The Corruption of the Republic
"First, the desire for power grew, and then the hunger for wealth followed. These became the root of all evil. Greed undermined trust, integrity, and every other virtue, replacing them with arrogance, cruelty, disregard for the gods, and the belief that everything had a price.
Ambition turned many people to deceit—one thing hidden in their hearts, another on their lips. Friendships and rivalries were no longer based on principle but on personal gain, and appearances became more important than character.
At first, these corruptions grew slowly and were sometimes kept in check. But eventually, like a plague, they spread unchecked, transforming the state. What had once been a government founded on justice and excellence became brutal and unbearable."
-Sallust, Bellum Catilinae, 10.3-6 (author's translation, see alternative Loeb Library)Sallust (c. 86–35 BC) wrote in the 40's BC about the period following Sulla's dictatorship. His political career was directly tied to Caesar’s rise, and Caesar himself had been a nephew of Marius, Sulla’s greatest enemy. Sallust was expelled from the Senate in 50 BC, and restored to prominence by Caesar, who appointed him governor of Africa Nova in 46 BC.
Although Sallust had personal and ideological biases his critique was not unfounded. The oligarchic Senate did become more entrenched after Sulla’s reforms, corruption was rampant, and the Republic was indeed crumbling due to factionalism and party strife.
His framing, conveniently aligns with the Caesarian-populist view that the Senate was to blame and that Rome needed a new kind of leadership (that of Julius Caesar). Sallust is critical of Pompey, who was a major inheritor of Sulla’s political legacy, and Julius Caesar's rival for power.
The Moneyer
My coin of interest today is a denarius from 80 BC. It is 4grams in weight, quite a bit heavier than the average of 63 examples in CRRO for this coin, and heavier than the norm for denarii of 3.9g or 84 to the Roman pound and nicely toned. It is from the year in which Sulla resigned his dictatorship, disbanded his legions, dismissed his lictores, and returned Rome to normal consular government.
Cicero mentions a Procilius who may have been the moneyer (a senator in 56 BC) :
"Let all else be kept for talk in person, as you say, but one thing I cannot let wait: on the Ides of May the Senate refused Gabinius a Supplication—a magnificent performance! Procilius takes his oath that this has never happened to anyone before. Outside the House it is heartily applauded. To me it is agreeable in itself, and the more so because it was done in my absence—an unbiased judgement, without any aggressive action or influence on my part. I did not attend because it had been reported that the Campanian Land would be debated on the Ides and the day following, as indeed it was."
-Cicero, ad Quintus, 11 (II.7) Rome, shortly after 15 May 56and his troubles in court (condemned for murder):
"Now for affairs at Rome. On the 4th of July Sufenas and Cato were acquitted, Procilius condemned. From which we have learnt that our treble-distilled Areopagites care not a rush for bribery, elections, Interregnum, , or, in fact, for the state generally; but that they would rather that a father of a family were not murdered on his own hearthstone—and even that preference not very decided.""There are sinister reports about Procilius, but you know the courts."
L. Procilius, 80 BC. Denarius (Silver, 18 mm, 4.0 g), Rome.
Obv: Head of Juno Sospita to right, wearing goat-skin headdress; behind, S•C.
Rev: L•PROCILI•F Juno Sospita in biga to right, hurling spear with her right hand and holding shield with her left; below horses, serpent with head erect to right.
Ref: Babelon (Procilia) 2. Crawford 379/2. RBW 1407. Sydenham 772.
Here is a second, better centered, example of this coin (3.95g):
This is the unserrated coin from the same issue - it is unusual that the moneyer did coins two coins once serrated and one not. Juno Sospita is again on the reverse with Jupiter on the obverse.
L. Procilius, AR Denarius ( 3.88g, 18mm, 4h), Rome, 80 BC.
Obv: Bust of Jupiter right; S•C behind Rev: Juno Sospita advancing right with shield, spear aloft and serpent before; L•PROCILI•F behind. Ref: Sydenham 771; Crawford 379/1.
