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THE RAPE OF LUCRETIA IN CASSIUS DIO'S ROMAN HISTORY*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 November 2014

C.T. Mallan
C.T. Mallan*
Affiliation:
Wadham College, Oxford
*
[email protected]
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Extract

We are told that when news of Caracalla's death reached Rome a group of senators denounced their former emperor, likening him to all the tyrants of the past who had ruled over them. The senator who recorded these actions, the historian Cassius Dio, does not say which tyrants were listed, but it is likely that such a comprehensive list included the last king of Rome, Tarquinius Superbus, and his son Sextus. The senators' actions were doubtless more an act of group catharsis than a private show of loyalty to their new emperor, Marcus Opellius Macrinus. Yet what the scene reveals perhaps most clearly is the Roman exempla tradition in practice.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Classical Quarterly , Volume 64 , Issue 2 , December 2014 , pp. 758 - 771
Copyright
Copyright © The Classical Association 2014 

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Footnotes

*

I would like to thank Professor Christopher Pelling, Dr Caillan Davenport, Ms Helen Tanner, the anonymous reviewer for CQ, and Professor Bruce Gibson, in his capacity as editor for this journal, for their invaluable feedback on this paper. Any mistakes or omissions are my own responsibility.

References

1 Cass. Dio 79[78].17.4. All references to Cassius Dio's History are from the edition of U.P. Boissevain (ed.), Cassii Dionis Historiarum Romanarum quae supersunt, vols. 1–3 (text), 4 (index historicus, ed. H. Smilda), 5 (index Graecitatis, ed. W. Nawijn) (Berlin, 1898–1931). Where there are discrepancies between Bossevain's numbering of the books and earlier editions, the traditional book designations have been placed in brackets. All references to Zonaras are from the second volume of the edition of Dindorf, L., Ioannis Zonarae Epitome Historiarum (Leipzig, 1869)Google Scholar, with volume, page, and line numbers in square brackets following the standard book and chapter divisions. Translations are my own, unless indicated otherwise.

2 The literature on the Roman exempla tradition is extensive. Litchfield, H.W. ‘National exempla virtutis in Roman literature’, HSPh 25 (1914), 1–71Google Scholar, at 2 and 15–19, identified the ethical and political functions of Roman exemplary narratives. Of the most important recent studies on exemplarity, see Chaplin, J.D., Livy's Exemplary History (Oxford, 2000)Google Scholar, esp. 1–31; Roller, M., ‘Exemplarity in Roman culture: the cases of Horatius Cocles and Cloelia’, CPh 99 (2004), 1–56Google Scholar, esp. 4–5, where Roller identifies a quadripartite construction of such exemplary narratives. For Greek writers operating in the Roman exemplary tradition, Gowing, A.M., ‘The Roman exempla tradition in imperial Greek historiography: the case of Camillus’, in Feldherr, A. (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the Roman Historians (Cambridge 2009), 332–47CrossRefGoogle Scholar, is important.

3 Gowing (n. 2), 346–7.

4 Recent treatments on Lucretia and her portrayal (especially in the Latin tradition) abound, e.g. Donaldson, I., The Rapes of Lucretia (Oxford, 1982)Google Scholar; Philippides, S.N., ‘Narrative strategies and ideology in Livy's “Rape of Lucretia”’, Helios 11 (1983), 114–19Google Scholar; Joplin, P.K., ‘Ritual work on human flesh: Livy's Lucretia and the rape of the body politic’, Helios 17 (1990), 51–70Google Scholar; Joshel, S.R., ‘The body female and the body politic: Livy's Lucretia and Verginia’, in Richlin, A. (ed.), Pornography and Representation in Greece and Rome (New York and Oxford, 1992), 112–30Google Scholar; Fox, M., Roman Historical Myths: The Regal Period in Augustan Literature (Oxford, 1997)Google Scholar, esp. 210–17; Calhoon, C.G., ‘Lucretia, savior, and scapegoat: the dynamics of sacrifice in Livy 1.57–59’, Helios 24 (1997), 151–69Google Scholar; Arieti, J.A., ‘Rape in Livy's view of Roman history’, in Deacy, S. and Pierce, K.F. (edd.), Rape in Antiquity (London, 1997), 209–29Google Scholar, at 212–14; Langlands, R., Sexual Morality in Ancient Rome (Cambridge, 2006), 85–96CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Stevenson, T., ‘Women of early Rome as exempla in Livy, Ab urbe condita, Book 1’, CW 104.2 (2011), 175–89Google Scholar, at 185–9.

