The Novus Homo ‘New Man’
The Romans
Chapter 2 Case Study
Cursus Honorum
The number of men who held lesser
magistracies increased over time
(especially under Sulla) but this did not
create more opportunities in the higher
offices. In fact, it created a bottleneck as
more men were put on a track that only a
few would be able to complete.
To prevent people rising too quickly, caps
were also put on ages to attain offices (see
next slide), but many exceptions were
made.
From http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/romangvt.html
Lex Villia Annalis (180 BC)
Consulship (42 years)
Praetorship (39 years)
Quaestorship (25 years?)
Minimum two-year interval between offices
Tribunate and aedilship facultative
Homines Novi: Case Studies
In the following three historical examples,
consider the following questions:
• How did a novus homo come to power?
• How long did it take to attain these offices?
• Were they able to establish roles for their
offspring, as aristocratic families did?
Each case study will include a comparison with a
contemporary aristocrat.
Novus Homo: Gaius Marcius Rutilus, mid-4th
century BC (Livy)
• Elected consul in 357 (plebeian)
• Elected dictator in 356 for a war with the
Etruscans; the Senate tried to stop his triumph
• Elected consul again in 352
• Ran for censor in 351 with heavy opposition
from the Senate but won anyway
• Legacy: his son (same name) was elected
tribune of the plebs in 311, consul in 310 and
censor in 294 BC.
Aristocrat: Appius Claudius Caecus,
late 4th century BC
• Son of a prestigious family, with an ancestor who
was a decemvir (i.e. wrote the Twelve Tables)
• Caecus was elected censor in 312 before he was
elected consul
• Elected consul 307 and 296
• Elected dictator twice, 292 and 285
• Legacy: his grandson was a consul who began the
Punic Wars; his descendants were in-laws of the
Gracchi brothers and friends of Cicero and the
Julio-Claudian emperors (Tiberius, Claudius and
Nero).
Novus Homo: Gaius Duilius, mid-3rd century BC
• Little is known of his family or early career due to
his humble origins
• Elected consul in 260 BC with Gaius Cornelius
Scipio Asina
• Had a massive victory at Mylae after his coconsul was defeated
• Elected censor in 258 (with Lucius Cornelius
Scipio) and was allowed a rostral column in the
Forum Romanum and a victory temple to Janus in
the Forum Holitorium
• Elected dictator in 231 BC
• Legacy: little is known of his progeny.
Aristocrat: Publius Cornelius Scipio
Africanus (236-183 BC)
• His father (L. Corn. Scipio) was censor with Duilius; his grandfather
was Scipio Barbatus, censor 280 BC, among other things
• Elected quaestor in 213 when 22 years old; the tribunes objected,
but were overruled
• Elected proconsul (Spain) in 211, when 25
• Elected consul in 205 BC, when 31
• Given agnomen Africanus in 201 BC
• Elected censor in 199 BC, when 37; technically still too young to
run for consul
• Legacy: both sons became praetors in 174, but carried on no
further; adopted heir Scipio Aemilianus Africanus. His descendants
include Cornelia, the mother of the Gracchi and Marc Antony’s
third wife, Fulvia, and Scipio Nascia, who was part of the defence
in the trial of Verrem (cf. Cicero’s In Verrem).
Novus Homo: Gaius Marius (157-86 BC)
• From Arpinum, a town that was given full citizenship rights only in 188
BC
• Serves militarily under P. Corn. Scipio Aemilianus
• Elected military tribune at 24
• 121 BC Elected quaestor, age 36
• 120 BC Elected Plebeian tribune, age 37
• Loses aedile election, age 39
• 116 BC Elected praetor, age 41
• 108 BC Asks his Metelli patron for permission to run for consul and is
told to wait and run with Metellus’ son (who was 20, so in 20 years’
time, when Marius would be 69); elected as commander for campaign
in Numidia by the people, age 49
• 107 Runs for consul without support and is elected, age 50
• 104-100 BC Successively re-elected consul five times, mid-50s
• 86 BC Re-elected consul, rules for only 17 days, age 71
• Legacy: his son is elected consul in 82 BC, age 27/8; his nephew is
Julius Caesar.
Aristocrat: Lucius Cornelius Sulla, 138-78 BC
• From presitigous but poor branch of the Cornelia gens
• 107 BC nominated as quaestor for the Metelli family (to replace Marius),
age 31
• 101 BC Serves as tribunus militum (104 BC) and legatus
• 97 BC Elected urban praetor, age 41
• 96 BC Elected pro consul, age 43
• 88 BC Elected consul, age 50
• 88-82 BC Engaged in a number of successful military campaigns
• 82/81 BC Appointed dictator by the Senate, age 56
• 80 BC Elected consul
• Legacy: Sulla fundamentally restructured the government with the help
of the Senate and tarnished the title of dictator. One day, having been
elected dictator for life, he simply retired and left no heir to his powers.
His grandson minted a series of coins.
Conclusions
The rules set out for attaining office were well conceived, but they were
not consistently applied. While it was useful to be able to empower
successful individuals in a time of need, such as P. Cornelius Scipio
Africanus, this set a pattern of behaviour that was difficult to break.
The homines novi do not tend to be given exceptional powers until the rise
of Marius, who had already followed the cursus honorum. You couldn’t
keep a good man down in Rome, but equally you had trouble getting rid of
a bad one. And the legacies of all but one of the new men are not
impressive.
The rise of a novus homo was usually turbulent, fraught with opposition
and divided loyalties to the aristocratic classes, be they patrician or
optimate (the Metelli, for example, were a plebeian gens, but this made
no difference to Marius or Sulla). Passing down one’s glory to one’s family
was equally, if not more, difficult. As happy as one may be to see a
meritocracy in action, it is equally clear that, for these brave underdogs,
the cards were always stacked against them.