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101-401: The villa and gardens were scenically divided into pavilions and terraces adapted to the landscape, on a model of Hellenistic tradition. They were eventually filled with exceptional works of art, from original ancient Greek sculptures to exquisite frescoes and marble floors. The Museo Ninfeo has recently opened on the site. Lucullus started the fashion of building luxurious garden-palaces in

202-550: A Ptolemaic mother) kings of Egypt in place of the illegitimate Ptolemy XII Auletes . Though these brothers left Rome empty handed in about 72 BC, their plight was not forgotten and Lucullus now elevated one of them as king of Syria: Antiochus XIII , known as Asiaticus owing to the time he had spent living in Roman Asia province. Lucullus' old friend Antiochus of Ascalon accompanied him on this journey and died at Antioch. However, in his absence his authority over his army at Nisibis

303-734: A Seleucid rebellion in Syria with an experienced army which Lucullus nonetheless annihilated at the Battle of Tigranocerta . This battle was fought on the same (pre-Julian) calendar date as the Roman disaster at Arausio 36 years earlier, the day before the Nones of October according to the reckoning of the time (or October 6), which is Julian October 16, 69 BC. Tigranes retired to the northern regions of his kingdom to gather another army and defend his hereditary capital of Artaxata, while Lucullus moved off south-eastwards to

404-412: A Byzantine encyclopedia based on classical sources, states that Dionysus was so named "from accomplishing [διανύειν] for each of those who live the wild life. Or from providing [διανοεῖν] everything for those who live the wild life." Academics in the nineteenth century, using study of philology and comparative mythology , often regarded Dionysus as a foreign deity who was only reluctantly accepted into

505-577: A cow"), in the Mysteries of Lerna . Braetes , Βραίτης ("related to beer") at Thrace . Brisaeus , Βρισαῖος , a surname of Dionysus, derived either from mount Brisa in Lesbos or from a nymph Brisa, who was said to have brought up the god. Briseus , Βρῑσεύς ("he who prevails") in Smyrna . Bromios Βρόμιος ("roaring", as of the wind, primarily relating to the central death/resurrection element of

606-548: A generous and just nature, but also his political traditionalism in contrast to contemporaries such as Cicero and Pompey , the former of whom was always eager to avoid administrative responsibilities of any sort in the provinces, while Pompey rejected every aspect of a normal career, seeking great military commands at every opportunity which suited him, while refusing to undertake normal duties in peaceful provinces. Two other notable transactions took place in 76 or 75 BC following Lucullus' return from Africa: his marriage to Claudia,

707-602: A history of the war in Greek. Lucullus was elected Quaestor in winter of 89-88 during the same elections Sulla was chosen as Consul with his friend Quintus Pompeius Rufus (whose son was married to Sulla's eldest daughter, Cornelia ). Lucullus was probably the Quaestor mentioned as the sole officer in Sulla's army who could stomach accompanying the Consul when he marched on Rome. In autumn of

808-527: A homonymous son. He divorced her about the year 66 BC, on his return to Rome after friction in Asia with her brother, Publius Clodius Pulcher . Servilia , the daughter of Livia and Quintus Servilius Caepio , sister of Servilia Major , and half-sister of Cato the Younger : also notorious for her loose morals, as she cheated on him, he forced himself to stay with her out of respect for her half-brother Cato. They had

909-570: A long march through very difficult mountain country directed at the old Armenian capital Artaxata . A battle took place near the River Arsanias, where Lucullus once again routed the Armenian royal army. However, he had misjudged the time needed for a campaign so far into the Armenian Tablelands, where the good weather was unusually short lived, and when the first snows fell around the time of

1010-517: A perceived lack of reward in the form of plunder, had caused increasing insubordination. The more daring and ruthless veterans had probably been further encouraged by Lucullus' relatively mild acceptance of their first open mutiny in the Tablelands the previous autumn -especially the so-called Fimbrian legions who had murdered their first commander Lucius Valerius Flaccus and abandoned their second commander Gaius Flavius Fimbria . Instigated by Clodius,

1111-467: A series of demonstrations against the commander took place in his absence and by the time of his return he had largely lost control of his army and could not conduct further offensive operations. In addition Mithridates had returned to Pontus during the same winter, and crushed the garrison force Lucullus had left there under his legates Sornatius Barba and Fabius Hadrianus. Lucullus was left with no choice but to retreat to Pontus and Cappadocia and did so in

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1212-522: A small, but apparently highly mobile, escort, journeyed to Syria in an attempt to permanently exclude Tigranes from all his southern possessions. Syria had been an Armenian province since 83 BC. About a decade later the dispossessed Seleucid princes had spent two years in Rome (one of them probably during Lucullus's consulship in 74 BC) lobbying the Senate and Roman aristocracy to make them (as legitimate Seleucids with

