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 Thirteen

He did decide on what was needed immediately: a large enough area of water that was surrounded by forest to supply wood to build a new fleet. In a turn of amazing lucidity, Agrippa knew just the right place-from Homer no less. Homer believed that the lake of Avernus was the gateway into Hades. Hades of course was where the dead went to shadowy, dull and vitiated existences. Agrippa was not superstitious or scared of the gloomy aura of the location. His idea was both wonderfully simple and brilliant at the same time. He wanted to build a canal south from Avernus to the Lucrine lake and then to sea. In this area Agrippa hoped to build a new fleet, train the men and himself in an area that he hoped Sextus would not even have knowledge of. This enormous undertaking needed huge amounts of men and material to succeed. Some of Octavian's wealthy backers put money into the project. Agrippa himself probably brought funds from Gaul, and money was also raised from the provinces. Gaius Cilnius Maecenas, the other major friend from Octavian's childhood had given Mark Antony pleas for help. Antony had spent the winter in Athens and said he would come back to Italy by spring or early summer of 37 BC. It was also in Antony's interest to make sure the west was peaceful and he also needed to recruit troops for the war against Parthia, as the Treaty of Brundisium allowed.

Once Antony sailed to Brundisium with a large fleet he realized the port was closed to him! He then sailed to Tarentum and invited Octavian to join him. By now Antony must have been furious with Octavian-and rightly so-and was unsure of whether to lend a hand now or not. Octavia was with her husband on this voyage and was extremely distressed at the thought of more tension between her brother and husband. According to Plutarch Octavia wrote to her brother: "If the worst should happen and war break out between you, no one can say which of you is fated to conquer the other, but what is certain is that my fate will be quite miserable." Octavian took his sister's advice. He was definitely not ready for a war with Antony. As a matter of fact, the two had an actual reason to meet as their triumvirate was about to officially expire. All Octavian felt he must do is keep Antony, who had already won so much military glory from getting involved in his conflict with Sextus. Octavian needed to start winning his own wars if he were to secure his position as a continued co-ruler of the empire. The triumvirs agreed to have their summit at Tarentum. Maecenas, who was the unofficial minister of culture set the agenda. He had a knack for talent-spotting in the realm of words and had given the freedom of his house in Rome to a group of poets.

The highest ranking of these would have been Virgil and Horace who was Maecenas' favorite was also there. Horace agreed with Epicurean philosophy in that pleasure was the only good. Maecenas provoked no surprises by gathering some poets to take with him on the journey to Tarentum. After a long journey on the road with some discomfort on the way; although they did get to take in some sights such as the city of Capua (modern Santa Maria Capua Vetere), one of the richest cities in Italy and one that Cicero had called a second Rome. Capua, having a fine ampitheater was a great city for gladiatorial combats. Capua is where Spartacus once fought with the gladiatorial bravery that had so impressed Cicero. The three men arrived in the elegant Greek city of Tarentum. The area Octavian and Antony were to meet at had a stream to separate the suspicious men. However, by accident the two had arrived at the same time. Antony who was lodged at Tarentum got out of his carriage and jumped without any bodyguards into a small boat and began rowing to Ocatavian's side of the riverbank. Octavian realized that he would lose face if he didn't return Antony's gesture of trust and also got into a boat alone. The men met in midstream and instantly got into an argument! This was due to the fact that each one of them wanted to disembark on the other's land as a show of politeness and respect. Octvian ended up winning the argument due to the fact the Octavia was also with Antony at Tarentum, and he wouldn't get to see his sister unless they met on Antony's side of the river. This argument is not of any importance in itself. However, it does illustrate the fact that when the men disagreed it was always Octavian who would win. When Octavian was in pursuit of a goal he went after it with a laser-like focus.

