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The ''senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus'' ("senatorial decree concerning the
Bacchanalia The Bacchanalia were unofficial, privately funded popular Roman festivals of Bacchus, based on various ecstatic elements of the Greek Dionysia. They were almost certainly associated with Rome's native cult of Liber, and probably arrived in Rom ...
") is a notable
Old Latin Old Latin, also known as Early Latin or Archaic Latin (Classical la, prīsca Latīnitās, lit=ancient Latinity), was the Latin language in the period before 75 BC, i.e. before the age of Classical Latin. It descends from a common Proto-Italic ...
inscription dating to 186 BC. It was discovered in 1640 at
Tiriolo Tiriolo is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of southern Italy. It was the birthplace of Renaissance painter Marco Cardisco. "The houses in the historic center, perched like in a nativity scene, make up ...
, in
Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
, southern Italy. Published by the presiding
praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...
, it conveys the substance of a decree of the
Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...
prohibiting the
Bacchanalia The Bacchanalia were unofficial, privately funded popular Roman festivals of Bacchus, based on various ecstatic elements of the Greek Dionysia. They were almost certainly associated with Rome's native cult of Liber, and probably arrived in Rom ...
throughout all Italy, except in certain special cases which must be approved specifically by the Senate. When members of the elite began to participate, information was put before the Senate by Publius Aebutius and his lover and neighbour
Hispala Faecenia Hispala Faecenia was a freedwoman and highly ranked courtesan from ancient Rome involved in giving a testimony that helped put a stop to the Bacchanalian scandal of 186 BCE. Hispala's role in the Bacchanalian scandal was to provide information on e ...
, who was also a well-known prostitute, as told in the ''
Ab Urbe Condita Libri The work called ( en, From the Founding of the City), sometimes referred to as (''Books from the Founding of the City''), is a monumental history of ancient Rome, written in Latin between 27 and 9 BC by Livy, a Roman historian. The wor ...
'' of
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 in ...
. The cult was held to be a threat to the security of the state, investigators were appointed, rewards were offered to informants, legal processes were put in place and the Senate began the official suppression of the cult throughout Italy. According to the Augustan historian
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 in ...
, the chief historical source, many committed suicide to avoid indictment. The stated penalty for leadership was death. Livy stated that there were more executions than imprisonments. After the conspiracy had been quelled the Bacchanalia survived in southern Italy. The Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus can be seen as an example of ''
realpolitik ''Realpolitik'' (; ) refers to enacting or engaging in diplomatic or political policies based primarily on considerations of given circumstances and factors, rather than strictly binding itself to explicit ideological notions or moral and ethical ...
'', a display of the Roman senate's authority to its Italian allies after the Second Punic War, and a reminder to any Roman politician, populist and would-be generalissimo that the Senate's collective authority trumped all personal ambition. Nevertheless, the extent and ferocity of the official response to the Bacchanalia was probably unprecedented, and betrays some form of
moral panic A moral panic is a widespread feeling of fear, often an irrational one, that some evil person or thing threatens the values, interests, or well-being of a community or society. It is "the process of arousing social concern over an issue", us ...
on the part of Roman authorities; Burkert finds "nothing comparable in religious history before the persecutions of Christians".


