Rome, the Greek World, and the East, Vol. 1 - The Roman Republic and the Augustan Revolution

 The Augustan Revolution

acuriousanecdoteinDio,^22 therightofpatronagewasextendedevenbe-
yondtheTriumvirs;forherecordsthatStatiliusTauruswasrewardedbythe
peopleforcompletinghistheatrein..andcelebratingtheeventwith
agladiatorialshow,bybeinggrantedtherighttoselectoneofthepraetors
eachyear.
Nonetheless,thereremainafewindicationsthattheritualoftheelections
continued,andeventhatsomeplaceswerefilledbyelection.Diomentions
thattherewerenoaedilesin..forlackofcandidates.^23 Intheproscrip-
tions, according to Appian,one praetor was killed holding an assembly in
theForum,andanotherfledwhilecanvassingthevotersforthequaestorship
forhisson.Inthiscasethesonrevealedhisfather’shidingplace,andwasre-
wardedbytheTriumvirswithbothhisfather’spropertyandanaedileship.^24
ThefirstpartofthelatterstoryisconfirmedbyValeriusMaximus.^25 Simi-
larly,accordingtoPlutarch(Cic.),itwaswhenAntoniuswasconducting
anassemblyinDecemberthatCicero’sheadandhandswerebroughtto
him.OnestoryinAppian(BC,/)recordsthatthepeopleelecteda
manasaedileinthisperiod.
Butalthoughappointmentbypatronagewasclearlynormal,thetheory
that the republican magistrates,once in office, should exercise their tradi-
tionalfunctionspersistedthroughouttheperiod.Whenthesoldiersimposed
an agreement on Octavian and L. Antonius at Teanum in ..,oneof
itsconditionswasthattheconsulsshouldexercisetheirtraditionalpowers
(ta patria) without hindrance from the Triumvirs.^26 Similarly, when Octa-
vian’sfortunesturnedin,‘‘heallowedtheannualmagistratestoadminister
a great part of theres publicain the traditional ways.’’^27 While these refer-
encesclearlyindicatethatfullnormalitywasnotactuallyachieved,itisnone
thelessimportanttostresstheextenttowhichthetraditionaldutiesofthe
magistratesinfactcontinued.Sacrificeswerecarriedout,^28 gamesandfes-
tivals conducted,^29 and public buildings constructed and dedicated.^30 As is

.Dio,,.
. Dio,,.
.BC,–/–.
. Val.Max.,,.
. Appian,BC,/.
. Appian,BC,/.
. Dio,,–(ValeriusPotitus,suffectconsulof).
. Dio,,;Vell.Pat.,,,M.Titius‘‘givinggamesinthetheatreofPompey,’’
presumablyassuffectconsulin;Dio,,,Agrippaaspraetoringivingtheludi
Apollinares.
. Dio,,,AemiliusLepidusPaullus,suffectconsulof,dedicatingtheBasilica
Aemilia;,,–,Agrippa’sbuildingprogrammeasaedilein.