Back To Rome Part Five

When Octavian and his close-perhaps his closest friend over the course of his lifetime-Agrippa got back to Rome in 33 BC from Illyricum, they were faced with an important question-how could they bestow legitimacy upon their own regime? This was an extremely important one as the power structure was so unstable-some of it because of Octavian's own political maneuverings. They needed to convince a tired and cynical populace that after the long years of division, bloodhshed, and fight-to-the-death politics, that Octavian meant to rule in the people's interest, not his own.

The answer they were looking for came in the form of Rome itself. Investment in public buildings and services would achieve three useful goals. First it would add a very much needed sparkle and grandeur to one of the shabbiest imperial cities of all time-making Rome truly worthy of its role as the capital of the known world. Second, the quality of life of Rome's citizens would be improved. This was important in and of itself as Romans could become volatile at times. Third, the renovation of the city's architectural heritage would be the first substantial example of Octavian's commitment to restoring Rome's old values. An appeal to the ancient core beliefs, customs and values that the Republic was founded upon was a very strong method of making the Triumvirate seem revolutionary-in the sense of a revolution going backwards, just as when a car goes forward or backwards the wheels are making revolutions either way.

Octavian told his generals to signal their victories on the battlefield by restoring various Roman landmarks at their own personal expense. They improved and modified temples and basilicas, and on the Campus Martius the extremely worthy commander Titus Statilius Taurus built Rome's first stone ampitheater.

Of course the eye candy needed to be supplemented by real improvements the average Roman could feel from these public works. Agrippa took an unusual step in 33 BC to help with this. He took the post of aedile-this could actually be considered a self-demotion because he had already been a consul, the state's highest office.

One of the aedile's duties was to monitor and regulate the city's water supply, street cleaning and drains. Agrippa reorganized and refurbished the aqueduct system. He also commissioned a new aqueduct, the Aqua Julia (years later he added the Aqua Virgo, so named because a young girl pointed out springs to the soldiers who were hunting for water). He had 500 fountains built as well as splendid public baths, The Thermae Aggripae. The resevoirs and the fountains, or nymphaea, were intricately decorated with bronze and marble statues and pillars. Agrippa also had Rome's underground drainage system repaired and cleaned.

Men who seek power as an ultimate goal such as Octavian (and any number of others throuhgout history that I can think of-not that I know about all of them) probably never had such a friend as Agrippa. It is pretty safe to say as we will see later also, that no Agrippa= no Augustus Caesar. Agrippa applied himself in any way he conceivably cold to help Octavian gain power. During his aedileship, he distributed olive oil and salt and arranged for the city's 170 baths to open free of charge throughout the year. He presented many festivals, and because those attending were expected to look good he subsidized barbers to offer their services gratis! At public entertainments, tickets good for money and clothes were thrown to the crowds. Also, massive displays of many kinds of goods were set up and made available for free on a first come, first serve basis. All these measures were paid for from the fortune Agrippa had built (from war treasure, legacies, and grants of land and money) during his ten years of working and fighting for Octavian.

The incredible job and fortune Agrippa had invested in Rome's infrastructure (also other buildings etcetera restored by other generals and followers of Octavian) greatly elevated its appearance. The construction work also spawned jobs in a city with a high rate of unemployment. While the long-absent triumvir (Mark Antony) was wasting time in the east, all Rome could see the enhancements that Octavian's regime was bringing to the ordinary Roman.

Finally, Octavian felt he was ready for a break with Antony. Octavian's career beginning with his acceptance of the legacy of Julius Caesar make sense only if looked at from the wider angle of a very cautious and unwavering pursuit of absolute power-however sometimes the cautious approach was thrown to the wind and Octavian took some breathtaking risks. Sometimes I think-even though it is hard to do at times-that Octavian must not be judged by today's standards as much as through the prism of the qualities ancient Rome valued. He was a typically ambitious and competitive Roman-he wanted to hold the sole reigns of power. Octavian was the heir to Rome's greatest single ruler (Julius Caesar) since the expulsion of King Tarquin the Proud in the sixth century BC, and he truly felt he was destined for this power and deserved it (as so many other world leaders have-from even further back in ancient history to Napoleon-and on to Hitler and Stalin).

In his uneven battle with Mark Antony for supremacy, Octavian never missed anything he could use as a projectile to his his victim. With regard to Antony's doings with Cleopatra, the Donations of Alexandria and the general way Antony had comported himself in the East, Octavian constantly made reference to the un-Roman style Antony had adopted-whether true in all cases or not, saying Antony had "failed to conduct himself as befitted a Roman citizen." The Illyrian campaign was another step in Octavian's quest for power. Not only did it allow him to keep legions under his command that could be used for other purposes if the right time came-but it also added much need military prestige to his resume that he had sorely lacked.

Octavian and the indispensable Agrippa's facelift of Rome that was both cosmetic and practical also seemed to be part of a larger plan for a long-term rule of the empire. Octavian and Agrippa must have been acutely aware, however, of the fickle nature of Roman politics. If they didn't find a way to confront Mark Antony now, the impetus could easily swing back to him, especially if he managed to finally achieve a real victory over the Parthians. The Triumvirate's second term was to end in December 33 BC, and it would help Octavian's cause to avoid a renewal of it. Octavian knew the hand he had to play now was a strong as it would ever be.

Octavian was elected consul for a second time n 33 BC. Early in the year he gave a speech that was a scorching diatribe against Mark Antony. Octavian criticized Antony's activities in the east. He claimed that Antony had no right to kill Sextus Pompeius, who had been executed in 35 BC, presumably with Antony's approval. Octavian said he would have spared Sextus. He also said that Mark Antony had been wrong to trick the Armenian king into becoming a prisoner, and said Antony's behavior had damaged Rome's good name. Octavian then went on to attack Antony's demeaning treatment of his Octavian's sister and Antony's wife, Octavia, and his relationship with Cleopatra.

The Donations of Alexandria were intolerable, and an even greater slap in the face (because it was a clear shot at questioning the legitimacy or Octavian's position) was Antony's promotion of Ptolemy Caesar or Caesarion (Julius Caesar's son by Cleopatra) as the great dictator's natural heir. There was much in the speech where one could question Octavian's motives. It is very hard to swallow Octavian having having any real feelings of sadness for Sextus Pompeius, or that he cared a whit about Armenia, a far- flung nation of which he and most Romans were entirely ignorant. Mark Antony's sexual life had always been flashy and Octavian himself was certainly no prude.

I hope to post at this blog again very soon and still have more information written up that just needs to be typed out. All the best to anyone stopping by! The image is a map of the Roman Empire at the beginning of Emperor Hadrian's reign in 117 A.D.

Back To Rome Part Four

It's not that Cleopatra couldn't dream and plot with the best of them. BUT she was a realist. She knew where her dreams must end. There was no way she could wish for more than to keep Egypt the dominant power in the eastern Meditteranean under Roman tutelage. In all likelihood the Donations were a symbolic token, a way of easing public opinion in the east and getting the people behind Antony as Dionysus/Osiris and Cleopatra as Isis/Aphordite. There were very few if any practical changes that were of noted in Syria, Cappadocia, Pontus or Galatia. And there were most certainly not any masses of Egyptian administrators spreading throughout the Middle East, and replacing local authorities and Roman officials and tax collectors. From Anthony Everitt's Augustus, on page 162: "It is hard to disagree with the sentiments that the great twentieth-century Alexandrian poet Constantine Cavafy attributed to the audience at the glittering ceremony in the Gymnasium.

And the Alexandrians thronged to the festival
Full of enthusiasm, and shouted acclamations,
In Greek, and Egyptian, and some in Hebrew,
Charmed by the lovely spectacle--
Though they knew of course what all this was worth,
What empty words they really were, these kingships.

The importance of the Forum in Roman life can't be understated. The business of government was conducted in and around the Forum during the five centuries of the Republic. It was in a valley between the Capitoline and Palatine Hills and was a rectangular shaped piazza that had a plethora of temples to goes and heroes lining it.

Citizens' assemblies were convened in an open space called the Comitia. Money could be borrowed and prostitutes bought. Trials were conducted in the open air. Senators met and debated in the Senate House. Statues of famous Romans adorned columns, and large paintings celebrated Roman victories. Two basilicas, which mingled the activities of shopping mall and conference center stood down the Forum's long sides.

Now, with Octavian and the Second Triumvirate-and his growing ascendancy- a change could be seen in the way politics was conducted. Important politics moved from the noisy open square up to a complex of houses on the "wealthy" Palatine Hill, where Octavian and Livia worked and lived. "Palatine" derives from the word "palace," meaning some sort of confined space where autocrats make political decisions in private-away from the "noisy rabble."

To the northwest stand the buildings where Octavian and Livia spent most of their lives. In 36 BC, a grateful popular assembly voted that a house should be presented to him with taxpayer money. Octavian had already bought an expensive property at the southwest end of the Palatine Hill, but it had been struck by lightning-an omen tha he took to heart. So he demolished that building and replaced it with a temple to Apollo. With his grant from the Senate, he arranged the purchase of a house, or more accurately a group of houses, next door.

The location Octavian had chosen for he and Livia, was as so many things were with the young triumvir-chosen for very specific reasons and calculating purpose. Octavian wanted his residence to signal and embody his central role in Rome. Near it stood a hut, built on the hill's natural tufa and with a sloping thatched roof, its reed walls daubed in clay. This was said to be the home of Romulus, Rome's founder, and was carefully preserved in his honor. By closely associating himself with Rome's beginnings, Octavian was telling the Roman world that he stood for traditional values, for mosmaiorum, the customs of ancestors.

