An entertaining and informative look at the unique culture of crime, punishment, and killing in Ancient Rome In Ancient Rome, all the best stories have one thing in common—murder. Romulus killed Remus to found the city, Caesar was assassinated to save the Republic. Caligula was butchered in the theater, Claudius was poisoned at dinner, and Galba was beheaded in the Forum. In one 50-year period, 26 emperors were murdered. But what did killing mean in a city where gladiators fought to the death to sate a crowd? In A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Emma Southon examines a trove of real-life homicides from Roman history to explore Roman culture, including how perpetrator, victim, and the act itself were regarded by ordinary people. Inside Ancient Rome's darkly fascinating history, we see how the Romans viewed life, death, and what it means to be human.
Dr. Emma Southon holds a PhD in ancient history from the University of Birmingham. The author of Marriage, Sex and Death: the Family and the Fall of Rome and Agrippina, she cohosts a history podcast with writer Janina Matthewson called History is Sexy, and works full time as a bookseller at Waterstones Belfast.
Table of Contents
Prologue xi
Introduction 1
What is murder? 3
1 Murder on the Senate Floor 7
Tiberius Gracchus 8
Publhis Clodius Pulcher 23
Julius Caesar 33
2 Murder in Roman Law 55
The Twelve Tables 57
The Republic 60
The Empire 67
3 Murder in the Family 71
Roscius 71
Pontius Aufidianus 84
The Woman of Smyrna 99
4 Murder in Marriage 111
Apronia 111
Regilla 120
Gaius Calpurnius Piso 130
5 Murder in the Slave State 134
Lucius Pedanius Secundus 138
Panurgus 148
Spiculus 157
6 Murder by Magic 177
Locusta 179
Martina 188
Iucundus 203
7 Murder in the Imperial House 211
Livia 211
Aulus Cremutius Cordus 225
Regulus 238
8 Murdering an Emperor 250
Gaius Caligula 250
Aulus Vitellius 260
Domitian 264
9 Judicial Murder 270
Pasiphae 270
Cornelia, Vestalis Maxima 289
Two Greeks and Two Gauls 292
A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: The End 297