Dio's Rome, Volume 3

[-39-] This war, then, had been deferred: that of Labienus and the Parthians came to an end in the following way. Antony himself returned from Italy to Greece and delayed there a very long time, satisfying his desires and harming the cities, to the end that they should be delivered to Sextus in the weakest possible condition. He lived during this time in many ways contrary to the customs of his country. He called himself the younger Dionysus and insisted on being called so by others. When the Athenians in view of this and his other behavior betrothed Athena to him, he declared he accepted the marriage and he exacted from them a dowry of one hundred myriads. While he was occupied in this way he sent Publius Ventidius before him into Asia. The latter came upon Labienus before his presence was announced and terrified him by the suddenness of his approach and by his legions; for the Parthian leader was separated from the members of his tribe and had only soldiers from the neighborhood. Ventidius found that he would not even risk a conflict and so pushed him back and pursued him into Syria, taking the lightest part of his fighting force with him on the expedition. He overtook him near the Taurus range and allowed him to proceed no farther, and they encamped there quietly for several days. Labienus awaited the Parthians and Ventidius the heavy-armed soldiers. [-40-] Both came at once during the same days and Ventidius through fear of the barbarian cavalry remained on the high ground, where he was encamped. The Parthians, because of their numbers and because they had conquered once before, despised their opponents and rode up to the hill at dawn, before joining Labienus; as no one came out to meet them, they attacked it, charging straight up the incline. When they were in that position the Romans rushed out and easily routed them, as it was down-hill. Many of the assailants were killed in conflict, but still more in turning back were confused with one another; for some had already been routed and others were coming up. The survivors took refuge not with Labienus but in Cilicia. Ventidius pursued them as far as the camp, and there, seeing Labienus, stopped. The latter marshaled his forces as if to offer him battle, but perceiving that his soldiers were dejected by reason of the flight of the barbarians he did not then venture any opposition and when night came he attempted to escape in some direction. Ventidius learned beforehand from deserters of the contemplated move and by posting ambushes killed many in the retreat and took possession of the rest, who were abandoned by Labienus. The latter by changing his dress reached safety and for some time escaped detection in Cilicia. Later he was captured by Demetrius, a freedman of the former Caesar, who had at this time been assigned to Cyprus by Antony. He learned that Labienus was in hiding and made a search for him, which resulted in the fugitive's arrest.

[-41-] After this Ventidius recovered Cilicia and attended himself to the administration of this district, but sent ahead Pompaedius Silo with cavalry to Amanus. This is a mountain on the border between Cilicia and Syria, and contains a pass so narrow that a wall and gates were once built across it and the place received its name from that fact. Silo, however, found himself unable to occupy it and ran in danger of being annihilated by Phranapates, lieutenant of Pacorus, who was guarding the passage. And that would have been his fate, had not Ventidius by chance come upon him when he was fighting and defended him. He attacked the barbarians, who were not looking for his arrival and were likewise fewer in number, and slew Phranapates and many others. In this way he gained Syria deserted by the Parthians,—all except the district of the Aradii,—and subsequently without effort occupied Palestine, by scaring away from it King Antigonus. Besides accomplishing this he exacted large sums of money from the rest individually, and large sums also from Antigonus and Antiochus and Malchus the Nabathaean, because they had given help to Pacorus. Ventidius himself received no reward for these achievements from the senate, since he was acting not with full powers, but as a lieutenant: Antony, however, obtained praise and thanksgivings. As for the Aradii, they were afraid that they might have to pay the penalty for what they had ventured against Antony, and would not come to terms though they were besieged by him for a time; later they were with difficulty captured by others.

