these people died with this intention, that they The women heard this noise and came out of their
would leave not so much as one soul among them all underground cavern and informed the Romans what
alive to be subject to the Romans. Yet there was an had been done, as it was done, and the second of
ancient woman, and another who was of kin to EI- them clearly described both all that was said and
eazar, and superior to most women in prudence and what was done, and the manner of it. Yet the Romans
learning, with five children, who had concealed did not easily give their attention to such a desperate
themselves in caverns under ground, and had car- undertaking, and did not believe it could be as the
ried water thither for their drink, and were hidden women said. They also attempted to put the fire out,
there when the rest were intent upon the slaughter of and quickly cutting themselves a way through it, they
one another. Those others were nine hundred and came within the palace, and so met with the multi-
sixty in number, the women and children being tude of the slain, but could take no pleasure in the
withal included in that computation. This calami- fact, although it was done to their enemies. Nor could
tous slaughter was made on the fifteenth day of the they do other than wonder at the courage of their
month Xanthicus.”” resolution and the immovable contempt of death that
Now for the Romans, they expected that they so great a number of them had shown, when they
should be fought in the morning, when accordingly went through with such an action as that was.

*” The first month in the Macedonian calendar, equivalent to the Jewish month of Nisan, or April.
 96
cSQ>
HADRIAN INSPECTS THE TROOPS
(128 ce): THE LAMBAESIS
INSCRIPTION

On the detailed reverse of this sestertius, the emperor Hadrian (117-138), in the course of his travels
around the empire, delivers an adlocutio, or formal speech of greeting, to the British army, represented
by an aquilifer (eagle bearer), signifer (standard bearer), and common soldier.

In the summer of 128 ce, during a tour of North Africa, the emperor Hadrian visited the
legionary fortress at Lambaesis in Numidia (modern Algeria), the headquarters of the Third

42]
422 THE ROMAN PEACE (27 BcE-192 CE)

Augustan Legion. As was his practice, during the two-week visit he observed army units
doing prepared maneuvers and then after each exercise he made an “adlocutio,” a formal
address, in which he commented on what he had seen. The ad/ocutio made on this occasion
is the only one to survive from antiquity, preserved on the base of a column erected to com-
memorate Hadrian's visit. The inscription began with a dedication by the legion and was
followed by the text of the emperor's speech. Hadrian began by praising Quintus Fabius
Catullinus, the “Legate of the Legion." Then, after a few words about the value of military
exercise that he no doubt repeated in all such speeches, the inscription continued with Had-
rian's comments on each unit in turn, in which the emperor mixed praise with occasional
critic enough to validate the praise. The text is fragmentary,so only the best-preserved
justism,
sections are quoted here.

Source: Michael Speidel, Emperor Hadrian’s Speeches to the African Army. A New Text (Mainz: Romisch-Germanischen
Zentralmuseums, 2006).

[Dedication] century to the fellow Third Legion; that many

The Third Augustan Legion to the Imperator Caesar far-flung outposts keep you scattered, that twice
Trajan Hadrian Augustus, bravest and most generous within our memory you have not only changed for-
emperor, after the encampment and the army had tresses but built new ones. For this I would have for-
passed inspection. given you if something had come to a halt in your
training. But nothing seems to have halted, nor is
[Hadrian’s adlocutio] there any reason why you should need my forgiving.
After the exercises had been observed, the Imperator To the cavalry of the legion.
Caesar Trajan Hadrian Augustus spoke these words Military exercises somehow have their own laws
that are written below, on the Kalends of July while by which, if anything is added or taken away, the
Torquatus for the second time and Libo were exercise gets either easier or harder. And the harder
Consuls.?43 one makes it, the less graceful it becomes. You have
To the pili.2“ made the hardest out of a hard task by throwing
Catullinus, my Legate,’* is keen in your support. spears while wearing the lorica,”** and thereby you
Indeed, everything that you might have had to put to lost in elegance. But I do approve the spirit in which
me he has himself told me on your behalf; that a you did this.
cohort*** is away because, taking turns, one is sent To the principes.*””
every year to the staff of the Proconsul”*’; that two Work that others would have spread out over sey-
years ago you gave a cohort and five men from each eral days you took only one day to finish. You have
built a lengthy wall, made as if for permanent
a4 July 428. Cr: winter-quarters, in nearly as short a time as if it were
44 The “spear carriers,” that is, the legionaries stationed built from turf that is cut in even pieces, easily car-
in the first rank. ried and handled, and laid without difficulty, being
45 The “Legatus legionis,” that is, the “Legate of the naturally smooth and flat. You built with big, heavy,
Legion,” the commander of the legion. uneven stones that no one can carry, lift, or lay
46A subdivision of a legion, which had ten cohorts of
rather less than six hundred men each.
47 Because Africa was a senatorial province, its governor *48 Roman body armor, made of metal scales or plates.
was a Proconsul, not a “Legate of Augustus.” *” The “leaders,” the legionaries of the second rank.
HADRIAN INSPECTS THE TROOPS (128 ce): THE LAMBAESIS INSCRIPTION 423

without their unevenness becoming evident. You dug To the first squadron of the Pannonians.
a straight ditch through hard and rough gravel and You did everything according to the book. You
scraped it smooth. Your work approved, you quickly filled the training ground with your wheelings, you
entered camp, took your food and weapons, and fol- threw spears not ungracefully, although with short
lowed the horse who had been sent out, hailing them and stiff spears.
with a great shout as they came back. Several of you hurled Jancea spears with skill. Your
To the second cohort of the Hamii.>° jumping onto the horses here was lively and yesterday
Because you do not shoot at a signal, the foe being was swift. Had anything been lacking, I would note it;
already upon you, your Prefect makes you try and had anything stood out, I would mention it. You pleased
shoot oftener and sharper, so that among the many equally throughout the whole maneuver. Noble Catul-
missiles the foe dare not lift his head above the linus, my deputy, gives the same care to all.
shield. You were slow to close ranks .. . To the cavalry of the sixth cohort of the
Ta.the ala>.... Commagenians.”*°
I praise him?” for having brought you over to this It is hard for horsemen of a cohort to please, even
maneuver that has taken on the looks of true fighting, as they are, and harder still not to displease after a
and for training you so well that I can praise you. show by horsemen of an ala: the training field differs
Your Prefect Comelianus has done his duty undaunt- in size, spear throwers are fewer, the right-wheel is
edly. I do not like counter-wheelings,”°? nor did the tight, the Cantabrian formation’ is cramped, the
deified Trajan,*** my model. A horseman should ride condition of the horses and the maintenance of the
out from cover. If he does not see where he is going, equipment in keeping with the pay level. But you
or cannot rein in his horse when he wishes, he may have banished weariness by your eagerness, by doing
come to grief from hidden traps and trenches he does briskly what had to be done. Moreover, you shot
not see. If you want to attack, you must charge across stones from slings and fought with javelins; every-
the middle of the field, as when facing the foe. Noth- where you jumped nimbly onto your horses. The out-
ing ever must be done recklessly. standing manhood of noble Catullinus, my legate,
The third day before the Ides of July.” shows itself in that under this man you are such men.

250 Hadrian now has moved on to the units of the auxilia,

commanded by Prefects and composed of specialized
troops such as cavalry and archers.
251 A squadron of cavalry.
252 Presumably Catullinus.
253 Circling movements that do not allow a rider to see 256 Named after Commagene, a region in the southeastern
clearly what is ahead. corner of Anatolia.
254 The emperor Trajan (98-117 ce), Hadrian’s 257 A tactic in which cavalry rode in a continuously rotat-
predecessor. ing circle and thus kept up a steady stream of arrow,
255 13 July. spear, or sling-stone fire.
 97
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ROMAN MISOGYNY (cA. 100 cE):

NAINA! SS A Teta

A fresco from the “House of the Chaste Lovers” in Pompeii shows men and women enjoying each
other’s company at a banquet. The kinds of pleasures being enjoyed here would have seemed tame
compared to the kinds of activities in which, according to the Roman satirist Juvenal, upper-class
Roman women indulged around 100 ce.

The Roman satirist Juvenal's Sixth Satire, which nominally attempts to dissuade Juvenal's friend
Postumus from getting married, usually is taken as evidence for Roman attitudes toward
gender in general and misogeny in particular, as Juvenal expounds on women's fundamental
lack of morality. But the Satire also includes the famous line, “Who will guard the guards?,"
making the point that it is impossible to impose standards of morality if those doing the im-
posing are themselves immoral. For example, men who divorce older wives in order to marry
younger ones also are condemned. The Satire thus can be taken as being equally against the
men who themselves have encouraged, participated in, and enabled immoral behavior. At the
same time, the Satire also is full of jokes and mythological allusions—only some of which can
be commented on here—that an educated audience would have appreciated.

Source: G. G. Ramsay, trans., Juvenal and Persius, Loeb Classical Library (London: Heinemann, New York, Putnam, 1918).

424
ROMAN MISOGYNY (ca. 100 cg): JUVENAL, SATIRE 6 425

In the days of Saturn,*** I believe, Chastity still lin- once had your wits, taking to yourself a wife? Tell
gered on the earth, and was to be seen for a time. me what Tisiphone, what snakes are driving you
These were the days when men were poorly housed mad??° Can you submit to a she-tyrant when there is
in chilly caves; when one common shelter enclosed so much rope to be had, so many dizzy heights of
hearth and household gods, herds and their owners; windows standing open, and when the Aemilian
when the hill-bred wife spread her sylvan bed with Bridge””’ offers itself to hand? Or if none of all these
leaves and straw and the skins of her neighbors the modes of exit hits your fancy, how much better to
wild beasts, a wife not like to thee, O Cynthia,”>? nor take some boy bedfellow, who would never wrangle
to thee, Lesbia,*® whose bright eyes were clouded by with you over nights, never ask presents of you when
a sparrow’s death, but one whose breasts gave suck in bed, and never complain that you took your ease
to lusty babes, often more unkempt herself than her and were indifferent to his solicitations!
acorn-belching spouse. For in those days, when the But Ursidius*® approves of the Julian Law.” He
world was young, and the skies were new, men born purposes to bring up a dear little heir, although he will
of the riven oak, or formed of dust, lived differently thereby have to do without the fine turtles, the bearded
from now, and had no parents of their own. Under mullets, and all the legacy-hunting’”? delicacies of the
Jove,”*! perchance, some few traces of ancient mod- meat-market. What can you think impossible if Ursid-
esty may have survived, But that was before he had ius takes to himself a wife? If he, who has long been the
grown his beard, before the Greeks had learned to most notorious of gallants, who has so often found
swear by someone else’s head, when men feared not safety in the grain-bin of the luckless Latinus,””' puts
thieves for their cabbages or apples, and lived with his head into the connubial noose? And what think you
unwalled gardens. After that Astraea”® withdrew by of his searching for a wife of the good old virtuous
degrees to heaven, with Chastity*® as her comrade, sort? O doctors, lance his over-blooded veins. A pretty
the two sisters taking flight together. fellow you! Why, if you have the good luck to find a
To set your neighbor’s bed a-shaking, Postu- modest spouse, you should prostrate yourself before the
mus,” and to flout the Genius® of the sacred couch, Tarpeian threshold and sacrifice a heifer with gilded
is now an ancient and long-established practice. All horns to Juno,”” so few are the wives worthy to handle
other sins came later, the products of the Age of Iron; the fillets of Ceres,’ or from whose kisses their own
but it was the Silver Age that saw the first adulterers.
Nevertheless, in these days of ours, you are prepar-
ing for a covenant, a marriage-contract, and a be- 266 One of the Furies, the avengers of crimes; she had
trothal; you are by now getting your hair cut by a snakes for hair. See Reading 5.
master barber; you have also perhaps given a pledge 267 A bridge across the Tiber River near the Aventine Hill,
to her finger. What! Postumus, are you, you who more usually known as the Milvian Bridge.
268A notorious adulterer who finally decided to get
married and raise a family.
258 The “Golden Age” of Hesiod; see Reading 47. 269A law of Augustus against adultery.
259 The paramour of the Augustan poet Propertius. 210 Marriages often were contracted with inheritances in mind;
260 The paramour of the late Roman Republican poet once he was married, Ursidius would have to give this up.
Catullus; see Reading 84. 271Tn Roman comedies “Latinus,” a stock character, often
261 Another name for Jupiter; the “Bronze Age” of Hesiod. had to hide anyplace that was on hand to avoid being
262 The virgin goddess of innocence; she fled from the caught in the act of adultery.
earth and became the constellation Virgo (“the virgin”). 272& shrine to Juno, part of the Capitoline temple, was
263 Pudicitia, the goddess of chastity. near the Tarpeian Rock, from which unfaithful Vestal
264A friend of Juvenal; the Satire purportedly is intended Virgins sometimes were flung, on the Capitoline Hill.
to dissuade him from getting married. 273 Only chaste women were supposed to participate in
265 Guardian spirit. the rites of the grain goddess Ceres.
426 THE ROMAN PEACE (27 Bcg-192 CE)

father would not shrink! Weave a garland for thy door- When Eppia, the senator’s wife, ran off with a
posts, and set up wreaths of ivy over thy lintel!?” gladiator to Pharos”®* and the Nile, Canopus”* itself
But will Hiberina’” be satisfied with one man? cried shame upon the monstrous morals of our town.
Sooner compel her to be satisfied with one eye! You Forgetful of home, of husband, and of sister, without
tell me of the high repute of some maiden, who lives thought of her country, she shamelessly abandoned
on her paternal farm. Well, let her live at Gabii, at her weeping children. Although born in wealth, al-
Fidenae,’” as she lived in her own country, and I will though as a babe she had slept in an ornamented
believe in your paternal farm. But will anyone tell cradle on the paternal down, she made light of the
me that nothing ever took place on a mountain side sea, just as she had long made light of her good
or in a cave??”” Have Jupiter and Mars become so name. And so with stout heart she endured the toss-
senile? Can our arcades?’”* show you one woman ing and the roaring of the Tyrrhenian and Ionian
worthy of your vows? Do all the tiers in all our theat- Seas,”*’ and all the many seas she had to cross. Now,
ers hold one whom you may love without misgiving, when danger comes in an honorable way, a woman’s
and pick out thence? When the soft Bathyllus?” heart grows chill with fear, and she cannot stand
dances the part of the gesticulating Leda,”®° Tuccia”*! upon her trembling feet: but if she be doing a bold,
cannot contain herself; your Apulian maiden heaves bad thing, her courage fails not. For a husband to
a sudden and longing cry of ecstasy, as though she order his wife on board ship is cruelty; the bilge-water
were in a man’s arms. Other women pay great prices sickens her. But if she is running away with a lover,
for the favors of a comedian. Hispulla?*’ has a fancy she feels no qualms. In the-first case, she vomits over
for tragedians; but do you suppose that any one will her husband, but in the second she flirts with the sail-
be found to love Quintilian??* If you marry a wife, it ors, roams about the deck, and delights in hauling at
will be so that the flute player Ambrosius may the hard ropes.
become a father. Adorn your doors and doorposts And what were the youthful charms that capti-
with wreaths of laurel, so that your highborn son vated Eppia? What did she see in him to allow her-
may exhibit, in his tortoiseshell cradle, the linea- self to be called “a she-Gladiator’? Her dear
ments of a murmillo!?** Sergius?’ already had begun to shave”®®; a wounded
arm gave promise of a discharge,””° and there were
sundry deformities in his face: a scar caused by the
*74 Decorations put on the homes of newlyweds. helmet, a huge boil upon his nose, a nasty humor
* The putative fiancée of Postumus. This section turns to always trickling from his eye. But then he was a
a discussion of unfaithfulness. gladiator! It is this that transforms these fellows
°76 Towns outside Rome. into Hyacinths!*”! It was this that she preferred to
*77 Juvenal refers to mythological sexual escapades that
took place in the countryside.
*78 Fashionable Roman women promenading in sheltered
arcades could see and be seen. *85 The famous lighthouse at Alexandria in Egypt.
279& male slave who introduced pantomime, where sto- *86 An Egyptian city on the eastern edge of Alexandria.
ries were told accompanied only by movements. *87 The Tyrrhenian Sea was just west of the boot of Italy
*8°The mortal woman whom Jupiter visited disguised as a and the Ionian Sea just east of it.
swan. *88 The gladiator that she had run off with.
*8! A Vestal Virgin who cleared herself of a charge of > At this time, Roman men often did not begin to shave
fornication by drawing water in a sieve. until forty years of age.
282ARoman noblewoman. *°0A discharge from service as a gladiator.
283 A famous rhetorician. *°! A beautiful boy loved by Apollo, who changed him
284A type of gladiator. into a flower after he was accidentally killed.
ROMAN MISOGYNY (ca. 100 cg): JUVENAL, SATIRE 6 427

children and to country, to sister, and to husband. If you are not to love the woman betrothed and
What these women love is the sword! united to you in due form, what reason have you for
Do the concerns of a private household and the marrying? Why waste the supper and the wedding
doings of Eppia affect you? Just look at those who cakes to be given to the well-filled guests when the
rival the gods, and hear what Claudius”? endured. company is slipping away? If you are honestly de-
As soon as his wife?” perceived that her husband voted to one woman, then bow your head and
was asleep, this august harlot was shameless enough submit your neck to the yoke. Never will you find a
to prefer a common mat to the imperial couch. As- woman who spares the man who loves her; for al-
suming a night-cowl and attended by a single maid, though she be herself aflame, she delights to tor-
she went out. Then she took her place in a brothel ment and plunder him. So the better the man, the
reeking with long-used coverlets. Entering an empty more desirable he is as a husband, the less good
cell reserved for herself, she there took her stand, will he get out of his wife. No present will you ever
under the feigned name of Lycisca, her nipples bare make if your wife forbids; nothing will you ever
and gilded, and exposed to view the womb that bore sell if she objects; nothing will you buy without her
thee, O nobly-born Britannicus!?** Here she gra- consent. She will arrange your friendships for you;
ciously received all comers, asking from each his she will turn your now-aged friend from the door
fee, and when at length the keeper dismissed the rest, that saw the beginnings of his beard. Panders and
she remained to the very last before closing her cell, trainers can make their wills as they please, as also
and with passion still raging hot within her went sor- can the gentlemen of the arena, but you will have to
rowfully away. Then exhausted but unsatisfied, with write down among your heirs more than one rival
soiled cheeks and begrimed with the smoke of lamps, of your own.
she took back to the imperial pillow all the odors of “Crucify that slave!” says the wife. Thus does she
the bordello. lord it over her husband. But before long she vacates
But tell me why is Censennia,*”° 295 on her husband’s her kingdom; she flits from one home to another,
testimony, the best of wives? “She brought him a wearing out her bridal veil. Then back she flies again
million sesterces; that is the price at which he calls and returns to her own imprints in the bed that she
her chaste. He has not pined under the darts of has abandoned, leaving behind her the newly deco-
Venus; he was never burnt by her torch. It was the rated door, the festal hangings on the walls, and the
dowry that lit his fires, the dowry that shot those garlands still green over the threshold. Thus does the
arrows! That dowry bought liberty for her: she may tale of her husbands grow; there will be eight of them
make what signals, and write what love letters she in the course of five autumns, a fact worthy of com-
pleases, before her husband’s face. The rich woman memoration on her tomb!?”°
who marries a money-loving husband is as good as There never was a case in court in which the quar-
unmarried. rel was not started by a woman. If Manilia’”’ is not a
defendant, she will be the plaintiff. She will herself
frame and adjust the pleadings; she will be ready to
292 Roman emperor, 41-54 CE. instruct Celsus”** himself how to open his case, and
293 Claudius’s third wife Valeria Messalina, who had a how to urge his points.
reputation for promiscuity.
294The son of Claudius and Messalina; murdered by the
emperor Nero (54-68) when he was fourteen. 26 For the epitaph of a respectable Roman woman, see
295 Not a clearly Roman name; Juvenal’s point may be that Reading 87.
as long as a woman has money, she can find a respect- 297A plebeian woman of this name was prosecuted for
able, but perhaps impoverished, high-ranking Roman hitting a magistrate with a stone.
husband. 298A legal scholar during the reign of Tiberius (14—37 CE).
428 THE ROMAN PEACE (27 BcE-192 CE)

Why need I tell of the wrestling-oils used by themselves by the standard that that prescribes and lays
women? Who has not seen one of them smiting a tree down for them. Men, on the other hand, do sometimes
stump, piercing it through and through with a sword, have an eye to utility, but your extravagant woman is
lunging at it with a shield, and going through all the never sensible of her dwindling means; she never gives
proper motions? A matron truly qualified to blow a a thought to what her pleasures cost her.
trumpet at the Floralia!”°’ Unless, indeed, she is nurs- Yes, I know well the advice and warnings of my
ing some further ambition in her bosom, and is prac- old friends: Put on a lock and keep your wife indoors.
ticing for the real arena. What modesty can you And yes, just who will guard the guards? They get
expect in a woman who wears a helmet, abjures her paid in kind for holding their tongues as to their
own sex, and delights in feats of strength? Yet she young lady’s escapades. The wily wife arranges ac-
would not choose to be a man, knowing the superior cordingly, and begins with them. If your wife is mu-
joys of womanhood. What a fine thing for a husband, sical, none of those who sell their voices to the
at an auction of his wife’s effects, to see her belt and Praetor can compete with her charms. Better, how-
armlets and plumes put up for sale, with a gaiter that ever, that your wife should be musical than that she
covers half the left leg; or if she fight another sort of should be rushing boldly about the entire city, at-
battle, how charmed you will be to see your young tending men’s meetings, talking with unflinching
wife disposing of her greaves! Yet these are the face and hard breasts to generals in their military
women who find the thinnest of thin robes too hot for cloaks, with her husband looking on! This same
them; whose delicate flesh is chafed by the finest of woman knows what is going on all over the world:
silk tissue. See how she pants as she goes through her what the Thracians*°* and Chinese are after; she
prescribed exercises; how she bends under the weight knows who loves whom, what gallant is the rage; she
of her helmet; how big and coarse are the bandages will tell you who got the widow with child, and in
that enclose her thighs; and then laugh when she lays what month; how every woman behaves to her lovers,
down her arms and shows herself to be a woman! and what she says to them.
I hear all this time the advice of my old friends: She frequents the baths by night; she loves all the
keep your women at home and put them under lock and bustle of the hot bath, when her arms drop exhausted
key. Yes, but who will watch the watchers??° Wives are by the heavy weights,*” the anointer passes his hand
crafty. High or low their passions are all the same. She skilfully over her body, bringing it down at last with
who wears out the black cobble-stones with her bare a resounding smack upon her thigh. Meanwhile her
feet is no better than she who rides*”! upon the necks of unfortunate guests are overcome with sleep and
eight stalwart Syrians. Ogulnia hires clothes to see the hunger, until at last she comes in with a flushed face
games; she hires attendants, a litter, cushions, female and tosses off a couple of pints before her dinner to
friends, a nurse, and a fair-haired girl to run her mes- create a raging appetite; then she brings it all up; the
sages; yet she will give all that remains of the family stream runs over the marble pavement and the gilt
plate, down to the last flagon, to some smooth-faced basin reeks of Falernian,*™ for she drinks and vomits
athlete. Many of these women are poor, but none of like a big snake that has tumbled into a vat. The
them pay any regard to their poverty, or measure sickened husband closes his eyes and so keeps down
his bile.
°° A six-day festival, held in late April, in honor of the
fertility goddess Flora. It was marked by theater perfor-
mances and the participation of prostitutes and was *® Thrace was a mountainous Balkan region northeast of
known for its licentiousness. Greece; modern Bulgaria.
30°“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes,” one of the most °° After a workout in the weight: room.
famous ancient quotations. *“ The most famous Roman wine, produced from grapes
°1Tn a litter. of Mt. Falernus in Latium.
ROMAN MISOGYNY (ca. 100 cE): JUVENAL, SATIRE 6 429

If the woman be of humble rank, she will prome- deemed right and proper to slay a stepson. But I
nade between the turning-posts of the Circus.*® warn you wards, you who have a good estate, keep
Wealthy women will pay for answers from a Phrygian watch over your lives; trust not a single dish, for
or Indian augur” well skilled in the stars and the those hot cakes are black with the poison of a moth-
heavens. These poor women, moreover, endure the er’s baking. Whatever is offered you by the mother,
perils of child-birth and all the troubles of nursing to let someone taste it first; let your trembling tutor*°
which their lot condemns them; but how often does a take the first taste of every cup. Now think you that
gilded bed contain a woman that is lying in?°”’ So great all this is a fancy tale, and that our satire is taking
is the skill, so powerful the drugs, of the abortionist, to herself the high heels of tragedy? Think you that
paid to murder mankind within the womb. Rejoice, I have out-stepped the limits and the laws of those
poor wretch, give her the stuff to drink whatever it be, before me? Would indeed that my words were idle!
with your own hand, for were she willing to get big and But here is Pontia proclaiming “I did the deed; I
trouble her womb with bouncing babes, you might per- gave aconite,*” I confess it, to my own children; the
haps find yourself the father of an Ethiopian, and some crime was detected, and is known to all.” “What,
day a colored heir would fill all the places in your will. you most savage of vipers? You killed two, did you,
A wife hates the children of a concubine, let two, at a single meal?” “Aye, and seven too, had
none demur or forbid, seeing that it has long been there chanced to be seven to kill!”

305 The Circus Maximus (“Great Circus”), the chariot-rac-

ing track, with turning posts at each end. 308 Tn this case, a child-care worker.
306Tn this case, a fortune teller. 309 An extremely poisonous plant, also known as wolfs-
307 Waiting to give birth. bane; the poison also was associated with rabid dogs.
 98
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PRAISE OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

(omeP5Srcri2 UB PIYSeAPEhesS
ARISTIDES THEODORUS,
TO ROME

A bronze statue of the first century BcE found at Perugia in Tuscany portrays an orator wearing a
Roman toga. The inscription on the toga’s hem, written in Etruscan, reads “To Aule Meteli, son of Vel
and Vesi. This statue was erected by deliberation of the people.” The statue now is in the National
Archaeological Museum in Florence.

Publius Aelius Aristides Theodorus was a Greek orator of the mid-second century ce who is
considered a primary example of the period known as the “Second Sophistic," a revival of
Greek rhetoric and oratory lasting from about 60 to 230 ce. During this period, Roman emper-
ors such as Hadrian (117-138) and Marcus Aurelius (161-180) served as patrons for and par-
ticipated in literary activities. Aristides flourished during the reigns of Hadrian and Antoninus
Pius (138-161). After a visit to Rome in 143 ce, Aristides returned to his native Smyrna in

430
PRAISE OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (€a. 155 ce): PUBLIUS AELIUS ARISTIDES THEODORUS, TO ROME
431

Anatolia. In the 150s ce he toured Greece and Rome, where he delivered his best known
speech, “To Rome,” probably before the emperor Antoninus Pius. The speech glorified the
emperors as having created an ideal world where opportunities were open to all, which no
doubt is exactly what the emperors wanted to hear.

Source: James H. Oliver, The Ruling Power. A Study of the Roman Empire in the Second Century after Christ through the
Roman Oration of Aelius Aristides (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1953), 895-907.

It is an age-old tradition that travelers who journey market for the world. One can see cargoes from India
forth on land or water offer a prayer whereby they and even, if you will, from southern Arabia in such
pledge to fulfill some vow—something they have on numbers that one must conclude that the trees in
their mind—on reaching their destination safely. The those lands have been stripped bare and if the inhab-
vow I took as I journeyed here was not the usual silly itants of those lands need anything, they must come
and irrelevant sort, nor was it one unrelated to the art here to beg for a share of what they have produced.
I profess. I simply vowed that, if I arrived safely, I Your farmlands are Egypt, Sicily, and all of culti-
would salute your city with a public address. vated Africa. Seaborne arrivals and departures are
Some writer referring to Asia asserted that one ceaseless, to the point that the wonder is, not so much
man ruled as much territory as the sun passed over, that the harbor?!» has insufficient space for all these
but his statement was false, because he placed all of merchant vessels, but that the sea has enough space,
Africa and Europe outside of the area where the sun if it really does. Just as there is a common channel
rises in the east and sets in the west. Now, however, where all waters of the Ocean*"® have a single source
it has become fact. The land you possess equals what and destination, so there is a common channel to
the sun can pass over, and the sun does encompass Rome and all meet here: trade, shipping, agriculture,
your land. You do not reign within fixed boundaries metallurgy, all the arts and crafts that are or ever
and another state does not dictate the limits of the were and all things that are produced or spring from
land you control?"°; rather, the sea*!’ extends like a the earth. What one does not see here does not exist.
belt, situated in the middle of the civilized world and So it is not easy to decide which is the greater: the
in the middle of the land over which you rule. Around superiority of this city relative to cities that presently
that sea lie the great continents?!” massively sloping exist, or the superiority of this empire relative to all
down to it, forever offering you in full measure what empires that ever existed.
they possess. Whatever each culture grows and man- As vast and comprehensive as its size is, your
ufactures cannot fail to be here*’ at all times and in empire is much greater for its perfection than for the
great profusion. Here merchant vessels arrive carry- area its borders encircle. The entire civilized world
ing these many commodities from every region in prays with one voice that this empire will endure for-
every season and even at every equinox,*" so that the ever. For of all who ever have gained an empire, you
city takes on the appearance of a sort of common alone rule over free men. You conduct public business
throughout the whole civilized world exactly as if it
310 Reflecting the official view that the Roman Empire were one city-state, you appoint governors, as if it
ruled, in reality or potentiality, the whole world. were by election, to protect and care for the governed,
311 The Mediterranean. not to act as slave masters over them. One could say
312 That is, Asia, Africa, and Europe.
313Tn Rome.
314The two moments during the solar year, roughly 315 Ostia, the port of Rome at the mouth of the Tiber River.
21 March and 21 September, when night and day are of 316The great ocean that it was believed encircled all of the
equal length. continents.
432 THE ROMAN PEACE (27 BcE-192 CE)

that the people of today are ruled by governors sent out countrymen, by virtue of your anger and vengeance,
to them only to the degree that they wish to be ruled. which would fall upon the more powerful without
You have divided into two parts all men through- delay should they dare to break the law. Thus, the
out your empire, everywhere giving citizenship to all present government serves rich and poor alike, and
those who are more accomplished, noble, and pow- your constitution has developed a single, harmoni-
erful, even as they retain their native-born identities, ous, all-embracing union. What in former days
whereas the rest you have made subjects and the gov- seemed impossible has in your time come to pass.
erned. Neither the sea nor the great expanse of inter- You control a vast empire with a rule that is firm but
vening land keeps one from being a citizen, and not unkind.
there is no distinction between Europe and Asia. No As on a holiday, the entire civilized world lays
one is a foreigner who deserves to hold an office or is down the weapons that were its ancient burden and
worthy of trust. Rather, there is here a common has turned to adornment and all glad thoughts, with
“world democracy” under the rule of one man, the the power to realize them. Cities glisten with radi-
best ruler and director. ance and charm, and the entire earth has been made
You have divided humanity into Romans and non- beautiful like a garden. Like a perpetual sacred
Romans, and because you have divided people in this flame, the celebration is unending. You, better than
manner, in every city throughout the empire there are anyone else, have proved the truth of the proverb:
many who share citizenship with you, no less than “The earth is everyone’s mother and our common
they share citizenship with their fellow natives. And fatherland.” It now is possible for Hellene*!” and
some of these Roman citizens have not even seen this non-Hellene, with or without property, to travel with
city! There is no need for troops to garrison the stra- ease wherever he wishes, as though passing from
tegic high points of these cities because the most im- homeland to homeland. As far as security is con-
portant and powerful people in each region guard cerned, it suffices to be a Roman citizen, or rather
their native lands for you. Yet there is not a residue of one of those people united under your rule.
resentment among those excluded. Because your gov- Let us pray that all the gods and their children
ernment is both universal and like that of a single grant that this empire and this city flourish forever
city-state, its governors rightly rule not as foreigners and never cease until stones float on water and trees
but, as it were, their own people. Additionally, all of cease to put forth shoots in spring, and that the Great
the masses of subjects under this government have Governor and his sons*!* be preserved and obtain
protection against the more powerful of their native blessings for all.

*"' Technically, a Greek, but here probably referring to

Roman citizens.
318The emperor; Antoninus Pius had two adopted sons,
Lucius Verus and Marcus Aurelius, both of whom
became emperor when he died in 161 cE.
 99
cSQ>
THE JEWS CONFRONT ROME
(133-180 ce): BABYLONIAN
TALMUD, SANHEDRIN 39A,
SABBATH 33B, ME’ILAH 17B

A silver shekel of the Bar Kochba revolt, the third Jewish revolt against the Roman Empire, struck in
133-134 ce, depicts a temple facade that might be the Jewish temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 cE
at the end of the first Jewish revolt. The reverse depictions of a lulav (palm branch, myrtle, and willow)
and ethrog (citron fruit) refer to the Jewish feast of Sukkot (the Feast of the Tabernacles) and the
legend reads “Year Two of the Freedom of Israel.” After the suppression of the revolt in 135 ce,
anti-Jewish legislation prohibited the use of Torah law and the Jewish calendar and many Jews departed,
expanding the Jewish diaspora. The remaining rabbis attempted to prevent further emigration.

Under Roman rule, the Jews maintained their identity by the creation and circulation of the
Talmud, a massive and comprehensive guidebook for Jewish life compiled beginning in the
third century ce. It comprised oral tradition, interpretations of Mosaic Law, observations on

433
434 THE ROMAN PEACE (27 BcE-192 CE)

faith and morality, Bible commentaries, and historical narratives. One version of the Talmud
was completed in the late fourth century in Palestine and a Babylonian version was com-
pleted by ca. 500. The Talmud illustrated the complex and conflicted relationship that the
Jews had with the Romans. For example, stories circulated about how Jewish rabbis had car-
ried out theological debates with the emperor or the emperor's daughter. One individual who
was caught in the middle was rabbi Simeon ben Yohai. Simeon's teacher, rabbi Akiba ben
Yoseph, had supported the Bar Kochba Revolt (131-133 ce), and after the defeat of the revolt,
Akiba's followers, including Simeon, were discredited. Circa 140 ce, Simeon lost the election
to be head of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish governing body, which only existed by sufferance of
the Romans and could not offend them. At a subsequent Sanhedrin meeting, ben Yohai criti-
cized rabbi Yehudah ben Ilai, who praised Roman achievements. When this exchange was
reported to the Romans, Yehudah was rewarded and Simeon was sentenced to death. After
many years hiding in a cave, Simeon emerged and became a great Jewish teacher. He gained
a reputation as a wonder worker and stories were told about his spiritual authority. In one
story, he was said to have been sent to the emperor, perhaps Marcus Aurelius (180-192), to
have the anti-Jewish legislation of the emperor Hadrian (117-138) rescinded. He accom-
plished the mission by having the emperor's daughter become possessed by a demon and
then releasing her from it, a motif similar to later Christian traditions of holy men and
women who released people from demonic possession.

Source: I. Epstein, trans., Contents of the Soncino Babylonian Talmud, 26 volumes (London: Soncino, 1935-1948).

The emperor once said to rabbi Gamaliel,*’? “Your meat.” It was given to her. She placed it under her
God is a thief, for it is written, ‘And the Lord God armpit, then took it out and offered it to him to eat. “TI
caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept, find it loathsome,” he exclaimed. “Even so would
and he took one of his ribs.” Thereupon the emper- Eve have been to Adam had she been taken from him
or’s daughter replied, “Leave him to me and I will openly,”*?! she retorted.
answer him,”*”° and said, “Give me a military guard The emperor proposed to rabbi Tanhum,*”? “Come,
commander.” “Why do you need him?,” he asked. let us all be one people.” “Very well,’ he answered,
“Thieves visited us last night and robbed us of a “but we who are circumcised cannot possibly become
silver pitcher, leaving a golden one in its place.” like you unless you become circumcised like us.”
“Would that such thieves visited us every day!,” the The emperor replied, “You have spoken well; never-
emperor exclaimed. “Ah!,” she retorted, “was it not theless, anyone who gets the better of the king in
to Adam’s gain that he was deprived of a rib and a debate must be thrown into the vivarium.”>* So they
handmaid presented to him in its stead to serve threw him in, but he was not eaten. Thereupon a her-
him?” The emperor replied: “This is what I mean: he etic remarked, “The reason they did not eat him is
should have taken it from him openly, when he was that they are not hungry.” They then threw the here-
awake.” Said she to him, “Let me have a piece of raw tic in, and he was eaten...

319A rabbi known to have visited Rome at least twice,

during the reigns of Domitian (81-96) and Nerva 1 And he thus had known where she had come from.
(96-98). Neither of these had a known daughter. *?'Tanhum ben Hanilai, a rabbi of the third century CE.
320 That is, she would deal with the emperor’s question in *3 Enclosures where the Romans kept wild animals to be
place of the rabbi. used in the games.
THE JEWS CONFRONT ROME (133-180 ce) 435

Rabbi Judah, rabbi Yose, and rabbi Simeon were forsake life eternal and engage in life temporal!”
sitting, and Judah, a son of proselytes,*** was sitting Whatever they cast their eyes upon was immedi-
near them. Rabbi Judah commenced by observing, ately burnt up. Thereupon a Heavenly Echo came
“How fine are the works of the Romans. They have forth and cried out, “Have ye emerged to destroy
made streets, they have built bridges, they have My world? Return to your cave!”’*3° So they re-
erected baths.” Rabbi Yose was silent. Rabbi Simeon turned and dwelt there twelve months, saying, “The
ben Yohai answered and said, “All that they made punishment of the wicked in Gehenna is limited to
they made for themselves; they built market-places, twelve months.’*?! A Heavenly Echo then came
to set harlots in them; baths, to rejuvenate them- forth and said, “Go forth from your cave!” Thus,
selves; bridges, to levy tolls for them.” Now, Judah they issued forth: wherever rabbi Eleazar**?
the son of proselytes went and repeated this conver- wounded, rabbi Simeon healed. Said he to him, “My
sation, which was heard by the Roman government. son! You and I are sufficient for the world.” Rabbi
The Romans decreed: “Judah, who exalted us, shall Phinchas ben Ya’ir his son-in-law went out to meet
be rewarded by having the privilege to speak first on him. He took him into the baths and massaged” his
all occasions. Yose, who was silent, shall be exiled to flesh. Seeing the clefts in his body he wept and the
Sepphoris***; Simeon, who censured, let him be ex- tears streamed from his eyes. “Woe to me that I see
ecuted. Simeon and his son went and hid themselves you in such a state!,” he cried out “Happy are you
in the Beth Hamidrash*”° and his wife brought him that you see me thus,” he retorted, “for if you did not
bread and a mug of water and they dined. But when see me in such a state you would not find me so
the decree became more severe he said to his son, learned.”*? For originally, when rabbi Simeon ben
“Women are of unstable temperament; she may be Yohai raised a difficulty, rabbi Phinehas ben Ya’ir
put to the torture*”’ and expose us.” So they went and would give him thirteen answers, but subsequently
hid in a cave. The whole day they studied. When it when rabbi Phinehas ben Ya’ir raised a difficulty,
was time for prayers they robed, covered themselves, rabbi Simeon ben Yohai would give him twenty-four
prayed, and then put off their garments again, so that answers...
they should not wear out. Thus they dwelt twelve The government** once issued a decree that Jews
years in the cave. Then Elijah*** came and stood at might not keep the sabbath, circumcise their children,
the entrance to the cave and exclaimed, “Who will and that they should have intercourse with menstruant
inform the son of Yohai that the emperor is dead and women. The Jews then conferred as to who should go
his decree annulled?’”*”? So they emerged. Seeing a to Rome to work for the annulment of the decrees.
man ploughing and sowing, they exclaimed, “They “Tet rabbi Simeon ben Yohai go for he is experienced
in miracles,” said rabbi Eleazar son of rabbi Yose.
“And who should accompany him?,” they asked. Said
324 Converts to Judaism. rabbi Yose to them, “I shall accompany him.” Then
325 A desert city west of the Sea of Galilee and a center of
rabbinical activity at this time.
326A place for Jewish religious study. 330 This story is a rebuke of excessively pious Jews who
327 Jews who were not Roman citizens, such as Joshua ben believed they should only study religion and not do prac-
Yoseph (Jesus of Nazareth) in the previous century, tical work.
would be liable to torture should they be brought in for 331Tn general, Judaism had no concept of eternal punish-
questioning by the Roman government; see Reading 91. ment in Hell, but rather of limited, regenerative punish-
328A prophet who lived in the northern Hebrew kingdom ment in Gehenna.
of Israel during the reign of King Ahab (ca. 885-850 BCE). 332 Bleazar ben Simeon, the son of Simeon; another disci-
329 Presumably the emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161); ple of Akiba. He later held office under the Romans.
this would date Simeon’s original condemnation to 333 Making the point that he spent all his time studying.
around 148 CE. 334 Rulings of the emperor Hadrian (117-138 ce).
436 THE ROMAN PEACE (27 BcE-192 CE)

ben Temalion**> came to meet them and said, “Is it proclaimed this the demon left her. The emperor said
your wish that I accompany you?” Thereupon rabbi to them, “Request whatever you desire.” They were
Simeon wept and said, “Let the miracle be performed, led into the treasure house to take whatever they chose.
no matter how.” Thereupon ben Temalion went ahead They found that edict**’ took it and tore it to pieces. It
and entered into the emperor’s daughter. When rabbi was with reference to this visit that rabbi Eleazar, son
Simeon arrived in Rome he called out,**° “Ben Temal- of rabbi Yose, related: “I saw it*** in the city of Rome
ion leave her, ben Temalion leave her,’ and as he and there were on it several drops of blood.”

335A demon, also known as Asmodeus.

*° After having been invited to cure the emperor’s daugh-
ter based on his reputation as a wonder worker. *8The curtain from the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem that
87 That is, the anti-Jewish legislation. had been carried off in the sack by the Romans in 70 cE.
 100
cOkD
DEALING WITH CHRISTIANS
Kener er aP LENS EdnER S
10.96-97

In the early Principate, many misconceptions about the Christians were current in the Roman world.
One of them is portrayed on a graffito, dating to the third century cE, discovered on the Palatine Hill in
Rome in 1857. It depicts a human figure with a donkey head attached to a cross. Another figure stands
to the left, and an inscription in Greek reads, “Alexamenos worships his god.” Next to it, in another
hand, Alexamenos himself replied, in another graffito, this time in Latin, “Alexamenos is faithful.” These
kinds of exchanges between pagans and Christians would have been more and more commonplace as
Christianity became increasingly widespread.

The Jews were not the only followers of a monotheistic religion that caused problems for the
Romans. Around 112 ce, Gaius Plinius Secundus, or Pliny, the governor of the Roman province
of Bithynia-Pontus on the southern coast of the Black Sea, wrote to the emperor Trajan
(98-117) asking his advice about how to deal with a curious religious sect known as "Chris-
tians," who seemed to reject Roman religious practices and often to refuse to participate in
the Roman loyalty oath. Trajan's brief reply spelled out the Roman government's “don't ask,
don't tell” principle regarding the Christians, a rather more sympathetic policy than had been

437
438 THE ROMAN PEACE (27 BceE-192 CE)

that of the Senate with respect to the Bacchanalians nearly three hundred years earlier (see
Reading 79).

Source: William Melmoth, trans., Pliny: Letters, revised by W. M. L. Hutchinson. 2 vols., Loeb Classical Library, (London:
Heinemann; New York: Macmillan, 1915).

Pliny to the Emperor Trajan. published containing the names of many persons.
It is my practice, my lord, to refer to you all matters Those who denied that they were or had been Chris-
concerning which I am in doubt. For who can better tians, when they invoked the gods in words dictated
give guidance to my hesitation or inform my igno- by me, offered prayer with incense and wine to your
rance? I have never participated in trials of Chris- image, which I had ordered to be brought for this
tians. I therefore do not know what offenses it is the purpose together with statues of the gods, and more-
practice to punish or investigate, and to what extent. over cursed Christ, something that none of which
And I have been not a little hesitant as to whether those who are really Christians, it is said, can be
there should be any distinction on account of age or forced to do, these I thought should be discharged.
no difference between the very young and the more Others named by the informer declared that they
mature; whether pardon is to be granted for repent- were Christians, but then denied it, asserting that
ance, or, if a man has once been a Christian, it does they had been but had ceased to be, some three years
him no good to have ceased to be one; whether the before, others many years, some as much as
name itself, even without offenses, or only the of- twenty-five years. They all worshipped your image
fenses associated with the name are to be punished. and the statues of the gods, and cursed Christ.
Meanwhile, in the case of those who were de- They asserted, however, that the sum and sub-
nounced to me as Christians, I have observed the fol- stance of their fault or error had been that they were
lowing procedure: I interrogated these as to whether accustomed to meet on a fixed day before dawn and
they were Christians; those who confessed I interro- sing responsively a hymn to Christ as to a god, and to
gated a second and a third time, threatening them bind themselves by oath, not to some crime but rather
with punishment; those who persisted I ordered ex- not to commit fraud, theft, or adultery, not falsify
ecuted. For I had no doubt that, whatever the nature their trust, nor to refuse to return a trust when called
of their creed, stubbornness and inflexible obstinacy upon to do so.**? When this was over, it was their
surely deserve to be punished. There were others custom to depart and to assemble again to partake of
possessed of the same folly, but because they were food, but ordinary and innocent food.**' Even this,
Roman citizens, I signed an order for them to be they affirmed, they had ceased to do after my edict
transferred to Rome.**? by which, in accordance with your instructions, I had
Soon accusations spread, as usually happens, be- forbidden political associations. Accordingly, I
cause of the proceedings going on, and several inci- judged it all the more necessary to find out what the
dents occurred. An anonymous document was truth was by torturing two female slaves who were

3° Roman citizens automatically had the right of appeal

regarding accusations that could carry the death penalty, The same crimes of which the Bacchanalians had been
as occurred with the Christian leader Paul, who was sent accused in 186 BCE (see Reading 79).
from Judaea to Rome for trial during the reign of Nero 4! Contradicting the popular belief that Christians were
(54-68) after it was discovered that he was a Roman cannibals because they ate flesh and drank blood during
citizen. their religious rites.
DEALING WITH CHRISTIANS (ca. 112 cE): PLINY, LETTERS 10.96-97 439

called deaconesses.*” But I discovered nothing else people can be reformed if an opportunity for repent-
but depraved, excessive superstition.*7 ance is afforded.
I therefore postponed the investigation and has-
tened to consult you. For the matter seemed to me to Trajan to Pliny.
warrant consulting you, especially because of the You observed proper procedure, my dear Pliny, in sift-
number involved. For many persons of every age, ing the cases of those who had been denounced to you
every rank, and also of both sexes are and will be as Christians. For it is not possible to lay down any
endangered. For the contagion of this superstition general rule to serve as a kind of fixed standard. They
has spread not only to the cities but also to the vil- are not to be sought out. If they are denounced and
lages and farms. But it seems possible to check and proved guilty, they are to be punished, with this reser-
cure it. It is certainly quite clear that the temples, vation, that whoever denies that he is a Christian and
which had been almost deserted, have begun to be really proves it, that is, by worshiping our gods, even
frequented, that the established religious rites, long though he was under suspicion in the past, shall obtain
neglected, are being resumed, and that from every- pardon through repentance. But anonymously posted
where sacrificial animals are coming, for which accusations ought to have no place in any prosecution.
until now very few purchasers could be found. For this is both a dangerous kind of precedent and out
Hence it is easy to imagine what a multitude of of keeping with the spirit of our age.

342 Demonstrating that in early Christianity women were

admitted to the clergy and that even slaves could be
clerics.
343 For the Romans, “superstition” was not believing in
the gods, that is, atheism.
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 CHAPTER 13
cSS>
Crisis, Recovery, and the Creation
of the Late Roman Empire (192-337)

Beginning in the third century, the carefully constructed Roman Empire began to disinte-
grate as a result of economic, political, and military problems that the Roman government
found increasingly difficult to deal with. A fifty-year Imperial Crisis that threatened the
empire’s very existence finally was brought to an end when Diocletian and Constantine re-
established the empire in a new form. The Late Roman Empire was very different from the
Principate, and the changes it brought marked the onset of Late Antiquity, the fourth and
final phase of the ancient world. The world of Late Antiquity would be characterized by the
breakdown of the unity of the Mediterranean world that had evolved ever since the days of
the ancient Phoenicians and Greeks. At the same time, many of the defining characteristics
of the modern world, such as the genesis of the western European nations and the appear-
ance and expansion of new religious movements, such as Christianity and Islam, also are to
be sought here.

441
442 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE LATE ROMAN EMPIRE (192-337)

ATLAN TTC
OCEAN

*Tarraco ¢
CORSICA’

< e OF
SARDINIA ¥
&
Caesarea d

ARABIA
Prefecture of Illyricum
P| Prefecture of the East
4 Prefecture of Italy
Prefecture of Gaul
D. = DIOCESE
NUBIA \

Map I3 The Reorganized Empire of Diocletian, Divided into Prefectures and Dioceses
 101
cOkD
THE ANTONINE CONSTITUTION
TOV eeemPAPY RU SCCISSENSIS AQ:
CASSIUS DIO, ROMAN HISTORY,
BOOK-78; CHAPTER -9

The only surviving original version of the Antonine Constitution issued by the emperor Caracalla
(211-217), also known as Antoninus, is preserved on a fragmentary papyrus copy now in Giessen in
Germany. Although enough of the text survives to provide a general idea of what was in Caracalla’s
edict, there also remain areas of uncertainly as to the exact contents.