5 Schwartz, E., ‘Cassius Dio Cocceianus (40)’, RE 3 (1899), cols. 1684–722Google Scholar, at 1692–3.

6 Manuwald, B., Cassius Dio und Augustus (Wiesbaden, 1979)Google Scholar, esp. 168–97; Zecchini, G., Cassio Dione e la gallica di Cesare (Milan, 1978), 109–50Google Scholar, esp. 150; see also Lintott, A., ‘Cassius Dio and the history of the Late Republic’, ANRW 2.34.3 (1997), 2498–2523Google Scholar, at 2519–20. On Dio's possible method for reworking of his sources, note Pelling's reviews of Zecchini and Manuwald: Pelling, C.B.R., ‘Cassius Dio’, CR 32 (1979), 146–8Google Scholar; id., ‘Manuwald, Cassius Dio und Augustus’, Gnomon 55 (1983), 221–6Google Scholar.

7 Zonar. 7.11 [Dindorf 2.114.29–115.9]. This story is also found in Dionysius of Halicarnassus, but it seems as though Dio knew both the tradition found in Dionysius (Ant. Rom. 4.62.2), Aulus Gellius (NA 1.19.2), and Lactantius (Div. inst. 1.10), where the number of books offered by the Sibyl was nine, and another tradition (otherwise unattested) where the number of books offered by the Sibyl was only three. Zonaras, like Dionysius and Gellius, places the story in the reign of Tarquinius Superbus, rather than Tarquinius Priscus as attested by Lactantius.

8 Rich, J., ‘Dio on Augustus’, in Cameron, A. (ed.), History as Text: The Writing of Ancient History (London, 1989), 86–110Google Scholar, at 90–1, puts forward the argument that Dio is likely to have made excerpts from a wide range of authorities during the ten years that he spent reading before reassembling the material during composition. Note, however, the alternative method outlined by Pelling, C.B.R., ‘Plutarch's method of work in the Roman Lives’, JHS 99 (1979), 74–96CrossRefGoogle Scholar, esp. at 91–3, who puts the case that the historian might have followed a single source ‘open in front of him’ for his basic narrative, supplemented by additional details from memory or notes. Based on what survives of Dio's history of the kings, such a model remains perhaps the most compelling for his early books.

9 By ‘Livian’ I mean a source that is likely to have been either Livy or a source whose narrative sequence mirrored Livy closely.

10 The standard edition of the fragments of Dio preserved in the Excerpta de virtutibus et vitiis, is that of Büttner-Wobst, T. and Roos, A.G. (edd.), Excerpta de virtutibus et vitiis, pars II (Berlin, 1910)Google Scholar. These collections of excerpts, known as the Excerpta Constantiniana on account of being commissioned by Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, preserved ethically, militarily, or politically significant excerpts from classical and late antique authors under specific headings (such as On virtues and vices, On embassies, On stratagems). For general descriptions of the nature, scope, and some methodological considerations pertaining to the use of the Excerpta Constantiniana, see Millar, F., A Study of Cassius Dio (Oxford, 1964), 1–2Google Scholar; Lemerle, P., Le premier humanisme byzantin: notes et remarques sur enseignement et culture à Byzance des origines au Xe siècle (Paris, 1971)Google Scholar, esp. 280–8; Brunt, P.A., ‘On historical fragments and epitomes’, CQ 30 (1980), 483–5CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Roberto, U., ‘Byzantine collections of late antique authors: some remarks on the Excerpta historica Constantiniana’, in Wallraff, M. and Mecella, L. (edd.), Die Kestoi des Julius und ihre Überlieferung (Berlin, 2009), 71–84Google Scholar.