[-40-] About this same time an uprising took place in Parthian Illyricum, but was put down by Pollio after some conflicts. There was another on the part of the Ceretani in Spain, and they were subjugated by Calvinus after he had had some little preliminary successes and also a preliminary setback; this last was occasioned by his lieutenant, who was ambuscaded by the barbarians and deserted by his soldiers. Their leader undertook no operation against the enemy until he had punished them. Calling them together as if for some other purpose he had the rest of the army surround them; and out of two companies of a hundred he chose out every tenth man for punishment and chastised the centurion who was serving in the so-called primus pilus as well as many others. After doing this and gaining, like Marcus Crassus, a renown for his disciplining the army, he set out against his opponents and with no great difficulty vanquished them. He obtained a triumph in spite of the fact that Spain was assigned to Caesar; for the rulers could at will grant the honors to those who served as their lieutenants. The money customarily given by the cities for the purpose Calvinus took only from the Spanish towns, and of it he spent a part on the festival but the greater portion on the palace. It had been burned down and he built it up, adorning it splendidly at the dedication with various objects and with images, in particular, which he asked from Caesar, implying that he would send them back. Though asked for them later, he did not return them, excusing himself by a witticism. Pretending that he had not enough assistants, he said: "Send some men and take them." Caesar shrank from seizure of sacred things and hence allowed them to remain as votive offerings.

[B.C. 38 (a. u. 716)]

[-43-] This is what happened at that time. Now in the consulship of Appius Claudius and Gaius Norbanus, who were the first to have two quaestors apiece as associates, the populace revolted against the tax gatherers, who oppressed them severely, and came to blows with the men themselves, their assistants, and the soldiers that helped them to exact the money; and sixty-seven praetors one after another were appointed and held office. One who was chosen to be quaestor while still reckoned as a child then on the next day obtained the standing of a iuvenis: and another person who had been enrolled in the senate desired to fight in the arena. He was prevented, however, from doing this, and an act was passed prohibiting any senator from taking part in gladiatorial combats, any slave from serving as lictor, and any burning of dead bodies from being carried on within fifteen stadia of the city.

Many things of a portentous nature had come to pass even before that time (such as olive oil spouting beside the Tiber), and many, also, precisely then. The tent of Romulus was burned as a result of some ritual which the pontifices were performing in it; a statue of Virtus, standing before some of the gates, fell upon its face; and certain persons rendered inspired by the Mother of the Gods declared that the goddess was angry with them. On this point the Sibylline books were consulted. They made the same statements and prescribed that the statue be taken down to the sea and purified with water from it. In obedience to the order the goddess went very far indeed out into the surges, where she remained an extremely long time and returned only quite late,—her action causing the Romans no little fear, so that they did not recover courage until four palm trees grew up round about her temple and in the Forum.

[-44-] Besides these occurrences at the time Caesar married Livia. She was the daughter of Livius Drusus, who had been among those proscribed by the tablet and had committed suicide after the defeat in Macedonia, and the wife of Nero, whom she had accompanied in his flight, as has been related. She was also in the sixth month with child from him. When Caesar accordingly hesitated and enquired of the pontifices whether it was permissible to wed her while pregnant, they answered that if the origin of the foetus were doubtful, the marriage should be put off, but if it were definitely admitted, nothing prevented an immediate consummation. Perhaps they really found this among the ordinances of the forefathers, but certainly they would have said so even had they not found it. The woman was given in marriage by her husband himself, as some father might do. And the following incident occurred at the marriage feast. One of the prattling boys, such as women frequently keep about them naked to play with,48 on seeing Livia reclining in one place with Caesar and Nero in another with some man, went up to her and said: "What are you doing here, mistress? For your husband," pointing him out, "is reclining over there." After these events, when the woman went to live with Caesar, she gave birth to Claudius Drusus Nero. Caesar took him and sent him to his father, making this entry in the records, that Caesar returned to its father Nero the child borne by Livia, his own wife. Nero died not long after and left Caesar himself as guardian to this boy and to Tiberius: the populace had a good deal to say about this, among other things that the prosperous have children in three months; and this saying passed into a proverb.

