Trial of the Vestal Virgins (114–113 BC)
Aemilia, Licinia and Marcia were Roman
The individuals
Aemilia was a member of the
The trials
In December 114 BC, the vestals Aemilia, Marcia and Licinia were tried for
The acquittal of Marcia and Licinia created public outrage in Rome because of Manius' testimony that the sexual crimes of the vestals had been an open secret and tolerated among the aristocracy, and the public interpreted the outcome as a case of corruption among the elite. The case against Licinia and Marcia was therefore reopened the following year by the tribune Sextus Peducaeus, who took the unusual step of transferring the case from the pontiff to Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla, who was known for his severity. Licinia was defended by the orator Lucius Licinius Crassus.[6]
The second trial ended in a guilty verdict for both Licinia and Marcia who were both sentenced to be executed by being buried alive. During the trial, several men were implicated as the alleged lovers of the vestals and prosecuted. This involved several prominent people and the process has by some been interpreted as political. Among those men implicated were the orator Marcus Antonius, who was acquitted.[7]
After the trial, several rituals were conducted to clean the holy fire of Vesta from the pollution which was believed to have soiled it because of the crimes. A new temple to Venus was constructed, and four men were buried alive in the Forum Boarium.[6]
References
- ^ Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage, p. 440.
- ^ Friedrich Münzer: Marcius 114). In: Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft (RE). Band XIV,2, Stuttgart 1930, Sp. 1601 f.
- JSTOR 41244355.
- JSTOR 41244355.
- ^ Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage, p. 452.
- ^ a b Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Licinia (2)". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
- JSTOR 41244355.
Bibliography
- T. Robert S. Broughton, The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, American Philological Association, 1952–1986.
- Michael Crawford, Roman Republican Coinage, Cambridge University Press, 1974.