On This Day In Roman History, March 19
The holiday of Quinquatrus is celebrated both during the republican and imperial eras of Rome's history on March 19. Some classical writers note that this holiday was celebrated for only one day but Ovid writes about how it commences over a five day period. The initial day is marked with feast and celebration of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom and sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. Day one of the feasts were marked with peace but the later four days consisted of gladiatorial combat. Minerva's birthday most likely falls on this date because her temple on the Aventine hill within Rome was completed on this day. However, the temple's completion may have been aligned with an older date which was believed to be significant to Minerva.
Did you know?
Domitian celebrated this festival every year at his personal Alban villa. He, like so many contemporary Romans, consulted fortune tellers and diviners during this festival. Domitian was recorded to have thrown games involving wild animals, plays, and orating competitions including poetry.
Pictured: A modern mosaic made by artist is Elihu Vedder, 1896. found now in the library of congress. Image use via Wikimedia Commons.
In 59 CE, Nero looked to assassinate his mother, Agrippina the Younger, on the first day of Quinquatrus. He had prepared a vessel that would sink during a journey and kill Agrippina without enticing suspicion. When the time had come, the mechanism failed causing the ship to sink slow enough for Agrippina to escape. She swam to shore and was found sometime later. Unfortunately for her miraculous escape, her demise would still come from the hand of Nero just a few months later.
Opinion
Welcome to my daily opinion! First of all, I would like to apologize for this post being my first late post during the entire project. I was sick this weekend and things just didn't line up. With that one out of the way, let's talk about government conspiracies! The plot surrounding Nero and that of his assassination of his own mother is shrouded in bias. Many writers from the time who documented these events had an anti-Nero bias. A ship that has been rigged to sink seems a bit excessive for someone with the power Nero had, but then again we are talking about his mother here. It's important to always read these stories about Nero as possibly fictitious, but I really do think this crazy boat story happened. As always, we will never know without the time machine.
Sources
O., Boyle, A. J., & Woodard, R. D. (2004). Fasti. London: Penguin Books.
Walton, F. R. (1955). Heirs and Rivals to Nero. Madison, Wisc.: The Association.
Further Reading:
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