Pompey

Cicero to Atticus 1.16.12-13

Cicero to Atticus 1.16.12-13

Pompey's willingness to use his wealth to steer political developments

Wealth used to bribe in elections

Parallels to Philip of Macedon - Liking Pompey, who has just returned from the East, to a king

Cicero to Atticus 2.19 - 59 BCE

'Pompey, my hero, has brought about his own ruin

Scene narrated where Pompey is not presented as a popular figure

Pompey shows considerable favour towards me - amicita With Cicero?

Cicero to Atticus 2.21

Our friend Pompey, unaccustomed to popularity, always having enjoyed praise, abounding in glory, now physically disfigured and his morale shattered, does not know in which direction to take himself

Earlier - 'Concerning the Res Publica, it is completely lost, and in this respect a more wretched state than when you left it' - Distancing Pompey from importance of the breakdown of the Republic, as this was the state of it in a time which he was irrelevant and weak

'He had fallen down from the stars, he appeared to have skipped down rather than gone forwards' - Pleasing to Crassus!! But Crassus alone - Popularity of Pompey?

Cicero to Quintus 2.3.1

On the 2nd Feb 56 BCE - Milo appeared in Court

Pompey was his supporting Counsel - Ordained legitimacy of gangs

Cicero to Atticus 7.6.2

Demonstrates that agreeing openly with Pompey, in the run up to the civil war, was unviable

Intransigence of Pompey - not open to debate/discussion - they were going to oppose Caesar in open conflict and now allow concession

Caesar, Letter in Cicero, to Atticus 9.7

Letter of Caesar to Oppius and Balbus, quoted in Cicero

I had of my own accord decided to conduct myself in the mildest possible way and to endeavour to reconcile Pompey

Captured prefects of Pompey - 'If they wish to be grateful, they will have to encourage Pompey to prefer being a friend of mine, rather than a friend of those who have always been the most bitter enemies of his and of mine

Cicero, Catalinarians 4.21

Commentarolium Petitionis 14

Look around you and consider, whether, because you applied yourself with such zeal to increasing the Glory of Pompey, those whom you consider to be your amici for this reason, really are on your side

Caesar Civil War 4

Pompey himself was driven on by Caesar's enemies and by his determination that no one should equal his own dignitas

He therefore broke with Caesar and was restored to favour with those who had once been the common enemies of Caesar and himself

Vast majority of enemies he had imposed on Caesar when he had contracted a marriage alliance with his daughter Julia

Influenced by the discredit he had incurred in the matter of two legions - they had been intended for service in Syria and Asia but Pompey had turned them into a private army designed to support his own despotism

He was thus eager for open war

Caesar Civil War 5

Caesar at Ravenna, awaiting a reply to his very moderate demands and hoping that some sense of human justice might make a peaceful settlement possible

Plutarch life of Pompey 14

Pompey asked for a triumph - Sulla opposed the request

Declared to Pompey that he would not allow his request, but would oppose him and thwart his ambition if he refused to listen to him

Pompey suggested Sulla reflect on the fact that more people worship the rising sun than the setting sun - his own power was on the increase, whilst that of Sulla's was fading

When Sulla found about this boldness - 'Let him Triumph'

Plutarch life of Pompey 15

Sulla was annoyed at seeing the rise in Pompey's power and reputation - but being ashamed to obstruct his career he kept quiet

Pompey, against the direct wishes of Sulla, got Lepidus elected consul he could restrain no longer

Sulla showed most clearly his hostility to Pompey by the will he drew up - he omitted all mention of Pompey

Lepidus - Attempted to prevent his body from being buried in the Campus Martius - Pompey came to the rescue and ensured he received a safe and honourable burial.

Plutarch life of Pompey 20

Pompey exhausted most of his private resources and spent them on the war

He asked the senate for money - threatening to come back to Italy with his army if they did not send it

Death of Sertorius - Killed by Perpenna. Pompey marched against Perpenna and won a complete victory

Ordered Perpenna to be put to death

Allege that Pompey showed ingratitude or unmindfulness of what happened in Sicily, but in fact exercised great forethought and excellent judgement for the safety of Rome

Perpenna had letters from the most powerful men in Rome, who desired to overthrow the existing order and change the form of government - Pompey burned the letters without ever reading them

Plutarch, life of Pompey 47

Caesar returned from his campaign, instituted a policy which brought him the greatest favour for the present and power for the future - proved most injurious to Pompey and the city

Caesar sought to reconcile Crassus and Pompey.

For those opposing forces which prevented the city from rocking to and for, like a boat, were united into one, and they created an irresistible imbalance that overpowered and overthrew everything.

Some blamed the downfall of the city on the later disagreement between Pompey and Caesar. But as Cato said - it was not their falling out nor their hostility, but their alliance which was the first and greatest evil to befall the city.

