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\\nWe have been trapped under the tyrannical rule of the Second Decemvirate for too long!
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\\nBut never fear, listeners. Their day has finally come. In this episode, we finally see the decemvirs overthrown and the office of tribune of the plebs restored. It is a time of non-stop drama!
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\\nEpisode 117 - The Death of the Decemvirate
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\\nAll About the Aventine
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\\nWith Dionysius of Halicarnassus' account getting very patchy, and Diodorus Siculus considered unreliable, Livy provides the bulk of the detail for this episode. The movements of the plebeians are a little confusing, but two locations are mentioned, the Mons Sacer (or Sacred Mount) and the Aventine. Both of these locations were also mentioned in the accounts of the First Secession of the Plebs in 494 BCE, but the Sacred Mount is definitely most associated with this event.
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\\nIn 449 BCE, the Aventine seems to play more of a role. Cicero\\u2019s references to the Second Secession in his pro Cornelio and de re Publica indicate that the plebs seceded to the Mons Sacer before heading to the Aventine Hill, whereas Livy\\u2019s plebs move from the hill to the Sacred Mount when it becomes clear that the senate was not making any decisions in a hurry. Diodorus Siculus only mentions the Aventine. With such a spotlight on this location, Dr Rad started reading the excellent work of Lisa Marie Mignone (2016). She has investigated the Aventine as it has developed a reputation as being particularly plebeian \\u2013 but why?
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\\nThe Significance of the Aventine
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\\nMignone explains that the link between the Aventine and the plebs was firmly established by Alfred Merlin\\u2019s L\\u2019Aventin dans l\\u2019antiquit\\xe9 (1906), and Mignone is not so sure that we should be labelling any region of the city this way. However, there are a few notable reasons for this association, outside of the secessions:
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\\n* the lex Icilia de Aventino publicando from 456 BCE (which seems to have led to the distribution of land on the Aventine to plebeian families) and* it was the locale of the temple of Ceres, and Gaius Gracchus (a troublesome tribune of the plebs) fled to the Aventine in 121 BCE when his career took sour turn. Indeed, Gracchus was zeroing in on the temple of Diana Aventiniensis, which Dionysius claimed was the plebs place of retreat during the Second Secession.
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\\nHowever, hundreds years separate these instances, and since the majority of Rome\\u2019s populace were plebeian, is that enough to claim the Aventine had a distinctly plebeian character? This will be something we shall continue to explore as we progress through the Republic.
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\\nThe Ultimatum
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\\nAs Livy provides the most extensive narrative for this part of the tale, we pursue his version of events. The Senate continues to dither, despite the threat posed by a group of armed men on the outer edge of the city. Tired of waiting, the rebel army decide to leave the Aventine for the Mons Sacer (or Sacred Mount), and are followed by many Roman citizens, united in their determination to show the patricians that they mean business. It's either the plebeians or the decemvirs, and the senators need to choose! The days of the decemvirate might be numbered!
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\\nIt Takes Two, Baby
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\\nWith the city of Rome practically deserted, Valerius and Horatius are finally able to persuade their fellow senators that the decemvirate needs to end. Rome needs her plebeians back! The dynamic duo set off to negotiate an end to the second secession and the plebs manage to secure the return of the tribune of the plebs. According to Dr G's account, they may even have secured an upgrade in status for the decisions made by the tribal asse..."