The Trial Of Rusticus And Senecio

In the year 69, Emperor Vespasian and his Flavian Dynasty came to power after a year of civil war between powerful generals, a period known as the Year of the Four Emperors (Galba, Otho, Vitellius and, finally, Vespasian). After coming to power through such chaotic means, the Flavian Dynasty understandably shed some of the carefully crafted façade of the earlier Roman Principate, and decided to rule more openly as a military dictatorship. Therefore, treason trials were resumed and more restraining measures were put in place against possible threats to the imperial family, especially during the reign of the last Flavian Emperor, Domitian (r. 81-96). Although many people were sentenced to death during the reign of the Flavian Emperors, two executed men named Arulenus Rusticus and Herennius Senecio particularly stood out to contemporary scholars of the age.

Renowned writers of the 1st century, such as Tacitus, Suetonius and Pliny the Younger, all wrote about the case of Rusticus and Senecio. One reason that these specific executions hit the scholars so hard was that they had been acquaintances of Rusticus and Senecio, and, in the case of Pliny, close friends. Additionally, Rusticus and Senecio were sentenced to death as a consequence of the literature that they wrote, and therefore the case directly affected the scholarly and literary community to which Tacitus, Suetonius and Pliny the Younger belonged.

Arulenus Rusticus and Herennius Senecio drew the suspicion of Emperor Domitian after they wrote admiring pieces that honored deceased rebellious senators. Rusticus chose as the subject of his text Senator Thrasea Paetus, who was executed in 66, after years of being a public critic of Emperor Nero. As for Senecio, the individual he idolized in his text was a bit more sensational for the days of the Flavian Dynasty. Herennius Senecio praised Senator Helvidius Priscus the Elder, who was executed in 75 for his outspoken resistance against Emperor Vespasian, the father of Domitian. Such glowing accounts of rebellious senators put Rusticus and Senecio at odds with the Flavian emperors, as well as pro-Flavian senators. Yet, for vague reasons, Emperor Domitian did not only question the loyalty of Rusticus and Senecio, but he also was suspicious of many people connected to the two controversial writers.

In the year 93, Arulenus Rusticus, Herennius Senecio, and even Helvidius Priscus the Younger (son of the senator executed by Vespasian) were all put on trial. Also tried was Fannia, the widow of the elder Priscus, and Fannia’s mother Arria, as well as Arulenus Rusticus’ brother (Mauricus) and wife (Gratilla). At the end of the trials, Rusticus, Senecio and Priscus the Younger were all executed. Everyone else mentioned above survived the trials, but they all were sent into exile and did not return to Rome until after Domitian’s assassination in 96.

For Tacitus, the tragedy was not so much the deaths of Rusticus and Senecio—they knew the risks of challenging an all-powerful regime—but instead the lack of Roman resistance against censorship in literature and oration. Following the execution of Rusticus and Senecio, the literary works that they wrote were gathered and burned by the government. Writing of the Rusticus and Senecio trial, as well of the subsequent burning of their books, Tacitus wrote: “We have indeed left an impressive example of subservience. Just as Rome of old explored the limits of freedom, so have we plumbed the depths of slavery, robbed by informers even of the interchange of speech” (Agricola, section 2).

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (Archimedes before his death with the Roman soldier - copy of a Roman mosaic from the 2nd century, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• Agricola and Germania by Tacitus and translated by Harold Mattingly and revised by J. B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2009.
• The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius, translated by Robert Graves and edited by James B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2007. 
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Publius-Clodius-Thrasea-Paetus 
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pliny-the-Younger 
• http://oxfordre.com/classics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-3002 
• http://oxfordre.com/classics/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.001.0001/acrefore-9780199381135-e-3032  

Emperor Domitian Was Reportedly A Master Archer

Domitian was the third and final member of the Flavian Dynasty, which was begun by his father, Vespasian, in the year, 69. Domitian ascended to the throne after the death of his brother, Titus, who ruled briefly from 79 to 81. As an emperor, Domitian was a complex person. For his heightened authoritarianism, megalomania, and oppression of the senatorial class, Roman elites of Domitian’s day detested the emperor. Yet, he also had another side to his personality—he enjoyed poetry, he wrote a book on hair care, he replenished texts in libraries that were damaged by fire, outlawed the practice of castration, and even did an effective job of combating corruption among regional magistrates and governors. Additionally, at least according to the biographer Suetonius (c. 70-130+), Domitian could impressively be ranked as one of the best bowmen in the Roman Empire.

