Tabula Hebana — rogatio in honour of Germanicus

Tabula Hebana — rogatio in honour of Germanicus — edition utique in Palatio in porticu quae est ad Apollinis, in eo templo in quo senatus haberi solet, inter ima- gines uirorum inlustris ingeni Germanici Caesaris et Drusi Germanici, patris eius naturalis fratrisque Tiberi Caesaris Augusti, qui ipse quoque fecundi ingeni fuit, imagines ponantur supra capita columnarum eius fas- tigi quo simulacrum Apollinis tegitur; utique Sali carminibus suis nomen Germanici Caesaris pro ho- norifica memoria interponant, qui honos Caio quoque et Lucio Caesaribus fratribus Tiberi Caesaris Augusti habitus est; utique ad decem centurias Caesarum quae de consulibus praetoribus destinandis suffragium ferre solent adiciantur quinque; centuriaeque quae primae decem citabuntur Cai et Luci Caesarum appellentur, insequentes quinque Germanici Caesaris; inque is omnibus centuris senatores et equites omnium decuriarum quae iudiciorum publicorum caussa constitutae sunt erunt suffragium ferant; quique cumque magistratum destinationis faciendae caussa senatores quibusque in senatu sententiam dicere licebit itemque equites in consaeptum ex lege quam Lucius Valerius Messalla Volesus Cnaeus Cornelius Cinna Magnus consules tulerunt suffragi ferendi caussa conuocabit, is uti senatores itemque equites omnium decuriarum quae iudiciorum publicorum gratia constitutae sunt erunt suffragium ferant quod eius reifieri poterit in quindecim centuris curet; quamque ex ea lege nongentorum siue ii custodes adpellantur sortitionem ad decem centurias Caesarum cautum praescriptumue est uti fiat, eam is quem ex ea lege exue hac rogationem nongentorum siue ii custodes adpellantur sortitionem facere oportebit in quindecim centurias faciat proinde ac si ea lege in quindecim centurias nongentorum siue custodum sortitionem fieri haberiue oporteret; utique eo die in quem ex lege quam Lucius Valerius Messalla Vole- sus Cnaeus Cornelius Cinna Magnus consules tulerunt exue hac rogatione senatores et equites suffragi ferendi caussa adesse debebunt is adsidentibus praetoribus et tribunis plebis cistas quindecim uimineas grandes poni iubeat ante tribunal suum in quas tabellae suffra- giorum demittantur itemque tabellas ceratas secundum cistas poni iubeat tam multas quam opus esse ei uidebitur, item tabulas dealbatas in quibus nomina candidatorum scripta sint quo loco commodissime legi possint ponendas curet; deinde in conspectu omnium magistratuum et eorum qui suffragium laturi erunt sedentium in supsellis, sicuti cum in decem centurias Caesarum suffragium ferebatur sedebant, is trium et triginta tribuum excepta Sucusana et Esquilina pilas quam maxime aequatas in urnam uersatilem coici etsortitio- nem pronuntiari iubeat sortirique qui senatores et equites in quamque cistam suffragium ferre debeant, dum in centurias primas quae Cai et Luci Caesarum adpellantur sortitio fiat ita uti in primam secundam tertiam quartam cistas sortiatur binas tribus in quintam cistam tres, in sextam septimam octauam nonam binas, in decimam tres, in eas quae Germanici Caesaris appellantur sortitio fiat ita ut in undecimam duodecimam (tertiam decimam) (quartam decimam) cistas sortiatur binas tribus, in (quintam decimam) tres tribus; ita ut cum tribum unam cuiuscumque sors e- xierit citauerit senatores quibusque in senatu sententiam dicere licebit qui ex ea tribu eruntex ordine uocet et ad primam cistam accedere et suffragium ferre iubeat; deinde cum ita tulerint suffragium et ad subsellia redierint ex eadem tribu uocet equites eosque in eandem cistam suffragium ferre iubeat; deinde alteram et alteram tribum sortiatur et singularumuocet tribuum senatores, deinde