In 212 ce the emperor Caracalla (211-217), whose full legal name was Marcus Aurelius Severus
Antoninus, issued an edict that made all of the inhabitants of the Roman Empire except
slaves and “dediticii" (legally disadvantaged freedmen) into Roman citizens. Far from creat-
ing legal equality for all Romans, this edict merely acknowledged two realities: (1) by this
time, well over half of all Romans already were citizens, which created complications in navi-
gating among Roman, provincial, and local laws, and (2) by now, other legal distinctions,
those between “honestiores” (“more distinguished people") and “humiliores” ("more humble
people"), had replaced the distinctions between citizens and noncitizens. Caracalla's edict,
therefore, had the benefits of simplifying legal procedures and raising a bit of extra tax
income because some taxes, such as taxes on inheritances and slave manumissions, applied
only to Roman citizens. Those persons enfranchised by Caracalla's law then took the name

443
444 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE LATE ROMAN EMPIRE (192-337)

“Aurelius,” the extended family name of Caracalla. It is unclear what “danger” Caracalla is
referring to; it could be a purported conspiracy that led to his murder of his younger brother
Geta at the end of 211 ce. The law attracted surprisingly little attention in antiquity. The edict
survives only in a single ragged piece of papyrus and is mentioned in only four other ancient
sources. The only contemporary historian to discuss it any length was Cassius Dio, a senator
from Bithynia who served under emperors from Commodus (180-192) to Severus Alexander
(222-235). After antagonizing the Praetorian Guard in 227 ce, Dio escaped into an honorable
retirement. He is known primarily for his massive eighty-book “Roman History,” which ran
from Aeneas until 229 ce. Dio's history is especially important for the invaluable information
that it provides based on Dio's personal experiences and knowledge.

Source: Allan Johnson, Paul Coleman-Norton, and Frank Bourne, Ancient Roman Statutes (Austin: University of Texas Press,
1961), no. 277, 225-226.

(a) Papyrus Gissensis 40

Emperor Caesar Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoni- in company with the foreigners? who at any time
nus Augustus proclaims: It is most fitting that, as I have entered the number of my subjects, as well as
ascribe the causes and the reasons of events to divine with my own people. I grant, therefore, the Roman
origin, I should attempt to render thanks to the im- citizenship to all foreigners throughout the Empire
mortal gods for their preservation of me in so great a [ .. .] except the for dediticii. For it is proper that the
danger. I believe, therefore, that most magnificently populace not only should [ . . .] everything, but also
and reverently I can perform a service not unworthy should share in the victory. This edict will enhance
of their majesty,' if I make my offerings to the gods the majesty of the Roman people.

(b) Cassius Dio, Roman History,

Book 78, Chapter 9
Now this great admirer of Alexander,’? Antoninus,‘ alleging one excuse after another and one war after
was fond of spending money upon the soldiers, great another; but he made it his business to strip, despoil,
numbers of whom he kept in attendance upon him, and grind down all the rest of mankind, and the sen-
ators by no means least. In the first place, there were

'Not a reference to barbarians who had surrendered, as

often is thought, but to stigmatized freedman who had > Alexander the Great; see Readings 62 and 63.
been branded or tortured or had fought in the arena. “The son of Septimius Severus (193-211), more usually
Latin “peregrini,” referring to any “foreigner,” including known by his nickname “Caracalla,” the word for a
Roman provincials and barbarian immigrants. Gallic cloak that he liked to wear.

Source: Earnest Gary, trans., Dio’s Roman History, 9 vols. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1927).
THE ANTONINE CONSTITUTION (212 ce) 445

the gold crowns? that he was repeatedly demanding, right of succession and exemption from taxes that
on the constant pretext that he had conquered some had been granted in such cases to those who were
enemy or other. And I am not referring, either, to the closely related to the deceased. This was the reason
actual manufacture of the crowns—for what does why he made all the people in his empire Roman
that amount to?—but to the vast amount of money citizens. Nominally he was honoring them, but his
constantly being given under that name by the cities real purpose was to increase his revenues by this
for the customary “crowning,” as it is called, of the means, inasmuch as aliens did not have to pay most
emperors. Then there were the provisions that we of these taxes. But apart from all these burdens, we
were required to furnish in great quantities on all oc- also were compelled to build at our own expense all
casions, and this without receiving any remuneration sorts of houses for him whenever he set out from
and sometimes actually at additional cost to our- Rome, and costly lodgings in the middle of even very
selves, all of which supplies he either bestowed upon shortest journeys; yet he not only never lived in them,
the soldiers or else peddled out. There also were the but in some cases was not destined even to see them.
gifts that he demanded from the wealthy citizens and Moreover, we constructed amphitheaters and race-
from the various communities; and the taxes, espe- courses wherever he spent the winter or expected to
cially the new ones that he promulgated, and the ten spend it, all without receiving any contribution from
percent tax that he instituted in place of the five per- him; and they were all promptly demolished, the sole
cent tax applying to the emancipation of slaves, to reason for their being built in the first place being,
bequests, and to all inheritances, for he abolished the apparently, that we might become impoverished.

5 What was known as “crown gold”; emperors expected

the cities of the empire to provide gold crowns after vic-
tories over a foreign enemy, which led emperors to de-
clare victories of dubious value.
 102
cSQ>

PERVIGILIUM VENERIS (“THE VIGIL

OF VENUS”) (ca. 200/300 cE)

ASO Pasig pie ag UPA Sette SOK

treiseisy Samat onl crc py
esrecen akorsey eBTIG oes: ‘
Soedleesian enon: janeteeouencns:
CONSEATICUO BIS-5) enee nat weRedal.
Pe as pune uenaKeRy soRs
—AIBER - “CRANWTON
ae Sid CIT 4

RAS Nove Tr:Pee ACB

qyicync 2Aowwrr- CHBAMEeT
USE MOMU-UCIGXEARON acs Me!
cK oneontDash woe Coe
shares:

Vis loos carshnnerscns: oe

hs yuhSiem ae VrHono
Se ACONT: que, AMAL

The first page of the “Pervigilium Veneris” (“Vigil of Venus”) as preserved in the Codex Salmasianus
(“Salmasian Manuscript”), now in Paris, a famous collection of late antique poetry copied around the
year 700 ce.

The “Pervigilium Veneris," or “Vigil of Venus," was written by an unknown author and is vari-
ously dated to between the second and fifth centuries ce; a third-century date certainly
would fit its themes and presentation. It is preserved in only two manuscripts, both in Paris.
It was written for a festival in honor of the goddess Venus that lasted for three nights, 1-3
April, and reflects the deep and lasting hold that traditional religious practices could have on
the popular mentality. The focus on the reawakening of plant and animal life in the spring
makes it different from the typical poetry of antiquity and more of a harbinger of the Middle
Ages. The repetitious refrain "Cras amet qui nunquam amavit; quique amavit cras amet"
("May one love tomorrow, who never has loved; may whoever has loved, love tomorrow")
conveys the sense of longing that underlies the poem. This anonymous versified translation
from 1843 uses archaic word forms and verbal elisions, such as “tis” for “it is," “twill” for “it
will," and so on.

Source: “The Vigil of Venus. Translated from the Latin,’ Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine 53.332 (June 1843).

446
 PERVIGILIUM VENERIS (“THE VIGIL OF VENUS”) (ca. 200/300 cE)
447

May one love tomorrow, who never has loved: Almost of weight to drop away,
may whoever has loved, love tomorrow.
And yet too light to leave the spray. #
Spring, new spring, with song and mirth, Hence the tender plants are bold
Spring is on the newborn earth. Their blushing petals to unfold:
Spring is here, the time of love— ‘Tis that dew, which through the air
The merry birds pair in the grove, Falls from heaven when night is fair,
And the green trees hang their tresses, That unbinds the moist green vest
Loosen’d by the rain’s caresses. From the floweret’s maiden breast.
Tomorrow she who joins lovers all, ‘Tis Venus’ will, when morning glows,
Where the woodland shadows fall, ‘Twill be the bridal of each rose.
On bowers of myrtle intertwined,® Then the bride-flower!’ shall reveal,
Many a band of love she’ll bind. What her veil cloth now conceal,
Tomorrow Dione’ speaks her laws, The blush divinest, which of old
Seated in her justice hall. She caught from Venus’ trickling blood,
May one love tomorrow, who never has loved; With Love’s kisses mix’d, I think,
may whoever has loved, love tomorrow. With blaze of fire, and rubies’ pink,
Tomorrow is the day when first And with many a crimson ray
From the foam-world of ocean burst, Stolen from the birth of day.
Like one of his own waves, the bright May one love tomorrow, who never has loved;
Dione, queen of love and light, may whoever has loved, love tomorrow.
Amid the sea-gods’ azure train, All the nymphs”? the Queen of Love!?
‘Mid the strange horses of the sea.® Summons to the myrtle-grove;
May one love tomorrow, who never has loved; And see ye, her wanton boy,!*
may whoever has loved, love tomorrow. Comes with them to share our joy?
She? it is that lends the Hours!° Yet, if Love'> be arm’d, they say,
Their crimson glow, their jewel-flowers: Love can scarce take a holiday,
At her command the buds are seen, Not without his bow laid down!
Where the west-wind’s breath hath been, Come, ye nymphs, Love says now,
To swell within their dwellings green. His torch, his shafts, are now deferred,
She abroad those dewdrops flings, From them no harm shall you incur,
Dew that night’s cool softness brings; Yet, I advise ye, nymphs, beware,
How the bright tears hang declining, For your foe is passing fair;
And glisten with a tremulous shining, Love is mighty, ye’ll confess,
Mighty e’en in nakedness;
And most panoplied for fight
° During the festivals of Venus her statues were crowned When his charms are bared to sight.
with myrtle leaves. May one love tomorrow, who never has loved;
7A Titaness, daughter of Oceanus, personification of the
sea, and mother of Venus (Greek Aphrodite), often, as
here, identified with Venus herself. The rose, the flower of Venus.
8 Seahorses. Venus was born from the sea foam that arose "Young nubile female nature deities who live in woods,
around the god Uranus’s castrated testicles; see mountains, streams, and oceans.
Reading 5. 'S That is, Venus.
° Venus. 4 Cupid, son of Venus.
©The goddesses that control the sequence and attributes 'S Cupid, who was armed with a bow and arrow. Before
of the seasons. lovemaking can take place, Cupid must put down his bow.
448 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE LATE ROMAN EMPIRE (192-337)

may whoever has loved, love tomorrow. Those who delight in forest green,
Diana" a petition we, Those who on mountain-top abide,
By Venus sent, proffer to thee: And those whom sparkling fountains hide.
Virgin envoys, it is meet, All these the queen of joy and sport
Should the Virgin huntress greet: Summons to attend her court,
Quit the grove, nor it profane And bids them all of Love beware,
With the blood of quarry slain. Although the guise of peace he wear.
She would ask thee, might she dare May one love tomorrow, who never has loved;
Hope a maiden’s thought to share— may whoever has loved, love tomorrow.
She would bid thee join us now, Fresh be your coronals of flowers,
Might cold maids our sport allow. And green your overarching bowers,
For three nights’’ thou may’st have seen, To-morrow brings us the return
Wandering through thine alleys green, Of Aether’s”? primal marriage-morn.
Troops of joyous friends, with flowers In amorous showers of rain he came
Crown’d, amid their myrtle bowers. T’ embrace his bride’s mysterious frame,
Ceres and Bacchus'* us attend, To generate the blooming year,
And great Apollo’? is our friend; And all the produce Earth does bear.
All night we must our vigil keep— Venus still through vein and soul
Night by song redeem’d from sleep. Bids the genial current roll;
Let Venus in the woods bear sway, Still she guides its secret course
Dian, quit the grove, we pray. With interpenetrating force,
May one love tomorrow, who never has loved; And breathes through heaven, and earth,
may whoever has loved, love tomorrow. and sea,
Of Hybla’s”’ flowers, so Venus will’d, A reproductive energy.
Venus’ judgment-seat we build. May one love tomorrow, who never has loved;
She is judge supreme; the Graces,”! may whoever has loved, love tomorrow.
As assessors, take their places. She old Troy’s** extinguish’d glory
Hybla, render all thy store Revived in Latium’s later story,
All the season sheds thee o’er, When, by her auspices, her son
Till a hill of bloom be found Laurentum’s* royal damsel won.
Wide as Enna’s” flowery ground. She vestal Rhea’s spotless charms
Attendant nymphs shall here be seen, Surrender’d to the War-god’s arms;7°
She for Romulus that day

'6 The virgin goddess of hunting.

7 April was the month of Venus; her festival lasted three *3In Greek mythology, the god of the upper atmosphere,
nights, 1-3 April. the son of Darkness and Night and the brother of Day,
'8 Ceres, goddess of the harvest, and Bacchus (Dionysus), thought to give the spark of life to all creatures.
god of wine. ** Venus favored Troy in the Trojan War because the
' The sun god, brother of Diana. Trojan prince Paris had declared her most beautiful in the
20 The name of several cities in Sicily, which has led to competition with the goddesses Hera and Athena.
suggestions that the poem may have originated there. *° Aeneas, the son of Venus married Lavinia, daughter of
*1 Known in Greek as the Charites, the Graces were the Latin king Latinus, whose capital city was Lauren-
minor female goddesses connected to nature and fertility; tum; see Reading 88.
in some myths they are the companions of Venus. *© The Vestal Virgin Rhea Silvia claimed that Mars was the
A city in central Sicily. father of the twins Romulus and Remus; see Reading 73.
 PERVIGILIUM VENERIS (“THE VIGIL OF VENUS”) (ca. 200/300
cE) 449

The Sabine daughters bore away;2’ Owns faithfully the bond of love.
Thence sprung the Ramnes’”® lofty name, The flocks of ewes, beneath the shade,
Thence the old Quirites?® came;
Around their gallant rams are laid;
And thence the stock of high renown,
And Venus bids the birds awake
The blood of Romulus, handed down
To pour their song o’er plain and lake.
Through many an age of glory pass’d, Hark! the noisy pools reply
To blaze in Caesar’s at last.3° To the swan’s hoarse harmony;
May one love tomorrow, who never has loved; And Philomel*? is vocal now,
may whoever has loved, love tomorrow. Perch’d upon a poplar-bough.
All rural nature feels the glow Thou scarce would’st think that dying fall
Of quickening passion through it flow. Could ought but love’s sweet griefs recall;
Love, in rural scenes of yore, Thou scarce would’st gather from her song
They say, his goddess-mother bore; The tale of brother’s barbarous wrong.
Received on Earth’s sustaining breast, She sings, but I must silent be:—
Th’ ambrosial infant*! sunk to rest; When will the spring-tide come for me?
And him the wild-flowers, o’er his head When, like the swallow, spring’s own bird,
Bending, with sweetest kisses fed. Shall my faint twittering notes be heard?
May one love tomorrow, who never has loved; Alas! the muse, while silentI
may whoever has loved, love tomorrow. Remain’d, hath gone and pass’d me by,
On yellow field out yonder, see, Nor Phoebus* listens to my cry.
The mighty bulls lie peacefully. And thus forgotten, I await,
Each animal of field or grove By silence lost, Amyclae’s* fate.

71Tn legend, the Sabines were an Italic people living near

the original foundation of Rome; Romulus organized the
kidnaping of Sabine women in order to provide wives for
Roman men.
8 One of the original three tribes (thirds) of Rome, their
name supposedly derived from “Romulus.”
° A name for Roman citizens, from the ancient Roman *?Philomela, Greek mythology, a daughter of Pandion,
god Quirinus. king of Athens, who after being violated and having her
3°'Venus and her son Aeneas were the ancestors of the tongue cut out by her brother-in-law was turned by the
Julian family, which included Julius Caesar and gods into a nightingale.
Augustus. 33 An epithet of the god Apollo. .
3! Cupid, son of Venus, who ate ambrosia, the food of 34 A village conquered by the Spartans early in their
the gods. history.
 103
cSO>

THE MARTYRDOM OF PERPETUA

AND FELICITAS (7 MARCH 203 €)

A gold aureus of the emperor Elagabalus (218-222 ce) depicts the transfer of the sacred black stone of
the sun god Elagabal from Emesa in Syria to Rome. The legend reads, “To the Blessed Sun God Elagabal.”
This scene reflects the increasing trend in the Roman Empire toward monotheism based on various
forms of sun worship.

During the course of the Principate, traditional religious beliefs and practices were increasingly
threatened by the expansion of Christianity, a new religion that better met the needs and de-
sires of larger and larger numbers of people. Christianity offered a multitude of benefits, includ-
ing a moral code for guiding one's life, easy access (compared to the Jewish requirement that
male converts be circumcised), a community experience and social support system, the forgive-
ness of sins, and, in particular, an afterlife. Initially, Christianity often had been greeted by the
Romans with hostility and skepticism that even could result in execution by the Roman govern-
ment (see Reading 100), but during the second and third centuries, Christianity developed the
look and feel of a more mainstream religion. In the Severan period (193-235 ce), for example, a

450
 THE MARTYRDOM OF PERPETUA AND FELICITAS (7 MARCH 203 ce) 451

form of pagan monotheism focused on sun worship became increasingly popular and even was
promoted by Roman emperors. In spite of increasing popular sympathy toward Christianity,
Christians still could run afoul of the Roman government if they refused to take the loyalty oath
to Rome and the emperor by participating in the imperial cult, which they believed was contrary
to their monotheistic religious beliefs. As a consequence, many Christians suffered execution
and became martyrs (from the Greek word for "witnesses") to their Christian beliefs. They were
believed to receive the “crown of martyrdom" and to go directly to heaven, where they could
intercede with God on behalf of persons who still were alive. Christian communities preserved
many authentic accounts of martyrdoms that were intended to provide examples of commend-
able behavior to other members of the community. These “martyrs' acts” often included the
verbatim minutes of the trial before a Roman magistrate. These accounts demonstrate that
many Roman judges were sympathetic to the accused Christians, attempting to reason with
them and offering them extra time to reconsider. One of the most famous Christian martyrs
was Vibia Perpetua, an aristocratic woman of Carthage, who was married and nursing a child.
Felicitas, a pregnant slave, was martyred with her. The account of the martyrdom, written in
Latin, purportedly was a form of prison diary by Perpetua herself, making it one of the earliest
surviving pieces of writing by a Christian woman. Additional material was added after her death.
The account is viewed as being completely authentic.

Source: Walter H. Shewring, trans., The Passion of SS. Perpetua and Felicity (London: Sheed and Ward, 1931).

If ancient examples of faith kept, both testifying to example, this vessel lying, a pitcher or whatsoever it
the grace of God and working for the edification of may be?” And he said, “T see it.” And I said to him,
man, have to this end been set in writing, that by “Can it be called by any other name than that which
their reading God may be glorified and man strength- it is?” And he answered, “No.” “So can I call myself
ened, why should not new witnesses also be so set nought other than that which I am, a Christian.”
forth which likewise serve either end? There were Then my father, angry with this word, came upon me
apprehended the young catechumens, Revocatus and to tear out my eyes, but he only vexed me, and he
Felicitas his fellow servant, Saturninus, and Secun- departed, vanquished, he and the arguments of the
dulus. With them also was Vibia Perpetua, nobly devil. Then, because I was without my father for a
born, reared in a liberal manner, wedded honorably, few days I gave thanks unto the Lord and I was com-
and having a father and mother and two brothers, one forted because of his absence. In this same space of
of them a catechumen likewise, and a son, a child at a few days we were baptized, and the spirit*® de-
the breast; and she herself was about twenty-two clared to me that I must pray for nothing else after
years of age. What follows here shall she tell herself; that water*’ save only endurance of the flesh. After a
_the whole order of her martyrdom as she left it writ- few days we were taken into prison, and I was much
ten with her own hand and in her own words. afraid because I never had known such darkness. O
At that time when, she said, we were still with our bitter day! There was a great heat because of the
companions and my father was liked to vex me with press, there was cruel handling by the soldiers.
his words and continually strove to hurt my faith be- Lastly I was tormented there by care for the child.
cause of his love,* “Father,” said I, “Do you see, for

35 Because he knew that being a Christian could be 6 The Holy Spirit.

dangerous. 37 Of baptism.
452 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE LATE ROMAN EMPIRE (192-337)

Then Tertius and Pomponius, the blessed dea- name of Jesus Christ.” And from beneath the ladder,
cons?’ who ministered to us, obtained with money as though it feared me, it softly put forth its head, and
that for a few hours we should be taken forth to a as though I trod on the first step I trod on its head.
better part of the prison and be refreshed. Then, And I went up, and I saw a very great space of
when all of them went out from the dungeon and garden, and in the midst a man sitting, white-headed,
took their pleasure, I suckled my child who now was in shepherd’s clothing, tall milking his sheep, and
faint with hunger. And being careful for him, I spoke standing around in white were many thousands. And
to my mother and strengthened my brother and com- he raised his head and beheld me and said to me,
mended my son unto them. I pined because I saw ‘Welcome, child.” And all that stood around said,
they pined for my sake. Such cares I suffered for “Amen.” And at the sound of that word I awoke, yet
many days, and I obtained that the child should abide eating I know not what of sweet. And at once I told
with me in prison,’ and straightway I became well my brother, and we knew it should be a passion, and
and was lightened of my labor and care for the child, we began to have no hope any longer in this world.
and suddenly the prison was made a palace for me, A few days after, the report went abroad that we
so that I would sooner be there than anywhere else. were to be tried. In addition, my father returned from
Then said my brother to me, “Lady my sister, you the city spent with weariness, and he beseeched me
are now in high honor, even such that you might ask to cast down my faith, saying, “Have pity, daughter,
for a vision, and it should be shown you whether this on my grey hairs, have pity on your father, if I am
be a passion” or else a deliverance.” And I, as know- worthy to be called father by you. If with these hands
ing that I conversed with the Lord, for whose sake I I have brought you unto this flower of youth and have
had suffered such things, did promise him nothing, preferred you before all your brothers, give me not
doubting, and I said, “Tomorrow I will tell you.” And over to the reproach of men. Look upon your broth-
I asked,*! and this was shown me. I beheld a ladder of ers, look upon your mother and mother’s sister; look
bronze, marvelously great, reaching up to heaven; upon your son, who will not endure to live after you.
and it was narrow, so that not more than one might Give up your resolution. Do not destroy us all to-
go up at one time. And in the sides of the ladder were gether, for none of us will speak openly against men
planted all manner of things of iron. There were again if you suffer anything.”
swords there, spears, hooks, and knives, so that if This he said, fatherly in his love, kissing my hands
any that went up took not good heed or looked not and grovelling at my feet, and with tears he named
upward, he would be torn and his flesh cling to the me, not daughter, but lady. And I was grieved for my
iron. And there was right at the ladder’s foot a ser- father’s case because, out of all my kin, he would not
pent lying, marvelously great, which lay in wait for rejoice at my passion, and I comforted him, saying,
those that would go up, and frightened them that they “That shall be done at this tribunal,*? whatsoever
might not go up. Now Saturus went up first. And he God shall please, for know that we are not estab-
came to the ladder’s head, and he turned and said, lished in our own power, but in God’s.” And he went
“Perpetua, I await you, but take care that serpent from me very sorrowful.
bites you not.” And I said, “It shall not hurt me, in the Another day as we were at meal we were suddenly
snatched away to be tried, and we came to the forum.
Therewith a report spread abroad through the parts
38 Christian clerics who managed the resources of the
church. near to the forum, and a very great multitude gathered
Roman prisons were used as holding areas for persons together.’ We went up to the tribunal. The others
awaiting trial, not as places to which one was sentenced
for punishment. “ The court of the magistrate.
“0 That is, a martyrdom. ** Criminal trials were a popular form of public entertain-
“For a vision. ment; see also Reading 113.
THE MARTYRDOM OF PERPETUA AND FELICITAS (7 MARCH 203 ce) 453

being asked, confessed. So they came to me. And my place, where there were many others also, both hot
father appeared there also, with my son, and would and thirsty, his raiment foul, his color pale, and the
draw me from the step, saying, “Perform the sacri- wound on his face which he had when he died. This
fice,“4 have mercy on the child.” And Hilarian the Dinocrates had been my brother in the flesh, seven
Procurator,** who at that time, in the place of the de- years old, who being diseased with ulcers of the face
ceased Proconsul*® Minucius Timinianus, had re- had come to a horrible death, so that his death was
ceived the right of the sword,*” said, “Spare your abominated of all men. For him therefore I had made
father’s grey hairs; spare the infancy of the boy. my prayer, and between him and me was a great gulf,
Make sacrifice for the emperor’s* prosperity.” And I so that either might not go to the other. There was,
answered, “I am a Christian.” And when my father moreover, in the same place where Dinocrates was, a
stood by me yet to cast down my faith, he was bidden font full of water, having its edge higher than was the
by Hilarian to be cast down and was smitten with a boy’s stature, and Dinocrates stretched up as though
rod. And I sorrowed for my father’s harm as though to drink. I was sorry that the font had water in it, and
I had been smitten myself; so sorrowed I for his un- yet for the height of the edge he might not drink. And
happy old age. Then Hilarian passed sentence upon I awoke, and I knew that my brother was in travail.
us all and condemned us to the beasts, and cheer- Yet I was confident I should ease his travail, and I
fully we went down to the dungeon. Then, because prayed for him every day until we passed over into
my child had been used to being breastfed and to the camp prison, for it was in the camp games that
staying with me in the prison, straightway I sent we were to fight, and the time was the anniversary of
Pomponius the deacon to my father, asking for the Geta Caesar.*° And I made supplication for him day
child. But my father would not give him. And as and night with groans and tears, that he might be
god willed, neither did he wish to be suckled any given me.
more, nor did I take fever, so that I might not be On the day when we were in chains, this was
tormented by care for the child and by the pain of shown me.*! I saw that place that I had seen before,
my breasts. and Dinocrates clean of body, finely clothed, in com-
A few days after, while we were all praying, sud- fort; and where the wound was before, I saw a scar;
denly in the midst of the prayer I uttered a word and and the font I had seen before, the edge of it being
named Dinocrates, and I was amazed because he had drawn down to the boy’s navel, and he drew water
never come to my mind save then, and I sorrowed, thence which flowed without ceasing. And on the
remembering his fate. And straightway I knew that I edge was a golden cup full of water; and Dinocrates
was worthy, and that I ought to ask for him. And I came up and began to drink therefrom, and the cup
began to pray for him long, and to groan unto the failed not. And being satisfied he departed away
Lord. Forthwith the same night, this was shown from the water and began to play as children will,
me.”? I beheld Dinocrates coming forth from a dark joyfully. And I awoke. Then J understood that he was
translated from his pains.
Then a few days after, Pudens the adjutant, in
44On behalf of the imperial cult; it involved dropping a whose charge the prison was, who also began to
pinch of incense on a fire. magnify us because he understood that there was
45 An official who usually had financial duties. much grace in us, let in many to us that both we and
46 The governors of the province of Africa still had the
Republican office of Proconsul.
47 The power to inflict the death sentence. 50 Rither his birthday, 7 March, or the day when he was
48Tn 203 cE there were three emperors, the Augustus proclaimed Caesar in 197 cg. The celebration would have
Septimius Severus, and his sons, Caracalla, also been marked by entertainments ranging from gladiatorial
Augustus, and the Caesar Geta. contests to the execution of condemned criminals.
4° Perpetua has another vision. 5! Perpetua has a third vision.
454 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE LATE ROMAN EMPIRE (192-337)

they in turn might be comforted.** Now, when the we came nigh to each other, and began to buffet one
day of the games drew near, there came in my father another. He tried to trip up my feet, but I with my
to me, spent with weariness, and began to pluck out heels smote upon his face. And I rose up into the air
his beard and throw it on the ground and to fall on and began so to smite him as though I trod not the
his face cursing his years and saying such words as earth. But when I saw that there was yet delay, I
might move all creation. I was grieved for his un- joined my hands, setting finger against finger of them.
happy old age. And I caught his head, and he fell upon his face, and
The day before we fought, I saw in a vision*? that I trod upon his head. And the people began to shout,
Pomponius the deacon had come hither to the door and my helpers began to sing. And I went up to the
of the prison, and knocked hard upon it. And I went master of gladiators and received the branch. And he
out to him and opened to him. He was clothed in a kissed me and said to me, “Daughter, peace be with
white robe ungirdled, having shoes curiously you. And I began to go with glory to the gate called
wrought. And he said to me, “Perpetua, we await the Gate of Life’°* And I awoke, and I understood
you. Come.” And he took my hand, and we began to that I should fight, not with beasts but against the
go through rugged and winding places. At last with devil. But I knew that mine was the victory.
much breathing hard we came to the amphitheater, Thus far I have written this, until the day before
and he led me into the midst of the arena. And he the games, but as to the carrying out of the games
said to me, “Be not afraid. I am here with you and themselves, if anyone wishes, let him write.
labor together with you.” And he went away. And I And blessed Saturus®* too delivered this vision
saw many people watching closely. And because I which he himself wrote down. We had suffered, he
knew that I was condemned to the beasts I marvelled said, and we passed out of the flesh, and we began to
that beasts were not sent out against me. And there be carried toward the east by four angels whose
came out against me a certain ill-favored Egyptian hand touched us not. And we went not as though
with his helpers, to fight with me. Also there came to turned upwards upon our backs, but as though we
me comely young men, my helpers and aiders. And I went up an easy hill. And passing over the world’s
was stripped naked, and I became a man. And my edge we saw a very great light, and I said to Per-
helpers began to rub me with oil as their custom is petua, for she was at my side, “That which the Lord
for a contest, and over against me I saw that Egyptian promised us, we have received his promise.” And
wallowing in the dust. And there came forth a man while we were being carried by these same four
of very great stature, so that he overpassed the very angels a great space opened before us, having rose-
top of the amphitheater, wearing a robe ungirdled, trees and all kinds of flowers. The height of the trees
and beneath it between the two stripes over the breast was after the manner of the cypress, and their leaves
a robe of purple, having also shoes curiously wrought sang without ceasing. And there in the garden were
in gold and silver, bearing a rod like a master of glad- four other angels, more glorious than the rest, who
iators, and a green branch whereon were golden when they saw us gave us honor and said to the other
apples. And he besought silence and said, “The angels, “Lo, here are they, here are they,” and mar-
Egyptian, if shall conquer this woman, shall slay her velled. And the four angels who bore us set us down
with the sword, and if she shall conquer him, she trembling, and we passed on foot by a broad way
shall receive this branch.” And he went away. And over a plain. There we found Jocundus and Saturni-
nus and Artaxius, who in the same persecution had
* Many of these persons also were Christians, but be-
cause they had not been accused or denounced they could ** Victorious gladiators exited the arena through the Gate
freely go in and out of the prisons and care for the con- of Life on the eastern side, whereas dead gladiators were
demned persons. carried out the Gate of Death on the western side.
%3 A fourth vision. °° Who also had been condemned.
THE MARTYRDOM OF PERPETUA AND FELICITAS (7 MARCH 203 CE) 455

been burned alive, and Quintus, a martyr also, who racing clubs.”*” And it seemed to us as though they
in prison had departed this life, and we asked of would shut the gates. And we began to know many
them where were the rest. The other angels said to brothers there, martyrs also. And we were all sus-
us, “Come first, go in, and salute the Lord.” tained there with a savor inexpressible which satis-
And we came near to a place, of which the walls fied us. Then in joy I awoke. These were the glorious
were such that they seemed built of light, and before visions of those martyrs themselves, the most blessed
the door of that place stood four angels who clothed us Saturus and Perpetua, that they themselves wrote
when we went in with white raiment. And we went in, down. But Secundulus by an earlier end God called
and we heard as it were one voice crying “Holy, holy, from this world while he was yet in prison, not with-
holy” without any end. And we saw sitting in that same out grace, so that he should escape the beasts. Yet if
place as it were a man, white-headed, having hair like not his soul, his flesh at least knew the sword.
snow; youthful of countenance; whose feet we saw not. As for Felicitas, she too received this grace of the
And on his right hand and on his left, four elders, and lord. For because she was already eight months with
behind them stood many other elders. And we went in child, for she was pregnant when she was arrested,
with wonder and stood before the throne, and the four she was very sorrowful as the day of the games drew
angels raised us up and we kissed him, and with his near, fearing lest because of the child she would be
hand he passed over our faces. And the other elders kept back, for it is not permitted that pregnant women
said to us, “Stand you.” And we stood, and gave the be presented for torment, and lest she should shed
kiss of peace. And the elders said to us, “Go you and her holy and innocent blood after the rest, among
play.” And I said to Perpetua, ““You have that which strangers and malefactors.® Also her fellow martyrs
you desire.” And she said to me, “Yes, God be thanked,” were much afflicted lest they should leave behind
so that I that was glad in the flesh am now more glad. them so good a friend and as it were their fellow-
And we went out, and we saw before the doors, on traveler on the road of the same hope. Therefore with
the right Optatus the bishop,* and on the left Aspa- joint and united groaning they poured out their
sius the priest and teacher, being apart and sorrowful. prayer to the Lord three days before the games. Im-
And they cast themselves at our feet and said, “Make mediately after their prayer her pains came upon her.
peace between us,’ because you departed and left us And when by reason of the natural difficulty of the
thus.” And we said to them, “Are not you our father, eighth month she was oppressed with her travail and
and you our priest, that you should throw yourselves made complaint, there said to her one of the servants
at our feet?” And we were moved, and embraced of the keepers of the door, “You that thus make com-
them. And Perpetua began to talk with them in plaint now, what wilt you do when you are thrown to
Greek,** and we set them apart in the arboretum be- the beasts, for whom you showed contempt when you
neath a rose tree. And while we yet spoke with them, would not sacrifice?” And she answered, “I myself
the angels said to them, “Let them cool down, and now suffer that which I suffer, but there another shall
whatsoever dissensions you have between you, put be in me who shall suffer for me, because I am to
them away from you each for each.” And they made suffer for him.” So she was delivered of a daughter,
them to be confounded. And they said to Optatus, whom a sister reared up to be her own daughter.
“Correct your people, for they come to you as those Because therefore the Holy Spirit permitted this,
that return from the games and arguing about the and by permitting it has willed that the account of

56 Bishop of an unknown North African city. >? Generally, there were four chariot-racing factions, or
57Tt was not uncommon for bishops to be defied by their clubs, identified by their colors, blue, green, red, and
clergy. white; see Reading 123.
58 The “Passion of Perpetua” circulated in both Latin and 60 Christians were executed along with any other crimi-
Greek. nals who had been sentenced to death.
456 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE LATE ROMAN EMPIRE (192-337)

the games also should be written, even if though we If they trembled at all, it was for joy, not for fear. Per-
are unworthy of describing such great glory as a sup- petua followed behind, glorious of presence, as a true
plement, nevertheless we follow the, so to speak, spouse of Christ and darling of God, at whose pierc-
mandate”! of the most holy Perpetua, or rather her ing look all cast down their eyes. Felicitas likewise,
trust, adding one testimony more of her own stead- rejoicing that she had borne a child in safety so that
fastness and height of spirit. When they were being she might fight with the beasts, came now from blood
more cruelly handled by the Tribune® because to blood, from the midwife to the gladiator, to wash
through the advice of certain most despicable men after her travail in a second baptism. And when they
he feared lest by magic charms they might be with- had been brought to the gate and were being com-
drawn secretly from the prison house, Perpetua an- pelled to put on, the men the dress of the priests of
swered him to his face, ““Why do you not allow us, Saturn, the women the dress of the priestesses of
the most noble guilty ones, the property, certainly, of Ceres, the noble Perpetua remained of like firmness
Caesar, to take some comfort, and about to fight on to the end, and would not. She said, “For this cause
his anniversary? Or is it not your glory that we came we willingly unto this, that our liberty might
should be taken out thither fatter of flesh?” The Trib- not be obscured. For this cause have we devoted our
une trembled and blushed, and gave order that they lives, that we might do no such thing as this. This we
should be more gently handled, granting that her agreed with you.” Injustice acknowledged justice; the
brothers and the rest should come in and rest with Tribune suffered that they should be brought forth as
them. Also the adjutant of the prison now believed. they were, without more ado. Perpetua began to sing,
Likewise on the day before the games, when at the as if already treading on the Egyptian’s head. Revoca-
last feast which they call “free” they made, as far as tus and Saturninus and Saturus threatened the people
they might, not a Free Feast® but a Love Feast, with as they gazed. Then when they came into Hilarian’s
like hardihood they cast these words at the people, sight, they began to say to Hilarian, stretching forth
threatening the judgment of the Lord, witnessing to their hands and nodding their heads, “You judge us,
the felicity of their passion, setting at nought the curi- they said, and God judges you.” At this the people,
osity of those that ran together. And Saturus said, “Is being enraged, sought that they should be vexed with
not tomorrow sufficient for you? Why do you favora- scourges before the line of the beast-fighters. Then
bly behold that which you hate? You are friends today, truly they gave thanks because they had received
foes tomorrow. Yet mark our faces diligently, that you somewhat of the sufferings of the Lord.
may know us again on that day.” So they began all to But he who had said, “Ask and you shall re-
go away thence astonished, of whom many believed. ceive,”®° granted them that end that each had desired.
Now dawned the day of their victory, and they: For whenever they spoke together of their desire in
went forth from the prison into the amphitheater as it their martyrdom, Saturninus for his part would de-
were into heaven, cheerful and bright of countenance. clare that he wished to be thrown to every kind of
beast, that so indeed he might wear the more glori-
ous crown. At the beginning of the spectacle there-
6! A “mandate” was an imperial command issued to an
fore, Revocatus himself and Saturninus first had
imperial official.
suffered a leopard and then were torn by a bear on a
© A junior officer, not a Military Tribune or Tribune of
scaffold. Now, Saturus detested nothing more than a
the Plebs.
° The “cena libera,” or “free meal,” of gladiators. All of bear, but was confident already that he should die by
those who would be taking part, including condemned one bite of a leopard. Therefore when he was being
criminals and gladiators, were together, many of whom given to a boar, the gladiator instead who had bound
would be fighting against each other on the next day.
°4 The “agape,” a Christian communal meal that included 65 Saturn and Ceres were harvest deities.
taking communion. 66 John 16:24.
THE MARTYRDOM OF PERPETUA AND FELICITAS (7 MARCH 203 cr) 457

him to the boar was torn asunder by the same beast now believe with all your heart. Behold, I go out
and died after the days of the games; nor was Saturus thither and shall perish by one bite of the leopard.”
more than dragged. Moreover, when he had been tied And immediately at the end of the spectacle, the leop-
on a bridge to be assaulted by a bear, the bear would ard being released, with one bite of his Saturus was
not come forth from his den. So Saturus was called covered with so much blood that the people, in wit-
back unharmed a second time. ness to his second baptism, cried out to him return-
But for the women the devil had made ready a ing, “Well washed, well washed.” Truly it was well
most savage cow, prepared for this purpose against with him who had washed in this wise. Then said he
all custom, for even in the beast he mocked their sex. to Pudens the soldier, “Farewell. Remember the faith
They were stripped therefore and made to put on nets, and me, and let not these things trouble you, but
and so they were brought forth. The people shud- strengthen you.” And therewith he took from Pudens’
dered, seeing one a tender girl, the other her breasts finger a little ring, and dipping it in his wound gave it
yet dropping from her late childbearing. So they were back again for an heirloom, leaving him a pledge and
called back and clothed in loose robes.®’ Perpetua memorial of his blood. Then as the breath left him he
was first thrown and fell upon her loins. And when was cast down with the rest in the accustomed place
she had sat upright, her robe being rent at the side, she for his throat to be cut.°? And when the people be-
drew it over to cover her thigh, mindful rather of sought that they should be brought forward, that when
modesty than of pain. Next, looking for a pin, she the sword pierced through their bodies their eyes
likewise pinned up her disheveled hair, for it was not might be joined thereto as witnesses to the slaughter,
meet that a martyr should suffer with hair disheveled, they rose of themselves and moved, whither the
lest she should seem to grieve in her glory. So she people willed them, first kissing one another, that
stood up; and when she saw Felicitas smitten down, they might accomplish their martyrdom with the rites
she went up and gave her her hand and raised her up. of peace. The rest not moving and in silence received
And both of them stood up together and, the hardness the sword. Saturus much earlier gave up the ghost, for
of the people being now subdued, were called back to he had gone up earlier also, and now he waited for
the Gate of Life. There Perpetua being received by Perpetua likewise. But Perpetua, that she might have
one named Rusticus, then a catechumen,® who stood some taste of pain, was pierced between the bones
close at her side, and as now awakening from sleep, and shrieked out, and when the swordsman’s hand
so much was she in the Spirit and in ecstasy, she wandered still, for he was a novice, herself set it upon
began first to look about her; and then, which amazed her own neck. Perchance so great a woman could not
all there, she asked, “When, indeed, are we to be else have been slain, being feared by the unclean
thrown to the cow?” And when she heard that this -spirit,’”” had she not herself so willed it.
had been done already, she would not believe until O most valiant and blessed martyrs! O truly
she perceived some marks of mauling on her body called and elected unto the glory of Our Lord Jesus
and on her dress. Thereupon she called her brother to Christ! Which glory he that magnifies, honors and
her, and that catechumen, and spoke to them, saying, adores, ought to read these witnesses likewise, as
“Stand fast in the faith, and love you all one another; being no less than the old, unto the Church’s edifica-
and be not offended because of our passion.” tion; that these new wonders also may testify that
Saturus also at another gate exhorted Pudens the one and the same Holy Spirit works ever until now,
soldier, saying, “So then indeed, as I trusted and fore- and with Him God the Father Almighty, and His Son
told, I have felt no assault of beasts until now. And Jesus Christ Our Lord, to Whom is glory and power
unending for ever and ever. Amen.
67 Because they had gained the sympathy of the crowd;
see also Reading 113. 6° To end his suffering and ensure that he actually was dead.
68 An unbaptized Christian. The Devil.
 104
cCO>

THE NEW PERSIAN EMPIRE

(@Ar 27 OmeneT Fils SieAaee eet
INSCRIPTION

In this cliff carving, Shapur |, with the Roman emperor Philip kneeling in front of him and holding the
emperor Valerian by hand, tramples the emperor Gordian Ill. Bishapur. The high priest Kartir and a
Sasanian general stand on the right.

Like the kings of the Old Persian Empire (550-331 sce), the kings of the New Persian, or
Sasanid, Empire advertised their achievements with monumental reliefs and inscriptions
carved on the sides of cliffs (see Reading 44). A trilingual rock carving, in Parthian, Middle
Persian, and Greek, at Naqsh-| Rustam in Iran gives a detailed account of the reign of the

458
THE NEW PERSIAN EMPIRE (ca. 270 ce): THE SHAPUR I INSCRIPTION 459

Sasanid king Shapur | (241-272 ce). Shapur describes himself as "The Mazda worshipping lord
Shapur, King of Kings of Iran and non-lran, whose lineage is from the gods, son of the Mazda
worshipping divinity Ardashir, King of Kings of Iran, whose lineage is from the gods, grand-
son of king Papak." Like the Roman emperors, Shapur | claimed to rule the entire world.
Among other projects, he built the city of Bishapur using enslaved Roman soldiers, many of
whom were captured after the defeat of Valerian in 260.

Source: R. N. Frye The History of Ancient Iran, Vol. 7 (Beck: Munich, 1983), 370-373.

I, the Mazda-worshipping lord Shapur, King of Kings destroyed.’’ And the Romans made Philip Caesar.’*
of Iran and non-Iran, whose lineage is from the gods, Then Philip Caesar came to us for terms, and to
son of the Mazda worshipping divinity Ardashir,’! ransom their lives, gave us 500,000 denarii, and
King of Kings of Iran, whose lineage is from the became tributary to us. For this reason we have re-
gods, grandson of King Papak,” am ruler of Iran- named Misikhe Peroz-Shapur.”
shahr and these lands’: Persis, Parthia, Khuzistan, And Caesar lied again and did wrong to Arme-
Characene, Assyria, Adiabene, Arabia, Azerbaijan, nia.*° Then we attacked the Roman Empire and an-
Armenia, Georgia, Segan, Arran, Balasakan, up to nihilated at Barbalissos a Roman force of 60,000
the Caucasus mountains and the Gates of Albania, and Syria and the environs of Syria we burned,
and all of the mountain chain of Pareshwar, Media, ruined, and pillaged.*! In this one campaign we con-
Gurgan, Mery, Herat and all of Aparshahr, Kerman, quered of the Roman Empire the following fortresses
Seistan, Turan, Makuran, Paradene, Sind, the Kush- and towns: the town of Anatha with surroundings,
anshahr up to Peshawar, and up to Kashgar, Sogdiana Birtha of Aripan with surroundings, Birtha of
and to the mountains of Tashkent, and on the other Asporakan, the town of Sura, Barbalissos, Manbuk,
side of the sea, Oman. And we have given to a village Aleppo, Qennisrin, Rhephania, Zeugma, Urima,
district the name Peroz-Shapur and we made Hormizd- Gindaros, Armenaza, Seleucia, Antioch**, Cyrrhe,
Ardashsir by name Shapur. And these many lands,
and rulers and governors, all have become tributary Tn reality, after Shapur had invaded Roman territory he
and subject to us. was defeated by Gordian at the Battle of Resaena in 243.
When at first we had become established in the Gordian was not killed there.
empire, Gordian Caesar” raised in all of the Roman 78 Gordian III was assassinated in 244 and succeeded by
Empire a force from the Gothic and German realms” Philip the Arab (244-249).
and marched on Asuristan’ against the Empire of ™Philip’s offensive against the New Persians later in 244
Iran and against us. On the border of Babylonia at was initially successful but ultimately defeated at the
Battle of Misikhe.
Misikhe, a great “frontal” battle occurred. Gordian
80 Armenia lay on the frontier between the Roman and
Caesar was killed and the Roman force was New Persian Empires and was a constant bone of conten-
tion between them, just as it had been between the
1! Ardashir I (224-241 cE) overthrew the Parthians and Romans and Parthians.
established the New Persian Empire in 224 cE. 81 This Roman incursion in 253 is known only from this
7 & Persian prince, the son of Sasan, who gave his name inscription; Shapur probably took advantage of the trou-
to the Sasanian Dynasty. bled times relating to the fall of the emperor Trebonianus
73 Regions extending from Arabia to western India. Gallus (251-253) and the proclamation of Valerian
% Roman emperor from 238 until 244. (253-260). The victory opened the way to the Persian
™ Auxiliary troops serving in the Roman army. capture of Dura Europa and Antioch in 256 CE.
7° Babylonia. 82 The most important Roman city of Syria and the Levant.
460 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE LATE ROMAN EMPIRE (192-337)

another town of Seleucia, Alexandretta, Nicopolis, Persis, Parthia, Khuzistan, Babylonia, and other
Sinzara, Hama, Rastan, Dikhor, Dolikhe, Dura,® lands where there were domains of our father, grand-
Circusium, Germanicia, Batna, and Khanar, and in fathers, and of our ancestors. We searched out for
Cappadocia* the towns of Satala, Domana, Artangil, our conquest many other lands, and we acquired
Suisa, Sinda, and Phreata, a total of thirty-seven fame for heroism that we have not engraved here,
towns with surroundings. except for the preceding. We ordered it written so
In the third campaign, when we were besieging Car- that whoever comes after us may know of our fame,
thae and Edessa, Valerian Caesar** marched against us. heroism, and power. Thus, for this reason, that the
He had with him a force of 70,000 from Germany, gods have made us their ward, and with the aid of the
Raetia, Noricum, Dacia, Pannonia, Moesia, Istria, gods we have searched out and taken so many lands,
Spain, Africa, Thrace, Bithynia, Asia, Pamphylia, Isau- so that in every land we have founded many Bahram
ria, Lycaonia, Galatia, Lycia, Cilicia, Cappadocia, fires*° and have conferred benefices upon many ma-
Phrygia, Syria, Phoenicia, Judaea, Arabia, Mauritania, gians,”! and we have magnified the cult of the gods.
Germania, Rhodes, Osrhoéne, and Mesopotamia.®° And here by this inscription, we founded a fire
And beyond Carrhae and Edessa we had a great battle Khosro-Shapur by name for our soul and to perpetu-
with Valerian Caesar.’’ We made prisoner ourselves ate our name, a fire called Khosro-Aduranahid by
with our own hands Valerian Caesar and the others, name for the soul of our daughter Aduranahid,
chiefs of that army, the Praetorian Prefect, and sena- Queen of Queens, to perpetuate her name, a fire
tors; we made all prisoners and deported them to called Khosro-Hormizd-Ardashir by name for the
Persis.8* Syria, Cilicia, and Cappadocia we burned, soul of our son, Hormizd-Ardashir, Great King of
ruined and pillaged. In that campaign we conquered Armenia, to perpetuate his name, another fire called
from the Roman Empire® the town of Samosata, Khosro-Shapur by name, for the soul of our son
Alexandria on the Issus, Katabolos, Aegaea, Mop- Shapur, King of Characene, to perpetuate his name,
suestia, Mallos, Adana, Tarsus, Augustinia, Zephyrion, and a fire called Khosro-Narseh by name, for the
Sebaste, Korykos, Anazarba, Kastabala, Neronias, Fla- soul of our son, the noble, Mazda worshipping
vias, Nicopolis, Epiphaneia, Celenderis, Anemurion, Narseh, King of Sind, Seistan, and Turan to the edge
Selinus, Mzd, Antioch, Seleucia, Dometiopolis, of the sea, to perpetuate his name.
Tyana, Caesarea, Komana, Kybistra, Sebasteia, And that which we have donated to these fires,
Birtha, Rakundia, Laranda, and Iconium, altogether and which we have established as a custom, all of
all these cities with their surroundings. that we have written upon the document of guaranty.
Men of the Roman Empire, of non-Iranians, we Of those 1,000 lambs, of which custom gives us the
deported. We settled them in the Empire of Iran in excess, and which we have donated so these fires, we
have ordered as follows”’: for our soul each day a
lamb, one and a half measures of bread and four
83 Dura Europa, the site of major modern archaeological quantities of wine; for that of Sasan the Lord™; King
excavations.
84 A Roman province of western Anatolia.
85 Emperor from 253 until 260; he made his son Gallienus °° New Persian fire temples.
(253-268) his co-emperor. *! Priests of the god Ahura Mazda.
8¢ A catalogue of many of the Roman provinces; this in- *? To stress his own legitimacy, Shapur lists the royal gene-
formation probably came from Roman prisoners of war. alogy, from Sasan, who gave his name to the Sasanid Dy-
87Tn 268 CE. nasty, up to his own family, many of whom have royal titles
88Tn southwestern Iran. in their own right attesting to the desire of the New Persian
*° Some of these places were announced as having been rulers to keep the real power within their own family circle.
captured previously, but in the interim had been retaken *? A priest of a fire temple of the water goddess Anahita
by the Romans. and the first member of the Sasanid Dynasty.
THE NEW PERSIAN EMPIRE (ca. 270 ce): THE SHAPUR I INSCRIPTION 461

Papak™*; King Shapur, son of Papak; King of Kings daughter of the King of Characene; and Hormizd-
Ardashir*>; the Empire’s Queen Khoranzim; Queen dukhtak, daughter of the King of the Saka, for their
of Queens Aduranahid; Queen Dinak, King of Gilan; souls a lamb, a measure and a half of bread and four
Bahram, King of Characene Shapur; Great King of quantities of wine.
Armenia Hormizd-Ardashir; King of the Saka” Now as we serve and worship the gods with zeal,
Narseh; Queen of the Saka Shapurdukhtak; Lady of because we are the wards of the gods and with the
the Saka Narsehdukht; Lady Casmak; Prinz Peroz; aid of the gods we have searched out these peoples,
Lady Mirdut, mother of King of Kings Shapur; have dominated them, and have acquired fame for
Prince Narseh, Princess Rud-dukhtak, daughter of bravery, also whoever comes after us and rules, may
AnoSak, Varazdukht, daughter of Khoranzim, Queen he also serve and worship the gods with zeal, so the
Stahyrad; Hormizdak, son of the King of Armenia gods may aid him and make him their ward.
Hormizd; Hormizdak; Odabakht; Bahram; Shapur; This is the writing by my hand, Hormizd, the
Peroz, son of the King of Characene; Shapurdukhtak, scribe, son of Shirak, the scribe.?’