Rome certainly didn't look -or smell like the capital of a great empire. There had been no central planning of any sort as the city had grown over the ages. Things were so terribly close. There were no wide avenues and few open spaces-apart from the previously mentioned Forum and the forum boarium. There were few streets that were wide enough to allow vehicles to pass one another and most were unpaved. There was no wheeled transport at all in the daytime! To reduce traffic congestion, Julius Caesar had restricted it to the night time hours-with the natural effect being that the unpaved roads groaned and squealed with a cacophony of wooden carts when people were trying to sleep! The wealthy lived in houses with no outside windows to escape the noise (and some of the smells) of urban life. Their rooms were grouped around one or more open-air courtyards. The poor rented single rooms or crowded into multi-story apartments, or insulae as they were known.

These were often extremely shoddily built and very prone to collapse or fire. Rome, of course, did have shops-but they were usually just a ground floor room with a masonry or wooden counter for selling goods and a space in the back for stock. There were any number of bars and restaurants. These catered mostly to the poor or working classes-people whose homes or apartments didn't have properly equipped kitchens.

As mentioned before, Rome was a city of horrendous smells. Raw sewage, trash, even occassionally human corpses were dumped in the streets. People walking below were so often hit by the disgusting contents of chamber pots emptied from the second floor or the roof that laws were passed regulating the damages that could be claimed!

Water was the only thing that made life in the city bearable-especially for the poor. The ready availability of water supplied by four aqueducts-the first built way back in the fourth century BC. Arcades crossed the land bringing fresh, clear water from springs and lakes miles away. The water was piped to fountains-some of them tiny affairs-stone troughs really-in the small public squares that were all over Rome. The wealthy and powerful could obtain permission from the Senate to tap the pipes for their own personal use (their ornate fountains, orchards, baths etc). Regular folks carried water from the nearest fountain or had it delivered by a water seller. Another thing that the surfeit of water made possible, was one of Rome's most popular pastimes-going to the public baths. The price of getting into these was so small that all but the poorest citizens could afford it. Many Romans would go to the baths every day, often in the afternoon, after work and before the evening meal. Men and women both enjoyed meeting friends and catching up on the latest gossip.

I hope to do one more article for this blog today-I don't know how long it will be as I am rather tired. All the best to anyone stopping by!

Back To Rome Part Three

Dio may have been correct in all or at least part of that. However, Octavian and his military men may have realized that authority over the coastal strip of Illyricum would not in itself secure Rome's preeminence. To achieve permanent control the Romans needed a defensible frontier. The most obvious landmark was the river Danube, which bordered the far or northeastern end of Pannonia. What this meant in practice was that Pannonia would become a Roman province. These plans were for the future, however. Now Octavian probably wanted to test just how much of an undertaking a permanent conquest might be. The tribesmen of this area proved to be very hard to fight at first. On two sides, the Colapis and the Savus (Save) rivers made the fortress of Siscia almost impregnable.

But on the third side there was a gap between the rivers that was fortified. The Romans attacked from the rivers and land at the same time. The defenders of Siscia, in the meantime, learned that a number of tribes had gone over to the Romans. With this unwelcome news they lost heart and negotiated a surrender. During this time the Roman fleet had defeated the Adriatic pirates and killed or enslaved coastal tribes. Octavian could congratulate himself on a fruitful year. he left more than two legions to hold Siscia. Then he returned to Rome where he planned to spend the winter attending to civilian business. Before the winter of 35-34 BC was over, new arrived that the garrison at Siscia was under attack and Octavian returned to Illyricum. On arriving he learned that the tribal forces had been defeated.

So Octavian went to the south of the province, where he joined Agrippa and then they fought against one of Illyricum's largest tribes-the Dalmatae. The terrain they battled the tribe on was rough and rocky. A sling stone hit Octavian's knee and he was immobilized for several days. When he recovered, he returned to Rome in late autumn to be ready for his second consulship, whihc began on 1 January 33 BC. After his return to Egypt in 34 BC, Antony put on a show that seemed almost like a triumphal procession. Antony rode into Alexandria on a chariot, preceded by his Armenian prisoners of war, and then went to the central square where Cleopatra sat in luxury awaiting him. Enormous banquets followed, along with the distribution of money and food. When word of this reached Octavian, he used it as a means to unfairly attack Mark Antony. However, Octavian knew he could spin this story his way because it was unheard of for a Roman general to hoold a triumph anywhere except for Rome.

Octavian and his allies were painting a picture, stroke by stroke, that Antony was losing his romanitas acting like a debauched Hellenistic monarch. What actually appears to have happened is that Antony simply staged a grand eastern spectacle, and not in anyway simulating a Roman triumph. Antony's persona during the Egyptian festivities was not that of a Roman general-but as a human Dionysus. He was reported as riding in the "Bacchic chariot." This chariot was traditionally pulled by big cats such as leopards or panthers. When Antony put on the personae of an appropriate divinity, he was just keeping to his policy of establishing a public persona that would appeal to the people of the eastern provinces.

Several days later an even more exotic ceremony took place which came to be known as the Donations of Alexandria. This took place in the city's splendid great Gymnasium. Two golden thrones were erected and Cleopatra, who was dressed as the goddess Isis joined Antony as Dionysus on the thrones. Caesarion, who was officially Ptolemy V, and at the age of thirteen was in theory at least, Cleopatra's co-ruler, as a woman was not allowed to reign alone. Caesarion, who was Cleopatra's child by Julius Caesar, and the queen's children by Antony say on lower thrones. Antony addressed the crowd, saying that Cleopatra had been married to Julius Caesar, and thus Caesarion (Ptolemy XV) was his legitimate son. This absurd claim was made by Antony in order to undermine Octavian's position. Antony conveniently ignored the existence of Caesar's wife, Calpurnia, and of the Roman custom to not marry foreigners. Antony may have been thinking along the lines of another symbolic or heavenly joining of two gods.

Antony then proceeded to give Cleopatra and the children honors and territories. Alexander was to receive Armenia, Media, and all the lands to the east as far as India-this would include the so far unconquered Parthian empire. The youngest child, Ptolemy Philadelphus was to become king of all the Syrian territories already given to Cleopatra, and overlord of the client kingdoms of Asia Minor. Cleopatra Selene, Alexander's twin sister, was given Cyrenaica (the eastern half of modern Libya) and the island of Crete. Caesarion was declared king of kings, and Cleopatra was queen of kings. Around this time Antony issued a silver denarius, which graphically showed his partnership with Cleopatra, One side showed Antony's bare head, and behind it the royal tiara of Armenia, with the inscription "Antony, after the conquest of Armenia." Cleopatra, depicted diademed and with jewels in her hair, was on the other side, along with the prow of a ship. The inscription read: "To Cleopatra, queen of kings and of her sons who are kings." This was quite scandalous for Roman currency, which never depicted foreigners.

What are the reasons behind the Donations of Alexandria? Antony never left any records for history about this event, and most sources mostly claim Octavian's version. So we can only guess. Something very important should be stated here about what Antony was not doing. He was not giving away the eastern half of the Roman Empire away to Cleopatra and her children! The Donations were in keeping with the way Antony had previously reorganized the east. In other words, especially as Rome had no permanent civil service, it made more sense to allow locals to manage most of the eastern provinces. This arrangement worked out great for Rome. It also solved the problem of greedy Roman officials becoming targets of local hatred and the empire itself was greatly more stable if the people that it ruled over didn't feel like they were under foreign occupation.

Historians at the time of Antony and later saw a much more duplicitous and dangerous reason for Antony's actions. They believed he was laying the foundations, with his allocated territory as a triumvir, to bring all of these lands under a single monarchy. And these men saw a longer range goal than even that-the final goal some believed was to overthrow Rome herself. One rumor actively had it that the queen's favorite oath was "so surely as I shall one day give judgment on the Capitol." This speculation is implausible. Antony was no the far-reaching, star-grabbing type or all conquering soul that Julius Caesar, Octavian and Alexander the Great before them were. Antony was even being crowded out of his role as a fellow triumvir by younger and even less experienced but whip-smart Octavian

I am hardly a professional historian-perhaps not even a good amateur one-but I have done a lot of research into the time from of Rome from Sulla through the "Twelve Caesars" and of course the era of Emperor Hadrian. I have also read many wonderful books on the subject, such as Anthony Everitt's Augustus, where so much of the information in about 40 or more articles on this blog comes from, and I just don't think Antony wanted to be a world-conqueror or maybe in the end even a Roman ruler. I feel he would have-and probably deeply hoped that he and Octavian could get along better and simply rule Rome as co-rulers as originally envisioned (or his part of the empire I should say). But Octvian's constant undermining of Antony prevented this.

I hope to be back very soon with more articles for this blog-although there will always be starts and stops on this blog due to the time it takes to read and condense information-but I will try to never go longer than two weeks without anything new. I have some information ready to go -it just needs to be typed out and I will try to keep staying ahead and get somewhat caught up on this blog. All the best to anyone stopping by! The second image shows a map of the Donations of Alexandria.

Back To Rome Part Two

Roman legions marched into Illyricum for the first time in 229 BC. Rome had made the region a province but never completely subdued its unruly tribes. Octavian had decided the time had come to show the people there who was really their master. As always (almost anyway) Octavian's motives were not as crystal clear as they seemed at first glance. Outwardly the idea was that they people of Italy would honor him for another contribution to their peace and security. Two other reasons were more important to him as they were all about increasing his power and image.

Octavian wanted a war as an excuse to keep his legions, as he might need them for a future confrontation with Antony. Secondly, Octavian had a problem with the way the public perceived him. Although he had won great praise for his bravery during his battle with Sextus, everyone knew that Agrippa had saved his bacon and was truly responsible for the victory. In an event that could have been staged to a degree, Octavian was able to pull off a propaganda coup. Roman forces were laying siege to a city in Illyricum, a tribal capital named Metelum. During a crisis in the battle Octavian rushed down from a temporary wooden tower and grabbed a shield from a soldier who was hesitating to cross a gangway.