equites, itaque incistam in quam suffra- gium ferre debebunt suffragium ferant, dummodo quodad eorum suffragium pertinebit, si qui ex Sucusana tribu Esquilinaue erunt, item si qua in tribu senator nemo erit aut si nemo eques erit et senatorum erunt, item quod ad cistas suffragis latis signandas et praetoribus qui aerario praesunt praerunt tradendas ut cum suffragis destinationis in saepta deferantur, deque signis cognoscendis, suffragis diribendis, ea omnia quae eius rei caussa in ea lege quam Cinna et Volesus consules de decem centuris Caesarum tulerunt scripta comprehensaue sunt seruet, eademque omnia in quindecim centurias agat faciat agenda facienda curet uti eum ex ea lege, quam Cinna et Volesus consules tulerunt, in decem centurias Caesarum agere facere oporteret, quaeque ita acta erunt ea iusta rataque sint; deinde delatis diribitisque eius destinationis suffragis ex quindecim centuris Cai et Luci Caesarum et Germanici Caesaris tabellaque prolata centuriae eius quae sorte ducta erit, is qui eam destinationem habebit eam tabellam ita recitet uti eum ex ea lege, quam Lucius Valerius Messalla Volesus Cnaeus Cornelius Cinna Magnus consules tulerunt, ex decem centuris Cai et Luci Caesarum tabellam cent- uriae eius quae sorte ducta esset recitare oporteret, dum quae tabula centuriae Cai et Luci Caesarum sorte ducta erit eam sub nomine Cai et Luci Caesarum recitandam quique ea centuria candidati destinati sint unumquemque sub illo- rum nomine renuntiandum curet, quae tabula ex is centuris quae Germanici Caesaris ex hac rogatione appellantur sorte duc- ta erit eam sub nomine Germanici Caesaris recitandam quique ea centuria candidati destinati sint unumquemque sub eo nomine renuntiandum curet; isque numerus centuriarum qui hac rogatione adicitur in numerum centuriarum Cai et Luci Caesarum perinde cedat atque eum numerum qui decem centuriarum est cedere ex lege quam Cinna etVolesus consules tulerunt cautum comprehensumue est uti cedat; itaque qui consulum praetorum creandorum caussa destinationemex hac rogatione habebit, is, uti omnium tribuum ratio habeatur itaque suffragium feratur, curet; cetera quae nominatim hac rogatione scripta non sunt ea omnia perinde atque ex ea lege quam Cinna et Volesus consules tulerunt agantur fiant seruentur. utique ludis Augustalibus cum sedilia sodalium ponentur in theatris sellae curules Germanici Caesaris inter ea ponantur cum coronis querceis in memoriam eius sacerdoti, quae sellae cum templum diui Augusti perfectum erit ex eo templo proferantur et interea in templo Martis Vltoris reponantur et inde proferantur, quique cumque eos ludos qui supra scripti sunt faciendos curabit, is uti eae in the- atris ponantur et cum reponendae erunt in eo templo reponantur curet. utique, cum cautum sit, uti quoad ossa Germanici Caesaris in tumulum inferrentur templa deorum clauderentur, et, qui ordinis equestris erunt, qui eorum latum cla- uom habebunt, qui eorum officio fungi uolent et per ualetudinem perque domestica sacra officio fungi poterunt, ii sine clauo, ii qui equom publicum habebunt cum trabeis in campum ueniant; utique ante diem sextum idus Octobres quo die Germanicus Caesar defun- ctus est templa deorum inmortalium quae in urbe Romam propriusue urbem Romam passus mille sunt erunt quot annis clausa sint idque ut ita fiat ii qui eas aedes tuendas redemptas habent habebunt curent; utique eodem die magistri sodalium Augustalium qui quoque anno erunt inferias ante tumulum diui Augusti manibus Germanici Cae- saris mittendas curent aut si magistri unus pluresue ad id sacrificium adesse non poterunt ii qui pro-ximo anno magisterio fungi debebunt in locum eorum qui eo munere fungi non poterunt fungantur