The Goddess
Juno Sospita was a powerful warrior-protectress, uniquely Roman in her blend of military strength, chastity, and civic duty. While her cult originated in Lanuvium, she became a symbol of Republican virtue and divine protection in Rome. On this coin she could not only serve as a link to the moneyer's family origins, but as the guardian of morality and the republic.
Lanuvium was the center of worship for Juno Sospita. Pro pertius describes a ritual that explains the serpent on the reverse.
"Lanuvium , from of old, is guarded by an ancient serpent: the hour you spend on such a marvellous visit won’t be wasted; where the sacred way drops down through a dark abyss, where the hungry snake’s tribute penetrates (virgin, be wary of all such paths!), when he demands the annual offering of food, and twines, hissing, from the center of the earth. Girls grow pale, sent down to such rites as these, when their hand is rashly entrusted to the serpent’s mouth. He seizes the tit-bits the virgins offer: the basket itself trembles in their hands. If they’ve remained chaste they return to their parents’ arms, and the farmers shout: ‘It will be a fertile year.’'
-Propertius IV.8.3
Pompeii
S.C., an abbreviation for Senatus Consulto, appears on Roman Republican and translates to "by decree of the Senate", indicating that the coinage was officially authorized by the Roman Senate. The use of S.C. on a denarius suggested exceptional circumstances, often related to war, emergency state finances, or an extraordinary issuance. In this case perhaps a large expenditure for Sulla's programs for veterans.
The Samnites controlled Pompeii until the late third of early fourth century BC. In the Social Wars, Pompeians demanded full Roman citizenship. This demand was rejected, and Sulla took over Pompeii in 89 BC. The Samnites were nearly completely annihilated after the Social War and their identity as a distinct people effectively disappeared.
"Prisoners, to the number of more than 8,000, were shot down with darts by Sulla because they were mostly Samnites. The next day Marcius and Carinas were captured and brought in. Sulla did not spare them because they were Romans, but killed them both and sent their heads to Lucretius at Praeneste to be displayed round the walls.
-Appian, Civil Wars, I.93"In 80 BC, Sulla resettled the sity as a Roman colony, Colonia Cornelia Veneria Pompeianorum, and the official language of the colony was Latin, replacing the Oscan language of the Samnites. This coin, from a large issue authorized by the senate, could have been for payments to Sullan veterans and/or to meet the costs of establishing the Roman Colony.
Sulla Relinquishes Power
Sulla's resignation was surprising: he voluntarily gave up the dictatorship. According to Suetonius, Julius Caesar mocked Sulla for his resignation.
"Sulla did not know his letters (his ABCs) when he laid down his dictatorship"
-Suetonius, Life of Caesar, 77.1Julius Caesar's views on power and his appointment as dictator perpetuo (for life) in 44 BC, ultimately led to his assassination as a would-be king.
Plutarch describes Sulla's resignation:
"although he had slain great numbers of the citizens, and introduced great innovations and changes in the government of the city, he laid down his office of dictator, and put the consular elections in the hands of the people; and when they were held, he did not go near them himself, but walked up and down the forum like a private man, exposing his person freely to all who wished to call him to account."
-Plutarch, Life of Sulla, 34.3Sulla strengthened the power of the oligarchy (the Senate). One of Sulla's reforms was to take away the power of the tribune (tribunicia potestas) to introduce legislation, veto legislation, and he defined the role as a career dead end after which you would no longer be eligible for public office. Within ten years after his death these changes were reversed and even the future emperors would claim the power the TR P (tribunicia potestas) in a show of their commitment to public interest.
References:
Crawford, Michael H. Roman Republican Coinage. 2 vols. Reprint of 1974 edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019.
Beard, Mary. SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome. New York: Liveright Publishing, 2015.
Leonard, Benjamin, and Jarrett A. Lobell. “Digging Deeper into Pompeii's Past.” Archaeology , vol. 72, no. 4 (2019): 26–35.
An interesting Nova episode on Pompeii: https://www.pbs.org/video/pompeiis-secret-underworld-cfdpvr/
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