Pliny the Elder, The Natural History, BOOK XXXIV. THE NATURAL HISTORY OF METALS., CHAP. 11.—IN HONOUR OF WHOM PUBLIC STATUES WERE FIRST ERECTED: IN HONOUR OF WHOM THEY WERE FIRST PLACED ON PILLARS: WHEN THE ROSTRA WERE FIRST ERECTED.

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CHAP. 11.—IN HONOUR OF WHOM PUBLIC STATUES WERE FIRST ERECTED: IN HONOUR OF WHOM THEY WERE FIRST PLACED ON PILLARS: WHEN THE ROSTRA WERE FIRST ERECTED.

The custom of erecting chariots with two horses in honour of those who had discharged the office of prætor, and had passed round the Circus in a chariot, is not of ancient date. That of placing statues on pillars is older, as it was done in honour of C. Mænius,¹ who conquered the ancient Latins, to whom the Romans by treaty gave one third of the spoil which they had obtained. It was in the same consulship also, that the "rostra" or beaks of the ships, which had been taken from the Antiates when vanquished, were fixed to the tribunal; it being the year of the City, 416.² The same thing was done also by Caius Duillius, who was the first to obtain a naval triumph over the Carthaginians: his column still remains in the Forum.³ I am not certain whether this honour was not first conferred by the people on L. Minutius, the præfect of the markets; whose statue was erected without the Trigeminian Gate,⁴ by means of a tax of the twelfth of an as⁵ per head: the same thing, however, had been previously done by the senate, and it would have been a more distinguished honour had it not had its origin on such frivolous occasions. The statue of Attus Navius,⁶ for example, was erected before the senate-house, the pedestal of which was consumed when the senate-house itself was burnt at the funeral of Publius Clodius.⁷ The statue of Hermodorus also, the Ephesian,⁸ the interpreter of the laws which were transcribed by the Decemvirs, was erected by the public in the Comitium.⁹

It was for a very different, and more important reason, that the statue of Horatius Cocles was erected, he having singly prevented the enemy from passing the Sublician bridge;¹⁰ a statue which remains to this day. I am not at all surprized, too, that statues of the Sibyl should have been erected near the Rostra, even though three in number; one of which was repaired by Sextus Pacuvius Taurus, ædile of the people, and the other two by M. Messala. I should have considered these and that of Attus Navius to have been the oldest, as having been placed there in the time of Tarquinius Priscus, had there not been in the Capitol the statues of the preceding kings.¹¹

(6.) Among these we have the statues of Romullus and Tatius without the tunic; as also that of Camillus, near the Rostra. The equestrian statue of Marcius Tremulus, clad in the toga, stood before the Temple of the Castors;¹² him who twice subdued the Samnites, and by the capture of Anagnia delivered the people from their tribute.¹³ Among the most ancient are those of Tullus Clœlius, Lucius Roscius, Spurius Nautius, and C. Fulcinus, near the Rostra, all of whom were assassinated by the Fidenates, when on their mission as ambassadors.¹⁴ It was the custom with the republic to confer this honour on those who had been unjustly put to death; such as P. Junius, also, and Titus Coruncanius, who were slain by Teuta, queen of the Illyrians.¹⁵ It would be wrong not to mention what is stated in the Annals, that their statues, erected in the Forum, were three feet in height; whence it would appear that such were the dimensions of these marks of honour in those times.

Nor must I forget to mention Cneius Octavius, on account of the language used by the senate.¹⁶ When King Antiochus said, that he would give him an answer at another time, Octavius drew a line round him with a stick, which he happened to have in his hand, and compelled him to give an answer before he allowed him to step beyond the circle. Octavius being slain¹⁷ while on this embassy, the senate ordered his statue to be placed in the most conspicuous¹⁸ spot; and that spot was the Rostra. A statue appears also to have been decreed to Taracia Caia, or Furetia, a Vestal Virgin, the same, too, to be placed wherever she might think fit; an additional honour, no less remarkable, it is thought, than the grant itself of a statue to a female. I will state her merits in the words of the Annals: "Because she had gratuitously presented to the public the field bordering on the Tiber.¹⁹

1 Mænius was consul with Furius Camillus, A.U.C. 416; we have an account of his victories over the Latins and other neighbouring nations in Livy, B. viii. c. 14.—B.

