Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus
Encyclopedia
The senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus ("senatorial decree concerning the Bacchanalia
") is a notable Old Latin
inscription dating to AUC
568, or 186 BC
. It was discovered in 1640 at Tiriolo
, southern Italy. Published by the presiding praetor
, it states the substance of a decree of the Roman Senate
prohibiting the Bacchanalia
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. 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. Many committed suicide to avoid indictment. The stated penalty for leadership was capital. The Augustan
historian Livy
, the chief historical source, states that there were more executions than imprisonments. After the conspiracy had been quelled the Bacchanalia survived in Southern Italy.
in Southern Italy (1640), now at the Kunsthistorisches Museum
in Vienna
. The text as copied from the inscription is as follows.
"Quintus Marcius the son of Lucius, and Spurius Postumius, consulted the senate on the Nones of October (7th), at the temple of the Bellonae. 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."
Bacchanalia
The bacchanalia were wild and mystic festivals of the Greco-Roman god Bacchus , the wine god. The term has since come to describe any form of drunken revelry.-History:...
") is a notable Old Latin
Old Latin
Old Latin refers to the Latin language in the period before the age of Classical Latin; that is, all Latin before 75 BC...
inscription dating to AUC
Ab urbe condita
Ab urbe condita is Latin for "from the founding of the City ", traditionally set in 753 BC. AUC is a year-numbering system used by some ancient Roman historians to identify particular Roman years...
568, or 186 BC
186 BC
Year 186 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Albinus and Philippus...
. It was discovered in 1640 at Tiriolo
Tiriolo
Tiriolo is a town and comune in the province of Catanzaro in the Calabria region of southern Italy.-Geography:The town is bordered by Catanzaro, Gimigliano, Marcellinara, Miglierina, San Pietro Apostolo and Settingiano....
, southern Italy. Published by the presiding praetor
Praetor
Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...
, it states the substance of a decree of the Roman Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
prohibiting the Bacchanalia
Bacchanalia
The bacchanalia were wild and mystic festivals of the Greco-Roman god Bacchus , the wine god. The term has since come to describe any form of drunken revelry.-History:...
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. 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. Many committed suicide to avoid indictment. The stated penalty for leadership was capital. The Augustan
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
historian Livy
Livy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
, the chief historical source, states that there were more executions than imprisonments. After the conspiracy had been quelled the Bacchanalia survived in Southern Italy.
Text
The surviving copy is inscribed on a bronze tablet discovered in ApuliaApulia
Apulia is a region in Southern Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea in the east, the Ionian Sea to the southeast, and the Strait of Òtranto and Gulf of Taranto in the south. Its most southern portion, known as Salento peninsula, forms a high heel on the "boot" of Italy. The region comprises , and...
in Southern Italy (1640), now at the Kunsthistorisches Museum
Kunsthistorisches Museum
The Kunsthistorisches Museum is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on Ringstraße, it is crowned with an octagonal dome...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. The text as copied from the inscription is as follows.
- [Q] MARCIUS L F S POSTUMIUS L F COS SENATUM CONSOLUERUNT N OCTOB APUD AEDEM
- DUELONAI SC ARF M CLAUDI M F L VALERI P F Q MINUCI C F DE BACANALIBUS QUEI FOEDERATEI
- ESENT ITA EXDEICENDUM CENSUERE NEIQUIS EORUM BACANAL HABUISE VELET SEI QUES
- ESENT QUEI SIBEI DEICERENT NECESUS ESE BACANAL HABERE EEIS UTEI AD PR URBANUM
- ROMAM VENIRENT DEQUE EEIS REBUS UBEI EORUM VER[B]A AUDITA ESENT UTEI SENATUS
- NOSTER DECERNERET DUM NE MINUS SENATOR[I]BUS C ADESENT [QUOM E]A RES COSOLORETUR
- BACAS VIR NEQUIS ADIESE VELET CEIVIS ROMANUS NEVE NOMINUS LATINI NEVE SOCIUM
- QUISQUAM NISEI PR URBANUM ADIESENT ISQUE [D]E SENATUOS SENTENTIAD DUM NE
- MINUS SENATORIBUS C ADESENT QUOM EA RES COSOLERETUR IOUSISET CE[N]SUERE
