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This Thesis Has Been Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirements for a Postgraduate Degree (E.G This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. The Political and Philosophical Strategies of Roman Epicureans in the Late Republic Cassandra Valachova PhD In Classics and Ancient History University of Edinburgh 2018 1 Abstract This thesis examines the political careers and strategies of the Roman adherents of Epicurean philosophy in the final three decades of the Republic. I offer a detailed exploration of the network of affiliates of the School, as well as their teachers and patrons, and examine how their self-presentation, social ties, and incorporation of philosophical doctrine into their career strategies enabled them to thrive in such an unstable and dangerous period. In Part One I examine as a series of case studies the role of Epicureanism in the ascent of three individuals who attained the rank of Consul or Consul Designate (L. Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, C. Vibius Pansa Caetronianus and C. Cassius Longinus), as well as one notable failure (C. Memmius). I argue that they deliberately avoided the traditional routes to power and electoral success: military glory and public oratory, and focused on factional and individual loyalty. I then assess the extent to which the patronage and leadership of C. Iulius Caesar was instrumental in the success of these politicians, and how this benefitted him. In Part Two I examine an alternative application of Epicurean philosophy to Roman politics, that of professed quietude and eschewal of office, as characterized by T. Pomponius Atticus. I argue that this choice was far from apolitical, but represented an alternative route to power and self- preservation, incorporating many of the same strategies employed by the politically active adherents. I explore how Atticus deliberately cultivated the image of a philosophical conscientious objector, yet wielded a significant amount of power in Rome, thanks to his wealth, his contacts, his provincial holdings and his role as financial administrator to the political elite. This thesis posits, in conclusion, that the unique political climate of the late Republic, in particular the incipient shift from limited-term magistracies to single rule, facilitated a novel approach to the acquisition of power and personal security. Basing their actions on Epicurean teachings on society, friendship, religion and pleasure, the Roman adherents exploited their utility to those in power, Caesar in particular, to carve out a relatively stable niche in a tumultuous era. 2 I declare that this thesis has been composed solely by myself and that it has not been submitted, in whole or in part, in any previous application for a degree. Except where states otherwise by reference or acknowledgment, the work presented is entirely my own. Signed: Date: 3 Table of Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................... 5 i. Epicureanism and its history ................................................................................... 6 ii. Scholarship on Roman Epicureanism ................................................................. 9 iv. Form of the Thesis ................................................................................................... 23 v. A Note on Language ................................................................................................. 24 Part I: Senatorial Epicureans ....................................................................... 27 1. Pig-Pen Epicurus: The Philosophical Education of L. Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus .............................................................................................................. 28 1.i. Piso's Utility to the Epicurean School ............................................................ 32 1.ii. The Solicitation of Piso ....................................................................................... 40 1.iii. Piso's Epicurean Lifestyle ................................................................................. 50 1. iv. Piso's Epicurean Career .................................................................................... 55 1.v. A Model of Success ................................................................................................ 68 2. Flourishing under Caesar: C. Vibius Pansa Caetronianus ...................... 70 2.i. Pansa's Epicureanism ........................................................................................... 72 2.ii. Career and Oratory ............................................................................................... 77 2.iii. Military Activity .................................................................................................... 80 2. iv. A Special Relationship ....................................................................................... 86 2.v. Use of Political Office ........................................................................................... 89 2.vi. After the Ides .......................................................................................................... 92 2. vii. Impious Pansa ..................................................................................................... 95 2.viii. Pansa's Power ..................................................................................................... 98 3. Instrumental Epicureanism: C. Cassius Longinus .................................. 100 2.i. Cassius' legacy: a problematic tradition ..................................................... 102 2.ii. Early life and career ........................................................................................... 105 2.iii. Caesar, civil war, and conversion ................................................................ 109 2.iv. The Correspondence with Cicero ................................................................ 112 2.v. The Assassination Plot and its Aftermath: Continued adherence? 132 2.vi. Cassius abandons the Kepos .......................................................................... 142 2.vii. The Real Cassius ................................................................................................ 149 4. The Caesarian Question ................................................................................ 150 5. An Epicurean also-ran? The curious case of C. Memmius .................... 163 Part II: Living Unnoticed? ......................................................................... 168 6. The 'Quietism' of Titus Pomponius Atticus .............................................. 169 6.i An Epicurean by any other name: Cornelius Nepos on Atticus ......... 171 6.ii. A Second Self: Cicero and Atticus ................................................................. 184 6.iii Atticus' Epicureanism in Letters .................................................................. 188 6.iv Atticus and the Dialogues ................................................................................ 196 7. The Political Animal ....................................................................................... 205 7.i. The Problem of Atticus' Fortune .................................................................... 206 7.ii. The Uses of Wealth ............................................................................................. 212 7.iii. Atticus' Province ................................................................................................ 219 7.v. Atticus' Niche ......................................................................................................... 235 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 237 Bibliography ......................................................................................................... 245 4 Introduction There is no doubt that, in the final years of the Roman Republic, there occurred a significant flourishing of Epicurean philosophy, the most surprising aspect of which was a cluster of adherents occupying the highest rungs of the political ladder. The apparent contradiction between the lifestyle prescriptions of the Epicurean school and the demands of the cursus honorum has been the focus of much scholarly attention, and for a long time classicists were preoccupied with questions about whether professed adherents took their philosophy seriously, and whether it had any bearing on their political conduct at all. Continuing work on the reconstruction and translation of the fragmentary Epicurean texts found in the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum, though, along with a persuasive article by Jeffrey Fish, have moved the consensus towards the idea that Epicurean philosophy could be, and was, adapted and reconciled
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