No More Learning

Twist their arms behind them, officers. [The policemen approach the four women with intent to do this. ]
Come out, the reserve! . . . Come to our help! [Four bands of women emerge from the Acropolis. ] Drag them along! Hit them! Shout rude words in their faces! [The policemen are quickly brought to the ground, and punched and kicked as they lie there. ] All right--withdraw--no plunder will be taken. [The women retire into the Acropolis. ]
My bowmen have been utterly defeated!
[Tr. Alan H. Sommerstein. Aristophanes: The Acharnians; The Clouds; Lysistrata. (Lysistrata ll. 390 ff. )
Penguin Books, 1973. Page numbers: 196, 197, 198, 199. ]
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? of Athena. A shrine on the
Acropolis was dedicated to her. relay: Referring to the seemingly con- stant stream of women pouring forth from the Acropolis. The Greek word is exodos, literally "out onto the road," and the source of
our word "exodus. "
Shipbuilder: The Magistrate has come
to the Acropolis to obtain money for building ships, so shipbuilding is on his mind. (The Parthenon, the famous temple dedicated to Athena on the Acropolis, was used as a kind of repository of money, almost like a bank. )
Zacynthus: A small island off the west coast of Greece, and a staunch ally of Athens during the Peloponnesian War. But it does not seem to have had much to offer in the way of mili- tary hardware or manpower, so it seems odd that Demostratus would suggest recruiting "some heavy infantry" from that place. Possibly Aristophanes is making a wry com- ment that the Athenians have sunk so low after the Sicilian disaster that they must appeal to the likes of the Zacynthians for military assistance.
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Women? Taking Over the Acropolis?
? ? ? ? SCYTHIAN POLICEMEN? REALLY?
The Athenian police force, such as it was, consisted primarily of archers from the untamed land of Scythia, located in modern Romania. The Scythians seemed an odd culture group from which to recruit law enforce- ment officers. Consider the description of them by the fifth-century BCE historian Herodotus:
As regards war, the Scythian custom is for every man to drink the blood of the first man he kills. The heads of all enemies killed in battle are taken to the king . . . Many Scythians sew a number of scalps together and make cloaks out of them . . . [Many other gruesome stories of Scythian atrocities are related next] . . . Once a year the governor of each district mixes a bowl of wine, from which every Scythian who has killed his man in battle has the right to drink. Those who have no dead enemy to their credit are not allowed to touch the wine, but have to sit by themselves in disgrace--the worst, indeed, which they can suffer. Any man, on the contrary, who has killed a great many enemies, has two cups and drinks from both of them at once. [Herodotus. The Histories 4. 65; tr. de Selincourt. ]
? ? ? AFTERMATH
The rebellious women who took over the Acropolis eventually surrendered, but only after exacting from the men a pledge to end the Peloponnesian War, which was the women's objective in the first place. In reality, the war did go on, finally coming to an inglorious con- clusion for Athens, in 405, when the Spartans occupied the city and burned much of it.
ASK YOURSELF
1. According to the Magistrate, what is the main reason that the women of Athens are engaging in such lawless behavior? Is his theory defensible?
2. The Magistrate references the god Poseidon with the epithet "Shipbuilder," but this is an unusual name for Poseidon. With what epithet(s) is he more commonly associated?
3. What is the Magistrate's attitude toward women in general? What does he think about the actions of Lysistrata and her followers?
TOPICS TO CONSIDER
e Based on what Herodotus wrote about Scythian culture and some of their barbarous practices, why do you suppose the Athenians would want Scythians as police officers? Herodotus describes the Scythians as fierce warriors. Why, then, do you think they were so inept in their role as police officers? (Aristophanes portrays them as completely unable to take the women into custody. )
e A follow-up to the previous question: Can you think of any similar exam- ples in modern times in which inappropriately recruited or trained security officers were used to keep order or to enforce laws?
e WhydoyousupposeAristophanesdidnotassignanyspeakingpartstothe Scythian policemen?
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e IfAristophaneswoulduseawordlikedemosiostodescribeoneofthepolice officers--a word that implies a lack of respect--what does that tell us about the Athenian attitude in general toward their Scythian police force?
e Canyouthinkofanycontemporarysituations,eitherintheUnitedStates or abroad, in which riots broke out, and the rioters intimidated and over- came law enforcement personnel in the same manner as did Lysistrata and her intrepid band of "four whole companies of fighting women"?
Further Information
Dover, Kenneth J. Aristophanic Comedy. London, 1972.