Text

The surviving copy is inscribed on a bronze tablet discovered in
Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...
in Southern Italy (1640), now at the
Kunsthistorisches Museum The Kunsthistorisches Museum ( "Museum of Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, it is crowned with an octagonal d ...
in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
. The text as copied from the inscription is as follows. # MARCIVS L F S POSTVMIVS L F COS SENATVM CONSOLVERVNT N OCTOB APVD AEDEM # DVELONAI SC ARF M CLAVDI M F L VALERI P F Q MINVCI C F DE BACANALIBVS QVEI FOIDERATEI # ESENT ITA EXDEICENDVM CENSVERE NEIQVIS EORVM BACANAL HABVISE VELET SEI QVES # ESENT QVEI SIBEI DEICERENT NECESVS ESE BACANAL HABERE EEIS VTEI AD PR VRBANVM # ROMAM VENIRENT DEQVE EEIS REBVS VBEI EORVM VER AVDITA ESENT VTEI SENATVS # NOSTER DECERNERET DVM NE MINVS SENATOR VS C ADESENT VOM E RES COSOLORETVR # BACAS VIR NEQVIS ADIESE VELET CEIVIS ROMANVS NEVE NOMINVS LATINI NEVE SOCIVM # QVISQVAM NISEI PR VRBANVM ADIESENT ISQVE SENATVOS SENTENTIAD DVM NE # MINVS SENATORIBVS C ADESENT QVOM EA RES COSOLERETVR IOVSISENT CE VERE # SACERDOS NEQVIS VIR ESET MAGISTER NEQVE VIR NEQVE MVLIER QVISQVAM ESET # NEVE PECVNIAM QVISQVAM EORVM COMOINE HBVISE VE T NEVE MAGISTRATVM # NEVE PRO MAGISTRATVD NEQVE VIRVM EQVE MVLEREM QVISQVAM FECISE VELET # NEVE POST HAC INTER SED CONIOVRA E NEV COMVOVISE NEVE CONSPONDISE # NEVE CONPROMESISE VELET NEVE QVISQVAM FIDEM INTER SED DEDISE VELET # SACRA IN OQVOLTOD NE QVISQVAM FECISE VELET NEVE IN POPLICOD NEVE IN # PREIVATOD NEVE EXSTRAD VRBEM SACRA QVISQVAM FECISE VELET NISEI # PR VRBANVM ADIESET ISQVE DE SENATVOS SENTENTIAD DVM NE MINVS # SENATORIBVS C ADESENT QVOM EA RES COSOLERETVR IOVSISENT CENSVERE # HOMINES PLOVS V OINVORSEI VIREI ATQVE MVLIERES SACRA NE QVISQVAM # FECISE VELET NEVE INTER IBEI VIREI PLOVS DVOBVS MVLIERIBVS PLOVS TRIBVS # ARFVISE VELENT NISEI DE PR VRBANI SENATVOSQVE SENTENTIAD VTEI SVPRAD # SCRIPTVM EST HAICE VTEI IN COVENTIONID EXDEICATIS NE MINVS TRINVM # NOVNDINVM SENATVOSQVE SENTENTIAM VTEI SCIENTES ESETIS EORVM # SENTENTIA ITA FVIT SEI QVES ESENT QVEI ARVORSVM EAD FECISENT QVAM SVPRAD # SCRIPTVM EST EEIS REM CAPVTALEM FACIENDAM CENSVERE ATQVE VTEI # HOCE IN TABOLAM AHENAM INCEIDERETIS ITA SENATVS AIQVOM CENSVIT # VTEIQVE EAM FIGIER IOVBEATIS VBI FACILVMED GNOSCIER POTISIT ATQVE # VTEI EA BACANALIA SEI QVA SVNT EXSTRAD QVAM SEI QVID IBEI SACRI EST # ITA VTEI SVPRAD SCRIPTVM EST IN DIEBVS X QVIBVS VOBEIS TABELAI DATAI # ERVNT FACIATIS VTEI DISMOTA SIENT IN AGRO TEVRANO