Octavian had his friend Agrippa by his side and his bodyguard, he rode ir over the gangway. Some of the men who followed him were not so lucky, as too many soldiers got on it and it collapsed. Supposedly Octavian himself was wounded with one leg and both arms crushed. Of course, he survived and was protected by men already on the wall who had already made it across. More gangways were built at a fast pace and the legionaires came across in droves. The tribesmen who were defending the city gave up and the town fell.

Leading a charge on a besieged city was an act of great bravery and extremely dangerous. This was the province of such commanders as Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. This was rather not in keeping with Octavian's meticulous planning and unspontaneous character. We are left to wonder if Octavian, Agrippa and the other men around him saw a great opportunity for an impromptu show of bravery-perhaps somewhat akin to George W. Bush's much maligned "Mission Accomplished" landing on the aircraft carrrier. Whatever the truth behind this event, the propaganda boost was considerable and the public was impressed. The great historian of the time, Livy, stated that Octavian's "beauty of person [was] enhanced by blood and his dignitas by the danger in which he found himself."

Mark Antony had not been in Rome since 39 BC, and although this probably suited Octavian perfectly, there were some causes for worry-both personal and perhaps in Octavian's way of thinking-conspiratorial. Maybe Antony was just getting ready to battle the Parthians again. The most likely explanation, however, seemed to be that Antony and Cleopatra had set up housekeeping! Their relationship appeared to be stronger than ever and it was even rumored the two had married-although in the physical sense this is highly improbable, for both Greeks and the Romans strongly dispproved of bigamy. Maybe what the couple had intended was a sort of mystical wedding between the New Dionysus and the New Isis. In 35 BC, Cleopatra gave birth to yet a fourth child-her third by Antony, a boy named Ptolemy Philadelphus. Was it only Antony's typical love of the good life and laziness that was all that was keeping him from Rome?

Readying for a Parthian expedition could explain a lot of Antony's abscence from the capital. After all, Antony had to raise more troops and Octavian was continuing to hold back the four legions he had promised since the Treaty of Brundisium. Mark Antony was also bankrolling money for warships. He issued a series of coins, each with the number of one of is legions and backed by a warship. Many in Rome, maybe Octavian himself, might have wondered what Antony needed such a huge armada for, unless it was to invade the western empire? If this was the plan, Antony was unable to put it into effect right away.

The aftermath of the Parthian debacle claimed his attention. In the spring of 34 BC, the Romans invaded Armenia. The king of Armenia had betrayed Antony during the failed invasion and quickly admitted defeat. He and his two younger sons were taken prisoner. Armenia became a Roman province and was opened up for trade and economic exploitation. Antony of course, sent news of his victory to Rome, but the Roman mood was considerably darker than it had been since 36 BC and the false festivities that had marked the Parthian "victory" of that year.

Antony's victory in Armenia was genuine but Octavian, the Senate and the people of Rome ignored the victory with silence. Who could blame them? Crassus' standards were still in Parthian hands and not only that, but now the Parthians had some of Antony's standards also. Octavian marched east to fight the Pannonian tribes beyond Illyricum. History doesn't tell us what they did to be targeted by him. Dio has this to say about the young triumvir's motives: "He had no complaint against them [the Pannonians], not having been wronged by them in any way, but he wanted to give his soldiers practice and to support them at the expense of an alien people."

I hope to be back in a few days with another article in this series. I have one or two articles already written out-they just need to be typed. Thanks so much to anyone reading or commenting on this blog!

Back To Rome Part One

Well it has been since 12 May since I have been back to the Roman era. Think I might be able to stay on track a bit more? The only thing I have to say in my defense-which is really no defense-is that I have been struggling worse than usual with my health and insomnia these last 4-6 months-and it was none too good before with my back pain and all. That and the number of different subjects I get into when I am at least feeling well enough to research and type have really put me so far behind on this blog. I hope to stay more on top of things in the future. The post size some days may vary quite a bit as my back pain is starting to make me take so many time outs on occasion that I just say forget it and wait until I feel better physically to post more. I also want to condense the Roman era information in a way that allows me to do just as much about it but without being so unnecessarily wordy. I still want to get into different historical subjects and eras here from time to time too. I will try to stay with Rome for the next six to eight posts!

This continues from the post on 12 May 2009: Speaking of doing the barest minimum to help Antony: Octavian knew Antony needed to replace the men he lost, but didn't let him raise legions in Italy as he was entitled to. Not only that, but Octavian was not even going to keep his promise in the Treaty of Misenum to send Antony four legions in return for the 120 ships Antony gave him! So let Antony have his 'victory' celebrations, and sacrifices, Octavian knew the real score. He wrote to Antony with an obscured but stinging sarcasm that in light of his resounding victory over the Parthians, Antony should have no trouble at all raising any soldiers he needed in his own half of the empire. Then to rub extra salt in the wound, Octavian send his sister, who had been in Rome (since last seeing Antony at Tarentum) to join her husband. In addition, Octavia brought huge stocks of clothing for his troopsm, money-even gifts for his staff.

Also a Praetorian Guard (the bodyguard of a general) of 2,000 men. Octavia also brought 70 warships (the ships left of the ones Antony had originally given to Octavian). 3 things betrayed the real message of this seemingly nice and un-Octavian like gesture. 1) The provisions for Antony's troops spoke loud and clear of Octavian's knowledge of the real events in the Parthian campaign. 2) Sending 2,000 men instead of the promised 20,000 was a slap in the face. 3) By sending Octavia to Antony when it was known he was living with Cleopatra was both spiteful and rude. Some historians want to give Octavian a break and would have us think that he just sent Octavia to get Antony away from Cleopatra, however, Octavian knew Antony much too well for that by now.

He was banking on Antony acting rashly and put the harsh glare of bad publicity on himself. He guessed right, when Octavia reached Athens she got a message from her husband that said to send the men and supplies and then return to Rome! Octavian advised his sister to move out of Antony's enormous house and set up her own independent household. She did indeed obey her husband but didn't follow her brother's advice. Historical sources paint a very kind picture of Octavia-almost saintly. A lot could be due to Octavian's propaganda machine, but there are far too many instances of factual statements about Octavia and her life about things that would not be worth bothering to lie about that suggest she was a truly kind woman.

From some of Octavia's own letters we can also infer that she was under a great deal of pressure from being stuck between her brother and her husband. Octavia did everything in her power to save her marriage. She also cared for Antony's children from his previous marriage as if they were her own. She also was a great hostess entertaining Antony's friends in Rome on business-and at the same time doing everything in her power to get what those friends wanted from Octavian. Only the most rosy-glasses could prevent someone from seeing the inevitable break between Octavian and Antony. How violent and rending of a schism to themselves, their families and friends-and of course the citizenry of Rome remained to be seen. Antony had the strength of a bull-proverbial of course, but at many times completely lost focus. Octavian on the other hand was energetic towards his duties and focused, but suffered bouts of poor health throughout his life. Octavian was a first class schemer and plotter with a great dash of opportunism added into the mix. Antony-although a great general, except for the previously mentioned fiasco, reacted to events-many times in a quite heroic fasion-like the time he saved Octavian's life in the Forum to name a few.

But how many politicians from antiquity to the present day last long if they are not guiding or at least predicting events but reacting to them as they come? The issue of what each of the men truly wanted from their high positions in the world. This also no doubt added a great deal of tension to their relationship. Mark Antony was definitely happy with the way things were as long as he could remain in the spotlight as a leading citizen of Rome. Octavian, on the other hand was out to change the whole structure on which Roman power was based and projected-although he made a show of being a traditionalist in some areas and was truly of a conservative bent in many areas, but Octavian wanted nothing less than to rule Rome completely while hiding the absolute nature of his rule with misleading propaganda and the pretense-but nothing more than that-of "restoring the republic."

I hope to be back very soon with another post. I plan to never go longer than three weeks between articles again-and hopefully no matter what I am working on, a lot less time than that. I will change the title to something snazzier than "Back to Rome" after a bit, once I have the chance to see what the main issues are going to be. All the best to anyone stopping by!

Roman Empire: New Wars Old Enemies Part Eighteen

It was also paramount in Roman society that there should not be any doubt as to who a Roman citizen's father was. This is precisely why Octavian himself ordered a favorite freedman of his to commit suicide after he had been convicted of adultery with freeborn Roman women. This policy of the properness of "who it was ok to have sex with" was a preventative measure to keep foreign genes out of the Roman gene pool. Citizens were supposed to marry citizens, and to wed a foreigner was looked down upon; if not illegal, such a union was not recognized by law-especially when it came to the matter of heirs to a will. For Mark Antony this meant that he could screw around with Cleopatra-but not marry her. For Octavia, a woman who appears to have been a wonderful, intelligent, loving spouse this may have stung a bit, but she understood the social mores of her time. Octavian, her loving brother was the one who absolutely hated the thought of Antony's liason with the eastern seductress. Then amidst Octavian dealing with his feelings about his Antony, some very interesting news started coming in from the east in the winter of 36 to 35 BC. This news-largely in the form of letters home from officers and others involved in Antony's Parthian campaign told a different story than Antony's gleaming tales of easy victory. In fact, it seems that his Parthian campaign came very close to defeat.

