134 The Imperial Government
trates or provincial high priests.Thus in theActsof Polycarp (12) the pro-
consul tries the bishop in the stadium at Smyrna, but it would have been
theAsiarch,Philippus,whoproducedbeasts,ifthepermitteddaysforvena-
tiones(animalhunts)hadnotalreadybeenpast.Similarly,intheGolden Ass,
awomancondemnedinCorinthbytheproconsulofAchaea(seeabove)is
duetodieinashowputonbyaduovir quinquennalis(colonialcensor)ofthe
city.^20 Ashappensinthiscase,andwhetherthegovernorwaspresentornot,
localoffice-holderscouldacquirecondemnedpersonsforuseintheshows
theyputon,possiblybuyingthemfromtheimperialfiscus(treasury).^21
Itisnotnecessarytoenterintothecomplexdetailsofthedifferenthan-
dlingofthosecondemned‘‘tothebeasts’’orinludum(tobetrainedasgladia-
tors).TheessentialpointissimplythatjustastheRomanstate,exceptinthe
armycamps, possessed no prisons for short-term detention, it also had no
social orceremonial framework of its own,outside the cityof Rome, for
executionswhichwerefelttorequiresomemeansmoreimpressivethanthe
swordorthecross.Thisfunction,too,thereforedevolvedontheinstitutions
ofthecitiesorprovincialcouncils.
This fact, therefore, mayalso support the possibility that ‘‘publicwork’’
tookplaceinthesamecontext.ButPliny’scorrespondencewithTrajanpro-
videsamoredirectconnection(10,31–32).Plinyreportsthatinmanycivi-
tates,especiallyNicomediaandNicaea,personswhohadbeencondemned
in opus,orin ludumortosimilarsortsofpenalty,wereactingaspublicslaves
(ofthesecities)andwereevenreceivingpay.Plinythoughtittoosevereto
returnthemtotheirpoenae(penalties),andnotquitedecent(satis honestum)
toretaintheminpublicservice(inpubliciisofficiis)—evenonesfilledbyslaves.
Itwasalsonotclearhowtheyhadevadedtheduepenalties,thoughsome
wereallegedtohavepetitionedproconsulsortheirlegati.Trajanrepliedthat
thosecondemnedwithinthepasttenyears,andnotreleasedonproperau-
thority,shouldbereturnedtotheirpoenae.Thosewhowereolderandhad
beencondemnedmorethantenyearsearliershouldbedistributed‘‘tothose
ministeria[functions]whicharenotfarfromapoena.Formenofthatsortare
accustomedtobeputto[workin]abath-house,thecleaningoutofdrains,
andalsothebuildingofroadsand[?]streets[vicorum].’’
Itisclearfromthisthatallthevariouscategoriesofcondemnedhadre-
mainedwithinthecontextofthecities,andthatsomehadbeencondemned
specificallyin opus. It was presumably this apparently established category
- Apuleius,Met.10,18;Millar(n.8),68–69.
- SoERW,194–95.