Tabula Hebana — rogatio in honour of Germanicus — translation

Tabula Hebana (ll. 22–26)

And that on the Palatine, in the portico which is by (the temple) of Apollo, in that templum in which meetings of the senate are accustomed to be held, [among the likenesses] of men of distinguished talent, there be placed likenesses of Germanicus Caesar and of Drusus Germanicus, his natural father [and the brother] of Ti. Caesar Augustus, who himself also was of fertile talent, over the capitals of the columns of [that roof] by which the statue of Apollo is covered. And that the Salian priests should include in their chants the name of Germanicus Caesar [to] honour his memory, an honour which has also been accorded to C. and L. Caesar, the brothers of Ti. Caesar Augustus.

Verbatim inscription text from formula-dossier case study (ll. 84–84)

Ritual / funerary clauses (verbatim text-layer, lines 50-62): "utiq. ludis Augu[stalibus cum subsellia soda-lium] | ponentur in theatris, sellae curules Germanici Caesaris inter ea ponantur cu[m querceis coronis in honorem] | eius sacerdoti, quae sellae cum templum divi Aug. perfectum erit ex eo templo pr[oferentur, interea in templo] | Martis Ultoris reponantur et inde proferantur, quiq. cumq. eos ludos q. s. s. s. fac[iat, uti ex eo templo q. s. s. e. in the]|atris ponantur et cum reponendae erunt in eo templo reponantur curet. uti[q. cum ossa cinisque Germanici] || Caesaris in tumulum inferrentur templa deor. clauderentur, ii qui ordini [equestri adscripti privatum eq]uum habebunt, qui eor. officio fungi volent et per valetudinem perq. domesti[cum funus non impedientur, cum] | clavo, ii qui equom pub. habebunt cum trabeis in campum veniant. utiq. [quodannis eodem die quo in vita defun[ctus est, templa deor. immortalium quae in urbe Roma{m} propriusve urbem [Romam passus mille sunt erunt] | clausa sint, idque ut ita fiat ii qui eas aedes tuendas redemptas habent [curent. utiq. eodem die magistri] || sodalium Augustalium qui quoq. anno erunt inferias ante tumulu[m in quem illata sint ossa Germanici Cae]|saris mittendas curent…"

Jones 1955 on the Lex Valeria Cornelia which the Tabula Hebana amends (verbatim text-layer, p. ~13): "And bribery was still rife in the consular elections, which Augustus is supposed to have controlled absolutely, as late as 8 B.C., when Augustus demanded a deposit from all candidates, to be forfeited if they employed corrupt practices. Suetonius records that Augustus regularly tipped the members of his own two tribes, Scaptia and Fabia, 1,000 HS per head on election days, in the hope that they would feel less inclined to accept bribes from the candidates. Finally in A.D. 7 electoral riots were so violent that Augustus had to nominate all the magistrates himself. But this brings us down to a date later than the Lex Valeria Cornelia of A.D. 5, whose existence the Tabula Hebana has revealed. The Tabula Hebana is a piece of legislation by reference, and in some vital sections a very large proportion of the text is lost. It is therefore doubly difficult to reconstruct the Lex Valeria Cornelia to which it so often refers."

Centuriae-creation clause (verbatim text-layer, lines 6-11): "[utiq. ei numero centuri]arum quae de cos. pr. destinandis suffragium ferre solent adiciantur V centur[iae, et cum X | priores adpellan]tur C. et L. Caesar., adpellentur insequentes V Germanici Caesaris; inq. is omnib[us senato[res itemque equi]tes omnium decuriarum quae iudicior. publicor. caussa constitutae sunt erun[t suffragium | ferant; quiq. cum]q. magistratu(u)m destinationis faciendae caussa senatores qui-busq. in [senatu] sen[tentiam dillcere licebit it]emq. eq. in consaeptum ex lege quam L. Valerius Messalla Volesus Cn. Cornelius Ci[nna Magnus[ cos. 1 tuler. suff]ragi ferendi caussa convocabit, is uti senatores itemq. equites omnium decu-ria[rum quae iudijciorum public]orum gratia constitutae sunt erunt suffragium ferant, quod eius r[ei fieri poterit, in | XV centur. curet;"

In-folder works bearing on the Tabula Hebana: (1) Ehrenberg & Jones 1949 (the primary text); (2) Jones 1955 (the seminal English-language commentary); (3) Sherk 1984, "Rome and the Greek East" — also in folder, but the Germanicus material in Sherk 1984 covers a different document (a papyrus speech from Alexandria, ca. AD 19), NOT the Tabula Hebana itself. (4) Lebek 1990, "Standeswürde und Berufsverbot unter Tiberius: Das SC der Tabula Larinas" — covers a SIBLING Tiberian-era SC (the Tabula Larinas, on senatorial standes and Berufsverbot), which provides a generic comparator but is not on the Tabula Hebana directly. Per M18 no-fabrication policy, these are noted as available but not directly quoted unless their text-layers contain Tabula-Hebana-specific commentary.