°4 A Persian prince, son of Sasan and grandfather of

Ardashir.
95 Ardashir I (224-241 cE), who revolted against the
Parthians (Reading 69) and founded the Sasanid, or New
Persian, Empire.
%6 A generic term for the peoples of the Asian steppe east °! The subscription appears only in the Parthian version
of the Caspian Sea. of the inscription.
 105
cSCO>

ZENOBIA AND THE EMPIRE

OF PALMYRA (266-274 cE):
PHE AOGOS TANS TOK?
“ODENATHUS” AND “ZENOBIA®

A debased silver antoninianus of Queen Zenobia depicts her as Augusta, or empress, with the legend
“Zenobia Aug(usta)” on the obverse and a standing figure of the goddess Juno Regina, “Juno the Queen
(of the Gods),” on the reverse, emphasizing Zenobia’s royal status.

Zenobia, queen of the powerful trading city of Palmyra in Syria on the eastern frontier of the
Roman Empire, was the wife of Odenathus, a Palmyrene prince who drove off the New Persians
after their defeat and capture of the emperor Valerian in 268 ce. As a reward, Odenathus was
placed in charge of the east by Valerian’s son Gallienus. After further defeats of the Persians,
Odenathus took the title "King of Kings" in 264. But when he appeared to be on the verge of
declaring himself emperor in 267, Zenobia organized a conspiracy against him and he was

462
ZENOBIA AND THE EMPIRE OF PALMYRA (266-274 ck) 463

assassinated. Zenobia then assumed his position as ruler of Palmyra. She took advantage
of Roman weakness—Gaul, Spain, and Britain already had created an “Empire of Gaul" in
259 ce—to take the title of Augusta (Empress) and create an Empire of Palmyra, which
included the Levant, part of Anatolia, and Egypt. Zenobia’s story is told most fully in the sec-
tions “Odenathus" and “Zenobia" in the Augustan History, a compilation of the 390s ce that
is part fact and part historical fiction.

Source: David Magie, trans., Historia Augusta, Vol. |(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1921).

[Augustan History, “Odenathus”] conferred on him the name Augustus, and ordered
Had not Odenathus, Prince of the Palmyrenes, seized coins to be struck in his honor that showed him
the imperial power after the capture of Valerian,” haling the Persians into captivity.!°* This measure
when the strength of the Roman state was exhausted, the Senate, the city, and men of every age received
all would have been lost in the east. He assumed, with approval.
therefore, as the first of his line, the title of King, and Then, after he had for the most part put in order
after gathering together an army he set out against the affairs of the east, Odenathus was killed by his
the Persians, having with him his wife Zenobia, his cousin Maeonius, who also had seized the imperial
elder son, whose name was Herodes, and his younger power together with his son Herodes, who, also, after
sons, Herennianus and Timolaus.-First of all, he returning from Persia along with his father, had re-
brought under his power Nisibis’? and most of the ceived the title of emperor.’ Some god, I believe,
east together with the whole of Mesopotamia; next, was angry with the Republic, who, after Valerian’s
he defeated the king himself and compelled him to death, was unwilling to preserve Odenathus alive.
flee. Finally, he pursued Shapur'® and his children For of a surety he, with his wife Zenobia, would have
even as far as Ctesiphon,!”! and captured his concu- restored not only the east, which he had already
bines and also a great amount of booty; brought back to its ancient condition, but also all
When Gallienus’ learned that Odenathus had parts of the whole world. Hardened by these feats, he
ravaged the Persians, brought Nisibis and Carrhae'™ was able to bear the sun and the dust in the wars with
under the sway of Rome, made all of Mesopotamia the Persians, and his wife, too, was inured to hard-
ours, and finally arrived at Ctesiphon, put the king to ship and in the opinion of many was held to be more
flight, captured the satraps and killed large numbers brave than her husband, being, indeed, the noblest of
of Persians, he gave him a share in the imperial power, all the women of the east, and, as Cornelius Capito-
linus! declares, the most beautiful.
Then Zenobia, his wife, because the sons who re-
8 In 268 CE; see Reading 104.
mained, Herennianus and Timolaus, were still very
°° A powerful fortress on the border between the Roman
and Sasanid empires.
young, assumed the power herself and ruled for a
100 Shapur I (241-272 ce), King of Kings of the New long time, not in feminine fashion or with the ways
Persian Empire. of a woman, but surpassing in courage and skill not
10! The western capital of the New Persian Empire, on the merely Gallienus, than whom any girl could have
Tigris River in Mesopotamia.
1022Roman emperor from 253 until 268 cE, the son of the
emperor Valerian. 104 No such coins are known to exist.
103 A city on the frontier of the Roman and Sasanid 105 There is no other evidence that Maeonius or Herodes
Empire that had been captured by Shapur (see ever did so.
Reading 104). 106 An otherwise unknown Roman author.
464 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE LATE ROMAN EMPIRE (192-337)

ruled more successfully, but also many an emperor. I have heard, Conscript Fathers, that men are re-
As for Gallienus, indeed, when he learned that proaching me for having performed an unmanly
deed in leading Zenobia in triumph. But in truth
Odenathus was murdered, he made ready for war
those very persons who find fault with me now
with the Persians, an over-tardy vengeance for his
would accord me praise in abundance, did they but
father,!°’ and, gathering an army with the help of the
know what manner of woman she is, how wise in
general Heraclianus, he played the part of a skilful counsels, how steadfast in plans, how firm toward
prince. This Heraclianus, however, on setting out against the soldiers, how generous when necessity calls,
the Persians, was defeated by the Palmyrenes and lost and how stern when discipline demands. I might
all the troops he had gathered, for Zenobia was ruling even say that it was her doing that Odenathus de-
Palmyra and most of the east with the vigor of a man. feated the Persians and, after putting Shapur to
flight, advanced all the way to Ctesiphon. I might
[Augustan History, “Zenobia”] add thereto that such was the fear that this woman
Now all shame is exhausted, for in the weakened inspired in the peoples of the east and also the
state of the Republic things came to such a pass that, Egyptians that neither Arabs nor Saracens nor Ar-
menians ever moved against her. Nor would I have
while Gallienus conducted himself in the most evil
spared her life had I not known that she did a great
fashion, even women ruled most excellently. For, in
service to the Roman state when she preserved the
fact, even a foreigner, Zenobia by name, about whom
imperial power in the east for herself or for her chil-
much already has been said, boasting herself to be of dren. Therefore let those whom nothing pleases
the family of the Cleopatras'®? and the Ptolemies, keep the venom of their own tongues to themselves.
proceeded upon the death of her husband Odenathus For if it is not meet to vanquish a woman and lead
to cast about her shoulders the imperial mantle; and her in triumph, what are they saying of Gallienus, in
arrayed in the robes of Dido'™ and even assuming the contempt of whom she ruled the empire well? What
diadem, she held the imperial power in the name of of the Deified Claudius, that revered and honored
her sons Herennianus and Timolaus, ruling longer leader? For he, because he was busied with his cam-
than could be endured from one of the female sex. For paigns against the Goths, suffered her, or so it is
this proud woman performed the functions of a mon- said, to hold the imperial power, doing it of purpose
and wisely, in order that he himself, while she kept
arch both while Gallienus was ruling and afterward
guard over the eastern frontier of the empire, might
when Claudius!" was busied with the war against the
the more safely complete what he had taken in hand.
Goths, and in the end could scarcely by conquered by
Aurelian! himself, under whom she was led in tri-
umph and submitted to the sway of Rome. This speech shows what opinion Aurelian held con-
There is still in existence a letter of Aurelian that cerning Zenobia.
bears testimony concerning this woman, then in cap- Such was her continence, it is said, that she would
tivity. For when some found fault with him, because not know even her own husband save for the purpose
he, the bravest of men, had led a woman in triumph, of conception. For when once she had lain with him,
as though she were a general, he sent a letter to the she would refrain until the time of menstruation to
senate and the Roman people, defending himself by see if she were pregnant; if not, she would again
the following justification: grant him an opportunity of begetting children. She
lived in regal pomp. It was rather in the manner of
'07 Valerian, who had been defeated and captured in 268. the Persians that she received worship and in the
108 See Reading 86. manner of the Persian kings that she banqueted; but
'° The Queen of Carthage who was spurned by Aeneas it was in the manner of a Roman emperor that she
and committed suicide; see Reading 88. came forth to public assemblies, wearing a helmet
0 Emperor Claudius II Gothicus (268-270). and girt with a purple headband, which had gems
'!! Emperor from 270 to 275. hanging from the lower edge whereas its center was
ZENOBIA AND THE EMPIRE OF PALMYRA (266-274 ck) 465

fastened with the jewel called cochlis,!'!? used instead In the history of Alexandria and the Orient she was
of the brooch worn by women, and her arms were so well versed that she even composed an epitome,
frequently bare. Her face was dark and of a swarthy so it is said. Roman history, however, she read in
hue, her eyes were black and powerful beyond the Greek.
usual wont, her spirit divinely great, and her beauty After Aurelian took her prisoner he caused her to
incredible. So white were her teeth that many thought be led into his presence and then asked her, “Why is
that she had pearls in place of teeth. Her voice was it, Zenobia, that you dared to show insolence to the
clear and like that of a man. emperors of Rome?” To this she replied, it is said:
Her sternness, when necessity demanded, was “You, Iknow, are an emperor indeed, for you win vic-
that of a tyrant, her clemency, when her sense of right tories, but Gallienus and Aureolus!" and the others I
called for it, that of a good emperor. Generous with never regarded as emperors. Believing Victoria!'> to
prudence, she conserved her treasures beyond the be a woman like me, I desired to become a partner in
wont of women. She made use of a carriage, and the royal power, should the supply of lands permit.”
rarely of a woman’s coach, but more often she rode a And so she was led in triumph with such magnifi-
horse; it is said, moreover, that frequently she walked cence that the Roman people had never seen a more
with her foot-soldiers for three or four miles. She splendid parade. For, in the first place, she was
hunted with the eagerness of a Spaniard. She often adorned with gems so huge that she labored under the
drank with her generals, although at other times she weight of her ornaments; for it is said that this woman,
refrained, and she drank, too, with the Persians and courageous although she was, halted very frequently,
the Armenians, but only for the purpose of getting saying that she could not endure the load of her gems.
the better of them. At her banquets she used vessels Furthermore, her feet were bound with shackles of
of gold and jewels, and she even used those that had gold and her hands with golden fetters, and even on
been Cleopatra’s.''3 As servants she had eunuchs of her neck she wore a chain of gold, the weight of which
advanced age and but very few maidens. She ordered was borne by a Persian guardsman. Her life was
her sons to speak Latin, so that, in fact, they spoke granted her by Aurelian, and they say that thereafter
Greek but rarely and with difficulty. She herself was she lived with her children in the manner of a Roman
not wholly conversant with the Latin tongue, but matron on an estate that had been presented to her at
nevertheless, mastering her timidity she would speak Tibur, which even to this day is still called Zenobia,
it; Egyptian, on the other hand, she spoke very well. not far from the palace of Hadrian.'!°

14A general who revolted against Gallienus in 268 and

later was murdered by the Praetorian Guard.
'2 An agate-like gem from Arabia. 5 The goddess Victory.
3 Presumably after her conquest of Egypt. 6 At Tivoli, nineteen miles east of Rome.
 106
cSO>
DIOCLETIAN’S “EDICT ON
MAXIMUM PRICES” (301 ce)

Diocletian’s lengthy “Edict on Maximum Prices” was posted in Latin and Greek on stone inscriptions
throughout the Roman Empire. The largest surviving portions have been found in Turkey, Egypt, and
Greece, and pieces have been found in no less than thirty different places, nearly all in the eastern part
of the empire.

When the emperor Diocletian came to power in 284 ce, the Roman economy was in a shambles,
primarily because of enormous pay raises given to soldiers by Septimius Severus (193-211)
and his son Caracalla (211-217) that had resulted in the debasement of the silver coinage.
When millions of these coins flooded the marketplace, the empire was struck by massive
inflation, not only because of the lowered value of the coins, but also because the economy
could not absorb the great increase in the money supply and because people hoarded good
silver coins and paid their taxes in the debased silver coins. Diocletian initially attempted to
solve the problem by reissuing good silver and gold coins, but there was not enough silver
available for this to work. So in 301 Diocletian adopted the usual late Roman method for
addressing problems: he issued a law to deal with it, a “Maximum Price Edict" that estab-
lished not only the maximum prices that could be charged for a large list of items but also
the maximum wages that could be paid for a long list of jobs. Prices and wages were given
in “denarii.” Although the denarius was no longer issued, it remained a standard unit of ac-
count and had to be converted into whatever currency one was using. Thus, the silver-coated
copper coin called the “follis" was valued at twenty-five denarii, and a gold aureus was

466
DIOCLETIAN’S “EDICT ON MAXIMUM PRICES” (301 ck) 467

technically worth one thousand denarii (although it is doubtful that anyone would exchange
a gold aureus for forty copper folles). The law was. a total failure. It simplistically attributed
inflation to greedy merchants and took no account of either a merchant's need to make a
profit or differential prices that had to be charged for items manufactured in one place and
sold hundreds or thousands of miles away. In any event, moreover, the emperors had no
means of enforcing laws; all they could do was hope that people obeyed the laws of their
own volition. Goods that could not be sold openly were simply sold on the black market.
Acknowledging the failure of the law, Diocletian then introduced the “annona" system, the
payment of taxes and expenditures in kind. It was cumbersome, but it worked.

Source: Elsa R. Graser, trans., “The Edict of Diocletian on Maximum Prices,” in T. Frank, An Economic Survey of Ancient Rome
Volume V: Rome and Italy of the Empire (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1940), 307-421.

Diocletian, Maximianus, Constantius, and Galerius!"” protectors of the human race, viewing have agreed
declare: that justice should intervene!’ as arbiter, so that the
As we recall the wars that we successfully have long-hoped-for solution that mankind itself could not
fought, we must be grateful for a world that is tran- supply might, by the remedies of our foresight, be
quil and reclining in the embrace of the most pro- applied to the general betterment of all.
found calm, and for the blessings of peace that was We, therefore, hasten to apply the remedies long
won with great effort. That the fortune of our Repub- demanded by this situation, satisfied that there can be
lic be faithfully disposed and suitably adorned is the no complaints that the intervention of our remedy
demand of public opinion and the dignity and maj- may be considered untimely or unnecessary, trivial,
esty of Rome. Therefore, we, who by the gracious or unimportant by the unscrupulous who, in spite of
favor the gods have repressed the former tide of rav- perceiving in our silence of so many years a lesson in
ages of barbarian nations by destroying them, must restraint, have been unwilling to copy it. For who are
guard by due defenses of justice a peace that was so insensitive and so devoid of human feeling that
established for eternity. cannot know, or rather, have not perceived, that in the
If, indeed, any self-restraint might check the ex- commerce carried on in the markets or involved in
cesses with which limitless and furious avarice the daily life of cities immoderate prices are so wide-
tages, avarice that, with no thought for mankind, spread that the uncurbed passion for gain is lessened
hastens to its own gain and increase, not by years or neither by abundant supplies nor by fruitful years;
months or days but by hours and even by minutes, or, It is our pleasure, therefore, that the prices listed
if the general welfare could endure undisturbed the in the subjoined summary be observed in the whole
riotous license by which it, in its misfortune, is from of our empire in such fashion that everyone may
day to day most grievously injured, there would per- know that whereas permission to exceed them has
haps be left some room for dissimulation and silence, been forbidden, the blessing of low prices has in no
since human forbearance might alleviate the detest- case been restricted in those places where supplies
able cruelty of a pitiable situation. Because those are seen to abound, because special provision is
whose extremes of need have brought us to an ap- made for these when avarice is definitely quieted. It
preciation of their most unfortunate situation, so that is our pleasure that anyone who shall have resisted
we no longer can close our eyes to it, we, the the form of this statute shall for this daring be

17 The four emperors who were members of the “Tetrar- "8 The standard method used by late Roman emperors to
chy,” or “Rule by Four.” try to solve problems was to issue laws.
 EMPIRE (192-337)
468 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE LATE ROMAN

Spelt grits, 1 modius den. 200

subject to a capital penalty. And let no one consider
the penalty harsh because there is at hand a means of cleaned
Sesame 1 army modius den. 200
avoiding the danger by observance of moderation.
We, therefore, urge upon the loyalty of allourpeople si. .... .--
that a law constituted for the public good may be ob- Likewise, for wines:
served with willing obedience!’ and due care, espe- Picene 1 Italian sextarius'* den. 30
Tiburtine 1 Italian sextarius den. 30
cially because in such a statute provision has been
Sabine 1 Italian sextarius den. 30
made, not for single states and peoples and prov-
inces, but for the whole world.?® se ee ens
The prices for the sale of individual items that no Falernian 1 Italian sextarius den. 30
one may exceed are listed below. Aged wine, 1 Italian sextarius den. 24
first quality
Wheat 1 army modius'' den.100'” Aged wine, 1 Italian sextarius den. 16
Barley l army modius den. 60 second quality
Rye larmy modius den. 60 Ordinary 1 Italian sextarius den. 8
Millet, ground 1 Sarmy modius den. 100 Beer, Gallic 1 Italian sextarius den. 4
Millet, whole l army modius den. 50 or Pannonian'*
Panic grass l army modius den. 50 Beer, Egyptian 1 Italian sextarius den. 2
Spelt, hulled 1 army mnodius. “den. 100 eee ee
Ai ee Likewise, for oil:
Beans, crushed 1 army modius den. 100 From unripe 1 Italian sextarius den. 40
Beans, not ground 1 army modius den. 60 olives
Lentils larmy modius den. 100 Second quality 1 Italian sextarius den. 24
Pulse l army modius den. 80 Salt 1 army modius den. 100
Peas, split l army modius den. 100 Spiced salt 1 Italian sextarius den. 8
Peas, not split l army modius den. 60 Honey, 1 Italian sextarius den. 40
Rene best quality
Rice, cleaned l army modius den. 200 Honey, second 1 Italian sextarius den 24
Barley grits, 1 modius den. 100 quality
cleaned Likewise, for meat:
Pork 1 Italian pound den. 12
Beef 1 Italian pound den. 8
119 This because the government had no institutionalized Leg of pork,
means of enforcing the laws. Menapic!®> or
120Tn legal theory, the Romans claimed to rule the entire Cerritane,'”° best 1 Italian pound den. 20
See rs v : ; he Pork mincemeat 1 ounce den. 2

et
(abcght ,
AnSani...
lites togallons orie peck Ce eae a
modius” was about one and a half times a civilian Pe ee dete
“Ttalian modius.”
'22 Prices still were given in terms of the denarius (“den.”), 123 A sextarius was a liquid measure equivalent to about a
the old silver coin, which had become a simple unit of half liter or a half quart.
account and was no longer issued in coin form, much like 124 That is, French or Hungarian.
the modern “mill,” one-tenth of a cent in the United 125 The Menapii were a Celtic people of Belgium.
States, is not issued as an actual coin but is used in the 26 The Cerritani were a Pyrenaean people of northeastern
calculation of property taxes. Spain.
DIOCLETIAN’S “EDICT ON MAXIMUM PRICES” (301 cE) 469

Pheasant, wild den. 125 For wages:

Chickens 1 brace den. 60 Farm laborer, with maintenance den. 29
Venison I Italian pound = den. 12 (daily)
Butter 1 Italian pound ~— den. 16 Carpenter, as above (daily) den. 50
Wall painter, as above (daily) den. ie
Likewise, for fish: Picture painter, as above (daily) den. 150
Sea fish with 1 Italian pound = den. 24 Baker, as above (daily) den. 50
rough scales Shipwright working on a seagoing den. 60
Fish, second 1 Italian pound = den. 16 ship, as above (daily)
quality Shipwright working on a river boat, den. 50
River fish, 1 Italianpound = den. 12 as above (daily)
best quality Muleteer, with maintenance (daily) den. 25
River fish, 1 Italian pound den. 8 Veterinary, for clipping and den.
second quality preparing hoofs (per animal)
Salt fish 1 Italian pound den. 6 Veterinary, for bleeding and cleaning den. 20
Oysters 100 den. 100 the head (per animal)
Regarding the prices of slaves. Barber (per man) den.
For a masculine slave, either 35,000 denarii. Sewer cleaner, working a full day, den. 25
a eunuch or a male, from the with maintenance (daily)
age of seventeen years to forty Scribe, for the best writing (100 lines) den. 25
years, Scribe, for second-quality writing den. 20
For a female slave of the 25,000 denarii. (100 lines)
aforementioned age, Notary, for writing a petition or legal den. 10
Likewise, for a man from 25,000 denarii. document (100 lines)
the age of forty to sixty, Elementary teacher per boy (monthly) den. 50
For a woman of the 20,000 denarii. Teacher of arithmetic, per boy den. Te)
aforementioned age, (monthly)
For a boy from the age of eight 15,000 denarii. Teacher of shorthand, per boy den. w5
to sixteen and a girl of the (monthly)
aforementioned age, Teacher of Greek or Latin language
For a man over sixty years 15,000 denarii. and literature, and teacher of den. 200
and less than nine years, geometry, per pupil (monthly)
For a woman of the 10,000 denarii. Teacher of rhetoric or public den. 250
aforementioned age, speaking, per pupil (monthly)
For a slave skilled in an occupation, with regard Advocate or jurist, fee den. 250
to the type and the age and the quality of the for a complaint
skills it is suitable that there be an agreement Advocate or jurist, fee for pleading den. 1000
between the buyer and the seller about the price Teacher of architecture, per boy den. 100
to the extent that it is not at all permitted to (monthly)
exceed double the statutory price. Check room attendant, per bather den.
 107
cSO>

THE REFORMS OF DIOCLETIAN

AND THE “GREAT PERSECUTION”
(303=314:eR LACTAN TW SON
THE DEATHS OF THE
PERSECUTORS, 1-35

This sculpture made from porphyry, a purple igneous stone that came from a single Egyptian quarry,
depicts the emperors embracing each other, thus emphasizing the idealized cooperation among the
four emperors of the Tetrarchy. The sculpture was looted from Constantinople and taken to Venice
when the city was sacked by Crusaders in 1204. Its original site is unknown, and it now is erected ina
corner of St. Mark’s basilica in Venice.

Although the four emperors of the Tetrarchy emphasized that they worked together in har-
mony and that there was only one empire, in practice, they did not always agree on policy.
This is seen most clearly in the efforts of Diocletian (284-305) to use religion to unify the
empire. Throughout the history of the Roman Empire, beginning with Augustus and the "Cult
of Rome and Augustus,” emperors used religion as a means of uniting the empire's otherwise

470
 THE REFORMS OF DIOCLETIAN AND THE “GREAT PERSECUTION” (303-311
cE) 471

disparate peoples. Participation in the imperial cult was meant to be a purely

political act, a
means of declaring one's loyalty to Rome and the emperor. Jews and Christians, however,
saw
things differently and often refused to participate, an act that would have been seen
as trea-
sonous and subject to a capital penalty. Jews, because of their long history of monothei
sm,
received an exemption (for Rome and the Jews see Readings 95 and 99), but not
Christians.
As Christianity became more widespread, greater numbers of Christians were punished
for
refusing to sacrifice in the imperial cult (see Readings 100 and 103). As Diocletian attempted
to reorganize the empire to meet the needs of the times, his colleague Galerius, an ardent
anti-Christian, prevailed on him to see the Christians as disloyal and thus worthy of extreme
punishment. In 303, Diocletian thus undertook what was called the “Great Persecution,” the
only concerted effort during the entire history of the Roman Empire to suppress Christianity.
The persecution was a complete failure. By then, Christianity was too firmly entrenched. In the
realms of Diocletian and, especially, Galerius (293-311) there were some efforts to enforce the
legislation, but by and large it was ignored. The western emperors Maximianus (286-305) and,
in particular, Constantius (293-306) participated either in a lukewarm manner or not at all. In
311 Galerius, racked by a wasting disease, rescinded the anti-Christian legislation, but this did
not keep him from an agonizing death, gleefully described in the work “On the Deaths of the
Persecutors” by the Christian rhetorician Lactantius. Lactantius also commented on what he
saw as the problems with Diocletian's reform attempts.

Source: William Fletcher, trans. Lactantius. Of the Manner in That the Persecutors Died (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature
Publishing, 1886).

The Lord has heard those supplications that you, my tyrants and provide for the welfare of mankind, so
best beloved Donatus,!”’ pour forth in his presence that now the cloud of past times is dispelled, and
all the day long, and the supplications of the rest of peace and serenity gladden all hearts. And after the
our brethren, who by a glorious confession have ob- furious whirlwind and black tempest, the heavens
tained an everlasting crown, the reward of their now have become calm, and the wished-for light has
faith.’*8 Behold, all the adversaries are destroyed, shone forth. God, the hearer of prayer, by his divine
and tranquility having been re-established through- aid now has lifted his prostrate and afflicted servants
out the Roman Empire, the late oppressed church from the ground, has brought to an end the united
arises again, and the temple of God, overthrown by devices of the wicked, and wiped off the tears from
the hands of the wicked, is built with more glory the faces of those who mourned. They who insulted
than before. For God has raised up princes!” to re- the divinity lie low; they who cast down the holy
scind the impious and sanguinary edicts'*° of the temple are fallen with more tremendous ruin; and the
tormentors of just men have poured out their guilty
souls amid plagues inflicted by heaven and amid de-
"7 The dedictee of Lactantius work; he had been tortured served tortures. For God delayed to punish them so
three times for his Christian beliefs. that, by great and marvelous examples, he might
128 A reference to the “crown of martyrdom.”
teach posterity that he alone is God, and that with fit
29 Including the emperors Constantine I and Licinius,
vengeance he executes judgment on the proud, the
who in early 313 issued the Edict of Milan, which legal-
ized Christianity.
impious, and the persecutors.
130 dicts were imperial laws addressed to the entire pop- Of the end of those men I have thought good to
ulation that had empirewide validity. publish a narrative, so that all who are far off and all
472 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE LATE ROMAN EMPIRE (192-337)

who shall arise hereafter may learn how the Al- sums of money in his treasury to be diminished. He
mighty manifested his power and sovereign great- constantly was heaping together extraordinary aids
ness in rooting out and utterly destroying the enemies and free gifts!** so that his original hoards might
of his name. And this will become evident, when I remain untouched and inviolable. He also, when by
relate who were the persecutors of the church from various extortions he had made all things exceed-
the time of its first constitution, and what were the ingly dear, attempted by an ordinance to limit their
punishments by which the divine judge, in his sever- prices. Then men were afraid to expose anything for
ity, took vengeance on them. sale, and the scarcity became more excessive and
While Diocletian,!*! that author of ill and deviser of grievous than ever, until, in the end, the ordinance,
misery, was ruining all things, he could not withhold after having proved destructive to multitudes, was
his insults, not even against God. This man, by avarice from mere necessity abrogated.
partly, and partly by timid counsels, overturned the I omit mentioning how many perished on account
Roman Empire. For he chose three persons to share of their possessions or wealth, for such evils were
the government with him, and thus, the empire having exceedingly frequent, and through their frequency
been quartered, armies were multiplied and each of appeared almost lawful. But this was peculiar to
the four princes strove to maintain a much more con- him, that whenever he saw a field remarkably well
siderable military force than any sole emperor had cultivated, or a house of uncommon elegance, a false
done in times past.'? There began to be fewer men accusation and a capital punishment were straight-
who paid taxes than there were who received wages, so way prepared against the proprietor; so that it seemed
that, with the means of the farmer exhausted by enor- as if Diocletian could not be guilty of rapine without
mous impositions, the farms were abandoned, culti- also shedding blood. I pass over Constantius,!* a
vated grounds became woodland, and universal prince unlike the others, and worthy to have had the
dismay prevailed. The provinces, moreover, were di- sole government of the empire.
vided into minute portions, and many governors and a Diocletian, as being of a timorous disposition,
multitude of inferior officers lay heavy on each terri- was a searcher into futurity and during his abode in
tory, and almost on each city. There also were many the east he began to slay victims, so that from their
stewards of different degrees, and deputies of Pre- livers he might obtain a prognostic of events,!*° and
fects.'33 Very few civil causes came before them, but while he sacrificed, some attendants of his, who were
there were criminal condemnations daily, and confis- Christians, stood by, and they put the immortal sign
cations frequently inflicted, taxes on numberless com- on their foreheads.'*’ At this the demons were chased
modities, and those not only often repeated, but away and the holy rites interrupted. The soothsayers
perpetual, and, in exacting them, intolerable wrongs. trembled, unable to investigate the wonted marks on
Whatever was laid on for the maintenance of the the entrails of the victims. They frequently repeated
soldiery might have been endured, but Diocletian, the sacrifices, but the victims afforded no tokens
through his insatiable avarice, would never allow the for divination. At length Tages, the chief of the
soothsayers, said, “There are profane persons here,
'31 Roman emperor from 284 to 305, he commenced the who obstruct the rites.” Then Diocletian, in furious
Great Persecution in 303 CE.
'32 Tn 293, Diocletian created the “Tetrarchy,” or “Rule by '4 Such as the “crown gold,” on which see Reading 101.
Four,” in which the eastern and western halves of the '8° The father of Constantine I, Constantius (293-306)
empire each had an Augustus (senior emperor) and a was the only member of the Tetrarchy to be praised by
Caesar (junior emperor). Lactantius.
'33 Diocletian subdivided the 50 provinces into 102 and '°°The Roman rite of taking the haruspices, the inspec-
created additional levels of bureaucracy, such as Vicars tion of the livers of sacrificial animals, to ascertain the
who stood intermediate between Praetorian Prefects and will of the gods.
provincial governors. '57 A sign of the cross made with chrism, or consecrated oil.
THE REFORMS OF DIOCLETIAN AND THE “GREAT PERSECUTION” (303-311 cE) 473

passion, ordered all who resided within the palace to subjected to tortures and that every suit at law should
sacrifice, and, in case of their refusal, to be whipped. be received against them, while, on the other hand,
And further, he enjoined that all soldiers should be they were debarred from being plaintiffs in ques-
forced to perform the same impiety, under pain of tions of wrong, adultery, or theft; and, finally, that
being dismissed the service. Thus far his rage pro- they should neither be capable of freedom, nor have
ceeded, but at that season he did nothing more right of suffrage. A certain person tore down this
against the law and religion of God. edict and cut it in pieces, improperly indeed, but with
After an interval of some time he went to winter high spirit, saying in scorn, “These are the triumphs
in Bithynia,'** and presently Galerius Caesar'*? came of Goths and Sarmatians.”'? Having been instantly
thither, inflamed with furious resentment and plan- seized and brought to judgment he not only was tor-
ning to excite the empty-headed old man to carry on tured but also burnt alive, in accordance with the
that persecution that he had begun against the laws, and having displayed admirable patience under
Christians. I have learned that the cause of his fury sufferings, he was consumed to ashes.
was as follows. The mother of Galerius, a woman ex- And now Diocletian raged, not only against his
ceedingly superstitious, was a votary of the gods of the own domestics, but indiscriminately against all, and he
mountains. She made sacrifices almost every day and began by forcing his daughter Valeria and his wife
she feasted her servants on the meat offered to idols, Prisca’ to be polluted by sacrificing. Eunuchs, once
but the Christians of her family would not partake of the most powerful, and who had chief authority at
those entertainments. On this account she conceived court and with the emperor, were slain. Priests and
ill-will against the Christians and by woman-like other officers of the church were seized, without evi-
complaints instigated her son, no less superstitious dence by witnesses or confession, condemned, and to-
than herself, to destroy them. So, during the whole gether with their families led to execution. In burning
winter, Diocletian and Galerius held councils together, alive, no distinction of sex or age was regarded, and
at which no one else assisted. The old man long op- because of their great multitude they were not burnt
posed the fury of Galerius, arguing how pernicious it one after another but a herd of them were encircled
would be to raise disturbances throughout the world with the same fire. Servants, having millstones tied
and to shed so much blood, and suggesting that the about their necks, were cast into the sea. Nor was the
Christians were wont with eagerness to meet death, persecution less grievous on the rest of the people of
and that it would be enough for him to exclude persons God; for the judges, dispersed through all the temples,
of that religion from the court and the army. Yet he sought to compel every one to sacrifice. The prisons
could not restrain the madness of that obstinate man.'*° were crowded; tortures, hitherto unheard of, were in-
Diocletian determined above all to consult his gods; vented; and lest justice should be inadvertently admin-
and he dispatched a soothsayer to inquire of Apollo at istered to a Christian, altars were placed in the courts
Miletus,'*! whose answer was such as might be ex- of justice, hard by the tribunal, that every litigant might
pected from an enemy of the divine religion. offer incense before his cause could be heard.
An edict was published, depriving the Christians Mandates'** also had gone to Maximianus Hercu-
of all honors and dignities, ordaining also that, with- lius'** and Constantius, requiring their concurrence
out any distinction of rank or degree, they should be
12 That is, of barbarians.
143 Both of whom were Christians, attesting the degree to
'38 A province on the southern coast of the Black Sea. which Christianity now had infiltrated the highest levels
139 Galerius (293-311) was the Caesar, or designated suc- of society.
cessor, of the Augustus Diocletian in the eastern half of 144 fandates were administrative instructions sent to im-
the empire. perial officials; they, too, had the force of law.
140 Galerius. 145 Maximianus (286-305) was the Augustus of the west-
141 The location of another famous oracle. ern part of the empire; Constantius was his Caesar.
474 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE LATE ROMAN EMPIRE (192-337)

in the execution of the edicts even though, in matters lest, by reason of their jaws being parched, they
even of such mighty importance, their opinion never should expire. At length they did expire, when, after
once was asked. Herculius, a person of no merciful many hours, the violent heat had consumed their
temper, yielded ready obedience, and enforced the skin and penetrated into their intestines.
edicts throughout his dominions of Italy.'*° Constan- Already the judgment of God approached him
tius, on the other hand, lest he should have seemed to and that season ensued in which his fortunes began
dissent from the injunctions of his superiors, permit- to droop and to waste away. While occupied in the
ted the demolition of churches—mere walls, and ca- manner that I have described above, he did not set
pable of being built up again—but he preserved entire himself to subvert or expel Constantius, but waited
that true temple of God, which is the human body.“ for his death, not imagining, however, that it was so
Having thus attained the highest power,'*® Galerius nigh.” And now, when Galerius was in the eight-
bent his mind to afflict the empire. Crucifixion was eenth year of his reign,°° God struck him with an
the punishment ready prepared in capital cases, and incurable plague. A malignant ulcer formed itself in
for lesser crimes, fetters. Matrons of honorable sta- the lower part of his genitals and spread by degrees.
tion were dragged into workhouses, and when any The physicians attempted to eradicate it and healed
man was to be whipped, there were four posts fixed up the place affected. But the sore, after having been
in the ground and to them he was tied, after a manner skinned ovet, broke out again. A vein burst, and the
unknown even in the chastisement of slaves. He kept blood flowed in such quantity as to endanger his life.
bears, most resembling himself in fierceness and The blood, however, was stopped, although with dif-
bulk, that he had collected together during the course ficulty. He grew emaciated, pallid, and feeble, and
of his reign. As often as he chose to indulge his the bleeding then stanched. The ulcer began to be
humor, he ordered some particular bear to be brought insensible to the remedies applied and a gangrene
in and men were thrown to that savage animal rather seized all the neighboring parts. It diffused itself the
to be swallowed up than devoured, and when their wider the more the corrupted flesh was cut away, and
limbs were torn asunder, he laughed with excessive everything employed as the means of cure served but
complacency. Men of private station were con- to aggravate the disease. Already approaching to its
demned to be burnt alive, and he began this mode of deadly crisis, it had occupied the lower regions of his
execution by edicts against the Christians, com- body. His bowels came out and his entire buttocks
manding that, after torture and condemnation, they putrefied. The distemper attacked his intestines and
should be burnt at a slow fire. They were fixed to a worms were generated in his body. The stench was
stake, and first a moderate flame was applied to the so foul as to pervade not only the palace but even the
soles of their feet, until the muscles, contracted by whole city. And no wonder, for by that time the pas-
burning, were torn from the bones. Then torches, sages from his bladder and bowels, having been de-
lighted and put out again, were directed to all the voured by the worms, became indiscriminate, and
members of their bodies, so that no part had any ex- his body, with intolerable anguish, was dissolved
emption. Meanwhile cold water was continually into one mass of corruption.
poured on their faces and their mouths moistened, They applied warm flesh of animals to the chief
seat of the disease, so that the warmth might draw
out those minute worms, and accordingly, when the
© Other sources suggest that Maximianus only
half-heartedly enforced the persecution. dressings were removed, there issued forth an innu-
‘47 Other sources state that Constantius did not participate merable swarm. Nevertheless, the prolific disease
in the persecution at all.
'8 Diocletian retired in 305 and Galerius was promoted to ‘° Constantius died in 306 Ck, the year after he had been
Augustus, senior emperor, in the eastern half of the promoted to the rank of Augustus.
empire. SO LOIGE:
THE REFORMS OF DIOCLETIAN AND THE “GREAT PERSECUTION” (303-311 cE)
475

had hatched swarms much more abundant to prey the duty of the Christians, in consequence of this our
upon and consume his intestines. Already, through a toleration, to pray to their God for our welfare, and
complication of distempers, the different parts of his for that of the public, and for their own, so that the
body had lost their natural form. The upper part was Republic may continue safe in every quarter, and
dry, meager, and haggard, and his ghastly-looking that they themselves may live securely in their habi-
skin had settled itself deep among his bones while tations. This edict was promulgated at Nicomedia!”
the inferior, distended like bladders, retained no ap- on the day preceding the Kalends of May, in the
eighth consulship of Galerius and the second of
pearance of joints. At length, overcome by calami-
Maximinus Daia.!°?
ties, he was obliged to acknowledge God, and he
cried aloud, in the intervals of raging pain, that he
Then the prison-gates having been thrown open,
would rebuild the church that he had demolished,
you, my best beloved Donatus, together with the
and make atonement for his misdeeds; and when he
other confessors for the faith, were set at liberty from
was near his end, he published an edict of the tenor
the prison that had been your residence for six years.
following:'>!
Galerius, however, did not, by publication of this
edict, obtain the divine forgiveness. In a few days
Among our other regulations for the permanent ad-
after he was consumed by the horrible disease that
vantage of the Republic, we have hitherto studied to
had brought on a universal putrefaction.
reduce all things to a conformity with the ancient
laws and public discipline of the Romans. It has I relate all those things on the authority of well-
been our aim in a special manner, that the Chris- informed persons; and I thought it proper to commit
tians also, who had abandoned the religion of their them to writing exactly as they happened, lest the
forefathers, should return to right opinions. For memory of events so important should perish, and
such willfulness and folly had, we know not how, lest any future historian of the persecutors should
taken possession of them, that instead of observing corrupt the truth, either by suppressing their offenses
those ancient institutions, which possibly their own against God, or the judgment of God against them.
forefathers had established, they, through caprice, To his everlasting mercy ought we to render thanks,
made laws to themselves and drew together into that, having at length looked on the earth, he deigned
different societies many men of widely different
to collect again and to restore his flock, partly laid
persuasions. After the publication of our edict, or-
waste by ravenous wolves, and partly scattered
daining the Christians to betake themselves to the
abroad, and to extirpate those noxious wild beasts
observance of the ancient institutions, many of
them were subdued through the fear of danger and who had trod down its pastures, and destroyed its
moreover many of them were exposed to jeopardy. resting-places. Where now are the surnames of the
Nevertheless, because great numbers still persist in Jovii and the Herculii, once so glorious and re-
their opinions, and because we have perceived that nowned among the nations; surnames insolently as-
at present they neither pay reverence and due adora- sumed at first by Diocles and Maximianus, and
tion to the gods, nor yet worship their own God, afterward transferred to their successors? The Lord
therefore we, from our wonted clemency in bestow- has blotted them out and erased them from the earth.
ing pardon on all, have judged it fit to extend our Let us therefore with exultation celebrate the tri-
indulgence to those persons and to permit them umphs of God, and oftentimes with praises make
again to be Christians, and to establish the places of
their religious assemblies, yet so as that they offend
not against good order. By another mandate we pur-
'52'The capital city of Diocletian, in Anatolia just east of
the future site of Constantinople.
pose to signify unto magistrates how they ought
153311 cx. Maximinus Daia was Caesar of Galerius, ap-
herein to conduct themselves. Wherefore it will be
pointed in 305 on the retirement of Diocletian. After the
death of Galerius in 311 he became the Augustus of the
151 The “Edict of Toleration,” issued in 311 CE. eastern half of the empire.
 (192-337)
476 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE LATE ROMAN EMPIRE

mention of his victory; let us in our prayers, by night heard, implore the Lord that it would please him pro-
and by day, beseech him to confirm for ever that pitiously and mercifully to continue his pity toward
peace that, after a warfare of ten years, he has be- his servants, to protect his people from the machina-
stowed on his own: and do you, above all others, my tions and assaults of the devil, and to guard the now
best beloved Donatus, who so well deserve to be flourishing churches in perpetual felicity.

108
cCOO>

THE -EDIGT..OF MIbAN: i273 deeen)

LACTANTIUS, “ON PHEsDEATHS&OR
LEAESPERSEGU LORS ees eo

Although Licinius shared in the promulgation of the Edict of Milan, there is no evidence that he had any
Christian convictions himself. His coinage, for example, reveals only an allegiance to the traditional gods,
as shown on this gold aureus, with the reverse legend, “To Jupiter, the Preserver of the Augustus
Licinius.”

After Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge on 28 October
312 he traveled to Milan, where he met Licinius, Caesar of the eastern half of the empire.
There, the two emperors sealed an alliance by the marriage of Constantine's half-sister
THE EDICT OF MILAN (312/313 ce): LACTANTIUS, ON THE DEATHS OF THE PERSECUTO
RS, 45-48 477

Constantia to Licinius. At the same time, the two emperors issued an edict that did not make
Christianity into a merely tolerated religion, as Galerius's Edict of Toleration had done in 311,
but made Christianity a fully legal and even favored religion. At the time, Licinius was engaged
in a war with the eastern Augustus Maximinus Daia, who, like Galerius, was a devoted pagan.
The Edict of Milan provided not only freedom of worship for Christians, but also the restitu-
tion of Christian property that had been confiscated by the imperial treasury or acquired by
private persons, with the latter being provided compensation by the state. This marked the
first time that the imperial government recognized the Christian church as a lawful institu-
tion. As reported by Lactantius, the only text of the Edict survives in a letter sent by Licinius
to provincial governors ordering its publication. Embedded in Lactantius's account is a story
about one of the many wars between the successors of Diocletian, a battle of Licinius against
Maximinus Daia that is similar to the story of Constantine's victory over Maxentius.

Source: William Fletcher, trans. Lactantius. Of the Manner in which the Persecutors Died (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature
Publishing, 1886).

Constantine having settled all things at Rome, went arise immediately, and with his whole army to put up
to Milan about the beginning of winter. Thither also a prayer to the Supreme God, and assuring him that
Licinius came to receive his wife Constantia.* When by so doing he should obtain victory.' At this all
Daia'°° understood that they were busied in solemniz- men took fresh courage, in the confidence that vic-
ing the nuptials, he moved out of Syria in the depth of tory bad been announced to them from heaven. Ac-
a severe winter, and by forced marches he came into counts came that Daia was in motion; the soldiers of
Bithynia. Daia did not halt in his own territories; but Licinius armed themselves; and advanced. A barren
immediately crossed the Bosphorus,’ and in a hos- and open plain called Campus Serenus lay between
tile manner approached the gates of Byzantium.!°’ the two armies. The troops of Licinius charged.’
Licinius by expeditious marches had reached Adri- The enemies, panic stricken, could neither draw their
anople,!** but with forces not numerous. The armies, swords nor throw their javelins. After great numbers
thus approaching each other, seemed on the eve of a had fallen, Daia perceived that everything went con-
battle. Then Daia made this vow to Jupiter, that if he trary to his hopes. He threw aside the purple and,
obtained victory he would extinguish and utterly having put on the habit of a slave, hasted across the
efface the name of the Christians. And on the follow- Bosphorus. One half of his army perished in battle and
ing night an angel of the Lord seemed to stand before the rest either surrendered to the victor or fled. Not
Licinius while he was asleep, admonishing him to many days after his victory, Licinius, having received
part of the soldiers of Daia into his service and prop-
erly distributed them, transported his army into
154 The sister of Constantine; her tomb in Rome survives
Bithynia, and having made his entry into Nicomedia,!*!
as the church of Santa Costanza.
‘55 Maximinus Daia (305-313), the other Augustus in the he returned thanks to God, through whose aid he had
eastern part of the empire.
156 The eastern strait linking the Aegean Sea to the
Black Sea. ‘59 ikewise, just before the Battle of the Milvian Bridge
157 An ancient Greek city on the south end of the against Maxentius (306-312) the previous year Constan-
Bosporus; soon to become Constantinople. tine also was said to have had a similar visit from an
158 A city just northwest of Byzantium; in 378 the location angel (that is, a “messenger”) in a dream.
of a disastrous Roman defeat by the Visigoths, see 160 The Battle of Tzirallum on 30 April 313.
Reading 114. ‘61 Capital city of the province of Bithynia.
478 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE LATE ROMAN EMPIRE (192-337)

overcome. On the Ides of June, while he and Con- due to any religion or its votaries. Moreover, with
stantine were Consuls for the third time,!® he com- respect to the Christians, we formerly gave certain
manded the following letter’ for the restoration of orders concerning the places appropriated for their
the church, directed to the governor of the prov- religious assemblies, but now we desire that all per-
sons who have purchased such places, either from
ince,!™ to be promulgated: our treasury or from anyone else, shall restore them
to the Christians, without money demanded or price
When we, Constantine and Licinius, emperors, met claimed, and that this be performed peremptorily
at Milan and conferred together with respect to the
and unambiguously. And we desire also that those
good and security of the Republic, it seemed to us who have obtained any right to such places by form
that, among those things that are profitable to man-
of gift do forthwith restore them to the Christians,
kind in general, the reverence paid to the divinity
reserving always to such persons, who either have
merited our first and chief attention, and that it was
purchased them for a price or gratuitously have ac-
proper that the Christians and all others should have
quired them, to make application to the judge of the
liberty to follow that mode of religion that to each of
district if they look on themselves as entitled to any
them appeared best, so that that God, who is seated
compensation from our beneficence.
in heaven, might be benign and propitious to us and
All those places are, by your'® intervention, to be
to every one under our government. And therefore
restored immediately to the Christians. And because
we judged it a salutary measure, and one highly con-
it appears that, besides the places appropriated to re-
sonant to right reason, that no man should be denied
ligious worship, the Christians possessed other places
leave of attaching himself to the rites of the Chris-
that belonged not to individuals but to their society in
tians, or to whatever other religion his mind directed
general, that is, to their churches, we include all such
him, that thus the supreme divinity, to whose wor-
within the aforesaid regulation. We command that
ship we freely devote ourselves, might continue to
you cause them all to be restored to the society or
grant his favor and beneficence to us. And accord-
churches without hesitation or controversy, always
ingly we give you to know that, without regard to
provided that the persons making restitution without
any provisos in our former orders to you concerning
a price paid shall be at liberty to seek indemnification
the Christians all who choose that religion are to be
from our bounty. In furthering all these things for the
permitted, freely and absolutely, to remain in it, and
benefit of the Christians you are to use your utmost
not to be disturbed any ways or molested. And we
diligence, so that our orders are speedily obeyed and
thought fit to be thus special in the things committed
our gracious purpose in securing the public tranquil-
to your charge, that you might understand that the
ity be promoted. So shall that divine favor that, in af-
indulgence that we have granted in matters of reli-
fairs of the mightiest importance, we have already
gion to the Christians is ample and unconditional;
experienced, continue to give success to us and in our
and perceive at the same time that the open and free
successes make the Republic happy. And that the
exercise of their respective religions is granted to all
tenor of this our gracious ordinance may be made
others, as well as to the Christians.
known unto all, we desire that you cause it by your
For it befits the well-ordered state and the tran-
authority to be published everywhere.
quility of our times that each individual be allowed,
according to his own choice, to worship the divinity,
and we mean not to remove anything from the honor Having published this letter, Licinius made a ha-
rangue in which he exhorted the Christians to re-
162
build their religious edifices. And thus, from the
13 June 313.
163
overthrow of the church until its restoration, there
Not an “edict,” as in many translations, but a “letter,” or
és mandate,’ ” directed
a: ele :
to a provincial governor that authorized
was a space
P
of
of ten years and about four months.
166
the publication of the actual edict that had been promul- mas Se
gated by Licinius and Constantine previously at Milan. '6S The governor.
'64 The same letter would have been forwarded to the °° That is, from 303, the beginning of the Great
governors of other eastern provinces. Persecution, until 313.
 109
cSO>
Ete COWUNE Le:OF«NIGAEA
(32 50-CR)2+F WISEBIUS @F
CAESAREA TdFEc@
CONSTANTINEo 27 673.16 =14

Although Constantine continued to issue coins in honor of Sol Invictus, the “Unconquered Son,” he
also struck coins with clearly Christian motifs. This copper coin, one of the first to be issued at
Constantinople, 327, portrays an army standard bearing three dots, representing the equality of the
Christian Trinity, and topped by a Christogram, the monogram of Christ. The base of the standard
pierces a serpent, which represents heresy. The legend reads “Public Hope.”