1313-1236: A son named Marcus. When he died he made Cato the guardian of the boy. - ed. René Henry Photius Bibliotheque , vol.IV: Codices 223-229 (Budé, Paris, 1965), 48-99: Greek with French translation - ed. Karl Müller FHG ( Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum ), vol.III, 525ff.: Greek with Latin translation - ed. Felix Jacoby FGrH 434 ( Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker , commenced 1923): Greek text, critical commentary in German - ed. Müller FHG , III, 602ff. - ed. Jacoby FGrH 257 - English translation and commentary by William Hansen, Phlegon of Tralles' Book of Marvels (University of Exeter Press, 1996) - ILS 60 (Latin career elogium from Arretium) - SIG 743, AE 1974 , 603 (both Greek from Hypata, as quaestor in late 88) - SIG 745 (Greek from Rhodes, when pro quaestore, 84/3) - Ins.Délos 1620 (Latin statue base titulus from Delos when pro quaestore, 85/80) - BE 1970, p. 426 (two Greek tituli when imperator, 72/66, from Andros and Klaros) Early books Bacchus In ancient Greek religion and myth , Dionysus ( / d aɪ . ə ˈ n aɪ s ə s / ; Ancient Greek : Διόνυσος Diónūsos )

1414-555: A special superintendent ( procurator hortorum Lamianorum et Maianorum ). Using the known location of the gardens of Maecenas astride the Servian Walls, the boundaries of the Horti Lamiani can be reconstructed: their western border ran along the ancient Via Merulana almost coinciding with the vicolo di S. Matteo (today no longer existing); to the north, the topographic limit was probably the ancient via Labicana, roughly corresponding to

1515-470: Is a cultivar of the vegetable Swiss chard ( Beta vulgaris ); which is named "Lucullus" in his honour. Lucullus was extremely well educated in Latin and Greek, and showed a keen interest in literature and philosophy from earliest adulthood. He established lifelong friendships with the Greek poet Archias of (Syrian) Antioch , who migrated to Rome around 102 BC, and with one of the leading academic philosophers of

1616-454: Is a god of epiphany , sometimes called "the god who comes". Wine was a religious focus in the cult of Dionysus and was his earthly incarnation. Wine could ease suffering, bring joy, and inspire divine madness. Festivals of Dionysus included the performance of sacred dramas enacting his myths, the initial driving force behind the development of theatre in Western culture . The cult of Dionysus

1717-515: Is also a "cult of the souls"; his maenads feed the dead through blood-offerings, and he acts as a divine communicant between the living and the dead. He is sometimes categorised as a dying-and-rising god . Romans identified Bacchus with their own Liber Pater , the "Free Father" of the Liberalia festival, patron of viniculture, wine and male fertility, and guardian of the traditions, rituals and freedoms attached to coming of age and citizenship, but

1818-633: Is found in other names, such as that of the Dioscures , and may derive from Dios , the genitive of the name of Zeus . Nonnus, in his Dionysiaca , writes that the name Dionysus means "Zeus-limp" and that Hermes named the new born Dionysus this, "because Zeus while he carried his burden lifted one foot with a limp from the weight of his thigh, and nysos in Syracusan language means limping". In his note to these lines, W. H. D. Rouse writes "It need hardly be said that these etymologies are wrong". The Suda ,

1919-522: Is found on a dinos by the Attic potter Sophilos around 570 BC and is located in the British Museum . By the seventh century, iconography found on pottery shows that Dionysus was already worshiped as more than just a god associated with wine. He was associated with weddings, death, sacrifice, and sexuality, and his retinue of satyrs and dancers was already established. A common theme in these early depictions

2020-441: Is noted for his magnanimous administration of Asia province; he managed to calm Rome's resentful, near rebellious, Asian subjects and establish a modicum of peace. When Asia's Roman governor, Lucius Licinius Murena , started and fought the brief, so-called Second Mithridatic War (83-81 BC), Lucullus was not involved. Mytilene, capital of the island of Lesbos, rebelled during Lucullus administration of Asia. Lucullus tried to solve

2121-630: Is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity , insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy , and theatre . He was also known as Bacchus ( / ˈ b æ k ə s / or / ˈ b ɑː k ə s / ; Ancient Greek : Βάκχος Bacchos ) by the Greeks (a name later adopted by the Romans ) for a frenzy he is said to induce called baccheia . As Dionysus Eleutherius ("the liberator"), his wine, music, and ecstatic dance free his followers from self-conscious fear and care, and subvert

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2222-454: The Battle of Cabira . He did not pursue Mithridates immediately, but instead he finished conquering the kingdom of Pontus and setting the affairs of Asia into order. His attempts to reform the rapacious Roman administration in Asia made him increasingly unpopular among the powerful publicani back in Rome. Mithridates had fled to Armenia and, in 71 BC, Lucullus sent his brother-in-law Appius Claudius Pulcher (later consul in 54 BC) as envoy to

2323-606: The Palace of Nestor in Pylos , dated to around 1300 BC. The details of any religion surrounding Dionysus in this period are scant, and most evidence comes in the form only of his name, written as di-wo-nu-su-jo ("Dionysoio" = 'of Dionysus') in Linear B , preserved on fragments of clay tablets that indicate a connection to offerings or payments of wine, which was described as being "of Dionysus". References have also been uncovered to "women of Oinoa",

2424-401: The horti allowed the rich owner and his court to live in isolated comfort, away from the hectic life of the city but close to it. A fundamental feature of the horti was the large quantity of water necessary for the rich vegetation and for the functioning of the numerous fountains and nymphaea . This area was particularly suitable for these residences as eight of the eleven large aqueducts of

