The Roman Republic
Itisnotnecessarytorehearseheremoreoftheliteraryandarchaeologi-
calevidencedeployedbyCoarellitobringtolifethearchitectural,artistic
andfunctionalevolutionoftheComitium.Buthisdemonstration(Il Foro
romanoII, –) that thetribunal praetoris(the praetor’s tribunal) was duly
situated on the eastern perimeter of the Comitium, near thePuteal, until
movedwestintothewiderspacesoftheForumproper,isessential.Forthe
proper satisfaction of individual claims it had to be known exactly both
whenandwherejusticecouldbeseentobedone.Itwasofcoursealsointhe
Comitiumthatthethirty-fivetribescouldbefoundvotinginorder(both
functionsarereflectedinthespeechof..quotedbyMacrobius,,
–),untiltheytoo(probablyin..)movedout(forlegislationand
trials)intothe‘‘seveniugera’’ofthewiderForum,andforelectionsdownto
theCampusMartiuslikethecenturiateassembly.
NearertotheCuriaHostilia,ontheleftasyouentered,thetribunesof
theplebshadtheirsubsellia(benches).Fromtheretheycouldofferauxilium
totheplebsintheeventofoppressivemagisterialaction,andalsowatchthe
doorof the Curia and what went on inside; from there, as Zonaras (, )
says,followingCassiusDio,theywereinthecourseoftimedrawnintothe
Curiaitself(Loebtrans.):
NowatfirsttheydidnotentertheSenate-house,butsatattheentrance
andwatchedproceedings,andincaseanythingfailedtopleasethem,
theywouldthereandthenopposeit.Nexttheywereinvitedinside.
Later, however, the ex-tribunes became members of the Senate, and
finallysomeofthesenatorssoughttobetribunes.Wecouldaccept,asHölkeskampdoes,thecommonviewofthisastheirab-
sorptionandneutralizationbythegoverningélite.But,asarguedearlier,a
quitedifferentviewoftheentryofthetribunesintotheCuriaremainspos-
sible;onthisviewwhatmatteredwastheconstitutionalpowerofthepeople,
accompaniedintheperiodfromthelaterfourthcenturytothemiddleof
thethirdbyavastprocessofsettlementontheland,resumedinthesand
apparentlycomingtoahaltinthemiddleofthesecondcentury.Therewas,
ofcourse,forarelativelybriefperiodinthefirsthalfofthesecondcentury,a
degreeofneutralizationoftheroleofthetribunesoftheplebsasthecham-
pionsofpopularrights.ButforthattheexplanationgivenbyDio/Zonaras
isatleastasgoodasanyother:thedisunityandmutualjealousyofaboard
oftenwithequalpowers.
TheComitium,evenafteritceasedtobetheonlyplacewhereonecould
agere cum populo(transact business with the people) retained those major
historical monuments which marked it as the focus of communal life: the