1 Earliest Rome

Aulus Gellius, Attic Nights•vi.l. 1-6
9.1 Late republican dynasts
of the Republic (see Vol. 1, 86). Scipio may himself have created the impression
of having a special relationship with gods, and/or such stories may have
originated in contemporary abuse of him - implying that he was seeking unacceptable
power through his special connections with the divine. "Whichever is
the case, the image of Scipio marks a stage in the evolution of religio-political
power in Rome.
See further: Vol. 1, 84-5; Walbank (1967); Scullard (1970) 20-3*; Seguin
(1974).
It is recorded that the mother of Scipio Africanus, the elder, had the same experience as
Olympias, Philip the Great's wife and Alexander the Great's mother, according to the
records oi the Greek historians. 1
For Gains Oppius* and Julius Hygmus, 3
and other
writers on Africanus' life and achievements, tell us that his mother had long been believed
sterile and that Publius Scipio, 4
her husband, had despaired of having children. Then,
while her husband was away and she was sleeping on her own, a huge snake was seen
beside her, in her room and in her bed; when those who saw this snake shouted out in
terror, it vanished and could not be found. Scipio consulted the haruspices about this and
they held a sacrifice and gave a response that children would be born. Not long after the
sighting of the snake, the woman began to show all signs of being pregnant; in the tenth
month, she gave birth to this Publius Africanus, the man who defeated Hannibal and the
Carthaginians in the Second Punic War. But it is much more because of his achievements
than because of that prodigy that he also is thought to be a
man of godlike quality. It is worth adding that the same authorities also record that this
same Africanus used to go up on to the Capitol in the dead of night, before dawn had
appeared, and have the shrine of Jupiter opened for him; he would remain there
for a long time, as though he was consulting with Jupiter about the state of the Republic.
The caretakers of the temple were often astonished that the temple dogs never barked or
rushed at Scipio despite the time of night, though they always savaged anybody else.
9.1b Sulla
1. For Alexander's birth, see Plutarch, Life of Alexander!.
2. Friend and supporter of Julius Caesar, who wrote biographies, including one of
Africanus.
3. Ex-slave of Augustus, a writer of Exempla - improving tales of the great deeds of the
Roman past.
4. Consul of 218 B.C.
Sulla was a deeply controversial figure in the history of the late Republic. After
reaching the consulship in 88 B.C., he fought a sticcessful war in the East,
recovering lands lost to Mithridates, King of Pontus. On his return, he seized
power in Rome - taking the office of'dictator' - and carried through extensive
reforms in the interest of the conservative group in the senate. The following
217