Translation into classical Latin

The following passage uses classical reflexes of the Old Latin lexical items: # uīntusMārcius L(ūciī) f(īlius), S(purius) Postumius L(ūciī) f(īlius) cō(n)s(ulēs) senātum cōnsuluērunt N(ōnīs) Octōb(ribus), apud aedem # Bellōnae. Sc(rībendō) adf(uērunt) M(ārcus) Claudi(us) M(ārcī) f(īlius), L(ūcius) Valeri(us) P(ubliī) f(īlius), Q(uīntus) Minuci(us) C (=Gaiī) f(īlius). Dē Bacchānālibus quī foederātī # essent, ita ēdīcendum cēnsuēre: «Nēquis eōrum cchānal habuisse vellet. Sī quī # essent, quī sibī dīcerent necesse esse Bacchānal habēre, eīs utī ad pr(aetōrem) urbānum # Rōmam venīrent, dēque eīs rēbus, ubī eōrum v audīta essent, utī senātus # noster dēcerneret, dum nē minus senatōr us C adessent,
um e UM or um may refer to: Universities * U of M (disambiguation) or UM, abbreviation for various universities Businesses * Universal McCann, a global advertising and media agency * United Motors Company, a former name of American automotive parts s ...
rēs cōnsulerētur. # Bacchās vir nēquis adiisse vellet cīvis Rōmānus nēve nōminis Latīnī nēve sociōrum # quisquam, nisi pr(aetōrem) urbānum adiissent, isque � senātūs sententiā, dum nē # minus senātōribus C adessent, cum ea rēs cōnsulerētur, iussissent. Cēnsuēre. # Sacerdōs nēquis vir esset; magister neque vir neque mulier quisquam esset. # Nēve pecūniam quisquam eōrum commūne hbuisse vellet; nēve magistrātum, # nēve prō magistrātū, neque virum eque mulerem qui uam fecisse vellet, # nēve posthāc inter sē coniūrās e nēv convōvisse nēve cōnspondisse # nēve comprōmīsisse vellet, nēve quisquam fidem inter sē dedisse vellet. # Sacra in occultō nē quisquam fēcisse vellet. Nēve in publicō nēve in # prīvātō nēve extrā urbem sacra quisquam fēcisse vellet, nisi # pr(aetōrem) urbānum adiisset, isque dē senātūs sententiā, dum nē minus # senatōribus C adessent, cum ea rēs cōnsulerētur, iussissent. Cēnsuēre. # Hominēs plūs V ūniversī virī atque mulierēs sacra nē quisquam # fēcisse vellet, nēve inter ibī virī plūs duōbus, mulieribus plūs tribus # adfuisse vellent, nisi dē pr(aetōris) urbānī senātūsque sententiā, utī suprā # scrīptum est.» Haec utī in cōntiōne ēdīcātis nē minus trīnum # nūndinum, senātūsque sententiam utī scientēs essētis, eōrum # sententia ita fuit: «Sī quī essent, quī adversum ea fēcissent, quam suprā # scrīptum est, eīs rem capitālem faciendam cēnsuēre». Atque utī # hoc in tabulam ahēnam incīderētis, ita senātus aequum cēnsuit, # utīque eam fīgī iubeātis, ubī facillimē nōscī possit; atque # utī ea Bacchānālia, sī quae sunt, extrā quam sī quid ibī sacrī est, # (ita utī suprā scrīptum est) in diēbus X, quibus vōbīs tabellae datae # erunt, faciātis utī dīmōta sint. In agrō Teurānō.


Orthography

The spelling of the text of the ''Senatus consultum'' differs in many predictable ways from the spelling of Classical Latin. Some of these differences are merely orthographical; others reflect archaic pronunciations or other archaisms in the forms of words.


Geminate consonants

In Classical Latin, geminate (or long) consonants are consistently written with a sequence of two letters: e.g., ''cc'', ''ll'', ''ss'' for ː ː ː These geminate consonants are not represented in the ''Senatus consultum'': :C for cc in HOCE (26:1) ''hocce'' :C for cch in BACANALIBVS (2:17) ''Bacchānālibus'', BACANAL (3:7, 4:7) ''Bacchānal'', BACAS (7:1) ''Bacchās'', BACANALIA (28:3) ''Bacchānālia''. The ''h'' was probably not pronounced. :L for ll in DVELONAI (2:1) ''Bellōnae'', VELET (3:9 ''et passim'') ''vellet'', VELENT (21:2) ''vellent'', FACILVMED (27:6) ''facillimē'', TABELAI (29:11) ''tabellae'' :M for mm in COMOINE (11:5) ''commūnem'' :Q for cc in OQVOLTOD (15:3) ''occultō'' :S for ss in ADESENT (6:8, 9:4, 18:3) ''adessent'', ADIESE (7:4) ''adiisse'', ADIESENT (8:5) ''adiissent'', ADIESET (17:3) ''adiisset'', ARFVISE (21:1) ''adfuisse'', COMVOVISE (13:8) ''convōvisse'', CONPROMESISE (14:2) ''comprōmīsisse'', CONSPONDISE (13:10) ''conspondisse'', DEDISE (14:9) ''dedisse'', ESE (4:6), ESENT (3:1, 4:1, 5:10, 24:6) ''essent'', ESET (10:4, 10:11), ESETIS (23:6) ''essētis'', FECISE (12:9, 15:6, 16:7, 20:1) ''fēcisse'', FECISENT (24:10) ''fēcissent'', HABVISE (3:8) ''habuisse'', IOVSISENT (9:9) ''iussissent'', NECESVS (4:5) ''necessus''.


Consonant clusters

Archaic gn- is found for n- at the beginning of the verb ''nosco'' :GNOSCIER (27:7) ''noscī''. The prefix ''ad'' appears as AR before V and F: : ARVORSVM ''adversum'' (24:8), ARFVISE (21:1) ''adfuisse'', and ARF ERVNT(2:3) ''adfuērunt''. The consonants ''bl'' appear as PL in POPLICOD ''publicō'' (15:10), recalling its origin from ''populus''.