[-45-] At just about the same time that this was going on in the city Bogud the Moor sailed to Spain, acting either on instructions from Antony or on his own motion, and did much damage, receiving also considerable injury in return: meantime the people of his own land in the neighborhood of Tingi rose against him, and so he evacuated Spain but failed to win back his own domain. For the adherents of Caesar in Spain and Bocchus came to the aid of the rebels and proved too much for him. Bogud departed to join Antony, while Bocchus forthwith took possession of his kingdom, and this act was afterward confirmed by Caesar. The Tingitanians were given citizenship.

At this time and even earlier Sextus and Caesar had broken out into war; for since they had come to an agreement not of their own free will or choice but under compulsion, they did not abide by it any time at all, so to speak, but broke the truce at once and stood opposed. They were destined to come to war under any conditions, even if they had found no excuse; their alleged grievances, however, were the following. Menas, who was at this time still in Sardinia, as if he were a kind of praetor, had incurred the suspicion of Sextus by his release of Helenus and because he had been in communication with Caesar, and he was slandered to some extent by his peers, who envied his position of power. He was therefore summoned by Sextus on the pretext that he should give an account of the grain and money of which he had charge; instead of obeying he seized and killed the men sent to him on this errand, and after negotiating with Caesar surrendered to him the island, the fleet together with the army, and himself. Caesar was glad to see him and declared that Sextus was harboring deserters contrary to the treaty, having triremes built, and keeping garrisons in Italy: and so far from giving up Menas on demand, he supported him in great honor, gave him the decoration of gold rings, and enrolled him in the order of the knights. The matter of the gold rings is as follows. Of the ancient Romans no one,—not to mention such as had once been slaves,—who had grown up as a free citizen even, was allowed to wear gold rings, save senators and knights,—as has been stated. Therefore they are given to those freedmen whom the man in power may select; although they may use gold in other ways, this is still an additional honor and distinguishes them as superior, or as capable, through having been freed, of becoming knights.

[-46-] Such is the matter in question. Sextus, having this as a reproach against Caesar, and the further facts that Achaea had been impoverished and the rights agreed upon were not granted either to him or to the restored exiles, sent to Italy Menecrates, another freedman of his, and had him ravage Volturnum and other parts of Campania. Caesar on learning this took the documents containing the treaty from the vestal virgins and sent for Antony and Lepidus. Lepidus did not at once obey. Antony came to Brundusium from Greece where, by chance, he still was: but before he met Caesar, who was in Etruria, he became alarmed because a wolf had entered his head-quarters and killed soldiers; so he sailed back to Greece again, making the urgency of the Parthian situation his excuse. Caesar, however much he felt that he had been abandoned by his colleague with the purpose that he should face the difficulties of the war alone, nevertheless showed no anger openly. Sextus kept repeating that Antony was not for punishing him and set himself more zealously to the task in hand. Finally he sailed against Italy, landed at different points, inflicted much injury and endured much in return. Meantime off Cyme there was a naval battle between Menecrates and Calvisius Sabinus. In this several ships of Caesar were destroyed, because he was arrayed against expert seafarers; but Menecrates out of rivalry attacked Menas and perished, making the loss of Sextus an equal one. For this reason the latter laid no claim to victory and Caesar consoled himself over the defeat. [-47-] He happened at this time to be in Rhegium, and the party of Sextus feared he would cross over into Sicily; and being somewhat disheartened, too, at the death of Menecrates, they set sail from Cyme. Sabinus pursued them as far as Scyllaeum, the Italian promontory, without trouble. But, as he was rounding that point, a great wind fell upon him, hurling some of the ships against the promontory, sinking others out at sea, and scattering all the rest. Sextus on ascertaining this sent the fleet under command of Apollophanes against them. He, discovering Caesar coasting along somewhere in these parts with the intention of crossing into Sicily along with Sabinus, made a dash upon him. Caesar had the ships come to anchor, marshaled the heavy-armed soldiers upon them, and at first made a noble resistance. The ships were drawn up with prows facing outward and so offered no safe point for attack, but being shorter and higher could do more hurt to those that approached them, and the heavy-armed fighters, when they could come in conflict with the enemy, proved far superior. Apollophanes, however, transferred such as were wounded and were in difficulty from time to time to other ships assigned for the purpose, by backing water, and took on board fresh men; he also made constant charges and used missiles carrying fire, so that his adversary was at last routed, fled to the land, and came to anchor. When even then the pursuers pressed him hard, some of Caesar's ships suddenly cut their anchors and unexpectedly offered opposition. It was only this and the fact that night interrupted operations that kept Apollophanes from burning some of the ships and towing all the rest away.