11 Simons, B., Cassius Dio und die Römische Republik (Berlin, 2009), 29–32CrossRefGoogle Scholar, has demonstrated three general principles behind Zonaras' method as an epitomator, namely: the general omission of Dio's moralizing remarks; the compression of Dio's narrative by paraphrasing or summarizing; and, occasionally, the tendency to reproduce some of Dio's sentences almost verbatim. See Millar (n. 10), 2–3, 195–207. For a recent summary of Zonaras' work and career, see Banchich, T. and Lane, E., The History of Zonaras: From Alexander Severus to the Death of Theodosius the Great (London, 2009), 2–7Google Scholar.

12 See Millar (n. 10), 3; Moscovich, M.J., ‘Historical compression in Cassius Dio's account of the second century b.c.’, AW 8 (1983), 137–43Google Scholar, at 137; Simons (n. 11), 32.

13 See Boissevain (n. 1), 1.xxvi.

14 As demonstrated by Boissevain (n. 1), 3.767–74, such was the method of the excerptors, where passages of text could be omitted from the beginning or middle of an extract.

15 E.g. Cass. Dio F 11.1–2; F 11.4–5. The ideal, of course, was that of the civilis princeps, who showed deference to the Senate. For this idea, see Wallace-Hadrill, A., ‘Civilis princeps: between citizen and king’, JRS 72 (1983), 32–48Google Scholar, at 43–4; see also Flach, D., ‘Dios Platz in der kaiserzeitlichen Geschichtsschreibung’, A&A 18.2 (1973), 130–143Google Scholar, at 140. For this theory in practice in the later books of Dio, see now the discussion in Kemezis, A., ‘Commemoration of the Antonine aristocracy in Cassius Dio and the Historia Augusta’, CQ 62 (2012), 387–414CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and Davenport, C., ‘Cassius Dio and Caracalla’, CQ 62 (2012), 796–815CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

16 Cf. Livy 1.49.6–7; Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 4.42, 4.71.3. It is interesting to note that Dionysius seems more interested in portraying Tarquinius Superbus as a tyrant who acts contrary to the established laws: see Dion Hal. Ant. Rom. 4.41.2, 4.43.1, 4.44.1, 4.46.4, etc. Note also Dionysius' articulation of the ideal that kings, although judges of the law, were also subject to the laws (Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 4.36).

17 This feature of Dio's work has led some to conclude that Dio wrote for a specifically senatorial audience, e.g. Gowing, A.M., The Triumviral Narratives of Appian and Cassius Dio (Ann Arbor, MI, 1992), 292–4Google Scholar. Aalders, G.J.D., ‘Cassius Dio and the Greek world’, Mnemosyne 39 (1986), 282–304CrossRefGoogle Scholar, at 290–1, argues that Dio wrote for ‘ordinary Greeks’ (i.e. individuals who had a reasonable level of education, but who had a general ignorance of the workings of the Roman administrative system), but is less convincing. Gowing's view may be correct, but it is equally possible that Dio, writing in a broader tradition of senatorial historiography, found the treatment of elites (either specifically the Senate or, more vaguely, οἱ πρώτοι) to be the most obvious gauge to evaluate the quality of a ruler or powerful individual. Cf. Alföldi, A., A Conflict of Ideas in the Late Roman Empire: The Clash between the Senate and Valentinian I, tr. Mattingly, H. (Oxford, 1952), 100–1Google Scholar, who, although focussing mainly on fourth-century texts, neatly summarizes this trait of senatorial historiography.

18 E.g. Sulla: Cass. Dio F 109.10; Caligula: 59.22.5; Nero: 62[63].17.2; Domitian: 67.14.3–4; Commodus: 73[72].5.3; 73[72].7.3. See also Gowing's discussion ([n. 17], 266–7), on the parallels between Dio's portrayal of the proscriptions under Sulla and under the triumvirs with those of his own time. The idea of tyrannies removing the men of influence or ability is, of course, a topos in ancient political writing, and is repeated by Dio in his telling of the story of Sextus Tarquinius learning the lesson of the ‘tall poppies’ and killing off the more notable men (ἀξιολογώτεροι) of Gabii (Zonar. 7.10 [Dindorf 2.113.24–114.1]). For this conventional story, see Hdt. 5.92; Arist. Pol. 1311a15–23; Livy 1.54.5–8; Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 4.56.2–3.

