The house of the Caecilii Metelli was one of ancient Rome's most prestigious yet overshadowed plebeian families. Replete with dynamic orators, successful generals, and charismatic women, the Caecilii Metelli lived during the period of Rome's great expansion. Having participated in its transformation into the principal power in the Mediterranean, they survived until the fall of the Republic. By contemporary Roman standards they were a powerful and respected family. Seventeen consulships, nine triumphs, nine members of priestly colleges—including three who became pontifex maximus—and five censors are evidence of their high position in Rome. The trappings of magisterial office and military decorations notwithstanding, the Caecilii Metelli were nevertheless often overshadowed on the stage of Roman politics by stronger personalities and did not receive substantial attention in the ancient sources. This study seeks to understand the political connections and activities of the Caecilii Metelli in Republican Rome. While attention must be given to the appropriate social and historical contexts, the focus must always remain on the individuals and their interactions with each other. Each generation of the Metellan family was involved in varying degrees in the political processes of the time. A deeper understanding of the role of the Metelli in these processes shows that the Metelli can be understood as a family of outsiders who successfully attempted to make their presence felt in Roman politics, but were ultimately doomed to fail in the collapse of the Republic. They can serve as a paradigm for understanding the struggles of aristocratic families to maintain power and influence throughout the Roman Republic.

No description available.

This dissertation discusses the interaction of mythology and power in the Roman Republic and early Principate. It identifies a mythological paradigm that has not been recognized in previous scholarship ("pairs") and traces the use of this paradigm by Roman writers of the second and first centuries BCE. It argues that pair stories problematize the relationship between Roman elite ambition and the Republic's political ideals of equality and cooperation among magistrates. It further argues that these stories evolve over the course of the two centuries under discussion, from tales that are relatively optimistic about the potential of reconciling the tension between individual ambition and elite collegiality to tales that are extremely pessimistic. This evolution is tied to the political turmoil visible at Rome in this period. Several stories are identified as pair stories. The first and most well-attested is the foundation myth of the city, which is discussed at length in chapters two through six. In chapters seven and eight, the pattern is established through the analysis of Amulius and Numitor, Brutus and Collatinus, and the men known as affectatores regni. The historical development of these tales is discussed as thoroughly as possible. The argument throughout is that narratives from second-century writers depict pairs as representatives of productive rivalry. This rivalry encourages the elite to achieve beneficial results for the city, and can be set aside for the public good. Such depictions become less prevalent by the later first century, when the pair narratives instead tend to illustrate destructive competition. This destruction must be understood in the context of its times; the third quarter of the first century BCE saw the establishment of Rome's first monarchy in centuries. It is under the Principate that the tales again become clearly different: competition disappears. Soon afterwards, so does the use of these stories as a tool to think with.

This dissertation discusses the interaction of mythology and power in the Roman Republic and early Principate. It identifies a mythological paradigm that has not been recognized in previous scholarship ("pairs") and traces the use of this paradigm by Roman writers of the second and first centuries BCE. It argues that pair stories problematize the relationship between Roman elite ambition and the Republic's political ideals of equality and cooperation among magistrates. It further argues that these stories evolve over the course of the two centuries under discussion, from tales that are relatively optimistic about the potential of reconciling the tension between individual ambition and elite collegiality to tales that are extremely pessimistic. This evolution is tied to the political turmoil visible at Rome in this period. Several stories are identified as pair stories. The first and most well-attested is the foundation myth of the city, which is discussed at length in chapters two through six. In chapters seven and eight, the pattern is established through the analysis of Amulius and Numitor, Brutus and Collatinus, and the men known as affectatores regni. The historical development of these tales is discussed as thoroughly as possible. The argument throughout is that narratives from second-century writers depict pairs as representatives of productive rivalry. This rivalry encourages the elite to achieve beneficial results for the city, and can be set aside for the public good. Such depictions become less prevalent by the later first century, when the pair narratives instead tend to illustrate destructive competition. This destruction must be understood in the context of its times; the third quarter of the first century BCE saw the establishment of Rome's first monarchy in centuries. It is under the Principate that the tales again become clearly different: competition disappears. Soon afterwards, so does the use of these stories as a tool to think with.

Nous nous intéressons à l’évolution des rapports économiques entre la Rome républicaine et l’Égypte lagide et notamment à la commercialisation du blé égyptien au bénéfice de Rome. L’étude diachronique des échanges économiques entre les deux pays nous mène à nous confronter avec l’évolution de leurs rapports politiques réciproques. Nous poursuivons notre enquête pour le premier siècle d’Empire Romain. Nous nous attarderons sur l’étude de la gestion du blé égyptien au sein du système annonaire, sans pour autant négliger les acteurs « privés » du commerce du blé sous les Empereurs julio-claudiens. Nous articulerons notre recherche autour des trois axes principaux: les institutions, les acteurs et les structures du commerce du blé. / We will study the history of economic relationships between Roman Republic and Ptolemaic Egypt, focusing on Egyptian grain trade in western Mediterranean basin, especially in Rome and Puteoli. Our diachronic approach about economical exchanges between these two countries will retain attention on their reciprocal political relationships. We will continue our research during the first century of Roman Empire. We will interest to Egyptian grain administration by the annona and the imperial supply structures. We will bring interest also on private grain trade under Julio-Claudians emperors. We will develop our research on three fundamental items: the institutions, the actors and the structures of the grain trade.