The Assassination of Spurius Maelius

Famine Strikes

After a peaceful year in 441 BCE, the Romans are in for nasty shock over the course of 440 and 439 BCE. It all begins with a crippling famine, and there seems to have been signs of problems ahead before the food shortage really set in. In Pliny the Elder, there is a reference to an aedile of the plebs (Marcus Marcius) selling grain to the poor at a very low price.

Episode 127 – The Assassination of Spurius Maelius

There are some startling differences in our source material this episode. What we can agree on is that the crisis was so severe, Lucius Minucius was appointed as Prefect of the Grain, aka The Nacho King of Rome. His job was to track down some corn and get it the Romans ASAP.

Image of a random assortment of grains courtesy of www.themindfulword.org

Emergency Relief

Unfortunately, Minucius seems to have been incompetent and the famine dragged on. To try and help out his fellow Romans, a wealthy equestrian named Spurius Maelius made use of his extensive connections to secure the needed grain. He succeeds where Minucius had failed, and even worse, he distributes the corn for FREE to the populace. Nothing makes you so popular as distributing free food, especially if it’s amid a famine.

There's Only So Much Room at the Top

Maelius’ actions highlight the enormous power that the aristocrats of Rome still wielded thanks to their wealth and the practice of patronage. However, Maelius does not seem to have been one of the ‘club’. He does not seem to have been one of the patricians. Exactly what impact this had is difficult to determine.

• Did his popularity go to his head and lead to schemes of restoring the monarchy?
• Was Cincinnatus dusted off and brought out of retirement to deal with this threat?
• Did the people seize control and replace Minucius with Maelius?
• Was there a senatorial conspiracy to kill those who spoke out against the government… including Maelius?
• Are we dealing with a state-sanctioned assassination? Or is this an elaborate cover-up?  (Hello, JFK conspirators? We've got another one to add to the list….)

We will leave that to you to decide. All we can say for certain is that this episode is full of intrigue. Never has Ancient Rome seemed more like a gangster film. Get ready for the assassination of Spurius Maelius!

Things to Look Out For

• The young patricians
• Roman units of measurement
• The return of the butcher’s stand in the Forum  
• Cincinnatus possibly pulling a Lethal Weapon
• When Dr Rad accidentally says that Minucius was rescued by Coriolanus instead of Cincinnatus back in 458 BCE
• A Master of the Horse with a name that we just can’t leave alone!

Our Players 440 BCE

Consuls

• Proculus Geganius – f. – n. Macerinus (Pat.)
• T. Menenius Agripp. F. Agripp. n. Lanatus (Pat.) – Cos. 452

OR

• L. Menenius T. f. Agripp. n. Lanatus (Pat.)

Aedile of the Plebs

• M. Marcius

Praefectus Annonae

• L. Minucius (Esquilinus Augurinus) (Pat.) – Cos. Suff. 458

Wealthy Equestrian – Giddyup!

• Spurius Maelius

Our Players 439 BCE

Consuls

• Agrippa Menenius T. f. Agripp. n. Lanatus (Pat.)
• T. Quinctius L.f. L.n. Capitolinus Barbatus (Pat.) – Cos. 471, 468, 465, 446, 443.

Dictator

• L. Quinctius L. f. L. n. Cincinnatus (Pat.) – Cos. Suff. 460

Master of the Horse

• C. Servilius – f. – n. Ahala (Pat.)

Praefectus Annonae

• L. Minucius (Esquilinus Augurinus) (Pat.) – Cos. Suff. 458

Wealthy Equestrian

• Spurius Maelius

Our Sources

• Dr G reads Diodorus Siculus, 12.36; Cicero, Cato Maior De Senectute, 16.56; Cicero, Mil. 3.8; Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities, 12.1-4; Valerius Maximus, 5.3.2g.
• Dr Rad reads Livy ab Urbe Condita 4.12-15.
• Broughton, T. R. S., Patterson, M. L. 1951. The Magistrates of the Roman Republic Volume 1: 509 B.C. – 100 B.C. (The American Philological Association)
• Cornell, T. J. 1995. The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC) (Taylor & Francis)
• Forsythe, G. 2006. A Critical History of Early Rome: From Prehistory to the First Punic War(University of California Press) 
• Wilson, M. 2021. Dictator: The Evolution of the Roman Dictatorship (University of Michigan Press).

Sound Credits

Thanks to BBC Sounds, Orange Free Sounds and Fesliyan Studios for sound effects, and the very talented Bettina Joy de Guzman for our theme music.

Automated Transcript

Provided by Otter AI

P H

0:16

Welcome to the Partial Historians, we explore all the details of ancient Rome. Everything from the political scandals, the love of ours, the battles waged, and when citizens turn against each other. I'm Dr. Rad. And I'm Dr. G. We consider Rome as the Roman Sword by reading different authors from the ancient past and comparing their stories. Join us as we trace the journey of Rome from the founding of the city.

Dr Rad

1:00

Welcome to a brand new episode of the partial his