Marius and Sulla were both in some ways a great Roman heroes. However, each also contributed to bringing disaster on Rome.Please read Plutarch's Life of Marius, either in the abridged version here or the unabridged version here. Then read Plutarch's Life of Sulla, either in the abridged version here or the unabridged version here.
Cite an example that helps build the case that one of these men was a great hero for Rome *or* cite an example that shows how one of these men brought disaster to Rome.
I decided to see how Marius was a great Roman hero in his life. In his story he was stated to be a soldier in the war against the Celtiberians, when Scipio Africanus besieged Numantia; where he signalized himself to his general by courage far above his comrades, and particularly by his cheerfully complying with Scipio's reformation of his army. It was stated as well that he could single handily kill a man in combat. He was a hero in a sense that he served Rome in war very well and was honored among the men in the army that he served in. Scipio the general that Marius served under was in fact proud of Marius and the words that Scipio stated to Marius made him go towards a political role. When he was running for his political role Marius came forth with glory to the people and confirmed his law, and was henceforth esteemed a man of undaunted courage and assurance, as well as a vigorous opposer of the senate in favour of the commons. The people were in full support of what Marius was trying to accomplish for them and in this case Marius is a hero to the people of Rome. But Marius was trying to please both parties which was a mistake. It's impossible to be a hero to the rich and the poor during this time in Rome. Marius' life was filled with a lot of factors or not being honored among fellow Roman people. Marius was a hero to some but an enemy to most. An example of this is when Marius wins the affection of the men, but fails to refer the glory to his boss, Metellus. Marius was also a consul once during his time and did somethings with the Roman army by reorganizing the army by enlisting slaves and poor people, thus changing the character of the army from a citizen to professional army. Marius helped reform the Roman Army and helped with winning wars and teaching his men how to defeat enemies and learn not to fear them. In this he was a hero for Rome but Marius in his older days became corrupt with power and Plutarch accuses Marius of being a man more obsessed with seeming great than with being good. He was using bribery and would even go to murder for power. Marius was also a man of war and would want to go to war whenever he could which also was disastrous for Rome. Marius made a lot of enemies during his time as a leader and praetors and other leaders were constantly trying to capture him because of the trouble he would cause. Overall, he was a hero to some and an enemy to others. He helped and hindered Rome during his leadership.
ReplyDeleteI ended up choosing Sylla and chose him as a hero for the Romans, compared to an adversary or a weakness for the Roman Empire. The war as mentioned in another blog post, was a war that was between the Romans and the King of Jugurtha. This was a tight war between the two sides, and there were times when one side seemed to be better suited compared to the other. Sylla rose through the ranks during the war, and slowly but surely started to gain satisfaction from his colleagues, and starting to gain more respect for the Romans, and people started trusting him with further steps about the war as a whole. He eventually rose through the war ranks and became a commander, and the people who supported him and backed him during the war even called him one of the greatest commanders and someone who could help the Romans continue fighting the war. Becoming a hero takes serious effort, and the impact has to be made by a vast majority of people, “Sylla, on the other hand, by his many achievements, gained himself, with his fellow citizens, the name of a great commander, while his friends thought him the greatest of all commanders, and his enemies called him the most fortunate” (Dryden 10). People have to look up to you, and that was the case throughout this war, which led him to be a huge asset to the Romans.
ReplyDelete- Nile Hesson
I decided to focus on Marius. I think he was, in a sense, a great hero of Rome, but at the same time, he was also...not so much. By reading his story, it is clear that Marius was indeed a heroic soldier and leader. He was very skilled in combat and provided a lot of help to the Roman army. He was a brave, stern leader that trained his men for anything and led them to many victories. He also attempted to be a fair political leader by providing support for both Plebians and Patricians--which is both a good idea and a bad idea. He gained the respect of both peoples by his ideas. Marius was even prophesied to be a great man--hence the eagle nest story when he was a child. Marius, in my opinion, lived up to the majority of that prophecy. He did have his faults, however. As he got older, Marius worsened--both physically and mentally. Power and corruption took him over and he became too concerned with wealth and gaining MORE. He was willing to go to great lengths to gain more power--not excluding murder. He also was a bit of a coward in his later years, which does not live up to the desired characteristics of a Roman hero. Overall, Marius does prove himself to be a good hero of Rome, but he also proves himself to be a not so great Roman hero...
