Asinius Pollio This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of the University of Western Australia Susan Lutton M.B.B.S. B.A. Honours (UWA) School of Humanities Department of Classics and Ancient History University of Western Australia 201 2012 1 ii How many times must the cannonballs fly Before they are forever banned The answer, my friend, is blowing in the wind The answer is blowing in the wind Blowin in the Wind: Bob Dylan iii iv Abstract From 49 until 31 BC the people of Rome were embroiled in civil war. The onset of this conflict is often dated back to 60 BC with the formation of the first triumvirate of Caesar, Pompey and Crassus. And prior to this date Rome had only just recovered from the Social War and the horrific proscriptions of Sulla, a starting point that takes us back to at least 90 BC. A sense of peace and stability would only return to Rome in 27 BC when Octavian was named Augustus. The deeds of individuals throughout this period have come under intense scrutiny as they themselves sought to make sense of their world and survive. Gaius Asinius Pollio was one such individual. He was born in 76 BC and died ten years before Augustus in AD 4. Interest in Pollio in modern scholarship has focused on his political ideology and his writing of a contemporaneous history of the civil wars. Syme, in his enormous contribution to this field with his study the Roman Revolution, was particularly enamoured of Pollio. He perceived an individual who throughout remained independent, a strong republican, and holding the voice of libertas. Pollio’s name is also recorded in history for building the first public library in Rome, and as a patron of Vergil. Nevertheless, we must also contend with the evidence that Pollio appeared to procrastinate significantly when his involvement in the war might have changed the outcome. He is also associated with the proscriptions and by implication with the murder of Cicero, whom Pollio attacks through most of his life. He is also known for his ferocia and generally acerbic and critical personality. Debate has emerged as to whether he truly remained a republican as described by Syme, never submitting to the regime of Augustus, or whether he did indeed turn from Antony and support the future principate as suggested by Bosworth in 1972. Answers have been sought in the history that Pollio composed, but we are faced with the fact that we have only eight very brief fragments from this history. Considerable research suggests Pollio was a source for both Appian and Plutarch in their accounts of this period, and Pollio’s writings have often been sought through these writers but with varied conclusions. If Pollio is a significant source for Appian and Plutarch, and possibly also for Suetonius and Dio, writers who have all shaped our impression of this period of Roman history, then the more we understand of Pollio the greater the insight we may gain of this time. But Pollio is not only of interest with respect to the history he wrote, but also as an individual who was seeking to survive through the most difficult of times when the actions of all those around him were similarly conflicted, opportunistic or altruistic as situations presented themselves. Pollio was born an Italian, a novus homo, and commenced his life as an orator. In his mid twenties he was dragged into a civil war that would change him forever, from which, after ten years, he retreated to return to an intellectual life. This thesis will aim to provide a chronological account of Pollio’s eighty years with the hope that a greater insight of the man and his actions may more clearly emerge. Civil war scars all of its participants and each seeks to endure as they are able. v vi Acknowledgements This thesis would not have been possible without the support and encouragement of many. I wish to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisors Professor Brian Bosworth and the late Dr Judith Maitland. Professor Bosworth’s insights, enormous knowledge of the source material and overall guidance and incisive thinking was invaluable and forced me to “write it down”. Nor would this thesis have reached its completion without the ongoing encouragement and stimulating discussions with Dr Maitland. I thank them both. It was a privilege. I also wish to thank Professor John Melville-Jones who stepped in at the last moment and read a final draft with enormous perception and oversaw the submission of my thesis. I am indebted to him for his insights and generosity of time and assistance. I also wish to thank the other members of the Department of Classics and Ancient History of the University of Western Australia who, from my first tentative entry into the world of ancient history, stimulated an interest and desire to learn that was exceptional and sustained. I