Ehrenberg, Victor. The People of Aristophanes. Oxford, 1951. Whitman, C. H. Aristophanes and the Comic Hero. Cambridge, 1964.
Websites
Lysistrata by Aristophanes. Plot summary. http://www. cummingsstudyguides. net/ Lysistrata. htm
Lysistrata: An Introduction to the Play by Aristophanes. http://theatredatabase. com/ancient/ aristophanes_005. html
Bibliography for Document
Rogers, Benjamin Bickley (tr. ). Aristophanes. The Lysistrata; The Thesmophoriazusae; The Ecclesiazusae. The Plutus. Volume III. [LCL. ] Cambridge and London, 1924.
de Selincourt, Aubrey (tr. ). Herodotus: The Histories. Baltimore, 1954.
Sommerstein, Alan H. (tr. ). Aristophanes: Lysistrata and Other Plays. New York, 1973.
40. A TRIBUNE SPEAKS, A RIOT ENSUES
INTRODUCTION
When we think of dangers arising from street fights, muggings, and assaults, our initial image of the perpetrators is probably one of desperate or violent criminals. And most ancient Romans probably thought along the same lines. So it must have come as a great shock when the riot that erupted in 133 BCE, and resulted in the loss of some 300 lives, was fomented not by the criminal element but by some of the most highly respected members of the Roman Senate.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. The office of tribune was established in the fifth century BCE as an annual magis- tracy. Tribunes--10 each year--were charged with protecting the interests of the plebeians (Romans who were not of noble birth, and generally not the wealthiest citizens), especially in the legislative assemblies. Tribunes had the unusual power of virtually shutting down the Roman government by interposing their veto of any proposed legislative action that they deemed harmful to plebeian interests; one tribunician veto was sufficient to accomplish this. In actual practice, the trib- unes seldom exercised this extraordinary power, although Gracchus himself had been the victim of such a move during his tribunate when a fellow tribune, Marcus Octavius, vetoed the land reform measure that Gracchus had proposed.
2. Tiberius Gracchus successfully ran for the office of tribune in the fall of 134 BCE, with his tenure for one year, beginning in 133 BCE. The trouble described below was sparked when Gracchus announced that he intended to run for reelection. By custom, Roman officeholders were not permitted to do this; "one (year) and done" was the rule. Hard-line conservatives like Nasica were outraged, and perhaps a little frightened, by Gracchus's attempt to breach tradition.
3. Gracchus's signature political issue was land reform. Rome, and Italy generally, was suffering from the twin problems of homelessness and hunger, and Gracchus was determined to try to effect a solution. Many of the homeless people, especially in the rural areas, had lost their ancestral land holdings due to the devious and often illegal machinations of rich land speculators in Rome. Gracchus announced during his campaign for the tribunate that, if elected, he would introduce legislation
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designed to bring about a more equitable division of farm land. Naturally, the weal- thy occupiers of the lands opposed this effort, with the result that Gracchus's year as a tribune was marked by intense controversy. Ultimately, however, he succeeded in passing his land reform measure. His opponents probably felt that they could endure one year of Gracchus, secure in the knowledge that he could not run for re-election. So his proclamation that he would indeed run for another one-year term as tribune increased the already considerable animosity toward him, and probably led directly to his assassination.
Document: The Downfall of Tiberius Gracchus
Tiberius passed on this news [of a possible assassination attempt] to his supporters who were standing round him, and they at once girded up their togas. Then they broke up the staves which the officers use to keep back the crowd, distributed these, and prepared to defend them- selves against the attackers. Those who were standing far- ther away were at a loss to know what was happening and asked what it meant. Thereupon, Tiberius raised his hand to his head intending, since the people could not hear his voice, to signify that his life was in danger. But when his enemies saw this gesture, they rushed to the Senate and reported that Tiberius was asking for a crown, and that they had the proof of this in the signal he had just given. This created an uproar in the Senate, and Nasica demanded that the consul must now act to protect the state and put down the tyrant. The consul answered in conciliatory fashion that he would not be the first to use violence, and would put no citizen to death without a regular trial. On the other hand, he declared that, if Tiberius should incite or oblige the people to pass any illegal resolution, he would not consider it to be binding. At this, Nasica sprang to his feet and shouted, "Now that the consul has betrayed the state, let every man who wishes to uphold the laws follow me! " Then he drew the skirt of his toga over his head [in preparation for the stave-wielding violence he apparently anticipated] and strode out towards the Capitol. The Senators who followed him wrapped their togas over their left arms [leaving their right arms free for staves] and thrust aside anyone who stood in their path. Nobody dared to oppose them out of respect for their rank, but those whom they met took to their heels and trampled down one another as they fled.