In 324 Constantine defeated Licinius and gained control of the entire Roman Empire. At the
same time, he became responsible for refereeing the many quarrels regarding church authority,
church practices, and church teachings that had arisen among competing Christian factions.
The most serious theological issue related to the teachings of the priest Arius of Alexandria,
who taught that Christ the son was of a different substance from and not co-eternal with

479
480 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE LATE ROMAN EMPIRE (192-337)

God the Father. Other Christians taught that Christ and God were made of the same sub-
stance and were co-eternal, that is, had existed together since the beginning of time. In an
attempt to force unity on the Christians, Constantine first naively suggested that the dispute
was of little significance and that the disputants should simply make up. Finally realizing how
serious the matter was, in 325 Constantine summoned an ecumenical (that is, worldwide)
council of Christian bishops from both within and outside the Roman Empire to meet at the
city of Nicaea in northwestern Anatolia. Around 318 of approximately 1,800 bishops, mostly
from the eastern provinces, attended and were required to remain until they had reached an
agreement. The resulting “Nicene Creed" condemned Arianism and became a Christian state-
ment of belief that is still used in most Christian churches. The council also issued other
regulations that mark the beginning of Christian “canon law," such as establishing a standard
date for Easter and a model for Christian administration based on the administration of
Roman provinces. Constantine's initiative began the process of placing the Roman emperor,
in effect, at the head of the Christian church, and thus, paradoxically, in the process of gain-
ing imperial favor, the Christian church lost control of its own destiny. In his “Life of Con-
stantine,” the historian Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, provided his version of the events
surrounding the Council of Nicaea. Eusebius, a confidant of Constantine, had access to many
official documents that are not preserved by any other author.

Source: Arthur Cushman McGiffert, trans., Eusebius Pamphilius: Church History, Life of Constantine, Oration in Praise of
Constantine (New York: Christian Literature Publishing, 1890).

The emperor, like a powerful herald of God, ad- originating in the first instance in the Alexandrian
dressed himself by his own letter to all the provinces, church, and overspread the whole of Egypt and Libya.
at the same time warning his subjects against super- Eventually it extended its ravages to the other prov-
stitious error and encouraging them in the pursuit of | inces and cities of the empire, so that not only the
true godliness. But in the midst of his joyful antici- prelates of the churches might be seen encountering
pations of the success of this measure, he received — each other in the strife of words, but the people
tidings of a most serious disturbance that had in- — themselves were completely divided, some adhering
vaded the peace of the church. This intelligence he __to one faction and others to another. So notorious did
heard with deep concern, and at once he endeavored __ the scandal of these proceedings become, that the
to devise a remedy for the evil. The origin of this sacred matters of inspired teaching were exposed to
disturbance may be thus described. The people of _ the most shameful ridicule in the very theaters of the
God were in a truly flourishing state. No terrorfrom unbelievers.
without assailed them, but a bright and most pro- As soon as the emperor was informed, he forth-
found peace, through the favor of God, encompassed — with selected from the Christians in his train one
his church on every side. Meantime, however, the whom he well knew to be approved for the sobriety
spirit of envy at first crept in unperceived but soon and genuineness of his faith and sent him to negotiate
reveled in the midst of the assemblies of the saints. At peace between the dissentient parties at Alexandria.
length it reached the bishops themselves, and arrayed —_He also made him the bearer of a most needful and
them in angry hostility against each other, on pre- appropriate letter to the original movers of the strife,
tense of a jealous regard for the doctrines of divine _ and this letter, as exhibiting a specimen of his watch-
truth. Hence it was that a mighty fire was kindled, ful care over God’s people, it may be well to
THE COUNCIL OF NICAEA (325 ce)
481

introduce into this our narrative of his life. Its pur- these differences, I find the cause to be of a truly
port was as follows: insignificant character, and quite unworthy of such
fierce contention. Feeling myself, therefore, com-
Victor Constantinus, Maximus Augustus, to Alexander pelled to address you in this letter and to appeal at
and Arius.'® I call God to witness that I had a two- the same time to your unanimity and sagacity, I in-
fold reason for undertaking the duty that I now have terrupt your dissension in the character of a minister
performed. My design was, first, to bring the di- of peace. For if I might expect to be able by a judi-
verse judgments formed by all nations respecting cious appeal to the pious feelings of those who
the deity to a condition of settled uniformity, and, heard me to recall them to a better spirit, even
secondly, to restore to health the system of the though the occasion of the disagreement were a
world, then suffering under the malignant power of greater one, how can I refrain from promising
a grievous distemper. I sought to accomplish the myself a far easier and more speedy adjustment of
one by the secret eye of thought and the other by the this difference, when the cause that hinders general
power of military authority. For I was aware that if harmony of sentiment is intrinsically trifling and of
I should succeed in establishing, according to my little moment?
hopes, a common harmony of sentiment among all I understand, then, that the origin of the present
the servants of God, the general course of affairs controversy is this. When you, Alexander, de-
also would experience a change correspondent to manded of the priests what opinion they maintained
the pious desires of them all. respecting a certain passage in the divine law, then
Finding, then, that the whole of Africa'®® was you, Arius, inconsiderately insisted on what ought
pervaded by an intolerable spirit of mad folly never to have been conceived at all. Hence it was
through the influence of those who with heedless that a dissension arose between you, fellowship was
frivolity had presumed to rend the religion of the withdrawn,'”° and the holy people, rent into diverse
people into diverse sects, I was anxious to check parties, no longer preserved the unity of the one
this disorder, and could discover no other remedy body. Now, therefore, do ye both exhibit an equal
equal to the occasion, except in sending some of degree of forbearance, and receive the advice that
yourselves to aid in restoring mutual harmony your fellow-servant'”! righteously gives. What then
among the disputants, after I had removed that is this advice? It was wrong in the first instance to
common enemy of mankind who had interposed his propose such questions as these. For those points of
lawless sentence for the prohibition of your holy discussion that are enjoined by the authority of no
synods.' As soon, therefore, as I had secured my law, but rather suggested by the contentious spirit
decisive victory and unquestionable triumph over that is fostered by misused leisure, even though
my enemies, my first enquiry was concerning that they may be intended merely as an intellectual exer-
object that I felt to be of paramount interest and cise, ought certainly to be confined to the region of
importance. our own thoughts, and not hastily produced in the
But, O glorious Providence of God! How deep a popular assemblies or unadvisedly entrusted to the
wound did not only my ears only but also my very general ear. For how very few are there able either
heart receive in the report that divisions existed accurately to comprehend, or adequately to explain
among yourselves more grievous still than those that subjects so sublime and abstruse in their nature? Or,
continued in your country. And yet, having made a granting that one were fully competent for this, how
careful enquiry into the origin and foundation of many people will he convince? Or, who, again, in
dealing with questions of such subtle nicety as
these can secure himself against a dangerous
'67 Alexander was bishop of Alexandria; Arius was one of
his priests. eee
'68 That is, Egypt and Libya. 10 That is, the dissenting parties excommunicated each
169 A reference to Licinius (308-324), who had prohibited other.
the holding of church councils. '71 Constantine himself.
482 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE LATE ROMAN EMPIRE (192-337)

declension from the truth? It is incumbent therefore of a bare command but the emperor’s good will con-
on us in these cases to be sparing of our words, lest, tributed much to its being carried into effect, for he
in case we ourselves are unable, through the feeble- allowed some the use of the public means of convey-
ness of our natural faculties, to give a clear explana- ance whereas he afforded to others an ample supply
tion of the subject before us, or, on the other hand, of horses for their transport.’ The place, too, se-
in case the slowness of our hearers’ understandings
lected for the synod, the city Nicaea, named from
disables them from arriving at an accurate appre-
“Victory,” in Bithynia!” was appropriate to the occa-
hension of what we say, from one or other of these
causes the people to be reduced to the alternative
sion. As soon as the imperial injunction was gener-
either of blasphemy or schism. ally made known, all'” with the utmost willingness
Let therefore both the unguarded question and hastened thither, for they were impelled by the an-
the inconsiderate answer receive your mutual for- ticipation of a happy result to the conference and the
giveness. For the cause of your difference has not desire of beholding something new and strange in
been any of the leading doctrines or precepts of the the person of so admirable an emperor. When they
divine law, nor has any new heresy respecting the were all assembled, it appeared evident that the pro-
worship of God arisen among you. You are in truth ceeding was the work of God, inasmuch as men who
of one and the same judgment: you may therefore
had been most widely separated, not merely in senti-
well join in communion and fellowship.
ment but also personally, and by difference of coun-
We are not all of us like-minded on every sub-
try, place, and nation, were here brought together and
ject, nor is there such a thing as one disposition and
judgment common to all alike. As far, then, as re- comprised within the walls of a single city.
gards the divine providence, let there be one faith, In effect, the most distinguished of God’s ministers
and one understanding among you, one united from all the churches that abounded in Europe,
judgment in reference to God. But as to your subtle Libya,'”° and Asia were here assembled. And a single
disputations on questions of little or no significance, house of prayer, as though divinely enlarged, sufficed
although you may be unable to harmonize in senti- to contain at once Syrians and Cilicians, Phoenicians
ment, such differences should be consigned to the and Arabians, delegates from Palestine, and others
secret custody of your own minds and thoughts.
from Egypt, Thebans and Libyans, with those who
And now, let the preciousness of common affection,
came from Mesopotamia. A Persian bishop too was
let faith in the truth, let the honor due to God and to
present at this conference, nor was even a Scythian!”
the observance of his law continue immovably
among you. Resume, then, your mutual feelings of found wanting to the number. Pontus, Galatia, and
friendship, love, and regard: restore to the people Pamphylia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Phrygia, fur-
their wonted embracing; and do ye yourselves, nished their most distinguished prelates, whereas
having purified your souls, as it were, once more those who dwelt in the remotest districts of Thrace
acknowledge one another. For it often happens that and Macedonia, of Achaea and Epirus, were not-
when a reconciliation is effected by the removal of withstanding in attendance. Even from Spain itself,
the causes of enmity, friendship becomes even
sweeter than it was before.
"° The government provided warrants so the bishops
Then as if to bring a divine array against this enemy, could use the public post system, which was used only for
he convoked a general council,'’? and invited the official business.
speedy attendance of bishops from all quarters, in ‘4 A province on the southwestern coast of the Black Sea.
letters expressive of the honorable estimation in Nicaea was not far from the imperial capital city at
Nicomedia.
which he held them. Nor was this merely the issuing
"® Actually, 318 of the approximately 1,800 Christian
bishops attended.
'? Clearly after his personal efforts at reconciliation had 6 That is, Africa.
failed. '7 & Gothic bishop from the Crimea.
 THE COUNCIL OF NICAEA (325 ce)
483

one whose fame was widely spread took his seat as him, and then sat down, and after him the whole as-
an individual in the great assembly.!”8 The prelate of sembly did the same.
the imperial city'” was prevented from attending by The bishop'*! who occupied the chief place in the
extreme old age, but his priests were present and took right division of the assembly then rose, and, ad-
his place. Constantine is the first prince of any age dressing the emperor, delivered a concise speech in a
who bound together such a garland as this with the strain of thanksgiving to Almighty God on his
bond of peace and presented it to his savior as a behalf. When he had resumed his seat, silence ensued
thank-offering for the victories he had obtained over and all regarded the emperor with fixed attention, on
every foe. For the maintenance of all ample provision which he looked serenely round on the assembly
was daily furnished by the emperor’s command. with a cheerful aspect, and, having collected his
When the appointed day arrived on which the thoughts, in a calm and gentle tone gave utterance to
council met each member was present in the central the following words:
building of the palace.'®° On each side of the interior
of this were many seats disposed in order, which It once was my chief desire, dearest friends, to enjoy
were occupied by those who had been invited to the spectacle of your united presence, and now that
attend according to their rank. As soon as the whole this desire is fulfilled, I feel myself bound to render
assembly had seated themselves a general silence thanks to God because he has permitted me to see
you all assembled together, united in a common har-
prevailed, in expectation of the emperor’s arrival.
mony of sentiment. I pray therefore that no malig-
First of all, three of his immediate family entered in
nant adversary may henceforth interfere to mar our
succession, then others also preceded his approach,
happy state. I pray that, now the impious hostility of
not the soldiers or guards who usually accompanied the tyrants'** has been forever removed, that spirit
him but only friends in the faith. And then, all rising who delights in evil may devise no other means for
at the signal that indicated the emperor’s entrance, at exposing the divine law to blasphemous calumny,
last he himself proceeded through the midst of the for, in my judgment, intestine strife within the
assembly, clothed in raiment that glittered as it were church of God, is far more evil and dangerous than
with rays of light, reflecting the glowing radiance of any kind of war or conflict, and these our differ-
a purple robe, and adorned with the brilliant splen- ences appear to me more grievous than any outward
dor of gold and precious stones. Such was the exter- trouble.'*? Accordingly, when, by the will of God, I
had been victorious over my enemies, I thought that
nal appearance of his person. With regard to his
nothing more remained but to sympathize in the joy
mind, he was distinguished by piety and godly fear
of those whom he had restored to freedom through
as was indicated by his downcast eyes, the blush on my instrumentality. As soon as I received the news
his countenance, and his gait. He surpassed all pre- of your dissension, I judged it to be of no secondary
sent in height of stature and beauty of form as well as importance. With the earnest desire that a remedy
in majestic dignity of mien and invincible strength for this evil also might be found through my means,
and vigor. As soon as he had advanced to the upper I immediately sent to require your presence. And
end of the seats, at first he remained standing, and now I rejoice in beholding your assembly, and I feel
when a low chair of wrought gold had been set for that my desires will be most completely fulfilled
him, he waited until the bishops had beckoned to
181 Rusebius of Caesarea, the author of this account.
182 Maxentius, Licinius, Maximinus Daia, and Constan-
‘8 Hosius, bishop of Cordova. Few westerners attended; tine’s other rivals for power. Defeated emperors
Hosius just happened to be there by chance. traditionally were stigmatized as “tyrants.”
_ 'The bishop of Rome Silvester (314-335), who declined '83 Emperors always were much more concerned about
to attend. internal trouble, from usurpers or other kinds of unrest,
180 The so-called “Senatus Palace,” actually a church. than about foreign attacks.
484 CRISIS, RECOVERY, AND THE CREATION OF THE LATE ROMAN EMPIRE (192-337)

when I can see you all united in one judgment, and By occasionally assisting the argument of each party
that common spirit of peace and concord prevailing in turn,'* he gradually disposed even the most vehe-
among you all. Delay not, then, ye ministers of God. ment disputants to a reconciliation. At the same
Begin from this moment to discard the causes of time, by the affability of his address to all and his
that disunion that has existed among you and use of the Greek language, with which he was not
remove the perplexities of controversy by embrac-
altogether unacquainted, he appeared in a truly at-
ing the principles of peace. For by such conduct you
tractive and amiable light, persuading some, con-
will at the same time be acting in a manner most
pleasing to the supreme God, and you will confer an vincing others by his reasoning, praising those who
exceeding favor on me, your fellow-servant. spoke well, and urging all to unity of sentiment, until
at last he succeeded in bringing them to one mind
As soon as the emperor had spoken these words in and judgment respecting every disputed question.
the Latin tongue, which another translated,'** he The result was that they not only were united as
gave permission to those who presided in the council concerning the faith,'*° but also that the time for the
to deliver their opinions. celebration of the salutary feast of Easter'*’ was
On this, some began to accuse their neighbors, agreed on by all. Those points also which were sanc-
who defended themselves and recriminated in their tioned by the resolution of the whole body were com-
turn. In this manner numberless assertions were put mitted to writing, and received the signature of each
forth by each party, and a violent controversy arose several member.'** Then the emperor, believing that
at the very commencement. Notwithstanding this, he had thus obtained a second victory over the adver-
the emperor gave patient audience to all alike and sary of the church, proceeded to solemnize a trium-
received every proposition with steadfast attention. phal festival in honor of God.

'SS That is, by participating directly in the theological

discussions.
'86 That is, the condemnation of Arianism.
'S” A major point of contention was the means by which
the date of Easter, which did not occur on the same day
each year, was calculated.
'*Tnto Greek, the language of most of the participants. '88Tn fact, two Libyan bishops refused to subscribe.
 CHAPTER 14
cSO>
The Christian Empire and the Late
Roman World (337-476)

The late Roman world looked very different from the Principate. The most significant
change was the evolution of Christianity into the primary religion of the Roman world. Even
though emperors continued to be confronted by religious controversy, by the end of the
fourth century, Christianity had prevailed and had become the only fully legal religion.
Christianity muscled its way into every nook and cranny of the Roman world, and Christian
culture became inextricably intertwined with virtually every aspect of Roman society, cul-
ture, and politics. At the same time, other trends led to a continued breakdown of the care-
fully constructed unity of the Principate. One of the greatest changes was the arrival and
settlement of various barbarian peoples, who by the 480s had established independent king-
doms in the western half of the Roman Empire.

485
486 THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE AND THE LATE ROMAN WORLD (337-476)

] Prefecture of Illyricum
Prefecture of the East
s&s Prefecture of Italy
Prefecture of Gaul 0
D. = DIOCESE a
0 250500 Km

Map [4 The Divided Empire as of 395 ce

 110
COQ

THE IMPERIAL OPPRESSION OF

PAGANS, JEWS, AND HERETICS:
THEODOSIAN CODE (437 ce);
CODE OF JUSTINIAN (534 ce)

A portrait bust, now in the Louvre Museum in Paris, depicts the emperor Theodosius Ii (402-450),
viho in 437 issued the Theodosian Code, 2 compilation of ail the significant Roman laws going back to
the tane of Constantine. kt provides 2 wealth of information about Roman administration and society
and the economy and gives us insight into what the emperors thought were some of the most
important issues costronting them.

During the late Roman Empire, emperors issued thousands of constitutions (a generic word
for laws) of various types, including edicts (laws addressed to the entire empire, akin to leg-
islation of the U.S. Congress); mandates (instructions to imperial officials, akin to the “Execu-
tive Orders” of the US. president); decrees (the emperors’ decisions in courts cases, akin to
decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court); and rescripts (replies to petitions addressed to the
emperor, which have no modern equivalent). There was no standard method for archiving
and accessing all this legislation, and it quickly became unmanageable in 429 c the eastern
emperor Theodosius I) (402-450) undertook 4 massive project to codify all imperial
488 THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE AND THE LATE ROMAN WORLD (337-476)

legislation going back to the reign of Constantine | (306-337), the first Christian emperor.
Imperial constitutions dating from 18 January 313 to 16 March 437 were collected from both
central and provincial archives and edited by an imperial commission of officials and legal
experts in Constantinople. The final compilation of more than 2,500 entries (some constitu-
tions were subdivided into multiple entries), organized into sixteen books, was issued in the
eastern empire in November 437, on the occasion of the marriage of the young emperor
Valentinian Ill (425-455) to Theodosius's daughter Licinia Eudoxia (see Reading 117). In this
legislation, the full weight of government authority was brought to bear against persons
who did not subscribe to what the government deemed to be Orthodox (or Catholic) Chris-
tian beliefs, that is, beliefs that at some point had been agreed on at an imperial-sponsored
church council, such as that at Nicaea in 325 ce (see Reading 109). Hundreds of laws pre-
served not only in the Theodosian Code but also in the Code ofJustinian, issued in ten books
under the emperor Justinian (527-565) in 534, supported Orthodox Christians and disadvan-
taged everyone else, including pagans, Jews, and, in particular, Christian heretics (Christians
with non-Orthodox beliefs) and schismatics (Christians who did not recognize the authority
of government-supported Christian authorities). The penalties against heretics, schismatics,
Jews, and pagans included the imposition of “infamia” ("infamy"), which brought loss of
social rank, the inability to act or appear for someone else at law (such as, to serve as a
guardian or a witness), the inability to make or receive testamentary bequests, and the ina-
bility to initiate a civil case. Other penalties were dependent on one's social status: persons
of “more humble" status could suffer corporeal punishment, whereas “more distinguished"
people had to pay a fine. In both law codes, the topic of religion was allocated an entire
book, subdivided into sections with multiple entries on the same topic, attesting to the sig-
nificant place that Christianity had assumed in the life of the empire. For each constitution
cited below, its date and place of issue, where known, also are given.

Sources: J. C. Ayer, ed., A Source Book for Ancient Church History (New York: Scribner, 1913); Oliver J. Thatcher, ed., The
Library of Original Sources, Vol. 1V, The Early Medieval World (Milwaukee: University Research Extension, 1907).

Theodosian Code, Book 2, Section 1,

“On Jurisdiction, and Where It Is Fitting
for Anyone to Assemble”
(1) THEODOSIAN CODE, BOOK 2, SECTION 1, ENTRY 10
(CONSTANTINOPLE: 11 FEBRUARY 398)

Even though imperial legislation generally penalized non-Orthodox Christians, Jews were
permitted to continue to practice their ancestral religion so long as doing so did not conflict
with the administration of Roman law.
THE IMPERIAL OPPRESSION OF PAGANS, JEWS, AND HERETICS
489

The Imperators' Arcadius and Honorius? Augustuses deem it necessary to litigate before the Jews or the
to Eutychianus, Praetorian Prefect.2 Jews who are patriarchs? through mutual agreement, in the manner
living under Roman common law shall attend the of arbitration with the consent of both parties, at
courts in the usual way in those cases that do not least in civil matters, they shall not be prohibited by
concern so much their superstition* as court, laws, public law from accepting their verdict, the gover-
and rights, and all of them shall bring actions and nors of the provinces shall even execute their sen-
defend themselves under the Roman laws. In sum, tences as if they were appointed arbiters through the
they shall be under our laws. Certainly, if some shall award of a judge.

Theodosian Code, Book 9, Section 9,

“On Evil Doers and Astrologers and Other
Similar Persons”
(2) THEODOSIAN CODE, BOOK 9, SECTION 16, ENTRY 2 (15 MAY 319)

The prohibition of private pagan sacrifices; public sacrifices still were allowed.

The Imperator Constantine Augustus to the people. them if they disobey the law.’ But those of you who
Haruspices* and priests and those accustomed to min- choose to participate may approach public altars and
ister in their rite we forbid to enter any private house, shrines and celebrate the solemnities of your custom,
or under the pretence of friendship to cross the thresh- for we do not indeed prohibit the duties of the old
old of another, under the penalty established against usurpation to be performed in broad daylight.

Source: Ayer, 386.

'The ancient Roman Republican title given to victorious

army generals; it remained part of the titulature of
Roman emperors.
? The sons of the emperor Theodosius I (379-395), with
Arcadius holding office in the eastern part of the empire
from 395 to 408 and Honorius in the west from 395 until 423.
+The Praetorian Prefect was the highest-ranking official
in the empire after the emperor and was the emperor’s
chief executive officer. Thus, much imperial legislation
was addressed to the Praetorian Prefects, who then were > Jewish leaders recognized by the Roman government.
expected to put it into effect. ° Priests who read signs in the entrails of sacrificial ani-
4 Any form of religion that was not Orthodox Christianity mals, usually sheep.
was conventionally referred to by the government as a 7For Roman concern about the performance of prohibited
“superstition.” religious rites, see also Reading 79.
490 THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE AND THE LATE ROMAN WORLD (337-476)

Theodosian Code, Book 11, Section 7,

“On Taxation”
(3) THEODOSIAN CODE, BOOK 11, SECTION 7, ENTRY 13 (AQUILEIA:
3 NOVEMBER 386)

The conducting of business and legal cases is prohibited on Sunday.

The Imperators Gratian,® Valentinian,’ and Theodo- disputes by any judges, either those required to serve
sius Augustuses to Principius, Praetorian Prefect. by law or those voluntarily chosen by disputants.
Let the course of all law suits and all business cease And he is to be held not only infamous" but sacrile-
on Sunday, which our fathers rightly have called the gious who has turned away from the service and ob-
Lord’s day, and let no one try to collect either a public servance of holy religion on that day.
or a private debt, and let there be no hearing of

Source: Thatcher, 69-71.

Theodosian Code, Section 15.5,

“On Public Spectacles”
(4) THEODOSIAN CODE, BOOK 15, SECTION 5, ENTRY 5
(CONSTANTINOPLE: 1 FEBRUARY 425)

The celebration of Christian festivals is not to be inhibited by the holding of public shows or
spectacles or by the performance of Jewish or pagan rituals.

The Imperators Theodosius Augustus and Valentin- Christmas,” and on the days of Epiphany,'? Easter,'4
ian Caesar"! to Asclepiodotus, Praetorian Prefect. On and Pentecost,'° inasmuch as then the garments!®
the Lord’s day, which is the first day of the week, on
A Christian festival celebrated in the modern day on
25 December in the Gregorian calendar, used by the
Roman Catholic, Protestant, and some Orthodox churches,
’The son of Valentinian (364-375) and emperor in the which translates to 7 January in the Julian calendar, used
western empire from 375 until 383. by the Russian and some other Orthodox churches.
* Valentinian II (375-392), younger brother of Gratian. '’ A Christian festival celebrated on 6 January in the
The legal status of “infamia” (“infamy”) encompassed Gregorian calendar which translates to 19 January in the
legal restrictions, such as the inability to make contracts Julian calendar.
or bequeath property. '* A Christian festival of varying date celebrated in
'' The emperor Valentinian III (425-455), who was ap- March or April.
pointed briefly to the rank of Caesar in 424 before being '° A Christian festival celebrated seven weeks after Easter.
promoted to Augustus in 425. '© The white garb of Christians.
 THE IMPERIAL OPPRESSION OF PAGANS, J EWS, AND HERETICS
491

symbolizing the light of heavenly cleansing bear wit- prayer and another for pleasure. And lest anyone
ness to the new light of holy baptism, and at the time should think he is compelled by the honor of Our
also of the suffering of the apostles, the example, for Godliness” as if by a certain greater necessity of im-
all Christians, the pleasures of the theaters and perial ceremony, or that, unless he attempted to hold
games are to be kept from the people in all cities, and the games in contempt of the religious prohibition,
all the thoughts of Christians and believers are to be he might offend Our Serenity in showing less than
occupied with the worship of God. And if any are the usual devotion toward us,'® let no one doubt that
kept from that worship through the madness of our clemency is revered in the highest degree by hu-
Jewish impiety or the error and insanity of foolish mankind when the worship of the whole world is
paganism, let them know that there is one time for paid to the might and goodness of God.

Theodosian Code, Section 16.1, “On the

Catholic Faith”
Book 16 of the Theodosian code dealt with matters of religion, and it covered in great detail
the relative statuses of orthodox Christians, heretical and schismatic Christians, Jews, and
pagans. Late Roman emperors took responsibility for ensuring the predominance of Ortho-
dox Christianity, so the first section of the book contained four rulings relating to how Or-
thodox belief was to be established. Methods for establishing a person's orthodox status
ranged from accepting a permitted statement of faith to being in communion with a senior
prelate whose orthodoxy was recognized by the government.

(5) THEODOSIAN CODE, BOOK 16, SECTION 1, ENTRY 2

(THESSALONICA”: 27 FEBRUARY 380)

One of the means of establishing orthodoxy was to be in communion with persons of proven
orthodoxy. In this case, the bishops of Rome and Alexandria are declared to be the touch-
stones through which the orthodoxy of others can be tested.

The Imperators Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodosius of religion, a religion that, having penetrated all the
Augustuses to the people of the city of Constantino- way to the present through him?°, declares that the
ple. We desire that all the peoples whom the modera- divine Peter the Apostle’ transmitted it to the Romans,
tion of our clemency rules should abide in this type a religion that, it is clear, the pontiff Damasus”

The emperors, who referred to themselves by a variety '9 Modern Salonica, on the northeastern coast of Greece.
of titles manifesting personal qualities. 0 That is, the apostle Peter.
'8 Customarily, celebrations in honor of the emperors *1 One of the disciples of Jesus Christ (see Reading 91);
were held throughout the year, and individuals and offi- in later church tradition, Peter was the first bishop
cials could be concerned about appearing to be disre- of Rome.
spectful if they did not perform these celebrations. 2 Bishop of Rome from 366 until 384.
492 THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE AND THE LATE ROMAN WORLD (337-476)

follows along with Peter, bishop of Alexandria,” a and judging that others are demented and insane, we
man of apostolic sanctity, that is, that we should be- order that they endure the infamy of their heretical
lieve, according to the apostolic teaching and the belief, nor can their gatherings be called churches,
doctrine of the gospel, in the single deity of the having been punished first of all by divine vengeance
father, Son, and Holy Spirit, in equal majesty and and subsequently even by the revenge of our initia-
under the devout Trinity. We order those following tive, which we will have undertaken through celes-
this law to embrace the name of catholic Christians, tial authority.

(6) THEODOSIAN CODE, BOOK 16, SECTION 1, ENTRY 3

(HERACLEA”: 30 JULY 381)

The churches of those declared to be heretics are to be confiscated. Orthodox Christians are
declared to be those who are in communion with the bishops listed here. As was the secular
world, the ecclesiastical world was very status conscious. Thus, the bishops of Constantino-
ple and Alexandria, who had the rank of “patriarch,” were listed first.

The Imperators Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodosius, bishop of Iconium, and Optimus, bishop of Antioch;
Augustuses, to Auxonius, Proconsul of Asia. We in the diocese of Pontus,?’ who are in communion
command that all churches be forthwith delivered up with Helladius, bishop of Caesarea, and Otreius,
to the bishops who confess the Father, the Son, and bishop of Melitina, and Gregory, bishop of Nyssa,
the Holy Spirit to be of one majesty and power, of the Terennius, bishop of Scythia, and Marmarius, bishop
same glory and of one splendor, making no distinc- of Marcianopolis. Those who are of the communion
tion by any profane division, but rather harmony by and fellowship of approved priests ought to be per-
the assertion of the Trinity of the persons and the mitted to possess the catholic churches, but all who
unity of the godhead, to the bishops who are associ- dissent from the communion of the faith of those
ated in communion with Nectarius, bishop of the whom the special list has named ought to be expelled
church of Constantinople, and with Timotheus in from the churches as manifest heretics, and no op-
Egypt, bishop of the city of Alexandria; in the parts portunity whatsoever ought to be allowed them
of the Orient,?> who are in communion with Pela- henceforth of obtaining episcopal churches that the
gius, bishop of Laodicaea and Diodorus, bishop of priestly orders of the true and Nicene faith*® may
Tarsus; in Proconsular Asia and in the diocese of remain pure and no place be given to evil cunning,
Asiana,”° who are in communion with Amphilochius, according to the evident form of our precept.

Source: Ayer, 351.

3 Bishop of Alexandria from 373 until 381. *6 A diocese that included the provinces of southwestern
*4On the Black Sea coast east of Constantinople. Anatolia.
°5 The imperial diocese that included the easternmost *7 & diocese that included the provinces of northwestern
provinces of the empire plus a few provinces in south- Anatolia.
eastern Anatolia. *8 That is, based on the Creed of Nicaea, issued in 325 cE.
THE IMPERIAL OPPRESSION OF PAGANS, JEWS, AND HERETICS 493

(7) THEODOSIAN CODE, BOOK 16, SECTION 1, ENTRY 4 (MILAN: 23

JANUARY 386)

Many barbarian soldiers in the Roman army were “homoians," following the Creed of Rimini,
issued in 359 ce, which declared that “the Son was like (‘homoios') the Father according to
scripture," as opposed to the Creed of Nicaea of 325, which stated that the Son and Father
were of the same substance. In the modern day, this divergence from the orthodox Nicene
belief has resulted in the followers of the Creed of Rimini wrongly being labelled “Arians.”
The Roman government may have legitimated this divergence because of the need to con-
ciliate its barbarian soldiers.

The Imperators Valentinian, Theodosius, and Arca- that whoever thinks that so much of an opportunity
dius Augustuses to Eusignius, Praetorian Prefect. of gathering has been granted only to them, if they
We grant a full right of gathering to those who be- think that anything disruptive should be done against
lieve according to those things that during the times the precept of Our Tranquility, that as the authors of
of Constantius”? of blessed memory were decreed, to sedition and the disturbed peace of the church and
remain valid for eternity, at the Council of Rimini even of treason, they are going to suffer punishments
and indeed were confirmed at Constantinople.*° of capital punishment and bloodshed, with no lesser
Indeed, we command that the opportunity of assem- punishment awaiting those who attempt anything se-
bling shall be open to them. They are to know this, cretly or surreptitiously against this our disposition.

Theodosian Code, Book 16, Section 2,

“On Bishops, Churches, and Clerics”
The forty-seven entries contained in the second section of Book 16 dealt with church clergy
and practices.

(8) THEODOSIAN CODE, BOOK 16, SECTION 2, ENTRY 3

(20 OCTOBER 319)

Beginning with the emperor Constantine, Christian clergy gained many privileges, such as, in
this ruling, exemption from the performance of public services.

29 A son and successor of Constantine I, Constantius II

(337-361 ce) had preferred the homoian interpretation of
the relationship between the Father and Son.
30 A confirmation of the Creed of Rimini in 360 CE.
 494 THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE AND THE LATE ROMAN WORLD (337-476)

The Imperator Constantine Augustus to Octavianus, excused from public obligations, so that they may not
Corrector! of Lucania and Bruttium.*? Those who be called away from divine services by the sacrile-
engage in divine worship through the ministry of reli- gious malice of certain persons.
gion, that is, those who are called clergy, are altogether

(9) THEODOSIAN CODE, BOOK 16, SECTION 2, ENTRY 5 (25 MAY 323)

Christians are not to be forced to perform pagan rituals.

The Imperator Constantine Augustus to Helpidius. sacred law*4 ought to be compelled to take part in the
Because we have heard that ecclesiastics and others _ rites of a strange superstition, let him, if his condi-
belonging to the catholic religion are compelled by tion permits,* be beaten with staves, but if his rank
men of different religions to celebrate the sacrifices exempts him from such rigor, let him bear the most
of the lustrum,* we, by this decree, do ordain that if severe condemnation, which will confiscate his
anyone believes that those who observe the most __ property to the treasury.

Source: Ayer, 384.

Theodosian Code, Book 16, Section 5,

“On Heretics”
As the enforcers of Christian orthodoxy, the emperors saw it as their duty to repress
non-Orthodox beliefs by a series of increasingly detailed and restrictive measures, as illus-
trated by the sixty-six entries in this section.

(10) THEODOSIAN CODE, BOOK 16, SECTION 5, ENTRY 1

(GERASTUM*: 1 SEPTEMBER 326)

Privileges granted to Christians are only for Orthodox Christians, not for heretics and
schismatics.

** The Christian religion.

Bees Peres = ie ** Persons of “more humble” status suffered corporeal
31 The type of provincial governor found only in Italy. punishment, whereas those of “more distinguished”
* Provinces of southern Italy. status generally paid fines.
°° A purification ceremony. 3©In Greece.
 THE IMPERIAL OPPRESSION OF PAGANS, JEWS, AND HERETIC
S 495

Imperator Constantine Augustus to Dracilianus. It is and schismatics not only are to be denied these privi-
proper that privileges that have been granted in con- leges but even are to be bound by and subjected to
sideration of religion ought to profit only the adher- diverse public duties.
ents of catholic law. We desire, moreover, that heretics

(11) THEODOSIAN CODE, BOOK 16, SECTION 5, ENTRY 2

(SPOLETO: 25 SEPTEMBER 326)

At the end of the Decian Persecution in 251 ce, a schism arose in the church of Rome when
two rival candidates, the learned Novatian, who opposed the readmission of lapsed Christians
into the church, and Cornelius, who had a more moderate policy, both were consecrated as
bishops of Rome. Although Cornelius soon prevailed, a separate, more hard-line Novatian
church persisted into the fifth century. Because it had no non-Orthodox theological beliefs,
the emperors generally tolerated its existence.

Imperator Constantine Augustus to Bassus. We have those properties, that is, that they have possessed for
learned that up until now the Novatians have not an extensive period or by purchase or that they lay
been condemned in such a way that we believe that claim to for any reason. Clearly it must be seen to lest
they should not be granted those things that they they attempt to usurp for themselves anything from
seek. Therefore, we command that they can reso- those things that belonged to the churches of per-
lutely possess the buildings of their church and petual sanctity*’ prior to the schism.
places suitable for burials without any interference,

(12) THEODOSIAN CODE, BOOK 16, SECTION 5, ENTRY 3

(TRIER: 2 MARCH 372)

The Manichaeans, a dualistic sect descended from Persian Zoroastrians (see Reading 44),
were the most persecuted of all the Christian heresies.

The Imperators Valentinian and Valens Augustuses having been segregated from the company of people
to Ampelius, Prefect of the City.** Whenever an as- as being dishonored® and shameful, indubitably let
sembly or a crowd of Manichaeans is discovered, their houses and habitations, in which this profane
with their teachers having been punished with a belief is taught, be confiscated by the forces of the
heavy assessment and with those too, who assembled, treasury.

37 That is, to churches that the emperors considered to be

fully Orthodox.
38 Rome. »° That is, to suffer “infamy.”
 THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE AND THE LATE ROMAN WORLD (337-476)
496

(13) THEODOSIAN CODE, BOOK 16, SECTION 5, ENTRY 11

(CONSTANTINOPLE: 25 JULY 383)

The emperors not uncommonly issued catalogs of heresies, all of which had inflicted on them
the same kinds of legal disabilities and penalties.

The Imperators Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodosius to themselves, nor shall they present private houses
Augustuses to Postumianus, Praetorian Prefect. All in the guise of churches. They shall carry out noth-
those altogether, whomever the error of diverse here- ing publicly or privately that could possibly obstruct
sies disquiets, that is, the Eunomians, the Arians, the catholic sanctity. And if anyone appears who so ob-
Macedonians, the Pneumatomachi, the Manichaeans, viously surpasses forbidden things, with the oppor-
the Encratites, the Apotactitae, the Saccofori, the tunity permitted to all whom the beauty and worship
Hydroparastatae, shall come together in no assem- of proper observance delights, let him be exiled by
blies, shall gather no multitude, shall draw no people means of a shared feeling of all the good people.

(14) THEODOSIAN CODE, BOOK 16, SECTION 5, ENTRY 40

(ROME: 22 FEBRUARY 407)

As time went on, the penalties against heretics became more numerous and more specific.
This ruling was particularly directed against the Manichaeans, along with two other heresies
that were thought to share many of their practices.

The Imperators Arcadius, Honorius, and Theodo- as the order is in succession to goods.* Finally, it
sius*? Augustuses to Senator, Prefect of the City.*! shall be so that we allow to them the right to receive
What we have thought concerning the Donatists* we the goods only if they themselves are not in the same
recently have set forth. Especially do we pursue, way polluted by the same belief. And it is our will
with well-merited severity, the Manichaeans, the that they be deprived of every grant or succession
Phrygians, and the Priscillianists. Therefore, there is from whatever title derived. In addition, we do not
nothing in custom, nothing in laws that is common leave to anyone convicted of this crime the right of
for these kinds of people. And first we declare that giving, buying, selling, or finally of making a con-
their crime is against the state, because what is com- tract. The investigation shall continue until death.
mitted against the divine religion is held to be an For if in the case of the crime of treason it is lawful
injury of all. And we will take vengeance upon them to attack the memory of the deceased, not without
by the confiscation of their goods, which, however, desert ought this one to endure judgment.
we command shall fall to whomsoever is nearest of Therefore let his last will and testament be inva-
their kindred, in ascending or descending lines or lid, whether he leave property by testament, codicil,
cognates of collateral branches to the second degree, epistle, or by any sort of will, if ever he has been
convicted of being a Manichaean, Phrygian, or
Priscillianist, and in this case the same order is to
40 Theodosius IT (402—450 ce).
“| Rome.
#2 A schismatic African sect that was heavily persecuted “’ That is, according to standard Roman legal procedures
by the western government. relating to inheritances.
THE IMPERIAL OPPRESSION OF PAGANS, JEWS, AND HERETICS 497

be followed as in the grades above stated, and we do with a lead-weighted whip, be sent to labor in the
not permit sons to succeed as heirs unless they for- mines. The tenant, if he is of sufficient status, will be
sake the paternal depravity, for we grant forgiveness deported. If the governors of provinces by fraud or
of the offence to those repenting. We will that slaves favor defer what has been reported or fail to carry
be without harm if, rejecting their sacrilegious out the sentences, let them know that they will be
master, they pass over to the catholic church by a inflicted by a fine of twenty pounds of gold.* A pen-
more faithful service. The property on which a con- alty of ten pounds of gold also will constrain the de-
gregation of men of this sort assembled, with the fenders*® and principals’ of individual cities, and
owner knowing but not prohibiting, even if not impli- also the provincial office staffs unless they provide
cated in participation in the crime, is to be confiscated the most sagacious care and the most skillful labor in
to our patrimony.** If the owner was ignorant, let the pursuing those matters that were commanded by the
agent or steward of the property, having been scourged governors regarding this law.

(15) THEODOSIAN CODE, BOOK 16, SECTION 5, ENTRY 59

(CONSTANTINOPLE: 9 APRIL 423)

Because the government lacked effective means of enforcement, Roman laws against here-
tics in particular, and all Roman laws in general, tended not to be obeyed. As a consequence,
laws often were reissued and repeated many times over, as in this ruling that merely reiter-
ates previous antiheretic legislation.

The Imperators Honorius and Theodosius Augustuses heretics know that by this constitution too all things
to Asclepiodotus, Praetorian Prefect. After other mat- are denied to them that the authority of general legisla-
ters. Let the Manichaeans and Phrygians, who, by a tion prohibits to them. Those persons who attempt to
more disguised word are called Pepyzites or Priscil- go against the interdicts of general constitutions must
lianists, the Arians likewise, the Macedonians and be punished.
Eunomians, the Novatians and Sabbatiani, and other

(16) THEODOSIAN CODE, BOOK 16, SECTION 5, ENTRY 65

(CONSTANTINOPLE: 30 MAY 428)

The longest and most exhaustive list of heresies, accompanied by lists of penalties, came in
428, when the last of the reiterated condemnations of heresy contained in the Theodosian
Code was issued. It is primarily eastern; only three groups cited here, the Priscillianists,

46 The “Defender of the City” was an imperial official

44The branch of the imperial treasury that oversaw the whose responsibility was to protect local inhabitants
personal property of the emperor. from oppression by city council members, but because
45 Bxtreme fines such as this—twenty pounds of gold the Defenders often were members of the city council,
the practice was not always effective.
amounted to 1,440 gold solidi, about 480 years’ wages
for an ordinary worker—would seem to have been 47 The “principals” were the highest ranking and most
influential members of the city council.
intended primarily as deterrents.
 THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE AND THE LATE ROMAN WORLD (337-476)
498

Donatists, and Novatians, originated in the west. Other western groups that in the past had
received imperial condemnation, such as the Pelagians, however, are omitted.

The Imperators Theodosius and Valentinian** are to have the opportunity for gathering and praying—
Augustuses to Florentius, Praetorian Prefect. The in- indeed, the Manichaeans are to be expelled from
sanity of heretics must be repressed to such an extent cities—because no place must be left to all of these
that there is no doubt that, before everything, the in which injury could occur to the fundamental prin-
churches they hold everywhere that have been taken ciples”! themselves.
from orthodox believers must be surrendered imme- No official office is permitted to them at all
diately to the catholic church, because it cannot be beyond that of a clerk in provincial offices or mili-
tolerated that those who do not deserve to have their tary service, with the right granted to no one, in
own property should any longer maintain possession turn, of making a donation, to no one at all of a final
of properties that were possessed or established by testament or will, and with all the laws that were
orthodox believers and were occupied by their te- once issued and promulgated at diverse times against
merity. Next, if they recruit to themselves other cler- these and others who oppose our faith to remain
ics or, as they style themselves, bishops, let a fine of valid with enthusiastic observance, whether re-
ten pounds of gold be wrested away to our treasury garding donations made to the churches of heretics,
for each violation from the one who did this or who or regarding property of any kind bequeathed in a
allowed it to be done, or, if they claim poverty, from last will, or regarding private buildings, in which
the common body of the clerics of the same supersti- they meet with the permission or connivance of the
tion or even from the sanctuaries themselves. owner, being surrendered to the catholic church, re-
In addition, because not all of them should be af- vered by us, or regarding a procurator,** who did this
flicted with the same harshness, it is permitted to the without the knowledge of the owner, suffering a fine
Arians certainly, and the Macedonians and Apolli- of ten pounds of gold or exile, if he is freeborn, or the
narians, whose crime is this, that, having been de- mines after a whipping if he was of servile status,
ceived by harmful contemplation they believe lies thus so that they should dare to contemplate neither
about the fountain of truth, to have a church within meeting in a public place nor building churches for
no city; to the Novatians” and Sabbatians, however, all themselves nor regarding any overreaching of the
freedom of new construction is removed, if per- laws. They must be prohibited from receiving civil
chance they might attempt this. The Eunomians, truly, and military assistance, from city councils and even
the Valentinians, the Montanists or Priscillianists, the from defenders and governors, under threat of a fine
Phrygians, the Marcianists, the Borborians, the of twenty pounds of gold.
Messalians, the Euchitae or Enthusiastae, the Donatists, Indeed, with all of these regulations remaining
the Audians, the Hydroparastatae, the Tascodrogitae, in their firmness, which have been promulgated
the Photinians, the Paulians, the Marcellians, and those about diverse heretics regarding official position
who have come all the way to the lowest wickedness and the right of donating property and the making
of crimes, the Manichaeans, nowhere on Roman soil of a will, which are completely denied or barely

“8 Theodosius II (402-450), emperor in the east, and 5! That is, Orthodox beliefs.
Valentinian Il (425-455), emperor in the west. ** The emperors were so desperate for soldiers that even
° As above, the Novatians, now joined by the Sabbatians, heretics were permitted to enlist.
as schismatics rather than heretics, receive the most le- *’ Another indication that the laws were not being obeyed.
nient treatment. **The manager of the property; much property was held
°° That is, they were permitted to keep existing churches. by absentee landlords.
THE IMPERIAL OPPRESSION OF PAGANS, JEWS, AND HERETICS 499

conceded only to certain persons, in this manner, anyone does this, or, because he is freeborn, allowed
no special exception received against the laws shall this to be done to himself or did not avoid it being
be valid. done, he will be condemned to exile and a fine of ten
To no heretic must be given the freedom of con- pounds of gold, with the freedom of making a will
ducting to his own baptism either freeborn persons and a donation denied to each one.
or his own slaves who have been initiated into the We command that all these rulings are to be en-
mysteries of orthodox believers, nor indeed those forced thus, so that it is permitted to no judge to
whom they, prohibited from following the religion of order for an accusation placed before him a lesser or
the catholic church, acquired or in some manner no punishment, unless he wishes to suffer that which
have not yet associated with their superstition. But if he conceded to others by his dissimulation.

Theodosian Code, Book 1, Section 10:

“On Pagans, Sacrifices, and Temples”
Another section of Book 16 was devoted to dealing with, and suppressing, pagan practices.
During the course of the fourth century the opportunity to engage in pagan ceremonies was
increasingly restricted.

(17) THEODOSIAN CODE, BOOK 16, SECTION 10,

ENTRY 4 (1 DECEMBER 346)

Pagan temples are closed and pagan sacrifices are forbidden; violators are punished.

The Imperators Constantius and Constans” sacrifices; that if anyone should commit any such
Augustuses to Taurus, Praetorian Prefect. It is our act, let him fall before the vengeance of the sword.
Their goods, we decree, shall be taken away en-
pleasure that in all places and in all cities the tem-
ples be henceforth closed, and access having been tirely and recovered to the fisc,*° and likewise rec-
forbidden to all, freedom to sin be denied to the tors of provinces are to be punished if they neglect
wicked. We command that all abstain from to punish for these crimes.

Source: Ayer, 323.

55 Constans succeeded his father Constantine I in 337 and

ruled until 350.
56 The imperial treasury.
500 THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE AND THE LATE ROMAN WORLD (337-476)

(18) THEODOSIAN CODE, BOOK 16, SECTION 10, ENTRY 12

(CONSTANTINOPLE: 8 NOVEMBER 392)

This constitution often is seen as the definitive ruling prohibiting pagan practices and making
Christianity into the only fully legal Roman religion. The prohibitions cited here may be com-
pared with the prohibitions against the Bacchanalians cited in Reading 79.