2525-535: The "place of wine", who may correspond to the Dionysian women of later periods. Other Mycenaean records from Pylos record the worship of a god named Eleuther, who was the son of Zeus, and to whom oxen were sacrificed. The link to both Zeus and oxen, as well as etymological links between the name Eleuther or Eleutheros with the Latin name Liber Pater , indicates that this may have been another name for Dionysus. According to Károly Kerényi , these clues suggest that even in

2626-651: The "son of Zeus". Jane Ellen Harrison believed that the name Dionysus means "young Zeus". Robert S. P. Beekes has suggested a Pre-Greek origin of the name, since all attempts to find an Indo-European etymology are doubtful. Later variants include Dionūsos and Diōnūsos in Boeotia ; Dien(n)ūsos in Thessaly ; Deonūsos and Deunūsos in Ionia ; and Dinnūsos in Aeolia , besides other variants. A Dio- prefix

2727-528: The 1st century BC with the construction of his gardens on the Pincian Hill , soon followed by the fabled Gardens of Sallust between the Quirinal, Viminal and Campus Martius , which were the largest and richest in the Roman world at that time. In the 3rd century AD the total number of gardens ( horti ) occupied about a tenth of Rome and formed a green belt around the centre. As pleasure gardens with small palaces,

2828-545: The African command, while the surviving Latin biography, far briefer but more even as biography than Plutarch, comments that he " ruled Africa with the highest degree of justice ". This command is significant in showing Lucullus performing the regular, less glamorous, administrative duties of a public career in the customary sequence and, given his renown as a Philhellene , for the regard he showed for subject peoples who were not Greek. In these respects his early career demonstrates

2929-526: The Apollo room was the large sum of 50,000 drachmae , Cicero and Pompey found themselves a short time later dining upon a most unexpectedly luxurious meal. On another occasion, the tale runs that his steward, hearing that he would have no guests for dinner, served only one not especially impressive course. Lucullus reprimanded him saying, "What, did not you know, then, that today Lucullus dines with Lucullus?" Among Lucullus' other contributions to fine dining, he

3030-476: The Armenian king-of-kings Tigranes II to demand the surrender of the Pontic king. In the letter conveyed by Appius, Lucullus addressed Tigranes simply as "king" ( basileus ), something received as an insult, and probably intended as such in order to provoke the proud Armenian monarch to war. Keaveney argues against such an interpretation, arguing that Lucullus was acting as a typical philhellene with no empathy towards

3131-507: The East to live a life of luxury. He had several known luxurious villas: The one near Neapolis included fish ponds and man-made extensions into the sea, and was only one of many elite senators' villas around the Bay of Naples . Pompey is said by Pliny and Vellleius Paterculus to have referred often to Lucullus as " Xerxes in a toga ". He finally held his triumph in 63 BC thanks in small part to

Horti Lamiani - Misplaced Pages Continue

3232-433: The Horti Lamiani under the future ENPAM building, where Lanciani had documented the long cryptoporticus with an alabaster floor and precious wall decorations, punctuated by columns in precious yellow giallo antico marble with bases in gilded stucco. Studies of the site using archaeobiological techniques have uncovered the types of plants that the garden would have contained in Roman times. Evidence has been found for

3333-622: The Indians. Isodaetes , Ισοδαίτης , meaning "he who distributes equal portions", cult epithet also shared with Helios. Kemilius , Κεμήλιος ( kemas : "young deer, pricket"). Liknites ("he of the winnowing fan"), as a fertility god connected with mystery religions . A winnowing fan was used to separate the chaff from the grain. Lenaius , Ληναῖος ("god of the wine-press") Lyaeus , or Lyaios (Λυαῖος, "deliverer", literally "loosener"), one who releases from care and anxiety. Lysius , Λύσιος ("delivering, releasing"). At Thebes there

3434-506: The Mithridatic fleet lay in wait. After Lucullus had defeated the Mithridatic admiral Neoptolemus in the Battle of Tenedos , he helped Sulla cross the Aegean to Asia. After a peace had been agreed, Lucullus stayed in Asia and collected the financial penalty Sulla imposed upon the province for its revolt. Lucullus, however, tried to lessen the burden that these impositions created. Lucullus

3535-554: The Roman Republic in 94 BC. He then sailed to Egypt to try and secure ships from king Ptolemy IX Soter II . In Alexandria, Ptolemaic Egypt's capital, he was well received, but there would be no aid or help. Ptolemy had decided to sail a safe course between Rome and Pontus. From Alexandria Lucullus sailed to Cyprus; evading the Cilician pirates , he went to Rhodos (Rome's naval ally). The Rhodians supplied him with additional ships. Rhodos

3636-766: The Roman state treated independent, popular festivals of Bacchus ( Bacchanalia ) as subversive, partly because their free mixing of classes and genders transgressed traditional social and moral constraints. Celebration of the Bacchanalia was made a capital offence, except in the toned-down forms and greatly diminished congregations approved and supervised by the State. Festivals of Bacchus were merged with those of Liber and Dionysus. The dio- prefix in Ancient Greek Διόνυσος ( Diónūsos ; [di.ó.nyː.sos] ) has been associated since antiquity with Zeus ( genitive Dios ), and

3737-455: The Trophies of Marius), by stamped water pipes ( fistulae aquariae ) which prove emperor's ownership. The hundreds of fragments of painted plaster and precious decorative materials, date the imperial residence and are extremely refined, and the new sector is related to the complex discovered by Lanciani by decorative marble elements identical to those unearthed in the nineteenth century. Works from

