The Augustan Revolution
tracy,atthefirstmomentpermittedbytheauspices,withoutadeclarationof
noticeofadoubleortriplenine-dayperiod,shouldseetothetakingtothe
peopleofalawaboutthehonoursofGermanicusCaesar).^16 Thefullname
ofthefirstoftheconsulswas‘‘M.ValeriusMessallaMessallinus,’’andofhis
colleague,‘‘M.AureliusCottaMaximusMessallinus’’;theywererespectively
(asitseems)thegrandsonandtheson(byadifferentwife)of M.Messalla
Corvinus,theconsulof..Allthreenamesbringusclosetothelifeand
worksofOvid.Oneoftheconsulsof..hadbeenanotherMessalla,appar-
entlynotrelated.^17 Thepublicadulationandexaltationoftheimperialhouse
wasinnosmallmeasuretheworkoflong-establishedrepublicanfamilies—
aswellasoftheirassociates,likeOvidiusNaso.
TheTabulaSiarensisalsotakesusbacktothepubliccelebrationofAugus-
tus,andalmostcertainlytotheyearafterhisdeath.Foritrecordsthatthe
arch(‘‘ianus’’)whichwastobeerectedintheCircusFlaminiuswastogoon
thespotwherestatueshadalreadybeendedicatedtoDivusAugustusandthe
DomusAugustabyGaiusNorbanusFlaccus.Theoccasionisverylikelyto
havebeenFlaccus’consulateasordinariusin...Ifso,thecombinationof
attentiontotherecentlydeifiedAugustusandtothewiderimperialhouse
findsaclosereflectionbothinOvid’spoetryandinanotherkeyinscription
ofthesameperiod.^18
The dossierof major inscriptions of this verydistinctive period is now
augmented by the extremely important text, also from Baetica, recording
the proceedings of the Senate after the suicide of Cn. Calpurnius Piso in
...^19 Butthatremarkablereflectionofthesamecombinationofadula-
torytriumphalismontheonehandandoffear,uncertainty,and(now)un-
fulfillablehopesontheotherisalsomatchedintwootherliteraryworksof
theperiod,whichneedtobementionedbrieflybeforeweturntothelater
worksofOvid.
ThefirstistheFacta et Dicta Memorabilia(Memorabledeedsandsayings)of
ValeriusMaximus,aworkwhichisonlynowbeginningtobeaccordedthe
prominencewhichitdeserves.^20 Foritisaperfectreflection,composedunder
.Roman Statutes,no./,fr.B,col.,ll.–.
. Forthesegenealogicalconnections,bytheirnaturebeyondtheabilityofthepresent
writertograspindetail,seeR.Syme,TheAugustanAristocracy(),chaps.–andtables
–.
.AE,no.,fr.I.ForthisconnectionseealreadyF.Millar,‘‘ImperialIdeology
in theTabula Siarensis,’’ in J. González and J. Arce, eds.,Estudios Sobre La Tabula Siarensis
(),(chapterinthisvolume).
. W.Eck,A.Caballos,andP.Fernandes,DasSenatusconsultumdeCn.PisonePatre().
. SeeY. Maslakov, ‘‘Valerius Maximus and Roman Historiography: A Studyof the