Although Domitian allegedly did not like to hike, ride horses, or physically exert himself, he reportedly found enjoyment in hunting. While on his wooded estates, Domitian frequently hunted wild game, often with spectators in tow. Guards and guests could expect to be amazed by wondrous feats of archery whenever they followed the emperor on his hunting trips. Any unlucky animal that crossed Domitian’s path did not stand much of a chance—the emperor prided himself on felling his prey with precise shots to the head. Suetonius claimed that many eyewitnesses were present for these hunting feats and that hundreds of animals fell victim to the emperor’s bowmanship.

If Domitian was in a mood to show off, he could be easily talked into putting on a sharpshooting exposition.  Suetonius recorded one of the favorite ways that the emperor would astound his audiences with his marksmanship skills—it was a trick that involved firing at humans. For his expositions, Domitian occasionally ordered a very brave slave to stand down range. It was imperative that the slave was able to keep calm while staring down death; he or she could not be the type of person with fingers that trembled with fear. When the human target was in position and Domition had his bow and arrow at the ready, the unfortunate slave would then be instructed to extend a hand and splay his fingers wide apart. As guests watched with nervous anticipation, Domition would masterfully fire his arrows through the spaces between the tense fingers of the slave.

Unfortunately, Domitian did not have his bow with him on September 18, 96. That day, a group of conspirators cornered an unarmed Domitian in a room and stabbed the emperor to death. He was forty-four years old at the time of his death and had been in power for fifteen years.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (Hunter and a Lion from Antioch mosaics in the Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA. [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Twelve Caesars (Domitian) by Suetonius, translated by Robert Graves and edited by James B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2007.
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Domitian  

Vespasian Had Odd Encounters With Animals

Vespasian had a peculiar path to the throne. It all began when a rebellion broke out against Emperor Nero in March of the year 68, and by June, the emperor committed suicide. Galba, the leader of the rebellion, became emperor that same June, but was overthrown by Otho in a coup in January, of year 69. The new emperor, in turn, was challenged by Vitellius, the governor of Lower Germany, and Otho ultimately committed suicide in April, still in the year 69. Yet, on July 1 (still 69), Vespasian, the Roman general in charge of suppressing the ongoing revolt in Judea, declared himself to be the rightful emperor—the fourth and final emperor of the year. By December 20 or 21, year 69, Vespasian’s troops tortured and killed Vitellius, then reportedly threw the corpse in the Tiber River. It was a chaotic time, indeed, but if some interesting rumors are true, Vespasian had been in stranger situations. According to the Roman biographer, Suetonius (c. 70-130+), Vespasian had ample experience with odd encounters—especially with animals in his dining room.

In his book, The Twelve Caesars, Suetonius wrote that animals would randomly pad their way into Vespasian’s home to cause mischief. On one occasion, the future emperor was innocently eating breakfast in his house, when a stray dog barged in and quickly scampered under the table where Vespasian was eating. The dog was carrying something in its mouth, but the animal was moving too fast for the future emperor to clearly see the object. The dog did not stay long—it dropped off whatever it was carrying onto the floor and then bolted out the door. Feeling curious, Vespasian peeked under the table to see what the dog had left behind. The object he saw was not a thing dogs are usually known to tote around. No stick, ball, bone, or even a rodent, was left behind by the stray. Instead, the dog had eerily dropped a severed human hand by Vespasian’s feet—hopefully, the future emperor had already finished his breakfast.

On another day, Vespasian was in his dining room at an undisclosed time. It was apparently the season to plow the fields, for Suetonius claimed an ox broke free from its yoke and, of course, charged straight for Vespasian’s house. Playing the part of the proverbial bull in the china shop, the rampaging ox crashed into the home, sending pottery and servants flying in all directions. The ox chased the servants into the dining room, where Vespasian was still lounging. It was a chaotic sight for the future emperor, yet it had an odd ending. The plowing of the fields and the small rampage must have been exhausting for the ox, because it collapsed at Vespasian’s feet without doing any more damage.

After allegedly living through alleged experiences such as these, perhaps Vespasian learned to simply go with the flow of events. Nevertheless, whereas Vespasian’s victory in the so-called Year of the Four Emperors is grounded in historical fact, the tales of his odd animal encounters were likely bits of rumor and legend that Suetonius decided to include in his book. Whatever the case, they are good stories that have value, if only for the sake of entertainment.