3838-418: The autumn equinox his army mutinied and refused to advance any further. Lucullus led them back south to the warmer climes of northern Mesopotamia and had no trouble from his troops there despite setting them the difficult task of capturing the great Armenian fortress of Nisibis, which was quickly stormed and made the Roman base for the winter of 68–67 BC. That winter Lucullus left his army at Nisibis and, taking

3939-650: The beginning of the separate, more conservative, school eventually called the Old Academy. Plutarch reports that Lucullus lost his mind towards the end of his life, intermittently developing signs of insanity as he aged. Plutarch, however, seems to be somewhat ambivalent as to whether the apparent madness was actually the result of the administration of a purported love potion or other explicable cause, hinting that his alleged precipitous mental decline (and his concomitant withdrawal from public affairs) may have been at least in part conveniently feigned in self-protection against

4040-498: The biographical compendium of famous Romans published by his contemporary Marcus Terentius Varro . Two biographies of Lucullus survive today, Plutarch 's Lucullus in the famous series of Parallel Lives , in which Lucullus is paired with the Athenian aristocratic politician and Strategos Cimon , and # 74 in the slender Latin Liber de viris illustribus , of late and unknown authorship,

4141-501: The cities to the Roman side. From there he crossed to Cyrene where the famous Hellenic colony in Africa was in dire condition following a vicious and exhausting civil war of nearly seven years' duration. Lucullus' arrival seems to have put a belated end to this terrible conflict, as the first official Roman presence there since the departure of the proconsul Caius Claudius Pulcher, who presided over its initial administrative incorporation into

Horti Lamiani - Misplaced Pages Continue

4242-523: The city reached the Esquiline. The land for the Horti Lamiani was originally a cemetery just outside the ancient Servian Wall but was purchased by Lucius Aelius Lamia (Roman consul in 3 AD) who developed the property at the end of the 1st c. BC. He seems to have bequeathed the property to his friend the emperor Tiberius , and it became imperial state property. Emperor Caligula loved the place so much he established his residence there and further developed

4343-460: The conflict through diplomacy, but eventually he launched an attack on the city state, defeated her militia in a pitched battle in front of her walls and started a siege. After some time Lucullus pretended to give up on the siege and sailed away. When the Mytileneans entered the remnants of his camp, Lucullus ambushed them, killing 500 of the enemy and enslaving 6,000. Lucullus returned in 80 BC and

4444-429: The construction of metro line A in the gardens of Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II. and identified a building nucleus of about 160 m and about 50 m north of the crytoporticus complex. These are datable between the end of the 1st century BC and the middle of the 3rd century AD and involve successive modifications of rooms around a mosaic-paved corridor and their repaving. Between 2006 and 2009 excavations found unknown areas of

4545-531: The cry "euae" in lyric passages, and in Euripides ' play, The Bacchae . Iacchus , Ἴακχος a possible epithet of Dionysus, associated with the Eleusinian Mysteries . In Eleusis , he is known as a son of Zeus and Demeter . The name "Iacchus" may come from the Ιακχος ( Iakchos ), a hymn sung in honor of Dionysus. Indoletes , Ἰνδολέτης , meaning slayer/killer of Indians. Due to his campaign against

4646-520: The current via Principe Eugenio. Otherwise, towards the valley between the Esquiline and the Caelian the boundaries remain uncertain: perhaps the Horti Lamiani were limited to the south and east by the ancient road at the bottom of the valley, which remains nameless, today traced from the current via Labicana and viale Manzoni. The property survived until at least the Severan dynasty (193–235), when it had become

4747-419: The east with so much captured booty that the vast sums of treasure, jewels, priceless works of art, and slaves could not be fully accounted for. On his return Lucullus poured enormous sums into private building projects, husbandry and even aquaculture projects, which shocked and amazed his contemporaries by their magnitude. He also patronised the arts and sciences lavishly, transforming his hereditary estate in

4848-625: The eastern kingdoms in the course of the Third Mithridatic War , exhibiting extraordinary generalship in diverse situations, most famously during the Siege of Cyzicus in 73–72 BC, and at the Battle of Tigranocerta in Armenian Arzanene in 69 BC. His command style received unusually favourable attention from ancient military experts, and his campaigns appear to have been studied as examples of skilful generalship. Lucullus returned to Rome from

4949-504: The emperor's private property as shown by a stamped lead water pipe. By the 4th c. the gardens were no longer in use as evidenced by the statuary found broken in pieces and used in the foundations of a number of spas. The Villa Palombara was built in 1620 in the ancient Horti Lamiani near the modern Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II of which the Porta Magica remains as the only vestiges. The palace was destroyed between 1882 and 1887, together with

5050-435: The existence of pear, apple and olive trees, ornamental shrubs such as Buxus and Taxus , and flowering plants such as buttercups and carnations. Overall, 40 different plant taxa were found which suggests that a vegetable garden may have been present alongside the larger ornamental gardens. The museum is centred on a Roman hall attributed to Alexander Severus (222–235), who built the nearby nymphaeum of Alexander (known as