Antony, who felt secure as the senior triumvir had the unmindful self-confidence to let the younger man have his way. Octavian did manage to keep Antony from any thoughts of joining against him with Sextus. The Triumvirate which had expired on December 31 of the previous year, 38 BC was renewed for another five years. They also took back all of the concessions made to Sextus and promised to help each other. Antony offered 120 ships from his fleet to Octavian. This may seem like a large number-and it was-but these ships were expensive to maintain and not very useful to a general expecting conflict on the Asian landmass. For the 120 ships, Octavian promised Antony four legions. By this time people in Rome were becoming used to treaties signed with pomp and circumstance, but broken almost immediately. This time there were no celebrations like those that had taken place after Brundisium, although a coin of Antony's issued at Tarentum, shows Antony's and Octavian's heads facing each other. This was unusual on Roman coinage, although somewhat common among the Greek kings who wanted to emphasize harmony between husband and wife; perhaps Antony saw his relationship with Octavian in the same light as that of a fractious marriage that he hoped would get better! Octavian was now ready for a war with Sextus. He was certainly grateful for Antony's ships bu he had not the slightest intention of finding Antony his four legions. This brings to mind some important historical questions in regards to Octavian's good faith. We know he took this new entente with Antony seriously. However, when the pattern of Octavian's behavior is viewed as a whole over the years it shows that he behaved as a quick thinking opportunist. He grabbed hold of every gain or gift that came his way and gave as little as possible back in return.

I hope to have the next article here soon. I have got a lot caught up recently-and it is still my terrible typing that is keeping me behind in where I want to be with this blog. It is good at least to know I have some information ready to go. The image is a modern photo of Lago di Lucrino-the Lucrine lake mentioned in the first part of the article. Thanks again to anyone following or commenting on this blog!

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 Six

Sextus made plans to starve the city. He was helped by the republican admirals Ahenobarbus and Murcus who stengthened the blockade by putting ships off Brundisium and the Ionian Gulf. Real pirates saw an opportunity in this confusion and raided southern Italy. Sextus was hoping to make the move for a return to Rome and take back his family's confiscated property. There is more than enough reason to think that Sextus hoped he could easily come to an agreement with Mark Antony, who would no doubt be happy for any help getting rid of this young interloper and maddening colleague-Octavian. Antony also decided that he could play the god game as well as Octavian. The god Antony presented himself to Asia as could even be argued to be a much more exciting and mysterious one than simply being the son of a god. The New Dionysus, also widely known as Bacchus, was a multidimensional god. He was the patron of wine, agriculture and the abundance of nature. He was a god of mystery cults, whose rituals induced ecstatic, transcendent states and an uplifting of the soul from the mundane world through physical or spiritual intoxication. Dionysus provided a fascinating way of representing a euphoric, mystical eastern irrationalism that was countered by the western clarity and unambiguity of Apollo, god of reason and light.

Many eastern gods have both good and dark aspects. Antony in using everything he could come up with to milk the remaining wealth out of the eastern provinces, who had already financed their overlord's civil wars caused Plutarch to write acerbicly: "To most people, [Antony] came as Dionysus the Cruel and Eater of the Flesh, for he stripped many noble families of their property and gave it away to rogues and flatterers. In other cases, men were allowed to steal fortunes from owners who were still living by making out that they were dead." Now Antony showed a bit of foresight-he knew he had overstepped. He reduced his demand for nine years worth of taxes to two. Where else might he look for cash? Maybe it was at this time that the New Dionysus, also equivalent to the Egyptian god Osiris, thought of his divine sister, the New Isis-AKA Cleopatra VII, queen of Egypt. Mark Antony would have met her in Rome when she was Caesar's mistress. He would have been aware of Egypt's immense wealth. In due course Antony invited Cleopatra politely, but firmly to make part of Egypt's wealth available to Rome. Antony sent one of his aides, Quintus Dellius from Tarsus in Cilicia (in modern southern Turkey) to procure Cleopatra. Dellius was another figure from the ancient Rome who had quite a past.

He was said to have been a sexual pet as a boy. He also had a reputation in these most dangerous times for turncoating at precisely the right moment. One of the more memorable insults has Dellius as a "circus-rider of the civil wars," vaunting with ease from horse to horse. Dellius was quite taken with Cleopatra's charm when he arrived in Alexandria and rightly guessed that Antony would be taken with her charms also. He advised Cleopatra to wear her sexiest garments in Antony's prescence. Antony was quite a womanizer but Dellius told her he always treated his women in a gentlemanly manner and never forced himself on them. Cleopatra was impressed by Dellius, to her he must have seemed like a knowledgeable adjutant and took his advice. She sailed to Tarsus on a magnficent barge. Plutarch painted the scene beautifully: " [She] was in a barge with a poop of gold, its purple sails billowing in the wind, while her rowers carressed the waters with oars of silver which dipped in time to the music of the flute, accompanied by pipes and lutes. Cleopatra herself reclined beneath a canopy of cloth of gold, dressed in the character of Aphrodite." There was an intricate play of goals here. Cleopatra was well aware of the role religion had in self-promotion. By offering herself to Antony as Aphrodite (whom many equated with the goddess Isis) she was not only making a sexual overture but also legitimizing Antony as the New Dionysus.