2 We have an account of this transaction in Livy, B. viii. c. 14. This trophy is also mentioned by Florus, B. i. c. 11. The "Suggestus" was an elevated place, formed for various purposes, the stage from which the orators addressed the people, the place from which the general addressed his soldiers, and the seat occupied by the emperor at the public games.—B.

3 Florus, B. ii. c. 2, gives an account of the arrangements and equipment of the Carthaginian fleet, the victory of Duillius, and the rostral monument erected in its commemoration.—B.

4 See B. xviii. c. 4.

5 "Unciariâ stipe;" the uncia was the twelfth part of the "as," and the word stips was regarded as equivalent to as, as being the usual pay of the soldiers.—B. See Introduction to Vol. III.

6 See B. xv. c. 20.

7 This circumstance is mentioned by Cicero in his Defence of Milo, § 90–1.—B.

8 We have some account of Hermodorus in Cicero's Tusc. Quæs. B. v. c. 36.—B.

9 See B. x. c. 2, B. xviii. c. 3, and B. xxxiii. c. 7.

10 Livy, B. ii. c. 10, and Valerius Maximus, B. iii. c. 2, give an account of this event. A, Gellius incidentally mentions the statue, and its position in the Comitium, B. iv. c. 5.—B.

11 We are informed by Dion Cassius, that there were eight statues in the Capitol, seven of which were of the kings, and the eighth of Brutus, who overthrew the kingly government; at a later period the statue of Cæsar was placed by the side of that of Brutus.—B.

12 Suetonius, speaking of this temple, remarks, that though dedicated to the brothers Castor and Pollux, it was only known as the Temple of Castor.—B.

13 We have an account of the victory of Tremulus over the Hernici, and of the statue erected in honour of him, in Livy, B. ix. c. 43.—B.

14 This event is referred to by Cicero, Philipp. ix., 5.—B.

15 Florus, B. ii. c. 5, gives an account of the murder of P. Junius and T. Coruncanius.—B.

16 In the Bamberg MS. the reading is "unum se. verbum." Gronovius is probably right in his conjecture that the word is "senatus consulti."

17 By one Leptines, at Laodicea.

18 "Oculatissimo." The place where there was "the most extended eyeshot." It is to this singular expression, probably, that Pliny alludes.

19 "Quod campum Tiberinum gratificata esset ea populo."

The Natural History. Pliny the Elder. John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S. H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A. London. Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street. 1855.

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Cross-references to this page (8):
- Harper's, Twelve Tables
- A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890), CANDE´LA
- A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890), CANDELA´BRUM
- A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities (1890), VESTA´LES
- Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), ILLY´RICUM
- Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), ROMA
- Smith's Bio, Auguri'nus
- Smith's Bio, Hermodo'rus
Cross-references in general dictionaries to this page (6):
- Lewis & Short, candēlābrum
- Lewis & Short, ē-lăbōro
- Lewis & Short, sălārĭus
- Lewis & Short, scapus
- Lewis & Short, sŭperfĭcĭes
- Lewis & Short, trĭbūnus

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Pliny the Elder, The Natural History
John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A., Ed.

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CHAP. 11.—IN HONOUR OF WHOM PUBLIC STATUES WERE FIRST ERECTED: IN HONOUR OF WHOM THEY WERE FIRST PLACED ON PILLARS: WHEN THE ROSTRA WERE FIRST ERECTED.

Pliny the Elder, The Natural History John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A., Ed.

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CHAP. 11.—IN HONOUR OF WHOM PUBLIC STATUES WERE FIRST ERECTED: IN HONOUR OF WHOM THEY WERE FIRST PLACED ON PILLARS: WHEN THE ROSTRA WERE FIRST ERECTED.

Pliny the Elder, The Natural History
John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S., H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A., Ed.