The Imperators Theodosius, Arcadius, and Honorius nevertheless with a great injury to religion,” he, just
Augustuses to Rufinus, Praetorian Prefect. No one at like one guilty of a religious violation, will be fined by
all of whatever sort or rank of people or offices, the house or property in which it is established that he
either serving in office or retired with honor, whether was a servant to pagan superstition. For we command
empowered by circumstances of birth or humble in that all places that are proven to have smoked with the
nature, condition, and fortune, shall in any place or vapor of incense, if moreover they are proven to be the
in any city sacrifice an innocent victim, or, on behalf lawful possessions of those burning the incense, are to
of images lacking sense, in a more hidden shrine, be confiscated to our treasury.
having venerated the Lar with fire, the Genius with But if in temples or public sanctuaries or in build-
wine, or the Penates*’ with smoke, kindle lights, ings and fields belonging to another anyone should
place incense or suspend garlands. venture to carry out this sort of sacrifice, if it should be
If anyone, about to sacrifice, dares to burn an of- established that the unlawful acts were performed with
fering, or to consult the smoking entrails, let him, as the owner being ignorant, let him be compelled to pay
guilty of treason, receive the appropriate sentence, twenty-five pounds of gold in the form of a fine, and let
having been accused by a lawful indictment, even if an equal penalty constrain anyone conniving at this
he has not sought anything against the safety of the crime and anyone sacrificing.
princes® or concerning their welfare. It constitutes a We also desire that this ruling be enforced by
crime of this nature to wish to repeal the laws, to spy governors, defenders, and decurions® of individual
into unlawful things, to reveal secrets, or to attempt cities, so that things learned by them immediately
things forbidden, to seek the end of another’s wel- will be brought to judgment and the matters reported
fare, or to promise the hope of another’s ruin. through them shall be punished. Furthermore, if
If anyone venerates, with incense placed upon they think that anything should be passed over on
them and in a laughable display, images made by account of personal favor or carelessness, they shall
mortal labor and intended to be permanent, suddenly be subjected to a judicial action. Truly, after they
fearing what he himself has made, or, with a tree en- have been warned, if they defer punishment by dis-
circled with garlands or an altar erected from exca- simulation, they will be fined by an exaction of thirty
vated pieces of turf, attempts to worship empty pounds of gold, with their office staffs also being
images, even if with a humble reward for the service constrained by a like punishment.

7 The Lar, Genius, and Penates were household gods who »° That is, Christianity.
looked after a home’s welfare. °° Members of city councils, who oversaw local
8 The emperors. administration.
THE IMPERIAL OPPRESSION OF PAGANS, JEWS, AND HERETICS 501

(19) THEODOSIAN CODE, BOOK 16, SECTION 10, ENTRY 24

(CONSTANTINOPLE: 8 JUNE 423)

The full weight of imperial authority is imposed on the Manichaeans and others who dissent re-
garding the date of Easter, but restraint is ordered with respect to law-abiding Jews and pagans.

The Imperators Arcadius and Honorius Augustuses nothing seditious contrary to the laws they dare not
to Asclepiodotus, Praetorian Prefect. The Manichaeans lay their hands, having abused the authority of reli-
and those who are called Pepyzites®! and also those gion. For if they act violently against those who are
who in this one persuasion are worse than all the peaceful or seize their property, they are to be com-
heretics, because they dissent from everyone regard- pelled to restore not only those things alone that they
ing the venerable day of Easter. If they persevere in carried off but also the things that they seized, as-
this same madness, we impose the same punish- sessed at threefold or fourfold. Indeed, the governors
ment, confiscation of property and exile. But this we of the provinces and their office staffs and the pro-
especially demand of Christians, those who truly vincials should understand that, if they permit this,
are such and those who are called such, that on the they themselves must be punished just as those who
Jews and pagans living in peace and attempting do this.

Code of Justinian, Book 1, Section 5:

“On the Highest Trinity and the Catholic
Faith and so That No One May Dare
to Argue about It in Public
The Code ofJustinian, issued in 534 ce, was organized in much the same way as the Theodo-
sian Code, although whereas the Theodosian Code covered the period 313-437 ce, the Code
of Justinian included legislation from the reign of Hadrian (117-138 ce) to 534.

(20) CODE OF JUSTINIAN, BOOK 1, SECTION 5, ENTRY 18

(CONSTANTINOPLE: ca. 529)

Much of the legislation directed against pagans, Jews, and heretics in the Theodosian Code
was repeated in the Code ofJustinian, which made some new additions of its own.

Justinian Augustus. Looking after all things useful most necessary thing, so as to save their souls, that
to our subjects, we see to it above all, as the first and all sincerely revere the catholic faith, adore and be-
lieve in the holy and consubstantial Trinity, and ac-
knowledge and venerate the holy, glorious, every
61 Another name for Montanists. virgin Mary, the Mother of God.
502 THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE AND THE LATE ROMAN WORLD (337-476)

Because, therefore, we have learned that very many only in pretense, and, promoted to such position by
people meander about in various heresies, we zealously reason of such pretense, is found to have a wife and
have essayed to guide them, along with our associates children who are adherents of a clear heresy, and fails
serving god, to a better sentiment and with sacred to lead them to knowledge of truth, we order him to be
edicts as well as laws, to emend the opinion that de- removed from such advocate’s position, service, or
scended wrongly into their spirits, and to promote, un- public charge. If he secretly remains, he may not trans-
derstand, and revere the true and sole salubrious faith fer anything to a heretic by a gift or by any contract or
of the Christians. All of which was done both with re- last will and the inheritance left by him to a heretic
spect to other heresies, and in particular against the shall be taken by the fisc. But truly catholic Christians
impious Manichaeans, part of whom are the Boboritae, my receive property from him while he lives or may
regarding whom sanctions were issued by name. become his heirs after he is dead.
The things, truly, that we have established against Only persons who are catholic Christians shall be
the Samaritans,” we also sanction against the heirs to those occupying, or those who have occu-
Montanists, Tascodrogae, and Ophites, that is, that pied, positions of rank, or in the imperial service, or
they not be permitted to have any synagogue, in which as an advocate, and all those who have enjoyed any
they meet, assembling with impious and laughable kind whatsoever of public charge or favor, shall have
words and deeds, nor shall they be able to transmit only catholic Christians as heirs.
their property as an inheritance or trust by testament Indeed, we totally prohibit sharing with these
or on intestacy, whether the person be a cognate rela- people, that is to say, those things that are transferred
tive or an outside heir, unless perchance the person to a heretic by inheritance or gift or by any reason. But
called to the succession, or who is instituted as an heir if it appears that someone has done anything of this
or is honored by a trust, embraces the catholic faith. nature, those things that in this manner were given or
In regard to all the other heresies—we mean all bequeathed shall be surrendered to the treasury.
different from the catholic faith—we desire the law And plainly if anyone of those who were forbidden
heretofore enacted by us and our father of blessed by us, that is to say, pagans or Manichaeans or
memory® to be in force, in which are defined the Samaritans or heretics related to them should, per-
proper things not only concerning heresies but also chance, seek a position in the imperial service or one
concerning the Samaritans and pagans, namely that of rank or as an advocate, or any public charge, or
those affected by such frenzy shall not be in the im- should attempt to teach or receive a public salary, or,
perial service or enjoy any position of rank, or under finally, do any prohibited act, and he is not denounced
any pretense of professor of any branch of learning by every office, whether military or civil, here or in
divert the minds of the simple to their own error. We the provinces, to which these prohibitions pertain, the
permit only those to teach and receive public salary offender himself shall, after he has been apprehended,
who are of the catholic faith. be subjected to the punishment above laid down, the
But if anyone, in order to obtain any position in the persons who have failed to report him shall pay a fine
imperial service or as an advocate or a position of rank, of twenty pounds of gold, and a fine of thirty pounds
or a public charge, embraces the true and catholic faith of gold shall be imposed on every office staff, civil or
military, here and in the provinces.
® Descendants of the Hebrews who resided in the northern But if he,°* has pursued the heretic and has de-
Hebrew kingdom of Israel when it separated from the manded the penalty and has shown himself to have
southern Hebrew kingdom of Judah after the death of
King Solomon in 930 BCE.
% Justin I (518-527). 4 The official concerned.

Source: Fred H. Blume, Annotated Justinian Code (Laramie: University of Wyoming, 1920/1952).
THE IMPERIAL OPPRESSION OF PAGANS, JEWS, AND HERETICS 503

been diligent in the things ordered, but has failed to the attempts made by anyone in violation of this, our
collect the penalty due from any person or in any imperial law, and shall make them known to the hon-
cause, the illustrious Count of the Crown Domain® orable governor of the province, so that the latter
shall collect and receive it and turn it into the crown may enforce our pious orders. If the reverend bishops
domain, knowing that if he, through the corps of find that the moderator of the province® is negligent,
palace officials under him, and the corps itself, fail he should report the matter to us, so that we may
to investigate such matters and to summon the guilty, subject the negligent ones to the same punishment, to
the former shall pay a fine of 50 pounds of gold, and which we have ordered the violators of the foregoing
the members of the corps itself, aside from the cor- provisions to be subjected.
poral punishment which is due in such case, will And be it known to the pious bishops that if they
incur the risk of a fine imposed on them if they do are negligent they will come before the Lord God
not pay attention to our orders. and his judgment seat; and if they are convicted
The same duty is imposed on the pious bishop of of negligence they stand in danger of losing their
each city, who shall investigate in the different cities bishopric.

65 The imperial official who administered the personal

property of the emperor. 66 The governor.
 II
ae SY)

THE MURDER OF HYPATIA OF

ALEXANDRIA (415 cE): SOCRATES
SCHOLASTICUS, ECCLESIASTICAL
HISTORY, BOOK 7, CHAP ERspy
AND JOHN OF NIKIU,
CHRONICLE, CHAPTER 84

An illustration from the “Alexandrian World Chronicle,” written on papyrus in the early fifth century,
shows bishop Theophilus of Alexandria standing on top of the Serapeum, the famous temple of Serapis
in Alexandria, at the time of its demolition in 391 ce. The temple housed part of the Library of
Alexandria and was a symbol of the pagan resistance to Christianity. A large number of other pagan
monuments also subsequently were destroyed. :

The final triumph of Christianity came under the emperor Theodosius | (379-395), who defini-
tively outlawed the performance of public pagan rituals and made Christianity the only fully
legal religion in the empire (see Reading 110). Zealous Christians then struck back and began to
persecute both pagans and Jews with acts ranging from the destruction of pagan temples and
monuments to the murder of professed pagans. A marquee example of this occurred in

504
THE MURDER OF HYPATIA OF ALEXANDRIA (415 CE)
505

Alexandria, where at the Museum, the university that had been established in the third century
Bce under the Ptolemies, the female philosopher and mathematician Hypatia was the head of
the school of Neoplatonism. She was the teacher of later Christian bishops such as Synesius of
Cyrene. In 415 a quarrel broke out between Orestes, the imperial Prefect of Egypt, and Cyril,
the ambitious bishop of Alexandria. Hypatia was accused of arousing Orestes against Cyril and,
as a consequence, she was assaulted and gruesomely murdered by a band of fanatical Christian
monks. Two accounts of the murder, both by Christian authors, provide rather different views
of Hypatia. Socrates Scholasticus, who had received a classical education and wrote an “Ec-
clesiastical History" in the 440s ce, painted a sympathetic picture of Hypatia, but the hard-line
Monophysite (anti-Chalcedonian) bishop John of Nikiti, who wrote a chronicle shortly after the
Muslim capture of Alexandria in 640, portrayed her as a devotee of Satanism.

(a) Socrates Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical

History, Book 7, Chapter 15
Source: A. C. Zenos, Chester D. Hartranft, trans., Socrates, Sozomenus. Church Histories (New York: Christian Literature, 1890).

There was a woman at Alexandria named Hypatia, Christian populace that it was she who prevented
daughter of the philosopher Theon,°’ who made Orestes from being reconciled to the bishop.°? Some
such attainments in literature and science so as to of them therefore, whose ringleader was a Reader”
surpass by far all the philosophers of her own time. named Peter, hurried away with a fierce and bigoted
Having succeeded to the school of Plato and Ploti- zeal. They waylaid her returning home, and, drag-
nus, she explained the principles of philosophy to ging her from her carriage, took her to the church
her students, many of whom came from a distance called Caesareum, where they completely stripped
to receive her instructions. On account of the her and then murdered her with tiles. After tearing
self-possession and ease of manner that she had ac- her body in pieces, they took her mangled limbs to a
quired in consequence of the cultivation of her place called Cinaron and there burnt them. This
mind she not infrequently appeared in public in affair brought not the least opprobrium upon Cyril or
presence of the magistrates. Nor did she feel upon the whole Alexandrian church. But surely noth-
abashed in coming to an assembly of men, for all ing can be farther from the spirit of Christianity than
men on account of her extraordinary dignity and the allowance of massacres, fights, and transactions
virtue admired her all the more. Yet even she fell a of that sort. This happened in the month of March
victim to the political jealousy that at that time pre- during Lent, in the fourth year of Cyril’s episcopate,
vailed. For as she had frequent interviews with under the tenth consulate of Honorius, and the sixth
Orestes,® it was calumniously reported among the of Theodosius.”!

6 Cyril, the powerful and ambitious bishop of Alexandria

67 A Greek scholar who edited the works of the mathema- from 412 until 444.
tician Euclid. 7 The position of Lector (Reader) was a minor clerical
68 The Augustal Prefect, the highest civil official of position in the church.
Roman Egypt. 71 415 CE.
 THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE AND THE LATE ROMAN WORLD (337-476)
506

(b) John of Nikiu, Chronicle, Chapter 84

Source: R. H. Charles, The Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiu (London: Williams & Norgate, 1916).

And in those days there appeared in Alexandria a the Prefect was displeased with the children of the
female philosopher, a pagan named Hypatia, and she holy church and had Hierax seized and subjected to
was devoted at all times to magic, astrolabes,” and punishment publicly in the theater, although he was
instruments of music, and she beguiled many people wholly guiltless. And Cyril was angry with the gov-
with her Satanic wiles. The governor of the city” ernor of the city for doing so, and likewise for his
honored her exceedingly, for she had captivated him putting to death an illustrious monk of the convent of
through her magic. He ceased attending church as Pern6dj named Ammonius, and other monks also.
had been his custom. He also went once under cir- And when the chief magistrate of the city”” heard
cumstances of danger, and he not only did this, but this, he sent word to the Jews as follows, “Cease your
he also drew many believers to her and he himself hostilities against the Christians.” But they refused
received the unbelievers” at his house. And on a cer- to hearken to what they heard, for they gloried in the
tain day when the unbelievers were making merry support of the Prefect’® who was with them, and so
over a theatrical exhibition connected with dancers, they added outrage to outrage and plotted a massacre
the governor of the city published an edict regarding through a treacherous device. And they posted beside
the public exhibitions in the city of Alexandria, and them at night in all the streets of the city certain men,
all the inhabitants of the city had assembled in the while others cried out and said: “The church of the
theater. apostolic Athanasius” is on fire: come to its succor,
Now Cyril, who had been appointed Patriarch” all ye Christians.” And the Christians on hearing
after Theophilus,’”° was eager to gain exact intelli- their cry came forth quite ignorant of the treachery
gence regarding this edict. And there was a man of the Jews. And when the Christians came forth, the
named Hierax, a Christian possessing understanding Jews arose and wickedly massacred the Christians
and intelligence, who used to mock the pagans and and shed the blood of many even though they were
was a devoted adherent of the illustrious father, the guiltless. And in the morning, when the surviving
Patriarch, and was obedient to his monitions. He was Christians heard of the wicked deed that the Jews
also well versed in the Christian faith. Now this man had wrought, they betook themselves to the Patri-
attended the theater to learn the nature of this edict. arch. And the Christians mustered all together and
But when the Jews saw him in the theater they cried went and marched in wrath to the synagogues of the
out and said: “This man has not come with any good Jews and took possession of them, and purified them
purpose, but only to provoke an uproar.” And Orestes and converted them into churches. And one of them
they named after the name of Saint George. And as
for the Jewish assassins they expelled them from the
® A scientific device for measuring the angular distance city and pillaged all their possessions and drove
above the horizon of stars and planets. them forth wholly despoiled, and Orestes the Prefect
3 Orestes, the Augustal Prefect of Egypt.
was unable to render them any help.
™ The non-Christians.
5 Only the bishops of Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem,
Constantinople, and Rome ranked as “‘Patriarchs.”
7°Tn 391 cE, Theophilus, bishop of Alexandria, had over- ” Perhaps the official who presided over the city council.
seen the destruction of the Serapaeum, the great temple 8 That is, Orestes.
of the god Serapis and a symbol of Egypt’s past respect ” A famous fourth-century bishop of Alexandria who
for the traditional gods. was instrumental in combating Arianism.
THE MURDER OF HYPATIA OF ALEXANDRIA (415 cE) 507

And thereafter a multitude of believers in God until they brought her to the great church, named
arose under the guidance of Peter the magistrate*°— Caesareum.*! Now this was in the days of the fast.®?
now this Peter was a perfect believer in all respects And they tore off her clothing and dragged her
in Jesus Christ—and they proceeded to seek out the through the streets of the city until she died. And
pagan woman who had beguiled the people of the they carried her to a place named Cinaron and they
city and the Prefect through her enchantments. And burned her body with fire. And all the people sur-
when they learned the place where she was, they pro- rounded the Patriarch Cyril and named him “the
ceeded to her and found her seated on a lofty chair, new Theophilus,” for he had destroyed the last re-
and having made her descend they dragged her along mains of idolatry in the city.

81 A large temple of the imperial cult that rather than being

destroyed had been converted into a Christian church.
80Tn the preceding account of Socrates, Peter is merely a
minor Christian cleric. 82 Lent.
 112
cSO>

THE MONASTIC LIFE

ON THE EASTERN FRONTIER
(CAP 950/390-CE). JEROME Wigs sige
OF MALCHUS TAE CAP TY EV iGy as

A low-relief carving on basalt shows the stylite (pillar sitter) Simeon, a shepherd’s son, atop his
fifty-foot (sixteen-meter) high column near Aleppo, Syria, where he resided ona nine-foot (one-meter)
square platform in all kinds of weather, never coming down, between 422 and 459 ce. As a result of his
ascetic lifestyle, he gained a reputation for great sanctity, and his advice and blessings were sought by
rich and poor alike. By adopting lives of extreme deprivation, ordinary people were able to attain great
authority. Most persons who took up the monastic life, however, did not go to such extremes to gain
holiness.

During the late Roman Empire, many individuals abandoned the secular world and adopted
the monastic life. Some did so purely for reasons of piety, others to evade secular responsi-
bilities, to flee barbarian incursions, or, especially women, to escape problematic domestic
situations. Some monasteries were located conveniently close to cities, whereas others were
in more isolated regions, such as deserts, islands, or mountains. Around 390 ce, Jerome of
Bethlehem, one of the greatest Christian intellectuals, told the story of Malchus, a young

508
THE MONASTIC LIFE ON THE EASTERN FRONTIER (ca. 350/390 CE)
509

man who abandoned his family to become a monk. Eventually, Malchus decided to return
home. On the way he got rather more than he had bargained for.

Source: Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, trans., Jerome: Letters and Selected Works (New York: Christian Literature, 1893).

Maronia is a little hamlet some thirty miles to the my hands and curbing the wantonness of the flesh by
east of Antioch in Syria. After having many owners fasting. After many years the desire came over me to
or landlords at the time when I was staying as a young return to my country, and stay with my mother and
man in Syria it came into the possession of my inti- cheer her widowhood while she lived (my father, as I
mate friend, the bishop Evagrius,** whose name I had already heard, was dead) and then to sell the
now give in order to show the source of my informa- little property and give part to the poor, settle part on
tion. Well, there was at the place at that time an old the monasteries and, I blush to confess my faithless-
man by name Malchus, a Syrian by nationality and ness, keep some to spend in comforts for myself.
speech, in fact a genuine son of the soil. His compan- My abbot began to cry out that it was a temptation
ion was an old woman very decrepit who seemed to of the devil, and that under fair pretexts some snare
be at death’s door. Both of them were zealously pious of the old enemy® lay hid. It was, he declared, a case
and constant frequenters of the church. With some of the dog returning to his vomit. Many monks, he
curiosity I asked the neighbors what was the link be- said, had been deceived by such suggestions, for the
tween them; was it marriage, or kindred, or the bond devil never showed himself openly. When he failed to
of the spirit? All with one accord replied that they convince me he fell upon his knees and besought me
were holy people, well pleasing to God, and gave me not to forsake him, nor ruin myself by looking back
a strange account of them. Longing to know more I after putting my hand to the plough. Unhappily for
began to question the man with much eagerness about myself I had the misfortune to conquer my adviser. I
the truth of what I heard, and learnt as follows. thought he was seeking not my salvation but his own
My son, said he, I used to farm a bit of ground at comfort. So he followed me from the monastery as if
Nisibis** as an only son. My parents regarding me as he had been going to a funeral, and at last bade me
the heir and the only survivor of their family, wished farewell, saying, “I see that you bear the brand of a
to force me into marriage, but I said I would rather be son of Satan. I do not ask your reasons nor take your
a monk. How my father threatened and my mother excuses. The sheep that forsakes its fellows is at once
coaxed me to betray my chastity requires no other exposed to the jaws of the wolf.”
proof than the fact that I fled from home and parents. On the road from Beroea to Edessa®’ adjoining the
I could not go to the east because Persia was close by high-way is a waste over which the Saracens** roam
and the frontiers were guarded by the soldiers of to and fro without having any fixed abode. Through
Rome; I therefore turned my steps to the west, taking fear of them travelers in those parts assemble in num-
with me some little provision for the journey, but bers, so that by mutual assistance they may escape
barely sufficient to ward off destitution. To be brief, impending danger. There were in my company men,
I came at last to the desert of Chalcis, which is situ- women, old men, youths, children, altogether about
ated between Immae and Beroea® farther south. seventy persons. All of a sudden the Ishmaelites® on
There, finding some monks, I placed myself under horses and camels made an assault upon us, with
their direction, earning my livelihood by the labor of
86 Satan.
83 Bishop of Antioch from 388 to 392. 87 Modern Sanliurfa in Turkey, northeast of Beroea.
84 A powerful fortress on the border between the Roman 88 A Roman name for Arabs.
and Sasanid empires; see Reading 104. 89 That is, Arabs. Traditionally, Arabs were the descen-
85 Modern Aleppo in Syria. dants of Ishmael, Abraham’s son by his handmaid Hagar.
510 THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE AND THE LATE ROMAN WORLD (337-476)

their flowing hair bound with fillets, their bodies drew his sword and began to make at me. If I had not
half-naked, with their broad military boots, their without delay stretched out my hand and taken pos-
cloaks streaming behind them, and their quivers session of the woman, he would have slain me on the
slung upon the shoulders. They carried their bows spot. Well, by this time a darker night than usual had
unstrung and brandished their long spears, for they set in and, for me, all too soon. I led my bride into an
had come not to fight but to plunder. We were seized, old cave. Sorrow was bride’s-maid; we shrank from
dispersed, and carried in different directions. I, each other but did not confess it.
meanwhile, repenting too late of the step I had taken, Then I really felt my captivity; I threw myself
and far indeed from gaining possession of my inher- down on the ground and began to lament the monas-
itance, was assigned, along with another poor suf- tic state that I had lost, and said, “Wretched man that
ferer, a woman, to the service of one and the same I am! Have I been preserved for this? Has my wick- _
owner. We were led, or rather carried, high upon the edness brought me to this, that in my gray hairs I
camel’s back through a desert waste, every moment must lose my virgin state and become a married
expecting destruction, and suspended, I may say, man? What is the good of having abandoned my par-
rather than seated. Flesh half raw was our food, cam- ents, country, and property for the Lord’s sake, if Ido
el’s milk our drink. . the thing I wished to avoid doing when I abandoned
At length, after crossing a great river?’ we came to them? Turn your weapon against yourself. I must fear
the interior of the desert, where, being commanded your death, my soul, more than the death of the body.
after the custom of the people to pay reverence to the Chastity preserved has its own martyrdom. Let the
mistress and her children, we bowed our heads. Here, witness for Christ he unburied in the desert.”
as if I were a prisoner, I changed my dress, that is, Thus speaking I drew my sword that glittered even
learnt to go naked, the heat being so excessive as to in the dark, and turning its point toward me said,
allow of no clothing beyond a covering for the loins. “Farewell, unhappy woman, receive me as a martyr
Some sheep were given to me to tend, and, compara- not as a husband.” She threw herself at my feet and
tively speaking, I found this occupation a comfort, exclaimed, “I pray you by Jesus Christ, and adjure
for I seldom saw my masters or fellow slaves. I fed on you by this hour of trial, do not shed your blood and
fresh cheese and milk, prayed continually, and sang bring its guilt upon me. If you choose to die, first turn
psalms that I had learnt in the monastery. I was de- your sword against me. Let us rather be united upon
lighted with my captivity, and thanked God because I these terms. Supposing my husband should return to
had found in the desert the monk’s estate that I was me. I would preserve the chastity that I have learnt in
on the point of losing in my country. captivity. I would even die rather than lose it. Why
But no condition can ever shut out the Devil. How should you die to prevent a union with me? I would
manifold past expression are his snares! Hid although die if you desired it. Take me then as the partner of
I was, his malice found me out. My master, seeing his your chastity and love me more in this union of the
flock increasing and finding no dishonesty in me and spirit than you could in that of the body only. Let our
wishing to reward me in order to secure my greater master believe that you are my husband. Christ knows
fidelity, gave me the woman who once was my fellow you are my brother. We shall easily convince them
servant in captivity. On my refusing and saying I was that we are married when they see us so loving.” I
a Christian, and that it was not lawful for me to take a confess, I was astonished and, much as I had before
woman to wife so long as her husband was alive (her admired the virtue of the woman, I now loved her as
husband had been captured with us, but carried off by a wife still more. Yet I never gazed upon her naked
another master), my owner was relentless in his rage, person, I never touched her flesh, for I was afraid of
losing in peace what I had preserved in the conflict.
In this strange wedlock many days passed away.
°° The Euphrates, which lay between Beroea and Edessa. Marriage had made us more pleasing to our masters,
 THE MONASTIC LIFE ON THE EASTERN FRONTIER (ca. 350/390 cE) 511

and there was no suspicion of our flight. Sometimes I we realized that our footsteps on the sand had be-
was absent for even a whole month like a trusty shep- trayed us, we found on our right hand a cave that
herd traversing the wilderness. extended far underground. Well, we entered the cave,
After a long time as I sat one day by myself in the but we were afraid of venomous beasts such as
desert with nothing in sight save earth and sky, I vipers, basilisks,?! scorpions, and other creatures of
began quickly to turn things over in my thoughts, the kind, which often resort to such shady places so
_ and among others called to mind my friends the as to avoid the heat of the sun. We therefore barely
monks, and especially the look of the father who had went inside and took shelter in a pit on the left, not
instructed me, kept me, and lost me. I began to tire of venturing a step farther, lest in fleeing from death we
Captivity and to miss the monk’s cell, where toil is should run into death. We thought thus within our-
for the community, and, because nothing belongs to selves: If the Lord helps us in our misery, we have
anyone, all things belong to all. found safety; if he rejects us for our sins, we have
When I returned to my chamber, my wife met me. found our grave. What was our terror, when in front
My looks betrayed the sadness of my heart. She asked of the cave, close by, there stood our master and
why I was so dispirited. I told her the reasons, and fellow-servant, brought by the evidence of our foot-
exhorted her to escape. She did not reject the idea. We steps to our hiding place. How much worse is death
constantly spoke to one another in whispers, and we expected than death inflicted! Again, my tongue
floated in suspense between hope and fear. I had in stammers with distress and fear; it seems as if I
the flock two very fine he-goats: these I killed, made heard my master’s voice, and J hardly dare mutter a
their skins into bottles, and from their flesh prepared word. He sent his servant to drag us from the cavern
food for the way. Then in the early evening when our while he himself held the camels and, sword in hand,
masters thought we had retired to rest we began our waited for us to come. Meanwhile the servant en-
journey, taking with us the bottles and part of the tered about three or four cubits,?? and we in our
flesh. When we reached the river that was about ten hiding place saw his back although he could not see
miles off, having inflated the skins and got astride us, for the nature of the eye is such that those who go
upon them, we entrusted ourselves to the water, slowly into the shade out of the sunshine can see nothing.
propelling ourselves with our feet, that we might be His voice echoed through the cave, “Come out, you
carried down by the stream to a point on the opposite felons; come out and die. Why do you stay? Why do
bank much below that at which we embarked and that you delay? Come out, your master is calling and pa-
thus the pursuers might lose the track. But meanwhile tiently waiting for you.” He still was speaking when
the flesh became sodden and partly lost, and we could lo! through the gloom we saw a lioness seize the
not depend on it for more than three days’ sustenance. man, strangle him, and drag him, covered with
We drank until we could drink no more by way of blood, farther in. Good Jesus! How great was our
preparing for the thirst we expected to endure, then terror now, how intense our joy! We beheld, although
hastened away, constantly looking behind us, and ad- our master knew not of it, our enemy perish. He,
vanced more by night than day, on account both of the when he saw that he was long in returning, supposed
ambushes of the roaming Saracens, and of the exces- that the fugitives being two to one were offering re-
sive heat of the sun. I grow terrified even as I relate sistance. Impatient in his rage, and sword still in
what happened, and, although my mind is perfectly at hand, he came to the cavern, and shouted like a
rest, yet my frame shudders from head to foot. madman as he chided the slowness of his slave, but
Three days after we saw in the dim distance two was seized upon by the wild beast before he reached
men riding on camels approaching with all speed. At
once foreboding ill I began to think my master pur- °! A very poisonous small snake.
posed putting us to death, and our sun seemed to °2 The cubit was the length of a forearm, about eighteen
grow dark again. In the midst of our fear, and just as inches.
512 THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE AND THE LATE ROMAN WORLD (337-476)

our hiding place. Who ever would believe that before At last we got rid of our fright. When that day
our eyes a brute would fight for us? was spent we sallied forth toward evening and saw
One cause of fear was removed, but there was the the camels, called “dromedaries”?? on account of
prospect of a similar death for ourselves, although their great speed, quietly chewing the cud. We
the rage of the lion was not so bad to bear as the mounted, and with the strength gained from the
anger of the man. Our hearts failed for fear. Without new supply of grain, after ten days traveling through
venturing to stir a step we awaited the issue, having the desert arrived at the Roman camp.” After being
no wall of defense in the midst of so great dangers presented to the Tribune” we told all, and from
except the consciousness of our chastity. Then, early thence were sent to Sabinianus,?° who commanded
in the morning, the lioness, afraid of some snare and in Mesopotamia, where we sold our camels. My
aware that she had been seen took up her cub in her dear old abbot now was sleeping in the Lord. I
teeth and carried it away, leaving us in possession of betook myself therefore to this place, and returned
our retreat. Our confidence was not restored all at to the monastic life, whereas I entrusted my com-
once. We did not rush out, but waited for a long time; panion here to the care of the virgins, for although
for as often as we thought of coming out we pictured I loved her as a sister, I did not commit myself to
to ourselves the horror of falling in with her. her as if she were my sister.

*’ From the Greek word “dromas,” or “runner.”

°* On the frontier between Roman and Persian territory.
°° The commander of the legion.
°° A Roman general said to have sought the aid of the
“Martyrs of Edessa” against the New Persians in 359 cE.
The two escapees would have been debriefed regarding
their knowledge of the Saracens.
 13
cSL0
THE LATE ROMAN CRIMINAL
ERGALePRO CESS (ca «37 0<ce):
JEROME, LEFFER 1

A late Roman Coptic tapestry from Egypt, now in the Bode Museum in Berlin, depicts an execution
scene. Here, the biblical sacrifice of Isaac by his father Abraham is depicted, with Abraham portrayed
as a carnifex (executioner), with his military cloak pinned at the shoulder, about to apply jugulatio
(throat slitting) to a condemned criminal.

Jerome of Bethlehem provides a detailed account of the public trial and attempted execu-
tion of awoman who was tried before a Consular governor ca. 375 ce at Vercellae in northern
Italy. His tendentious account, written in the form of a letter, relates how “a certain little
woman” was accused by her husband of adultery with a young man. The subsequent inves-
tigation and trial demonstrates that legal proceedings were public and provided a popular
spectacle, with the audience sometimes getting directly involved in the proceedings. After a
botched execution attempt, the woman received a pardon from the emperor through the
intercession of Evagrius, a priest, and later bishop, of Antioch (see Reading 112).

Source: W. H. Fremantle, G. Lewis, and W. G. Martley, trans., St. Jerome: Letters and Select Works, Nicene and Post-Nicene
Fathers, second series, Vol. 6. (New York: Christian Literature Publishing, 1893).

as
514 THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE AND THE LATE ROMAN WORLD (337-476)

To Innocent. You frequently have asked me, dearest ever on the rack, fire is brought and applied to her
Innocent, not to pass over in silence the marvelous feet, her sides quiver beneath the executioner’s probe.
event that has happened in our own day. To begin, Still the woman remains unshaken and, triumphing
then, Vercellae is a Ligurian town, situated not far in spirit over the pain of the body, enjoys the happi-
from the base of the Alps, once important, but now ness of a good conscience. The cruel judge rises,
sparsely peopled and fallen into decay. When the overcome with passion. Her limbs are wrenched
Consular” was holding his visitation there, a certain from their sockets. Another confesses what is thought
little woman” and her paramour were brought before their common guilt. She, for the confessor’s sake,
him—the charge of adultery had been fastened upon denies the confession, and, in peril of her own life,
them by the husband—and were both consigned to tries to clear one who is in peril of his.
the penal horrors of a prison. Shortly after an at- She has but one thing to say, “Beat me, burn me,
tempt was made to elicit the truth by torture, and tear me, if you will. I have not done it. If you will not
when the blood-stained hook smote the young man’s believe my words, a day will come when this charge
livid flesh and tore furrows in his side, the unhappy shall be carefully sifted. I have one who will judge
wretch sought to avoid prolonged pain by a speedy me.” Wearied out at last, the torturer sighed in re-
death. Falsely accusing his own passions, he involved sponse to her groans; nor could he find a spot on
another in the charge. It appeared that he was of all which to inflict a fresh wound. Immediately the Con-
men the most miserable and that his execution was sular cried, in a fit of passion, “Why does it surprise
just inasmuch as he had left to an innocent woman no you, bystanders,'°° that a woman prefers torture to
means of self-defense. But the woman, stronger in death? It takes two people, most assuredly, to commit
virtue if weaker in sex, although her frame was adultery, and I think it more credible that a guilty
stretched upon the rack, and although her hands, woman should deny a sin than that an innocent
stained with the filth of the prison, were tied behind young man should confess one.”
her, looked up to heaven with her eyes, which alone Like sentence, accordingly, was passed on both,
the torturer had been unable to bind, and while the and the condemned pair were dragged to execution.
tears rolled down her face, said, “Thou art witness, The entire people poured out to see the sight. Indeed,
Lord Jesus, that it is not to save my life that I deny so closely were the gates thronged by the out-rushing
this charge. I refuse to lie because to lie is sin. And crowd that you might have fancied the city itself to
as for you, unhappy man, if you are bent on hasten- be migrating. At the very first stroke of the sword the
ing your death, why must you destroy not one inno- head of the hapless youth was cut off and the head-
cent person, but two? I also, myself, desire to die. I less trunk rolled over in its blood. Then came the
desire to put off this hated body, but not as an adul- woman’s turn. She knelt down upon the ground, and
teress. I offer my neck. I welcome the shining sword the shining sword was lifted over her quivering neck.
without fear, yet I will take my innocence with me.” But although the executioner summoned all his
The Consular, who had been feasting his eyes strength, the moment it touched her flesh the fatal
upon the bloody spectacle, now, like a wild beast or- blade stopped short, and, lightly glancing over the
dered the torture to be doubled, and threatened the skin, merely grazed it sufficiently to draw blood. The
executioner with like punishment if he failed to striker saw, with terror, his hand unnerved, and,
extort from the weaker sex a confession that a man’s amazed at his defeated skill and at his drooping
strength had not been able to keep back. Every spe- sword, he whirled it aloft for another stroke. Again
cies of torture is devised. She is bound by the hair to the blade fell forceless on the woman, sinking
a stake, her whole body is fixed more firmly than
” That is, God.
°7 A governor who had the rank of a Consul. '° As often happened in Roman courtrooms, the audi-
*8 A diminutive term suggesting unprivileged legal status. ence was drawn into the proceedings.
 THE LATE ROMAN CRIMINAL LEGAL PROCESS (ca. 370 cE): JEROME, LETTER 1 515

harmlessly on her neck, as though the steel feared to by the influence of sorrow, and an extraordinary
touch her. The enraged and panting officer, who had change of feeling is manifested. Before it had seemed
thrown open his cloak at the neck to give his full a duty to plead for the woman’s life, now it seemed a
strength to the blow, shook to the ground the duty to allow her to be executed.
brooch"! that clasped the edges of his mantle, and Accordingly a new sword is fetched, a new execu-
not noticing this, began to poise his sword for a fresh tioner appointed. The victim takes her place. The
stroke. “See,” cried the woman, “Your jewel has first blow makes her quiver, beneath the second she
fallen from your shoulder. Pick up what you have sways to and fro, by the third she falls wounded to
earned by hard toil, that you may not lose it.” the ground.’ She who previously had received four
What, I ask, is the secret of such confidence as strokes without injury, now, a few moments later,
this? Death draws near, but it has no terrors for her. seems to die that an innocent man may not perish in
When smitten she exults, and the executioner turns her stead.
pale. Her eyes see the brooch, they fail to see the Those of the clergy whose duty it is to wrap the
sword. And, as if intrepidity in the presence of death blood-stained corpse in a winding-sheet dig out the
_ were not enough, she confers a favor upon her cruel earth and, heaping together stones, form the custom-
foe. And now the mysterious power of the Trinity ren- ary tomb. Sunset comes on quickly. Suddenly the
dered even a third blow vain. The terrified soldier, no woman’s bosom heaves, her eyes seek the light, her
longer trusting the blade, proceeded to apply the point body is quickened into new life. A moment after she
to her throat,'”’ in the idea that although it might not sighs, she looks round, she gets up and speaks. At
cut, the pressure of his hand might plunge it into her last she is able to cry: “The Lord is on my side; I will
flesh. Marvel unheard of through all the ages! The not fear. What can man do unto me?” Meantime an
sword bent back to the hilt, and in its defeat looked to aged woman, supported out of the funds of the
its master, as if confessing its inability to slay. church, gave back her spirit to heaven from which it
Now at length the populace rise in arms to defend came. It seemed as if this thus purposely had been
the woman. Men and women of every age join in ordered, for her body took the place of the other be-
driving away the executioner, shouting round him in neath the mound. In the gray dawn the devil appears
a surging crowd. Hardly a man dares trust his own in the form of a Lictor, asks for the corpse of her who
eyes. The disquieting news reaches the city close at had been slain, and desires to have her grave pointed
hand, and the entire force Lictors!™ is mustered. The out to him. The clergy show him the fresh turf and
officer who is responsible for the execution of crimi- meet his demands by pointing to the earth lately
nals bursts from among his men, and staining his heaped up, taunting him with such words as these,
grey hair with soiling dust, exclaims, “What? Citi- “Yes, of course, tear up the bones that have been
zens, do you mean to seek my life? Do you intend to buried! Pluck her limb from limb for birds and beasts
make me a substitute for her? However much your to mangle! Mere dying is too good for one whom it
minds are set on mercy, and however much you wish took seven strokes to kill.”
to save a condemned woman, yet assuredly I, I who Before such opprobrious words the executioner
am innocent, ought not to perish.'°”’ His tearful retires in confusion, whereas the woman is secretly
appeal tells upon the crowd, they are all benumbed revived at home. Then, lest the frequency of the doc-
tor’s visits to the church might give occasion for sus-
picion, they cut her hair short and send her in the
10. The fibula, or pin, that was a badge of rank for impe- company of some virgins to a sequestered country
rial officials, as depicted in the illustration.
house. There she changes her dress for that of a man
102 The executioner thus turns from beheading to throat
slitting as a means of execution.
103 The axe-bearing attendants of the consular governor.
104 For failing to do his duty 105 The executioner still is pulling his punches.
 516 THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE AND THE LATE ROMAN WORLD (337-476)

and scars form over her wounds. Yet even after the who can sufficiently extol the discretion with which
great miracles worked on her behalf, the laws still he rescued the Roman bishop’ from the toils of the
rage against her. It is so true that where there is the net in which he was entangled? I now am satisfied to
most law, there, there is also the most injustice. record the conclusion of my tale. Evagrius sought a
But now see where the progress of my story has special audience of the emperor,!°’ importuned him
brought me. We come upon the name of our friend with his entreaties, won his favor by his services, and
Evagrius.'°° Who can fittingly praise the vigilance finally gained his cause through his earnestness. The
that enabled him to bury before his death Auxentius emperor restored to liberty the woman whom God
of Milan,'” that curse brooding over the church? Or had restored to life.

'°6A priest of Antioch who took refuge in Italy in 363;

Jerome accompanied him back to the east in 373. In 388
he was named a competing bishop of Antioch. 'S Bishop Damasus of Rome, whose election in 367
'7 Arian bishop of Milan until his death in 374 cE; a met- involved much violence and controversy.
aphorical burial. '° The western emperor Valentinian I (364-375).
 114
cSQ>
THE BATTLE OF ADRIANOPLE
(378 ce): AMMIANUS
MARCELLINUS, HISTORIES,
Orisa. Gala Adease
RiS.cl2— 1.4

This nine-solidus gold medallion of Valens would have been a special presentation piece, probably to a
high-ranking subordinate or a barbarian chieftain. The obverse depicts Valens in a general’s cloak
holding a globe topped by the goddess Victory crowning him with a wreath, and the reverse shows
Valens in a chariot, this time being crowned by two winged Victories. The reverse legend grandiosely
proclaims Valens as “Perpetual Victor,” a denotation belied by the disastrous defeat he suffered at the
Battle of Adrianople in 378. In 2009, this medallion sold for more than half a million dollars.

In 376 ce, one year after the death of his elder and much abler brother, Valentinian | (364-375),
the emperor Valens (364-378) allowed groups of Visigoths who were fleeing the Huns
to settle in Roman territory south of the Danube River on the understanding that they
would become tax-paying farmers and serve in the Roman army. Because of Roman

517
518 THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE AND THE LATE ROMAN WORLD (337-476)

mismanagement, the Visigoths revolted and in 378 Valens assembled the eastern Roman
army to subdue them. The subsequent Roman defeat at the Battle of Adrianople, chronicled
by Ammianus Marcellinus, an army officer who became, with Livy and Tacitus, one of Rome's
three greatest historians, was as disastrous as the previous Roman defeats at Cannae
(216 sce) and the Teutoberg Forest (9 ce). It also has been seen as marking the beginning of
the “barbarian invasions” of the Roman Empire.

Source: C. D. Yonge, trans., The Roman History of Ammianus Marcellinus during the Reigns of the Emperors Constantius,
Julian, Jovianus, Valentinian, and Valens (London: Bell, 1911), 609-618.

