Reading the Roman Revolution 21: Dux

Chapter 21: Dux has long been one of my favorite chapters of Ronald Syme’s classic monograph, The Roman Revolution (1939). In some ways, it could be the book’s conclusion (or in today’s hyperactive media market, the end of the first volume!).

“Dux” leaves Octavian as the sole power in the Roman world and Antonius and Cleopatra defeated and dead. In the hands of a less adept author, Octavian could emerge as a hero (or at very least an anti-hero), but Syme does better. Despite the defeat of his rivals, Octavian does not come across as a victorious leader. For Syme, the victory at Actium was a “nothing burger.” The conquest of Egypt, the last of the great Macedonian successor kingdoms, only set the stage for grift. Cleopatra’s dramatic death was a “convenience” to Octavian (despite the jubilation which ).

“It was not the glorious battle of Actium and the defeat of the greatest soldier of the day that called forth the shrillest jubilation from the victors, but the death of the foreign queen, the ‘fatale monstrurn’. ‘Nunc est bibendum’ sang the poet Horace, safe and subsidized in Rome.”

For Syme, even Octavian’s Caesarian clementia after Actium remained suspect.

Tyrants hate when people downplay their accomplishments. “Dux” is laced with skepticism and faint praise when the sources proved inadequate to support criticism. Syme spoke easily for the popular sentiment of the time. Romans, he argued, no longer wanted freedom. They wanted peace or, at very least, a return to normalcy. Octavian’s victories, no matter how unremarkable (except in the hands of his relentless publicists) offered that.

At the same time, Syme understood that “naked despotism is vulnerable.” Octavian could, as consul, stave off challenges from within Rome and the loyalty of Rome’s urban population and the legions ensured that no rivals from within the Roman system would get ideas. Further afield, however, in the relative safety of the provinces, members of the oligarchy did indulge their penchant for grift. Octavian did what was necessary to rein them in. When they performed nobly and were deserving of honors, Octavian ensured that they would not rival his own.

oOo

The short essay is part of my Reading The Roman Revolution at 80 project. It’s so awesome that I have two hashtags: #ReadingRomanRevolution and #ReadingRonaldat80. I explain the project here. You can read the rest of the entries here.