Diphthongs

AI is usually used instead of Classical ''ae'' in: :DVELONAI (2:1) ''Bellōnae'', HAICE (22:3) ''haec'', AIQVOM (26:8) ''aequum'' and TABELAI DATAI (29:11-12) ''tabellae datae''. But AE is found in AEDEM (1:15). EI became Classical ''ī'' in: :QVEI (2:18, 4:2, 24:7) ''quī'', SEI (3:10, 24:4, 28:4,9) ''sī'', VIREI (19:5, 20:6) ''virī'', CEIVIS (7:6) ''cīvis'', DEICERENT (4:4) ''dīcerent'', EXDEICATIS (22:7) ''ēdīcātis'', EXDEICENDVM (3:3) ''ēdīcendum'', INCEIDERETIS (26:5) ''incīderētis'', PREIVATOD ''prīvātō'' (16:1), EEIS (4:9, 5:4, 25:3) ''eīs'', VOBEIS (29:10) ''vōbīs'', FOIDERATEI (2:19) ''foederātī'', OINVORSEI (19:4) ''ūniversī'' EI at the end of a word often corresponds to Classical short ''i'' or to no vowel at all. However, in many cases such as ''sibī'', ''utī'', archaizing Classical forms ending in ''ī'' are also found, especially in poetry. :IBEI (20:5, 28:11) ''ibi'', NISEI (8:2, 16:9, 21:3) ''nisi'', SIBEI (4:3) ''sibi'', VBEI ''ubi'' (5:6), VTEI ''ut'' (4:10 ''et passim''), VTEIQVE (27:1) ''utque''. OV normally became Classical ''ū'' in: :CONIOVRA E(13:6) ''coniūrāsse'', NOVNDINVM (23:1) ''nūndinum'', PLOVS (19:2, 20:7,10) ''plūs''. Classical ''iubeātis'' and ''iussissent'' for IOVBEATIS (27:4) and IOVSISENT (9:9, 18:8) show the influence of the participle ''iussus'', with regular short ''u'' in the stem. OI normally became Classical ''ū'' in: :COMOINE (11:5) ''commūnem'', OINVORSEI (19:4) ''ūniversī'' OI exceptionally became Classical ''oe'' in: :FOIDERATEI (2:19) ''foederātī''


Short vowels

:VO occurs instead of Classical Latin ''ve'' in ARVORSVM (24:8) ''adversum'' and OINVORSEI (19:4) ''ūniversī''. :OL occurs instead of Classical Latin ''ul'' in COSOLERETVR (6:12) ''cōnsulerētur'', CONSOLVERVNT (1:11) ''cōnsuluērunt'', TABOLAM (26:3) ''tabulam'' and OQVOLTOD (15:3) ''occultō''. :OM occurs instead of Classical Latin ''um'' in QVOM (18:4) ''cum'' and AIQVOM (26:8) ''aequum.'' :O occurs instead of Classical Latin ''u'' in POPLICOD ''publicō'' :V occurs instead of Classical Latin ''i'' in FACILVMED (27:6) ''facillimē'' and CAPVTALEM ''capitālem''. The spelling of CAPVTALEM recalls its origin from the noun ''caput''. The ending ''-umus'' for ''-imus'' occurs frequently in archaic Classical Latin texts; the vowel represented interchangeably by ''u'' and ''i'' may have been a central vowel distinct in sound from both. Possibly OINVORSEI (19:4) ''ūniversī'' belongs here too, if one may read it as ''oinu(v)orsei''.


