Scipio's End

by Martin Tessmer

  Laelius waves his hand. “Yes, yes, that is true. Old Tiberius was a bit crazy, even for a priest! But this time, young man, I think he just may be right.”

  ROME, 133 BCE. It’s him! Agrippa hears the familiar bass voice, ringing through the streets like a brass trumpet sounding the call to battle. He’s started already, I have to get over there!

  The retired centurion leans over his marble butcher’s counter and scoops a mixture of pork and sage into a pig’s small intestine, knotting it at the end. There! A sausage fit for a workingman, if you can still find one around here.

  Agrippa unties his butcher’s apron and hangs it on a whale bone hook. “You keep an eye on the shop,” he tells Consus, his teen-aged son. “I’ll be back in an hour. I want to hear Tiberius stick the shaft to those patricians.”

  The elderly man hurries through a side door in Rome’s new indoor marketplace. He strides down the Argiletum Passage, turning right to enter the Comitium, the Forum’s open air meeting space. His friend Postumus walks out from the rear of the crowd and joins him.

  Agrippa squeezes Postumus’ forearm stump. “I didn’t expect you here today.”

  The retired tribune laughs. “I let my students out early so they could see this. Why teach history when you can see it being made?”

  Agrippa watches Tiberius Gracchus the Younger step up to the speaking rostra, a platform twenty feet above his adoring public. The sturdily built man is flanked by his brother Gaius, a slender youth with bulging, excitable eyes.

  As is his custom, the newly elected Tribune of the Plebs faces away from the Senate chambers, evidencing his well-known disdain for aristocrats. Thousands of plebs pack the Comitium, filling every step alcove that surrounds it.

  Though Tiberius is a patrician, the veteran soldier eschews his patrician toga, wearing the plain gray tunic of a commoner. He spreads wide his muscular, battle-scarred arms.

  “The time has come,” he shouts, his voice echoing across the square. “Rome’s citizens are calling in their loan. And who owes us, my people? The Optimates, those soft-handed aristocrats who have stolen our jobs and lands!” He pauses as the crowd roars their agreement, his green eyes staring into their upturned faces.

  He slowly turns north to face the Senate chambers. “Today’s leaders buy our citizens’ farms while they are away fighting for us, adding poor men’s land to their bloated estates. Then they stock the farms with slaves, the very men and women our soldiers bring to them from the war! And what is our soldier’s reward for all this? They return home to find that they have neither lands nor jobs!”

  Gaius shoulders his way in the front of his brother. “We, the Populares,[cclxxxi] will no longer accept this!” he shouts, his gray eyes flashing. “Tiberius and I will recover these lands and restore them to the citizenry. Our people will be victims no more!”

  “No more!” Tiberius echoes. “The wild beasts that roam over Italy have their dens, each has a place of repose and refuge. But the men who fight and die for Italy enjoy nothing but the air and light; without house or home, they wander about with their wives and children!”[cclxxxii]

  He stabs his finger at the Senate chambers. “Our citizens fight and die to protect the rich and luxurious lifestyle enjoyed by others. But you, the so-called masters of the earth, have not one clod to call your own!”[cclxxxiii]

  As one, thousands of fists rise into the air, brandishing their affirmation. “Gracchus, Gracchus!” the citizens chant.

  Agrippa leans to Postumus’ ear, shouting to be heard over the din. “Was there ever such a pair of brothers? Tiberius and Gaius are the most gifted men in Rome.[cclxxxiv] They could have been patrician scions, but they have deigned to champion the common man’s interests.”

  Postumus nods. “And their grandfather was Scipio Africanus! A world conqueror who championed arts and culture. Mankind will remember him as the greatest Roman of all!”

  Agrippa shakes his head. “Men being men, they will only remember Scipio’s victories. Who will testify to his peacetime achievements?”

  “Do not despair,” Postumus tells him. “Greatness has a way of being discovered. Maybe Scipio’s tale will yet be told.”

  About the Author

  Martin Tessmer is a retired university professor of instructional design and technology. He has served as a training design consultant to the United States Navy, Coast Guard, and Air Force.