Written by C. Keith Hansley

Picture Attribution: (Emperor Vespasian on horseback, by Antonio Tempesta (1555–1630), [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.
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aulus-Vitellius 
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vespasian  

Emperor Domitian Wrote A Manual On Hair Care

Domitian ruled the Roman Empire from after the death of his brother Titus in the year 81, until the year 96, when a group of fearful conspirators had him assassinated. Domitian’s character remains difficult to assess—his reign was undoubtedly filled with heightened authoritarianism and executions, yet the cause and effect is debatable. Did Domitian’s oppression of the Senate and further centralization of government cause Senators to conspire against him, or did corruption and plotting among the ruthless members of the Senate spur on Domitian to brutally rein in the Senatorial class? Whatever the case, Domitian and the Roman elites were at odds and it did not help his reputation that the great contemporary writers of his age, such as Tacitus and Pliny the Younger, were his bitter enemies. Interestingly, the most positive account of Domitian arguably came from the biographer, Suetonius, who usually had few good words for most of the emperors after Augustus.

In The Twelve Caesars, Suetonius ended the work with a section on Domitian—it was very critical of the emperor (unsurprisingly, as Suetonius was Pliny’s protégé), but he did praise a few of Domitian’s policies. The biographer looked in favor on Domitian’s efforts to rebuild Rome and to refill its libraries after the damage caused to the city during the fire of year 80. Suetonius also mentioned that the emperor prohibited barbaric practices such as castration, and actively sought to end corruption among magistrates and governors (likely a reason as to why the senators detested him).

Suetonius also commented on Domitian’s academic interests. During the reigns of his father (Vespasian) and brother (Titus), Domitian apparently was enthusiastic about literature and poetry. Yet, when he became emperor in 81, he seemed to have little time to devote to writing, or otherwise thought being an author was an unnecessary distraction. Nevertheless, he reportedly tried to revive interest in the arts during his reign by funding competitions of rhetoric and music.

Despite his eventual withdrawal from writing, Emperor Domitian is known to have produced one book—De cura capillorum, a manual on hair maintenance and care. It was an ironic book, because Domitian was reportedly bald, but a fragment that survives from the text—“Yet my hair will go the same way, and I am resigned to having an old man’s head before my time”— suggests he may have written the piece before he completely lost his hair (Suetonius, Domitian, section 18). Although Domitian reportedly was sensitive about his baldness, his book on hair was allegedly witty and humorous. Unfortunately, the text is lost except for its catchy title (Care of the Hair) and two small fragments that were preserved by Suetonius.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (Painting of Emperor Domitian by Domenico Fetti  (1589–), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Twelve Caesars (Domitian, section 18) by Suetonius, translated by Robert Graves and edited by James B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2007.
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Domitian 
• https://www.ancient.eu/domitian/ 
• https://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/titus_domitian.html 
• https://www.historytoday.com/rhys-griffiths/emperor-domitian-ad-51-96 
• https://britishschoolatrome.wordpress.com/tag/domitian/ 
• https://www.jstor.org/stable/639608?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents  

According To Legend, Fortune Literally Came Knocking At Emperor Galba’s Door

Servius Sulpicius Galba was born in 3 BCE, and lived through the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero. He came from an ancient aristocratic house and proved himself to be competent in governing several provinces of the empire, albeit in a ruthless manner. Over the decades of Julian-Claudian rule, Galba had good fortune. He became a governor of Aquitania during the reign of Tiberius. Caligula gave him another high office as governor of Germania Superior. Claudius followed suit, giving Galba a military and administrative position in Africa. Nero ignored him for a while, but eventually appointed Galba as governor of Tarraconensian Spain in 60 CE, a position that he would use to usurp power in Rome eight years later. By 68 CE, Emperor Nero had lost the support of several powerful governors in his empire. A rebellion broke out in Gaul, and Galba, with his Spanish legions, joined the rebels and became the leader. The Roman Senate was sympathetic to the rebels and declared Nero to be an enemy of the state. In June of 68 CE, Nero committed suicide and Galba was proclaimed emperor.

Up to this point, Emperor Galba had a fortunate life, especially by the ruthless standards of ancient Roman politics. His luck was so palpable that it apparently inspired a series of folkloric tales. The Roman biographer Suetonius (c. 70-130+), a man who loved such rumors and yarns, recorded two stories that gave a divine explanation for Galba’s fate. According to the tales presented by Suetonius, one of the reasons that Galba had a successful life was because he was a life-long favorite of the goddess Fortuna, the divine personification of fortune.