This interested Octavian greatly and other political higher-ups in Rome and a confidential investigation was commissioned to get the real story. Indeed it turns out that Mark Antony did make a series of mistakes that added up to a disaster. The campaign started out well enough but Antony started it too late in the year to afford a single setback or he would find himself fighting or retreating in the winter: think Napoleon or Hitler in later ages. Apparently Antony was so upset at himself he actually prepared for suicide several times. He was still a general in the midst of the quagmire, even after losing 20,000 men, one-third of his army, during the month it took to retreat to the relative safety of what would be modern Aremenia. I won't go into too may details of the actual battle as I am so behind on the major questions I want to at least ask if not answer on this blog, but I will try to find a link that describes it in full detail. When Antony's crippled army reached Syria, Antony started drinking heavily, as his sense of self-esteem was probably at the lowest point in his life. The soldiers that were left to him did stick by their general. According to Plutarch Antony's men, "greeted him with cheerful faces and gripped his hand as he passed: they begged him not to let their sufferings weigh upon him, but to go and take care of himself."

Messengers had been sent to ask Cleopatra for money and clothing for the soldiers. Apparently she took her sweet time (perhaps not wanting to be taken for granted?) but eventually brought everything that was required. After the soldiers were completely outfitted and supplied, Antony returned to Alexandria to contemplate how to proceed. When Octavian had absorbed all of the information about his colleague's debacle he decided to take a wait and see approach. Here is where some interesting thoughts about Octavian's motives come in. There are no records of any secret dealings or thougthts Octavian may have had with regard to sharing power with Antony until one or the other died. Who knows-maybe Octavian was just an intelligent and normally very careful opportunist and had no desire to unseat Mark Antony and rule the empire alone? But the sheer volume of evidence of his behavior-to me anyway (and not to worry-other "real" historians;-) argues very much against this. Octavian's slow but relentless and ruthlessness in chipping away at Antony's power and prestige (amongst other competitors) and his absolute refusal to do the barest minimum-even below minimum I think to help his fellow triumvir-taken as a whole points to an eventual plan to have sole rulership of the Roman world. I do think that Octavian truly adored his sister and am not entirely sure if he had an extra psychological push to get rid of Antony because of his dealings with Cleopatra; this situation probably added to the impetus to take Antony out, but I think this was the plan all along-ever since Octavian learned of his adoption by Julius Caesar.

The image is a Roman mosaic of a lion on a roundel. I do not know exactly when the next article will be here. I have developed the worse case of the summertime blahs on record I think-been very lazy regarding blogging lately. I do hope to come up with a schedule where I work on material for each blog three days of the week when I can with a day of rest. Hopefully I will get somewhat back on track soon. Thanks again to anyone following or commenting on this blog!

Roman Empire: New Wars Old Enemies Part Seventeen

In the spring of 36 BC, when Antony left for Parthia with 60,000 legionaires, to take long overdue revenge for Crassus's defeat in 53 BC, many of these republican diehards hoped that he would achieve a great triumph over the enemy and few doubted that he would and thus restore his predominance in the Triumvirate. Mark Antony did indeed announce victory of the Parthians in the autumn of that same year. Octavian kept up with his colleagues doings in the east. Communications were slow but a variety of individuals from businessmen to state officials wrote home with news and gossip. At this point in his life Octavian obviously had great power already but he was expected to keep the Senate informed and Mark Antony involved. Octavia was back in Rome while Antony was on his military campaign. Octavia was an intelligent and adoring mother, sister and wife, so she worked hard to not only be a good mother to her six children and stepchildren, but also to advocate Antony's interests and try to dull the sharp edges in relations between her husband and brother. Mark Antony also engaged in geopolitics in the east. In 40 BC, Parthian cavalry led by Pakur, the intelligent and capable son of King Urud had invaded the province of Syria killing the governor.

This invasion represented the greatest challenge since Mithridates of Pontus fifty years before to Roman hegemony. Antony realized that the client states that acted as a bulwark between the Parthians and Rome needed to be stronger. So Mark Antony created a new map, slicing up great territories for men he could count on. These men were all Greek speaking west Asians. Amyntas in Galatia, Polemo in Pontus, Archelaus-Sisiness in Cappadocia, and Herod in the tiny but very strategically important kingdom of Judea. If Antony was going to be responsible for the eastern part of the Roman empire he needed leaders steadfast enough to repel military stikes and powerful enough to react effectively to them. Still the royal figure that Antony placed his greatest trust in was Cleopatra in Egypt. The pair renewed their allegiance ( it would be wrong to think of it as a love affair at this point) when Antony was forty-five and Cleopatra thirty-three. The two came to a quick agreement about the future of their partnership (with equal speed Cleopatra became pregnant again). Egypt's resources would be at Antony's beck and call. In return for her letting Antony make use of Egypt's substantial resources Cleopatra received fittingly substantial territories. Among these were coastal cities from Mount Carmel )in the south of modern Lebanon), part of Cilicia(southeast modern Turkey), and other areas to the north and south of Judea.

Cleopatra had every reason to be greatly pleased with herself. She had made enormous strides towards rebuilding the Ptolemaic empire as it had been at the height of its power two centuries before. It is very important to note that in Rome at this time no one saw anything wrong with Antony's statecraft. His reorganization of the east showed great political forethought and made sense. Also, Antony appeared to be an able judge of the men best suited to lead the client kingdoms of Rome. Cleopatra was hardly what you would call well-liked by the Roman political class. But they had known her since the days of Julius Caesar and it was apparent she was a competent ruler. It mattered not a whit to mot that Antony had replaced Caesar as Cleopatra's lover. Octavian, however, had a much different view of the restored relations between the two. First of all it was an insult to his dear sister, Octavia. He also couldn't help but notice the semi-divine names that Antony's illegitimate children were given around this time: Alexander Helios (Greek "Sun") and Cleopatra Selene (Greek "Moon"). Due to their illegitimate status the children had no hereditary claims in either Rome or Egypt, but the new cognomens had to make one think about what was being planned for their future. An even greater embarrassment and possible threat to Octavian was growing up quickly in Egypt. Cleopatra's co-monarch, Ptolemy XV Caesar or Caesarion was the child of Julius Caesar.

He was now eleven years old and was the murdered "gods" real, not adoptive son. For a quick study like Octavian, he must have realized the implications of this down the road if Cleopatra and Antony should ever hatch some grand political scheme. Octavian, in this particular case, must have wished the Roman idea of marriage was not so unsentimental. This is not to say love didn't flower in many Roman marriages, but a Roman couple were almost always locked into a marriage of convenience(many times second or later marriages allowed for freer choice). The Romans had a largely unsentimental view of sexual relations, and romantic love, so glorified in later ages was rare. As for expressing feelings of affection in public and immoderate sexual activity, Marcus Porcius Cato the Censor (or Cato the Elder, father of the Cato that has already been mentioned on this blog) who lived in the second century BC, once expelled a man from the Senate for kissing his wife in public. A Roman man did not feel feelings of guilt about taking a different sexual partner and didn't feel bound to a particular sexual object of his desire. He would not have understood such modern terms as "heterosexuality" and "homosexuality", which put people in sexual groups. What the man did was what mattered, not what he was.

Some ancient sources reveal that it didn't matter whether the husband chose a young man or woman-as long as he did not play the "passive" or "receptive" role with another man. The previously mentioned poet Horace shows thoughts fairly common of his age: "When your organ is stiff, and a servant girl or a young boy from the household is near at hand and you know you can make an immediate assault, would you sooner burst with tension? Not me. I like sex to be there and easy to get." I find the word "assault" he used (or at least the way it translated) very interesting. For I can't imagine what the helpless servant girl or boy must have felt during these sessions where they were made, it would seem, less than human by their masters-simply objects to quench a desire-an object under ''assault." Besides the adulterer or fornicator only supposed to play the "active" role in sexual relations, their was a second rule that the men were supposed to only give their lustful attentions to non-citizens and slaves. Freeborn boys and women were supposed to be off-limits. There is a large amount of evidence that this custom was broken quite a few times.

The image is of Mark Antony's donations of territory to Cleopatra and his illegitimate children with her as of 34 BC. I hope to be back with more fairly soon. Peace and be well to anyone stopping by!

Roman Empire: New Wars Old Enemies Part Sixteen

Instead Octavian paid part of the promised donatives, distributed honors, and pardoned Sextus' officers. The soldiers didn't take this well-especially Octavian's own men who mutinied, demanding full payment of all that was owed to them and immediate discharge. Acting quickly, Octavian countered this by announcing a campaign against the Illyrians (in modern Albania), for which he would need legions, and increased the number of awards to officers and men. Added to this he also made some pacific moves, discharging those who had fought at Mutina and Philippi and also offering an additional donation of two thousand sesterces. Peace returned among the soldiers. Sextus Pompeius moving eastward, disembarked at Mytilene in another eerie echo of his father's dash for freedom in 48 BC. There are only small details of his next moves. Sextus appeared to have large amounts of money still because he crossed over to the province of Asia and managed to raise three legions. Mark Antony didn't want much to do with Sextus, he was angered that Sextus had offered his services to the king of Parthia. Gaius Furnius, the governor of Asia, marched against Sextus with a large number of men. Outmanned, the judicious thing for Sextus to do was surrender. He had been promised fair and honorable treatment if he did so.

Again we can wonder if he was subconsciously 'wanting' to share his father's fate, for he apparently first tried to fight, then tried to escape but was caught. Sextus had thrown away his last chance for survival and was executed in 35 BC. He would have been about twenty-six years old. He had lived a short but exciting life. Also, it seems, especially going to earlier days, that Sextus should by rights have won the conflict. In fact for a long time he achieved a string of victories. It is fascinating to think that if he had taken Menodorus's advice and refused reconciliation with the Triumvirate, Sextus could have literally starved Italy into submission. The greatest part of this blog series so far might have had Sextus as its subject instead of Octavian. There is a vastly different view of Sextus between his own contemporaries and the later ancient historians who saw him as a pirate. The people of Sextus' own time saw him as a great and honorable nobleman fighting to claim what was legally his. Appian's view seems to be that Sextus had no grand strategic design and a marked tendency not to pursue his many successes until victory was achieved. As we have seen these descriptions of Sextus' actions do have truth in them. Another failure of Sextus was that he didn't put the relatively small amount of resources he had control over into an equation that counted the enormous resources available to the triumvirs.