[-48-] After this event an ill-fated wind on the following day fell upon Caesar and Sabinus as they were anchored together and made their previous reverse seem small. The fleet of Sabinus suffered the less, for Menas, being an old hand on the sea, foresaw the storm. He immediately stationed his ships out at sea, letting them ride with slack anchors some distance apart, so that the ropes should not be stretched and break; then he rowed directly against the wind, and in this way no rope was strained, and he remained constantly in the same position, recovering by the use of the oars all the distance which he lost by the impetus of the wind. The remaining commanders, because they had gone through a severe experience the day before, and as yet had no precise knowledge of nautical matters, were cast out upon the shore close by and lost many ships. The night, which had been of the greatest aid to them before, was now among the chief agencies in promoting disaster. All through it the wind blew violently, tearing the vessels from their anchors and dashing them against the rocks. That of course was the end of them, and the sailors and marines likewise perished without hope of rescue, since the darkness prevented them from seeing ahead and they could not hear a word because of the uproar and the reverberation from the mountains, especially since the wind smote them in the face. So it was that Caesar despaired of Sicily and was satisfied to guard the coast country: Sextus on the other hand was still more elated, believing himself in very truth to be the son of Neptune, and he put on a dark blue robe besides, as some relate, casting horses as well as men alive into the straits. He plundered and harassed Italy himself, sending Apollophanes to Libya. The latter was pursued by Menas, who overtook and injured him. The islands round about Sicily went over to the side of Sextus, whereupon Caesar seized the territory of the Lipareans in advance and ejecting them from the island conveyed them to Campania, where he forced them to live in Neapolis so long as the war should continue. [-49-] Meantime he kept having boats made throughout almost all of Italy and collected slaves for rowers first from his friends, who were supposed to give willingly, and then from the rest,—senators and knights and well-to-do private citizens. He also assembled heavy-armed troops and gathered money from all citizens, allies, and subjects, both in Italy and abroad.

This year and the following he spent on the construction of ships and the gathering and training of rowers.

[B.C. 37 (a. u. 717)]

He himself oversaw and arranged these details and all other matters in Italy and in Gaul (where there was a slight uprising). To Agrippa he entrusted the equipment of the boats. He sent for this man, who was fighting against the revolted Gauls, at the time when he had been the second of the Romans to cross the Rhine for purposes of warfare, and he honored him by bestowing a triumph and bidding him to secure the building and training of the fleet. Agrippa,—he was consul with Lucius Gallus,—would not hold the triumph, deeming it disgraceful for him to exalt himself when Caesar had fared poorly, but set to work heart and soul to fit out the fleet. All along the coasts of Italy vessels were taking shape; but since no shore was found safe for them to ride at anchor,—the majority of the coast land being still in those days without harbors,—he conceived and executed a magnificent enterprise which I shall describe at some length, showing its nature and the present characteristics of the locality where it took place.

