The Grass Crown (novel)
Encyclopedia
The Grass Crown is the second historical novel in Colleen McCullough
's Masters of Rome
series.
The novel opens shortly after the action of The First Man in Rome
. Gaius Marius
and Lucius Cornelius Sulla
eat dinner together with their wives, and discuss the threat presented by Mithridates VI
of Pontus and Tigranes II
of Armenia.
' attempt to secure them the citizenship, which ends in his tragic assassination, is one of the main turning points in the entire series.)
Marius and Sulla, still friends and professional colleagues, face the Italian threat together, and succeed in putting down the rebellion of the Italians. However, Marius suffers a serious stroke (his second), and is forced to withdraw from the war. During this struggle, Sulla, rallying his troops against certain destruction near Nola
, is hailed as 'imperator
' on the field of battle and presented with the highest honour a Roman general can receive: the corona graminea
, the eponymous 'Grass Crown'. This was only awarded a very few times during the Republic, and only ever to a general or commander who broke the blockade around a beleaguered Roman army or otherwise saved an entire legion or army from annihilation.
However, once Rome has settled this pressing domestic matter, and can begin to plot revenge against Mithridates and Tigranes, Marius and Sulla have their first serious falling out over the question of who should lead the legions East. Marius, now an aged and discredited statesman previously dubbed the 'Third Founder of Rome', is pining for further glory and believes only he has the talent necessary to defeat the allied Kings. Sulla feels as though his old mentor is unwilling to step aside and wants to destroy Sulla's chance of outshining him. The Senate cites Marius's age and poor health as a reason to back Sulla, who moreover is the sitting consul and therefore has the side of right. The seeds of serious discord are planted.
The Roman comitia quickly becomes a source of political conflict between the two men, and leads to Sulla's first shocking march on Rome. It also leads Gaius Marius
to pursue an unprecedented seventh consulship, which he wins and undertakes after suffering a series of strokes, and is depicted in this novel as going mad.
Other narrative threads of note: the childhood of Julius Caesar
and Cato the Younger
, as well as the early military careers of Pompey
and Cicero
(who was appointed to Pompeius Strabo
as a cadet) in the Social War: and the unjust trial and exile of Publius Rutilius Rufus
, falsely accused of extortion, driven out of Rome, and welcomed by a street festival in his honour in the city he was accused of looting.
Colleen McCullough
Colleen McCullough-Robinson, , is an internationally acclaimed Australian author.-Life:McCullough was born in Wellington, in outback central west New South Wales, in 1937 to James and Laurie McCullough. Her mother was a New Zealander of part-Māori descent. During her childhood, her family moved...
's Masters of Rome
Masters of Rome
Masters of Rome is a series of historical fiction novels by author Colleen McCullough set in ancient Rome during the last days of the old Roman Republic; it primarily chronicles the lives and careers of Gaius Marius, Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Pompeius Magnus, Gaius Julius Caesar, and the early...
series.
The novel opens shortly after the action of The First Man in Rome
The First Man in Rome (novel)
The First Man in Rome is the first historical novel in Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series.The cast includes most of the major historical figures of the late Roman Republic, including: Gaius Marius and Lucius Cornelius Sulla, as well as Gaius Julius Caesar II , Julia, Marcus Aemilius...
. Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius was a Roman general and statesman. He was elected consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his dramatic reforms of Roman armies, authorizing recruitment of landless citizens, eliminating the manipular military formations, and reorganizing the...
and Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix , known commonly as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He had the rare distinction of holding the office of consul twice, as well as that of dictator...
eat dinner together with their wives, and discuss the threat presented by Mithridates VI
Mithridates VI of Pontus
Mithridates VI or Mithradates VI Mithradates , from Old Persian Mithradatha, "gift of Mithra"; 134 BC – 63 BC, also known as Mithradates the Great and Eupator Dionysius, was king of Pontus and Armenia Minor in northern Anatolia from about 120 BC to 63 BC...
of Pontus and Tigranes II
Tigranes the Great
Tigranes the Great was emperor of Armenia under whom the country became, for a short time, the strongest state east of the Roman Republic. He was a member of the Artaxiad Royal House...
of Armenia.