5151-511: The family estate near Tusculum. The conquest agnomen of Ponticus is sometimes incorrectly appended to his name in modern texts. In ancient sources it is attributed only to his consular colleague Marcus Aurelius Cotta after the latter’s capture and brutal destruction of Heraclea Pontica during the Third Mithridatic War. Lucullus was included in the biographical collections of Roman leading generals and politicians, originating in

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5252-507: The father's testament, and now in Pompeius' absence the latter's intimate and hereditary political ally Gaius Memmius co-ordinated the opposition to Lucullus' claim to a triumph . Memmius delivered at least four speeches de triumpho Luculli Asiatico , and the antagonism towards Lucullus aroused by the Pompeians proved so effective that the enabling law ( lex curiata ) required to hold a triumph

5353-483: The god taking both an active male and a passive female role. It is subversive for Dionysus to receive anal sex; a high status male was expected to penetrate his youthful lovers. Anthroporraistes , Ἀνθρωπορραίστης ("man-destroyer"), a title of Dionysus at Tenedos. Bassareus , Βασσαρεύς a Thracian name for Dionysus, which derives from bassaris or "fox-skin", which item was worn by his cultists in their mysteries. Bougenes , Βουγενής or Βοηγενής ("borne by

5454-424: The god. Dimetor Διμήτωρ ("twice-born") Refers to Dionysus's two births. Dendrites Δενδρίτης ("of the trees"), as a fertility god. Dithyrambos , Διθύραμβος used at his festivals, referring to his premature birth. Eleutherios Ἐλευθέριος ("the liberator"), an epithet shared with Eros . Endendros ("he in the tree"). Enorches ("with balls"), with reference to his fertility, or "in

5555-401: The hands of Dionysus' followers in later myths, but as an epithet of Dionysus himself, whose mythology describes a god who must endure suffering before triumphing over it. According to Kerényi, the title of "man who suffers" likely originally referred to the god himself, only being applied to distinct characters as the myth developed. The oldest known image of Dionysus, accompanied by his name,

5656-500: The head, panther or tiger skins, serpents, phallic symbolism (Shiva lingam), association as a wanderer and outcaste and association with ritual ecstasy. Shiva is understood to be one of a triple godhead that includes Vishnu and Brahma. Dionysus is noted in several references with an association with the east and India. A Mycenaean variant of Bacchus was thought to have been "a divine child" abandoned by his mother and eventually raised by " nymphs , goddesses , or even animals." Dionysus

5757-448: The highlands of Tusculum into a hotel-and-library complex for scholars and philosophers. He built the famous horti Lucullani (Palace and gardens of Lucullus) on the Pincian Hill in Rome, and became a cultural innovator in the deployment of imperial wealth. His achievements led Pliny the Elder to refer to him as "Xerxes in a Toga". He died during the winter of 57–56 BC and was buried at

5858-408: The horti: 41°53′40″N 12°30′17″E  /  41.8945°N 12.5047°E  / 41.8945; 12.5047 Lucullus Lucius Licinius Lucullus ( / lj uː ˈ k ʌ l ə s / ; 118 –57/56 BC) was a Roman general and statesman , closely connected with Lucius Cornelius Sulla . In culmination of over 20 years of almost continuous military and government service, he conquered

5959-465: The important but currently disturbed states of Cyrene and Ptolemaic Egypt. Lucullus set out from the Piraeus in mid winter 87-6 BC with three Greek yachts ( myoparones ) and three light Rhodian biremes, hoping to evade the prevailing sea power of the Pontic fleets and their piratic allies by speed and taking advantage of the worst sailing conditions. He initially made Crete , and is said to have won over

6060-461: The inscription on item KH Gq 5 is thought to confirm Dionysus's early worship. In Mycenaean Greek the form of Zeus is di-wo . The second element -nūsos is of unknown origin. It is perhaps associated with Mount Nysa , the birthplace of the god in Greek mythology, where he was nursed by nymphs (the Nysiads ), although Pherecydes of Syros had postulated nũsa as an archaic word for "tree" by

6161-631: The kingdom of the Corduene on the frontiers of the Armenian and Parthian empires. During the winter of 69–68 BC both sides opened negotiations with the Parthian king, Arsaces XVI, who was presently defending himself against a major onslaught from his rival Phraates III coming from Bactria and the far east. In the summer of 68 BC Lucullus resumed the war against Tigranes, crossing the Anti-Taurus Range in

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6262-567: The lots, but he got himself appointed governor of Cilicia after its governor ( Lucius Octavius ) died, reputedly by recommendation from Praecia . He also got himself the command of the Third Mithridatic War against Mithridates VI of Pontus . This was a highly sought after command for Mithridates ruled very rich lands. On his way to Cilicia , his proconsular province, Lucullus landed his legion somewhere in Asia province. He initially planned to march from Asia to western Cilicia and invade Pontus from

6363-485: The main sources for which appear to go back to Varro and his most significant successor in the genre, Gaius Julius Hyginus . Lucullus was a member of the prominent gens Licinia , and of the family, or stirps , of the Luculli, which may have been descended from the ancient nobility of Tusculum . He was grandson of Lucius Licinius Lucullus , consul in 151 BC, and son of Lucius Licinius Lucullus , praetor in 104 BC, who

