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Magnus Pius:
Sextus Pompeius
and the Transformation of the Roman Republic [Hardback]
By
Kathryn Welch
ISBN 13: 9781905125449, hardback,
350pp. 2012,
Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius, son of Pompey the
Great, fits uneasily - or not at all - into the grand narrative of
the civil war of 49-31BC. Modern scholars tend to exclude him or
mention him without asking what or whom he represented. Ronald Syme,
the father of international orthodoxy in this field, famously remarked
that Sextus was 'in reality an adventurer' who was 'easily represented
as a pirate'. He was wrong. Sextus Pompeius plays havoc with key
elements of the accepted narrative. His military success destroys
the myth of continuous Caesarian victory. His commitment to rescuing
the victims of Triumviral violence belies claims that only the Caesarian
side represented clementia and justice. The naval strategy by which
he conducted the war demonstrates his commitment to the same cause
and ethics as his father and his father's allies. Welch argues that,
far from being a 'side-show' or a 'bit player', Sextus Pompeius was
integral to the fight for the res publica. She solves the 'problem'
by placing him at the centre of the story of Rome's transition from
Republic to Empire and so reveals a very different landscape that
emerges as a result.
Contents
1. The lost Republic
2. Sons of Neptune
3. The Pompeian inheritance
4. Refashioning Republicanism after the Ides of March
5. A Republican Triumvirate?
6. Pompeianum tempus
7. Bellum Siculum
8. Pietas at the dawn of the Principate
Appendix: Imp. and Imp. iterum: an unreliable guide to dating