Plot summary
Although these two powerful Eastern rulers would eventually declare war on Rome and slaughter thousands of Roman citizens, the plot of the novel centres on the Social War of 91 to 88 BC, a civil war which Rome fought against its mutinous Italian Allies after they were refused full Roman citizenship. (The lengthy section dealing with Marcus Livius DrususMarcus Livius Drusus
Marcus Livius Drusus may refer to:* Marcus Livius Drusus * Marcus Livius Drusus * Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus , Roman senator and adopted son of the tribune* Marcus Livius Drusus Libo, son of Claudianus...
' attempt to secure them the citizenship, which ends in his tragic assassination, is one of the main turning points in the entire series.)
Marius and Sulla, still friends and professional colleagues, face the Italian threat together, and succeed in putting down the rebellion of the Italians. However, Marius suffers a serious stroke (his second), and is forced to withdraw from the war. During this struggle, Sulla, rallying his troops against certain destruction near Nola
Nola
Nola is a city and comune of Campania, southern Italy, in the province of Naples, situated in the plain between Mount Vesuvius and the Apennines...
, is hailed as 'imperator
Imperator
The Latin word Imperator was originally a title roughly equivalent to commander under the Roman Republic. Later it became a part of the titulature of the Roman Emperors as part of their cognomen. The English word emperor derives from imperator via Old French Empreur...
' on the field of battle and presented with the highest honour a Roman general can receive: the corona graminea
Grass Crown
The Grass Crown or Blockade Crown was the highest and rarest of all military decorations in the Roman Republic and early Roman empire. It was presented only to a general, commander, or officer whose actions saved the legion or the entire army...
, the eponymous 'Grass Crown'. This was only awarded a very few times during the Republic, and only ever to a general or commander who broke the blockade around a beleaguered Roman army or otherwise saved an entire legion or army from annihilation.
However, once Rome has settled this pressing domestic matter, and can begin to plot revenge against Mithridates and Tigranes, Marius and Sulla have their first serious falling out over the question of who should lead the legions East. Marius, now an aged and discredited statesman previously dubbed the 'Third Founder of Rome', is pining for further glory and believes only he has the talent necessary to defeat the allied Kings. Sulla feels as though his old mentor is unwilling to step aside and wants to destroy Sulla's chance of outshining him. The Senate cites Marius's age and poor health as a reason to back Sulla, who moreover is the sitting consul and therefore has the side of right. The seeds of serious discord are planted.
The Roman comitia quickly becomes a source of political conflict between the two men, and leads to Sulla's first shocking march on Rome. It also leads Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius was a Roman general and statesman. He was elected consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his dramatic reforms of Roman armies, authorizing recruitment of landless citizens, eliminating the manipular military formations, and reorganizing the...
to pursue an unprecedented seventh consulship, which he wins and undertakes after suffering a series of strokes, and is depicted in this novel as going mad.
Other narrative threads of note: the childhood of Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
and Cato the Younger
Cato the Younger
Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis , commonly known as Cato the Younger to distinguish him from his great-grandfather , was a politician and statesman in the late Roman Republic, and a follower of the Stoic philosophy...
, as well as the early military careers of Pompey
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
and Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
(who was appointed to Pompeius Strabo
Pompeius Strabo
Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo , whose cognomen means "cross eyed", is often referred to in English as Pompey Strabo to distinguish him from Strabo, the geographer. Strabo lived in the Roman Republic. Strabo was born and raised into a noble family in Picenum a rural district in Northern Italy, off the...
as a cadet) in the Social War: and the unjust trial and exile of Publius Rutilius Rufus
Publius Rutilius Rufus
Publius Rutilius Rufus was a Roman statesman, orator and historian of the Rutilius family, as well as great-uncle of Gaius Julius Caesar....
, falsely accused of extortion, driven out of Rome, and welcomed by a street festival in his honour in the city he was accused of looting.