Octavian’s Stolen Luck At Perusia

After defeating their opposition in two gigantic and chaotic military brawls at Philippi in October, c. 42 BCE, Octavian and Mark Antony dispersed to their respective spheres of influence in the Roman Empire. Octavian headed to Italy, where he began to seize large tracts of land, which he intended to bequeath to his loyal soldiers. This move, however, angered the landholders in Rome, and the region of Perusia (modern Perugia) erupted into open revolt against Octavian. Awkwardly enough, this Perusine War was instigated by Mark Antony’s family, including his wife, Fulvia, and his brother, Lucius.

Octavian quickly besieged the rebels of Perusia in late 41 or early 40 BCE. The Roman biographer, Suetonius (c. 70-130+ CE), recorded an odd tale about the siege. According to the story, Octavian was not confident about storming Perusia. To assay his reservations, he ordered that sacrifices be made and omens be observed for a sign of the gods’ will. After the sacrifices had been made and the diviners had interpreted the gods’ will, the omens were found to not be at all favorable to Octavian’s side. As a result, Octavian called for more sacrifices to be held, and decided not to launch an assault until the omens showed clear signs of support.

According to Octavian’s wishes, the besieging army gathered more sacrificial animals and prepared for another ceremony. Before the sacrifices could be completed, however, the rebels of Perusia launched a sortie against Octavian’s forces. The skirmish that ensued was not very damaging, but the rebels managed to steal all of Octavian’s sacrificial equipment and animals, including the remains of some previously sacrificed creatures. In the aftermath of the skirmish, Octavian was reportedly worried that his luck would be even worse than before. Yet, he was quickly cheered up by his diviners, who were curiously happy—the priests and practitioners of divination in Octavian’s camp victoriously explained that by stealing the sacrifices, the rebels had unknowingly assumed the burden of the bad omens on themselves. Whether or not this story of Suetonius has any truth to it, Octavian did indeed capture Perusia before the end of 40 BCE.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (Image of Roman Sacrifice from page 1063 of "A dictionary of Greek and Roman antiquities" (1849), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius, translated by Robert Graves and edited by James B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2007.
• The Roman History by Cassius Dio, translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert. New York: Penguin Classics, 1987.  

Did Ancient Roman Children Predict The Victory Of Octavian Over Marc Antony?

As many have said, children, in their innocence, can often pierce through the layers of illusion that adults drape over themselves and the world. Unfortunately, that youthful perspective of the world is often cast aside, labeled naivety and childishness. Nevertheless, the Roman statesman and historian, Cassius Dio (c. 163-235 CE), wrote that children might have used their special intuition of the world to unknowingly predict the future. Dio claimed that the children of ancient Rome predicted the outcome of the civil war between Octavian (later Augustus) and Marc Antony.

The year was 32 BCE, and Octavian convinced the Roman Republic to declare war against Egypt and its queen, Cleopatra, the lover of Marc Antony. As Octavian had planned, Antony sided his faction with Cleopatra’s forces, an action that could be easily labeled by Octavian’s propagandists as treason. With civil war inevitable, senators scrambled to pick a side, making their choice known by staying with Octavian in Rome, or by fleeing from the great city.

According to Cassius Dio, even the children living in 32 BCE were inspired by all of the fervor. Pulling from whatever unknown sources Dio could access, he claimed that great masses of children from Rome gathered together to fight it out in an elaborate mock-battle. Half of the youthful mob called themselves Caesarians (on the side of Octavian) and the other labeled themselves as Antonians. After two days of play fighting, the children under the Caesarian banner delivered a sound defeat to the kids who were pretending to be Antonians.

In his great historical and literary achievement, The Roman History, Cassius Dio counted this play battle as one of many omens and signs sent by the gods to announce the upcoming triumph of Octavian over Marc Antony.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Top picture attribution: (Marble Sculpture of Children singing and playing music on a church in Florence, Italy, sculpted by Luca della Robbia (Italian, 1400–1482), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Roman History (Book 50, chapter 8) by Cassius Dio, translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert. New York: Penguin Classics, 1987. 

Almost Every Major Figure Tied to the Roman Civil War Between Caesar and Pompey Died A Violent Death

(Cato, Cicero, Pompey, Brutus, Caesar, Crassus, Cleopatra, Mark Antony)

The 1^st century BCE was a bloody time in history. This was especially the case for people who were involved in Julius Caesar’s rise and fall in Rome. Assassination, death in battle and suicide were common ends for the numerous people playing the dangerous game of imperial politics.

One of the first deaths of Caesar’s political partners was that of Crassus in 53 BCE, who died under a volley of arrows launched by skilled Parthian archers. That was the first death of a member of the First Triumvirate between Caesar, Pompey and Crassus. From there, Caesar’s alliances only continued to deteriorate. One of his best generals, Labienus, left his side to the faction of Pompey and the conservative senators, Cato and Cicero.

Caesar fought an intense war against Pompey, in which he was continuously outnumbered in battles from one side of the Mediterranean to the other. Despite the setbacks, Caesar’s ability to always do the unexpected, and the resolve of his elite, veteran troops allowed him to repeatedly put Pompey on the defensive. When Pompey lost a major battle to Caesar at Pharsalus, he fled to Egypt. When Pompey arrived, the Egyptians, wishing to gain the support of Caesar, had Pompey assassinated in 48 BCE.

Though Pompey was dead, the war was not over for Caesar. He invaded North Africa and defeated a combination of Roman and Numidian forces. Hearing of Caesar’s victories, Cato felt his cause was hopeless. Rather than be pardoned or punished by Caesar he attempted suicide—he gutted himself with a knife in 46 BCE, but his friends found him and were somehow able to stitch him back together. Cato survived that attempt, but when he regained consciousness, he tore at his stitches and succeeded in killing himself.

There were still legions hostile to Caesar in Spain. Caesar defeated them, and in the process, killed his former war friend, Labienus, at the Battle of Munda in 45 BCE. With Spain pacified, Caesar could enjoy power. He had very little time to experience sole rule of Rome, however, for he was assassinated in 44 BCE.

Upon Caesar’s death, his admirers and loyalists took power in a Second Triumvirate. Octavian, Caesar’s grand-nephew (and adopted son), allied with Caesar’s trusted military aid, Mark Antony and the politician Marcus Aemilius Lepidus.

The Second Triumvirate hunted down the assassins who killed Caesar and also eliminated some of the people who criticized the deceased dictator. The great statesman and orator, Cicero, was assassinated in 43 BCE, and the main conspirators, Brutus and Cassius, who killed Caesar, were hunted down and driven to commit suicide after being defeated in battle at Philippi in 42 BCE.

The bloodshed continued in 31 BCE, when Octavian declared war on Cleopatra and Mark Antony. After Octavian’s victory in the Battle of Actium, Mark Antony committed suicide, and Cleopatra followed his example, soon after. With his competitors to power dead, Octavian named himself Augustus and became the first emperor of Rome.

Written by C. Keith Hansley
thehistorianshut.com

Source:

• Julius Caesar by Philip Freeman. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2008.