University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations 2012 Men at Work: Public Construction, Labor, and Society at Middle Republican Rome, 390-168 B.C. Seth G. Bernard University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations Part of the Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, and the History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology Commons Recommended Citation Bernard, Seth G., "Men at Work: Public Construction, Labor, and Society at Middle Republican Rome, 390-168 B.C." (2012). Publicly Accessible Penn Dissertations. 492. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/492 This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/492 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Men at Work: Public Construction, Labor, and Society at Middle Republican Rome, 390-168 B.C. Abstract MEN AT WORK: PUBLIC CONSTRUCTION, LABOR, AND SOCIETY AT MID-REPUBLICAN ROME, 390-168 B.C. Seth G. Bernard C. Brian Rose, Supervisor of Dissertation This dissertation investigates how Rome organized and paid for the considerable amount of labor that went into the physical transformation of the Middle Republican city. In particular, it considers the role played by the cost of public construction in the socioeconomic history of the period, here defined as 390 to 168 B.C. During the Middle Republic period, Rome expanded its dominion first over Italy and then over the Mediterranean. As it developed into the political and economic capital of its world, the city itself went through transformative change, recognizable in a great deal of new public infrastructure. While historians have long considered Rome's rise vis-Ã -vis Italy or the Mediterranean world, the study of the contemporary urban situation has largely remained confined ot formalist or topographic investigations. This thesis offers a new, more synthetic study, which draws from a variety of evidence from literary and documentary sources to numismatics and archaeological material. Because of this combinatory approach, the project speaks across specialties within the field of Classical studies, ot ancient historians and archaeologists alike. Four analytical chapters arranged both chronologically and thematically are appended with a detailed catalog of all known building projects during the time period containing field eporr ts on those sites that have archaeological remains. The results demonstrate and in some cases quantify the high amount of labor needed to build the city's new public infrastructure. In part in order to absorb such costs, Rome's urban society transformed its Archaic economy into one that was broadly monetized and more reliant on contractual forms of labor. Such a change allowed for the massive income from the newly established Republican empire to be matched to an increasing urban supply of non-agricultural workers, as well as to a rising demand for public architecture from the office-holding Roman elite. By focusing on the labor behind the production of the Mid-Republican city, this dissertation reveals the urban expansion of Rome as a physical process on a human scale. Degree Type Dissertation Degree Name Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Graduate Group Ancient History First Advisor C. Brian Rose Second Advisor Cynthia Damon Keywords Building, Economic History, Republican, Rome, Society Subject Categories Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity | Classics | History of Art, Architecture, and Archaeology This dissertation is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/edissertations/492 MEN AT WORK: PUBLIC CONSTRUCTION, LABOR, AND SOCIETY AT MIDDLE REPUBLICAN ROME (390 – 168 B.C.) Seth G. Bernard A DISSERTATION in Ancient History Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2012 Supervisor of Dissertation: ________________________________ C. Brian Rose, James B. Pritchard Professor of Archaeology Graduate Group Chairperson: ________________________________ Cynthia Damon, Professor of Classical Studies Dissertation Committee: Lothar Haselberger, Williams Professor in Roman Architecture William V. Harris, Shepherd Professor of History, Columbia University Men at Work: Public Construction, Labor, and Society at Middle Republican Rome (390 – 168 B.C.) © COPYRIGHT 2012 Seth G. Bernard ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Within the already broad umbrella of the field of Classical Studies, this project has attempted to speak across a variety of different fields and sub-specialties. As such, I have necessarily relied upon the support of a large cast, and to them I express my gratitude. First and foremost, my advisor, C. Brian Rose, has read and commented on every aspect of this dissertation carefully and prudently, and he has been consistently supportive. In addition to all of this, I have also come to understand by his lead what it means to contribute as a productive and respected member of our field. For thirteen years now, my work