Sextus was definitely not in a strategic position to wait and see how events would unfold. On the face of it, it would seem that Sextus didn't lose due to a lack of intelligence or military ability, but because he didn't take a broad overview of events into consideration and didn't follow up on the aimes he did achieve. I also wonder if ther were two psychological components to his failure. One being a strong subconscious bond with his father's life which had also ended in failure-but had made many glorious achievements to his name also. The other being that he simply lacked the psychological ruthlessness of his opponents. The Senate had voted Octavian many honors and also let him decide to accept them all or only those he approved before he got back to Rome in 36 BC. Octavian would be twenty-seven years old on the twenty-third of September and may have delayed his entry into Rome to coincide with his birthday. He accepted three honors. The first was an annual festival to celebrate his victory over Sextus at Naulochus, the second was a gold-plated statue of himself in the Forum, dressed like he was on entering Rome and standing atop a column decorated with ships' rams. The third honor carried the most weight by far: tribunicia sacrosanctus. This meant that his person was sacer (sacred), consecrated and inviolable on pain of stiff penalties-even death. This protection had always been given to tribunes of the plebs, but Octavian didn't need to hold the office of tribune, although he was also given the right to sit on the tribune's benches at meetings.

Octavian did a number of nice things for the citizens of Rome upon his return. He forgave unpaid installments of special taxes, as well as debts owed to collectors. He announced that documents relating to the civil wars would be burned. State administative duties were given back to the regular magistrates. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly in some people's eyes was that Octavian said he would give up all of his extraordinary triumviral powers when Antony returned from Parthia. The young man owed an enormous debt to his friends and supporters; starting with Agrippa he began to make sure they were well taken care of. As Agrippa was really the man who stepped in and saved Octavian's bacon-so to speak-Octavian rewarded him with a perhaps unique and prestigious honor-a corona rostrata, which was a golden crown decorated with ships' prows. Priesthoods were also given out quite freely. Land and treasure were also gifts that the friends of the new regime received. Agrippa came into even more wealth when he was rewarded large estates in Sicily and married Caecilia, who was the daughter of Cicero's extremely wealthy friend Atticus. With Octavian's two opponents for control of the west (Sextus and Lepidus) gone, his status had increased to the point the he no longer insisted on using the title divi filius.

He had now carved out his own name and place in the world. There was a remnant of a republican faction not necessarily under one umbrella of beliefs, but obdurate in their refusal to accept that the Republic was gone forever. These people now began to gravitate to Mark Antony now that Sextus was gone. Antony had several personal attributes that made him the 'last hope' of the republicans. He was anything but a natural autocrat like Octavian and people could see that he liked an easy life in some respects. Some felt that as long as Antony could hang onto his dignitas (dignity, honor) and auctoritas (influence, authority), he might not mind the idea of going back to the Republic.

The image is a statue of Bacchus and Ariadne. I still have more information ready to go-and it is once again my typing skills that have prevented more from being posted. Soon, after the showdown between Antony, Cleopatra and Octavian that led to the Battle of Actium I would like to start moving a bit faster as far as leaving out some of the less important details so I can get to some other subjects also. Thanks again to anyone following or commenting on this blog!

Roman Empire: New Wars Old Enemies Part Fifteen

This feat was done also by a painful march across an expanse of old cooled lava near Mount Etna. Again, after just a few days Octavian had gone from the most desperate of situations to being in the driver's seat. He had twenty-three legions, 20, 000 cavalry and more than 5,000 light armed troops under his command in Sicily. Sextus recalled all of his men back from the west to the northeastern part of the island which was all he had left. Sextus knew that the only way out know was to engage the enemy at sea. On 3 September, his fleet sailed out of Messana and met Agrippa's in the sea between the ports of Mylae and Naulochus. If Suetonius can be relied on it seems that Octavian again was having an acute psychological crisis, similiar to what had happened at Philippi: "On the eve of the battle he fell so fast asleep that his staff had to wake him and ask for the signal to begin hostilities. This must have been the occasion of Antony's taunt: "He could not face his ships to review them when they were already at their fighting stations; but lay on his back in a stupor and gazed up at the sky, never rising to show that he was alive until his admiral Marcus Agrippa had routed the enemy." Slowly, as time passed, what were at first a few setbacks for Sextus became a rout.

One of Sextus' admirals took his own life, the other surrendered to Agrippa along with individual ships. Sextus had only 17 warships left. Sextus was so dumbstruck by what had happened that he forgot to give orders to his infantry. The result of this being that they immediately surrendered. Sextus gathered his money and anything else of use, took his daughter and some of his entourage and set sail towards the east with the remainder of his fleet. He intended to seek support from Mark Antony. We can wonder if Sextus was unconsciously following in his father's footsteps, who after his final defeat at Pharsalus had also sought safety in the east. Lepidus was about to do something extremely stupid. After being in the background so long he proclaimed himself the master of Sicily. This because he had landed on the island first and captured the largest number of cities. Of course Octavian was enraged by this. He sent some of his agents out. They found that Ledpidus' soldiers had little respect for him, applauded Octavian's courage (apparently they hadn't heard all of the stories about Octavian's crisis moments) and absolutely abhored the thought of another civil war. Then a very instructive incident took place that hwoed the courageous side of Octavian's personality.

Octavian took some cavalry to Lepidus's camp. Then unarmed he went into the camp with only a small number of companions. It was quite a scene, reminescent of the times Octavian put his life in mortal danger in front of large crowds. Naulochus had shown yet again that Octavian still found it very hard to deal with the experience of battle. However, when he was hurt or betrayed by opposition to himself he did not hesitate to put his life on the line. Lepidus ordered that the intruder be put out by force. Appian tells us that Octavian "was hit on the breastplate but the weapon failed to penetrate to the skin and he escaped by running to his cavalry. The men in one of Lepidus' outposts jeered at him as he ran." The experience must have been quite humiliating for Octavian but it had the desired effect. For in the next few hours Ledpidus' men began to desert him, even after he begged them to remain loyal. Lepidus even grabbed hold of a standard saying he would not release it. "You will when you're dead!" one of the standard-bearers replied. Now he knew it was over. Lepidus changed out of uniform and ran to Octavian as fast as possible, with spectators following along beside him like the event was public theater. Here a sea change occurred with the way Octavian treated some who betrayed him.

This could have been because for the first time in eight years Octavian didn't have a visible threat to his position on the horizon. Octavian also knew that people desperately wanted peace and a return to the rule of law. So when Lepdius came before him, Octavian stood and didn't let Lepidus fall to his knees. Octavian didn't punish Lepidus in any way and sent him to Rome as a private citizen. Octavian even let Lepidus keep his highly prestigious position of pontifex maximus. Lepidus was no longer allowed in the Triumvirate (he was probably grateful to be breathing). So Lepidus left public life and spent the remaining years of his life in a nicely comfortable retirement at the seaside resort of Circeii, about fifty miles south of Rome. This town was built on the side of a steep crag. The town also sported a temple of the sun and a lighthouse. Circeii was originally an island, and the malarial Pomptine Marshes were on its landward side. Legend had it that the witch Circe lived in one of the caves on its slopes. Circe had the ability to change visitors into swine. Circe with the rather porcine legend attached to it was a rather appropriate place for one of Rome's most loathsome politicians to spend his last years in. Now Octavian had 45 legions. 25,000 cavalry, about 37,000 light-armed troops and six hundred warships under his command. To find land for these men to settle on would take time; so it was very impractical to demobilize all of them immediately.

The image is a bust of Octavia, Octavian's loyal sister, with whom he was close to all of his life. Thanks again to anyone following or commenting on this blog! I hope to have the next article here soon.

Roman Empire: New Wars Old Enemies Part Fourteen

Agrippa continued building his navy in the lake of Avernus and Lucrine lake during 37 BC and the spring of 36 BC. When the fleet was finally ready, Lepidus was summoned from his dormancy in Africa; he would bring a thousand transport ships, seventy warships, sixteen legions and a large force of Numidian cavalry. Ledpidus was to disembark on the south side of Sicily and capture as much territory as he could. Octavian would sail from Puteoli and yet another fleet which would include Antony's donated ships would sail from Tarentum. Sextus must have been somewhat concerned about countering this massive strike force. Unlike the triumvirs Sextus did not have an inexhaustible supply of manpower. Sextus had 300 ships and ten legions. However, his successes to date must have given him some comfort. Starting out fortune favored Octavian. Lepidus had succeeded in getting twelve legions on Sicilian soil and quickly took over the port of Lilybaeum on the island's western tip. Depending on Lepidus was difficult to say the least. Lepidus appears to have opened a line of friendly communication with Sextus, so he could reap benefits no matter who won the war. Then on 3 July 36 BC the fleets were struck by another terrible storm. Immediately the ships from Tarentum returned to port as the winds became strong.

