The Early Roman Tradition

Bibliographic Data

ID23711902
AuthorsHans Beck (0000-0002-0319-1186, corresponding author)
Year2007
Pages239-245
Publication date2007-09-01
Open AccessYes
TypeOTHER
VenueA Companion to Greek and Roman Historiography (JOURNAL)
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/9781405185110.ch21
OpenAlexW2754086388
ISBN9781405185110
LanguageEN
Citations received21

“For famous and important men, there should be an account of their leisure activities no less than of their serious business.” When Marcus Porcius Cato (234–149 bce)in 170 or so set about writing a history of “the deeds of the Roman People” (HRR FF 1,2), there was no doubt that he intended to master this task just as he had mastered everything else. Born a homo novus (“new man,” i.e., without noble ancestors), Cato had worked his way from Tusculum up to the highest rank of the Roman aristocracy: quaestor in 204, five years later aedile of the people (199), 198 praetor of Sardinia, and in 195 the maximus honos the consulate, followed by a triumph in 194 – this splendid career was indeed “serious business.” Just like the great nobles of his day, Cato too was driven by a thorough (self-)identification with and commitment to the fate of the res publica. In fact, his particular commitment to Roman collective values such as sternness, modesty, and a simple way of life earned him the reputation of an odd bird, as it were, which soon became a characteristic of Cato's perception as a paradigmatic figure of virtue (exemplum virtutis) in Roman cultural memory.

Aristocracy (class) · Art · Art history · Literature · Political science · Politics · Reputation · Theology · Virtue · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classics · History · Law · Philosophy