The senators' followers were armed with clubs and staves, which they had brought from their houses. The sen- ators themselves snatched up the legs and fragments of the
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? asking for a crown: The Romans hated the idea of being ruled by a king, and any credible politician who was believed--rightly or wrongly--to be aiming at royal power for himself would encounter fierce and intense opposition.
consul: Publius Mucius Scaevola is meant. He was a political ally and adviser of Gracchus, so it is hardly surprising that he refused Nasica's demand that he "act. . . to put down the tyrant. "
girded up their togas: The equivalent of our colloquialism "rolling up one's sleeves. " The loosely hanging toga had to be rolled up in order to free the wearer's arms for using the spear shafts effectively.
Nasica: Full name: Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio, and a cousin of Tiberius Gracchus. But he was no friend of Gracchus; he staunchly opposed his cousin politically and would not tolerate his efforts to run for reelection to the tribunate.
the officers use to keep back the crowd: The Greek reads aneirgousi ton ochlon, "they keep back the crowd," but without a noun to indicate the identity of "they. " Apparently, "they" were some sort of security detail, perhaps analo- gous to lictors (see sidebar, below).
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benches which the crowd had broken in their hurry to
escape, and made straight for Tiberius, lashing out at those
who were drawn up in front of him. His protectors were
quickly scattered or clubbed down, and as Tiberius turned
to run, someone caught hold of his clothing.
He threw off
his toga and fled in his tunic, but then stumbled over some
of the prostrate bodies in front of him. As he struggled to
his feet, one of his fellow tribunes, Publius Satyreius . . .
dealt the first blow, striking him on the head with the leg of a bench. Lucius Rufus claimed to have given him the second, and prided himself upon this as if it were some noble exploit. More than three hundred men were killed by blows from sticks and stones, but none by the sword . . .
This is said to have been the first outbreak of civil strife in Rome which ended in bloodshed and death of citizens, since the expulsion of the kings [which occurred around 509 BCE, with the overthrow of Tarquinius Superbus]. All the other disputes, although they were neither trivial in them- selves nor concerned with trivial objects, were resolved by some form of com- promise . . . But the conspiracy which was formed against [Gracchus] seems to have had its origin in the hatred and malevolence of the rich rather than in the excuses which they put forward for their action. [Tr. Ian Scott-Kilvert. Plutarch: The Makers of Rome, Nine Lives. (Tiberius Gracchus 19, 20. ) Penguin Classics, 1975. Page numbers: 171, 172. ]
AFTERMATH
The assassination of Tiberius Gracchus ushered in a new era in Roman history, in which many of the traditional institutions and customs of the Republic began to be ignored. The violation of tribunician sacrosanctitas, in particular, set a dangerous precedent, and this extreme disrespect to tribunes was destined to be repeated in the case of Gaius Gracchus and other tribunes. Some modern historians see 133 BCE as a kind of watershed year in Roman history, when the decline of the Roman Republic first started to gather momentum.
A Tribune Speaks, a Riot Ensues
? their rank: The Roman Senate was comprised of the most experienced and distinguished citizens, so they automatically commanded respect.
? ? ? ? ? ? THE ROMAN VERSION OF THE SECRET SERVICE
In order to protect the leading officeholders of the state, the Romans created a cadre of official bodyguards called lictors. Whenever the chief magistrates--particularly consuls--appeared in public, the lictors preceded them and cleared a path for them. The lictors carried a bundle of rods bound together with leather straps and with axe- heads protruding from each end--the fasces (hence our word "fascist")--which symbolized the power of the magistrate to mete out punishments to lawbreakers: the rods for flogging and the axe-heads for execution. They could also use the fasces in a practical way, as a weapon, should the magistrate be threatened with attack. Each consul was assigned 12 lictors; lesser ranking officials had fewer lictors. Unfortunately for Tiberius Gracchus, tribunes did not qualify for this Roman version of Secret Service protection. Perhaps Gracchus would have survived the attack on his life had lictors been provided for him.
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? ? ? ? LIKE BROTHER, LIKE BROTHER
Tiberius Gracchus's brother Gaius, nine years his junior, held the office of tribune in 123 and again in 122. Gaius, like Tiberius, was a tribune on a mission: to correct what he saw as injustices and especially to be an advocate for the less fortunate citizens. Like Tiberius, Gaius ran for reelection to the tribunate, but unlike his brother, he succeeded. However, his effort to obtain a third term as tribune failed, and, like his brother, he was killed in a civil disturbance that followed.