6464-492: The meal for his guests. However, Lucullus outsmarted them, and succeeded in getting Pompey and Cicero to allow that he specify which room he would be dining in. He ordered that his slaves serve him in the Apollo Room, knowing that his service staff was schooled ahead of time as to the specific details of service he expected for each of his particular dining rooms: as the standard amount specified to be outlaid for any given dinner in

6565-501: The most important influential senators, Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus (consul 109 and censor 102) and Lucius Caecilius Metellus Dalmaticus (consul 119 and Pontifex Maximus ), the latter of which was also the father of Sulla 's third wife Caecilia Metella . Lucullus possibly served as military tribune in 89 BC; Plutarch notes that he served as an officer under Sulla during the Social War before his quaestorship. He wrote

6666-483: The mother of Julius Caesar . During his consulship he defended Sulla's constitution from the efforts of Lucius Quinctius to undermine it. He supported a plea from Pompey, campaigning against the rebel Sertorius on the Iberian peninsula , for funds and reinforcements. He was probably also involved in the decision to make Cyrene into a Roman province. Initially, he drew Cisalpine Gaul as his proconsular command in

6767-535: The myth, but also the god's transformations into lion and bull, and the boisterousness of those who drink alcohol. Also cognate with the "roar of thunder", which refers to Dionysus' father, Zeus "the thunderer". ) Choiropsalas χοιροψάλας ("pig-plucker": Greek χοῖρος = "pig", also used as a slang term for the female genitalia). A reference to Dionysus's role as a fertility deity. Chthonios Χθόνιος ("the subterranean") Cistophorus Κιστοφόρος ("basket-bearer, ivy-bearer"), Alludes To baskets being sacred to

6868-484: The nearby villas Altieri and Astalli to make way for the construction of the new Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II. The first discoveries took place in the 16th century, and finds of beautiful statues such as a Roman copy of the ancient Greek Discobolus , the thirteen Medici Niobids (a variant of the Laocoön and His Sons ), and the fresco Nozze Aldobrandini were unearthed and which are now in museums. It became clear that

6969-502: The oppressive restraints of the powerful. His thyrsus , a fennel-stem sceptre, sometimes wound with ivy and dripping with honey, is both a beneficent wand and a weapon used to destroy those who oppose his cult and the freedoms he represents. Those who partake of his mysteries are believed to become possessed and empowered by the god himself. His origins are uncertain, and his cults took many forms; some are described by ancient sources as Thracian , others as Greek. In Orphism , he

7070-596: The political manoeuvering of both Cato and Cicero. His triumph was remembered mostly due to his covering the Circus Flaminius with the arms of the enemies he had faced during the campaign. So famous did Lucullus become for his banqueting that the word lucullan now means lavish, luxurious and gourmet . Once, Cicero and Pompey succeeded in inviting themselves to dinner with Lucullus, but, curious to see what sort of meal Lucullus ate when alone, forbade him to communicate with his slaves regarding any preparation of

7171-515: The property. In an evocative eyewitness account, the philosopher Philo visited the horti in 40 AD and accompanied Caligula inspecting the elaborate residence and ordering rooms to be made more sumptuous. Caligula was briefly buried at the site. The Horti Lamiani adjoined the Gardens of Maecenas and the Gardens of Maiani. Under Claudius (41–54) the Horti Lamiani and Maiani were united and administered by

7272-461: The rest back to sea. Lucullus sunk or captured 32 ships of the royal fleet. Lucullus finished off the Mithridatic army in Bithynia and then moved through Galatia (which was allied to Rome by now) into Pontus. He was wary of drawing into a direct engagement with Mithridates, due to the latter's superior cavalry. However, after several small battles and many skirmishes, Lucullus finally defeated him at

7373-462: The rise to power of his political opponents, such as the popular party, during a time in which the political stakes were often life and death. Lucullus' brother Marcus oversaw his funeral. His tomb has been located near his villa in Tusculum . Lucullus married Clodia, (one of the daughters of Appius Claudius Pulcher the consul of 79 BC) at the earliest 76 BC. With her he had a daughter and possibly

7474-616: The same year Sulla sent Lucullus ahead to Greece to assess the situation while he himself oversaw the embarkation of his army. Lucullus arrived in Greece and took over from Quintus Bruttius Sura who had been able to stop the Mithridatic invasion in northern Greece. When Sulla arrived with the main army, Lucullus served him as a quaestor again; he minted money that was used during the war against Mithridates in southern Greece (87-86 BC). The money Lucullus minted, as per Roman custom, bore his name:

7575-457: The sensibilities of non-Greeks. However, this is refuted by Lucullus' conduct during his administration of Africa ( c.  77–75 BC ), the period of his career most conspicuously missing from the Greek biography by Plutarch. In 69 BC, Lucullus invaded Armenia . He began a siege of the new Armenian imperial capital of Tigranocerta in the Arzenene district. Tigranes returned from mopping up

7676-450: The sixth century BC. On a vase of Sophilos the Nysiads are named νύσαι ( nusae ). Kretschmer asserted that νύση ( nusē ) is a Thracian word that has the same meaning as νύμφη ( nýmphē ), a word similar with νυός ( nuos ) (daughter in law, or bride, I-E *snusós, Sanskr. snusā ). He suggested that the male form is νῦσος ( nūsos ) and this would make Dionysus