Archaisms

The archaic ending -ce added to some forms of the pronoun ''hic'' is reduced to -c in Classical Latin in most cases: : HAICE (22:3) ''haec'' and HOCE (26:1) ''hoc'' The ending -d, found on some adverbs and ablative singulars of nouns and pronouns, is lost in Classical Latin: :Adverbs SVPRAD (21:10, 24:12, 29:3) ''suprā'', EXSTRAD (16:3, 28:7) ''extrā'', FACILVMED (27:6) ''facillimē''. :Ablatives EAD (24:9) ''eā'', SED (13:5, 14:8) ''sē'', COVENTIONID (22:6) ''cōntiōne'', MAGISTRATVD ''magistrātū'' (12:3), OQVOLTOD (15:3) ''occultō'', POPLICOD ''publicō'' (15:10), PREIVATOD ''prīvātō'' (16:1), SENTENTIAD (8:9, 17:7, 21:8) ''sententiā''. The last two words AGRO TEVRANO (30:7-8) omit the final -d, despite containing the same ablative ending elsewhere written -OD; this fact suggests that at the time of writing, the final -d was no longer pronounced in ordinary speech. In Classical Latin the prefixes ''ex-'' and ''dis-'' become ''ē-'' and ''dī-'' before voiced consonants. In the ''Senatus consultum'', they are still written EX and DIS: :EXDEICENDVM (3:3) ''ēdīcendum'', EXDEICATIS ''ēdīcātis'' (22:7), and DISMOTA (30:4) ''dīmōta''.


Archaic morpheme variants

The archaic passive infinitive ending -ier (instead of Classical ''-ī'') is used :FIGIER (27:3) ''fīgī'', GNOSCIER (27:7) ''noscī''. The archaic third-declension genitive singular ending -us (instead of Classical ''-is'') is used in NOMINVS (7.9) (instead of ''nōminis''). The ending ''-us'' comes from the Indo-European genitive singular ending *-os, the o-grade variant of the genitive singular suffix for consonant-stem nouns (while Classical -is comes from the e-grade variant *-es of the same suffix).


Translation into English

The inscription was translated by Nina E. Weston as follows. :"The Consuls Quintus Marcius, the son of Lucius, and Spurius Postumius, the son of Lucius, consulted the senate on the Nones of October (7th), at the temple of the Bellona. Marcus Claudius, son of Marcus, Lucius Valerius, son of Publius, and Quintus Minucius, son of Gaius, were the committee for drawing up the report.
Regarding the Bacchanalia, it was resolved to give the following directions to those who are in alliance with us:
No one of them is to possess a place where the festivals of Bacchus are celebrated; if there are any who claim that it is necessary for them to have such a place, they are to come to Rome to the praetor urbanus, and the senate is to decide on those matters, when their claims have been heard, provided that not less than 100 senators are present when the affair is discussed. No man is to be a Bacchantian, neither a Roman citizen, nor one of the Latin name, nor any of our allies unless they come to the praetor urbanus, and he in accordance with the opinion of the senate expressed when not less than 100 senators are present at the discussion, shall have given leave. Carried.
No man is to be a priest; no one, either man or woman, is to be an officer (to manage the temporal affairs of the organization); nor is anyone of them to have charge of a common treasury; no one shall appoint either man or woman to be master or to act as master; henceforth they shall not form conspiracies among themselves, stir up any disorder, make mutual promises or agreements, or interchange pledges; no one shall observe the sacred rites either in public or private or outside the city, unless he comes to the praetor urbanus, and he, in accordance with the opinion of the senate, expressed when no less than 100 senators are present at the discussion, shall have given leave. Carried.
No one in a company of more than five persons altogether, men and women, shall observe the sacred rites, nor in that company shall there be present more than two men or three women, unless in accordance with the opinion of the praetor urbanus and the senate as written above.
See that you declare it in the assembly (contio) for not less than three market days; that you may know the opinion of the senate this was their judgment: if there are any who have acted contrary to what was written above, they have decided that a proceeding for a capital offense should be instituted against them; the senate has justly decreed that you should inscribe this on a brazen tablet, and that you should order it to be placed where it can be easiest read; see to it that the revelries of Bacchus, if there be any, except in case there be concerned in the matter something sacred, as was written above, be disbanded within ten days after this letter shall be delivered to you.
In the Teuranian field."


See also

*
List of Roman laws This is a partial list of Roman laws. A Roman law (Latin: ''lex'') is usually named for the sponsoring legislator and designated by the adjectival form of his '' gens'' name ('' nomen gentilicum''), in the feminine form because the noun ''lex'' (p ...
*
Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...


Notes


External links

* * * *
Matthias Riedl, "The Containment of Dionysos: Religion and Politics in the Bacchanalia Affair of 186 BCE,"
''International Political Anthropology'' 5 (2012) No. 2, pp. 113–133. {{DEFAULTSORT:Senatus Consultum De Bacchanalibus 2nd century BC in the Roman Republic 2nd-century BC inscriptions Roman law Latin inscriptions