Spurius Maelius (died 439 BC) was a wealthy
Roman plebeian
In ancient Rome, the plebeians or plebs were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary.
Etymology
The precise origins of the gro ...
who was slain because he was suspected of intending to make himself king.
Biography
During a severe famine, Spurius Maelius bought up a large amount of
wheat
Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...
and sold it at a low price to the people of Rome. According to
Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...
, this caused
Lucius Minucius Augurinus, the
patrician ''praefectus annonae'' (president of the market), to accuse Spurius Maelius of collecting arms in his house, and that he was holding secret meetings at which plans were being undoubtedly formed to establish a monarchy. The accusation was widely believed. Maelius was summoned before the aged
Cincinnatus (specially appointed ''
dictator''), but he refused to appear, and was slain by the
Master of the Horse,
Gaius Servilius Ahala
Gaius Servilius Ahala ( 439 BC) was a 5th-century BC politician of ancient Rome, considered by many later writers to have been a hero. His fame rested on the contention that he saved Rome from Spurius Maelius in 439 BC by killing him with a dagg ...
. Afterward his house was razed to the ground, his wheat distributed amongst the people, and his property confiscated. The open space called the Equimaelium, on which his house had stood, preserved the memory of his death along the
Vicus Jugarius.
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...
calls Ahala's deed a glorious one, but, whether Maelius entertained any ambitious projects or not, his
summary execution was an act of
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
, since by the ''
Lex Valeria Horatia de provocatione'' the dictator was bound to allow the right of appeal.
See also
*
Marcus Junius Brutus
References
;Attribution
* Endnotes:
Sources
*Niebuhr's ''History of Rome'', ii. 418 (Eng. trans., 1851);
*G. Cornewall Lewis, ''Credibility of early Roman History'', ii.;
*Livy, iv. 13;
*Ancient sources:
Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...
, iv.13; Cicero, ''De senectute'' 16, ''De amicitia'' 8, ''De republica'', ii.49;
Florus, i.26;
Dionysius Halicarnassensis xii.I.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maelius, Spurius
439 BC deaths
Ancient Roman murder victims
5th-century BC Romans
Maelii
Year of birth missing