As the story goes, when Galba was a young man, the goddess Fortuna visited him in a dream. It was not a very elaborate dream—the setting was in his house and Galba never even saw the goddess. Instead, he only heard a knocking sound coming from his door. When Galba approached the locked door in his dream, he was greeted by the impatient voice of Fortuna, demanding that he let her in, lest she leave and grace someone else’s doorstep with her presence. Galba woke up before he could open the dream world’s door, so he did the next best thing and rushed to his front door in reality. When he opened it up, Galba realized that the goddess had actually left him a present—a bronze statue of Fortuna was apparently waiting just outside the threshold of his home.

According to Suetonius, Galba enshrined the statue in his summer home at Tusculum and offered it a sacrifice every month. With Fortuna on his side, Galba survived the tumultuous reigns of the Julio-Claudian emperors and even gained control of the empire, himself, when he was in his early seventies. Yet, something went wrong—his luck had an abrupt end. Suetonius wrote down another piece of folklore that offered a mythological explanation for Galba’s fall from grace. According to the tale, Galba began to slack in his sacrifices to Fortuna once he achieved the title of emperor. In particular, he allegedly halted a shipment of jewelry that was heading for the shrine of Fortuna at Tusculum, and instead donated the treasures to a temple of the goddess, Venus. Unfortunately, Fortuna, like many deities, was a jealous goddess, and she immediately invaded one of the emperor’s dreams to express her anger and sense of betrayal. When Galba awoke from the dream, he apparently tried to make things right, but he never regained Fortuna’s favor. In 69 CE, Galba was assassinated during a military coup spearheaded by his former ally, Otho.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (Sketch of Emperor Galba by Rembrandt (1606–1669), with a depiction of Fortuna from "The literary digest" 1890, in front of a modified cityscape by Thomas Cole (1801–1848), all [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Twelve Caesars (Galba) by Suetonius, translated by Robert Graves and edited by James B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2007.
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Galba 
• https://www.ancient.eu/Galba/ 
• http://www.livius.org/articles/person/galba/ 
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nero-Roman-emperor  

The Odd And Exotic Culinary Dish Supposedly Loved By Short-Lived Emperor Vitellius

Emperor Vitellius was one of four emperors who ruled the Roman Empire during the chaotic year, 69 CE. The true nature of Vitellius, and that of his two predecessors, Emperors Galba and Otho, will likely always remain in relative obscurity, for the most prominent historians who lived during the late 1st century—such as Tacitus and Suetonius—were fans of the fourth and final emperor of the year, Vespasian (r. 69-79 CE). As such, the biased ancient historians unfortunately seemed to be willing to write accounts of Galba, Otho and Vitellius that were propaganda-riddled caricatures in order to make Vespasian’s reign seem all the more grand. At the least, their works were heavily influenced by Vespasian’s propaganda.

As for Emperor Vitellius, he was portrayed negatively by Suetonius (c. 70-130+) as an addict of feasting and gambling. Suetonius filled his pages with several rumors about Vitellius’ supposed gluttony. Some of the emperor’s alleged eating habits are so odd that Suetonius likely based the stories from lampoons or other mocking sources. For instance, the ancient historian would have us believe that Emperor Vitellius was gluttonous enough to steal from street vendors, to eat old discarded food scraps and to even gobble up pieces of sacrificed meat left on a god’s alter. In addition, Suetonius alleged that Vitellius hosted three or four banquets each day, and spent all the hours in-between attending feasts hosted by other citizens of Rome.

Yet, few hosts of the many feasts could ever dream of preparing one extraordinary culinary dish that was reportedly loved by the emperor. It was a huge platter of food that was given the peculiar name, “The Shield of Minerva the Protectress.” The meal’s ingredients were so bizarre that the Roman Navy allegedly had to sail to the corners of the empire to gather everything required for the recipe. According to Suetonius, a person experiencing the flavors of the Shield of Minerva would enjoy on their palate the taste of many exotic morsels, such as the brains of pheasants and peacocks, the tongues of flamingos, the liver of a pike and the milt of a lamprey. Emperor Vespasian, like most people reading the recipe now, did not find the dish to be appealing, and the so-called Shield of Minerva the Protectress was likely never prepared again after Vitellius was deposed, tortured, executed and his body disposed of in the Tiber.

Written by C. Keith Hansley.

