Political Mythology in the Work of Valerius Maximus

The article examines the ideas about the republic in the work of the Roman author Valerius Maximus, who lived at the beginning of the principate. The most revealing elements of the republican structure are taken for analysis: the People's Assembly, the Senate, the Tribunes of the Plebs, freedom, the enemies of freedom, as well as the image of Cato the Younger as the embodiment of the moral spirit of the republic. Valerius's narrative is dominated by outstanding personalities and the Senate, which fully corresponds to the current political situation. Such attention to the individual reflects a certain departure from polis collectivism. "Freedom" is perceived by Valerius undoubtedly as the antipode of the sole power, although the special position of the princeps in the new political system was also realized by our author. However, the contradiction here is only external, since already under Augustus an understanding of freedom as “security” (securitas) was formed, which linked freedom with authoritarian power. The views of Valerius Maximus basically correspond to the optimate’ worldview, i.e. the res publica of the past for him is primarily associated with the leadership of the Senate. But this optimate’ view reflects the opposition of the “best citizens” not only to the unreasonable people, but also to the claims of an outstanding personality to sole rule. In this respect, this “program” has come into clear contradiction with the new political situation, changing and adapting as the monarchical principle strengthens. The transformation of optimate’ views is shown by the example of an ardent supporter of the republic Cato the Younger, whose image in Valerius Maximus’ work reflects the transformation of past events into textbook examples outside the historical context.

Keywords

Valerius Maximus, republic, principate, senate, plebeian tribunes, freedom, Cato the Younger

Received

06.11.2022

Publication date

15.03.2023

Number of characters

36814

Cite

GOST	Smorchkov A. Political Mythology in the Work of Valerius Maximus // ISTORIYA – 2023. – V. 14. – Issue 2 (124) [Electronic resource]. URL: https://history.jes.su/S207987840024673-9-1 (circulation date: 18.05.2024). DOI: 10.18254/S207987840024673-9
MLA	Smorchkov, Andrey "Political Mythology in the Work of Valerius Maximus." ISTORIYA 14.2 (124) (2023) DOI: 10.18254/S207987840024673-9
APA	Smorchkov A. (2023). Political Mythology in the Work of Valerius Maximus. ISTORIYA 14(2 (124)) DOI: 10.18254/S207987840024673-9

100 rub.

When subscribing to an article or issue, the user can download PDF, evaluate the publication or contact the author. Need to register.

Number of purchasers: 1, views: 109

Readers community rating: votes 0

1. Valerij Maksim. Devyat' knig dostopamyatnykh deyanij i vyskazyvanij / per. s lat., komm., vstup. st. i pril. A. M. Smorchkova. M., 2020.

2. Lyubimova O. V. Nasledie populyarov v politike Avgusta (po dannym Res gestae divi Augustae) // Istoricheskij vestnik. T. 19. M., 2017. S. 226—291.

3. Mezheritskij Yu. Ya. «Vosstanovlennaya respublika» imperatora Avgusta. M., 2016.

4. Pavlov A. A. Plebejskij tribunat Rimskoj Respubliki v antichnykh politicheskikh teoriyakh, sochineniyakh antikvarov i yuristov. M.; SPb., 2022.

5. Smorchkov A. M. Valerij Maksim: rimlyanin na grani vekov // Vestnik drevnej istorii. T. 79. 2019. № 1. S. 77—89.

6. Smorchkov A. M. Proshloe i nastoyaschee v sisteme tsennostej Valeriya Maksima // Drevnie tsivilizatsii: sotsium i chelovek. Doklady konferentsii Rossijskoj assotsiatsii antikovedov s mezhdunarodnym uchastiem. Yaroslavl', 2018. S. 196—204.

7. Tokarev A. N. Stanovlenie ofitsial'noj ideologii printsipata imperatora Avgusta. Khar'kov, 2011.

8. Shtaerman E. M. Ot grazhdanina k poddannomu // Kul'tura drevnego Rima. T. 1. M., 1985. S. 22—105.

9. Bloomer W. M. Valerius Maximus and the Rhetoric of the New Nobility. Chapel Hill; University of North Carolina Press, 1992.

10. Briscoe J. Valerius Maximus, Facta et dicta memorabilia. Book 8. Text, Introduction, and Commentary. B.; Boston, 2019.

11. Broughton T. R. S., Patterson M. L. The Magistrates of the Roman Republic. Vol. I. Atlanta, 1986 (repr. 1951).

12. Carney T. F. The Picture of Marius in Valerius Maximus // RhM. 1962. Vol. 105. P. 289—337.

13. Galinsky K. Augustan Culture: an Interpretive Introduction. Princeton, 1996.

14. Galinsky K. Vergil's Uses of “Libertas”: Texts and Contexts // Vergilius. 2006. Vol. 52. P. 3—19.

15. Gowing A. M. Empire and Memory. The Representation of the Roman Republic in Imperial Culture. Cambridge, 2005.

16. Lobur J. The power of examples and examples of power // Paideia. Vol. LXVIII. 2013. P. 293—325.

17. Lucarelli U. Exemplarische Vergangenheit: Valerius Maximus und die Konstruktion des sozialen Raumes in der frühen Kaiserzeit. Göttingen, 2007.

18. Maslakov G. Valerius Maximus and Roman Historiography: A Study of the Exempla Tradition // ANRW. II, 32, 1. B.; N. Y., 1984. P. 437—496.

19. Morstein-Marx R. Mass Oratory and Political Power in the Late Roman Republic. Cambridge, 2004.

20. Roller M. B. Models from the Past in Roman Culture. A World of Exempla. Cambridge, 2018.

21. Rüpke J. Knowledge of Religion in Valerius Maximus’ Exempla: Roman Historiography and Tiberian Memory Culture // Memory in Ancient Rome and Early Christianity / ed. by K. Galinsky. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016. P. 89—111.

22. Wilkinson S. Republicanism during the Early Roman Empire. L.; N. Y., 2012.

23. Wirszubski C. Libertas as a Political Idea at Rome during the Late Republic and Early Principate. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968.

24. Xinyue B. (Un)Seeing Augustus: Libertas, Divinisation, and the Iuvenis of Virgil’s First Eclogue // JRS. 2021. Vol. 111. P. 31—48.