A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome

by Emma Southon

And thus, in murder, Rome was founded.

Whenever there was a transformative moment in Roman history, there was a murder.

It’s all deeply uninteresting but, by 133 BCE, the land ownership thing was causing not just tension but very real, pragmatic problems for the growing Roman Empire and the city of Rome.

In fact, many members of the Senate, the most grand and august body of Roman government, were trying to persuade the consul Publius Mucius Scaevola to use his imperium (supreme power) to kill Tiberius and officially execute him, without trial, for trying to take their stolen land.

Today’s lesson: don’t fuck with the sacred chickens.

This is where things started to go really bananas because once Clodius effectively had a personal paramilitary force ready to beat the life out of his opponents, everyone wanted one. Organised violent gangs became the must-have accessory of 58 BCE.

In Cassius Dio’s words, murder had become an everyday occurrence and by this he means open murders in the street. It was impossible to hold elections without them turning into bloodbaths so no one was holding elections.