Octavian fled to a well protected bay on the west coast of Italy. The wind followed him to the southwest and it was impossible to sail out of the bay. Much worse; anchors could not hold the ships and they slammed into each other or onto the rocks. The storm lasted through the night and many ships were lost to the storm's fury. It would take a month to rebuild the fleet. It was at this point, in what was probably a combination stubbornness and dejection, that according to Suetonius, Octavian cried out: "I will win this war even if Neptune does not wish me to!" The summer was already hoving into view and an intelligent commander would cancel these operations until the following spring, especially after receiving a beating like this. In Rome, Octavian's pig-headedness was moving popular sentiment towards Sextus again. A few lines show the ridicule and contemptuousness that the people had towards Octavian now: He took a beating twice at sea. And threw two fleets away. So now to achieve one victory. He tosses dice all day. The critique of Octavian's behavior was somewhat unfair. He did like to gamble in his leisure time, as a letter he wrote to his successor,Tiberius, shows, but he was hardly wasting time now.

He sent his reliable friend Maecenas to Rome to try to counter some of his critics, while he himself went all around Italy speaking to settler veterans and trying to assuage their fears. Massive efforts were made to repair the damaged vessels and lay new keels. In a very real sense now Octavian was going to take the largest gamble of his life, however, it was hardly leisure gambling-the war with Sextus was going forward. Octavian and Agrippa realized their best move would be to push back and hold Sextus at Messana. They would really need to count on Lepidus for this plan, as he was already in Sicily. After some skirmishes between the republican and triumviral forces, Octavian and his troops disembarked on Sicily south of Tauromenium. Sextus's forces completely surprised Octavian's before they even built their camp. Sextus's cavalry harried the soldiers still at work on fortifying the camp. But Sextus made a serious mistake, as he held back both his navy and infantry. Had he not done this there is a great possibility he not only could have won a decisive victory, but also captured Octavian. But Octavian's situation was still desperate, his soldiers worked through the night to build the camp's defenses. At daybreak they were exhausted and not physically or mentally ready for battle. Octavian knew he had to save his fleet at all costs and sail from Sicily as soon as possible. He gave command of the legions to Lucius Cornificius, an early supporter of him who had prosecuted Brutus in 43 BC for Julius Caesar's murder.

When Octavian sailed out to sea Sextus took off from Messana. In two roughly fought engagements, Octavian came out much worse for wear. Now Octavian was unsure of what to do next. He did not know if he should risk sailing back to Sicily and Cornificius, or to try to find his troops on the mainland. Eventually he decided on the latter. Octavian set out on a single ship that Sextus's men were in hot pursuit of. This must have been a very dark time for him indeed. For fearing capture, he asked a loyal aide, Gaius Proculeius, to get ready to kill him. Once again Octavian avoided capture, but even though he was out of immediate danger, he was alone except for his armor-bearer. Octavian again barely evaded capture as he was walking on a coast road and saw ships in the distance. He went down to the beach to greet them, realizing in a nick of time that they were Sextus' ships. Then as Octavian was getting away from this almost disastrous encounter he was attacked by the slave of an officer on his staff whose father he had proscribed!

This is all that is known about this encounter-nothing more is said of the slave's fate or any wounds Octavian may have sustained. Then yet another turn of fate, this time in Octavian's favor happened. Some mountain folk had found Octavian in a state of being almost pushed over the limits of what he could take. They transferred him from one small boat to another to avoid getting caught and took him to his legions. Octavian showed great strength when reunited with his men, food and sleep could wait. He sent word to Cornificius in Sicily about the situation and also messengers around the mountains to get the word out that he was safe. Showing his usual intent focus on the most immediate goal, Octavian was not going to let a stupid communication failure deny his chance to resurrect his campaign. He knew two actions must be accomplished quickly. He had to find a way to get his legions to Sicily. Here the incomparably capable Agrippa, who had an earlier victory against Pompeian forces had taken the opportunity to occupy some ports on the island's north coast. Octavian was able to transfer his men this way. Secondly, Cornificius, who was currently held down by Sextus' troops near Tauromenium had to find a way to disengage and join Agrippa's forces.

Getting there slowly but surely :-). I want to have the next post here very soon-perhaps tomorrow-time permitting. The image is of a Roman coin honoring Agrippa on the obverse and Neptune on the reverse. Peace and be well to anyone stopping by!

Roman Empire: New Wars Old Enemies Part Twelve

Menodorus had defected from Sextus's camp in what was by far the largest blow to him personally and politically. Menodorus brought Octavian Sardinia and Corsica and three legions. Octavian thought with his typical calculation that now would be a good time to get rid of Sextus-treaty or no treaty. Mark Antony was against war with Sextus to Octavian's disappointment. Antony showed up at Brundisium on a mutually agreed appointment with Octavian in 38 BC. To Antony's annoyance Octavian was nowhere to be seen. It is not known what Octavian meant to signal by his abscence. Perhaps he was busy with his own military preparations against Sextus. Octavian appears to have thought that with Menodorus on his side he wouldn't need Antony anyway. Octavian had sent for an army from his lifelong friend Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa who was now a proconsul in Gaul. He also commissioned warships at Ravenna and planned for the other machinery of war to be assembled on the eastern and western coasts of Italy at Brundisium and Puteoli. Octavian's plan was to defeat Sextus at sea and then take troops from Italy to take over Sicily.

Gaius Calvisius Sabinus, who had once served under Julius Caesar and also had been the very first non-Latin consul in the previous year would sail south from Puteoli. Calvisius who was also one of the two senators who had tried to protect Caesar on the Ides of March would share his command with Menodorus. Octavian would be the admiral of the other fleet which would set sail from Tarentum and come at Sicily from the east. The sea was a very frightening and unpredictable place in ancient times. Sailing was avoided as much as possible during the winter. Roman war fleets were mostly made up of rowing galleys called triremes and quinqueremes. Even today it is not known exactly how they functioned. A trireme could have been layed out in two different ways: with three banks of oars, or one bank with the oars grouped together in threes with one man per oar. These were about 150 feet long and displaced about 230 tons. Quinqueremes probably had one bank of oars with five men pulling each oar. They would have had up to 150 rowers: these were often non-Romans-but not chained slaves as portrayed in Hollywood films! These warships would have been very hard to maneuver in storms. For weaponry they had brass battering rams on their prows. The Romans-maybe because they were not originally a maritime power-fought battles at sea as if they were on land.

The corvus (or crow) was a grappling device whereby men would board enemy ships. When boarding a ship was not an option, Romans used flaming projectiles to set them on fire. The first engagement took place when one of Sextus's men, an old pirate (as Menodorus had been) named Menecrates fought Menodorus and Calvisius off Cumae on the Campanian coast. Menecrates got the upper hand in this battle, although he himself was wounded and died. At nightfall the two fleets disengaged and Sextus's ships returned to port at Messana without finalizing their victory. After hearing about Cumae, Octavian made the mistake of trying to brave the straight and reach Calvisius. Sextus saw what was happening and made haste from Messana in great numbers and attacked Octavian's fleet. Octavian's ships tried to come back to port but many were dashed against the rocky coastline and set afire. When Sextus caught sight of Calvisius' fleet coming to help Octavian he went back to Messana. In this battle Octavian showed some courage again. He was unaware that Calvisius was close by and in danger of losing his own life helped resuce men from the water. Octavian and his men then took refuge in the mountains and lit bonfires to signal those still afloat as to their whereabouts. Octavian did not sleep and went amongst his men to do his best to keep their sprits up during a rough night without food and other necessities.

In a stroke of good luck the Thirteenth Legion was marching across those mountains at night probably heading towards Rhegium in preparation for the invasion of Sicily. The legion provided Octavian and his men with food and a makeshift tent was pitched for the extremely tired and worn down triumvir. Appian describes the scene that greeted Octavian at dawn: "At daybreak, as he looked out over the sea, his gaze was met by ships that had been set on fire, ships that were still half-ablaze or half-burned, and ships that had been smashed." Octavian was dealt a double defeat when an extremely fierce storm blew Octavian's remaining ships against the rocky coast, with the result that more than half his fleet was sunk and the rest of the ships badly damaged. For Octavian this certainly must have been the worst crisis of his young life. Not only were his hopes of defeating Sextus at sea dashed, but this was the kind of catastrophe that could start conspiracies against him in Rome. What would Sextus do now? It was Octavian who had broken the Treaty of Misenum. Surely Sextus must be outraged and wanting to extract his pound of flesh. Sextus, to Octavian's thinking anyway, must also be feeling humiliated on top of the anger he must also be feeling, as he had been advised not to sign the treaty with the triumvirs in the first place-could this make him doubly dangerous?

And what would be Mark Antony's thinking on this disastrous chain of events? As Sextus celebrated his great victory he began proclaiming that he was the son of Neptune-the god of the seas. He started wearing a dark blue cloak instead of a commanders regulation purple, sacrificed some horses (and it was also rumored some men) to Neptune by driving them into the sea. Sextus had made a kind of circle-having issued coins in Sicily identifying his father with Neptune-now he claimed to be the son of both a man and a god, just as Octavian had done. Octavian realized he would have to swallow a great deal of pride now and ask for help from his fellow triumvirs. Mark Antony, whom he had brushed off just months before and Lepidus, almost forgotten in Africa. He sent them a crucial appeal for help, as he realized that the other two might even ally with Sextus against him now! Octavian could only hope that his colleagues were not as imaginative and plotting as he was. The return of Agrippa made Octavian almost immediately want to take back his pleas for help that he had sent. Agrippa, twenty-four years of age, had some fantastic achievements in his career. He had secured the frontier on the Rhine and founded a new city, Colonia Agippinenis (modern Cologne, Germany). He was offered a triumph but always mindful of his friend and that his friend needed him, declined. Agrippa new a lot about warfare-but almost nothing of fighting at sea.

The image is of a silver denarius that Sextus Pompeius had issued around 44-43 BC. It shows his father, Pompey the Great on the obverse and a Roman warship on the reverse. I hope to have the next article here soon. Thanks to anyone following or commenting on this blog!