19 Cass. Dio F 11.6. For Dio and Caracalla at Nicomedia, see Cass. Dio 78[77].17.3, with Davenport (n. 15), 802–3. For ‘approachability’ (εὐπρόσοδος) as a mark of a good king in Greco-Roman political thought, note especially: Xen. Ages. 9.1–2; [Aristid.] Or. 35.24; Poll. 1.41; Cass. Dio 44.19.3, 56.43.3, 57.11.1–4, 68.11.3; Men. Rhet. (II) 375.8–10; see also Wallace-Hadrill (n. 15), 35.

20 N.B. Reiske's emendation ἐν πότῳ is adopted by Boissevain (n. 1), 1.32, but not by Büttner-Wobst and Roos (n. 10), 238. Reiske's reading was probably influenced by the women's convivium in Livy (1.57.9).

21 Cass. Dio F 11.14. Dio shares this last detail (of Lucretia spinning wool) with Livy (1.57.9) and Ovid (Fast. 2.741–4), but not with Diodorus and Dionysius. The act of spinning wool (lanificium) was regarded as symbolic of good household management and as a traditional source of praise for women: see e.g. Ogilvie, R.M., A Commentary on Livy Books 1–5 (Oxford, 1965), 222Google Scholar; Treggiari, S., Roman Marriage (Oxford, 1991), 243Google Scholar; Milnor, K., Roman Domesticity in the Age of Augustus (Oxford, 2005), 31Google Scholar. For the connection between sophrosyne and wool-working, see North, H., ‘The mare, the vixen, and the bee: sophrosyne as the virtue of women in Antiquity’, ICS 2 (1977), 35–48Google Scholar, at 41–2.

22 Note the list of feminine qualities that Dio has Augustus list in his speech before the unmarried equites (Cass. Dio 56.3.3): πῶς μὲν γὰρ οὐκ ἄριστον γυνὴ σώϕρων οἰκουρὸς οἰκονόμος παιδοτρόϕος ὑγιαίνοντά τε εὐϕρᾶναι καὶ ἀσθενοῦντα θεραπεῦσαι, […] καθεῖρξαι καὶ τοῦ πρεσβυτέρου τὴν ἔξωρον αὐστηρότητα κεράσαι. For a similar list, see Cato's speech on the proposed repeal of the lex Oppia (Zonar. 9.17 [Dindorf 2.299.13–17]). See also Kuhn-Chen, B., Geschichtskonzeptionen griechischer Historiker im 2. und 3. Jahrhundert n. Chr.: Untersuchungen zu den Werken von Appian, Cassius Dio und Herodian (Frankfurt, 2002), 238Google Scholar, whose brief assessment of Dio's attitudes towards women indicates that his positive portrayals of women are of those who exhibit bravery, faithfulness, restraint, and courtesy.

23 For the simple (Aristotelian) definition of sophrosyne as self-denial with respect to eating, drinking, and sexual intercourse, see Arist. Eth. Nic. 3.10.10; for the equation of sophrosyne with the Latin sobrius, see North, H., Sophrosyne: Self-knowledge and Self-restraint in Greek Literature (Ithaca, NY, 1966), 264Google Scholar.

24 E.g. Val. Max. 6.3.9; Plut. Quaest. Rom. 6 (Mor. 265C–D).

25 For silence (or at least brevity of speech) as a mark of sophrosyne, see North (n. 21), 37.

26 By way of contrast, the two earlier Greek narratives of Diodorus (10.20.1) and Dionysius (Ant. Rom. 4.64.4) are ambiguous as to whether Sextus desired Lucretia for her beauty or for her reputation for chastity. Both maintain that Sextus' lust for Lucretia was based on her physical beauty rather than on her reputation alone, and Dionysius says that Sextus had long been desirous of Lucretia. Ovid (Fast. 2.763–5, 769–70) also follows this interpretation and emphasizes the physical lust that Sextus felt towards Lucretia based on her beauty. Dio, too, refers to Lucretia's surpassing beauty (ὑπερκαλλής), but he clearly sees her reputation as being more important.