- SACERDOS NE QUIS VIR ESET MAGISTER NEQUE VIR NEQUE MULIER QUISQUAM ESET
- NEVE PECUNIAM QUISQUAM EORUM COMOINE[MH]ABUISE VE[L]ET NEVE MAGISTRATUM
- NEVE PRO MAGISTRATU[D] NEQUE VIRUM [NEQUE MUL]IEREM QUISQUAM FECISE VELET
- NEVE POST HAC INTER SED CONIOURA [SE NEV]E COMVOVISE NEVE CONSPONDISE
- NEVE CONPROMESISE VELET NEVE QUISQUAM FIDEM INTER SED DEDISE VELET
- SACRA IN OQOLTOD NE QUISQUAM FECISE VELET NEVE IN POPLICOD NEVE IN
- PREIVATOD NEVE EXTRAD URBEM SACRA QUISQUAM FECISE VELET NISEI
- PR URBANUM ADIESET ISQUE DE SENATUOS SENTENTIAD DUM NE MINUS
- SENATORIBUS C ADESENT QUOM EA RES COSOLERETUR IOUSISET CENSUERE
- HOMINES PLOUS V OINVORSEI VIREI ATQUE MULIERES SACRA NE QUISQUAM
- FECISE VELET NEVE INTER IBEI VIREI PLOUS DUOBUS MULIERIBUS PLOUS TRIBUS
- ARFUISE VELENT NISEI DE PR URBANI SENATUOSQUE SENTENTIAD UTEI SUPRAD
- SCRIPTUM EST HAICE UTEI IN CONVENTIONID EXDEICATIS NE MINUS TRINUM
- NOUNDINUM SENATUOSQUE SENTENTIAM UTEI SCIENTES ESETIS EORUM
- SENTENTIA ITA FUIT SEI QUES ESENT QUEI ARVORSUM EAD FECISENT QUAM SUPRAD
- SCRIPTUM EST EEIS REM CAPUTALEM FACIENDAM CENSUERE ATQUE UTEI
- HOCE IN TABOLAM AHENAM INCEIDERETIS ITA SENATUS AIQUOM CENSUIT
- UTEIQUE EAM FIGIER IOUBEATIS UBI FACILUMED GNOSCIER POTISIT ATQUE
- UTEI EA BACANALIA SEI QUA SUNT EXSTRAD QUAM SEI QUID IBEI SACRI EST
- ITA UTEI SUPRAD SCRIPTUM EST IN DIEBUS X QUIBUS VOBEIS TABELAI DATAI
- ERUNT FACIATIS UTEI DISMOTA SIENT IN AGRO TEURANO
Transliteration into classical Latin
The following passage uses classical reflexes of the Old Latin lexical items:- [Quintus] Marcius L(ucii) f(ilius), S(purius) Postumius L(ucii) f(ilius) co(n)s(ules) senatum consoluerunt N(onis) Octob(ribus), apud aedem
- Bellonae. Sc(ribendo) adf(uerunt) M(arcus) Claudi(us) M(arci) f(ilius), L(ucius) Valeri(us) P(ublii) f(ilius), Q(uintus) Minuci(us) C (=Gaii) f(ilius). De Bacchanalibus qui foederati
- essent, ita edicendum censuere: «Nequis eorum [B]acchanal habuisse vellet. siqui
- essent, qui sibi dicerent necesse esse Bacchanal habere, ei uti ad pr(aetorem) urbanum
- Romam venirent, deque eis rebus, ubi eorum v[e]r[b]a audita essent, uti senatus
- noster decerneret, dum ne minus senator[i]bus C adessent, [cum e]a res consuleretur.
- Bacchas vir nequis adiisse vellet civis Romanus neve nominis Latini neve sociorum
- quisquam, nisi pr(aetorem) urbanum adiissent, isque [d]e senatus sententia, dum ne
- minus senatoribus C adessent, cum ea res consuleretur, iussisset. Ce[n]suere.
- Sacerdos nequis vir esset. Magister neque vir neque mulier quaequam esset.
- neve pecuniam quisquam eorum commune[m h]abuisse vellet. Neve magistratum,
- neve pro magistratu, neque virum [neque mul]ierem qui[s]quam fecisse vellet,
- neve post hac inter se coniuras[se nev]e convovisse neve conspondisse
- neve compromesisse vellet, neve quisquam fidem inter sed dedisse vellet.
- Sacra in occulto ne quisquam fecisse vellet. Neve in publico neve in
- privato neve extra urbem sacra quisquam fecisse vellet, nisi
- pr(aetorem) urbanum adiisset, isque de senatus sententia, dum ne minus
- senatoribus C adessent, cum ea res consuleretur, iussisset. Censuere.
- Homines plus V universi viri atque mulieres sacra ne quisquam
- fecisse vellet, neve interibi viri plus duobus, mulieribus plus tribus
- adfuisse vellent, nisi de pr(aetoris) urbani senatusque sententia, uti supra
- scriptum est.» Haec uti in contioni edicatis ne minus trinum
- nundinum, senatusque sententiam uti scientes essetis, eorum
- sententia ita fuit: «Siqui essent, qui adversum ea fecissent, quam supra
- scriptum est, eis rem capitalem faciendam censuere». Atque uti
- hoc in tabulam ahenam incideretis, ita senatus aequum censuit,
- utique eam figi iubeatis, ubi facillime nosci possit; atque
- uti ea Bacchanalia, siqua sunt, extra quam siquid ibi sacri est,
- (ita ut supra scriptum est) in diebus X, quibus vobis tabelae datae
- erunt, faciatis uti dimota sint. In agro Teurano.
Translation into English
The inscription was translated by Nina E. Weston as follows."Quintus Marcius the son of Lucius, and Spurius Postumius, consulted the senate on the Nones of October (7th), at the temple of the Bellonae. 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)
Roman assemblies
The Legislative Assemblies of the Roman Republic were political institutions in the ancient Roman Republic. According to the contemporary historian Polybius, it was the people who had the final say regarding the election of magistrates, the enactment of new statutes, the carrying out of capital...
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."