On Roman Religion by Rupke Jorg;

Author:Rupke, Jorg;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lightning Source Inc. (Tier 3)
Published: 2016-08-30T00:00:00+00:00

Competition in the Record Book

My next example is drawn from a late ancient source, the Saturnalia of Macrobius.29 The following passage is quoted from the commentarii, the records of the priesthood of the Pontifices, and it is quite probably the most precisely identifiable quotation from priestly books: it is part of the fourth annual volume of the notes of the Pontifex Maximus Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius regarding his urban official affairs. Caecilius held the office of Pontifex Maximus from 81–64 BC. Given his periods of absence from Rome, the described event would belong to the year 70 BC.30

Refero enim pontificis vetustissimam cenam quae scripta est in indice quarto Metelli illius pontificis maximi in haec verba: ante diem nonam kalendas Septembres, quo die Lentulus flamen Martialis inauguratus est, domus ornata fuit, triclinea lectis eburneis strata fuerunt, duobus tricliniis pontifices cubuerunt, Q. Catulus, M. Aemilius Lepidus, D. Silanus, C. Caesar, <***> rex sacrorum, P. Scaevola sextus; Q. Cornelius, P. Volumnius, P. Albinovanus et C. Iulius Caesar augur, qui eum inauguravit; in tertio triclinio Popilia, Perpennia, Licinia, Arruntia virgines Vestales et ipsius uxor Publicia flaminica et Sempronia socrus eius. cena haec fuit: ante cenam echinos, ostreas crudas quantum vellent, peloridas, sphondylos, turdum asparagos subtus, gallinam altilem, patinam ostrearum peloridum, balanos nigros, balanos albos; iterum sphondylos, glycomaridas, urticas, ficedulas, lumbos capruginos aprugnos, altilia ex farina involuta, ficedulas, murices et purpuras. in cena sumina, sinciput aprugnum, patinam piscium, patinam suminis, anates, querquedulas elixas, lepores, altilia assa, amulum, panes Picentes.

I refer to the long bygone banquet of the pontiff that is described in the fourth volume of that supreme pontiff Metellus as follows: on September 22, on the day when Lentulus was inaugurated as Flamen Martialis, his house was decorated, the triclinia of ivory were prepared. On two of the triclinia reclined the Pontifices, Q. Catulus, M. Aemilius Lepidus, D. Silanus, C. Caesar, the Rex Sacrorum [the name is missing], P. [Mucius] Scaevola coming sixth; [now the Pontifices minores are listed:] Q. Cornelius, P. Volumnius, P. Albinovanus and the augur L. Iulius Caesar, who had inaugurated the Flamen. On the third bed the Vestal Virgins Popilia, Perpennia, Licinia, Arruntia, and his own wife, the Flaminica Publicia, and Sempronia, his mother-in-law. This was the meal: before the main course, sea urchin, raw oysters (as many as they wanted), giant mussels, mussels, thrush under asparagus, fattened chicken, a bowl of oysters and giant mussels, black shellfish, white shellfish, again mussels, Venus mussels, stinging nettle, fig thrushes, loin roast of goats and boar, fattened poultry coated with breadcrumbs, again fig thrushes, two sorts of purple snails. For the main course pork udder, head of boar, a bowl of fishes, a bowl of udder, ducks, cooked crick ducks, rabbits, backed fattened poultry, wheat porridge.

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