ReplyDelete-Lauren Bland
I ended up focusing on how Sulla brought disaster to Rome. Although he was a good general and helped to put an end to the War with Jugurtha, Sulla's rivalry with Marius and lust for power ended up doing more harm than good. After killing Marius due to their feud, he continued to condemn and murder many innocent people who he deemed having taken sides or who had favored Marius. He also killed anyone who sheltered those accused and took the property of the accused people's sons and grandsons. "It was not only in Rome that the lists of people who were to be killed were put up, but in all the cities of Italy. No temple of the gods, no hearth or home, was held sacred at this period; men were butchered before the very eyes of their wives and children, sons in the arms of their mothers" (Kaufman). Sulla caused disaster for Rome through his spite, as he continued to kill until there was no longer a reason, eventually killing just to take the property of the rich. People were slaughtered left and right, and it seemed commonplace. I think Sulla brought disaster to Rome because of his rivalry with Marius, which led him to killing anyone who he deemed guilty of supporting Marius. He also made himself dictator, establishing laws that only fueled his reign of terror until he stepped down from his position.
ReplyDeleteI chose to cite an example of why Sulla brought disaster to Rome. Despite the military successes he achieved in his lifetime, he is also remembered as a bloodthirsty and vengeful dictator. In a time of political instability, Sulla and his army defeated the majority party of Rome, the Marian party, in a long and severe battle. Once he gained victory over his enemies, he took it a step further by appointing himself as dictator and ordering the remaining followers of Marius to be slain. After the followers of Marius were hunted and killed, Sulla did not stop. He began to order people killed at random, and when the Senate asked him when he would be finished, he made a list of people who were to die (proscription lists), with new, longer lists appearing every day. Many thousands of Romans died during this time.
ReplyDeleteBefore the time of Sulla, the Populares were the prominent force in politics. The people were the main political support. However, when Sulla (a man of the Optimates party) took power, the people were not pleased. Sulla led his Triumph through the city, guarded by the slaves of the people he killed. This did not land very well with the people, but as dictator, Sulla could do as he wished. A year after his Triumph, he resigned from the office of dictator and retired to the countryside where he spent the rest of his days.
One would think that it was a good thing that he left a position that held so much power, but in reality this was a catalyst. Future leaders of Rome realized that they could take absolute power by force. Sulla's blatant disregard for political norms of the time and ruthless tactics set a precedent that led to a culture of political violence in Rome.
-Haylee Bohnet
Sulla may have been a great leader, but he was also a very scary, bloodthirsty, and feared man. After winning a few wars, he declared himself a dictator, giving himself a lot of power and killing Marius's soldiers and followers, then he started killing people at random. This would have struck fear into the hearts of many Roman citizens, thus bringing on a collective fear of crossing the dictator of Rome.
ReplyDelete"Sylla had a vehement and an implacable desire to conquer Athens. whether out of emulation, fighting as it were against the shadow of the once famous city, or out of anger, at the foul words and scurrilous jests with which the tyrant Aristion, showing himself daily, with unseemly gesticulations, upon the walls, had provoked him and Metella".
ReplyDeleteThis citation tells of Sulla being a hero of Rome. He displayed a relentless character when it came to destruction which is important in a military leader, I believe. He made sure in all of his efforts that Rome would not be harmed by another nation and had a great loyalty to the empire. Though later on he introduced some destructive ideas to Rome, he defended it with his life.
I read Plutarch’s Life of Marius and an example of how he was a great hero to Rome is how he reformed the structure of the Roman army. Marius helped the Romans win many wars and taught them how best to defeat their enemies. He reorganized the army by turning the army from an army of armed citizens to a real professional army by enlisting slaves and the poor. This was a huge change and one that led to great success as we all know many stories of the might, skill, and power of the Roman army that lasted for many, many, many years.
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