7777-401: The so called Lucullea . As the Roman siege of Athens was drawing towards a successful conclusion, Sulla's strategic attention began to focus more widely on subsequent operations against the main Pontic forces, and combating Mithridates' control of the sea lanes. He sent Lucullus to collect such a fleet as might be possible from Rome's allies along the eastern Mediterranean seaboard, first to

7878-553: The south. In Asia province he found the two Fimbrian legions , veterans from the previous Mithridatic Wars, waiting for him. Upon hearing the news of Cotta's defeat he set out to relieve the besieged Cotta in Bithynia . Lucullus had to fight Mithridates by land and sea therefore he assembled a large army and also raised a fleet amongst the Greek cities of Asia. With this fleet he defeated the enemy's fleet off Ilium and then off Lemnos . On land, through careful manoeuvring and trickery, he

7979-502: The spring of 67 BC. Despite his continuous success in battle, Lucullus had still not captured either one of the monarchs. In 66 BC, with the majority of Lucullus' troops now openly refusing to obey his commands, but agreeing to defend Roman positions from attack, the senate sent Pompey to take over Lucullus' command, at which point Lucullus returned to Rome. The opposition to him continued on his return. In his absence Pompey had shamefully usurped control over Sulla's children, contrary to

8080-445: The standard Greek pantheon at a relatively late date, based on his myths which often involve this theme—a god who spends much of his time on earth abroad, and struggles for acceptance when he returns to Greece. However, more recent evidence has shown that Dionysus was in fact one of the earliest gods attested in mainland Greek culture. The earliest written records of Dionysus worship come from Mycenaean Greece , specifically in and around

8181-490: The statues were in many cases artistic masterpieces. In the 19th century Rodolfo Lanciani noticed ancient remains in building works in the area and found beautiful sculptures in subsequent excavations he organised. Decorations of the complex included frescoes, architectural elements in coloured marbles, and innumerable gilt-bronze sheets with inset gemstones. He reported: A collapse of land had revealed an underground chamber (cryptoporticus) full of statues. The first to appear

8282-524: The testicles" in reference to Zeus' sewing the baby Dionysus "into his thigh", understood to mean his testicles). Used at Samos according to Hesyichius , or Lesbos according to the scholiast on Lycophron's Alexandra . Eridromos ("good-running"), in Nonnus' Dionysiaca. Erikryptos Ἐρίκρυπτος ("completely hidden"), in Macedonia. Euaster (Εὐαστήρ), from the cry "euae". Euius ( Euios ), from

8383-422: The thermal complex of via Ariosto. The statues became dispersed in various museums and their exact provenance was lost, but in recent years their provenance has been painstakingly reconstructed by Häuber. The unity of the archaeological context was recreated for the exhibition "The quiet abodes of the gods" in 1986 based on the archives of Lanciani and on municipal deposits. Excavations in 2005–6 took place during

8484-464: The thirteenth century BC, the core religion of Dionysus was in place, as were his important myths. At Knossos in Minoan Crete , men were often given the name "Pentheus", who is a figure in later Dionysian myth and which also means "suffering". Kerényi argued that to give such a name to one's child implies a strong religious connection, potentially not the separate character of Pentheus who suffers at

8585-623: The time, Antiochus of Ascalon . During his long delay in the royal palace at Alexandria in the summer of 86 BC Lucullus witnessed the beginning of the major schism in the Platonic Academy in the 1st century BC, the so-called Sosos Affair. His friend and companion Antiochos of Ascalon received, evidently from the Library of Alexandria , a copy of a work by the scholarch of the Academy, Philo of Larissa , so radical in its sceptical stance that Antiochos

8686-438: The unfortunate issue of his many struggles and toils entitled him to fall back upon a life of ease and luxury...[for] in the life of Lucullus, as in an ancient comedy, one reads in the first part of political measures and military commands, and in the latter part of drinking bouts, and banquets, and what might pass for revel-routs, and torch-races, and all manner of frivolity. He used the vast treasure he amassed during his wars in

8787-577: The variants of the name seem to point to an original *Dios-nysos . The earliest attestation is the Mycenaean Greek dative form 𐀇𐀺𐀝𐀰 (di-wo-nu-so) , featured on two tablets that had been found at Mycenaean Pylos and dated to the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. At that time, there could be no certainty on whether this was indeed a theonym , but the 1989–90 Greek-Swedish Excavations at Kastelli Hill , Chania, unearthed, inter alia , four artefacts bearing Linear B inscriptions; among them,

8888-466: The youngest daughter of Appius Claudius Pulcher , and his purchase of the Marian hilltop villa at Cape Misenum from Sulla's eldest daughter Cornelia. Sulla dedicated his memoirs to Lucullus, and upon his death made him guardian of his son Faustus and daughter Fausta , preferring Lucullus over Pompey . In 74 BC, Lucullus served as consul along with Marcus Aurelius Cotta , the half-brother of Aurelia

8989-586: Was a semi-colossal head of Bacchus , crowned with ivy and corymbs and eventually others appeared: Parts of the complex of the Horti Lamiani were brought to light in these excavations but were quickly re-buried. Other important sculptural finds connected with the gardens are the so-called Ephedrismòs (in the Capitoline Museums) from the Piazza Dante and the statues at the Centrale Montemartini from