  The author of thirteen nonfiction and fiction books, his most current endeavor is the Scipio Africanus Saga. It contains Scipio Rising, The Three Generals, Scipio’s Dream, Scipio Risen, Scipio Rules, and Scipio’s End.

  A decades-long resident of Denver, Martin Tessmer lives with his fiancée Cheryl and their two Australian Cattle Dogs, Hector and Rita. His website is scipioafricanus.org.

  End Notes

  * * *

  [i]

  [ii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calisthenics

  [iii]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiberius_Sempronius_Longus_(consul_194_BC)

  [iv] Livy, 24,46,182.

  [v] Ibid.

  [vi] For an excellent example of a Roman marching schedule, see Steven Kaye's article, Observations on marching Roman legionaries: velocities, energy expenditure, column formations and distances. http://www.bandaarcgeophysics.co.uk/arch/Roman_legionary_marchingV2.html#Example

  [vii] Gabriel, Richard. Scipio Africanus: Greater than Napoleon. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books, 2008. pp. 138-140.

  [viii] Livy, 34, 46, 182.

  [ix] Ibid.

  [x] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/11/history-of-birthdays_n_4227366.html

  [xi] https://www.forbes.com/sites/drsarahbond/2016/10/01/the-history-of-the-birthday-and-the-roman-calendar/#2760a1f77bdc

  [xii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seleucus_II_Callinicus

  [xiii] Antiochus had declared himself to be such a champion. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiochus_III_the_Great

  [xiv] http://www.livius.org/articles/battle/cynoscephalae-197-bce/?

  [xv] Livy, 34, 46, 182

  [xvi] Livy, 47, 46, 183.

  [xvii] Livy, 35,5, 200.

  [xviii] Livy, 34, 46, 183.

  [xix] Ibid.

  [xx] Livy, 34, 47, 184

  [xxi] Livy, 34, 47, 184.

  [xxii] Ibid.

  [xxiii] After Hannibal's victory at Cannae, in which forty thousand Romans were killed, he refused to attack a vulnerable Rome. Maharbal, his cavalry commander, told Hannibal he knew how to win a victory, but not how to use it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maharbal

  [xxiv] Marcus Sergius had an iron hand fashioned for himself during the Second Punic War, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Sergius

  [xxv] As mentioned in Scipio Rising and The Three Generals, by Martin Tessmer. A dictator with imperium has the power to appoint his own officers to whatever rank he chooses. Scipio chose Laelius as his admiral, and later as his cavalry commander.

  [xxvi] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risus_sardonicus

  [xxvii] Plutarch, Moralia, 241.

  [xxviii] Livy, 35, 13, 207.

  [xxix] According to Livy, Antiochus worried that his son would replace him when he became old. Livy, 35, 15, 209.

  [xxx] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cato_the_Elder

  [xxxi] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythagoreanism

  [xxxii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Tables

  [xxxiii] Livy, 35,12, 206

  [xxxiv] Livy, 34, 49, 185.

  [xxxv] Ibid.

  [xxxvi] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazen_bull

  [xxxvii] This refers to Scipio's raid on the camps of Syphax and Hasdrubal Gisgo, as mentioned in Chapter IV of Scipio Risen. See also Nigel Bagnall's The Punic Wars: Rome, Carthage, and the Struggle for the Mediterranean, p. 279.

  [xxxviii] Chapter VIII of Scipio Rules. Book Five of the Scipio Africanus Saga.

  [xxxix] Present-day Tivoli.

  [xl] Livy, 34,62,190.

  [xli] Livy, 34,58,190.

  [xlii] Livy, 34, 57, 189.
<
br />   [xliii] Ibid.

  [xliv] Livy, 34, 59, 191.

  [xlv] Livy, 34, 62, 195.

  [xlvi] Livy, 34, 60, 191.

  [xlvii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cato_the_Elder

  [xlviii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cato_the_Elder

  [xlix] See " Philip's Match" in Scipio Rules.

