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A Latin Epitaph of a Roman Legionary from Corinth

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 September 2012

M. Šašel Kos
M. Šašel Kos
Affiliation:
Ljubljana
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Extract

A Roman funerary monument was found in 1970 in the area of ancient Corinth, in a part of the village called Kranion (κράνιον), where no other finds have yet been made. Eventually it was acquired by the Corinth Museum, where it now stands in the portico of the courtyard.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Roman Studies , Volume 68 , November 1978 , pp. 22 - 25
Copyright
Copyright ©M. ŠaŠel Kos 1978. Exclusive Licence to Publish: The Society for the Promotion of Roman Studies

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References

1 cf. among others Mócsy, A., Die Bevölkerung von Pannonien bis zu den Markomannenkriegen (1959), 147 f.Google Scholar, especially 160; idem, ‘Pannonici nelle flotte di Ravenna e di Miseno’, Atti del convegno intemaz. studi antichità di Classe, Ravenna 1968, 308 f.

2 Kajanto, I., The Latin Cognomina (Soc. Sc. Fenn., Comm. hum. Litt., 36. 2) (1965), 66Google Scholar.

3 Dean, L. R., A Study of the Cognomina of Soldiers, in the Roman Legions, (1916), 54Google Scholar, but some new evidence has surely appeared since.

4 Kajanto, op. cit., (n. 2), 18.

5 Kubitscheck, W., Imperium Romanum tributim discriptum, (1889)Google Scholar, indexes and 108. Camulodunum in Britain is excluded on account of its different tribus: ibid., 222: Pol(lia); but compare also CIL. III. 11233 (not listed by Kubitscheck) which probably gives its pseudotribe Cla(udia).

6 A. Betz, ‘Die römischen Militärinschriften in Oesterreich’, JÖAI, 29 (1935), Bb. 305, n. 189 = RLÖ 18 (1937), 40. no. 6 = Vorbeck, E., Militärinschriften aus Carnuntum, (1954)Google Scholar, no. 84 = G. Forni, ‘Bresciani nelle legioni romane’, Atti del convegno intern, per il XIX centenario delta dedicazione del ‘capitolium’ e per il, 150° anniversario delta sua scoperta, Brescia, 1973, 232, n. 24—from now on Forni, ‘Bresciani’.

7 He dates it according to his assumption that Camunni became an independent community only in the Flavian period.

8 Dio 54. 20. 1.

9 Pliny, NH 3. 133–4.

10 CIL v. 4954: ‘Druso [Caesari] / Ti.Aug.f. [divi Aug.n.] / divi Iuli pr[on. pontif.] / sodali Augu[st. cos.II. tr.] / pot.II., XV vir [sacr. fac] / civit. C[amunn …]’, from Valcamonica; U. Laffi, Adtributio e contributio. Problemi del sistema politico-amministrativo dello stato romano, (1966), 21–6. Besides Brixia, Bergomum has also been suggested as the centre of their adtributio, but with less probability, ibid. 23. It is not within the scope of this paper, however, to discuss the problem of the relationship between civitas, and adtributio, so closely connected with the organization of the Alpine tribes as a whole.

11 Laffi, op. cit. (n. 10), 25–6; Forni, ‘Bresciani’, 235. Laffi cites the relevant previous literature: the date of the death of Pliny the Elder who mentions them as having ius Latii, is thought to be decisive in dating this administrative change—and also the fact that Quirina is a Flavian tribe. One must, however, note that it is Claudian as well, cf. Kubitscheck, op. cit., (n. 5), 109. Claudius is also known to have dealt with analogous problems concerning some other tribes in the Alps. For the most recent summary of these problems see P. Tozzi, Storia padana antica. Il territorio fra Adda e Mincio, (1972), 108–9.

12 CIL, v. 4957 = ILS, 6713, and others listed in Laffi, op. cit. (n. 10), 25, n. 26. Th e text reads: ‘C. Pladicius C.f. / Quir. Casdianus / 11 vir i. d. / Camunnis, / aedil., quaest., / praef. i. d. Brix., / [i]udex ex V. dec, equo p., / …… a re p. Camunnor., / cui in hoc / pecuniam legavit, / t.p.i.’ Cf. Demougin, S., Ancient Society 6 (1975), 165, n. 30Google Scholar.

13 a Forni, ‘Bresciani’, 236 f. For an attempt to distinguish between cives Optimo iure and iure Latii, see Alföldy, G., ‘Notes sur la relation entre le droit de cité’ et la nomenclature dans l'Empire romain’, Latomus 25 (1966), 37Google Scholar.