27 E.g. Caligula: Cass. Dio 59.8.4; Claudius: 61[60].30.5; Domitian: 67.14.3. Note also Dio's extended treatment of Hadrian's jealous nature (69.3–4), a key feature of his ambivalent portrayal of that emperor. By way of contrast, good rulers, according to Dio, rewarded those who exhibited or had a reputation for sophrosyne, e.g. Cass. Dio 52.30.8; 75[74].5.6.

28 For a discussion of this feature of Dio's work, see Pelling, C., ‘Biographical history? Cassius Dio on the early Principate’, in Swain, S. and Edwards, M.J. (edd.), Portraits: Biographical Representation in the Greek and Latin Literature of the Roman Empire (Oxford, 1997), 117–44Google Scholar, esp. 125–44.

29 For Dio's censure of Commodus for having several prominent women killed during his reign, see Cass. Dio 73[72].5.1, 73[72].16.2.

30 Caracalla: 78[77].16.1, 22–3; Elagabalus: 80[79].9.3. The young Caracalla, with his brother Geta, is also said to have committed acts of sexual violence against young girls (Cass. Dio 77[76].7.1).

31 Livy 1.58.2; Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 4.64.5; Diod. Sic. 10.20.2.

32 Cass. Dio F 11.16. Note also that, in Dio's version, Sextus attempts to charm Lucretia first, before resorting to force, whereas Livy and Dionysius have the reverse: cf. Livy 1.58.2; Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 4.65.1.

33 Livy 1.58.5; Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 4.65.1.

34 Livy 1.58.5. See also Ogilvie (n. 21), 223–4, on Livy's expression expugnato decore; Langlands (n. 4), 91–3. Consider also Lucretia's reply to her kinsmen (1.58.7): minimi … quid enim salvi est mulieri amissa pudicitia?

35 Diod. Sic. 10.20.1; Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 4.64.4; Cass. Dio 11.13.

36 On the importance of pudicitia to Livy's Lucretia narrative, see Langlands (n. 4), 85–96. For examples of the identification of Lucretia as an exemplum of pudicitia in the Latin tradition, see Val. Max. 6.1; Eutr. 1.8; [Aur. Vict.] De vir. ill. 9.2–3.

37 For a discussion of feminine sophrosyne, see now Rademaker, A., Sophrosyne and the Rhetoric of Self-restraint: Polysemy & Persuasive Use of an Ancient Greek Value Term (Leiden, 2005), 260–1Google Scholar and passim.

38 Ogilvie (n. 21), 219.

39 Ameling, W., ‘Griechische Intellektuelle und das Imperium Romanum: das Beispiel Cassius Dio’, ANRW 2.34.3 (1997), 2472–96Google Scholar, at 2485.

40 North (n. 23), 248 n. 18. For the range of meaning attached to the notion of sophrosyne, see Rademaker (n. 37), 252–69. There has been no comprehensive treatment of sophrosyne in the imperial period since the summary treatment by North (n. 23), 243–57. For additional examples and discussion with reference to the Antonine period, see Pomeroy, S., The Murder of Regilla: A Case of Domestic Violence in Antiquity (Cambridge, MA, and London, 2007), 16–17, 22, 107, 113, 115–16CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

41 See North (n. 23), 243. For a discussion of these ideas in general, see Foucault, M., History of Sexuality, Volume 3: The Care of the Self, tr. Hurley, R. (London, 1986), 150–85Google Scholar (esp. 176–85), 204–5.

42 E.g. Philostr. V A 1.20, 1.34, 6.29, 7.42.

43 E.g. Agesilaus' rejection of eastern luxuries: Plut. Vit. Ages. 14; Alexander's treatment of the female members of Darius' family: Plut. Vit. Alex. 21. For a discussion of this idea with reference to Plutarch, see now Beneker, J., The Passionate Statesman: Eros and Politics in Plutarch's Lives (Oxford, 2012)CrossRefGoogle Scholar, esp. 105–50; see also Duff, T., Plutarch's Lives: Exploring Virtue and Vice (Oxford, 1999), 94–7Google Scholar.

