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

Triumvirate and Principate 

clearfromananecdoteinAppian(BC,/)andDio(,,),officein
Romecontinuedtodemandsubstantialexpenditure.Boththecontinuation
ofroutinebusinessanditssubjectiontoviolentinterferenceareillustrated
bySuetonius’story(Div.Aug.)ofapraetordraggedfromhistribunalby
Octavian’ssoldiers.
Muchmoreimportant,however,aretheindicationsthatsubstantialmat-
terswerestillputthroughbytheconsuls.Twiceundertheyear,Appian
representsAntoniusasgettingtheconsulMunatiusPlancustohaveasafe-
conduct voted for someone.^31 Ten years later, as is notorious, the consuls
SosiusandDomitiusAhenobarbusresolutelyopposedOctavian,andrefused
hisdemandsforpublicationofAntonius’DonationsofAlexandria;^32 Sosius
wouldhavetakendirectactionagainstOctavianbutforthevetoofthetri-
buneNoniusBalbus.^33 Twoyearsafterthat,itwasCicero’ssonwho,assuffect
consulof,readthenewsofthedeathofAntoniustothepeople.^34 Atabout
thistime,aftertheconspiracyoftheyoungerLepidus,apuzzlingpassageof
Appian(BC,/–)showsaconsulonhistribunalandwithhislictors
acceptinga‘‘pledge’’(vadimonium)fromLepidus’motherforherappearance
beforeOctavian.
Moreimportantthanthesescatteredexamplesofconsularormagisterial
actionistheevidenceofvotesbytheSenate,orbytheSenateandpeople.
First,anumberoflaws,orpopularvotes.FromwehavetheLexMuna-
tiaAemiliaenablingtheTriumvirstomakegrantsofcitizenship(seeno.
inthenextsection),thelawforthedeificationofJuliusCaesar,‘‘whomthe
Senate and the Roman People assigned a place among the Gods’’ (ILS,
Aesernia);^35 andperhapsaLexRufrena.^36 From(?)wehavetheimportant
tribunicianlaw,theLexFalcidia.^37 Fromthemidsonwardsvarioushon-
ourswerevotedtoOctavian,someabortively;^38 butmoresignificantisthe
factthatAntoniuscontinuedtowishtohavehiseasterndispositionsratified
inRome(Dio,,).WhethertherenewaloftheTriumvirateinwas
ratified,evenretrospectively,remainsindoubt.InBC,/,Appiansays
thattheyrenewedit‘‘nolongeraskingfortheassentofthepeople’’butin

. Appian,BC,/;/.
.Dio,,.
.Dio,,.
. Appian,BC,/.
. SeealsoDio,–,andTriumviralDocuments,no..
.ILS‘‘TothedeifiedJuliusbyorderoftheRomanpeople.Itwasorderedinthe
LexRufrena’’;cf.ILSa.SeeDiz. Epig.,s.v.‘‘lex,’’–;Degrassi,ILLRPI^2 ,.
. Dio,,etc.Diz. Epig.,s.v.‘‘lex’’–.SeeBroughton,MRRII,.
. Appian,BC,/;Dio,,–;,–.