On This Day In Roman History: January 15

On This Day In Roman History, January 15

Marcus Salvius Otho excuses himself after a visit with Emporer Galba to incite a group of Praetorian Guard on the morning of January 15, 69 CE. When Otho found himself at the Praetorian camp, he was saluted as Imperator due to his notions of increasing the soldiers pay and personally bribing a group of about 23 soldiers. As Galba made his way through a crowded section of street near the Lacus Curtius, he was attacked by Otho's paid cavalrymen. Galba reportedly stood to meet the charge but was quickly overwhelmed and killed. He was famously quoted by Plutarch as stating: "Strike, if it be for the good of the Romans!"

Did you know?

A notable centurion who was a member of the Praetorian Guard named Sempronius Densus bravely stood by the assaulted Galba at the time of the attack. Plutarch made an interesting mention of him as quoting:

"No man resisted or offered to stand up in his defence, save one only, a centurion, Sempronius Densus, the single man among so many thousands that the sun beheld that day act worthily of the Roman empire, who, though he had never received any favour from Galba, yet out of bravery and allegiance endeavoured to defend the litter. First, lifting up his switch of vine, with which the centurions correct the soldiers when disorderly, he called aloud to the aggressors, charging them not to touch their emperor. And when they came upon him hand-to-hand, he drew his sword, and made a defence for a long time, until at last he was cut under the knees and brought to the ground."

Pictured Left: Portrait of M. Silvius Otho, 17th-century engraving by Robert van Voerst. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

I've chosen an interesting depiction of Otho simply because I am enthralled with the ways people view historical figures within their own time period. This 17th-century engraving shows him in a regal style reflecting the gravitas of the man, but also interestingly displays a style of armor common only to the time the engraving was made. This is a common motif found within art when examining it with a historical context and is even somewhat true today; we like to depict what we find familiar so it's easier to describe in a "modern" way.

Opinion

My opinion section was starting to leak into the paragraph above, so I thought I better cut myself off and start this one. It is always so interesting to me to see how artists are depicting these Roman greats. They almost always love to throw in some type of callback to their current times, and while it wasn't directly out of ignorance to the historical context or undereducation, these items probably had some influence in the decision of depiction. I think it is more of a "we love to see what we know" type of deal, and even today I notice this happening in depictions of Romans inside, and even outside of, popular culture.

Sources

S., Graves, R., Grant, M., & MacCormack, S. (2001). Lives of the twelve Caesars. New York: Welcome Rain.

Rasmussen, S. W. (2003). Public portents in republican Rome. Rome: L'Erma di Bretschneider.Wellesley, K., & Wellesley, K. (2000). The year of the four emperors. London: Routledge.

On This Day In Roman History

Sunday, January 15, 2017

January 15