Late Roman Republic

The article examines some thorny issues related to the biography of Lucius Equitius, a political ally of Lucius Appuleius Saturninus and a plebeian tribune-designate for 99 BC, who claimed to be a son of Tiberius Gracchus. The authors suggest that Equitius, whom ancient sources describe as a man of humble origin, came from the local aristocracy of the city of Firmum, a Latin colony in Picenum (i.e., he was a so-called domi nobilis).

The article examines the activities of Titus Labienus, Caesar’s legate in Gaul and a prominent commander in Pompey’s army during the Civil War. His biography is known with large lacunas, as are his political leanings. In Caesar’s Gallic campaigns Labienus served as a legatus pro praetore and proved himself to be a talented military commander. But the fact that he had been praetor before this seems doubtful. With the outbreak of the civil war Labienus defected to Pompey. The motive seems to have been his unsatisfied ambition.

The paper examines the relationship between the consul Lucius Cornelius Sulla and the Roman plebs in 88 B.C. The first part of the paper considers the role of the popular assemblies in the political struggle around the bills of the plebeian tribune Publius Sulpicius. The authors take the view that the violent clashes between supporters and opponents of Sulpicius’ proposals were inspired by Sulla and his consular colleague Quintus Pompeius Rufus who thereby sought to disrupt the vote in the comitia.

The article is devoted to some problems of Publius Furius’ political biography. The author accepts the opinion that Furius had been a plebeian tribune in 100 BC, not 99 BC. Furius offered the publicatio bonorum of L. Appuleius Saturninus, but we do not have any information that the proposal on the confiscation was implemented in spite of popular historiographical view. The author believes that there were two trials of Furius and not one as some historians presume.

The historical examples (exempla) are used very widely in quite different genres of Roman literature, including speeches. The focus of research is usually on Roman examples, whereas external historical examples are not yet sufficiently have found it examined. The aim of this essay is to deal with the cases of the use of so-called "external" historical examples in the judicial and political speeches of Cicero and to determine their functions.

The authors analyze Ugo Laffi’s and Francois Hinard’s conception of the “myth of Sulla” and its critics by Alexandra Eckert. Laffi attributes the ap­pea­rance of Sulla’s image as the cruel tyrant (i.e. of the “myth of Sulla”) to Caesar’s dictatorship, while in Hinard’s opinion it happened later, during Augustan princi­pate. However, Eckert argues that Sulla had the reputation of a cruel tyrant even in his lifetime. The authors agree with Eckert, but make important corrections and additions to her argumentation.