Cleopatra was very skillful in her relations with Mark Antony. She knew he was easygoing and belonged more to "the soldier than the courtier" as Plutarch remarked. These qualities were not quite what Cleopatra would have been used to growing up in the sophisticated court of the Ptolemies. In Antony's prescence, however, she appeared to enjoy his earthy sense of humor and taste for practical jokes. Cleopatra was to have dined at Antony's place first. She countered his invitation with one of her own. Antony always good with the ladies gave in and dined with her on her barge first. The next day the queen dined with Antony. The gastronomic pleasures lasted four days. The two then talked business. Antony requested financial support for the upcoming invasion of Parthia. Cleopatra was happy to oblige but with certain conditions. She wanted a few people making her life difficult executed-most of all her half-sister Arsinoe, who had stolen her throne for a short time and had been given sanctuary at the temple of Artemis at Ephesus. Antony agreed. Cleopatra then invited Antony to spend the winter with her at cosmopolitan Alexandria. The "divine" couple happily set sail for Egypt where Antony donned an informal tunic in the Greek manner instead of the clothing of a Roman official. The couple formed a bacchanalian dining club called the Inimitable Livers and passed much of their days in revelry.

Then in February or March of 40 BC news reached Egypt that the Parthians were not going to sit around and wait for Antony to attack them, so they launched a preemptive invasion of Syria. Antony quickly left for Asia Minor. Critics of Antony said he lost himself in his adventures with Cleopatra to eastern decadence. The way he actually behaved was pretty much the same as he had all his life. The two had sex but were not in love, however, they did probably enjoy each other's company and maybe love blossomed later. Cleopatra gave birth to twins of Antony's-Alexander Helios (the Sun) and Cleopatra Selene (the Moon) later that year. At this time Mark Antony left Egypt without regret to do his duty as a Roman general. The couple would not see each other again for three and a half years. For Antony he had had a splendid holiday and little more, although the financial backing he received from his lover was crucial. However, there were major events taking place in the makeup of Antony's personality at this time. He was losing his sense of focus. There is a Greek word for what was happening to him-eklusis, the word for the unstringing of a bow-kind of a 'coming undone' although gradually.

The image is of the ruins of the temple to Venus at the remains of Emperor Hadrian's Villa Adriana. I hope to have the next article here soon. Thanks again to anyone reading or commenting on this blog!

Roman Empire: New Wars Old Enemies Part Five

Before they went their seperate ways after Philippi, Antony and Octavian confirmed their decision of how Rome's provinces were to be divided up and ruled. There were a few changes, however, and Lepidus got the short end of the stick. They suspected him of treasonable communication with Sextus Pompeius, leader of the republican forces in Sicily. Because of this Lepidus had to give up Spain to Octavian and Narbonese Gaul to Antony. If somehow Ledpidus could prove his innocence, Octavian might give up a province from his allocation. Mark Antony retained Narbonese Gaul (Long-haired Gaul) but gave up Cisalpine Gaul, which the triumvirs decided should be made part of Italy instead of continuing as a province, which had been Julius Caesar's idea first. This was an intelligent plan that would remove the threat of a potentially 'treasonous' provincial governor in command of an army that was only a few days march from Rome. Essentially-another Julius Caesar. Interesting, to me anyway, is how the men who had seized power illegally in Rome from Sulla on, sought to prevent other men from doing exactly the very things they had done! Mark Antony, as the senior man in the partnership and Octavian's spoils from the victory at Philippi were divided quite unevenly. Antony was to rule over the east, reorganize it and raise money to restore Rome's solvency.