Roman Empire: New Wars Old Enemies Part Eleven

By the autumn of 39 BC, Octavian let his heart rule him. On the face of it this was out of character for him. He had fallen in love with Livia Drusilla who was about nineteen years old. She was also beautiful and intelligent. However, a snag in Octavian's adoration was instantly apparent. She was already married to a noble cousin of hers, Tiberius Claudius Nero, and also pregnant with his second baby. And by now Scribonia had given birth to Julia. The marriage of Octavian to Scribonia-a political arrangement only was not a healthy marriage. Scribonia was quite a bit older than Octavian and a gravis femina, a dignified, serious woman. Octavian divorced Scribonia on the same day that his daughter, Julia was born. His only explanation: "I couldn't bear the way she nagged at me." The man Livia was married to was from another branch of the Claudian clan. Tiberius had switched sides between the optimates (republican senators) and the Caesarians several times over they years. When the republican cause was defeated at Philippi he performed yet another volte face and became a supporter of Mark Antony. Tiberius took his support of Antony all the way to the siege at Perusia and beyond, trying to cause a slave revolt against Octavian by promising them their freedom. Octavian's forces defeated them and Tiberius and Livia were forced to flee to Sextus in Sicily.

The Treaty of Misenum let Tiberius and Livia come back to Rome, as Sextus had put their names down on a list of returning exiles to be restored. After a long and harrowing exile, Tiberius, Livia and their son, little Tiberius were back in Rome. Their circumstances were reduced as he had to forfeit his property because he was an exile and opponent of the Triumvirate. This forfeiture also included a home on the Palatine Hill, but apparently this was not the only property he owned as he had another home there also to come back to. Livia's thoughts on her husbands constant side-switching that had led to their circumstances are not known, and their bittersweet homecoming to Rome also included news that Livia was pregnant again. Interestingly, Octavian may have been introduced to Livia by his former wife, Scribonia. He wasn't going to let any obstacles come between him and his new-found love. Octavian met with Livia very soon after her return to Rome and asked her to marry him. She quickly said yes and Tiberius meekly agreed to a divorce. They were probably engaged in late September or early October 39 BC. Thought to be a bit scandalous, due to the speed and machinations of their affair, nevertheless a grand betrothal banquet was held.

As with other people of the nobility at the time, Livia owned little slave boys (usually from Syria or Africa) called deliciae (darlings). These boys probably prefigured court jesters in that they had license to say anything and not be penalized for it. The little boys went around a room of guests, naked trying to entertain and amuse guests with their remarks. During the banquet one of these boys saw Livia and Octavian sharing a dining couch while the unceremoniously dumped Tiberius shared one with a male guest. He came to Livia and said: "What are you doing here, mistress? For your husband is over there." The couple waited a time before the wedding due to Livia's unborn child by Tiberius. Octavian's conservative (although hypocritical) nature and the fact that he had served in the priesthood himself, led him to consult the proper religious authority, the pontifices: could he marry Livia while she was pregnant? Even though the pontifices said they could marry, the couple delayed their wedding until after the birth of her second child, another boy born on 14 January and given the praenomen Drusus. The Roman people suspected that he was the product of adultery with his stepfather. This is factually wrong because Octavian did not meet Livia until after she had conceived in the spring of 39 BC, but of course, the gossip was too delicious and salacious to pass up. The couple was wed on 17 January 38 BC in the timeless custom of the Roman marriage ceremony.

The ceremony dramatized the bride's taking leave of her father's house to the groom's. Apparently Livia's father was dead because Tiberius gave her away. Indeed she must have spent the night before her wedding at his home-I wonder how that went! During the ceremony an animal sacrifice would have been offered to the gods. Then by age old custom Livia would have said to Octavian, "Ubi tues Gaius, ego Gaia."-"Where you are Gaius, I am Gaia." This was the heart of the ceremony and everyone present would have shouted "Feliciter!"-"Congratulations." Then Octavian would have led Livia in a street procession from Tiberius's house to his own. Flute players would have led the way followed by torchbearers. As the procession moved along people would have been happily singing raunchy songs. Once at Octavian's home which would have been decked out in flowers for the occasion a few more rituals would have been performed, and then men who had been married only once would have carried Livia through the front door; this was to avoid the bride tripping on the threshold-a very bad omen to the Romans. Then after a splendid wedding breakfast and more bawdy songs guests would have begun leaving for the new couple to enjoy some privacy.

Tiberius, by law, would have stayed with his father as he was three and the paterfamilias had absolute authority over his children. Octavian also gave the elder Tiberius the infant Drusus. It is not known what Livia's feelings were about this. But what we know of her from other records tends to indicate that her feelings were for the future grandeur of her postition rather than her children. Livia was able to get both her sons back anyway five years later in 33 BC, when Tiberius died. Octavian's marriage is important historically because it appears to be the first occasion in his life where he was led by his heart and also because Livia becomes important in his life, especially later on when she may have influenced the succession upon Octavian's (Augustus Caesar's) death. Their marriage also portended trends in the future and not just significant because Octavian was now married into the noble Claudii family. For Livia had been one of the exiles who had once been on Sicily with her husband, in a group of people that had amassed around the last hope of the Republic-Sextus Pompeius. Livia, in marrying the Republic's deadliest nemesis is a valuable historical marker that the ruling class was starting to realize there was no going back to the old days and starting to accomodate the new. Speaking of Sextus Pompeius, interesting events were starting to happen with and around him starting in 38 BC, just a very short time after the Treaty of Misenum. While Sextus' popularity with the Roman people was growing stronger, some disagreements had already arisen between Octavian and Sextus with the result that Octavian already felt that the treaty was a mistake.

The image is of an Egyptian basalt bust of Livia Augusta created around 31 BC, now in the Louvre in Paris. I am hoping to have the next article here soon. I should have enough ready to go for between five to seven posts. Peace and be well to anyone stopping by!

Roman Empire: New Wars Old Enemies Part Ten

Publius Virgilius Maro (Virgil) was a poet of the age who had come up from the lower or middle ranks of Italian society. However, his father saw to it that he got a good education. Virgil went to Rome and studied rhetoric. Suetonius describes him as "tall and bulky with a dark complexion and the appearance of a countryman. He had changeable health [and] ate and drank little. He was always falling in love with boys." By the time Virgil was around thirty years old he had left Rome and the dream of having a public career. He was almost at the summit of his talent as a poet and lived in Neapolis (modern Naples). Virgil's first major works had been published called the Ecologues which were a series of ten poems that described a pastoral ideal of life in the countryside. In Virgil's paradise of handsome young shepherds and beautiful shepherdesses very real and painful events are in the background; such as the young poet losing his farm to Octavian's veteran settlers and its thankful return due to Octavian's intervention. As much as Virgil's original experience of the naked power of the triumvirs may have wounded his soul, he did find an accord with the new regime. Maybe Virgil, along with many other people, not only in Italy but through the Meditteranean world were hoping that the concord reached with the Treaty of Brundisium heralded the dawn of a new age.

Back in the era of the classical world, before mass printing became available a professional writer who didn't have money needed to find rich patrons to give him the necessary tools to publish his work as there was no extensive middle class market to provide income from book sales. This is probably the first reason Virgil came to support Octavian-the need for financial backing. But he also acted out of real political ideals, for in the years after Brundisium, the new regime seemed to offer hope, peace and prosperity. There was a messianic message in his fourth ecologue:
"The Firstborn of the New Ages is already on his way from heaven down to earth.
With him, the Iron Age shall end and Golden Man inherit all the world. Smile on the baby's birth, immaculate Lucina [goddess of childbirth]; your own Apollo is enthroned at last."
Many historians believe that with this verse, Virgil is not only trumpeting the return of a Golden Age but also this poem could have been a wedding hymn, should either Antony and Octavia or Octavian and Scribonia produce a male child. To whomever the poem was written for the issue became a moot point. In 39 BC both women gave birth to daughters; Scribonia had Julia and Octavia had Antonia.

The dawn of the new age was to be short lived. Sextus Pompeius still lurked in the background. He had attempted to help Mark Antony gain the upper hand and been rejected at the last moment. Now Sextus put a blockade around Italy. In Rome prices skyrocketed. This is one of the few times Octavian was out of touch with public opinion. The people of Italy wanted Octavian to make peace with Sextus. Not only did he refuse to do this, he levied a new tax on property owners to pay his soldiers. Once again rioting broke out in Rome, the people's patience had snapped after all they had gone through. Courageously-or perhaps foolishly, Octavian decided to face the mob of protesters, as he had done with the mutinous soldiers on the Campus Martius. This time, however, the crowd began lobbing projectiles at him and didn't stop even after injuring the young man. Mark Antony on hearing news of what was happening dashed to the Forum. When the protesters first eyed Antony they didn't throw anything at him because it was known he favored peace with Sextus, but they did warn him not to interfere. When Antony refused to go back they also began stoning him. Mark Antony was able to summon reinforcements and eventually rescued Ocatavian from the crowd, after being able to get him only after much harrassment.

I think this incident illustrates two things at least. Octavian, although not a great warrior definitely had a kind of courage. The twenty-four year old showed determination and grit in facing both crowds. It also shows-I think anyway-that Antony wanted to continue in power with Octavian in the way things had now been setttled-otherwise why risk his life to save him? Octavian did finally realize he had to give in on the matter of Sextus. In the summer of 39 BC a very cautious peace conference was arranged between the triumvirs and Sextus at Misenum, a headland at the northern end of the Bay of Naples. Sextus himself had rejected advice to make all-out war or at least wait and see if the famine in Rome would give him greater leverage. The concessions Antony and Octavian made to Sextus at the Treaty of Misenum were not essential to their hold on power. Sextus could also proclaim the treaty was a rather good deal for him as he was no longer an outlaw, and was even given membership in the College of Augurs (the committee of senior statesmen who were charged with seeing that the correct measures had been prescribed to placate the gods were carried out) and also nominated for the consulship in the forthcoming year of 38 BC. In private, however, Sextus already regretted not taking the advice to stand firm.