[-50-] At Cyme in Campania, between Misenum and Puteoli, there is a crescent-shaped spot. It is shut in by small hills, bare except in a few places, and the sea there forms a kind of triple bay. The first is outside and near the cities; the second is separated from it by a small passage; and the third, like a real harbor, is seen far back. The last named is called Avernus, and the middle bay Lucrinus: the outer one belongs to the Tyrrhenian Sea and takes its name from that water. In this roadstead within the other two, which had but narrow entrances then, Agrippa, by cutting channels close along the shore through the land separating Lucrinus from the sea on each side, produced harbors affording most safe anchorage for ships. While the men were working a certain image situated above Avernus, either of Calypso to whom this place, whither they say Odysseus also sailed, is devoted, or to some other heroine, was covered with sweat like a human body. [-51-] Now what this imported I cannot say; but I will go on to tell of everything else worth reporting which I saw in that place. These mountains close to the inner bodies of water have springs full of both fire and water in considerable quantity mixed together. Neither of the two elements is anywhere to be found by itself (that is, neither pure fire or cold water alone is to be seen) but from their association the water is heated and the fire moistened. The former on its way down the foothills to the sea runs into reservoirs and the inhabitants conduct the steam from it through pipes into rooms set up high, where they use the steam for vapor baths. The higher it ascends from the earth and from the water, the dryer it becomes. Costly apparatus has been installed for turning both the fire and the vapor to practical use; and they are very well suited for employment in the conduct of daily life and also for effecting cures.

Now besides these products that mountain makes an earth, the peculiar nature of which I am going to describe. Since the fire has not the power of burning (for by its union with, the water all its blazing qualities are extinguished) but is still able to separate and melt the substances with which it comes in contact, it follows that the oily part of the earth is melted by it, whereas the hard and what I might call the bony part of it is left as it was. Hence the masses of earth necessarily become porous and when exposed to the dry air crumble into dust, but when they are placed in a swirl of water and sand grow into a solid piece; as much of them as is in the liquid hardens and petrifies. The reason for this is that the brittle element in them is disintegrated and broken up by the fire, which possesses, the same nature, but by the admixture of dampness is chilled, and so, being compressed all over, through and through, becomes indissoluble. Such is Baiae, where Agrippa as soon as he had constructed the entrances collected ships and rowers, of which he fortified the former with armor and trained the latter to row on wooden benches.

[-52-] Now the population of Rome was being disturbed by signs. Among the various pieces of news brought to them was one to the effect that many dolphins battled with one another and perished near Aspis, the African city. And in the vicinity of the City blood descended from heaven and was smeared all about by the birds. When at the Ludi Romani not one of the senators was entertained on the Capitol, as had been the custom, they took this, too, as a portent. Again, the incident that happened to Livia caused her pleasure, but inspired the rest with terror. A white bird carrying a sprig of fruited laurel had been thrown by an eagle into her lap. As this seemed to be a sign of no small importance, she took care of the bird and planted the laurel. The latter took root and grew, so that it amply supplied those who were afterward to celebrate triumphs; and Livia was destined to hold Caesar's power in a fold of her robe and to dominate him in everything.

[-53-] The rest, however, in the City had their peace of mind thoroughly shattered by this and the differences between officials. Not only the consuls and praetors but even the quaestors were arrayed against one another, and this lasted for some time. The reason was that all were anxious not so much to hold office a longer time at home as to be counted among the ex-officials and secure the outward honors and influence that belonged to that class. They were no longer chosen for any specified time, but took just long enough to enter upon the title of the office and resign, whenever it so seemed good to those in power. Many did both on the same day. Some actually had to abandon hope of offices through poverty, and in this I am not speaking of those then supporting Sextus, who had been disenfranchised as if by some principle of right. But we have the case of a certain Marcus Oppius who through lack of means desired to resign the aedileship,—both he and his father had been among the proscribed,—and the populace would not permit it, but contributed money for his various necessities of life and the expenses of his office. And the story goes that some criminals, too, really came into the theatre in masks as if they were actors and left their money there with the rest. So this man was loved by the multitude while in life and at his death not long after was carried to the Campus Martius and there burned and buried. The senate was indignant at the utter devotion of the masses to him and took up his bones, on the plea that it was impious for them to lie in that consecrated spot; they were persuaded by the pontifices to make this declaration although they buried many other men there both before and after.