The Roman Republic (rēs pūblica) traditionally began in 509 (see Introduction p. 1). The Republic lasted until the dictatorship of Julius Caesar (46–44). In that time, Rome rose from obscurity to undisputed domination of the whole Mediterranean.

By the first century power resided with the highest ranks (ōrdinēs) in Roman society, the senators (senātōrēs or patrēs cōnscrīptī), recruited indirectly by popular election via the censors, and the equitēs (‘knights’) who qualified for their rank by wealth.

The Republic was governed by its annually elected officers of state (magistr ātūs). For the aspiring politician the first rung on the cursus honōrum (‘course of public office’ or ‘race of honours’) was to be elected quaestor (minimum age 30), then praetor (minimum age 39) and finally, with luck, one of the two consuls (cōnsulēs) (minimum age 42). Along the way it might suit him to hold one or more of the other posts available, such as tribune of the plebs (tribūnus plebis) or aedile (aedīlis). During their year of office, the consuls were virtual rulers of Rome (see pp. 122–3). The power which they and provincial governors wielded was called imperium. All magistrates worked in conjunction with the senate (senātus), an advisory body which consisted of all ex-magistrates.

The pursuit of prestige (glōria) and status (dignitās) was the aim of the ambitious Roman. To this end, he assiduously cultivated political alliances (amīcitiae) and personal dependants who could be relied upon to help him (his clientēs – ‘clients’) and whom he could help in turn in his role as their patrōnus. The race to the top was fiercely competitive. While twenty quaestors were elected every year, there were only two consuls. In the chase for the tiny number of consulships, nōbilēs (‘nobles’ – men from families which had previously produced a consul) constantly claimed a distinct advantage. Men from families which had produced only lower-ranking magistrates in the past would find it more difficult, while those, like Cicero, whose families had never before held any office, would have to overcome that disadvantage to win any of the lower magistracies and only rarely would succeed in getting as far as the consulship. A man from either of these two backgrounds could be described as a nouus homo (‘new man’).

Section 6A High life and high society: Catullus (c. 84–c. 54 BC)

I DINNERS, FRIENDS AND POETRY

All Roman literature thatwe have from the Republican period reflects Roman high society, and its moral and political values. But the grauitās of the great has been counterbalanced by the frivolity of the young. In Cicero's day, a group of young poets within this social milieu was cultivating a lighter, though learned, style of writing. These poets included Gaius Valerius Catullus and Licinius Calvus. Cicero called them neōteroi, a Greek word meaning ‘the younger set’, or ‘revolutionaries’, but he did not mean it to be complimentary. Their subjects ranged from obscene lampoon through love poetry to ‘epyllion’, a short and intensely learned epic which they modelled on works by Greek writers based in Alexandria (third to first century).

Section 6A(i)

Catullus promises his friend Fabullus a wonderful meal – as long as Fabullus brings all the necessaries. But Catullus can offer one thing.