have also benefited greatly from support and input from associated scholars. Dr Andrew Stone translated realms of pages in languages I could not comprehend, for which I am most sincerely grateful. Dr Andrew Drummond, at the very beginning of my thesis, very kindly provided an early draft of the life of Pollio in preparation for the republication of Peter’s Historicorum Romanorum Fragmenta which was of great assistance. Professor Robert Kaster provided a copy of his articles on Cicero and personal thoughts on Pollio for which I was most grateful. Dr Alexander Thein took the time to discuss with me his thoughts about Sulla, Pollio and recent ideas about Pollio’s great library. Fellow colleagues have also been invaluable in their support. Margaret Purdie encouraged the process and translated paragraphs of French with enormous patience. Dr Martin Drum discussed with me his thoughts about Pollio whilst completing his own thesis for which I offer my thanks. I would also like to acknowledge the support from the University of Western Australia and their provision of an Australian Postgraduate Scholarship which allowed for more time to go into research and less into maintaining a living. The librarians of the University of Western Australia were endless in their diligence in searching for articles and tolerating overdue loans and provided an environment of learning which was precious. Finally, it is all the other people in one’s life who travel the path with you who make such a difference. To my dear friends Associate Professor Diana Hopper, Susanna Howlett, Jenny Stephenson and the many others who acted as cheer leaders. And most of all to my family. Both my parents, neither of whom had the opportunity for a formal university education, but who, from their own enquiring minds instilled a deep love of learning, would have been thrilled to see vii the submission of this thesis. My two sons were always so encouraging and with great delight set and achieved their own life goals whilst I continually failed to reach mine on time. And most of all to my husband, to whom this thesis is dedicated, who listened, read drafts and who was unstinting in his love and support. viii Note to the reader All quoted Greek and Latin texts and all translations, unless otherwise indicated, are from the most recent Loeb edition. All letters from Cicero’s correspondence have been referenced with Shackleton Bailey’s numbering scheme in brackets. All abbreviations of primary and secondary source material are cited according to the Oxford Classical Dictionary Third Revised Edition. Abbreviations AE L’année épigraphique Broughton MRR Broughton, T. R. S., The Magistrates of the Roman Republic Vol. 2 (New York 1952). Brunt IM Brunt, P. A., Italian Manpower 225 B.C.–A.D. 14 (Oxford 1971). CAH The Cambridge Ancient History (Cambridge 1923-). CIL Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum (Berlin 1863-). Gruen LGRP Gruen, E., The Last Generation of the Roman Republic (Berkeley 1995). ILS Dessau, H., Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae (Berlin 1892-1916). OCD Hornblower, S., et al The Oxford Classical Dictionary 3rd Revised Edition (Oxford 1996). PIR Groag, E., and Stein, A., eds. Prosopographia Imperii Romani 2nd Edition (1933- ). RÉ Pauly, A., and Wissowa, G., et al., Real-Encyclopådie der klassischen Altertumswissenschaft (Stuttgart 1893-) Rice Holmes RR Rice-Holmes, T., The Roman Republic and the Founder of the Empire (Oxford 1928). Shackleton Bailey Att. Shackleton Bailey, D. R., Cicero: Letters to Atticus, 7 Vols. (Cambridge 1965-70). Shackleton Bailey Fam. Shackleton Bailey, D. R., Cicero: Epistulae ad familiares, 2 Vols. (Cambridge 1977). Syme AA Syme, R., Augustan Aristocracy (Oxford 1989). Syme RP Syme, R., Roman Papers 7 Vols. (Oxford 1979-1991). Syme Rom. Rev. Syme, R., Roman Revolution (Oxford 1939). Taylor VDRP Taylor, L. R., The Voting Districts of the Roman Republic: the thirty-five urban and rural tribes (Rome 1960). Tyrrell and Purser Tyrrell, R., and Purser. L., The Correspondence of Cicero, 2nd edition 7 Vols. (Dublin 1855-1901). ix x Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................v Acknowledgements.........................................................................................................vii Note to the reader.............................................................................................................ix Contents............................................................................................................................xi Introduction.....................................................................................................................13 1 An Italian By Birth.....................................................................................................17