skip to content
Amarantus logo

4.3

4.3.1 Tomb of Alleius Nigidus Maius
4.3.2 Petronius

4.3.1 Tomb of Alleius Nigidus Maius

Historical background

There were lots of ways to raise your profile if you had ambitions in the Roman world, especially if you came from an upper-class family. Organising (and paying for!) public games was a good tactic for example. Some individuals clearly had very high public profiles and probably had a great deal of influence, both in and out of office.

It also helped to be well connected. You might be able to influence those who held power, even if you didn’t win elections yourself. Wealthy and powerful member of society would have ‘clients’ (poorer, less powerful members of society) who benefitted from their support or influence. Clients could ask their ‘patron’ for assistance, and patrons could insist that their clients supported them in return.

The dinner parties which were a central part of Pompeian social life were also opportunities to meet important people and discuss key issues. There were no strict rules about who got invited, so the guest list could be varied and different people could meet together.

Evidence

A very large marble tomb with the longest funerary inscription ever found is thought to be that of Alleius Nigidus Maius. It was made shortly before the eruption in AD 79, which is why it is so well preserved. This inscription details his political achievements and remembers great things that he did, including:

  • hosting a banquet for 6,840 Pompeians and huge gladiator games at which 416 gladiators took part, 30 or less usually fought in the regular games in Pompeii.
  • another large banquet and generous gifts of silver coins to the people of Pompeii to celebrate his wedding.
  • money given to support magistrates and guilds.
  • providing food to the people during a time of famine.
  • many great games with fights between gladiators and wild beasts.

A notable local figure he humbly turned down the title of ‘patron’ of the city according to his tomb inscription and is called 'principi coloniae' (‘first citizen of the colony’) in several sources.

4.3.2 Petronius

Historical background

As magistrates were involved in areas such as the regulation of trade and tax collection there were lots of opportunities for corruption, and their actions could have a very real impact on the lives of everyday people. In Rome itself the aediles looked after the ‘corn dole’, food given out to the poor by the government. Misconduct could mean very hungry and angry people!

We have many sources from the Roman world complaining about the corruption and selfishness of the magistrates both in Rome and the wider Empire. We can assume Pompeii was no different and that people were not always happy with their elected officials.

Evidence

Petronius was a Roman noble who wrote the satirical novel the Satyricon during his time at the court of Emperor Nero (54–68 AD).

The most well-known section is an account of a lavish dinner party by a man named Trimalchio. Here the lead character listens to his companions chat – and complain – about everyday life in Rome.

In this extract one guest, Ganymede, complains about food shortages and the behaviour of the aediles who should be helping the people. He claims they are instead working with the bakers to keep bread prices high. For them, he says, it’s always a festival day as they always have plenty to eat and celebrate!

Unless otherwise stated, all content and illustrations: © 2020 Cambridge Schools Classics Project
You may freely reproduce and distribute teaching materials provided in .pdf or .ppt format for educational purposes only. All other rights reserved. No other content (including story text, illustrations and audio recordings) should be printed, copied or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Cambridge School Classics Project and other copyright owners.

Story text: © 2020 Roman Mysteries Ltd licensed exclusively for use by Cambridge School Classics Project
We gratefully acknowledge the sources of copyright images and material used in this project on our Meet the Team page and in our list of Image Attributions. All reasonable efforts have been made to make sure material is attributed correctly; should you feel we have made an error, please contact us.