Eventually he would make arrangements to go to war against the Parthians as Caesar had intended to do before his assassination. The idea being to not only 'prevent' the Parthians from causing trouble but to get vengeance and recover the standards lost by Crassus's disastrous defeat in 53 BC. In contrast to Antony, Octavian had the very thankless task of demobilizing a large number of troops and settle them in smallholdings in Italy. Approximately 14,000 survivors from the legions of Cassius and Brutus were added to the victorious army. The old Caesarian veterans who had been recruited in 49 and 48 BC, some forty thousand total were sent to Italy to become civilians. This was enough men to give Mark Antony eight more legions which he took to the east and three legions to Octavian in the west. Octavian faced a big problem. There was not enough land to accomodate the veterans and the treasury was empty, so compulsory purchase was not an option. Eighteen cities in Italy had their land confiscated and the freeholders kicked out. This outraged and inflamed public opinion to the point that those affected 'marched on Rome' themselves. Appian tells us: "People came in groups...young men, old men, women with their children, and gathered in the Forum and the temples, lamenting and declaring that they had done no wrong." Octavian simply told them the awful truth to the people saying, "From what other source, then, are we to pay the veterans their prize money?"

Even worse, the land that had been taken was still not enough and some former soldiers resorted to violence to grab farms they hadn't been granted, often with more fertile land. This led to the breakdown of law and order in many parts of Italy. Octavian's relations with his soldiers also began to falter as one alarming incident shows. Veterans had been told to go to the Campus Martius to hear announcements about the allocations. The men were so hungry for news that they arrived early, some before dawn. Octavian was late to the meeting and they became enraged. When a centurion gave the crowd a browbeating for their behavior they began yelling at him-and then they killed him. This was an occasion where Octavian made a very brave decision. If he now stayed completely away from the assembly what had been a crisis would end in calamity. So Octavian came, turning away when he saw the centurion's body and politely asked the legionaires if they would comport themselves with more restraint in the future. Then he gave out the expected land grants, some bounties and invited further petitions for reward. With cool calculation, Octavian had so disarmed the crowd that they showed remorse for what they had done and asked Octavian to punish the centurion's killers. He agreed to do this but wisely imposed two conditions: that the guilty admit to their deed and that the army as a whole condemn them.

This wasn't the end of the story by any means. During 41 BC Octavian was walking on a tightrope. On one side trying to pacify the veterans, on the other trying to mend fences with the civilian population. Cassius Dio reports: "He learned from actual experience that weapons had no power to make the injured feel friendly towards him." So Octavian no longer took senatorial estates or other kinds of private property. But once again, the veterans were not happy about this. Dio claims that yet more centurions were killed who were seen as taking his side: "They came very near to killing [Octavian] himself, making any excuse justify their anger." Relations deteriorated between the veterans and the dispossessed citizens to the point that there was rioting in Rome and once again Italy was coming unglued. An event similar to a general strike is reported by Appian: "The civilian population shut the workshops and made the elected officeholders leave, saying that they had no need of either office holders or crafts in a starving and plundered city."

And yet another confounding thorn was about to strike at the young divi filius. In a pattern seen from ancient times to the twenty-first century, the landless poor and just plain desperate had flocked to the big cities-in this case Rome. A multitude of men, women and children depended on the supply of subsidized grain to keep them from starving. Every year the city went through between 140,000 and 190,000 tons of wheat. More than 300,000 citizens alone were on the dole and received free supplies of grain. Some of the grain came from Italy but a large proportion came from Sicily, Africa and Sardinia. Italy was not agriculturally self-sufficient and Rome was very dependent on the whims of international politics. This is very similar to modern industrial societies and their reliance on imports of gas, oil and in some cases food and other goods. Pompey the Great had understood just how dependent the Republic was for its necessities on apen and free shipping lanes. That is why in 67 BC he undertook to clear the Meditteranean of pirates, who had become such a problem that they were threatening to starve Italy. Twenty-five years later Pompey's son controlled the same waters that his father had made safe. We can wonder if he had heard his father talk of the problem as a boy and thus learned the value of such a strategic stranglehold-ironically with Sextus Pompeius now playing the 'pirate'.

The image is of a "war elephant" of Hannibal represented on a plate. Rome's first encounter with elephants that served in wars with men was from its early death struggle with the maritime power Carthage in the third century BC. I hope to have the next article here soon-I think I am still running at least three or four "ahead"-which is actually good. Now if I were not such a lousy typist I could get the information here! Thanks again to anyone reading or commenting on this blog-best wishes to all of you!