  [l] Livy, 35, 12, 206.

  [li] Livy, 35, 12, 207

  [lii] Livy, 35, 13, 207.

  [liii] Livy, 34, 61, 192.

  [liv] Ibid

  [lv] Vermina was the son of King Syphax, Masinissa's mortal enemy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vermina

  [lvi] Livy, 34,62,195.

  [lvii] Livy, 34, 62, 194.

  [lviii] Ibid.

  [lix] Livy, 34, 62,195.

  [lx] Cato acted as Scipio's quaestor in the Carthaginian War, until Scipio sent him home.

  [lxi] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%A2teau_Bargylus

  [lxii] A YouTube version of the 3400-year old song is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBhB9gRnIHE

  [lxiii] Livy, 35,15,209. No one knows who poisoned the king's son, but the king himself was suspect.

  [lxiv] Livy, 35,15,209.

  [lxv] Livy, 35,14,208.

  [lxvi] Ibid

  [lxvii] Livy, 35,26,210.

  [lxviii] Livy, 35,18,212.

  [lxix] Livy, 35,19,213.

  [lxx] Ibid.

  [lxxi] Ibid

  [lxxii] Chapter XII, "Cato's Wars," in Scipio Rules.

  [lxxiii] Livy, 35, 11, 204.

  [lxxiv] These are variants of the actual political graffiti found in the preserved ruins of Pompeii. https://www.ancient.eu/article/467/pompeii-graffiti-signs--electoral-notices/

  [lxxv] Livy, 34, 52, 187.

  [lxxvi] In ancient Rome, it was common to call in favors and pander to the wealthy, presaging current campaign practices. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_the_Roman_Republic

  [lxxvii] Livy, 35, 23, 214.

  [lxxviii] Livy, 35, 10, 204.

  [lxxix] Livy, 35, 23, 214

  [lxxx] Livy, 35, 33, 218.

  [lxxxi] Ibid.

  [lxxxii] Livy, 35,33,218.

  [lxxxiii] Gabriel, page 218.

  [lxxxiv] Ibid.

  [lxxxv] Richard Gabriel. Scipio Africanus, Rome's Greatest General. Dulles, Virginia: Potomac Books, 2008. As Gabriel (p. 218) notes, Lucius Scipio had primarily served in staff positions up to this point, and Glabrio's appointment was likely politically motivated.

  [lxxxvi] The site of modern day Pteleos, in Thessaly.

  [lxxxvii]www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1ijuzx/why_was_the_anchor_the_symbol_of_the_seleucid/

  [lxxxviii] Livy, 35, 43,224.

  [lxxxix] Livy, 35,44,225.

  [xc] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_of_Megalopolis

  [xci] Livy, 36,8,241.

  [xcii] The Lex Oppia limited woman's jewelry and dress.

  [xciii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmetics_in_Ancient_Rome

  [xciv] Livy, 36,6,241.

  [xcv] Livy, 36,7,243.

  [xcvi] Gabriel, p. 218.

  [xcvii] Livy, 36, 9, 245.

  [xcviii] After Philip lost the Second Macedonian war, Philip surrendered his son to Rome as part of his peace agreement.

  [xcix] Livy, 36, 8, 244.

  [c] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Thermopylae_(191_BC)

  [ci] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erotes#Eros

  [cii] Livy, 36, 10, 246.

  [ciii] Ibid.

  [civ] Livy, 33, 47, 138.

  [cv] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greece_and_wine

  [cvi] In Greek weddings, the groom gave presents to the bride's family, to provide for her in the event of his death. http://factsanddetails.com/world/cat56/sub367/item2024.html

  [cvii] Livy, 36, 11, 247.

  [cviii] Ibid.

  [cix] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Thermopylae

  [cx] http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/gazetteer/periods/roman/topics/daily_life/children/bulla.html

  [cxi] Livy, 36, 11, 247.

  [cxii] Ibid.

  [cxiii] Shuckburgh, Evelyn. A History of Rome to the Battle of Actium. The Pergamum Collection, 2013.