14 CIL v. 4377; XIII. 7578; 5241; v. 9164, corresponding to the numbers given by Forni, ‘Bresciani’, no. 9, 10, 13 and 18.

15 Forni, ‘Bresciani’, n. 28 (CIL v. 4894) and 32 (AE 1904, 187 = P. P. Chistè, Epigrafi trentine dell'età romana (1971), no. 148).

16 cf. RIB, 492: an optio, from Chester is holding the same writing-tablet case; but an even better parallel is provided by the relief of a soldier found in London, G. Home, Roman London, (1948), 198 (for this reference I am indebted to H. R. Robinson, through the kind intervention of Dr. B. Dobson).

17 For the omission of the grade on an inscription where it is otherwise quite clear, see Breeze, D. J., ‘A Note on the use of the Titles Optio, and Magister, below the Centurionate during the Principate’, Britannia, 7 (1976), 130CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

18 This percentage may very possibly be much higher, as many inscriptions are not accompanied by the relief, or else the latter exists but is not published, just mentioned.

19 H. Ubl in his unpublished Vienna doctoral thesis, p. 429 f., who kindly gave me the reference.

20 CIL, III. 7287 ( = 555) = IG II/III211492: ‘Q. Calpurnio Eutycho/Philetus p(u)bl(ici) XX lib. vi(li)cus fecit / Κ. Καλπουρνί(ῳ) Εὐτύχ(ῳ) Φίλητος/εἰκοστῆς ἐλευθερίας (ο)ἰκονόμος/ἐποίησεν/γνη(σί)ῳ στρατι(ώ)τῃ.

21 Kajanto, op. cit., (n. 2), 301; CIL, III. 4988, 5469; and there is an instance where it occurs as nomen gentile, in CIL, VI. 32520 a, 1. 61: ‘Senecius Apronianus’.

22 CIL, VI. 2815: ‘Lovi O.M. / C.Magius C.f. / Pub.Senecio / (centurio) leg. VIII Aug. /v.l.s.’ The date of the inscription might well be the same.

23 Kajanto, loc. cit., (n. 2).

24 CIL, VI. 26197 = ILS, 7854: ‘Libertor. / et famil. / Seneci. Surae / in fr. p. xxxv / in ag. p. xxxv’. Such is Dessau's explanation.

25 In indexes to ILS, vol. III. p. 835.

26 See Pl. I.3. In Corinth itself similar letters do not occur elsewhere.

27 Scharf, J., Studien zur Bevölkerungsgeschichte der, Rheinlande, (Neue deutsche Forschungen, Abt. Alte Gesch., 185) (1938), 17Google Scholar.

28 G. Forni, Il reclutamento delle legioni da Augusta a Diocleziano, (1953), 65. f.: from the Flavian emperors onwards the percentage of Italians to provincials is 1 to 4, or 5. Italian recruits were mostly from northern Italy.

29 E. Ritterling, ‘Legio’ in RE, XII. 2 (1925), 1663.

30 All the evidence about the legion is assembled by Ritterling, op. cit., 1645 f.

31 S. Haritonidis, Arch. Ephem., (1952), 205 = AE 1957, 22. His Corinthian tribe supports this assumption.

32 West, Corinth, VIII. 11. 10 ( = AE, 1923, 9). For a commentary cf. R. K. Sherk, ‘Roman imperial troops in Macedonia and Achaia’, AJPh, 78 (1957), 62.

33 Prof. M. Speidel suggests that in the non-military provinces an optio praetorii might have been at the head of the proconsular officium, instead of a centurion; alternatively, Dr. D. J. Breeze suggests that Valens might have been an optio ad spent ordinis, or just-promoted centurion. If so, he was perhaps entitled to carry a vitis, otherwise usually reserved for centurions. One should not forget, however, that the upper end of the stick differs slightly from the usual form of the vitis, and agrees in shape with the vitis-like, stick often found on Achaean and Macedonian military tombstones, as was stated above. This is the main reason why both possibilities remain very uncertain.

For the discussion of the whole problem I would like to record my thanks to both Professor Speidel and Dr. Breeze, and also to Dr. H. Ubl.

34 Ubl, op. cit., (n. 19), 434.

35 RIB, 492; see n. 16.

36 cf. for example Gáspár, D., ‘Spätrömische Kästchenbeschläge in Pannonien’, Acta Univ. de Attila József nominatae, Acta antiqua et archaeologica, xv. 1 (1971), 12Google Scholar. I owe the reference to Dr. Ubl.

37 If his ancestors had gained the citizenship at any earlier date per aedilitatis gradum, (cf. Ins. It., x. 4, 31) at Brixia, his tribus, should have been Fabia.