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

by Emma Southon

The method of the poor man’s murder isn’t noted but Valerius Maximus, who records the case in his delightful book of memorable words and deeds, states that there were gruesome wounds and a lot of blood, which suggests that it wasn’t a quiet pillow smothering. Cloelius Senior’s body was found in the morning when someone opened the bedroom door to find a blood-soaked scene on one side of the room and the two brothers peacefully sleeping in beds on the other. Aside from the fascinating insight into sleeping arrangements in the Roman world, where two well-heeled adult men apparently shared a bedroom with their dad, the scene caused a bit of a scandal. No one had been into the room in which the three men slept and no other suspects could be found. It perhaps seems like a slam-dunk case for the prosecutor, which is why we should never assume anything about the Roman justice system. The judge decided to fully acquit the brothers on the basis that ‘it was not naturally possible’ for the men to have beaten their father to death and then gone to sleep afterwards.