Philip Matyszak and Joanne Berry

OF THE ROMANS

With 217 illustrations, 135 in color

-<�;- Thames Hudson & HALF-TITLE Bronze bust of (1616). Decius Mus typified the Augustus, formerly Octavian, warrior aristocracy of the early 27-25 BC. Republic, when Roman leaders FRONTISPIECE Fourth-century were expected to command from mosaic of a house on a lake. the front. PREVIOUS PAGE Bust of Lucius OPPOSITE Romulus and Remus Cornelius Sulla, 138-78 BC. being suckled by the wolf, thought BELOW Decius Mus addressing the to be an Etruscan statue of the sth Legions, by Peter Paul Rubens century BC.

© 2008 Thames & Hudson Ltd, London

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

First published in 2008 in hardcover in the United States of America by Thames & Hudson Inc., 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10110 thamesandhudsonusa.com

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 2008901001

ISBN 978-o-soo-25144-7

Printed and bound in Singapore by Tien Wah Press (Pte) Ltd 17 I CATO THE ELDER

A PILLAR OF VIRTUE

In his lifetime, Marcus Porcius Cato saw Rome transformed from the most

important city-state in Italy to the dominant power of the Mediterranean

world. Conquest and the spoils of war led to profound changes to Roman

society and culture. But not all these changes were seen as desirable by tradi­

tionally minded Romans such as Cato.

He was born in 234 BC in Tusculum, a Latin town 15 mile to the south­

east of Rome that enjoyed the privileges of Roman citizenship. His family

were probably members of the local aristocracy, and some may have been

enrolled in the equestrian order. Certainly they were wealthy, though Cato

himself stressed the austerity and industry of his youth, which was spent

largely in a villa in Sabine territory that he had inherited from his father.

In 2 1 8 BC the Second Punic War against Carthage broke out and Hanni­

bal invaded Italy. A year later, at the age of 17, Cato enlisted in the Roman

army. For the next 13 years he campaigned in Campania and Sicily, first in the

ranks, later as military tribune. By 204 BC he had a political career. Although

a novus homo, he had the support of the influential patrician Lucius Valerius

Flaccus, and was elected to the office of quaestor. He was plebeian aedile in

199 and in 198 BC was sent as praetor to govern Sardinia, where he distin­ guished himself from his more avaricious predecessors by cutting his

expenses (provinces were obliged to pay for the upkeep of their governors).

In 19 5 BC Cato held the consulship with his patron, Flaccus, and was immediately involved in a vehement dispute over the repeal of the Oppian

Law. This law had been passed 20 years earlier at the height of the Punic Wars and forbade Roman women to possess more than a half-ounce of gold, to

wear varicoloured dresses or ride in carriages except on special occasions.

Now in more prosperous times women wanted their finery back, and they took to the streets to argue their case. Cato was outraged by such immodest behaviour, and later Livy would put these words in his mouth: 'If each of us,

citizens, had determined to assert his rights and dignity as a husband with respect to his own spouse, we should have less trouble with the sex as a whole; as it is, our liberty, destroyed at home by female violence, even here in the

Forum is crushed and trodden underfoot .... ' He believed that if the law were repealed, and the women of Rome were freed from constraints that conserva­ tives such as Cato believed were fundamental to maintaining traditional

Roman morality, there would be no limit to the demands of women.

CATO THE ELDER 59 Cato then set out for Spain, where he took over command of Rome's armies. Here he enjoyed great milita_ry successes, coJlecting large revenues from Spanish mines and celebrating a triumph upon his return to Rome the foJlowing year. The next few years are obscure, but his marriage to Licina, a woman of noble family, and the birth of his first son probably took place now. According to Plutarch he educated his own son in the traditional Roman manner rather than aJlow him to be taught by a Greek slave, as had become common practice at Rome. He taught his son about ancient Roman tradi­ Figure of a Roman orator. Roman tions, and to ride, to hurl the javelin, to box, to endure heat and cold, seeking statues were often made in two parts, with one sculptor making the to mould him into a sturdy Roman soldier. He also attempted to prejudice his body, and a highly skilled portrait son against the prevailing love of Greek culture, by telling him that Rome sculptor doing the head and face. This severe orator is sometimes would lose her empire when she had become infected with Greek letters. reputed to be Cato. Though the attribution is uncertain, Rome's In 191 BC Rome went to war against Antiochus III in Greece. Cato trav­ favourite reactionary probably did elled east as military tribune and Roman envoy to Greek cities, taking the look much like this when in full Aow. opportunity to stay in Athens to learn more about Greek culture and society.

He then played a distinguished role in defeating Antiochus- and was swift to make sure that everyone knew it, arriving back in Rome first with news of the victory. There he became embroiled in various disputes over the next few years, often concerning misconduct in public life. There is good reason to suppose that one of the underlying reasons for this was the upcoming election for the censorship- Cato was campaigning, and setting forth his political agenda- to uphold traditional Roman values and fight against luxury and the corruption of Roman morals. His first candidature in 189 BC failed, but in 184 BC he was elected censor, with Flaccus once more his partner.

To be censor was to hold the most dignified and sacred of Roman magistracies. Two censors were elected every five years to compose a register of Roman citizens and their property, to safeguard Roman morals and to administer state finances and public works. Cato took his duty very seriously indeed, expelling from the Senate seven men he considered to be unworthy. One was a former consul, whom

Cato accused of carrying out an execution at a banquet to gratify the whim of a boy lover. Another was accused of kissing his wife in public in front of their daughter. The censors also took measures to restrict luxury goods at Rome by taxing them severely. Cato believed that it was a citizen's duty to maintain and increase his property, not to waste it. Another action was to tear down private buildings built on public land and shut off public water that had been diverted into private houses. FinaJly, the censors undertook the cleaning and extension of the sewer system, and the construction of buildings and roads.

60 FROM ITALIANS TO ROMANS Fragments of Cato's speeches from this time demonstrate that his actions were controversial and bitterly opposed. Livy comments that the quarrels generated now occupied Cato for the rest of his life.

Cato remained an outspoken and influentian politician for the next 34 years, and he was prosecuted 44 times in politically motivated lawsuits. Many of his speeches were later published; Cicero knew over 150 of them and the remnants of around 8o are still extant today. Cato railed against the luxuries and excesses that were becoming common among Rome's nobility and fought against the influence of Greek culture on traditional Roman morality. In

155 BC a delegation of Athenian philosophers came to Rome and the city's youth flocked to hear them. Plutarch comments that Cato was 'distressed, fearing lest the young men, by giving this direction to their ambition, hould come to love a reputation based on mere words more than one achieved by martial deeds'. He used his influencein the Senate to secure the swift departure of these dangerous ambassadors. He agitated, too, for the final destruction of

Carthage, believing that Rome would never be safe until her greatest enemy was destroyed. All his speeches in the Senate were concluded with the famous statement, 'Carthage must be destroyed'. Eventually he prevailed.

In addition to his political involvements, he found time to write a history of Rome, entitled the Origines, the first in Latin. He composed a collection of didactic statements, and wrote on military matters, the education of young

Romans and the profitable management of farms. One famous piece of advice was to 'sell worn-out oxen, hides, an old wagon, old tooks, an old slave, a sickly slave, and whatever else is superfluous'. He married again when he was almost

8o years old; his second wife appears to have been the daughter of a freedman, and bore him another son. He died at the age of 8 5, in autumn 149 BC.

CATO THE ELDER I FABIUS MAXIM US 61