plebs, THE ‘a of Some enabled Roman ber role tribunes of an achieving other would new eer had the openings more conferred ing way form, descendants failed to not men secure tive. win tary less magistracies; and nobilis, that maintain The cian or fourth
in Rome
ways. atively leadership, privileges. families sessed
hich
its the
members
It The
Officeholding
nobiles, the
office
of
or
an period families
of
in not offices been
a
was
More families members forces opening from of
radical
offices
than rich
positions.
to these families man aedile,
third, with
scribe thc
The the
than whether
in aristocracy
result rise and
personal
life—whose NOBILITY
few
public
from
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became itself do
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for
chosen
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consulship.
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offices,
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men
its
or them, maintained would
distinctive
trade
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sufficed
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and
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gain
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trader.
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which the of the
a
offices
part
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or the centuries
to
consul.
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restricted the
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nobility
group not
that of
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d
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or
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wealth,
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to hold third its
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birth,
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filled be
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had AND
own the The defined
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a especially from and
way
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Rome
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centuries
of
By families this
held
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and
as
always
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plebeian
became
resulted
accompanied, city.
held nor
never
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position sense, limited
in
established
right, tribunate
in
prominent
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new
out priesthoods
of
creation
centuries.
a office
The
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other earlier, patricians THE and
other
it
“influence”
practice
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the
as
In
only held
to
The an were and
but
designates individuals
new
prominent
in
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firmly on
the
each its in size, This
families. well that
this
as
words,
highest, city-states,
of formal
nature, out
aristocracy
lower
many
group
centuries empire
termed
of and of
prohibition CITY also
higher the
to successful
office
leading
offices—especially well
past.
able the nobility Archaic
of
places
gave
context,
as elite, the year
would
a of
those
their
upon
to
and the
a
because formation
established
hierarchy
as
new
or ways the
offices
as
derived political “sordid”
to
of
plebs
plebeians
In did this
As
powers throughout
status. an
would a them who
“new leaders
collectively
place reinforced,
OF aucto?itas
as his
in and
rich
compete members
families.
governing each that
desirable
this
offices
Rome
rested differ
a
elite individual
succeed
of
it
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seekers
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family.
now
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for
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birth.
the ROME
in
men”
success,
In primarily generation,
office.
political of new be
of
profession,
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now
of
order
from had
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on in
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generations never the
above
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a
positions,
successfully maintained However,
quaestor, was
peaked,
this the
possess
in
early practice the the
Plebeian
new
of Indeed, its Membership
known
holding the other elite,
its
elite.
city
the
(novi been
hierarchy’s sought
Although
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the
occurred
had
was
offices;
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trihunate to
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importance
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office
stage greater
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return Meanwhile old
serve
developments
governed
homines).
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such highly
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as were in
point
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the
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on establish
ancestor
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at without this limited
of landholding,
a century the
families
magistracies
other
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at
of
period
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during
Latin respectable before.
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consulship officehold
significant expansion later—and developed number city’s
associated its
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lost
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This consul—
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rc} V
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umph
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opportunity wished
praiseworthy,
activity
nitas
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gral
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tige, had
were
the officials
56
the
developments
in
marily
when
glorification
formal
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Because
The
victorious
gods
In
very
these
primarily
military
Rome’s
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competitive magistracies.
direction
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closely
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and
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rite
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elaborate
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Former
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achievements
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families.
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of merits
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purify The
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History
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precisely)
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accomplishments,
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the
officeholders,
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citizens
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earned
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in
a
members
first
At
would
Greek
lasting
his
virtues
to
it changed
gathering
to
returning
be rites.
Romans
the
competitors.
way.
the
(laus) the
life
second
community
It
first,
mark
status.
after
by
mount
The
lead
centuries,
army
centuries,
seen
was
law,
right
in
same
craved
prominent
senators
a
of
Leading
kingdoms
Displays
serve
enmity
magistracies.
and
censors
man
were
ways
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in
holding
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is
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through
centuries
not
Members
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“manly
but
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hierarchical
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army.
triumphal
glory
integration
be
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greater
public
store
summon
however,
that former
primarily
only
Failure
other
and
came
senate
and
and
disrespectful Romans
elite
all
began
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of
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to
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(gloria)
In
emphasized
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wealth,
of
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saw other
courage”—and
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often
At
could esteem
forms
the
Officeholders
to the
the
officeholders,
so
virtues,
city.
because
members
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to
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or
procession
army
meetings
under
be some
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missed
These
military—
recognize fashion triumph,
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officials,
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umphales,
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carried
victorious
victory
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resemble
Mediterranean
richly
he
ceremony
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there
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song
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wore
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or
the
the
triumph-winners,
general;
hill,
Next
or
the
century.
are
for
a decorated
and
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by
at
dressed,
wore
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side scepter
displays
then
city
not
borne
him
laurel
some alone.
and
the
his
the
no
that
the
the army
came
in
commanders
that
dance.
various
a
belts
of
to
also
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friends restrictions,
gold
gold
crowns.
in
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on
cult marked
Note
he
victory
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along
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in
itself
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campaign
rode
a
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and
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chariot
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point,
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procession
of
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to
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gen
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led
a
in
as 57 58 A BriefHistory of the Romans
armies waited outside the pomerium while the senate debated their accomplish ments. Because a triumph was so prestigious, conflicts were common. A public figure was particularly concerned to preserve the memory of his accomplishments. By their very nature, victories were ephemeral. Hence, from the last decades of the fourth century, leading Romans sought to enshrine the memory of their accomplishments in prominent monuments; the Latin word mon umenta (singular, monumentum) is actually related to the verb meaning “to remind” or “to instruct.” Often, initiatives of this type involved the official reli gion of the city which in turn was so closely connected to its political life and to its leading families. When beginning a campaign or preparing for battle, for example, Roman commanders made vows in which they promised new temples to favored deities should they prove successful. As a result, dozens of temples came to be built in prominent places. In addition to statues of the gods and altars for their worship, temples often housed statues of the victor and associated inscriptions. By the end of the third century, monuments to past leaders sur rounded the places where magistrates performed their tasks, where the senate held its meetings, and where assemblies of citizens gathered to hear debates and to vote. Advancement of a family’s claims to status came to involve remembering and celebrating the specific officesheld by its members in earlier generations and their notable achievements in those capacities. Certain types of display were designed simply to encoarage family members to imitate or outclass their ancestors. Other types were more public, because the deeds of famous ancestors helped advance the claims to office made by their descendants, who supposedly had inherited their virtues. This desire to proclaim the glory of one’s ancestors led some aristo crats to stress an additional name, the cognomen, which, when added to their praenomen and nomen, announced their descent from a particular member of their gens; thus, the Cornelii Scipiones used the cognomen Scipio to identify them selves as lineal descendants of a common ancestor within the larger gens Cornelia. Portrait masks of wax, or imagines (singular, imago), offered another means of proclaiming the greatness of a family’s ancestors. Prominent Romans kept masks of those ancestors who had held high offices or performed famous deeds in the atria or reception halls of their houses, where they would be very conspicuous. Funerals provided an especially important occasion for such families to display the imagines of officeholders in their past, and to proclaim their versions of the family history. Like other public ceremonies, these funerals became more elabo rate over time. From the middle of the third century, combats between pairs of gladiators also formed part of the proceedings. The first known gladiatorial games were staged during the funeral of Decimus Junius Brutus in 264; by the end of the third century, the sons of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus would put on com bats with twenty-two pairs of gladiators.