? ? ? ASK YOURSELF
1. Why do you suppose Plutarch emphasizes that of the 300 casualties of the riot, all were killed "by blows from sticks and stones, but none by the sword"?
2. Plutarch writes that when Gracchus raised his hand to his head, his enemies inter- preted that gesture to signify that he "was asking for a crown. " Do you think they really believed that that was what he was requesting, or did they simply use that as an excuse to chase him down and kill him?
3. What is your sense of the general political climate in Rome in 133? What could Roman political leaders have done to make the situation less hostile and confrontational?
TOPICS TO CONSIDER
e Tribuneswerereputedtoenjoythespecialstatusofsacrosanctitas,thebelief that they were to be free from physical threats or actual harm; it was a kind of "hands-off" policy to ensure the safety of tribunes when they appeared in public, and one that all Romans had respected for many years. Why, then, do you suppose that Roman citizens in this instance were not only willing to violate the sacrosanctitas of Tiberius Gracchus, but to do so in the most gruesome manner, by murdering him? And the ringleader of the attack seems to have been--if Plutarch is to be believed--Gracchus's own cousin, Nasica. What could account for such a display of violence on the part of one family member toward another?
e Some modern historians believe that the two named murderers of Gracchus, Publius Satyreius and Lucius Rufus, were never prosecuted for their crime. And there is no ancient evidence that would indicate whether a prosecution ever did occur. So what might be the speculative arguments in favor of, or against, the theory that they were never prosecuted?
e There were always two consuls in office each year, but Plutarch references only one of them, and does not even specify his name. Plutarch is usually a little more detail oriented than this, so why do you suppose he omits rel- atively important identity information in this instance?
e Plutarchisgenerallyaveryobjectivewriterandseldomtriestoinstructhis readership how to interpret historical events. In his biography of Tiberius Gracchus, do you agree that he maintains this objectivity, or not? What indications, if any, are there that would support your answer?
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Further Information
Boren, Henry C. The Gracchi. New York, 1968.
Earl, Donald C. Tiberius Gracchus: A Study in Politics. Bruxelles-Berchem, 1963.
Scullard, H. H. From the Gracchi to Nero: A History of Rome from 133 B. C. to A. D. 68. London,
1959.
Website
Tiberius Gracchus. http://medeaslair. net/tgracchus. html
Bibliography for Document
Scott-Kilvert, Ian. Plutarch: Makers of Rome. New York, 1965.
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41. EVERYBODY TALKS ABOUT THE WEATHER, BUT NO ONE DOES ANYTHING ABOUT IT
INTRODUCTION
The source of information for this document is to be found among the letters of Pliny the Younger.
KEEP IN MIND AS YOU READ
1. The addressee of this letter is one Minicius Macrinus, to whom Pliny had written in several other letters. He hailed from Brescia, in northern Italy, in the same general location as Pliny's hometown of Como.
2. Pliny begins his letter with the same topic that often occupies the first lines of modern letters: the weather!
Document: Storms, and Then Floods
Can the weather be as bad and stormy where you are? Here we have nothing but gales and repeated floods. The Tiber has overflowed its bed and deeply flooded its lower banks, so that although it is being drained by the canal cut by the Emperor [Trajan, who ruled 98-117 CE], with his usual foresight, it is filling the valleys and inundating the fields, and wherever there is level ground, there is nothing to be seen but water. Then the streams which it normally receives and carries down to the sea are forced back as it spreads to meet them, and so it floods with their water the fields it does not reach itself. The Anio, most delightful of rivers--so much so that the houses on its banks seem to beg it not to leave them--has torn up and carried away most of the woods which shade its course. High land nearby has been undermined, so that its channel is blocked in several places with the resultant landslides. And in its efforts to regain its lost course it has wrecked buildings and forced out its way over the debris.
People who were hit by the storm on higher ground have seen the valuable furniture and fittings of wealthy homes, or else all the farm stock, yoked oxen, plows and plowmen, or cattle left free to graze, and among them trunks of trees
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or beams and roofs of houses, all floating by in wide- spread confusion. Nor have the places where the river did not rise escaped disaster, for instead of floods they have had incessant rain, gales and cloudbursts which have destroyed the walls enclosing valuable properties, rocked public buildings, and brought them crashing to the ground. Many people have been maimed, crushed, and buried in such accidents, so that grievous loss of life is added to material damage.
