Roman Aristocracy
Classics 105 – Roman History
What virtues and attainments defined the Roman aristocrat in the Republic? How, if at all, did this conception of the aristocrat change during the empire? Select one biography, by either Suetonius or Plutarch: discuss its subject’s successes and failures in realizing the appropriate aristocratic ideal. Include in your essay some consideration of the importance placed on this matter by the biography’s author (that is, is the matter of aristocratic excellence relevant to the biography, and, if so, in what ways? If not, why not?)
What virtues and attainments defined the Roman aristocrat in the Republic? How, if at all, did this conception of the aristocrat change during the empire?
The aristocracy of Rome has changed with the transition from the Republic to the Empire. This can be seen through analyzing funeral epitaphs, such as the epitaph of the Scipionic family and the epitaph of Publius Plautius Pulcher. Virtues of the aristocracy in the Republic were mainly focused on virtus and gloria; they attained such precedence by maintaining the achievements of their ancestors and upholding their status as the nobilitas. During the empire virtues and attainments of the nobility did not change completely, they merely altered to the new setting of imperialist Rome. Becoming a great man in Imperial Rome was somewhat harder, but still achievable as can be observed from the biography of Gnaeus Julius Agricola written by Tacitus. Suetonius’ life biography of the Deified Julius Caesar clearly shows the aristocratic ideal. Caesar’s success is extensively remarked upon showing that aristocracy excellence is relevant to the biography. The Roman aristocracy was an important part of Rome and analyzing their change is an appropriate way to understand the change from the Republic to the Empire.
Roman aristocracy in the Republic was known under the term nobilitas, or nobility. It was a combination of leading Patrician
What virtues and attainments defined the Roman aristocrat in the Republic? How, if at all, did this conception of the aristocrat change during the empire? Select one biography, by either Suetonius or Plutarch: discuss its subject’s successes and failures in realizing the appropriate aristocratic ideal. Include in your essay some consideration of the importance placed on this matter by the biography’s author (that is, is the matter of aristocratic excellence relevant to the biography, and, if so, in what ways? If not, why not?)
What virtues and attainments defined the Roman aristocrat in the Republic? How, if at all, did this conception of the aristocrat change during the empire?
The aristocracy of Rome has changed with the transition from the Republic to the Empire. This can be seen through analyzing funeral epitaphs, such as the epitaph of the Scipionic family and the epitaph of Publius Plautius Pulcher. Virtues of the aristocracy in the Republic were mainly focused on virtus and gloria; they attained such precedence by maintaining the achievements of their ancestors and upholding their status as the nobilitas. During the empire virtues and attainments of the nobility did not change completely, they merely altered to the new setting of imperialist Rome. Becoming a great man in Imperial Rome was somewhat harder, but still achievable as can be observed from the biography of Gnaeus Julius Agricola written by Tacitus. Suetonius’ life biography of the Deified Julius Caesar clearly shows the aristocratic ideal. Caesar’s success is extensively remarked upon showing that aristocracy excellence is relevant to the biography. The Roman aristocracy was an important part of Rome and analyzing their change is an appropriate way to understand the change from the Republic to the Empire.
Roman aristocracy in the Republic was known under the term nobilitas, or nobility. It was a combination of leading Patrician
Bibliography: Primary Sources – Excerpts from the Scipionic Epitaphs (ILS 1-4, 6-7) Epitaph for Publius Plautius Pulcher (CIL 14.3607) Funeral oration for Lucius Caecilius Metellus (Plin H.N 7.139) Suetonius. “The Deified Julius Caesar”. Lives of the Caesars. Trans. C. Edwards (United States, 2000) 3-42 Tacitus, Agricola Secondary Sources – Earl, D. The Moral and Political Tradition of Rome (Ithaca 1967), 11-43 Tatum, W,J. Always I am Caesar (Oxford 2008), 167-88 Wallace-Hadrill, A. ‘ Civilis Princeps: Between Citizen and King’, JRS 72 (1982), 32-48