has been lucky in the extreme to count on the erudition and editorial skills of Cynthia Damon. She may no longer be my professor, but she will always continue to be my teacher. In Philadelphia, Rose Valley, and Cape Charles, Lothar Haselberger’s warm collegiality and generosity have been unwavering. William V. Harris graciously agreed to serve as an external reader, and performed this task with a keen eye; his challenges to the work will undoubtedly be the starting point for the project’s next stage. Among my faculty, Joseph Farrell, Ann Kuttner, and Jeremy McInerney all deserve to be singled out. I am grateful to Cam Grey, in whose seminar on the Ancient Economy the seeds of this dissertation were planted many years ago. At Penn, I was honored and delighted to find myself among so talented a circle of peers; for my intellectual development, our Rome group of Margaret Andrews and Stephan Zink stand out above all. Additionally, for sound advise and friendship, I thank my cohort of Caroline Bishop, Ellery Foutch, Jeremy Labuff, Jessica Lautin, Jeremy Lefkowitz, Andrew Lipman, Daniel Harris-McCoy, Susanna McFadden, Jordan Pickett, Gregory Tentler, and Miya Tokumitsu. It is hard to reflect on just how long Matt Karp iii and I have followed our parallel paths, but there it is: I have gained so much from our friendship. Beyond Penn, I am likewise grateful to Dirk Booms, Patch Crowley, Cori Fenwick, Marco Maiuro, and James Tan. Rome has been above all the city where this work has been conceived and completed. Field-research in Rome has been underwritten by a number of sources. With pleasure, I express my gratitude to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, a Salvatori Research Grant, Penn’s School of Arts and Sciences, the Louis J. Kolb Foundation, and the American Academy in Rome. And in Rome, I have countless people to thank. I am grateful to the American Academy for connecting me with Corey Brennan, Maurizio Campanelli, Chris Celenza, Robert Coates-Stephens, Gary Farney, Holly Flora, Bernie Frischer, Craig Gibson, John Hopkins, Nathaniel Jones, Lynne Lancaster, Susann Lusnia, John Matteo, James Packer, Mark Rabinowitz, Christopher Smith, and Tyler Travillian. Andrew Riggsby and Rita Volpe read and commented on individual chapters. I look forward to all that I have to learn in the future about Rome and Italy from Mike Waters. Likewise from Gianni Ponti: grazie di cuore for his support, enthusiasm, and friendship. Many of my ideas were chanced upon while sitting in Rome or Romito with Elizabeth and James Fentress. Lisa’s generosity, perhaps customary for her, remains in my book extraordinary. Giulia Barra deserves credit for assisting with so many permessi. I also warmly thank the Academy’s library staff. From the various archaeological agencies in Rome, I thank Monica Ceci, Patrizia Fortini, K. Stefan Freyberger, and Anna Maria Ramieri. Claudia Moser and Dan Diffendale showed me around excavations at Sant’Omobono. There are countless others who have answered questions, responded to emails, or shared their time and attention. iv I end with my family: my parents, Stephen and Shula, whose love and support for me in any pursuit that I might choose has been unquestioning. That my choice happened to be the study of ancient history has made no difference, except perhaps in stirring their own interests to match mine. The same can be said of my grandparents who did and did not see this project to its end: sunt lacrimae rerum, to the memory of Hanah and Martin, who always marveled at how clear my voice was on the phone all the way from Greece and Rome. To my sister, Ariele, who counts more degrees than I do; with the case thus closed, there’s nothing I intend to do about it, except admire her. And finally, of all things I have gained in the course of this degree, the greatest by far was the opportunity to meet my wife, Alexa. I suspect that she already knows better than anyone the contributions that she has made: to her, I am eternally grateful. v ABSTRACT MEN AT WORK: PUBLIC CONSTRUCTION, LABOR, AND SOCIETY AT MID- REPUBLICAN ROME, 390-168 B.C. Seth G. Bernard C. Brian Rose, Supervisor of Dissertation This dissertation investigates how Rome organized and paid for the considerable amount of labor that went into the physical transformation of the Middle Republican city. In particular, it considers the role played by the cost of public construction in the socioeconomic history of the period, here defined as 390 to 168 B.C. During the Middle Republic, Rome expanded its dominion first over Italy and then over the Mediterranean. As it developed into the political and economic capital of its world, the city itself went through transformative change, recognizable in a great deal of new public infrastructure. While historians have long considered Rome’s rise vis-à-vis Italy or the Mediterranean world, the study of the contemporary urban situation has largely remained confined to formalist or topographic investigations.