9090-583: Was able to escape Lucullus's siege, but most of his soldiers perished at Cyzicus. The Pontic fleet tried to sail east into the Aegean , but Lucullus led his fleet against them. He captured a detachment of 13 ships between the island of Tenedos and the mainland harbour of the Achaeans . The main Pontic force, however, had drawn their ships to shore at a site difficult of approach, the small island of Neae between Lemnos and Scyros ; Lucullus then sent infantry by land across Neae to their rear, killing many and forcing

9191-508: Was able to trap Mithridates' army at Cyzicus . According to Appian and Plutarch Lucullus had 30,000 infantry and 1,600-2,500 cavalry while Mithridates was rumoured to have as many as 300,000 men in his force. Since Mithridates had superior numbers Lucullus refused to give battle, he decided to starve his enemy into submission. Lucullus blockaded Mithridates' huge army on the Cyzicus peninsula and let famine and plague do his work for him. Mithridates

9292-449: Was convicted for embezzlement during his Sicilian command (104/3) and exiled in c.  102 BC . The family of his mother Caecilia Metella (born c.  137 BC ), was a powerful nobile family at the height of its success and influence in the last quarter of the 2nd century BC when Lucullus was born. She was the youngest child of Lucius Caecilius Metellus Calvus (consul 142 and censor 115–14), and half-sister of two of

9393-637: Was delayed for three years. In this period Lucullus was forced to reside outside the pomerium , which curtailed his involvement in day-to-day politics centred on the Forum. Instead of returning fully to political life (although, as a friend of Cicero , he did act in some issues ) he mostly retired to extravagant leisure, or, in Plutarch's words: quitted and abandoned public affairs, either because he saw that they were already beyond proper control and diseased, or, as some say, because he had his fill of glory, and felt that

9494-532: Was elected curule aedile for 79, along with his brother Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus , and gave splendid games. The most obscure part of Lucullus' public career is the year he spent as praetor in Rome, followed by his governorship of Roman Africa , which probably lasted the usual two-year span for this province in the post-Sullan period. Plutarch's biography entirely ignores this period, 78 BC to 75 BC, jumping from Sulla's death to Lucullus' consulate. However Cicero briefly mentions his praetorship followed by

9595-490: Was famous for its naval strength and the marine acumen of its sailors; the Rhodian contingent would turn out to be a most welcome aid. In the waters near Rhodos Lucullus' fleet defeated a Mithridatic contingent. He then secured Cnidus and Cos, drove the Mithridatic military from Chios, and attacked Samos. From there he would work his way North. Lucullus won another victory off Cape Lecton . From Lecton Lucullus sailed to Tenedos where

9696-418: Was responsible for bringing the sour cherry , (a species of) the sweet cherry and the apricot to Rome, developing major facilities for aquaculture, and being the only person in Rome with the ability to provide thrushes for gastronomic purposes in every season, having his own fattening coops. Cicero once called Lucullus 'Piscinarius' - fish fancier. Among the various edible plants associated with Lucullus

9797-598: Was seriously undermined by the youngest and wildest of the Claudian brothers, Publius Clodius Pulcher , apparently acting in the interests of Pompey , who was eager to succeed Lucullus in the Mithridatic War command. Although a brother-in-law of Lucullus, Clodius was also frater in some form (whether a first cousin frater consobrinus or uterine brother) of Pompey's wife Mucia Tertia . The long campaigning and hardships that Lucullus' troops had endured for years, combined with

9898-580: Was sufficiently disturbed to doubt the attribution of authorship to his old teacher. But more recent pupils of Philo, chiefly Herakleitos of Tyre, were able to assure him of the book's authenticity. Antiochos and Herakleitos dissected it at length in Lucullus' presence, and in the ensuing weeks while the Roman party continued to await the arrival of the king from the south, Antiochos composed a vigorous polemic against Philo entitled Sosos , which marked his definitive break with Philo's so-called "Sceptical Academy", and

9999-530: Was the metamorphosis, at the hand of the god, of his followers into hybrid creatures, usually represented by both tame and wild satyrs , representing the transition from civilized life back to nature as a means of escape. While scholarly references are scarce, there exists a notable overlap between the Greco-Roman Dionysus and the Hindu god Shiva. Shared iconography and background include a crescent or horns on

10100-715: Was variably known with the following epithets : Acratophorus , Ἀκρατοφόρος ("giver of unmixed wine"), at Phigaleia in Arcadia . Acroreites at Sicyon . Adoneus , a rare archaism in Roman literature, a Latinised form of Adonis , used as epithet for Bacchus. Aegobolus Αἰγοβόλος ("goat-shooter") at Potniae , in Boeotia . Aesymnetes Αἰσυμνήτης ("ruler" or "lord") at Aroë and Patrae in Achaea . Agrios Ἄγριος ("wild"), in Macedonia . Androgynos Ἀνδρόγυνος ( androgynous , specifically in intercourse) referring to

10201-488: Was variously a son of Zeus and Persephone ; a chthonic or underworld aspect of Zeus; or the twice-born son of Zeus and the mortal Semele . The Eleusinian Mysteries identify him with Iacchus , the son or husband of Demeter . Most accounts say he was born in Thrace, traveled abroad, and arrived in Greece as a foreigner. His attribute of "foreignness" as an arriving outsider-god may be inherent and essential to his cults, as he

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