44 For an overview of the development of imperial virtues in the Roman period, see now Noreña, C.F., Imperial Ideals in the Roman West: Representation, Circulation and Power (Cambridge 2011), 37–55Google Scholar; see also North (n. 23), 300–11.

45 For this idea in Dio's attitude towards kingship, see Ameling (n. 39), 2479–82; Kuhn-Chen (n. 22), 243–4.

46 E.g. Dio Chrys. Or. 1.6, 58; 3.7, 32; Aristid. Or. 35.15, 25–6, 29; Hdn. 1.2.3–5; Men. Rhet. (II) 376.2–13.

47 P. Fay. 20 lines 14–15, 20–1 = Oliver, J.H., Greek Constitutions of Early Roman Emperors from Inscriptions and Papyri (Philadelphia, PA, 1989)Google Scholar, no. 275. Hadrian's profession of pudicitia on his coinage (e.g. RIC II [Hadrian] nos. 135, 176–8) may represent a similar official reaction to this intellectual trend. See also Noreña, C., ‘Hadrian's chastity’, Phoenix 61 (2007), 296–317Google Scholar.

48 Cass. Dio 44.2.1; see Millar (n. 10), 75. Dio returns to the same idea in the speech of Maecenas (Cass. Dio 52.14.1, 30.8), and in his summation of Augustus' reign (56.43.4). However, Dio did not rule out the possibility of ‘democracies’ exercising sophrosyne: cf. F 52.1–2.

49 E.g. Bering-Staschewski, R., Römische Zeitgeschichte bei Cassius Dio (Bochum, 1981), 114Google Scholar; Ameling (n. 39), 2480; Blois, L. De, ‘Emperor and empire in the works of Greek authors’, ANRW 2.34.4 (1997), 3391–3443Google Scholar, at 3443.

50 Cass. Dio F 11.18. Note that Lucretia's speech in Livy is addressed to her husband (1.58.7).

51 Livy 1.58.8; Diod. Sic. 10.20.3. The idea of a husband (justly) avenging himself on persons who had violated the laws of hospitality has great antiquity, and certainly Livy's and Diodorus' use of this motif actively recalls the punishment of the suitors in Homer's Odyssey.

52 Livy 1.58.8; Ogilvie (n. 21), 225.

53 See Donaldson (n. 4), 10.

54 This connection between the overthrow of tyrannies as part of the punishment of the tyrant for acts of hubris was one of the standards of classical political thought, as analysed by Aristotle (Pol. 1311a28–b36). See Newman, W.L., The Politics of Aristotle (Oxford, 1902), 4.425–35Google Scholar; Keyt, D., Aristotle: Politics: Books V and VI (Oxford, 1999), 154–61Google Scholar.

55 Livy's formulation, si vos viri estis (1.58.8), is identical to Dio's.

56 Having Lucretia fulfil exemplary functions for both ideal feminine and masculine behaviours is not particular to Dio. As Pliny notes in relation to the conduct of Fannia (Ep. 7.19.7), a woman could be an exemplum for both men and women. Note also Brutus' speech to the plebeians in Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 4.82.3.

57 Philippides (n. 4), 166, identifies this theme as being present in Livy. Whether this is applicable to Livy, Dio certainly makes it far more explicit.

58 Speech of Hersilia and the Sabine women: F 5.5–7; Livia–Augustus dialogue: 55.14.2–21.4; Speech of Boudicca: 62.3.1–6.5.

59 Julia Domna: Cass. Dio 78[77].18.2; Julia Maesa: 80[79].15.4.

60 E.g. topography: F 5.7, F 6.3; religious practices: F 6.3–4, F 7.5.

61 Cf. Ogilvie (n. 21), 196: ‘For him [i.e. Livy] the history of the Tarquins is a tragedy with a moral, the triumph of pudicitia over superbia.’

62 The pairing of politically or ethically antithetical individuals or of individuals and groups was one of Dio's favourite narrative strategies, and functioned not only as a way to group his material but also as a means for him to explore political and ethical ideas. See Moscovich (n. 12), 138 and passim; Simons (n. 11), 240, 249, 301.