At this time Valens!'® was disturbed by a twofold the infantry and a squadron of cavalry, with all speed,
anxiety,''’ having learned that the Lentienses!!” had to occupy the narrow passes in the neighborhood.
been defeated and also because Sebastianus,!” in the Three days afterward, when the barbarians, who
letters that he sent from time to time, exaggerated were advancing slowly because they feared an attack
what had taken place by his pompous language. in the unfavorable ground that they were traversing,
Therefore he advanced from Melanthias,' being arrived within fifteen miles from the station of
eager by some glorious exploit to equal his youthful Nicaea,!!” which was the aim of their march, the em-
nephew,''° by whose virtue he was greatly excited. He peror, with wanton impetuosity, resolved on attacking
was at the head of a numerous force, neither unwar- them instantly, because those who had been sent for-
like nor contemptible, and had united with them ward to reconnoiter (what led to such a mistake is un-
many veteran bands, among whom were several of- known) affirmed that their entire body did not exceed
ficers of high rank, especially Trajan,!'° who a little ten thousand men. Marching on with his army in
while before had been commander of the forces. And battle array, he came near the suburb of Adrianople,'®
as by means of spies and observation it was ascer- where he pitched his camp, strengthening it with a
tained that the enemy were intending to blockade the rampart of palisades, and then impatiently waited for
different roads by which the necessary supplies must Gratian. While here, Richomer, Count of the Domes-
come, with strong divisions he sent a sufficient force tics,!° arrived, who had been sent on by that emperor
to prevent this, dispatching a body of the archers of with letters announcing his immediate approach and
imploring Valens to wait a little while for him that he
might share his danger, and not rashly face the danger
0 Named co-emperor by Valentinian I (364-375) in 364, before him single handed, he took counsel with his
he became senior emperor when Valentinian died in 375. officers as to what was best to be done.
' Resulting from his envy of the military successes of
Some, following the advice of Sebastianus, rec-
others.
ommended with urgency that he should at once go
12 An Alamannic people of southern Germany, men-
tioned only by Ammianus, defeated by the western forth to battle, whereas Victor, Master of the Cavalry,
Roman army. a Sarmatian'”° by birth and a man of slow and cau-
3 4 Roman general whose task it was to organize the tious temper, recommended that he wait for his im-
Roman armies in Thrace and who won a few minor skir- perial colleague, and this advice was supported by
mishes with the Visigoths.
4 An imperial villa in Thrace.
5 Valens was jealous of the successes of the western em- "7 A city in Thrace, not the Nicaea in Anatolia.
peror Gratian (367-383), who had succeeded his father "8 A city in Thrace west of Constantinople.
Valentinian I as western Augustus in 375. ' The “Protectors and Domestics” were elite palace
6 A Roman general who previously had defeated the guards attendant on the emperor.
New Persians. °° A barbarian people of the southern Russian steppes.
THE BATTLE OF ADRIANOPLE (378 ce) 519

several other officers, who suggested that the rein- sufficient guard of soldiers of the legions. The treas-
forcement of the Gallic army would be likely to awe ures and the chief insignia of the emperor’s rank
the fiery arrogance of the barbarians. The fatal obsti- were within the walls, with the Prefect and the prin-
nacy of the emperor, however, prevailed, fortified by cipal members of the council.'> Then, having tra-
the flattery of certain barbarian chieftains, who ad- versed the broken ground that divided the two
vised him to hasten with all speed so that Gratian armies, as the burning day was progressing toward
might have no share in a victory that, as they fancied, noon, at last, after marching eight miles, our men
already almost was gained. came in sight of the wagons of the enemy, which had
And while all necessary preparations were being been stated by the scouts to be all arranged in a
made for the battle, a priest of the Christian religion, circle. According to their custom, the barbarian host
as he called himself, having been sent by Fritigern!”! raised a fierce and hideous yell while the Roman
as his ambassador, came, with some colleagues of generals marshaled their line of battle. The right
low rank, to the emperor’s camp. Having been re- wing of the cavalry was placed in front; the chief
ceived with courtesy, he presented a letter from that portion of the infantry was kept in reserve. But the
chieftain, openly requesting that the emperor would left wing of the cavalry, of which a considerable
grant to him and to his followers, who now were number were still straggling on the road, were ad-
exiles from their native homes, from which they had vancing with speed, although with great difficulty.
been driven by the rapid invasions of savage na- While this wing was deploying, not as yet meeting
tions,!** Thrace,!”? with all its flocks and all its crops, with any obstacle, the barbarians being alarmed at
for a habitation. And if Valens would consent to this, the terrible clang of their arms and the threatening
Fritigern would agree to a perpetual peace. In addi- crash of their shields, because a large portion of their
tion to this message, the same Christian, as one ac- own army was still at a distance, under Alatheus and
quainted with his commander’s secrets, and well Saphrax,!”° and, although sent for, had not yet ar-
trusted, produced other secret letters from his chief- rived, again sent ambassadors to ask for peace.
tain who, being full of craft and every resource of The emperor was offended at the lowness of their
deceit, informed Valens, as one who was hereafter to rank, and replied that if they wished to make a last-
be his friend and ally, that he had no other means to ing treaty they must send him nobles of sufficient
appease the ferocity of his countrymen, or to induce dignity. They designedly delayed, in order by the fal-
them to accept conditions advantageous to the Roman lacious truce that subsisted during the negotiation to
state, unless from time to time he showed them an give time for their cavalry to return, whom they
army under arms close at hand, and by frightening looked upon as close at hand, and for our soldiers,
them with the name of the emperor, recalled them already suffering from the summer heat, to become
from their mischievous eagerness for fighting. The parched and exhausted by the conflagration of the
ambassadors retired unsuccessful, having been vast plain, for the enemy had, with this object, set
looked on as suspicious characters by the emperor. fire to the crops by means of burning faggots and
When the day broke that the annals mark as the fuel. To this evil another was added, that both men
fifth before the Ides of August,'** the Roman stand- and cattle were suffering from extreme hunger.
ards were advanced with haste, the baggage having In the meantime Fritigern, being skilful in divin-
been placed close to the walls of Adrianople under a ing the future and fearing a doubtful struggle, on
his own authority sent one of his men as a herald,

121 One of the leaders of the Visigoths who had crossed

the Danube. 125The most important officials of the imperial court
'22 The Huns. traveled with the emperor.
123 A Balkan region south of the lower Danube River. 126 Regents for the boy Viderichus, chieftain of another
1249 August. band of Goths.
520 THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE AND THE LATE ROMAN WORLD (337-476)

requesting that some nobles and picked men should mournful trumpet, was raging more fiercely than
at once be sent to him as hostages for his safety, usual to inflict disaster on the Romans, our men
whereas he himself would fearlessly bring us both began to retreat. But presently, roused by the re-
military aid and supplies. The proposition of this for- proaches of their officers, they made a fresh stand,
midable chief was received with praise and approba- and the battle increased like a conflagration, terrify-
tion, and the Tribune Equitius, a relation of Valens ing our soldiers, numbers of whom were pierced by
who was at that time Caretaker of the Palace, was strokes from the javelins hurled at them and from
appointed, with general consent, to go with all speed arrows. Then the two lines of battle dashed against
to the barbarians as a hostage. But he refused, be- each other, like the beaks or rams of ships, and
cause he had once been taken prisoner by the enemy, thrusting with all their might were tossed to and fro,
and had escaped from Dibaltum,!”’ so that he feared like the waves of the sea. Our left wing had advanced
their vengeful anger. Upon this Richomer voluntarily actually up to the wagons, with the intent to push on
offered himself, and willingly undertook to go, still further if they were properly supported, but they
thinking it a bold action, and one becoming a brave were deserted by the rest of the cavalry and so
man; and so he set out, bearing vouchers of his rank pressed upon by the superior numbers of the enemy
and high birth. As he was on his way toward the en- that they were overwhelmed and beaten down, like
emy’s camp, the accompanying archers and the the ruin of a vast rampart. Presently, our infantry
Scutarii,!?> who on that occasion were under the also was left unsupported and the different compa-
command of Bacurius, a native of Iberia,!?° and of nies became so huddled together that a soldier could
Cassio, yielded, while on their march, to an indis- hardly draw his sword or withdraw his hand after he
creet impetuosity, and on approaching the enemy had once stretched it out. And by this time such
first attacked them rashly and then by a cowardly clouds of dust arose that it was scarcely possible to
flight disgraced the beginning of the campaign. This see the sky, which resounded with horrible cries; and
ill-timed attack frustrated the willing services of Ri- in consequence, the darts, which were bearing death
chomer, as he was not permitted to proceed. In the on every side, reached their mark, and fell with
meantime the cavalry of the Goths had returned with deadly effect, because no one could see them before-
Alatheus and Saphrax, and with them a battalion of hand so as to guard against them.
Alans.'° These, descending from the mountains like But when the barbarians, rushing on with their
a thunderbolt, spread confusion and slaughter among enormous host, beat down our horses and men and
all whom in their rapid charge they encountered. left no spot to which our ranks could fall back to
And while arms and missiles of all kinds were deploy, while they were so closely packed that it was
meeting in fierce conflict and Bellona,'*' blowing her impossible to escape by forcing a way through them,
our men at last began to despise death, and again
took to their swords and slew all they encountered,
'7 An ancient Roman military colony in modern Bulgaria while with mutual blows of battle-axes, helmets and
on the Black Sea, site of a Roman defeat by the Visigoths breastplates were dashed in pieces. Then, you might
in 376.
see the barbarian towering in his fierceness, hissing
!28 Shield-bearing cavalry.
or shouting, fall with his legs pierced through, or his
!2°Not Spanish Iberia but the Iberia north of Armenia
right hand cut off, sword and all, or his side trans-
between the Black and Caspian seas. The Christian King-
dom of Iberia was sometimes independent, sometimes a fixed, and still, in the last gasp of life, casting round
client state of Rome, and sometimes a vassal of the New him defiant glances. The plain was covered with car-
Persians. casses, strewing the mutual ruin of the combatants
'30Tranian steppe nomads living north of the Black Sea and the groans of the dying or of men fearfully
who often served in the Roman army. wounded were intense, and caused great dismay all
'5! An ancient Italian war goddess. around.
 THE BATTLE OF ADRIANOPLE (378 ce)
521

Amid all this great tumult and confusion our in- retreated, and in a similar manner Richomer and
fantry were exhausted by toil and danger, until at last Saturninus!** saved themselves from danger. So now,
they had neither strength left to fight nor spirits to with rage flashing in their eyes, the barbarians pur-
plan anything. Their spears were broken by the fre- sued our men, who were in a state of torpor. Many
quent collisions, so that they were forced to content were slain without knowing who smote them, some
themselves with their drawn swords, which they were overwhelmed by the mere weight of the crowd
thrust into the dense battalions of the enemy, disre- that pressed upon them, and some were slain by
garding their own safety and seeing that every pos- wounds inflicted by their own comrades. The bar-
sibility of escape was cut off from them. The ground, barians spared neither those who yielded nor those
covered with streams of blood, made their feet slip, who resisted. Besides these, many half slain lay
so that all that they endeavored to do was to sell their blocking up the roads, unable to endure the torture of
lives as dearly as possible, and with such vehemence their wounds, and heaps of dead horses were piled up
did they resist their enemies who pressed on them, and filled the plain with their carcasses. At last a
that some were even killed by their own weapons. At dark moonless night put an end to the irremediable
last one black pool of blood disfigured everything disaster that cost the Roman state so dear.
and wherever the eye turned, it could see nothing but Just when it first became dark, the emperor being
piled-up heaps of dead and lifeless corpses trampled among a crowd of common soldiers, as it was be-
on without mercy. lieved, for no one said either that he had seen him, or
The sun being now high in the heavens scorched been near him, was mortally wounded with an arrow,
the Romans, who were emaciated by hunger, worn and, very shortly after, died, although his body was
out with toil, and scarcely able to support even the never found. For as some of the enemy loitered for a
weight of their armor. At last our columns were en- long time about the field in order to plunder the dead,
tirely beaten back by the overpowering weight of the none of the defeated army or of the inhabitants ven-
barbarians, and so they took to disorderly flight, tured to go to them. A similar fate befell the Caesar
which is the only resource in extremity, each man Decius,'* when fighting vigorously against the bar-
trying to save himself as well as he could. While barians, for he was thrown by his horse falling,
they were all flying and scattering themselves over which he had been unable to hold, and was plunged
roads with which they were unacquainted, the em- into a swamp, out of which he could never emerge,
peror, bewildered with terrible fear, made his way nor could his body be found.
over heaps of dead and fled to the battalions of the Others report that Valens did not die immediately,
Lancearii and the Mattiarii,'*? who, until the supe- but that he was borne by a small body of picked sol-
rior numbers of the enemy became wholly irresisti- diers and eunuchs to a cabin in the neighborhood,
ble, stood firm and immovable. As soon as he saw which was strongly built, with two stories; and that
him, Trajan exclaimed that all hope was lost, unless while these unskillful hands were tending his
the emperor, thus deserted by his guards, could be wounds, the cottage was surrounded by the enemy,
protected by the aid of his foreign allies. although they did not know who was in it. Still, how-
When this exclamation was heard, a Count named ever, he was saved from the disgrace of being made
Victor hastened to bring up with all speed the a prisoner. For when his pursuers, while vainly
Batavians,'*’ who were placed in the reserve and who
ought to have been near at hand, to the emperor’s as- 134 Roman Master of Soldiers who eventually negotiated
sistance; but as none of them could be found, he too a treaty with the Visigoths in 382 and was named Consul
for 383.
12 Rlite units of the Roman army. '35 Trajan Decius (249-251), killed by the Goths at the
133A Roman military unit named after peoples from the Battle of Abritus on the lower Danube, was the first
‘mouth of the Rhine River. Roman emperor to die in battle.
522 THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE AND THE LATE ROMAN WORLD (337-476)

attempting to force the barred doors, were assailed Many illustrious men fell in this disastrous defeat,
with arrows from the roof, they, not to lose by so in- and among them one of the most remarkable was
convenient a delay the opportunity of collecting Trajan, and another was Sebastian. There perished
plunder, gathered some faggots and stubble and set- also thirty-five unassigned Tribunes, many unit com-
ting fire to them, burnt down the building along with manders, and Valerianus and Equitius, one of whom
those who were in it. But one of the soldiers dropped was Master of the Horse and the other Caretaker of
from the windows, and, being taken prisoner by the the Palace. Potentius, too, Tribune of the Promoti,!*’
barbarians, revealed to them what had taken place, fell in the flower of his age, a man respected by all
which caused them great concern, because they persons of virtue, and recommended by the merits of
looked upon themselves as defrauded of great glory his father, Ursicinus,'*® who had formerly been
in not having taken the ruler of the Roman state Master of Soldiers, as well as by his own. Scarcely
alive. This same young man afterward secretly re- one-third of the whole army escaped.
turned to our people and gave this account of the Nor, except the Battle of Cannae,'” is so destruc-
affair. When Spain had been recovered after a simi- tive a slaughter recorded in our annals, although even
lar disaster, we are told that one of the Scipios was in the times of their prosperity, the Romans have more
lost in a fire, the tower in which he had taken refuge than once had to deplore the uncertainty of war and
having been burnt.!*° At all events it is certain that have for a time succumbed to evil fortune. Such was
neither Scipio nor Valens enjoyed that last honor of the death of Valens, when he was about fifty years old
the dead, a regular funeral. and had reigned rather less than fourteen years.

'37 A cavalry unit.

'°8 A high-ranking Roman general during the 350s,
'36 Gnaeus Scipio, the uncle of Scipio Africanus, killed in highly praised by Ammianus.
Spain in 211 BcE when, pursued by the Carthaginians, he ‘In 216 BCE, when the Romans were defeated by Hannibal;
took refuge in a tower and was burned to death. see Reading 78.
 IIS
cSQ>
THE SACK OF ROME BY THE
VISIGOTHS (410 ce): OROSIUS,
AISTORY AGAINST THE PAGANS,
BQORK7 «CLIAPTERS. 38-40

An ivory diptych (a bifolded placque) portrays in the right panel the Master of Soldiers Stilicho, in
military attire, and on the left his wife Serena and son Eucherius. The murder of Stilicho in 408 on the
orders of the emperor Honorius (395—423) opened the way for the Sack of Rome by Alaric and the
Visigoths in 410.

In the early years of the fifth century, barbarian groups made their way into the western
empire. In 401, the Visigoths invaded Italy, and on the last day of 406, a barbarian horde
crossed the frozen Rhine. For a time, the crafty western general Stilicho was able to keep the
barbarians at bay, but after the emperor Honorius had Stilicho executed for treason in 408,
the fall of the west began in earnest, punctuated by the Visigothic Sack of Rome in 410.
Although the sack caused little or no actual architectural damage and was more akin to
some rowdy soldiers getting out of hand, the psychological damage was immense. "Roma
invicta," "Unconquered Rome,” was no longer unconquered. Encouraged by bishop Augus-
tine of Hippo, the Christian historiographer Orosius painted a rather biased picture of Rome's

523
 THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE AND THE LATE ROMAN WORLD (337-476)
524

past military history, arguing that throughout its history, when the pagan gods still were
worshipped, Rome had suffered military defeats, a point already acknowledged, however, by
Ammianus at the end of Reading 114.

Source: Irving W. Raymond, trans., Seven Books of History against the Pagans. The Apology of Paulus Orosius (New York:
Columbia University Press, 1936).

Meanwhile Count Stilicho,'*° who was sprung from son, and that it would be as easy to repress the bar-
the Vandals, that unwarlike, greedy, treacherous, and barian nations as it was to arouse them.
crafty people, thought it a small matter that he held When the character of these crimes was openly
the rule under the emperor, and, as was reported by revealed to the emperor Honorius and to the Roman
many, was attempting in some manner to place upon army, the soldiers very properly mutinied and killed
the throne his own son Eucherius, who had been Stilicho, who, in order to clothe one boy with the
planning the persecution of the Christians ever since royal purple had imperiled the blood of the whole
he was a boy and a private citizen. Hence, when human race. Eucherius also was slain, who for the
Alaric and the whole Gothic nation begged humbly sake of gaining the favor of the pagans had threat-
and straightforwardly for peace on very favorable ened that he would celebrate the beginning of his
terms and also for some place to settle, Stilicho sup- reign by the restoration of the temples and by the
ported them by a secret alliance, but in the name of overthrow of the churches. Several accomplices also
the state refused them the opportunity of either were punished for their wicked plots. Thus the
making war or peace, reserving them to wear down churches of Christ and the devout emperor were
and to intimidate the state. Moreover, other nations freed as well as avenged with very little trouble and
irresistible in numbers and might who are now op- with the punishment of but a few persons.
pressing the provinces of Gaul and Spain, namely, After this great increase of blasphemies without
the Alans, Suevi, and Vandals, as well as the Bur- any evidence of repentance, the final, long-impending
gundians,'*! were induced by Stilicho to take arms doom overtook the City.'** Alaric appeared before
on their own initiative and were aroused when once trembling Rome, laid siege, spread confusion, and
their fear of Rome was removed. Stilicho’s plan was broke into the City. He first, however, gave orders
to batter the Rhine frontier and strike against the that all those who had taken refuge in sacred places,
Two Gauls.’ This wretched man hoped that in this especially in the basilicas of the holy Apostles Peter
dangerous situation he could thereby wrest the impe- and Paul, should be permitted to remain inviolate
rial dignity from his son-in-law'® and give it to his and unmolested. He allowed his men to devote them-
selves to plunder as much as they wished, but he gave
orders that they should refrain from bloodshed. A
'40 Stilicho was the son of a Roman mother and a Roman
general of Vandal origin; although in the modern further proof that the storming of the City was due to
literature he often is portrayed as a barbarian, he was the wrath of God rather than to the bravery of the
thoroughly Roman. enemy is shown by the fact that the blessed Innocent,
141 AJ] of whom crossed the frozen Rhine River into Gaul the bishop of Rome, who at that time was at Ravenna
on the last day of the year 406.
The two imperial dioceses of Gaul, “Viennensis” and
“Gallia.” '4 Rome was referred to simply as “the City.”
'3 The emperor Honorius (395—423), who married, in 'S The bishop of Rome Innocent (401-417) fled Rome
succession, Stilicho’s two daughters Maria and and took refuge with the emperor Honorius in Ravenna
Thermantia. Stilicho himself was married to Honorius’s before the sack, an act that, despite Orosius’s spin, rather
cousin Serena. damaged his credibility.
THE SACK OF ROME BY THE VISIGOTHS (410 CE)
S25

through the hidden providence of God,'*5 even as Lot The more densely the Roman refugees flocked to-
the Just'*® was withdrawn from the Sodomites, did gether, the more eagerly their barbarian protectors
not witness the destruction of the sinful populace. surrounded them. O sacred and inscrutable discern-
While the barbarians were roaming through the ment of the divine judgment! O glorious trumpet of
City, one of the Goths, a powerful man and a Chris- Christian warfare that, inviting by its sweet notes all
tian, chanced to find in a church building a virgin without distinction to life, leaves those who, for want
advanced in years who had dedicated herself to God. of obedience, cannot be roused to salvation, to meet
When he respectfully asked her for gold and silver, their death for want of excuse!
she declared with the firmness of her faith that she The third day after they had entered the City, the
had a large amount in her possession and that she barbarians departed of their own accord. They had,
would bring it forth at once. She did so. Observing it is true, burned a certain number of buildings, but
that the barbarian was astonished at the size, weight, even this fire was not so great as that which had been
and beauty of the riches displayed, even though he caused by accident in the seven hundredth year of
did not know the nature of the vessels, the virgin of Rome. Indeed, if I review the conflagration produced
Christ then said to him: “These are the sacred ves- during the spectacles of Nero, her own emperor, this
sels of the Apostle Peter. Presume, if you dare! You later fire, brought on by the anger of the conqueror,
will have to answer for the deed. As for me, because will surely bear no comparison with the former,
I cannot protect them, I dare not keep them.” which was kindled by the wantonness of the prince.
The barbarian, stirred to religious awe through Nor do I need in a comparison of this sort to mention
the fear of God and by the virgin’s faith, sent word of the Gauls, who, after burning and sacking the City,
the incident to Alaric. He ordered that all the vessels, camped upon her ashes for almost an entire year.'*’
just as they were, should be brought back immedi- Moreover, to remove all doubt that the enemy were
ately to the basilica of the Apostle, and that the virgin permitted to act in this manner in order to chastise
also, together with all Christians who might join the the proud, wanton, and blasphemous City, it may be
procession, should be conducted thither under escort. pointed out that her most magnificent sites, which
The building, it is said, was at a considerable distance the Goths were unable to set on fire, were destroyed
from the sacred places, with half the city lying be- at this time by lightning.!**
tween. Consequently the gold and silver vessels were It was in the one thousand one hundred and
distributed, each to a different person. They were sixty-fourth year of the City that Alaric stormed
carried high above the head in plain sight, to the Rome. Although the memory of the event is still fresh,
wonder of all beholders. The pious procession was anyone who saw the numbers of the Romans them-
guarded by a double line of drawn swords; Romans selves and listened to their talk would think that “noth-
and barbarians in concert raised a hymn to God in ing had happened,” as they themselves admit, unless
public. In the sacking of the City the trumpet of sal- perhaps he were to notice some charred ruins still re-
vation sounded far and wide and smote the ears of all maining. When the City was stormed, Placidia,!” the
with its invitation, even those lying in hiding. From
every quarter the vessels of Christ mingled with the
vessels of Peter, and many pagans even joined the
47 The Sack of Rome by the Gauls in 390 BcE, in this
Christians in making profession, although not in true
interpretation the last time that Rome had been captured
faith. In this way they escaped, but only for a time,
by a foreign enemy; see Reading 77.
that their confusion might afterward be the greater. 148 This is the only evidence for lightning strikes during
this sack.
146 Tn the Bible, Lot was given by God the opportunity to '49 Galla Placidia, mother of the emperor Valentinian III
flee with his family from the city of Sodom before it was (425-455) and virtual ruler of the western empire during
destroyed. much of his reign.
 THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE AND THE LATE ROMAN WORLD (337-476)
526

daughter of the princely Theodosius!° and sister of Meanwhile, as I have said, the Alans, Suevi, and
the emperors Arcadius and Honorius, was captured § Vandals, as well as many others with them, over-
and taken to wife by Alaric’s kinsman,!*! as if she whelmed the Franks, crossed the Rhine, invaded
had been a hostage given by Rome as a special Gaul, and advanced in their onward rush as far as the
pledge, according to divine decree. Thus, through Pyrenees. Checked for the time being by this barrier,
her alliance with the powerful barbarian king, Pla- they poured back over the neighboring provinces.’
cidia did much to benefit the state.

'50 The emperor Theodosius I (379-395), who was suc-

ceeded by his sons Arcadius (395-408) in the eastern eee ee
empue and Honorius inthe west. 'S2 Actually, theVandals and Alans crossed into Spain in
In 414, Galla Placidia married the Gothic king Athaulf 409 cE, the year before the Sack of Rome, when the Pyre-
(410-415); their son Theodosius died in infancy. nees passes were left undefended.
 116
cSQ>
Pre eeOF ROMEO BYSRHE
VISIGOTHS IN GOD’S PLAN
(47 O"ce) "AU GUSEINE GIy OF
Ge)1) "BOO Ket

The popular perception of the Sack of Rome by the Visigoths in 410, as portrayed in this 1962 depiction
in National Geographic, is one of hulking, savage barbarians looting property, burning buildings, and
harassing respectable Roman matrons. The reality, as portrayed by Orosius above and Augustine
below, was rather different.

527
528 THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE AND THE LATE ROMAN WORLD (337-476)

After the sack of Rome in 410, dedicated pagans argued that Rome was suffering misfor-
tunes because of the abandonment of the old Roman gods who had made Rome great. These
arguments were very convincing, so in response, bishop Augustine of Hippo in North Africa
wrote his massive work, On the City of God, in which he made the counterargument that
everything that happened on earth was part of God's plan and that people should be more
concerned not with the earthly city but with the heavenly city. He proposed that the barbar-
ian sack of Rome in fact had been quite genteel, as far as sacks went, as a result of God's
influence because any show of mercy or clemency during wartime must have come from
God. In the course of discussing the question of why the good and the wicked suffered
equally, Augustine argued that the misfortunes that he acknowledged were besetting the
Roman world were the fault of sinful Christians, not only those who were guilty of gross
wickedness but also those who were guilty of petty sins. Thus, Augustine proposed that
Christian virgins deserved blame for their own violation at the hands of barbarians because
they supposedly indulged in secret pride about their chastity.

Source: Marcus Dods, trans., The Works of Augustine, Bishop of Hippo. The City of God (Edinburgh: Clark, 1871).

PREFACE which is God’s prerogative, the inflated ambition of a

proud spirit also affects, and dearly loves that this be
The glorious City of God is my theme in this work, - numbered among its attributes, to “show pity to the
which you, my dearest son Marcellinus,'*’ suggested, humbled soul, and crush the sons of pride.”!°> And
and which is due to you by my promise. I have under- therefore, as the plan of this work we have under-
taken its defense against those who prefer their own taken requires, and as occasion offers, we must speak
gods to the founder of this city, a city surpassingly also of the earthly city, which, although it be mis-
glorious, whether we view it as it still lives by faith in tress of the nations, is itself ruled by its lust of rule.
this fleeting course of time, and sojourns as a stran-
ger in the midst of the ungodly, or as it shall dwell in
CHAPTER 1: OF THE ADVERSARIES
the fixed stability of its eternal seat, which it now
OF THE NAME OF CHRIST, WHOM
with patience waits for. A great work this, and an
THE BARBARIANS FOR CHRIST’S
arduous one, but God is my helper. For I am aware of
SAKE SPARED WHEN THEY
what ability is requisite to persuade the proud how
STORMED THE CITY
great is the virtue of humility, which raises us, not by
a quite human arrogance but by a divine grace above
For to this earthly city belong the enemies against
all earthly dignities that totter on this shifting scene.
whom I have to defend the City of God. Many of
For the king and founder of this city of which we
them, indeed, being reclaimed from their ungodly
speak has in scripture uttered to his people a dictum
error have become sufficiently creditable citizens of
of the divine law in these words, “God resisteth the
this city,°° but many are so inflamed with hatred
proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.’”!* But this,

'SS A quotation from Vergil’s Aeneid, where, in the under-

'S3 An imperial Notary (all-purpose functionary) who world, Aeneas’s father Anchises advises the Romans to
oversaw the Council of Carthage in 411, which con- “spare the vanquished and beat down the proud”; see
demned the Donatists, a schismatic Christian sect that Reading 88.
had originated during the Great Persecution of Diocletian. '°6 A reference to barbarian Christians, perhaps even to
'54From the book of James 4:6 in the New Testament. those who espoused the so-called “Arian” creed.
THE SACK OF ROME BY THE VISIGOTHS IN GOD’S PLAN (410 cE)
529

against it and are so ungrateful to its redeemer for his was shown in random places or was manifested in
signal benefits as to forget that they would now be those places specially dedicated to Christ’s name,
unable to utter a single word to its prejudice had they of which the very largest were selected as sanctuar-
not found in its sacred places, as they fled from the ies, so that full scope thus might be given to the
enemy’s steel, that life in which they now boast expansive compassion that desired that a large mul-
themselves.'°’ Are not those very Romans, who were titude might find shelter there. Therefore they ought
spared by the barbarians through their respect for to give God thanks and with sincere confession flee
Christ, become enemies to the name of Christ? The for refuge to his name, so that they may escape the
reliquaries of the martyrs and the churches of the punishment of eternal fire, they who with lying lips
apostles bear witness to this, for in the sack of the took upon them this name so that they might escape
city they were open sanctuary for all who fled to the punishment of present destruction. For of those
them, whether Christian or pagan. To their very whom you see insolently and shamelessly insult-
threshold the bloodthirsty enemy raged; there his ing the servants of Christ, there are numbers who
murderous fury owned a limit. Thither did such of would not have escaped that destruction and slaugh-
the enemy as had any pity convey those to whom ter had they not pretended that they themselves
they had given quarter, lest any less mercifully dis- were Christ’s servants. Yet now, in ungrateful pride
posed might fall upon them. And, indeed, when even and most impious madness, and at the risk of being
those murderers who everywhere else showed them- punished in everlasting darkness, they perversely
selves pitiless came to those spots where that was oppose that name under which they fraudulently
forbidden which the license of war permitted in protected themselves for the sake of enjoying the
every other place, their furious rage for slaughter light of this brief life.
was bridled and their eagerness to take prisoners!>®
was quenched.
Thus escaped multitudes who now reproach the CHAPTER 4: OF THE CHURCHES OF
Christian religion, and impute to Christ the ills that THE APOSTLES THAT PROTECTED
have befallen their city. But the preservation of their FROM THE BARBARIANS ALL WHO
own life, a boon that they owe to the respect enter- FLED TO THEM
tained for Christ by the barbarians, they attribute not
to our Christ but to their own good luck. They ought Troy itself, the mother of the Roman people, was not
rather, had they any right perceptions, to attribute the able to protect its own citizens in the sacred places of
severities and hardships inflicted by their enemies to their gods from the fire and sword of the Greeks, al-
the divine providence that is accustomed to reform though the Greeks worshipped the same gods.'*? The
the depraved manners of men by chastisement and place consecrated to a great goddess was chosen not
that exercises with similar afflictions the righteous so that no one might be led out from it as a captive but
and praiseworthy, either translating them, when they so that all the captives might be detained in it.'©°
have passed through the trial, to a better world, or Compare now this “asylum,” the asylum not of an or-
detaining them still on earth for other purposes. And dinary god, not of one of the rank and file of gods, but
they ought to attribute it to the spirit of these Chris- of Jupiter’s own sister and wife, the queen of all the
tian times, that, contrary to the custom of war, these gods, with the churches built in memory of the apos-
bloodthirsty barbarians spared them, and spared tles. Into it were collected the spoils rescued from the
them for Christ’s sake, whether this mercy actually blazing temples and snatched from the gods, not that

'57Pagans who took refuge in Christian churches in order '59See Readings 58 and 88.
to be secure from barbarians. '6°Tn Vergil’s Aeneid, when Aeneas was looking for his
'58Captives, who could be held for ransom or sold as wife Creusa, he saw Trojan captives being kept in the
slaves, were another form of loot. temple of Juno (Greek Hera).
 THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE AND THE LATE ROMAN WORLD (337-476)
530

they might be restored to the vanquished but to be stripes; nevertheless my loving-kindness will I not
divided among the victors, whereas into the churches utterly take from them.”'®
was carried back, with the most religious observance
and respect, everything that belonged to them, even
though found elsewhere. There liberty was lost; here CHAPTER 8: OF THE ADVANTAGES
preserved. There bondage was strict; here it was AND DISADVANTAGES THAT OFTEN
strictly excluded. Into that temple men were driven to INDISCRIMINATELY ACCRUE TO
become the chattels of their enemies; into these GOOD AND WICKED MEN
churches people were led by their relenting foes so
that they might be at liberty. In sum, the “gentle” As for the good things of this life, and its ills, God has
Greeks appropriated that temple of Juno to the pur- willed that these should be common to both, that we
poses of their own avarice and pride, whereas these might not too eagerly covet the things that wicked
churches of Christ were chosen even by the savage men are seen equally to enjoy, nor shrink with an un-
barbarians as the fit scenes for humility and mercy. seemly fear from the ills that even good men often
suffer. If every sin were now visited with manifest
punishment, nothing would seem to be reserved for
CHAPTER 7: THAT THE CRUELTIES the final judgment; on the other hand, if no sin re-
THAT OCCURRED IN THE SACK OF ceived a plainly divine punishment, it would be con-
ROME WERE IN ACCORDANCE WITH cluded that there is no divine providence at all. And so
THE CUSTOM OF WAR, WHEREAS of the good things of this life. If God did not by a very
THE ACTS OF CLEMENCY RESULTED visible liberality confer these on some of those per-
FROM THE INFLUENCE OF CHRIST’S sons who ask for them, we should say that these good
NAME things were not at his disposal. And if he gave them to
all who sought them, we should suppose that such
All the despoiling that Rome was exposed to in the were the only rewards of his service, and such a ser-
recent calamity, all the slaughter, plundering, burn- vice would make us not godly, but greedy rather, and
ing, and misery, was the result of the custom of war. covetous. Wherefore, although good and bad people
But what was novel was that savage barbarians suffer alike, we must not suppose that there is no dif-
showed themselves in so gentle a guise, that the larg- ference among the people themselves because there is
est churches were chosen and set apart for the pur- no difference in what they both suffer. And thus it is
pose of being filled with the people to whom quarter that in the same affliction the wicked detest God and
was given, and that in them none were slain, from blaspheme, whereas the good pray and praise. So ma-
them none forcibly dragged. That into them many terial a difference does it make, not what ills are suf-
were led by their relenting enemies to be set at lib- fered, but what kind of person suffers them.
erty, and that from them none were led into slavery
by merciless foes. Whoever does not see that this is
to be attributed to the name of Christ, and to the CHAPTER 9: OF THE REASONS FOR
Christian temper, is blind. Whoever sees this, and ADMINISTERING CORRECTION TO
gives no praise, is ungrateful. Whoever hinders BAD AND GOOD TOGETHER
anyone from praising it is mad. Far be it from any
prudent man to impute this clemency to the barbari- What, then, have the Christians suffered in that ca-
ans. Their fierce and bloody minds were awed and lamitous period that would not profit every one who
bridled and marvelously tempered by him who so
long before said by his prophet, “I will visit their
transgression with the rod, and their iniquities with 161 Psalms 89:32-33.
THE SACK OF ROME BY THE VISIGOTHS IN GOD’S PLAN (410 cE)
531

duly and faithfully considered the following circum- common with the wicked, do they find this life bitter,
stances? First of all, they must humbly consider those through love of whose sweetness they declined to be
very sins that have provoked God to fill the world bitter toward these sinners.
with such terrible disasters, for although they be far
from the excesses of wicked, immoral, and ungodly
persons, yet they do not judge themselves so clean CHAPTER 28: BY WHAT JUDGMENT
removed from all faults as to be too good to suffer for OF GOD THE ENEMY WAS
these even temporal ills. For all persons, however PERMITTED TO INDULGE HIS LUST
laudably they live, yet yield in some points to the lust ON THE BODIES OF CONTINENT
of the flesh. Even if they do not fall into gross enor- CHRISTIANS
mity of wickedness, and abandoned viciousness, and
abominable profanity, yet they slip into some sins, Even faithful women, I say, must not complain that
either rarely or so much the more frequently as the permission was given to the barbarians so grossly to
sins seem of less account. But not to mention this, outrage them, nor must they allow themselves to be-
where can we readily find anyone who holds in fit lieve that God overlooked their character when he
and just estimation those persons on account of permitted acts that no one with impunity commits.
whose revolting pride, luxury, and avarice, and For some most flagrant and wicked desires are al-
cursed iniquities and impiety, God now smites the lowed free play at present by the secret judgment of
earth as his predictions threatened? Where is the God, and are reserved to the public and final judg-
person who deals with them in the manner in which ment. Moreover, it is possible that those Christian
it becomes us to deal with them? For often we wick- women, who are unconscious of any undue pride on
edly blind ourselves to opportunities for teaching account of their virtuous chastity, whereby they sin-
and admonishing them, sometimes even for repri- lessly suffered the violence of their captors, had yet
manding and chiding them, either because we shrink some lurking infirmity that might have betrayed
from the labor or are ashamed to offend them, or be- them into a proud and contemptuous bearing, had
cause we fear to lose good friendships, lest this they not been subjected to the humiliation that befell
should stand in the way of our advancement, or them in the taking of the city. As, therefore, some
injure us in some worldly matter, which either our men were removed by death, so that no wickedness
covetous disposition desires to obtain, or our weak- might change their disposition, so these women were
ness shrinks from losing. So that, although the con- outraged lest prosperity should corrupt their mod-
duct of wicked men is distasteful to the good, and esty. Neither those women then, who were already
therefore they do not fall with them into that damna- puffed up by the circumstance that they were still
tion which in the next life awaits such persons, yet, virgins, nor those who might have been so puffed up
because they spare their damnable sins through fear, had they not been exposed to the violence of the
therefore, even though their own sins be slight and enemy, lost their chastity, but rather gained humility;
venial, they are justly whipped with the wicked in the former were saved from pride already cherished,
this world, although in eternity they quite escape the latter from pride that would shortly have grown
punishment. Justly, when God afflicts them in upon them.
 17
cSO>

THE*SACK“OF ROMESBY"rrie
VANDALS (455 ce): PROCOPIUS,
HISTORY OF THE WARS, BOOKS}
CHELATE WAsKes

A gold solidus of the short-lived emperor Petronius Maximus (455), who had the misfortune to be
emperor during the Vandal Sack of Rome in 455. The obverse legend reads “Our Lord Petronius
Maximus Dutiful and Fortunate Augustus,” whereas the reverse reads “Victory of the Emperors” and
shows Maximus holding a long cross in one hand and the goddess Victory in the other and trampling
the serpent of heresy. The letters “RM” denote the Rome mint, and “COMOB’ is an abbreviation for
the “Count of Pure Gold,” who was responsible for the gold content in the coin.

As the fifth century progressed, barbarian kingdoms coalesced in the western Roman Empire:
the Visigoths in Aquitania in Gaul, the Vandals in North Africa, and the Burgundians in cen-
tral Gaul. It appeared that barbarians were taking over. Paradoxically, however, this barbarian
expansion was not accomplished by military means. There were only a few marquee battles,

532
THE SACK OF ROME BY THE VANDALS (455 cr)
533

and most of those, such as the Battle of the Mauriac Plain in 451 against the Huns, were won
by the Romans. But the western empire was clearly weakened, as seen in the much less
well-attested sack of Rome by the Vandals in 455 ce, which demonstrated that the Roman
government no longer could protect even the city of Rome. This sack lasted some eighteen
days and was much more lengthy and more thorough than the genteel sack by the Visigoths
in 410, which went on for only three days. By 455 it was clear that the western Roman
Empire was failing fast, not to barbarian invasion but because of its own weaknesses. One
more sack of the venerable city simply did not have the same shock-and-awe factor that it
had forty-five years earlier. The account of the sack given nearly a century later by the Byz-
antine historian Procopius begins with a typical attempt to blame it on personal animus, the
result of the lust of Valentinian III for the virtuous wife of the senator Petronius Maximus, in
much the same way that the creation of the Roman Republic resulted from the lust of Sextus
Tarquin for the virtuous Lucretia (Reading 75).

Source: H. B. Dewing, trans., Procopius. History of the Wars, Books III and IV (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
1916), 57-49.

And I shall now relate in what manner Valentinian salute the queen Eudoxia.'* And she, judging by the
died. There was a certain Maximus,!® a Roman sen- ring that the message was from Maximus, entered
ator, of the house of that Maximus,'® who, while her litter and was conveyed to the emperor’s court.
usurping the imperial power, was overthrown by the She was received by those who had been assigned
elder Theodosius and put to death, and on whose ac- this service by the emperor and led into a certain
count also the Romans celebrate the annual festival room far removed from the women’s apartments,
named from the defeat of Maximus. This younger where Valentinian met her and violated her.!® She,
Maximus was married to a woman discreet in her after this outrage, went to her husband’s house weep-
ways and exceedingly famous for her beauty. For this ing and feeling the deepest possible grief because of
reason a desire came over Valentinian to have her to her misfortune, and she cast many curses upon Max-
wife. And because it was impossible, much as he imus as having provided the cause for what had been
wished it, to meet her, he plotted an unholy deed and done. Maximus, accordingly, became exceedingly
carried it to fulfillment. For he summoned Maximus aggrieved at what had come to pass and straightway
to the palace and sat down with him to a game of entered into a conspiracy against the emperor.
dice, and a certain sum was set as a penalty for the Maximus slew the emperor'® with no trouble and
loser. The emperor won in this game, and receiving secured the tyranny, and he married Eudoxia against
Maximus’ ring as a pledge for the agreed amount.
He sent it to Maximus’ house, instructing the mes-
senger to tell the wife of Maximus that her husband '641 icinia Eudoxia, the daughter of the eastern emperor
bade her come as quickly as possible to the palace to Theodosius II (402—450), who had married the young
Valentinian II in 437.
165 This entire tale has striking parallels with the story of
162 Petronius Maximus, a powerful Roman senator who the Violation of Lucretia in 509 cE, which led to a con-
was twice Consul and became emperor for a few months spiracy against the Etruscan kings of Rome and the cre-
in 455 after the murder of Valentinian III. ation of the Roman Republic (see Reading 75).
163 Magnus Maximus, commander in Britain who seized 166 Valentinian III actually was murdered in 455 by two
the throne in 383 and was defeated and executed by comrades of the Patrician and Master of Soldiers Flavius
Theodosius I (379-395) in 388. Aétius, whom Valentinian had murdered the year before.
 534 THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE AND THE LATE ROMAN WORLD (337-476)

her will. For the wife to whom he had been wedded for Italy with a great fleet. And going up to Rome,
had died not long before. And on one occasion in pri- because no one stood in his way, he took possession of
vate he made the statement to Eudoxia that it was all the palace. Now while Maximus was trying to flee,
for the sake of her love that he had carried out all that the Romans threw stones at him and killed him, and
he had done. And because she felt a repulsion for they cut off his head and each of his other members
Maximus even before that time, and had been desir- and divided them among themselves. But Geiseric
ous of exacting vengeance from him for the wrong took Eudoxia captive, together with Eudocia and
done Valentinian, his words made her swell with rage Placidia, the children of herself and Valentinian, and
still more against him, and led her on to carry out her placing an exceedingly great amount of gold and
plot, because she had heard Maximus say that on ac- other imperial treasure in his ships sailed to Carthage,
count of her the misfortune had befallen her husband. having spared neither bronze nor anything else what-
And as soon as day came, she sent to Carthage en- soever in the palace. He plundered also the temple of
treating Geiseric to avenge Valentinian,!°’ who had Jupiter Capitolinus and tore off half of the roof.!”
been destroyed by an unholy man, in a manner un- Now this roof was of bronze of the finest quality, and
worthy both of himself and of his imperial station, because gold was laid over it exceedingly thick, it
and to deliver her, because she was suffering unholy shone as a magnificent and wonderful spectacle. But
treatment at the hand of the tyrant. And she im- of the ships with Geiseric, one, which was bearing the
pressed it upon Geiseric that, because he was a friend statues, was lost,!”! they say, but with all the others the
and ally and so great a calamity had befallen the im- Vandals reached port in the harbor of Carthage.
perial house, it was not a holy thing to fail to become Geiseric then married Eudocia to Huneric,!” the elder
an avenger. For from Byzantium she thought no of his sons, but the other of the two women, being the
vengeance would come, because Theodosius! al- wife of Olybrius,'” a most distinguished man in the
ready had departed from the world and Marcian'® Roman Senate, he sent to Byzantium!” together with
had taken over the empire. her mother, Eudoxia, at the request of the emperor.!”
And Geiseric, for no other reason than that he sus- Now the power of the east had by now fallen to Leo,
pected that much money would come to him, set sail because Marcian had already passed from the world.

"The temple of Jupiter on the top of the Capitoline Hill.

'" This ship also was said by some to have carried the
'€7In the same manner that Justa Grata Honoria, the sister temple treasures taken when the Jewish Temple in
of the emperor Valentinian III, was said to have sent for Jerusalem was sacked by Titus in 70 cE.
Attila the Hun in 451. '? King of the Vandals, 477-484.
'8’ Rudoxia’s father, the eastern emperor Theodosius II "? Olybrius later became a short-lived emperor in the
(402-450). year 472.
'© The eastern emperor Marcian (450-457), the successor '® That is, Constantinople.
of Theodosius II. 'S The emperor Leo I (457-474).
 118
ae ae
THE LAST EMPEROR
IN ROME (476 ce)

A gold solidus of Romulus struck at Rome in 475 or 476. The obverse legend reads “Romulus Augustus,
Dutiful and Happy Emperor.” The reverse depicts an angel (or the goddess Victory) holding a long
cross with the legend “Victory of the Emperors.” The letters “R M” indicate that the coin was minted
at Rome, and the abbreviation “COMOB?” refers to the “Count of Pure Gold,” who attested to the
coin’s purity.

In 475, the western emperor Julius Nepos (474-480) was forced into exile in Dalmatia on the
Greek Adriatic coast by his Master of Soldiers Orestes, formerly secretary of Attila the Hun.
Even though Nepos continued to be recognized as western Roman emperor by the eastern
emperor Zeno (474-491), Orestes then had his son Romulus, perhaps fourteen years old,
named as western emperor, albeit a usurper. In 476, just a year later, young Romulus was
forced into retirement by the barbarian Master of Soldier Odovacar, who, rather than setting
up another emperor or declaring allegiance to Nepos, had Romulus announce to the eastern
emperor Zeno that the west no longer needed its own emperor and that Odovacar would rule
as "King of Italy” in Zeno's name. Although Romulus has gone down in history as the last
western Roman emperor—historians, beginning with Count Marcellinus in the mid-sixth
century, just could not pass up the opportunity to have Rome begin and end with someone
named Romulus—Nepos remained the last legal emperor of the western empire until his

535
 THE CHRISTIAN EMPIRE AND THE LATE ROMAN WORLD (337-476)
536

death in 480. Meanwhile, the story of the rise and fall of little Romulus and even of the final
extinction of the western Roman Empire passed with barely a mention in the ancient sources
and must be pieced together from stray bits and snippets of information.

Source: Ralph W. Mathisen, “Romulus Augustulus (475—476),” De imperatoribus Romanis. An Online Encyclopedia of Roman
Emperors.

(1) “And another emperor, Nepos,'’° upon taking (3) “Soon Nepos arrived at Ravenna, pursued by
over the empire and living to enjoy it only a the Patrician Orestes and his army. Fearing the
few days, died of disease, and Glycerius'”’ arrival of Orestes, Nepos boarded a ship and
after him entered into this office and suffered fled to Salona’!®? (Anonymous Valesianus
a similar fate. And after him Augustulus'” as- 7.36, year 474).
sumed the imperial power. There were, moreo- (4) “While Nepos was in the city,!** the Patrician
ver, still other emperors in the west before this Orestes was sent against him with the main
time, but although I know their names well, I force of the army. But because Nepos dared
shall make no mention of them whatsoever. not undertake the business of resisting in such
For it so fell out that they lived only a short desperate conditions, he fled to Dalmatia in his
time after attaining the office and as a result of ships. When Nepos had fled Italy and departed
this accomplished nothing worthy of men- from the city, Orestes assumed the primacy
tion.”!”? (Procopius, Vandal War 7.15—17: H. B. and all the authority for himself and made his
Dewing, trans., Procopius. History of the son Augustulus emperor at Ravenna” (Auctu-
Wars, Books III and IV (Cambridge, MA: arii Hauniensis ordo prior, year 475).
Harvard University Press, 1916], 69.) (5) “After Augustulus had been established as em-
(2) “Orestes,!®° having taken charge of the army and peror at Ravenna by his father Orestes, not long
having departed from Rome against the ene- afterward Odovacar, King of the Turcilingi,'®
mies, arrived at Ravenna,|*! and remaining there who had with him the Scirians, Heruls,!®° and
he made his son Augustulus emperor. When he auxiliaries from diverse peoples, occupied Italy
learned this, Nepos fled to Dalmatia’! and, after killing Orestes, deposed his son Au-
(Jordanes, Gothic History 241). gustulus from the rule and condemned him to
exile in the Castle of Lucullus!®’ in Campania”
(Jordanes, Gothic History 242).
'© The legal western Roman emperor from 474 until 480 (6) “Odovacar, King of the Goths, occupied Rome.
CE; he had been appointed western emperor by the east-
Odovacar immediately killed Orestes. Odova-
ern emperor Leo.
car condemned Augustulus, the son of Orestes,
‘7 Procopius has confused Nepos with Olybrius; the em-
peror who actually ruled a few days and died of disease to exile in the Castle of Lucullus in Campania”
was Olybrius (472); he was succeeded by Glycerius (Count Marcellinus, Chronicle, year 476).
(473-474), who in turn was succeeded by Nepos.
'8 That is, Romulus (475-476), who followed Nepos. '82 Just across the Adriatic Sea on the western coast of Greece.
' A sad epitaph for the last emperors of the western '83 A city in Dalmatia.
Roman Empire. '84 That is, Ravenna.
'89 The Patrician and Master of Soldiers, the highest-rank- '85 A poorly known barbarian people who might have
ing western Roman general; he previously had been the been part of the horde of Attila the Hun.
secretary of Attila the Hun. '86 Peoples who had been part of the horde of Attila the Hun.
'8! The imperial capital on the coast of the Adriatic Sea in '87 Sometimes identified as the estate of the Roman
northeastern Italy. Republican general Lucullus.
THE LAST EMPEROR IN ROME (476 cE)
Doi)

(7) “Entering Ravenna, Odovacar deposed they knew what ought to be done. While their
Augustulus from the rule, and taking pity on emperor was still alive they should hold no
his youth he granted him his life, and because other thought than to receive him back on his
he was comely he even granted to him an return. To the barbarians he replied that it
income of six thousand solidi and sent him to would be well if Odovacar were to receive the
Campania to live freely with his relatives” patrician rank from the emperor Nepos and
(Anonymous Valesianus 8.38). that he himself would grant it unless Nepos
(8) “In this year, Orestes and his brother Paulus granted it first. He commended him in that he
were killed by Odovacar, and Odovacar as- had displayed this initial instance of guarding
sumed the title of King, although he made use good order, suitable to the Romans, and trusted
of neither the purple nor the imperial regalia” for this reason that, if he truly wished to act
(Cassiodorus, Chronicle, year 476, no. 1303). with justice, he would quickly receive back the
(9) “When Augustus,!** the son of Orestes, heard emperor’! who had given him his position of
that Zeno, having expelled Basiliscus,'®? had honor. He sent a royal letter about what he de-
again gained the kingship of the east, he caused sired to Odovacar and in this letter named him
the Senate to send an embassy to tell Zeno that a Patrician. Zeno gave this help to Nepos, pity-
they had no need of a separate empire but that ing his sufferings because of his own, and
a single common emperor would be sufficient holding to the principle that the common lot of
for both territories. And also to say that Odo- fortune is to grieve with the unfortunate.!*? At
vacar had been chosen by the Senate as a suit- the same time Verina'®’ also joined in urging
able man to safeguard their affairs because he this, giving a helping hand to the wife of
had political understanding along with mili- Nepos, her relative’ (Malchus, Chronicle,
tary skill. They asked Zeno to award Odovacar fragment 10: Gordon trans., Age of Attila,
the patrician honor and grant him the govern- 127-128).
ment of the Italies. The men from the Senate in (10) “The western empire of the Roman people,
Rome reached Byzantium carrying these mes- which first began in the seven hundred and
sages. On the same day messengers from ninth year after the founding of the City with
Nepos also came to congratulate Zeno on the Octavian Augustus, the first of the emperors,
recent events concerning this restoration, and perished with this Augustulus, in the five-hun-
at the same time to ask him zealously to help dred and twenty-second year of the reign of
Nepos, a man who had suffered equal misfor- Augustus’ successor emperors. From this point
tunes, in the recovery of his empire. They on Gothic kings held power in Rome.”
asked that he grant money and an army for this (Count Marcellinus, Chronicle, year 476).
purpose and that he co-operate in his restora-
tion in any other ways that might be necessary.
Nepos had sent the men to say these things. 190 Named western Roman emperor in 467 by the eastern
Zeno gave the following answer to those arriv- emperor Leo; he was killed in 472 during a civil war with
the barbarian Patrician and Master of Soldiers Ricimer.
als and to the men from the Senate: the western
1 Nepos.
Romans had received two men from the east-
'°2 Zeno had been expelled by Basiliscus in the same year as
ern Empire and had driven one out, Nepos, and Julius Nepos, although he regained his throne the next year.
killed the other, Anthemius.!°° Now, he said, '3The wife of Zeno’s predecessor as eastern emperor
Leo (457-474) and mother of Zeno’s wife Ariadne.
'88- Young Romulus. '94Tn was not until 489, in fact, that the Ostrogoths under
189 The brother of Verina, the wife of Zeno’s predecessor Theoderic the Great entered Italy; in 493 he defeated and
Leo; Basiliscus had rebelled against Zeno in 475. killed Odovacar.
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cSQ>
The End of Antiquity (476-640)

By the end of the fifth century, the Roman world looked very different from the way it had
appeared at the time of Augustus. The hard-won political unity of the Mediterranean world
had been fractured. The western part of the empire had been partitioned among several
barbarian peoples. But in the east, the Roman Empire, now known to modern historians as
the Byzantine Empire, continued to survive and even flourish, adapting to changing times
just as it had done in the past. During the seventh century, the ancient world was even more
dramatically changed with the appearance of a new religion, Islam, in Arabia. The Persian
Empire disappeared and Muslims soon occupied much of the ancient world. The ancient
world was drawing to a close, soon to be replaced by three separate political, religious, and
cultural worlds of the Middle Ages.

Ree
540 THE END OF ANTIQUITY (476-640)

450 miles
SS
=
500 750 kilometers

Map I5 Barbarian Settlements as of 526 cE

 19
ae Sr)

A VISIGOTHIC KING AND HIS

COURT (ca. 455/465 ce): SIDONIUS
UC CEMPNIATS
IS, ord. Pines 2.1

The remains of the Visigothic palace in Toulouse, built during the fifth century and large enough to
include all the amenities described by Sidonius in his letter about king Theoderic Il, were discovered in
1988 during the demolition of an old military hospital

In the early 450s, the blue-blooded Gallo-Roman aristocrat Sidonius Apollinaris, a

native of Lyon, married Papianilla, the daughter of the emperor Eparchius Avitus
(455-456). Sidonius later served first as Prefect of Rome in 468 and then bishop of
Clermont from ca. 469 until his death ca. 485. He thus experienced the last years of

541
 THE END OF ANTIQUITY (476-640)
542

Very soon after its discovery in 1988, in an act of archaeological

vandalism, the remains of the Visigothic palace in Toulouse were
bulldozed to make way for the construction of these apartment
buildings.
the Roman Empire and the rise of the Visigothic kingdom of Toulouse. Like most Roman
aristocrats, he had to make his peace with the barbarian settlers. In a letter to his
brother-in-law Agricola, he provided a description of the court of the Visigothic king Theo-
deric Il (453-484 ce).

Source: O. M. alton, trans., The Letters of Sidonius, two vols. (Oxford: Clarendon, 1915).