Marriage alliance - Pompey married Julia, the daughter of Caesar, despite the fact she was betrothed to Caepio.

Plutarch, life of Pompey 48

Pompey filled the city with soldiers and carried all things by force as he pleased

Pompey got the acts and decrees of his ratified - Bibulus, Lucullus and Cato were mobbed on the way to the forum

Decided the consuls of the next year would Piso and Gabinius, the latter of which was the most extravagant of Pompey's flatterers

Pompey gave way weakly to his passion for his young wife, devoted himself for the most part to her - neglected what was going on in the forum

Clodius tried to repeal some of Pompey's administrative arrangements - took away Pompey's prisoner, Tigranes. Prosecuted some of Pompey's friends, using them as a way of testing his power.

Plutarch, life of Caesar 13

Caesar was responsible for reconciling Pompey and Crassus - the two most influential men in the city

For it was not as most supposed, the quarrel between Caesar and Pompey that brought on the civil wars, but rather their friendship, since they worked together for the overthrow of the aristocracy in the first place, and then, when this had been accomplished, did they fall out with one another

Plutarch, life of Caesar 14

Marriage alliance between Caesar and Pompey - Julia married Pompey

Plutarch life of Caesar 29

Caesar canvassing for a consulship - at first Pompey made no response

Pompey took  fright by the coalition (Caesar and Curio, and Paulus) and tried to have Caesar's command be passed to a successor in his provincial command

Demand to Caesar for the return of his soldiers that he lent him for his war in Gaul - Caesar sent the soldiers back

Soliders returned and spread rumours that were not true - that Caesar's army longed to see him and that they were ready to serve him. This fed Pompey's vanity and he neglected to provide himself with soldiers.

Plutarch life of Caesar 30

Demands of Caesar had a striking resemblance of fairness - he demanded that if he laid down his arms, Pompey should do the same

Scipio, the father-in-law of Pompey introduced a motion that if by a certain day Caesar did not lay down his arms, he would be declared a public enemy

Senate asked

• If Pompey should disband his soldiers, very few senators voted for it

• If both should give up their commands, this was welcomed unanimously

Plutarch, life of Caesar 21

Pompey agreed to the proposal, but was insistent on taking away Caesar's soldiers

Pompey ready to yield to the terms of Cicero, but Lentulus would not let him, and acted to drive Anthony and Curio from the Senate

Plutarch, life of Caesar 57

The statues of Pompey, which had been thrown down, he set up again

Cicero's remark to this action by Caesar - In setting up Pompey's statues Caesar firmly fixed his own

Sallust, Catiline Conspiracy 19

Piso, a known bitter enemy of Pompey, was sent out to Nearer Spain with praetorian powers

Senate - willing to give Piso this province

Aristocracy - Thought he was a safeguard against Pompey, whose power was even then becoming formidable

Piso was killed, when marching through his province, by the Spanish cavalry who formed part of his army

Others say that the horsemen, who were old and devoted retainers of Pompey, attacked Piso at his instigation.

Sallust, Catiline Conspiracy 38

After the tribunician power had been restored in the consulship of Pompey and Crassus, various young men, whose age and disposition made them aggressive, attained this important office

Tribunes - Excite the common people by attacks on the Senate, inflame their passions still more by bribes and promises

Sallust, Catiline Conspiracy 39

When Pompey had been dispatched to wage war against the pirates and Mithridates, the power of the commons was lessened, while that of the few increased

They secured the magistracies, the provinces and everything else

Sallust Histories 2.82 - Letter of Pompey to the Senate 75 BCE

Do you think I am taking the place of the treasury, or can maintain an army without pay and provisions

Achievements

• Opened up route through the Alps

• Recovered Gaul, the Pyrenees, Lacetania, Indigetes

• Withstood the first attack of Sertorius

• Capture of the enemy camp at Sucro

• Destruction of enemy commander Herennius

• Capture of the city Valentina

Position for my army and the enemy's is the same - for pay is given to neither of them; and either of them, if victorious, can come to Italy

I remind you of this and ask you to take notice of it, and not to compel me to find a way out of my difficulties by abandoning the interests of the state for my own.

'If you do not help, against my wishes as I have already warned you, my army will cross over from here to Italy and bring with it the whole Spanish war'

Suetonius, Julius 28

Pompey's Bill as sole consul in 52 BCE - regulated official privileges, debarred absentee candidates from the office

Pompey had neglected to exclude Caesar's name from his bill, and had not corrected the oversight before the bill was passed into law, engraved on its bronze tablet, and deposited in the treasury

Suetonius, Julius 30

Pompey used to say that Caesar desired general turmoil and confusion because he lacked the means to complete the schemes he had planned, or give the people what they expected on his return

Suetonius goes onto blame Caesar, not Pompey, for the war