Picture Attribution: (Still life with a glass bowl of fruit and vases, from Pompeii, c. 63 and the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 CE, [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Twelve Caesars (Divus Claudius, 15) by Suetonius, translated by Robert Graves and edited by James B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2007.
• http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/64*.html 
• http://www.livius.org/articles/person/vitellius/vitellius-4/ 
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aulus-Vitellius 
• https://www.ancient.eu/Vitellius/ 
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vespasian    

Augustus Was Rumored To Be The Son Of Apollo

Augustus’ family was one of several that claimed to have divine blood—his own Julii clan believed their lineage traced back to the goddess Venus (or Aphrodite). In addition, Julius Caesar, Augustus’ great-uncle and adoptive father, was posthumously declared a god by the senate in 42 BCE. As if this godly pedigree was not divine enough, Augustus (or his propagandists) also began to spread rumors that he was actually a son of Apollo.

The biographer Suetonius (c. 70-130+ CE) wrote about this divine origin story in the section on Augustus from his work, The Twelve Caesars. According to the tale, Augustus’ mother, Atia, went to a midnight service at a Temple of Apollo. At some point during the service, the entire crowd gathered at the temple suddenly fell asleep. After Atia awoke from her unexplained slumber and returned home, she discovered a peculiar mark on her body.  As the mysterious mark was in the shape of a serpent, an unnerving story emerged that the god Apollo (disguised as a snake) had forced everyone in the temple to fall asleep so that he could have his way with Atia. After Apollo left the scene, no sign remained of his presence except for the snake mark he left on Atia’s body, which she discovered later that night. According to Suetonius, Atia gave birth to Augustus nine months after this incident supposedly occurred.

Written by C. Keith Hansley

Picture Attribution: (Statue of Apollo (photographed by Marie-Lan Nguyen) and a statue of Augustus (via the Vatican Museum) in front of an ancient landscape painted by C. W. Eckersberg (1783-1853), all Public Domain or licensed for use via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius, translated by Robert Graves and edited by James B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2007.

Emperor Nero Had A Divine Beard

Not only was Emperor Nero a member of the Julian family (Augustus was his great-great-grandfather), he was also part of the Ahenobarbi clan. This latter group, which Nero was connected to through his father, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, was said to have earned their name through a peculiar event that supposedly occurred in 5th century BCE.

According to Roman tradition, it was not long after Rome had ousted its Etruscan overlords in 509 BCE, when an army of Latins attacked, intending to re-impose Etruscan rule over the Romans. As legend has it, the army of the fledgling Roman Republic defeated the would-be oppressors at Lake Regillus with the help of the horse-riding gods, Castor and Pollux, who supposedly led the Romans in a decisive cavalry charge.

Castor and Pollux were apparently excited about Rome’s victory at Lake Regillus and were impatient about spreading the news back to the victorious city. Instead of waiting for the soldiers to naturally make their way back home, Castor and Pollux miraculously appeared to a random wanderer. Exactly where this encounter took place differed from source to source—Suetonius claimed the setting was on a country road to Rome, while Plutarch and Dionysius of Halicarnassus claimed it occurred at a fountain in the Forum. Whatever the case, the first person who supposedly made contact with the two gods was a certain Lucius Domitius, an ancestor of Nero.

As the story goes, the gods told Lucius Domitius that a great battle had been won at Lake Regillus. They then commanded the man to spread the word to the Roman people. To make sure that Lucius Domitius was believed, the gods then touched the man’s black beard, turning it a vibrant bronze color.

After that encounter, Lucius’ descendants began to have good luck in their endeavors. According to Suetonius, Lucius Domitius and his immediate descendants earned for their family the rank of patrician and achieved seven consulships, two censorships, and a military triumph. Lucius Domitius also discovered that his divinely colored locks were hereditary, as all of his descendants had shades of bronze for their hair.

The bronze-colored (aheneus) beard (barba) sported by Lucius Domitius and his male descendants allegedly served as the origin of their family surname, Ahenobarbus. By the time of Nero (r. 54-68), however, the miraculous bronze hair of the Ahenobarbi may have diluted in color, as Suetonius claimed Nero’s hair was mostly blonde.

Written by C. Keith Hansley

Picture Attribution: (heavily modified painting of Nero by Eugène Delacroix  (1798–1863), [Public Domain] via Creative Commons).

Sources:

• The Twelve Caesars (Divus Claudius, 15) by Suetonius, translated by Robert Graves and edited by James B. Rives. New York: Penguin Classics, 2007.  
• https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nero-Roman-emperor 
• https://www.britannica.com/place/ancient-Rome#ref26585 
• http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/battles_lake_regillus.html 
• https://www.ancient.eu/Castor_and_Pollux/ 
• http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Aemilius*.html 
• http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Dionysius_of_Halicarnassus/6A*.html