Sidonius to Agricola. You often have begged a descrip- distension of the mouth. Every day the hair springing
tion of Theoderic the Gothic king, whose gentle breed- from his nostrils is cut back; that on the face springs
ing fame commends to every nation. You want him in thick from the hollow of the temples, but the razor has
his quantity and quality, in his person, and the manner not yet come upon his cheek, and his barber is assidu-
of his existence. I gladly accede, as far as the limits of ous in eradicating the rich growth on the lower part of
my page allow, and highly approve so fine and ingenu- the face. Chin, throat, and neck are full, but not fat, and
ous a curiosity. Well, he is a man worth knowing, even all of fair complexion. Seen close, their color is fresh as
by those who cannot enjoy his close acquaintance, so that of youth, they often flush, but from modesty and
happily have providence and nature joined to endow not from anger. His shoulders are smooth, the upper-
him with the perfect gifts of fortune. His way of life is and forearms strong and hard; hands broad, breast
such that not even the envy that lies in wait for kings prominent; waist receding. The spine dividing the
can rob him of his proper praise. broad expanse of back does not project, and you can see
First as to his person. He is well set up, in height the springing of the ribs; the sides swell with salient
above the average man, but below the giant. His head is muscle, the well-girt flanks are full of vigor. His thighs
round, with curled hair retreating somewhat from brow are like hard horn; the knee-joints firm and masculine;
to crown. His nervy neck is free from disfiguring knots. the knees themselves the comeliest and least wrinkled
The eyebrows are bushy and arched; when the lids in the world. A full ankle supports the leg, and the foot
droop, the lashes reach almost half-way down the is small to bear such mighty limbs.
cheeks. The upper ears are buried under overlying Now for the routine of his public life. Before day-
locks, after the fashion of his people. The nose is finely break he goes with a very small retinue to attend the
aquiline; the lips are thin and not enlarged by undue service of his priests.’ He prays with assiduity, but, if
A VISIGOTHIC KING AND HIS COURT (ca. 455/465 ce): SIDONIUS APOLLINARIS, LETTERS 2.1 543

I may speak in confidence, one may suspect more of On ordinary days, his table resembles that of a
habit than conviction in this piety. Administrative private person. The board does not groan beneath a
duties of the kingdom take up the rest of the morn- mass of dull and unpolished silver set on by panting
ing. Armed nobles stand about the royal seat; the servitors; the weight lies rather in the conversation
mass of guards in their garb of skins are admitted than in the plate; there is either sensible talk or none.
that they may be within call, but kept at the threshold The hangings and draperies used on these occasions
for quiet’s sake; only a murmur of them comes in are sometimes of purple silk, sometimes only of
from their post at the doors, between the curtain and linen. Art, not costliness, commends the fare, as
the outer barrier. spotlessness rather than bulk does the silver. Toasts
And now the foreign envoys are introduced. The are few, and you will oftener see a thirsty guest im-
king hears them out, and says little. If a thing needs patient than a full one refusing cup or bowl. In short,
more discussion he puts it off, but he accelerates mat- you will find the elegance of Greece, the good cheer
ters ripe for dispatch. The second hour’ arrives; he of Gaul, Italian nimbleness, the state of public ban-
rises from the throne to inspect his treasure-chamber quets with the attentive service of a private table, and
or stable. If the chase is the order of the day, he joins everywhere the discipline of a king’s house. What
it, but never carries his bow at his side, considering need for me to describe the pomp of his feast days?
this derogatory to royal state. When a bird or beast is No man is so unknown as not to know of them.
marked for him, or happens to cross his path, he puts But to my theme again. The siesta after lunch is
his hand behind his back and takes the bow from a always slight and sometimes omitted. When inclined
page with the string all hanging loose; for as he for the board game, he is quick to gather up the dice,
deems it a boy’s trick to carry it in a case, so he con- examines them with care, shakes the box with expert
siders it effeminate to receive the weapon ready hand, throws rapidly, humorously addresses them,
strung. When it is given to him, he sometimes holds and patiently waits the issue. Silent at a good throw,
it in both hands and bends the extremities toward he makes merry over a bad, annoyed by neither for-
each other; at others he sets it, knot-end downward, tune and always the philosopher. He is too proud to
against his lifted heel and runs his finger up the ask or to refuse a revenge;’ he disdains to avail him-
slack and wavering string. After that, he takes his self of one if offered and if it is used by an opponent
arrows, adjusts, and lets fly. He will ask you before- he will quietly go on playing. You effect recovery of
hand what you would like him to transfix; you your own gaming pieces without obstruction on his
choose, and he hits. If there is a miss through ei- side; he recovers his without collusion upon yours.
ther’s error, your vision will mostly be at fault and You see the strategist when he moves the pieces; his
not the archer’s skill. one thought is victory. Yet at play he puts off a little
of his kingly rigor, inciting all to good fellowship
and the freedom of the game: I think he is afraid of
being feared. Vexation in the man whom he beats
'The Visigoths subscribed to the homoian form of delights him; he will never believe that his opponents
Christianity, which often, but mistakenly, is referred to as have not let him win unless their annoyance proves
“Arianism” (see Reading 109). Homoian Christianity him really victor. You would be surprised at how
stated that God and Christ were of a similar substance often the pleasure born of these little happenings
“according to the scriptures,” whereas Nicene Christianity may favor the march of great affairs. Petitions that
stated that God and Christ were of the same substance
some wrecked influence had left derelict come unex-
(see Reading 110, Section 7).
pectedly to port. I myself am gladly beaten by him
2 During antiquity and the Middle Ages, the day’s activi-
ties started at sunrise and daylight was divided into
twelve parts. Thus, the “second hour” began at approxi-
mately 5:00 aM in the summer and 8:00 Am in the wintr. 3 Apparently an opportunity to retake a throw.
 544 THE END OF ANTIQUITY (476-640)

vwhen I have a favor to ask, because the loss of my conductor intoning a set piece. You will hear no lyre
game may mean the gaining of my cause. or flute players, no director of the music, no girls with
About the ninth hour,’ the burden of government tambourine or lute. The king cares for no strains but
begins again. Back come the appellants, back the those that no less charm the mind with virtue than the
ushers to remove them. On all sides buzz the voices of ear with melody. When he rises to withdraw, the treas-
petitioners, a sound that lasts until evening and does ury watch begins its vigil; armed sentries stand on
not diminish until interrupted by the royal repast. guard during the first hours of slumber.
Even then they only disperse to attend their various But I am wandering from my subject. I never
patrons among the courtiers, and are astir until bed- promised a whole chapter on the kingdom, but a few
time. Sometimes, although this is rare, supper is enliv- words about the king. I must stay my pen; you asked
ened by sallies of mimes,° but no guest is ever exposed for nothing more than one or two facts about the
to the wound of a satirical tongue. On the other hand, person and the tastes of Theoderic; and my own aim
there is no noise of a hydraulic organ or a choir with its was to write a letter, not a history. Farewell.

4 About 2:00 pm in summer and 1:00 pm in winter.

°A popular form of entertainment.
 120
cSk>
ene OON VERSION" OF *GL@VIS
fee) GREGORY OFROURS:
PiomOR TES, “BCC Kae
So ReERS 23284

A manuscript of the Flemish poet Jacob van Maerlant copied ca 1335-1355 depicts the baptism of
Clovis by Remigius, bishop of Reims, ca. 496 ce. The Holy Spirit, as a dove, brings the holy oil.

Circa 496 ce, during a hard-fought battle with the Alamanni, it was said that Clovis (481-511),
the pagan king of the Franks, promised to become a Christian if he won. After the Frankish
victory, Clovis, encouraged by his Nicene Christian wife, the Burgundian princess Clotilda,
was baptized as a Nicene Christian by Remigius, the Roman bishop of Reims. As a result,
barbarians and Romans in the Frankish kingdom shared the same religious beliefs and prac-
tices, greatly facilitating the integration of the two populations. His Nicene faith gained
Clovis valuable Roman support during his subsequent war with the Visigoths, who espoused
a non-Nicene form of Christianity (see Reading 110, Section 7). At the pivotal Battle of
Vouillé in 507, Clovis defeated and killed the Visigothic king Alaric Il (484-507), and the

545
546 THE END OF ANTIQUITY (476-640)

Franks occupied most of the Visigothic territories in Gaul, thus becoming the primary bar-
barian power in Gaul.

Source: Ernest Brehaut, History of the Franks, by Gregory, Bishop of Tours (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1916), 38—41.

Now the king of the Burgundians was Gundioc, of the all shameful crimes, committing incest with men,
family of king Athanaric® the persecutor. He had four mocking at his kinswomen, not able to refrain from
sons: Gundobad,’ Godegisel, Chilperic, and Godomar. intercourse with his own sister.”!”
Gundobad killed his brother Chilperic with the sword But the spirit of the king was by no means moved to
and sank his wife in water with a stone tied to her belief, and he said, “It was at the command of our gods
neck. His two daughters he condemned to exile; the that all things were created and came forth, and it is
older of these, who became a nun, was called Chrona, plain that your God has no power and, what is more, he
and the younger Clotilda. And as Clovis® often sent is proven not to belong to the family of the gods.”
embassies to Burgundy,’ the maiden Clotilda was Meantime the faithful queen made her son ready for
found by his envoys. And when they saw that she was baptism. She gave command to adorn the church with
of good bearing and wise, and learned that she was of hangings and curtains, in order that he who could not
the family of the king, they reported this to King be moved by persuasion might be urged to belief by this
Clovis, and he sent an embassy to Gundobad without mystery. The boy, whom they named Ingomer, died
delay asking her in marriage. Gundobad was afraid to after being baptized, still wearing the white garments
refuse and surrendered her to the men. They took the in which he became reborn. At this the king was vio-
girl and brought her swiftly to the king. The king was lently angry and reproached the queen harshly, saying:
very glad when he saw her, and married her, having “If the boy had been dedicated in the name of my gods
already by a concubine a son named Theoderic.” he would certainly have lived; but as it is, because he
He had a first-born son by queen Clotilda, and as was baptized in the name of your god, he could not live
his wife wished to consecrate him in baptism, she at all”’ After this she bore another son, whom she
tried unceasingly to persuade her husband, saying, named Chlodomer’ at baptism, and when he fell sick,
“The gods you worship are nothing, and they will be the king said, “It is impossible that anything else should
unable to help themselves or anyone else. For they are happen to him than what happened to his brother,
graven out of stone or wood or some metal. And the namely, that being baptized in the name of your Christ,
names you have given them are names of men and not he should die at once.” But through the prayers of his
of gods, such as Saturn, who is declared to have fled mother, and the Lord’s command, he became well.
in fear of being banished from his kingdom by his The queen did not cease to urge him to recognize
son; such as Jupiter'' himself, the foul perpetrator of the true God and cease worshipping idols. But he
could not be influenced in any way to this belief, until
° There is no other evidence that the Burgundian king at last a war arose with the Alamanni,'* in which he
Gundioc was related to the Visigothic chieftain was driven by necessity to confess what before he had
Athanaric, who lived more than a century earlier and of his free will denied. It came about that as the two
died as an exile in Constantinople in 381. Athanaric had armies were fighting fiercely, there was much slaughter,
persecuted Gothic Christians. and Clovis’s army began to be in danger of destruction.
7King of the Burgundians from 473 until 516.
* King of the Franks from 481 until 511 ce.
* The Burgundian kingdom, the region around Lyon in France. ’ Juno, Greek Hera, the sister and wife of Jupiter.
'°Later the Frankish king Theoderic I (511-534 cr). 'S Later king of the Franks from 511 to 524.
'' Jupiter, Greek Zeus, overcame his father Saturn, Greek '* A people living between the upper Rhine and upper
Cronus, and became king of the gods; see Reading 6. Danube rivers.
THE CONVERSION OF CLOVIS (496 ce)
547

He saw it and raised his eyes to heaven, and with re- spread, candles of fragrant odor burned brightly, and
morse in his heart he burst into tears and cried, “Jesus the whole shrine of the baptistery was filled with a
Christ, whom Clotilda asserts to be the son of the living divine fragrance and the Lord gave such grace to those
God, who art said to give aid to those in distress and to who stood by that they thought they were placed amid
bestow victory on those who hope in thee, I beseech the the odors of paradise.
glory of thy aid, with the vow that if thou wilt grant me The king was the first to ask to be baptized by the
victory over these enemies and I shall know that power bishop. Another Constantine’® advanced to the baptis-
that she says that people dedicated in thy name have mal font, to terminate the disease of ancient leprosy
had from thee, I will believe in thee and be baptized in and wash away with fresh water the foul spots that long
thy name. For I have invoked my own gods but, as I had been borne. And when he entered to be baptized,
find, they have withdrawn from aiding me, and there- the saint of God began with ready speech, “Gently
fore I believe that they possess no power, because they bend your neck, Sicamber,'’ worship what you burned;
do not help those who obey them. I now call upon thee, burn what you worshipped.” The holy bishop Remigius
I desire to believe thee only let me be rescued from my was a man of excellent wisdom and especially trained
adversaries.” And when he said thus, the Alamanni in rhetorical studies, and of such surpassing holiness
turned their backs and began to disperse in flight. And that he equaled the miracles of Silvester.'* For there is
when they saw that their king was killed, they submit- extant a book of his life that tells that he raised a dead
ted to the dominion of Clovis, saying, “Let not the man. So the king confessed all-powerful God in the
people perish further, we pray. We are yours now.” And Trinity, and was baptized in the name of the Father,
he stopped the fighting, and after encouraging his men, Son, and Holy Spirit, and was anointed with the holy
he retired in peace and told the queen how he had had ointment with the sign of the cross of Christ. And of his
merited to win the victory by calling on the name of army more than 3000 were baptized. His sister also,
Christ. This happened in the fifteenth year of his reign.!° Albofleda, was baptized, who not long after passed to
Then the queen asked saint Remigius, bishop of the Lord. And when the king was in mourning for her,
Reims, to summon Clovis secretly, urging him to intro- the holy Remigius sent a letter of consolation that began
duce the king to the word of salvation. And the bishop in this way, “The reason of your mourning pains me,
sent for him secretly and began to urge him to believe and pains me greatly, that Albofleda your sister, of
in the true God, maker of heaven and earth, and to good memory, has passed away. But I can give you this
cease worshipping idols, which could help neither comfort, that her departure from the world was such
themselves nor anyone else. But the king said, “I gladly that she ought to be envied rather than be mourned.”
hear you, most holy father; but there remains one thing: Another sister also converted, Lanthechildis by name,
the people who follow me cannot endure to abandon who had fallen into the heresy of the Arians,’ and she
their gods; but I shall go and speak to them according confessed that the Son and the holy Spirit were equal to
to your words.” He met with his followers, but before he the Father, and was anointed.
could speak the power of God anticipated him, and all
the people cried out together, “O pious king, we reject
our mortal gods and we are ready to follow the immor- 16 Constantine I (306-337), who likewise had adopted
Christianity after being raised as a pagan.
tal God whom Remigius preaches.” This was reported
'7The Sicambrians were one of the peoples who made up
to the bishop, who greatly rejoiced and bade them get
the Franks.
ready the baptismal font. The squares were shaded with '8 The bishop of Rome (314-335), who was said to have
tapestried canopies, the churches adorned with white baptized Constantine and to have issued the “Donation of
curtains, the baptistery set in order, the aroma of incense Constantine,” a forged document that granted dominion
of the western Roman Empire to the bishop of Rome.
15 That is, in 496 cE. Other dates also have been proposed !9 The derogatory name used by Gregory for the homoian
for the battle. Christians.
 [21
cSO>

THE ACCLAMATIONS OF THE

SENATE OF ROME (438 Ce):
THEODOSIAN CODE, “ACTS
OFTHE SENATE

The surviving “Julian Curia,” the Senate house in Rome, was initially constructed by Julius Caesar in
44 ace, subsequently renovated by the emperors Domitian (81—96 ce) and Diocletian (284-305), and
last remodeled in 412 ce. It was used as a church in the Middle Ages and thus escaped being demolished
for building materials.

In December 438, the Theodosian Code (see Reading 110) was officially introduced to the
western empire at a meeting of the Senate in Rome. The verbatim minutes of the meeting
were preserved and prefaced to the official copies of the code that were circulated through-
out the west. This process shows the continuing role of the Senate, no longer in policy
making, but in distributing information received from the emperors. The only remaining
means that the Senate had of communicating its desires to the emperors was by shouting
acclamations after they had heard the emperors’ wishes.

Source: Clyde Pharr, trans., The Theodosian Code and Novels, and the Sirmondian Constitutions (Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press, 1952), 5—7.

548
THE ACCLAMATIONS OF THE SENATE OF ROME (438 ce) 549

Acts of the Senate. sacred emperor, Our Lord Theodosius, desired to

In the year of the sixteenth consulship of Our Lord add the following high honor also to his world,
Flavius Theodosius Augustus” and the consulship of namely, that he should order to be established the
the Most Noble Anicius Acilius Glabrio Faustus.?! regulations that must be observed throughout the
When the Most Noble and Illustrious Anicius Acil- world,”’ in accordance with the precepts of the laws
ius Glabrio Faustus, thrice Ex-Prefect of the City, that had been gathered together in a compendium of
Praetorian Prefect, and Ordinary Consul,” in his sixteen books and these books he had desired to be
home, which is at Palma,”? and the Most Noble and consecrated by his most sacred name. The immortal
Illustrious Flavius Paulus, Prefect of the City, the Re- emperor, Our Lord Valentinian, with the loyalty of a
spectable Junius Pompolius Publianus, Vicar of the colleague and the affection of a son, approved this
Eternal City, men of noble rank, and the Most August undertaking.”®
Order of the Senate had assembled and conferred to- The Assembly shouted:
gether for a considerable time, and the Constitution- “Thou art newly eloquent! Truly eloquent!”
aries** Anastasius and Martinus had entered pursuant The Most Noble and Illustrious Anicius Acilius
to an order, the Most Noble and Illustrious Anicius Glabrio Faustus, thrice Ex-Prefect of the City, Prae-
Acilius Glabrio Faustus, thrice Ex-Prefect of the torian Prefect, and Ordinary Consul, said, “There-
City, Praetorian Prefect, and Consul Ordinary, spoke fore, the most sacred emperor summoned me and the
as follows: “The felicity that emanates from our im- illustrious man who was Prefect of the East at that
mortal emperors proceeds in its increase to the point time and ordered copies of the Code to be delivered
that it arrays with the ornaments of peace those from his own divine hand, one to each of us, in order
whom it defends in the fortunes of war.” Last year that they might be dispatched throughout the world
when I attended, as a mark of devotion, the most fe- with all due reverence. Thus, it was among the first of
licitous union of all the sacred ceremonies, after the his provisions that his forethought should be brought
nuptials had been felicitously solemnized,”° the most to the knowledge of Your Sublimity.”” The Code as
directed by the order of both emperors was received
into our hands. The Constitutionaries are present. If
20 The emperor Theodosius IT (402-450). it please Your Magnificence, let Your Magnificence
1 The year 438 CE. order that these very laws be read to you with which
22 The first Consul appointed during any given year, who
the emperors ordered that this undertaking should be
gave his name to the year; subsequent appointees were
performed, in order that we may obey with proper
called Suffect Consuls.
3 An area near the center of Rome. The Senate often met devotion the most carefully considered precepts of
not in the Curia (Senate house), which was rather spartan the immortal emperors.”
and small, but in the luxurious city house of a distin-
guished senator, which was a great honor and not, as sug-
gested by Pharr (Theodosian Code, 3), “one of the many
indications of the low status of the Senate.”
24 Officials responsible for making and preserving official 27Tn theory, the Romans claimed to rule the whole
copies of the Code. world.
25 A rather optimistic statement because, in the east, the 8 The principle of “unanimity of Empire.” Even though
Huns were becoming a serious problem and in the west the Roman Empire now was effectively split into eastern
the Vandals had invaded Africa and were on the verge of and western halves, in legal practice there was still only a
capturing Carthage. single empire and laws issued in one part of the empire
26 The marriage in 437 at Constantinople between were issued also in the name of the other emperor(s).
Theodosius’s cousin, the young western emperor 2° High-ranking officials were endowed with elaborate
Valentinian III (425—455), and Theodosius’s daughter, titles of address, such as ““Your Sublimity” and “Your
Licinia Eudoxia. Magnificence.”
550 THE END OF ANTIQUITY (476-640)

The assembly shouted, “It is right! So be it! So be it!” words that were added, not from the very necessity
The Most Noble and Illustrious Anicius Acilius of sanctioning the law, shall be omitted.*4
Glabrio Faustus, thrice Ex-Prefect of the City, Prae- Although it would be simpler and more in accord-
torian Prefect, and Ordinary Consul, read from the ance with law to omit those constitutions that were
first book of the Theodosian Code, under the title, invalidated by later constitutions and to set forth
“Constitutions and Edicts of the Emperors”*°: only those that must be valid, let us recognize that
“The emperors Theodosius and Valentinian this Code and the previous ones were composed for
Augustuses to the Senate. We decree that, after the more diligent men, to whose scholarly efforts it is
pattern of the Gregorian and Hermogenian Codes,” granted to know those laws also that have been con-
a collection shall be made of all the constitutions that signed to silence and have passed into desuetude,
were issued by the renowned Constantine, by the because they were destined to be valid for cases of
sainted emperors after him, and by us and that rest their own time only.
upon the force of edicts or sacred imperial law of Moreover, from these three Codes and from the
general force. First, the titles, which are the definite treatises and responses of the jurists that are attached
designations of the matters therein, shall be so di- to each of the titles, through the services of the same
vided that when the various headings have been ex- men who shall arrange the third code there shall be
pressed, if one constitution should pertain to several produced another Code of ours.** This Code shall
titles, the materials shall be assembled wherever permit no error, no ambiguities; it shall be called by
each is fitting.** Second, if any diversity should cause our name, and shall show what must be followed and
anything to be stated in two ways, it shall be tested what must be avoided by all. For the consummation
by the order of the headings, and not only shall the of so great a work and the composition of the Codes,
year of the consulship be considered and the time of the first of which shall collect all the diversity of gen-
the reign be investigated, but also the arrangement of eral constitutions,*° shall omit none outside itself that
the work itself shall show that the laws that are later now are permitted to be cited in court,*’ and shall
are more valid.*? Furthermore, the very words them- reject only an empty copiousness of words, and the
selves of the constitutions, in so far as they pertain to other of which shall exclude every contradiction of
the essential matter, shall be preserved, but those the law and shall undertake the guidance of life—
men must be chosen of singular trustworthiness, of
the most brilliant genius. When they have presented
30 Faustus then read out verbatim the legislation that had
authorized the compilation of the Code. As can be seen,
not all of it actually was put into effect. ** The authors of late Roman laws could be quite verbose,
31 The existing Gregorian and Hermogenian codes were and the editors were instructed to omit material, some-
not “compilations of imperial enactments or constitu- times a great amount, not directly relevant to the law
tions,” as Pharr (Theodosian Code, 4), but were collec- being issued.
tions of rescripts, that is, replies to petitions; and they *° A comprehensive code consisting of the Gregorian,
were compiled under Diocletian in the 290s, not “in the Hermogenian, and Theodosian codes along with the writ-
early fourth century.” ings of jurists (legal scholars) was not produced until the
» That is, the laws were dismembered so different sec- publication of the Corpus iuris civilis (“Body of Civil
tions pertaining to different topics could be added to the Law’’) under the emperor Justinian in the early 530s.
appropriate sections of the Code. *° That is, the existing Theodosian Code, which only
33 A full record of laws on any given topic was included, included statute law issued by emperors.
even laws that had been overridden or superseded by sub- *7Once the Code had been issued, any laws that had not
sequent laws. So these overridden laws, too, could be been included in it, even by inadvertence, no longer were
cited in court. valid.
 THE ACCLAMATIONS OF THE SENATE OF ROME (438 CE)
551
the first Code** to our wisdom and to the public au- laws must be mutually announced, and they must not
thority, they shall undertake the other, which must be
be admitted otherwise.
worked over until it is worthy of publication Let Given on the seventh day before the Kalends of
Your Magnificence acknowledge the men who have April at Constantinople in the year of the consulship
been selected: the Illustrious Antiochus, Ex-Quaestor of Florentius and Dionysius.*?”
and Ex-Prefect; the Illustrious Antiochus, Quaestor
of the Sacred Imperial Palace*®: the Respectable The- The assembly shouted:
odorus, Count and Master of the Bureau of Memori-
als*!; the Respectable Eudicius and Eusebius, Masters “Augustuses of Augustuses, Repeated* 8 times.
of the Bureaux; and the Respectable Johannes, Ex- the Greatest of Augustuses!”
Count of our Sacred Consistory; the Respectable Co- “God gave you to us! God Repeated 27 times.
mazon and Eubulus, Ex-Masters of the Bureaux; and save you for us!”
Apelles, most eloquent jurist. “As Roman Emperors, Repeated 22 times.
We are confident that these men who have been pious and felicitous, may
selected by Our Eternity will employ every excep- you rule for many years!”
tionally learned man in order that by their common “For the good of the human Repeated 24 times.
study a reasonable plan of action may be appre- race, for the good of the
hended and fallacious laws may be excluded. Senate, for the good of the
Furthermore, if in the future it should be our state, for the good of all!”
pleasure to promulgate any law in one part of this “Our hope is in you, you Repeated 22 times.
very closely united empire, it shall be valid in the are our Salvation!”
other part on condition that it does not rest upon “May it please our Repeated 22 times.
doubtful trustworthiness or upon a private assertion. Augustuses to live forever!”
From that part of the empire in which it will be es- “May you pacify the world Repeated 24 times.
tablished, it shall be transmitted with the most sacred and triumph here in
imperial letters, it shall be received in the bureaux of person!”
the other part of the empire also, and it shall be pub- “There are the prayers of Repeated 10 times.
lished with the due formality of edicts. For a law that the Senate, these are the
has been sent must be accepted and must undoubt- prayers of the Roman
edly be valid, and the power to emend and to revoke people!”
shall be reserved to Our Clemency. Moreover the “Dearer than our children, Repeated 16 times.
dearer than our parents!”
“Suppressors of informers, Repeated 28 times.
suppressors of trickery!’"4
38 That is, the Theodosian Code, also referred to above as
the “third Code,” to distinguish it from the earlier Grego-
rian and Hermogenian codes. #26 March 429.
° Only the first of these two codes ever was completed. “8 The acclamations would be repeated in unison until
The second was not assembled until a hundred years later no one continued. The number of repetitions then was
as the Digest of the emperor Justinian, which compiled reported to the emperors.
the opinions of Roman jurists. “4 This and the next acclamation, which received the
40 The chief legal official at the imperial court. greatest number of repetitions, reflect two of the Senate’s
41 The Bureaux were all of the high-ranking, specialized greatest concerns: (1) a fear of informers and (2) the
secretarial and office staffs in charge of correspondence, acknowledgment that the ranks, titles, and honors that
archives, and record-keeping. the senators valued so much came from the emperors.
 THE END OF ANTIQUITY (476-640)
552

“Through you our “Hail, Faustus!’** Repeated 17 times.

Repeated 28 times.
honors, through you our “A second term for you in Repeated 15 times.
patrimonies, through you the consulship!”
our all!” “You regulate everything, Repeated 13 times.
“Through you, our military Repeated 20 times. you harm no man!”
strength; through you, our “Let copies be made and Repeated 11 times.
laws!” dispatched to the
“We give thanks for this Repeated 23 times. provinces!”
regulation of yours!” “Worthy purveyor of such Repeated 10 times.
“You have removed the Repeated 23 times. great benefits”
ambiguities of the imperial “Hail Paulus!” Repeated 12 times.
constitutions!” “A Consulship for you!” Repeated 11 times.
“Dutiful emperors act Repeated 26 times. “We request that the Codes Repeated 15 times.
wisely in this manner!”
be kept in the public
“You wisely provide for Repeated 25 times.
bureaux!”
lawsuits, you provide for the
“Tet this duty be assigned Repeated 12 times.
public peace!”
to the office of the
“Let many copies of the Repeated 10 ainics:
Prefects!”>°
Code be made to be kept in
“Tet each Prefect affix his Repeated 15 times
the governmental office!”
own seal”
“Let them be kept under Repeated 20 times. “Let each have a copy in his Repeated 12 times.
seal in the public
own office!”
bureaux!”
“We ask that no laws be Repeated 21 times.
“Tn order that the established Repeated 25 times.
promulgated in reply to
laws not be falsified, let
many copies be made!
supplications””!
“Tn order that the established “Hail Aétius’*? Repeated 15 times.
Repeated 12 times.
laws may not be falsified, “A third term for you in the Repeated 13 times.
let all copies be written out consulship”
in letters!’° “Through your vigilance Repeated 12 times.
“To this copy that will be Repeated 12 times. we are safe and secure”
made by the Constitutionaries “Through your vigilance, Repeated 15 times.
let no annotations be added to through your labors”
the law!”
“We request that the copies Repeated 16 times. ‘8 The senator who made the opening address. He never
to be kept in the bureaux received a second consulship.
shall be made at public 4° A senator who, with Faustus, had convoked the
expense!’"” meeting.
°° The Praetorian Prefects were the highest-ranking civil
officials, ranking just below the emperor.
45 So unauthorized changes could not be made. >! Many late Roman laws were issued in response to re-
46 Written out in full without abbreviations that could be quests from special interest groups: the emperors had a
misconstrued. hard time saying “no” to these kinds of requests.
47 Roman laws were full of unfunded mandates, so the * The Patrician and Master of Soldiers and, along with
senators did not want to be made responsible for paying Valentinian’s mother Galla Placidia, the virtual ruler of
for the copies. the western empire. He did get a third consulship.
THE ACCLAMATIONS OF THE SENATE OF ROME (438 ck)
353

Hail, Faustus!” Repeated 13 times. shall remain in the exalted office of the praetorian®™4
“A second term for you in archives, the bureau of the magnificent Prefect of
Repeated 10 times.
the consulship!” the City, a man of equal trustworthiness, shall hold
“We ask that you report to the second, and the Constitutionaries shall be or-
Repeated 20 times.
the emperors the desires of dered to retain the third in their own custody faith-
the Senate!” fully and at their own risk, in order that they may
“Preserver of the laws, pre- publish it to the people, with this provision, that no
Repeated 16 times
server of the decrees” copies may be published except such as have been
“All the rights of landhold- transcribed from this copy by the Constitutionaries,
Repeated 17 times.
ers are thrown into confu- in their own hand. Likewise it shall be an object of
sion by such surreptitious my care to arrange for this also, that another copy of
actions” the Code shall be transcribed by these men and shall
be dispatched with like devotion to the Province of
The Most Noble and Illustrious Anicius Acilius Africa,® in order that there, too, a model of equal
Glabrio Faustus, thrice Ex-Prefect of the City, Prae- reliability may be preserved.”
torian Prefect, and Ordinary Consul, said, “Pursu-
ant to the orders of Our Lords and the desires of The assembly shouted,
Your Eminences, it now shall be an object of my
care to provide for the transcription of this code in “Hail Faustus!” Repeated 16 times.
three copies, through the reliable services of the Re- “A second term for you Repeated 15 times.
spectable Veronicianus, who was selected by agree- in the consulship!”
ment between Your Magnificences and me, and by “To a man of all virtues!” Repeated 10 times.
the reliable services of the Constitutionaries Anasta-
sius and Martinus, whom we already have approved And by another hand.* I, Flavius Laurentius, Secre-
as having given long and faultless services to this tary of the Most August Senate, have published this
office. Then, whereas the copy that I have presented on the eighth day before the Kalends of January.°’

>4 Of the Praetorian Prefects.

55 The senators could not have known that less than a year
later, on 19 October 439, Carthage and the Roman prov-
ince of North Africa would fall to the Vandals. After less
53 This was important because the reporting of such ac- than a hundred years, however, North Africa would be
clamations was the only remaining institutionalized way reconquered by the Romans; see Reading 122.
that the Senate of Rome had of communicating its desires 56 A formula that indicates-a scribal addendum.
to the emperors. 5795 December 438, Christmas Day.
 [22
cCO>

THE END*@F THE VANDAL

KINGDOM (533: cE): PROCOFIMs;
HISFORY OFP-PHE WAKS mBOM Is
CHAPTERS alLG—=28

Silver siliqua of Gelimer (530-534), the last king of the Vandals. The legend on the obverse reads, “Our
Lord King Geilamir.” The reverse shows a Christian cross in a wreath, along with the number “L’ and the
abbreviation “D N,” signifying the coin’s value as “50 denarii.” The denarius by this time was strictly a
notional value and had no direct connection with the denarius of the Roman Principate.

Traditional accounts of the Fall of the Western Roman Empire leave the reader supposing
that as of 476 the barbarians had “won," having established kingdoms throughout the old
western empire. But appearances, and popular perceptions, can be deceiving. A mere
seventy-five years later, much of the western Roman Empire had been reconquered by the
Roman emperor Justinian (527-565), thus recreating an empire that extended from the cata-
racts of the Nile to the Strait of Gibraltar. The reconquest began in 533, when Justinian sent

554
THE END OF THE VANDAL KINGDOM (533 ce)
555

his general Belisarius to North Africa in an effort to conquer the Vandals and their king,
Gelimer (530-534). At the Battle of Ad Decimum the Vandal army was destroyed and Gelimer
put to flight. Belisarius then occupied Carthage, just as the Vandals themselves had done
almost a century earlier. Later in the same year, the remaining Vandal resistance was mopped
up at the Battle of Tricamarum, which effectively brought the Vandal Kingdom to an end.
After being displayed in Justinian's triumph in Constantinople, Gelimer spent the rest of his
life in honorable retirement on estates granted to him in Galatia. A detailed account of the
war was written by the historian Procopius, who, as an Assessor, or legal expert, accompa-
nied Belisarius on his campaigns.

Source: H. B. Dewing, trans., Procopius. History of the Wars, Books III and IV (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1916).

And when the emperor Justinian** considered that the When the emperor heard this, he was no longer
situation was as favorable as possible, both as to do- able to restrain his purpose, and he began to collect
mestic affairs and as to his relations with Persia, he the army and the ships, and to make ready supplies of
took under consideration the situation in Libya. But weapons and of food, and he announced to Belisar-
when he disclosed to the magistrates that he was gath- ius® that he should be in readiness, because he was
ering an army against the Vandals and Gelimer,*! very soon to act as general in Libya. He had in readi-
most of them began immediately to show hostility to ness the expedition against Carthage, ten thousand
the plan, and they lamented it as a misfortune, recall- foot-soldiers and five thousand horsemen,” gathered
ing the expedition of the emperor Leo and the disaster from the regular troops and from the “foederati.”
of Basiliscus,” and reciting how many soldiers had Now at an earlier time only barbarians were enlisted
perished and how much money the state had lost. The among the foederati, those, namely, who had come
emperor Justinian, hearkening, checked his eager into the Roman political system, not in the condition
desire for the war. But one of the priests whom they of slaves, because they had not been conquered by
call bishops, who had come from the east, said that he the Romans, but on the basis of complete equality.
wished to have a word with the emperor. And when he For the Romans call treaties with their enemies
met Justinian, he said that God had visited him in a “foedera.” But at the present time there is nothing to
dream, and bidden him go to the emperor and rebuke prevent anyone from assuming this name.©
him, because, after undertaking the task of protecting And after this the general Belisarius and Antonina,
the Christians in Libya from tyrants, he had for no his wife, set sail. And there was with them also
good reason become afraid. “And yet,” God had said, Procopius, who wrote this history. When they came
“T will myself join with him in waging war and make
him lord of Libya.” 63 Justinian’s best and most reliable general.
64 A remarkably small number compared to the much
58 Byzantine emperor from 527 until 565; often looked on larger armies of antiquity.
as a model Byzantine emperor. 65 The “foederati” were still random auxiliary units.
59 The Sasanid, or New Persian, Empire to the east, which 6 The wife of Belisarius. She came from a family of en-
often was in a state of war with the Byzantine Empire. tertainers; her father and grandfather were charioteers
60 In this case, a reference to the Vandal Kingdom in and her mother an actress, an occupation that often in-
modern Tunisia and Algeria in North Africa. volved prostitution. Like Theodora, the wife of the em-
61 The last King of the Vandals (530-534 cE). peror Justinian, who also had been an entertainer
® A failed attempt made in 468 CE to reconquer North (Reading 123), Antonia manifests the opportunities for
Africa by the eastern emperor Leo (457-474) was led by social advancement, especially for able women, that
Leo’s incompetent brother-in-law Basiliscus. characterized Late Antiquity.
556 THE END OF ANTIQUITY (476-640)

near the shore, the general bade them furl the sails, stades away until he himself should summon them.
throw out anchors from the ships, and make a halt. And departing from Grasse we came on the fourth
They made the disembarkation as quickly as possi- day to Ad Decimum, seventy stades distant from
ble, about three months later than their departure Carthage.
from Byzantium. And indicating a certain spot on Belisarius, seeing a place well adapted for a camp,
the shore the general bade both soldiers and sailors thirty-five stades distant from Ad Decimum, sur-
dig the trench and place the stockade about it. rounded it with a stockade that was very well made,
And Belisarius, having arrayed his army as for and placing all the infantry there and calling together
battle in the following manner, began the march to the whole army, he spoke as follows:
Carthage. And accomplishing eighty stades®’ each
day, we completed the whole journey to Carthage, Fellow-soldiers, the decisive moment of the strug-
passing the night either in a city, should it so happen, gle is already at hand, for I perceive that the enemy
or in a camp made as thoroughly secure as the cir- are advancing upon us. The ships have been taken
far away from us by the nature of the place, and it
cumstances permitted. Thus we passed through the
has come round to this that our hope of safety lies
city of Leptis®® and Hadrumetum® and reached the
in the strength of our hands. For there is not a
place called Grasse, three hundred and fifty stades
friendly city, no, nor any other stronghold, in which
distant from Carthage. But Gelimer, as soon .as he we may put our trust and have confidence concern-
heard in Hermione” that the enemy were at hand, ing ourselves. But if we should show ourselves
wrote to his brother Ammatas in Carthage to kill brave men, we shall overcome the enemy, but if we
Hilderic’! and all the others, connected with him should weaken at all, we will fall under the hand of
either by birth or otherwise, whom he was keeping the Vandals and be destroyed disgracefully. And
under guard. He commanded him to make ready the yet there are many advantages on our side to help us
Vandals and all others in the city serviceable for war, on toward victory; for we have with us both justice,
in order that, when the enemy got inside the narrow with which we have come against our enemy, for we
passage at the suburb of the city that they call Ad are here in order to recover what is our own, and the
hatred of the Vandals toward their own tyrant. For
Decimum,” they might come together from both
the alliance of God follows naturally those who put
sides and surround them and, catching them as in a
justice forward, and a soldier who is ill-disposed
net, destroy them. Belisarius commanded Archelaus,
toward his ruler knows not how to play the part of a
the Prefect, and Calonymus, the Admiral, not to put brave man. And apart from this, we have been en-
in at Carthage, but to remain about two hundred gaged with Persians and Scythians” all the time,
but the Vandals, since the time they conquered
°7 A “stade” was approximately six hundred feet, making Libya, have seen not a single enemy except naked
eighty stades about nine and a half miles. Moors.” And who does not know that in every work
°§ Leptis Magna, a Roman city on the Libyan coast eighty practice leads to skill, whereas idleness leads to in-
miles east of modern Tripoli. efficiency? Now the stockade, from which we shall
° A Phoenician trading colony of the ninth century BCE have to carry on the war, has been made by us in the
that predated Carthage. best possible manner. And we are able to deposit
70 A small inland city. here our weapons and everything else that we are
” Grandson of the Vandal king Geiseric, and son of not able to carry when we go forth; and when we
Geiseric’s son Huneric and Eudocia, daughter of the em- return here again, no kind of provisions can fail us.
peror Valentinian III. Hilderic served as king of the Vandals And I pray that each one of you, calling to mind his
from 523 until 530, when he was deposed by his cousin own valor and those whom he has left at home, may
Gelimer. Gelimer’s rude responses to Justinian’s protests so march with contempt against the enemy.”
gave Justinian the pretext for invading North Africa.
” A town located at the tenth mile post of one of the 3 Huns.
Roman roads leading out of Carthage. ™% The native inhabitants of North Africa.
THE END OF THE VANDAL KINGDOM (533 cE)
dD,

After speaking these words and uttering a prayer between the two armies as to which should capture
after them, Belisarius left his wife and the barri- the highest of all the hills there, for it seemed a suit-
caded camp to the infantry, and himself set forth able one to encamp upon, and both sides preferred to
with all the horsemen. For it did not seem to him engage with the enemy from there. The Vandals,
advantageous for the present to risk an engagement coming first, took possession of the hill by crowding
with the whole army, but it seemed wise to skirmish off their assailants and routed the enemy, having al-
first with the horsemen and make trial of the enemy’s ready become an object of terror to them. And the
strength, and later to fight a decisive battle with the Romans in flight came to a place seven stades distant
whole army. Sending forward, therefore, the com- from Ad Decimum, where, as it happened, Uliaris,
manders of the foederati, he himself followed with the personal guard of Belisarius, was, with eight
the rest of the force, and his own spearmen and hundred guardsmen. All supposed that Uliaris would
guards.” And when the foederati and their leaders receive them and hold his position, and together with
reached Ad Decimum, they saw the corpses of the them would go against the Vandals, but when they
twelve comrades from the forces of John and near came together, these troops all unexpectedly fled at
them Ammatas and some of the Vandals.”° Hearing top speed and went on the run to Belisarius.
from the inhabitants of the place the whole story of From then on Iam unable to say what happened to
the fight, they were vexed, being at a loss as to where Gelimer because, having the victory in his hands, he
they ought to go. But while they were still at a loss willingly gave it up to the enemy. For if, on the one
and from the hills were looking around over the hand, he had made the pursuit immediately, I do not
whole country thereabouts, a dust appeared from the think that even Belisarius would have withstood him
south and a little later a very large force of Vandal and our cause would have been utterly and com-
horsemen. They sent to Belisarius urging him to pletely lost, so numerous appeared the force of the
come as quickly as possible because the enemy were Vandals and so great the fear they inspired in the
bearing down upon them. The opinions of the com- Romans. Or if, on the other hand, he had even ridden
manders were divided. Some thought that they ought straight for Carthage, he would easily have killed all
to close with their assailants, but the others said that John’s men,” who, heedless of everything else, were
their force was not sufficient for this. wandering about the plain one by one or by twos and
While they were debating thus among themselves, stripping the dead. He would have preserved the city
the barbarians drew near under the leadership of with its treasures and captured our ships, which had
Gelimer, who was following a road between the one come rather near, and he would have withdrawn from
that Belisarius was traveling and the one by which us all hope both of sailing away and of victory. But in
the Massagetae who had encountered Gibamundus fact he did neither of these things. Instead, he de-
had come. But the land was hilly on both sides and scended from the hill at a walk, and when he reached
did not allow him to see either the disaster of Giba- the level ground and saw the corpse of his brother, he
mundus or Belisarius’ stockade nor even the road turned to lamentations, and, in caring for his burial,
along which Belisarius’ men were advancing. But he blunted the edge of his opportunity, an opportu-
when they came near each other, a contest arose nity that he was not able to grasp again.
Meantime Belisarius, meeting the fugitives, bade
them stop and arrayed them all in order and rebuked
The Roman generals of Late Antiquity had attendant on
them at length. Then, after hearing of the death of
them large numbers of personal retainers.
Ammatas and the pursuit of John and learning what
7 Tn one skirmish on the previous day, Roman Massage-
tae, a barbarian people of the central Asian steppes. had
he wished concerning the place and the enemy, he
defeated a Vandal force led by Gibamundus, and in an- proceeded at full speed against Gelimer and the
other Roman forces led by John the Armenian had killed
Gelimer’s brother Ammatus. 7 From the battle the day before.
558 THE END OF ANTIQUITY (476-640)

Vandals. The barbarians, having already fallen into those of the Vandals who had been left behind were
disorder and being now unprepared, could not with- sitting as suppliants in the sanctuaries. But Belisar-
stand the onset of the Romans, but fled with all their ius prevented the entrance in order not only to guard
might, losing many there, and the battle ended at against any ambush being set for his men by the
night. Now the Vandals were in flight, not to Carthage enemy but also to prevent the soldiers from having
nor to Byzacium,’* whence they had come, but to the freedom to turn to plundering, as they might under
plain of Boulla and the road leading into Numidia.” the concealment of night.
So the men with John and the Massagetae returned On the following day Belisarius commanded
to us about dusk, and after learning all that had hap- those on the ships to disembark, and after marshal-
pened and reporting what they had done, they passed ling the whole army and drawing it up in battle for-
the night with us in Ad Decimum. mation, he marched into Carthage; for he feared lest
On the following day the infantry with the wife of he should encounter some snare set by the enemy.
Belisarius came up and we all proceeded together on There he reminded the soldiers at length of how
the road toward Carthage, which we reached in the much good fortune had come to them because they
late evening. We passed the night in the open, al- had displayed moderation toward the Libyans, and
though no one hindered us from marching into the he exhorted them earnestly to preserve good order
city at once. For the Carthaginians opened the gates with the greatest care in Carthage. Because no
and burned lights everywhere and the city was bril- enemy was seen by them, he went up to the palace
liant with the illumination that whole night, and and seated himself on Gelimer’s throne.

78 A coastal region south of Carthage.

” A region of North Africa to the west of Carthage.
 [23
ae ae
THE CHARACTER. OF JUSTINIAN
AN alae IOLR A..(5 27-548° Ce):
iN OPP. OE CRET, fou ORY,
PROLOGUE, 1-12

The retinues ofJustinian and Theodora are depicted in this composite view of a mosaic dating to
546 ce in the church of San Vitale in Ravenna: Theodora is just as resplendent, if not even more so,
than Justinian, attesting to the important role that she played in the imperial hierarchy.

During the Roman Empire it always was potentially dangerous for writers to speak too
candidly about current events. One had to wait until after the death of a problematic ruler,
as Tacitus waited for the death of Domitian (81-96), before one could express oneself
more freely. This also was the case for the historian Procopius, who glorified the emperor
Justinian while the latter was alive, but vilified him and his wife, Theodora, after their
deaths. After a lengthy character assassination of Belisarius, punctuated by the liaisons
and schemes of his wife, Antonina (see Reading 122), Procopius turns to extravagant tales
of the character flaws and misdeeds of Justinian and Theodora, who predeceased her hus-
band in 548 ce. As in the case of the salacious tales retailed in the second century ce by the

559
 THE END OF ANTIQUITY 76-640)

biographer Suetonius (see Reading 92), one must be cautious about accepting the literal
truth of of Propopius's stories.

Source: Richard Atwater, trans., The Secret History of Procopius (New York: Covici-Friede, 1927).