My fears that you have been through something like this are proportionate to the danger--if I am wrong, please relieve my anxiety as soon as possible, and let me know in any case. Whether disaster is actual or expected, the effect is much the same, except that suffer- ing has its limits but apprehension has none; suffering is confined to the known event, but apprehension extends to every possibility. [Tr. Betty Radice. Pliny: Letters and Panegyricus. (8. 17). Volume II. LCL, 1969. Page num- bers: 49, 51. ]
AFTERMATH
Although Tiber River flooding remained a serious public safety issue even after the floods described by Pliny and Tacitus, it was not until the nineteenth century that large stone flood walls were built along the river's banks, to keep the water confined to its channel. The
ancient Roman engineers and architects most likely had the expertise to design and construct such walls, but they did not do so. The reasons for this were several: floodwaters generally receded quickly; Rome's fabled Seven Hills had sufficient elevation and space to afford a safe haven to people in harm's way during flooding; the sophisticated system of aqueducts con- tinually brought fresh water into the city, so the danger of drinking water contaminated by flooding was minimal; the sewer system was also very efficient, so that foul water and water-borne debris could be washed away quickly; and their belief in floods as religious
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Anio: The Anio River, a major tribu- tary of the Tiber, arises in central Italy and runs its course for about 67 miles before its confluence with the Tiber. Two large aqueducts drew water from the Anio and helped to supply Rome with the hundreds of thousands of gallons that daily poured into the city. Hence, it is not surprising that Pliny would refer to this river as delicatissimus, "most delightful. "
flooded its lower banks: See the side- bar, below.
Tiber: The fabled Tiber River wended its way through the downtown area of Rome.
widespread confusion: The Latin is varie lateque, with the former con- noting a wide variety of debris floating on the floodwaters and the latter suggesting that these waters were widely dispersed.
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? FATHER TIBER OUT OF CONTROL!
Flooding of the Tiber River was a continuing problem in ancient Rome; still extant are 42 literary descriptions of 33 different floods between 414 BCE and 398 CE. One of the most destructive of these occurred about 70 CE; it is described in vivid detail by the historian Tacitus, in his Histories [1. 86; tr. Moore. ]
[There was] a sudden overflow of the Tiber, which, swollen to a great height, broke down the wooden bridge [the Sublician Bridge, the oldest bridge in Rome] and then was thrown back by the ruins of the bridge which dammed the stream, and overflowed not only the low-lying level parts of the city, but also parts which are normally free from such disasters. Many were swept away in the public streets, a larger number cut off in shops and in their beds. The common people were reduced to famine by lack of employment and failure of supplies. Apartment houses had their foundations undermined by the standing water and then collapsed when the flood withdrew.
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Everybody Talks about the Weather, but No One Does Anything about It
omens gave at least some Romans a sense that these inundations, catastrophic though they might be, were somehow ordained by the gods and therefore not susceptible to human control.
ASK YOURSELF
1. What were some of the dangers that resulted in Rome when the Tiber River flooded?
2. What people were directly affected by the flood? What kinds of property damages occurred?
3. What does Pliny mean by the last sentence in his letter ("whether disaster is actual or expected the effect is much the same . . . ")?
TOPICS TO CONSIDER
e TheRomansexcelledintheartofcivilengineering. Giventhisfact,whydo you suppose the Tiber River flooded so often, and so destructively, over the course of so many years, without Roman engineers and architects devising a system of flood control that could have prevented, or at least minimized, the destruction caused by the flooding?
e Does the flooding described by both Pliny and Tacitus sound similar to any of the natural disasters that have afflicted the modern world in recent years?
e Does Pliny's account in any way suggest the existence in ancient Rome of an agency similar to the Red Cross, the National Guard, or emergency response teams to deal with a natural disaster such as the one he describes? If those agencies did not exist, how do you suppose the Romans would cope with calamities like raging floods?
Further Information
Adam, Jean-Pierre. Roman Building: Materials and Techniques. Bloomington, IN, 1994. Aldrete, Gregory S. Floods of the Tiber in Ancient Rome. Baltimore, 2007.
Connolly, P. and H. Dodge. The Ancient City. Oxford, 1998.
Platner, Samuel B. and T. Ashby. A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. London,
1929.
Richardson, L. A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. Baltimore, 1992.
Bibliography for Document
Aldrete, Gregory S. Floods of the Tiber in Ancient Rome. Baltimore, 2007.