  [cxiv] Livy, 36, 16, 251.

  [cxv] Ibid.

  [cxvi] Shuckburgh, Evelyn. A History of Rome to the Battle of Actium. The Pergamum Collection, 2013.

  [cxvii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Baebius_Tamphilus

  [cxviii] http://www.home-remedies-for-you.com/facts/greek-medicines.html

  [cxix] The Battle of the Aous Gorge, as described in the "Philip's Match" chapter of Scipio Rules.

  [cxx] Ibid.

  [cxxi] Present day Mount Kallidromo.

  [cxxii] Livy, 36, 16, 253.

  [cxxiii] https://explorable.com/aristotles-psychology

  [cxxiv] Livy, 36, 18. 255.

  [cxxv] Livy notes that Flaccus failed to reach his strategic points, although it is not clear why. Livy, 36, 18, 256.

  [cxxvi] Ibid.

  [cxxvii] Ibid.

  [cxxviii] Ibid.

  [cxxix] Ibid.

  [cxxx] Livy, 36, 21, 258.

  [cxxxi] Ibid.

  [cxxxii] Ibid.

  [cxxxiii] Ibid.

  [cxxxiv] Livy, 36, 26, 262.

  [cxxxv] Ibid.

  [cxxxvi] Ibid.

  [cxxxvii] Livy, 36, 19, 257.

  [cxxxviii] Recent evidence indicates that some Greeks used their houses as both tavern and brothel. http://www.thehistoryblog.com/archives/1473

  [cxxxix] Modern-day Nafpaktos, in the Aetolia-Arcania province of western Greece.

  [cxl] Livy, 36, 35, 270.

  [cxli] Ibid.

  [cxlii] Livy, 36, 34, 269.

  [cxliii] Ibid.

  [cxliv] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thracian_warfare

  [cxlv]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_roads#Construction_and_engineering

  [cxlvi] http://www.vroma.org/~bmcmanus/arena.html

  [cxlvii] Livy, 36, 41, 275.

  [cxlviii] Ibid.

  [cxlix] Livy, 37, 34.312-13. Scipio's son was captured by pirates, who gave him to Antiochus. The specific circumstances of that capture remain unclear.

  [cl] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaius_Laelius

  [cli] Gabriel, p. 219.

  [clii] Livy, 37, 2, 280.

  [cliii] Livy, 37, 3, 281.

  [cliv] Ibid.

  [clv] Ibid.

  [clvi] Ibid. Flaccus is not named per se by Livy. Livy notes that the Senate as a whole was "intrigued" by this notion. I have used Flaccus to voice the Senate's interests pitting Africanus against Hannibal.

  [clvii] Gabriel, p. 219.

  [clviii] Ibid.

  [clix] Ibid.

  [clx] Phyrgia is now part of west-central Turkey.

  [clxi] Livy, 36, 45, 278.

  [clxii] Livy, 37, 6, 282.

  [clxiii] Ibid.

  [clxiv] https://www.greeka.com/peloponnese/mycenae/mycenae-excursions/mycenae-cyclopean-walls.htm

  [clxv] Livy, 37, 1, 280.

  [clxvi] Livy, 37, 6, 283.

  [clxvii] Ibid.

  [clxviii] Livy, 37, 7, 284.

  [clxix] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamilcar_Barca

  [clxx] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Thessaly

  [clxxi]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcus_Fulvius_Nobilior_(consul_189_BC)

  [clxxii] The known Tabularium (Hall of Records) was not built until 78 BCE, but it is reasonable to suppose that the assiduous Romans had a version of it before then.

  [clxxiii] Hannibal directed part of the Syrian fleet for at least one engagement (the Battle of Side), although he was not a skilled naval commander. Livy, 37, 23, 300.

  [clxxiv] Appian, Chapter V. Delphi Complete Works of Appian. Hastings, East Sussex: United Kingdom.

  [clxxv] Livy, 33, 30, 124.

  [clxxvi] Livy, 37, 7, 284.