It was not possible, during the life of certain persons, foot, carrying on their shoulders their blankets in
to write the truth of what they did, as a historian which were wrapped no other equipment except the
should. If Ihad, their hordes of spies would have found biscuits they had baked at home. When they arrived
out about it, and they would have put me to a most hor- and were admitted into military service, the emperor
rible death. I could not even trust my nearest relatives. chose them for the palace guard: for they were all
These secrets it is now my duty to tell and reveal the three fine-looking men.
remaining hidden matters and motives. Yet when I ap- As time went on, this Justin came to great power.
proach this different task, I find it hard indeed to have The emperor Anastasius“ appointed him Count of the
to stammer and retract what I have written before Palace Guard: and when the emperor departed from
about the lives of Justinian and Theodora. Worse yet, it this world, by the force of his military power Justin
occurs to me that what I am now about to tell will seem seized the throne. By this time he was an old man on
neither probable nor plausible to future generations, the verge of the grave, and so illiterate that he could
especially as time flows on and my story becomes an- neither read nor write, which never before could have
cient history. I fear they may think me a writer of fic- been said of a Roman ruler. It was the custom for an >
tion, and even put me among the poets. But I was emperorto sign his edicts with his own hand. but he
constrained to proceed with this history, for the reason neither made decrees nor was able to understand the
that future tyrants may see also that those who thus err business of state at all. The man on whom it befell to
cannot avoid retribution in the end. For who now assist him as Quaestor was named Proclus, and he
would know of the unchastened life of Semiramis™ or managed everything to suit himself. But so that he
the madness of Sardanapalus™ or Nero,” if the record might have some evidence of the emperor's hand, he
had not thus been written by men of their own times? invented the following device for his clerks to construct.
I now come to the tale of what sort of beings Jus- Cutting out of a block of wood the shapes of the four
tinian and Theodora were, and how they brought letters required to make the Latin wond, they dipped a
confusion on the Roman State. During the rule of the pen into the ink used by emperors for their signatures
emperor Leo™ in Constantinople, three young farm- and put it in the emperor's fingers. Laying the block of
ers of Illyrian birth, named Zimarchus, Ditybistus, wood I have described on the paper to be signed, they
and Justin of Bederiana, after a desperate struggle guided the emperor's hand so that his pen outlined the
with poverty, left their homes to try their fortune in four letters, following all the curves of the stencil, and
the army. They made their way to Constantinople on thus they withdrew with the “FIAT of the emperor.
This is how the Romans were ruled under Justin. His
8° A legendary Assyrian queen said to have been the wife was named Lupicina, a slave and a barbarian
who
daughter of the fertility goddess Astarte, to have fought was bought to be his concubine. With Justin, as the
many wars as far away as India, and to have constructed
many Near Eastern monuments.
‘! The legendary last king of Assyria whose decadent “East Roman emperor from 491 until 518.
pleasure-seeking lifestyle led to the fall of the Assyrian S Quaestor of the Sacred Palace, the chief legal official.
Empire. “©The emperors used purple ink.
© Roman emperor from 54 to 68 ce, known for his * Latin for “let it be so.” The same urban legend was
decadent lifestyle. told about the Ostrogothic king Fheoderic the Great
8 Leo I 457-474 ce). (493-525 ce).
THE CHARACTER OF JUSTINIAN AND THEODORA (527-548 ck) 561

sun of his life was about to set, she ascended the As soon as he took over the rule from his uncle,
throne.*®® his measure was to spend the public money without
restraint, now that he had control of it. He gave much
[The Character of Justinian] of it to the Huns who, from time to time, entered the
Now Justin was able to do his subjects neither harm state, and in consequence the Roman provinces were
nor good. For he was simple, unable to carry on a subject to constant incursions, for these barbarians,
conversation or make a speech, and utterly bucolic. having once tasted Roman wealth, never forgot the
His nephew Justinian, while still a youth, was the road that led to it. He gathered to himself the private
virtual ruler and the cause of more and worse ca- estates of Roman citizens from all over the empire,
lamities to the Romans than anyone man in all their some by accusing their possessors of crimes of which
previous history. He had no scruples, against murder they were innocent, others by juggling their owners’
or the seizing of other person’s property, and it was words into the semblance of a gift to him of their
nothing to him to make away with myriads of men, property. And many, caught in the act of murder and
even when they gave him no cause. He had no care other crimes, turned their possessions over to him
for preserving established customs, but was always and thus escaped the penalty for their sins.
eager for new experiments, and, in short, was the This emperor, then, was deceitful, devious, false,
greatest corrupter of all noble traditions. hypocritical, two-faced, cruel, skilled in dissembling
When the plague attacked the whole world, no his thought, never moved to tears by either joy or
fewer men escaped than perished of it, for some pain, although he could summon them artfully at
never were taken by the disease, and others recov- will when the occasion demanded, a liar always, not
ered after it had smitten them.®’ But this man not one only offhand but also in writing and when he swore
of all the Romans could escape. As if he were a sacred oaths to his subjects in their very hearing.
second pestilence sent from heaven, he fell on the Then he would immediately break his agreements
nation and left no man untouched. For some he slew and pledges, like the vilest of slaves, whom indeed
without reason, and some he released to struggle only the fear of torture drives to confess their per-
with penury, and their fate was worse than that of jury. A faithless friend, he was a treacherous enemy,
those who had perished, so that they prayed for death insane for murder and plunder, quarrelsome and
to free them from their misery. Others he robbed of revolutionary, easily led to anything evil but never
their property and their lives together. When there willing to listen to good counsel, quick to plan mis-
was nothing left to ruin in the Roman state, he deter- chief and carry it out but finding even the hearing of
mined the conquest of Libya and Italy, for no other anything good distasteful to his ears.
reason than to destroy the people there, as he had How could anyone put Justinian’s ways into
those who were already his subjects. Justinian was words? These and many even worse vices were dis-
very complacent and resembled most the silly ass, closed in him as in no other mortal nature seemed to
which follows, only shaking its ears, when one drags have taken the wickedness of all other men com-
it by the bridle. As such Justinian acted, and threw bined and planted it in this man’s soul. And besides
everything into confusion. this, he was too prone to listen to accusations and too
quick to punish. For he decided such cases without
full examination, naming the punishment when he
88 As Augusta she took the name Euphemia, that of a
had heard only the accuser’s side of the matter. With-
Christian saint, perhaps because of the association of the
out hesitation he wrote decrees for the plundering of
name Lupicina with prostitution; see Reading 73.
countries, sacking of cities, and slavery of whole na-
8° The Plague of Justinian (541-542 ce) afflicted much of
tions, for no cause whatever. So that if one wished to
Near Eastern and Mediterranean worlds, killing an esti-
mated twenty-five million people; for ancient plagues, see take all the calamities that had befallen the Romans
also Reading 56. before this time and weigh them against his crimes,
 THE END OF ANTIQUITY (476-640)
562

I think it would be found that more men had been Later, she followed Hecebolus, a Tyrian” who had
murdered by this single man than in all previous been made governor of Pentapolis,”” serving him in
history. the basest of ways, but finally she quarreled with him
He had no scruples about appropriating other and was sent summarily away. Consequently, she
people’s property, and did not even think any excuse found herself destitute of the means of life, which she
necessary, legal or illegal, for confiscating what did proceeded to earn by prostitution, as she had done
not belong to him. And when it was his, he was more before this adventure. She came thus to Alexandria,
than ready to squander it in insane display, or give it and then traversing all the east, worked her way to
as an unnecessary bribe to the barbarians. In short, he Constantinople; in every city plying a trade as if the
neither held on to any money himself nor let anyone devil were determined there be no land on earth that
else keep any, as if his reason were not avarice but should not know the sins of Theodora.
jealousy of those who had riches. Driving all wealth Thus was this woman born and bred. But when
from the country of the Romans in this manner, he she came back to Constantinople, Justinian fell vio-
became the cause of universal poverty. Now this was lently in love with her. At first he kept her only as a
the character of Justinian, so far as I can portray it. mistress, although he raised her to patrician®’ rank.
Through him, Theodora was able immediately to
[The Character of Theodora] acquire an unholy power and exceedingly great
Justinian took a wife, and in what manner she was riches. She seemed to him the sweetest thing in the
born and bred, and, wedded to this man, tore up the world, and like all lovers, he desired to please his
Roman Empire by the very roots, I now shall relate. charmer with every possible favor and requite her
Acacius was the keeper of wild beasts used in the with all his wealth. The extravagance added fuel to
amphitheater in Constantinople. He belonged to the the flames of passion. With her now to help spend
Green faction” and was nicknamed the Bearkeeper. his money he plundered the people more than ever,
This man, during the rule of Anastasius, fell sick and not only in the capital, but throughout the Roman
died, leaving three daughters named Comito, Theo- Empire.
dora, and Anastasia, of whom the eldest was not yet Justin, doting and utterly senile, now was the
seven years old. When these children reached the laughing stock of his subjects. He was disregarded by
age of girlhood, their mother put them on the local everyone because of his inability to oversee state af-
stage, for they were fair to look upon. Forthwith, fairs; but Justinian they all served with considerable
Theodora became a courtesan, for she was not a flute awe. His hand was in everything, and his passion for
or harp player, nor was she even trained to dance, but turmoil created universal consternation. It was then
only gave her youth to anyone she met, in utter aban- that he undertook to complete his marriage with The-
donment. She took part in the low comedy scenes, odora. Because it was impossible for a man of senato-
for she was very funny and a good mimic, and im- rial rank to make a courtesan his wife, this being
mediately became popular in this art. Frequently, forbidden by ancient law, Justinian made the emperor
she conceived but as she employed every artifice im- nullify this ordinance by creating a new one, permit-
mediately, a miscarriage was straightway effected. ting him to wed Theodora and consequently making
it possible for anyone else to marry a courtesan.”
Immediately after this he seized the power of the
°° The two most popular chariot-racing fan clubs were
known as the “Blues” and the “Greens” from the colors
emperor, veiling his usurpation with a transparent
the charioteers wore. These “circus factions” provided an
outlet for popular political expression, often by shouting *! From the Phoenician city of Tyre.
orchestrated acclamations (as in Reading 121) and slo- °? A province in Libya, west of Egypt.
gans during performances in the hippodrome (chariot °3 Patricians outranked even Consuls.
race track). ** A law issued by Justin between 520 and 523.
THE CHARACTER OF JUSTINIAN AND THEODORA (527-548 cr)
563

pretext, for he was proclaimed colleague® of his emperor, so that they might collect further tribute
uncle as emperor of the Romans by the questionable from him, to buy them off in a second peace. Thus
legality of an election inspired by terror. the Huns enslaved the Roman Empire, and were paid
So Justinian and Theodora ascended the imperial by the emperor to keep on doing it.
throne three days before Easter, a time, indeed, when To me, and many others of us, these two seemed
even making visits or greeting one’s friends is for- not to be human beings but veritable demons, and
bidden. And not many days later Justin died of an what the poets call vampires. They laid their heads
illness,*° after a reign of nine years. Justinian now together to see how they could most easily and
was sole monarch, together, of course, with Theo- quickly destroy the race and deeds of men, and as-
dora. Thus it was that Theodora, although born and suming human bodies, became man-demons, and so
brought up as I have related, rose to royal dignity convulsed the world. Some of those who have been
over all obstacles. What she and her husband did to- with Justinian at the palace late at night, men who
gether must now be briefly described, for neither did were pure of spirit, have thought they saw a strange
anything without the consent of the other. For some demoniac form taking his place. One man said that
time it was generally supposed they were totally dif- the emperor suddenly rose from his throne and
ferent in mind and action, but later it was revealed walked about, and indeed he was never wont to
that their apparent disagreement had been arranged remain sitting for long, and immediately Justinian’s
so that their subjects might not unanimously revolt head vanished, while the rest of his body seemed to
against them, but instead be divided in opinion. ebb and flow, whereat the beholder stood aghast and
As soon as Justinian came into power he turned fearful, wondering if his eyes were deceiving him.
everything upside down. As the Romans were now at But presently he perceived the vanished head filling
peace with all the world and he had no other means out and joining the body again as strangely as it had
of satisfying his lust for slaughter, he set the barbar- left it. Another said he stood beside the emperor as
ians all to fighting each other. And for no reason at he sat, and suddenly the face changed into a shape-
all he sent for the Hun chieftains and with idiotic less mass of flesh, with neither eyebrows nor eyes in
magnanimity gave them large sums of money, alleg- their proper places nor any other distinguishing fea-
ing he did this to secure their friendship. This, as I ture, and after a time the natural appearance of his
have said, he also had done in Justin’s time. These countenance returned. I write these instances not as
Huns, as soon as they had got this money, sent it to- one who saw them myself, but heard them from men
gether with their soldiers to others of their chieftains, who were positive they had seen these strange occur-
with the word to make inroads into the land of the rences at the time.

On 1 April 527.
%°On 1 August 527.
 124
cSO>

THE RISE OF ISLAM (627-629 CE):

AL-TABARI, HISTORY OF THE
PR@PHETFS“AN D* RINGS 1619

This manuscript illustration comes from “The Universal History” of Rashid Al-Din Hamadani, created in
Tabriz, Persia, for the Mongol IIkhanate in the early fourteenth century ce. It depicts the encounter in
Syria of the ten-year-old Muhammad with the Arab Nestorian Christian monk Bahira, otherwise known
as Sergius the Monk. The historian al-Tabari reported that Bahira saw a vision above Muhammad’s head
and foretold to Muhammad’s uncle his future role as the Prophet and warned him to protect Muhammad
from the Byzantines.

The Persian scholar Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari (839-923 ce), one of the earliest
Islamic historians, was the author of the "Tarikh al-Rusul wa al-Muluk” ("History of the
Prophets and Kings"), which covered the period from the creation to 915 ce. The “Tarikh
al-Tabari," its short title, meticulously cites its sources and is considered one of the most ac-
curate accounts of early Islamic history. The section on the rise of Islam discusses the pro-
cesses by which Muhammad extended his authority over the peoples of Arabia. Ancient
Arabia was a welter of many different clans who were identified by the word "Banu," that is,

564
THE RISE OF ISLAM (627-629 ck): AL-TABARI, HISTORY OF THE PROPHETS AND KINGS,
1619 565

“the descendants of," because each clan was believed to have had a single original progeni-
tor. The clans all were interrelated to a closer or more distant degree and interacted with
each other on many different levels, both friendly and hostile. In 627 ce, after Muhammad
had fled from Mecca and established himself in Medina in 622 cE (the Hijra), the two sides
made peace. But this did not last. It was only a matter of time before the quarrels among the
different clans led to a further outbreak of hostilities. In 629 ce, fighting broke out between
the Khuza‘ah clan, which supported Muhammad, and the Banu Bakr clan, which supported
Mecca. As a result, the peace collapsed, and in the next year Muhammad was able to gain
control of Mecca. al-Tabari also wrote that Christians had deleted from the original Christian
gospels references to the coming of Muhammad.

Source: Michael Fishbein, trans., The History of Al-Tabari: The Victory of Islam, Vol. 8 (Albany: State University of New York
Press, 1997), 160-163.

After sending his expedition to Mut’ah,”’ the Mes- Kulthum, and Dhu’ayb, the sons of al-Aswad bin
senger of God” stayed in Medina” during Jumada II Razn al-Dili—they were the leading men and digni-
and Rajab.'°° Then the Banu Bakr bin “Abd Manat taries of the Banu Bakr—and killed them at ‘Arafah,
bin Kinanah'™ assaulted the Khuza’ah'™ while the by the border markers of the sacred territory.
latter were at a watering place called al-Watir belong- According to Ibn Humayd, Salamah, and Mu-
ing to the Khuza’ah in Lower Mecca. The cause of hammad bin Ishaq,'°° a man from the Banu al-Dil,
the strife between Banu Bakr and the Banu Khuza’ah said, “In pagan times two payments of blood money
was a man from the Banu al-Hadrami!® named would be paid for each of the sons of al-Aswad,
Malik bin “Abbad. This man of the Banu al-Hadrami whereas a single payment of blood money would be
had a covenant of protection™ at that time with al- paid for us, and that because of their excellence com-
Aswad bin Razn. Malik set out on a journey as a mer- pared with us.)
chant. When he was in the middle of Khuza’ah Matters stood thus between the Banu Bakr and
territory, the Khuza’ah assaulted him, killed him, the Khuza’ah when Islam intervened to separate
and took his property. The Banu Bakr therefore at- them and occupy people’s minds. When the peace of
tacked and killed a man from Khuza’ah.'® Just before al-Hudaybiyah'® was concluded between the Mes-
Islam, the Khuza’ah in turn assaulted Salma, senger of God and the Quraysh!” (this information is
according to Ibn Humayd, Salamah, Muhammad bin
Ishag, Muhammad bin Muslim bin ‘Abdallah bin
°7 A town in eastern Jordan. Shihab al-Zuhri, ‘Urwah bin al-Zubayr, al-Miswar
°8 Muhammad. bin Makhramah, Marwan bin al-Hakam, and other
°° The city to which Muhammad had fled after being
learned men of ours), among the terms they imposed
expelled from Mecca in 622 CE.
on the Messenger of God and that he granted to them
100 The sixth and seventh months of the Muslim calendar.
101 A people of western Arabia south of Mecca. The word
“bin,” “son of,” indicates the family lineage of the person 106 Rarlier sources cited by al-Tabari.
believed originally to have established the clan. 107Blood money was paid to bring the cycles of retaliation
102 The Bani Khuza’a, an Arab people of west central to an end.
Arabia who once ruled Mecca. 108 Following several battles, the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah
103 A people of the Hadramat area of Yemen in southern in March 628 specified a ten-year peace between
Arabia. Muhammad and the city of Medina on the one hand and
104 A promise not to attack or kill each other. the Quraysh clan of Mecca on the other.
105 The standard “law of retaliation” in force at the time. 109 The clan that controlled the city of Mecca at this time.
566 THE END OF ANTIQUITY (476-640)

was that whoever wanted to enter into a treaty and God!” To which Nawfal replied blasphemously,
pact with the Messenger of God might do so, and “Today he has no God! Banu Bakr, take your re-
whoever wanted to enter into a treaty with the venge! By my life you steal in the sacred territory;
Quraysh might do so. The Banu Bakr entered into a will you not take your revenge in it?”
pact with the Quraysh, and the Khuza’ah entered into The night that the Banu Bakr attacked the
a pact with the Messenger of God. Khuza’ah at al-Watir, they killed a man of the
The truce having been concluded, the Banu al-Dil Khuza’ah named Munabbih. Munabbih was a man
of the Banu Bakr took advantage of it against with a weak heart. He had gone out with a clansman
Khuza’ah. To retaliate for the sons of al-Aswad bin of his named Tamim bin Asad. Munabbih said to
Razn they wanted to kill the persons from Khuza’ah him, “Tamim, save yourself! As for me, by God, I
who had killed their men. Nawfal bin Mu’awiyah am a dead man whether they kill me or spare me, for
al-Dili set out with the Banu al-Dil (at that time he my heart has ceased beating.” Tamim ran away and
was a leader of the Banu al-Dil, although not all the escaped; Munabbih they caught and killed. When
Banu Bakr followed him). He made a night raid on the Khuza’ah entered Mecca, they took refuge in the
the Khuza’ah while the latter were at their watering house of Budayl bin Waqa’ al-Khuza’i and the house
place of al-Watir, and they killed a man. They tried of one of their mawlas!"' named Rafi’.
to drive each other away and fought. The Quraysh When the Quraysh leagued together with the
aided the Banu Bakr with weapons, and some mem- Banu Bakr against the Khuza’ah and killed some of
bers of the Quraysh fought on their side under cover their men, breaking the treaty and covenant that ex-
of darkness until they drove the Khuza’ah into the isted between them and the Messenger of God by
sacred territory.!° violating the Khuza’ah, who had a pact and treaty
According to al-Waqidi: Among the members of with him, ‘Amr bin Salim al-Khuza’i, one of the
the Quraysh who helped the Banu Bakr against Banu Ka‘b, went to the Messenger of God in
Khuza’ah that night, concealing their identity, were Medina. ‘Amr stood before the Messenger of God
Safwan bin Umayyah, ‘Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl, Suhayl while he was in the mosque sitting among the
bin ‘Amr, and others, along with their slaves. people, and he recited, “Oh God, I will remind Mu-
Resumption of the account of Ibn Ishaq, who said: hammad of the venerable alliance of our father and
When they reached the sacred territory, the Banu his father. Parent were we, and you were child.”!!”
Bakr said, ““Nawfal, we have entered the sacred terri- This was one of the things that prompted the con-
tory. Be mindful of your God! Be mindful of your quest of Mecca.

'' Patrons, protectors, or supporters.

'? Arab peoples were very aware of family relationships
going back for generations and were expected to preserve
'l0The territory of Mecca, marked out by sacred stones. ancient loyalties.
 125
cCQD
THE MUSLIM CONQUEST OF
EGYPT (640 ce): JOHN OF NIKIU,
CHRONICLE, CHAPTERS 111-120

A gold solidus of the Byzantine emperor Heraclius (610-641) depicts on the obverse Heraclius with
his son and short-lived successor, Heraclius Constantine (641). The legend reads “Our Lords Heraclius
and Heraclius Constantinus, Perpetual Augustuses.” On the reverse is a cross on steps and the legend
“Victory of the emperors,” with the abbreviation for “Count of Gold” below. After repelling and
disastrously defeating the New Persians in the 620s, the weakened Heraclius was unable to withstand
the onslaught of the Muslim Arabs during the 630s.

In late 639 ce, Byzantine Egypt was invaded by the Muslim general ‘Amr. After a series of
small victories, ‘Amr completely destroyed the Roman army at the Battle of Heliopolis on
6 July 640. Any hope of reinforcements and continued resistance ended with the death of
the Byzantine emperor Heraclius in February 641. After additional defeats, what was left of
the Roman forces congregated in Alexandria. After a further nine-month siege, with further
resistance having become futile, Cyrus, the Melchite (eastern supporters of the Council of
Chalcedon in 451) Patriarch of Alexandria, who also had been appointed Prefect of Egypt,

567
568 THE END OF ANTIQUITY (476-640)

made a humiliating treaty with ‘Amr that surrendered Alexandria to the Muslims. With the
loss of Alexandria, the Romans had no hope of holding Egypt, and thus the richest of all the
Roman provinces was abandoned to the Muslims and, with it, any hope of being able to re-
cover the eastern provinces. Thisaccount is given byJohn,theMonophysite (anti-Chalcedonian)
bishop of Nikid in the Nile Delta, whose later seventh-century chronicle is often the only
source for these events. The tale begins in the spring of 640.

Source: R. H. Charles, The Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiu (London: Williams & Norgate, 1916).

Now, Theodorus was Master of Soldiers in Egypt. enemies. And subsequently they got ready some
And when the messengers of Theodosius the Prefect horsemen and a body of soldiers and archers, and
of Arcadia'!? informed him regarding the death of these marched out to fight the Muslim, purposing to
John, general of the local levies, he thereupon turned prevent their advance. And these Ishmaelites''* came
with all the Egyptian troops and his auxiliary forces and slew without mercy the commander of the troops
and marched to L6kj6n,!"* which is an island. Moreo- and all his companions. And forthwith they com-
ver he feared lest, owing to the dissensions prevailing pelled the city of Arsinoé to open its gates, and they
among the inhabitants of that district, the Muslims put to the sword all that surrendered, and they spared
should come and seize the coast of L6kj6n and dis- none, whether old men, babe, or woman. And they
lodge the communities of the servants of God who proceeded against the general John.
were subjects of the Roman emperor. His lamentations Tidings of these events were brought to the gen-
were more grievous than the lamentations of David eral Theodosius and to Anastasius,'!? who were then
over Saul when he said, “How are the mighty fallen, twelve miles distant from Nikii.'”° And they betook
and the weapons of war perished!’”"> For not only had themselves immediately to the citadel of Babylon,!”!
John the Master of Soldiers perished when the Arabs and they remained there. And such Romans as were
took Bahnasa!!® and attacked Arsinoé,!"” but likewise in Egypt sought refuge in the citadel of Babylon. And
John the general, who was of the city of Marés, had they also were awaiting the arrival of the general
been slain in battle and fifty horsemen with him. Theodorus in order to join with him in attacking the
I will acquaint you briefly with what befell the Ishmaelites before the rise of the river and the time
former inhabitants of Arsinoé. of sowing.
John and his troops had been appointed by the
Romans to guard the district. They posted other [The Battle of Heliopolis]
guards near the rock of the city of Lahiin in order to Theodosius and Anastasius went forth to the city of
keep guard continually and to give information to Heliopolis,'** on horseback, together with a large
the chief of the forces of the movements of their
'8 Tn the Bible, the descendants of Ishmael, the son of
‘3 4 Roman province in the northernmost part of Upper Abraham and his handmaid Hagar. By the time of
Egypt. Muhammad, the Arabs were thought to be the descen-
"4 All of the locations in this account, some of which are dants of Ishmael.
otherwise unknown, are located in Lower Egypt. The military governor of Alexandria.
152 Samuel 1:27. '°The episcopal see of the author of this account.
6 A Christian episcopal see. '*! The most important Roman fortress in Lower Egypt $2

' Arsinoé in Arcadia, the capital city of the Fayum on the Nile River south of modern Cairo.
district. Known to the Egyptians as Shedet and the 'Tunu to the ancient Egyptians and On in the Bible,
Greeks as Crocodilopolis, it was renamed Arsinoé by the the worship center of the Egyptian gods Atum and Ra,
Ptolemaic king Ptolemy II (309-246 sce) in honor of his located just north of modern Cairo near the border
sister and wife, Arsinoé. between Lower and Upper Egypt.
THE MUSLIM CONQUEST OF EGYPT (640 ck)
569

body of foot soldiers, in order to attack ‘Amr the son inhabitants of Abdit that he was fleeing to escape the
of Al-As.'?? And ‘Amr showed great vigilance and Muslims, and they proceeded to Niki by ship. And
strenuous thought in his attempts to capture the city when the Muslims learnt that Domentianus had fled,
of Babylon. But he was troubled because of his sepa- they marched joyously and seized the city of Abdit,
ration from a part of the Muslim troops, who being and they shed much blood there.
divided into two corps on the east of the river were Such of the governors as were in the city of Nikid
marching toward Heliopolis, which was situated on fled and betook themselves to the city of Alexandria,
high ground. And ‘Amr the son of Al-As sent a letter leaving Domentianus with a few troops to guard the
to Omar the son of Al-Khattab in the province of city. Then a panic fell on all the cities of Egypt and all
Palestine to this effect, “If thou dost not send Muslim their inhabitants took to flight and made their way to
reinforcements, I shall not be able to take Babylon.” Alexandria, abandoning all their possessions and
And Omar sent him 4,000 Muslim warriors whose wealth and cattle. And when those Muslims, accom-
general’s name was Walwarja. He was of barbarian panied by the Egyptians who had apostatized from
descent. And ‘Amr divided his troops into three corps. the Christian faith and embraced the faith of the beast,
One corps he placed near Tendunias,!*4 the second to had come up, the Muslims took as booty all the pos-
the north of Babylon in Egypt, and he made his prepa- sessions of the Christians who had fled, and they des-
rations with the third corps near the city of Heliopolis. ignated the servants of Christ enemies of God. And
And he gave the following orders, “Be on the watch, ‘Amr the chief of the Muslims spent twelve months in
so that when the Roman troops come out to attack us, warring against the Christians of northern Egypt, but
you may rise up in their rear, while we shall be on failed nevertheless in reducing their cities.
their front, and so having got them between us, we And when the Muslims saw the weakness of the
shall put them to the sword.” Romans and the hostility of the people to the emperor
And thus when the Roman troops, unaware, set Heraclius!”° because of the persecution he had visited
out from the fortress to attack the Muslims, these on all the land of Egypt in regard to the catholic faith,
Muslims thereupon fell upon their rear, as they had at the instigation of Cyrus the Chalcedonian Patri-
arranged, and a fierce engagement ensued. And when arch,!*” they became bolder and stronger in the war.
the Muslims came in great numbers against them, And the inhabitants of the city of Antinoé!”® sought to
the Roman troops fled to their ships. And the Muslim concert measures with John their Prefect with a view
army took possession of the city of Tendunias, for its to attacking the Muslim, but he refused, and arose
garrison had been destroyed, and there survived only with haste with his troops, and, having collected all
300 soldiers. And these fled and withdrew into the the imposts of the city, betook himself to Alexandria,
fortress and closed the gates. But when they saw the for he knew that he could not resist the Muslims and
great slaughter that had taken place, they were seized he feared lest he should meet with the same fate as the
with panic and fled by ship to Nikid in great grief and
sorrow. And when Domentianus’®> heard of these
events, he set out by night without informing the '26 Emperor from 610 to 641 CE.
!27 A supporter of the ecumenical Council of Chalcedon,
which in 451 cE had condemned the Monophysite view
'23 “Amr ibn al-‘As, an early enemy of Islam who that Christ had a single divine nature as opposed to an
converted in 620 CE and became one of Muhammad’s equally divine and human nature, Cyrus had been made
chief generals. After the Muslim conquest of Syria, Patriarch of Alexandria by Heraclius in 631 in opposition
he proposed an invasion of Roman Egypt, which he to the exiled Monophysite patriarch Benjamin. Most of
led in late 639 CE. Egypt was Monophysite, and many Egyptians therefore
!24Mfuslim Umm Dinayn, a Roman fortress on the Nile welcomed the Muslim invasion, thinking they could thus
River. gain greater religious tolerance.
125 4 Roman patrician and general known for his coward- !28 City in Upper Egypt built by the emperor Hadrian
ice and love of intrigue. (117-138) in honor of his lover Antinoiis.
570 THE END OF ANTIQUITY (476-640)

garrison of Arsinoé. Indeed, all the inhabitants of the small quantity of gold and set out. And it was in this
province submitted to the Muslim and paid them trib- way that the citadel of Babylon in Egypt was taken.’
ute. And the Muslims put to the sword all the Roman ‘Amr and the Muslim army, on horseback, then
soldiers whom they encountered. proceeded by land until they came to the city of
Heraclius fell ill with fever and died in the thirty- Kebrias of Abadja. And on this occasion he attacked
first year of his reign in the month Yakatitof the the general Domentianus. When the latter learned of
Egyptians, that is, February of the Roman months, in the approach of the Muslim troops he embarked on a
the 357th year of Diocletian.!”? Pyrrhus, the Patriarch ship and fled and abandoned the army and their fleet
of Constantinople, nominated Constantine the son of and entered the city of Alexandria. Now when the
the empress Eudocia'® and made him head of the soldiers saw that their commander had taken flight,
empire in succession to his father.'*! Constantine they cast away their arms and threw themselves into
mustered a large number of ships and entrusted them the river in the presence of their enemies. And the
to Kirjis and Salakriiis and sent them to bring the Muslim troops slaughtered them with the sword in
Patriarch Cyrus to him so that he might take counsel the river. Thereupon the Muslims made their entry
with him as to the Muslims as to whether he should into Niki, and took possession, and finding no sol-
fight, if he were able, or, if not, should pay tribute.'% diers they proceeded to put to the sword all whom
Constantine sent orders to Theodorus to come to him they found in the streets and in the churches, men,
and leave Anastasius to guard the city of Alexandria women, and infants, and they showed mercy to none.
and the cities on the coast. And he held out hopes to And after they had captured the city, they marched
Theodorus that he would send him a large force in against other localities and sacked them and put all
the autumn in order to war with the Muslim. they found to the sword.
And ‘Amr the chief of the Muslim forces had en- And Egypt became enslaved to Satan. A great
camped before the citadel of Babylon and besieged strife had broken out between the inhabitants of
the troops that garrisoned it. Now the latter received Lower Egypt, and these were divided into two par-
his promise that they should not be put to the sword ties. Of these, one sided with Theodorus, but the
and undertook to deliver up to him all the munitions othér wished to join the Muslims. And straightway
of war, which were considerable. And thereupon he the latter party rose against the other, and they plun-
ordered them to evacuate the citadel. And they took a dered their possessions and burnt their city. But the
Muslims distrusted them. And ‘Amr sent a large
force of Muslims against Alexandria, and they cap-
12911 February 641, counting from the accession of tured Kariun, which lies outside the city. And
Diocletian (284-305), who had reorganized the adminis- Theodorus and his troops who were in that locality
tration of Egypt. fled and withdrew into Alexandria. And the Muslims
0 The first wife of Heraclius; after her death in 612 cz, began to attack them but were not able to approach
Heraclius married his niece, Martina. the walls of the city, for stones were hurled against
'5! Heraclius Constantine died only four months later of them from the top of the walls and they were driven
tuberculosis and was succeeded by his younger half-
far from the city.
brother and co-emperor, Heracleonas. He, in turn, soon
Subsequently, Constantine gave Cyrus power and
was deposed by his brother Constans II (641—668). This
instability grievously affected the Byzantine ability to authority to make peace with the Muslims and check
resist the Arabs. any further resistance against them, and to establish a
'32 By now, Cyrus also had been appointed Prefect of system of administration suitable to the government
Egypt, an extraordinary union of religious and secular
authority and an indication of how serious the situation
in Egypt was. '33.Qn 21 December 640.
THE MUSLIM CONQUEST OF EGYPT (640 ce) 571

of the land of Egypt. Now, not only Cyrus the Chalce- you.” And they fixed the amount of tribute to be paid.
donian Patriarch desired peace with the Muslim but And as for the Ishmaelites, they were not to inter-
also all the people and the patricians and Domen- vene in any matter, but were to keep to themselves
tianus, who had enjoyed the favor of the empress Mar- for eleven months. The Roman troops in Alexandria
tina.'34 So all these assembled and took counsel with were to carry off their possessions and their treas-
Cyrus the Patriarch with a view to making peace with ures and proceed home by sea, and no other Roman
the Muslim. And all the inhabitants of Alexandria, army was to return. And the Romans were to cease
men and women, old and young, gathered together to warring against the Muslim and the Muslims were to
meet the Patriarch Cyrus, rejoicing and giving thanks desist from seizing Christian churches and were not
for the arrival of the Patriarch of Alexandria.!* to meddle with any concerns of the Christians. And
And the Patriarch Cyrus set out and went to Baby- the Jews were to be permitted to remain in the city of
lon to the Muslim, seeking by the offer of tribute to Alexandria. The Egyptians, who, through fear of the
procure peace from them and put a stop to war in the Muslim, had fled and taken refuge in the city of Al-
land of Egypt. And ‘Amr welcomed his arrival, exandria, made the following request to the Patri-
and said unto him, “Thou hast done well to come to arch, “Get the Muslim to promise that we may return
us.” And Cyrus answered and said unto him, “God to our cities and become their subjects.” And he ne-
has delivered this land into your hands. Let there be gotiated for them according to their request. And the
no enmity from henceforth between you and Rome. Muslims took possession of all the land of Egypt,
Hitherto there has been no persistent strife with southern and northern.

134 Widow of the deceased emperor Heraclius.

135 A fter his return from consulting with the emperor.
136 8 November 641.
 126
cCS>

HE PERSESTt ENGipe@i peetits

CLASSICAL TRADITION IN
BARBARIAN EUROPE (cA. 575 CE):
THE POEM OF EUCHERIA

After the fall of the western Roman Empire, even barbarian kings assisted in the preservation of the
classical poetic tradition, as when the Frankish king Chilperic (561-584) authored a poem in honor of
Saint Medardus, the only surviving copy of which is found in a tenth-century manuscript preserved in
Zurich, Switzerland: the subscription reads, “King Chilperic composed this hymn.” Chiliperic was so
engaged with literature and learning that he even ordered four letters to be added to the alphabet.

After the fall of the western Roman Empire, the classical tradition continued in the barbarian
kingdoms. The only surviving poem of the author Eucheria was written in Gaul around the
last quarter of the sixth century and is preserved in a collection of secular poems known as
the “Latin Anthology." It is unclear what her connection is to the Rusticus, named in the last
line, to whom the poem is addressed; he could be a paramour, or perhaps “Rusticus” is a
nickname for her husband, the patrician Dynamius of Marseille, who served in Provence in
the mid to late sixth century. The poem exhibits many of the characteristic traits of late
Roman poetry, such as overblown rhetoric; obscure allusions, especially to mythology and

Se,
THE PERSISTENCE OF THE CLASSICAL TRADITION IN BARBARIAN EUROPE
(CA. 575 CBE) ss

the heroic Roman past; and the use of such literary tricks as antithesis (opposites), allitera-
tion, and rhyme. Eucheria survived Dynamius by eight years and died ca. 605. Their epitaph
'

in the church of St. Hippolytus at Marseille, was erected by a grandson, also named Dynamius.
Eucheria's literary activities demonstrate the continued survival and vitality of the Roman
secular literary tradition in barbarian Europe into the late sixth century ce and beyond.

Source: Ralph W. Mathisen, People, Personal Expression, and Social Relations in Late Antiquity, Vol. 1, With Translated Texts
from Gaul and Western Europe (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2003), 38—40.

I wish to fuse golden threads, shining with and likewise let the female trout seek for herself
harmonious metal, the male snail.
with masses of bristles. And let the lofty lioness be joined with the
Silken coverings, gem-studded Laconian!*’ foul fox;
fabrics, let the ape embrace the sharp-eyed lynx.
I say, must be matched with goat skins. Now let the doe be joined to the donkey, and the
Let noble purple be joined with a frightful red tigress to the wild ass;
jacket; now let the fleet deer be joined to the torpid bull.
let the gleaming gemstone be joined to Let now the foul silphium juice!*® taint the
ponderous lead. nectared rose-wine,
Let the pearl now be held captive by its own and let now honey be mixed with vile poisons.
brightness, Let us associate sparkling water with the muddy
and let it shine enclosed in dark steel. cesspool;
Likewise, let the emerald be enclosed in let the fountain flow saturated with a mixture
Leuconian'® bronze, of filth.
and let now hyacinth'’’ be the equal of flint. Let the swift swallow cavort with the funereal
Let jasper be said to be like rubble and rocks; vulture;
let now the moon embrace the nether void. let now the nightingale serenade with the
Now, indeed, let us decree that lilies are to be doleful owl.
joined with nettles, Let the unhappy coop-dweller'*! abide with the
and let the menacing hemlock oppress the pellucid partridge,
scarlet rose. and let the beautiful dove lie coupled with
Now, similarly, let us therefore, spurning the fish, the crow.
choose Let the times manipulate these monstrosities
to disdain the delicacies of the great sea. with uncertain consequences,
Let the rock-dwelling toad love the golden and in this way let the slave Rusticus seek
serpent, Eucheria.

‘37 From Laconia, in Greece, the homeland of Sparta.

138A reference to Leuci (modern Toul) in Gaul.
139Agemstone, possibly a kind of sapphire or dark ame- 40A bad-smelling gum resin obtained from the silphium
thyst, the color of the hyacinth flower (perhaps a plant and used medicinally as an antispasmodic drug.
larkspur). ‘41 The inhabitant of a bird coop.
 . 2 a an Soe

{tito sade 2 aot Fer wn ll ne =

ies? (Odeo Galt Gime eer=olipes ys cusewelty) travivintd se
rnin Ag. BST zew Silene feey t
NOR aA 50 VME DK tevivrud areb eeteenie -gitivitom
Srey ie. qhiteo.. cinee ial Seb gine: peyouu.s clerk nul 6 nottibiew.
; — hg > , a “7 »} iS
aor
i —_ ‘i

nett, Rt a Masa Sm saehata a2 beth denies ey) 1) Spceer tet sige

J NeyBP OURSaps
onoTNOE 4 9sae Ue aan
i
, i =e 5 wd

oot ve A vein 4 ict paper i A ; Rahsa raat

Ses
] bi etgl ptge jae. ATA
ee
: _ atte itl tect Aeon
B e Loy ‘aI 4 a ae rs ith fire. J rbibl ay

- So 1 gee.a2 Se PovPees, ii bas ae ; PLE ~ sei

: se =fh
Sit) cB ais « i Sal ee a : . ae a ot UE: a.
ia ow ini) 0}. 2200RE bert idindgint u lw boniol 94aad ;
beni Opis tocKt oat Salat “ay
; -s
jniul “oto; anainiglieLuntsel’ aiped e Gees
hago gnimnsaly
tae SRR RI ae ress OTe
<I 4 ohvaahye boxhie Geb egeoh wore
nae
TRS BUTE ay —
Pagers{3 Hew ae ayer

a | ay inaia da deena”
Pe . ir Se ia ae eat ie +78elsiess4 bhderonems a9

' Bee oe SSA ta

: :
4 tan
bali ity Pes Sey ai eT uo odio tase
>, as oheliasy oAil 3dof bike ae
og if } Pad j sail orld sours eS a
aida abe
‘i eal nat secre,
Bt
¥ = ~

it Bid, |p
a ate eee 2b ft xhmageaeBs +, cing’ Sa wae?
Paes dy dc) REET ye oy, ae aang
\

Fp
il
e.
cn noe: Cane anh ne een) Oe Eig Co dpoaeig capeines haee Se oe
2aF SP aah eis gras itilve ees ore i “evened
Pe seein al tel yw aaSei te & hig ont 27) be ‘
a | i ;

SPRING Dill aA tne” Reta Ae : qiieecinl

mot Ros iia oe CONC iS SES
: avec NAA 0 Matin Bt
‘ _ a ee
2 A -

Haiseiyy! Pome
att, tags mA
titi ey ne a
ab cas)
oem

dae THE TE iy: sits tau Uae ies

; > her? &Yb inbtidaday ot ™
 CREDITS
CC

Text Credits J. Taylor, and G. Zélyomi 2002, 2003, 2004,

2005; G. Cunningham, J. Ebeling, E. Robson,
1.1: Republished with permission of Brill Publishers, and G. Zélyomi 2006. The authors have asserted
from W.G. Ambert, “Mesopotamian Creation their moral rights.
Stories,” in Markham J. Geller, Mineke Schipper, 2.2: William Ellery Leonard, trans., Gilgamesh.
eds., Imagining Creation, IJS Studies in Judaica 5, Epic of Old Babylonia (New York: Viking, 1934).
2008; permission conveyed through Copyright 2.3: Copyright © J.A. Black, G. Cunningham,
Clearance Center, Inc. E. Robson, and G. Zélyomi 1998, 1999, 2000;
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J.A. Black, G. Cunningham, E. Fliickiger- J.A. Black, G. Cunningham, J. Ebeling, E. Robson,
hawker, E. Robson, J. Taylor, and G. Zélyomi 2001. J. Taylor, and G. Zé6lyomi 2002, 2003, 2004,
The authors have asserted their moral rights. 2005; G. Cunningham, J. Ebeling, E. Robson,
1.3: Copyright © 1985, 1989 by the Board of Trustees and G. Zélyomi 2006. The authors have asserted
of the Leland Standord University Press, sup.org. their moral rights.
1.5: Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns 2.5: Copyright © J.A. Black, G. Cunningham,
and Homerica (Cambridge, MA, 1924), 2-64. E. Robson, and G. Zélyomi 1998, 1999, 2000;
1.9: The Holy Bible, King James Version. Cambridge J.A. Black, G. Cunningham, E. Fliickiger-
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Hawker, E. Robson, J. Taylor, and G. Zélyomi 2001; J.A. Black, G. Cunningham, J. Ebeling, E. Robson,
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Ss
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moral rights. 9.4: Benjamin Jowett, trans., The Politics of Aristotle
2.7: J.J. Finkelstein, trans., in James Bennet Pritchard, (Colonial Press, 1900), pp. 49-51.
ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the 9.5: John Selby Watson, Marcus Junius Justinus,
Old Testament (Princeton, 1950). Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius
3.7: Miriam Lichtheim. ed., Ancient Egyptian Litera- Trogus (London: Bohn, 1853).
ture: A Book of Readings. Vol.2. The New Kingdom 10.1: John Dryden, The Lives of the Noble Greeks and
(London: 1976). Republished with permission of Romans, revised by A.H. Clough, vol. 1 (Boston:
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conveyed through Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. 10.3: B.O. Foster, trans. Livy, Books I and II
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Egyptian Love Songs (Madison: Univ. of Wisconsin 10.4: S.P. Scott, tr., The Civil Law Including the
Press, 1983), p. 7-8. Twelve Tables, the Institutes of Gaius, the Rules
4.1: Excerpt(s) from THE ARCHIVES OF EBLA: of Ulpian, the Opinions of Paulus, the Enactments,
AN EMPIRE INSCRIBED IN CLAY by Giovanni vol.1 (Cincinnati, 1932).
Pettianto, copyright © 1981 by Doubleday, an 10.5: Titus Livius. The History of Rome, vol. 1 (London:
imprint of Penguin Random House LLC. Used by Dent, 1905).
permission of Doubleday, an imprint of the Knopf 10.6: Canon Roberts, trans., Titus Livius. The History
Doubleday Publishing Group, a division of Penguin of Rome, vol. 3 (London: Dent, 1905).
Random House LLC. All rights reserved. 10.7: Oliver J. Thatcher, ed., The Library of Original
4.2: John Chadwick, The Decipherment of Linear B, Sources (Milwaukee: University Research
2nd ed. (Cambridge, 1967), 158-161. Extension Co., 1907), Vol. III: The Roman
7.5: E. C. Marchant, G. W. Bowersock, eds., Pseudo- World, 65-77.
Xenophon. Constitution of the Athenians. In 11.1: John Dryden, The Lives of the Noble Greeks and
Xenophon VII. Scripta minora, Loeb Classical Romans, revised by A.H. Clough, vol. 1 (Boston:
Library (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Little Brown, 1910).
Press, 1968), 459-507. 11.2: John Dryden, The Lives of the Noble Greeks and
8.4: John Selby Watson, trans., Marcus Junius Justinus, Romans, revised by A.H. Clough, vol. 1 (Boston:
Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Little Brown, 1910).
Trogus (London: Bohn, 1853). 11.3: Charles Duke Yonge, trans., Select Orations of
8.5: Benjamin Jowett, trans., The Politics of Aristotle M.T. Cicero (New York: Harper, 1877), 1-14.
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All rights reserved. 11.6: John Dryden, Plutarch: The Lives of the Noble
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A New English Version (London: Murray, 1862). 11.7; Wistrand, Erik Karl Hilding. The so-called
9.2: John Selby Watson, Marcus Junius Justinus, Laudatio Turiae: introduction, text, translation,
Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius commentary. [Géteborg]: Acta Universitatis
Trogus (London: Bohn, 1853). Gothoburgensis, 1976.
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(Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1916). 13.4: David Magie, trans., Historia Augusta, Volume I
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Davis, Rome and the West (Boston: Allyn and 13.5: Elsa R. Graser, trans., “The Edict of Diocletian
Bacon, 1913), no.58, 174-176. on Maximum Prices,” in T. Frank, An Economic
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The Macmillan Co., 1915). 1.1: © The Trustees of the British Museum. All rights
13.1a: Allan Johnson, Paul Coleman-Norton, Frank reserved.
Bourne, Ancient Roman Statutes: Corpus of Roman 1.3: © The Trustees of the British Museum. All rights
Law no. 277, (Austin: Univ. of Texas Press, 1961), reserved.
pp. 225-226. 1.4: CC-by-A 3.0 Loic Evanno
13.1b: Earnest Cary, trans., Dio’s Roman History, 9 1.8: CC-by-A 3.0 Till F. Teenck
vols. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University 2.1: BabelStone
Press, 1917). 2.2: The Schoyen Collection, Oslo and London: MS
13.2: “The Vigil of Venus. Translated from the 1989, Photo: Tom Jensen
Latin,” Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine 53.332 2.3: Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; number: AN1923.444
(June, 1843). Retrieved from Project Gutenberg http:// 2.4: Iraqi Directorate General of Antiquities
www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/12511/pg12511.txt. 2.5: Courtesy of Penn Museum, image #B16665
578 CREDITS

2.6: CC BY-SA 2.0 fr Rama 9.1: Beazley, Attic Red-figured Vase-Painters (1963),
2.7: © The Trustees of the British Museum. All rights 78, 93; CAVI 4497
reserved. 9.4: © Manuel Cohen
3.1: Eugene Grebaut 10.1: Finds.org.uk/Julian Waters BH-1A66B4
3.2: © The Trustees of the British Museum. All rights 10.2: Wikimedia Commons/Saiko
reserved. 10.3: Penn Libraries call number: Inc B-720
3.3: © The Trustees of the British Museum. All rights 10.5: CC-by-Wikivoyage
reserved. 10.6: © Trustees of the British Museum. All rights
3.6: “Hatshepsut’s Temple Inscription at Speos reserved.
Artemidos,” (1981) 7 Biblical Archaeology Review. 11.3: Palazzo Madama, Rome
4.2: Copyright © Hellenic Ministry of Culture and 11.4: CC-BY-SA www.hellenica.de
Sports/Archaeological Receipts Fund. 11.6: CC-by-A 2.5 Classical Numismatic Group
4.3: M. Kopocrosues: IlyrenrectrBue YH-AMyHa B 11.7: VRoma
buon. 1960 (M. Korostovtsev: Die Reise des 12.1: VRoma
Wenamun nach Byblos, 1960), S. 135. 12.2: American Numismatic Society/Mike Gasvoda
4.5: Courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority 12.6: Cc-by-sa-2.0-fr Rama
4.6: CC-by-A 3.0 WebScribe 12.7: Wildwinds SE 434
4.7: Copyright: Griffith Institute, University of Oxford 12.8: CC-BY-2.0 Israel Tourism
4.8: CC-by-A 2.0 Wayne McLean 12.9: Picture courtesy of Geoffrey Cope
5.3: Erich Lessing / Art Resource, NY 12.10: VRoma: Archaeological Museum, Florence:
5.4: Speculum Humanae Salvationis, Westfalen oder Barbara McManus
Koln, um 1360. ULB Darmstadt, Hs 2505, fol. S6v 12.11: Marisa Ranieri Panetta (ed.): Pompeji.
5.5: Marseille - BM - ms. 00839, f. 004v Geschichte, Kunst und Leben in der versunkenen
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M. L. Hart. Understanding Greek vases: a guide to p. 206
terms, styles, and techniques. Los Angeles, 2002, 12.12: AKG-images / André Held
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6.3: Badisches Landesmuseum, Karlsruhe 12.14: CC-BY-SA 3.0 via CNG
6.4: © Marie-Lan Nguyen/Wikimedia Commons/ 13.1: Geissen, Universitaetsbibliothek, P. Giss. 40.
CC-BY 2.5 13.3: David Dorren
6.5: Beazley, ARV2, 385, 228 13.4: CC-by-SA 3.0 Classical Numismatic Group, Inc.
6.6: CC-by-A 3.0 http://www.cngcoins.com
6.7: Tampa 86.24. Photograph by Maria Daniels, 13.5: Antikensammlung Berlin/Pergamonmuseum,
courtesy of the Tampa Museum of Art Property of the Miinzkabinett Berlin/MatthiasK
abel
7.1: Chicago Art Institute 13.6: CC-by-SA 3.0 Nino Barbieri
7.2: © The British Library Board, Papyrus 131 13.9: Louvre Museum, Ma 1036, OA 9056
7.3: CC-BY-SA Marsyas (2006) 14.5: ullstein bild/Getty Images
7.4: Museo Pio-Clementino, Muses Hall Inv. 269 14.6: Andre Durenceau/National Geographic Creative
7.5: CC BY-SA 3.0 Classical Numismatic Group SNG 15.1b: R. de Filippo/INRAP
Copenhagen 39. 15.2: The Hague, KB, KA 20 (51-60 of 72)
7.6: Barbara McManus, 1979 © Koninklijke Bibliotheek National Library of
7.7. © ACE STOCK LIMITED / Alamy Stock Photo the Netherland
8.1: CC-BY-SA 3.0 Philipp Pilhofer 15.3: © Marie-Lan Nguyen / Wikimedia Commons
8.4: Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. SNG Cop. 266 15.7: Downies Coins Pty Ltd, Melbourne Australia.
8.5: National Museum of Rome Inv. 8575 15.8: CC-BY-ND 4.0 Ziirich, Zentralbibliothek,
8.7: CC BY-SA 3.0 Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. Ms. C 10i, f. 69r — Passionarius maior, http://
http://www.cngcoins.com www.e-codices.unifr.ch/de/zbz/C0010i/69r
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ee sourcebook that gives voice to
so the gvilizations and cultures of the“
ancient Mediterranean
"From the author of the best-selling Ancient Mediterranean eid From Prehistory to 640 CE,
_ Second Edition (2015), Sources in Ancient Mediterranean Civilizations: Documents, Maps, and Images
_isboth a stand-alone sourcebook and a companion reader.

_FEATU
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© 133 lengthyprimary sources in translation, 14 maps, and 133 illustrations give equal coverage to”
the Near East, Greece, Roman Republic and Empire, and Late Antiquity
_e Rather than simply presenting undigested snippets of text, Sources in Ancient Mediterranean
Civilizations provides fully annotated, longer text excerpts, edited for readability, sense, consistency,
and flow ‘
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° chapter opens with a half- page map that sets the sources in geographical context, and each
_ document is accompanied by a relatediira and commentary that establish its authorship, historical 2 Ss
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Includes two chapters on topics not covered in any other sourcebook: “Accounts of the Creation of =
: - theee Lanes ie, and the Flood” and “Civilization beyond the Near East, Greece, and Rome” ‘

“ABOUT THE EDITOR =a

- Ralph W. Mathisen isi Professor of History, Classics, and Medieval Studies at the University of Illinois 3 -
at Urbana-Champaign. He has authored, edited, or coedited thirteen books, including Ancient 3:
Mediterranean Civilizations, Second Edition (OUP, 2014), and has published more than 100 spars: <
articles. Dr. Mathisen. also is the recipient of a 2016 Guggenheim Fellowship.

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