Could this have been because he realized something that may not have occurred to the triumvirs? The Treaty of Misenum did bring Sextus back inside the political life of Rome, but it also gave the priceless gift of separating opposition politicians from Sextus. The deal between Sextus and the triumvirs was sealed with a marriage bond as had happened between Antony and Octavian at Brundisium. Sextus' infant daughter was formally betrothed to Marcellus, who was three years old and Antony's stepson and Octavian's nephew. Plutarch tell us that Menodorus, one of Sextus's admirals spoke to Sextus out of hearing of the guests: "Shall I cut the cables and make you master not just of Sicily and Sardinia, but of the whole Roman empire?" Sextus is supposed to have replied: "Menodorus, you should have acted, not spoken to me beforehand. Now we must be content with things as they are. I do not break my word." This famous exchange has some silver-tongued qualities that make some historians doubt its veracity. However, Plutarch's records could very well have been the truth. It tells us two things that are very much in keeping with Sextus's character. In calling himself Pius, "dutiful" or "honest", Sextus was thinking mostly of his father's memory, but it also showed that Sextus thought of himself as a Roman of the republican values of being honest and straightforward. Also the story tells of the lack of the cut-throat and killer instinct in Sextus, which can be verified by his political career-especially in comparison to Antony and Octavian. After the peace conference, the men left for their different destinations. Octavian to Gaul where reports of resistance were coming in. Antony to the east and the Parthians and Sextus back to Sicily. Many of the refugees in Sextus's entourage bade him goodbye and left for Rome.

The image is of a stamp issued of a mosaic of Virgil found at an ancient villa in Tunisia. I have more information that is ready to go and hope to have the next post here soon. Thanks to anyone following or commenting on this blog!

Roman Empire: New Wars Old Enemies Part Nine

Antony's ally and governor of all Gaul beyond the Alps, Quintus Calenus, had passed away suddenly. Octavian had rushed off to Gaul to take command of Calenus's eleven legions. This amounted to a declaration of war in Antony's mind. He began making plans for an invasion of Italy to unseat his junior colleague. Now it was critical that Octavian prevent an alliance between Antony and Sextus. Mark Antony's next moves are very revealing as to how much he knew he would need Sextus's support. Antony sent Sextus's mother, Mucia, to Sicily bearing an amicable message to Sextus from Antony. Mark Antony then wed Scribonia, Sextus's aunt-in-law in a typical pact sealing gesture. Antony had left for Italy not only leaving Fulvia on her sickbed but without even saying goodbye. This is the last act of her estrangement from her husband that she was able to bear, and Fulvia died soon after this. Apparently Antony had just wanted to teach Fulvia a lesson about her political meddling, for he was extremely upset by her death and blamed himself for it. Mark Antony left for the port of Brundisium. He had just a small number of troops but had two hundred ships. This was further enhanced by a secret alliance with Domitius Ahenobarbus who controlled a powerful republican fleet.

Many on the republican side were now placing a lot of hopes in Mark Antony. Sextus Pompeius was undoubtedly loyal to their cause, but compared to Antony he was an unexperienced military leader. This last set of actions between Antony and the republicans definitely show that Antony was determined to triumph over Octavian where his brother Lucius and wife, Fulvia had failed. No doubt by this time Antony was fed up with his junior triumvirs antics. Just who the hell did Octavian think he was? Added to what must have been a sense of enormous personal irritation with Octavian was the fact that the relationship between the two was also unbalancing Roman politics and delaying the invasion of Parthia. The port of Brundisium which was stationed by Octavian's men closed its gates to the republican force. Antony immediately began a siege of the port and sent word to Macedonia asking for immediate reinforcements. In a move that revealed the magnitude and depth of Antony's anger, he asked Sextus Pompeius, with whom he had no formal alliance to start naval attacks against Italy, to which the young Sextus happily agreed to. Octavian began heading towards Brundisium. Numerically he had far more troops than Antony, but he didn't do anything except keep a lookout outside Antony's siege laying fortifications. Once again Octavian fell ill at this time of crisis, this time the particular ailment is not recorded.

Just before Rome was about to be put through another all out civil war, Roman soldiers intervened. This started with Octavian's legionaires making a secret decision that they would only fight Antony's men if they could not get them to reconcile. Friendships increased the two armies as they were able to fraternize. This time there would not be a war for there would not be any men on either side willing to fight it. Certainly it was a blow to the triumvirs' prestige and authority but Antony and Octavian couldn't do anything about it. Ordering punishments for the peace-making soldiers would only make matters worse. Maecenas-Octavians friend from his boyhood days was one of the peace negotiators appointed to end the dispute. The agreement that was finally hammered out was very beneficial for Octavian, as he was left with Gaul and Calenus's legions. This seems to have been allowed by Antony because he had decided that he could no longer look at Octavian as a troublemaker who would soon be gone by a perhaps likely illness or more unlikely mistake. This time he wanted a permanent settlement and codification of their relationship in regards to the empire at large and their personal relationship. The Treaty of Brundisium renewed the Triumvirate for another five years and the empire was cut in half.

Octavian was given all of the west including Gaul, and Antony all of the east from Macedonia onwards. Ledpidus, whose importance was decreasing as time went on was ablt to keep Africa. Now that the political landscape had changed again it was Octavian's duty to get rid of Sextus Pompeius and Antony's to punish the Parthians for Carrhae. They still needed something to further and strengthen their agreements. The two men had never got along with, nor trusted each other. The Treaty of Brundisium would be worth about as much as the paper it was written on if steps weren't taken to bind them together. The solution to binding Antony and Octavian personally as well as politically was made feasible by two recent deaths. The same year that Fulvia had died, 40 BC, Octavian, Octavian's sister's elderly husband, Gaius Claudius Marcellus had passed away also. Octavia was a very eligible widow (Marcellus had left her with two daughters and an infant son). The idea of sealing the treaty with the marriage of Antony to Octavia was to good to pass up.

Octavian had certainly shown a ruthlessness in his quest for power until now, and personal obligations or feelings of love probably didn't play a huge part in his decision making. However, Plutarch tells us that Octavian was "deeply attached to his sister, who was, as they saying is, a wonder of a woman." So it is unlikely in this particular instance that Octavian would have offered his sister in marriage to his womanizing and uncertain colleague if he did not truly want a rapprochement with Antony. Also, Octavian could have had his adoptive father's life and example in his thoughts. While Julius Caesar's daughter, Julia, was alive and married to Pompey the Great, both Caesar and Pompey had got along just fine. Spectacular celebrations took place at Brundisium to honor the historic alliance. The triumvirs entertained each other in their respective camps, Octavian "in military and Roman fashion and Antony in Asiatic and Egyptian style."

After that they went to Rome, where the wedding of Antony and Octavia was held. Antony had a coin struck of the occasion showing their heads. This is the first known time a woman's image appeared on a Roman coin. There was only one event that broke the rare peace and tranquility of these days. Octavian's friend and commander of the legions in Gaul, Quintus Salvidienus Rufus, had started a secret correspondence with Mark Antony. This happened at a time before the Treaty of Brundisium, when it looked as if Octavian and Antony might be fighting each other soon. Salvidienus suggested he might be ready to switch sides. We do not know the reasons for his doing this, and it is always interesting to me to guess at reasons (although frustrating also) for this and other betrayals in history. There could have been some hidden machinations or jealousies in Octavian's intimate entourage, or Salvidienus could have just thought Octavian's chances against a seasoned soldier like Antony were slim. If the ancient sources are correct, incredibly-Antony told Octavian of Salvidienus' plan of defection while he was besieging Brundisium-not after they were reconciled! If this is true perhaps Antony's motives for this were as a kind of peace offering? Octavian was loyal to a fault in his friendships and expected his friends to be the same towards him. But if anyone-much less a friend betrayed him he was merciless.

Octavian sent a summons to Salvidienus to come to Rome; which he unwisely ignored. After this, Octavian had the Senate declare him both an inimicus (personal enemy) and a hostis (public enemy) and executed. For Salvidienus it was a terrible end to a stellar career. He had come from very humble origins and was once a shepherd boy. He had even been designated the consul for the following year, 39 BC, without ever having civilian office or a Senate seat. Whatever really happened during this inscrutable affair, Appian records that: "Antony did not win general approval for making this admission" about Salvidienus. Ever since the days of Sulla, Rome had phases where it had been convulsed in hazardous and changing times. There were very few people without guilty secrets and many would have thought Antony could have turned a blind eye to Salvidienus, as other men had to his own wheelings and dealings. Again we can wonder if Antony just wanted to show how deeply and sincerely he was invested in his new friendship with Octavian. The execution of Salvidienus is a reminder of a blind spot in Antony's personality. Behind all of the shoulder rubbing, back patting, fun, games, drinking and easy women-there was a coldness and ruthlessness in Antony and also a failure to recognize the feelings of others. It is interesting to note here also that maybe he realized this with his guilt over Fulvia's death and that he knew of the attempt to be made on Julius Caesar and did nothing.

Thanks again to anyone following or reading this blog! I do hope to have the next post here soon, I might miss a day tomorrow or Wednesday and tried to type as much as I could tonight. The image is a marble bust of Octavian (Augustus Caesar) in a museum in Munich. Peace and be well to anyone stopping by!