102 The Imperial Government
lar]distributionsofcorn,andalsotothepraetoriansoldiers,chrysoi[aurei]
equalinnumbertotheyearsof hisrule...on thismunificence[dorea]50
milliondrachmaiwereexpended.’’Itisclearfromthisthatthesumduewas
calculatedinaurei,eachpersonreceivingten,whilethelistofthoseentitled
wasdrawndirectlyfromthelistofthoseinreceiptoftheregularmonthly
distributionsofcorn.Leavingasidethepraetorians,Dio’sfiguresimplythat
thelistcontained200,000persons.Hisdescriptiondoesnotofcoursetellus
inwhichtypeofcoinpaymentwasmade:10aureieach,or250denarii,or
1,000sestertii?
Atanyrate,whileDioexplainstherationaleforthelevelofdistribution
intermsofaurei(oneperheadforeachyearofthereign),heexpressesthe
totalindrachmaidenarii.Thetotalgiven,50million,isverysignificant,
if we put it into relation with the estimate by Keith Hopkins of the total
annualrevenueoftheEmpire,perhapssome250milliondenarii,or1billion
sestertii,perannuminthisperiod.^43 Hencethedistributionmadetotheplebs
of Rome ina.d.202 may have been the equivalent of a fifth of the public
revenuesforayear.Itiscertainlyessentialtousetheterm‘‘equivalent,’’forin
principlesuchaliberalitaswasnotdrawnfrompublicfunds,buthadthechar-
acterofapersonalgiftfromtheemperor.^44 Thereisaclearcontrastwiththe
frumentum publicum(publiccorn),originallyestablishedbythelegislationof
Clodiusin58b.c.—acontrastwhichremains,eventhoughitwasprecisely
therecipientsofthemonthlypubliccornrationwhoweredesignatedasthe
objectsoftheEmperor’sadhocdemonstrationofliberalityincash.
Heretoo,asregardsthedistributionofcoin,wehavetotrytoenvisagethe
physicalprocessesinvolved.Wastheliberalitaspaidinsilverdenarii?Inthat
casewewouldhavetorememberthat50milliondenariiwouldhaveweighed
188,000kilograms.Totransportsuchamassofcoinatonemoment,ifthat
hadbeennecessary,wouldhaverequired390heavywagons,eachdrawnby
4oxen,hence1,560oxeninall.
Supposebycontrastthatthepaymentwereliterallymadeinaurei:2mil-
lion aurei (twice the entire annual production at the level suggested by
Andrew Burnett), each weighing some 7.20 grams, would have weighed
about 14,400 kilograms. Therefore, some 30 heavy wagons and 120 oxen
wouldhavebeenrequiredtotransportit.Itdoesthereforeseemquitelikely
thattheactualpaymentcorrespondedinformtothesymbolicbasisofthe
occasion:oneaureusperyearforeachofthetenyearsofthereign,paidto
- Hopkins(n.15),117,119.
- Fortheideologyofimperiallargesse,seeesp.P.Veyne,Le pain et le cirque: sociologie
historique d’un pluralisme politique(1976),534–730,translated,andsomewhatabbreviated,as
Bread and Circuses: Historical Sociology and Political Pluralism(1990),292–482.