Jones 1955 on the centuriae Germanici Caesaris and centuriae Drusi added after each prince's death (verbatim text-layer, p. ~19): "That the Lex Valeria Cornelia was still in operation is shown by the fact that it was amended by the Tabula Hebana after Germanicus' death in A.D. 19, five additional centuries being created in his honour, and fragments survive of yet another law which added five more centuries in honour of Drusus on his death in A.D. 23. No more is heard of centuriae Caesarum after this date, but there seems no reason why the formula procedure should not have continued as long as the comitia centuriata went on holding the ceremonial of elections."

Opening clauses — posthumous honors enumeration (verbatim text-layer, lines 1-6 of EJ 1949 Doc 365): "[....... uti]q. in porticu quae est ad Apollinis in eo templo in quo senatus haberi sole[t ..... | ..... viri i]nlustris ingeni Germanici Caesaris et Drusi Germanici patris eius natural[is Ti. Cae|saris Aug. fratris] qui ipse quoq. fecundi ingeni fuit imagines ponantur supra capita columna[rum qui]bus simulac[rum Apol-linis tegitur. utiq. Sali carminibus suis nomen Germanici Caes[aris in||ter divorum nomi]na interponant, qui honos C. quoq. et L. Caesarib. fratr. Ti. Caesaris Aug. habitus est."

Tabula Hebana (ll. 27–71)

And that to the ten centuries of the Caesars, which are accustomed to cast their vote concerning the destining of the consuls and praetors, there be added five; and that the first ten centuries which shall be called be named for C. and L. Caesar, the five following for Germanicus Caesar; and in all those centuries the senators, and equites of all the decuriae which have been or shall be established for the purpose of the iudicia publica, should cast their vote; and whoever, for the purpose of holding a destinatio of magistrates, shall summon into the enclosure the senators and those for whom it shall be lawful to pronounce an opinion in the senate, and also the equites, according to the statute which the consuls L. Valerius Messalla Volesus and Cn. Cornelius Cinna Magnus passed, he should see that, insofar as it shall be possible, the senators and equites of all the decuriae cast their vote in the fifteen centuries. And as to the selection by lot which according to that statute is laid down for the nine hundred, or 'guardians', as they are called, for the ten centuries of the Caesars, the person who is to undertake it should undertake it for the fifteen centuries. And that on the day on which the senators and equites will be obliged to attend in order to cast their vote, he, with the praetors and the tribunes of the plebs sitting beside him, should order fifteen large wicker baskets to be placed in front of his tribunal, into which the voting tablets may be put; and should order as many waxed voting tablets to be placed next to the baskets as shall seem necessary; and should see that whitened boards, on which the names of the candidates have been written, be placed where they may most easily be read; then, in full view of all the magistrates and those who shall be about to cast their vote, seated on benches, as they used to sit when the vote was cast for the ten centuries of the Caesars, he should order that balls, as even as possible, for the thirty-three tribes — Succusana and Esquilina being excluded — be thrown into a revolving urn, and the selection by lot declared, and the allotment made of which senators and equites ought to cast their vote and into which basket: two tribes each to the first, second, third and fourth baskets, three to the fifth, two each to the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth, three to the tenth; and for the centuries named for Germanicus Caesar, two tribes each to the eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth, and three to the fifteenth; so that, when he shall have called one tribe whose lot has been drawn, he should call in order the senators of that tribe and order them to approach the first basket and cast their vote; then, when they have voted and returned to the benches, he should call the equites of the same tribe and order them to vote in the same basket; then he should select by lot another and another tribe. As regards the sealing of the baskets after the votes have been cast and their handing over to the praetors in charge of the aerarium, and the checking of the seals and the distribution of the votes, he should observe all that is laid down for the ten centuries of the Caesars in the statute which the consuls Cinna and Volesus passed, and do all the same things in the case of the fifteen centuries; and whatever shall be performed in this way should be legal and binding. Then, after the votes of that destinatio from the fifteen centuries of C. and L. Caesar and of Germanicus Caesar have been counted, he who holds that destinatio should read out the tablet of the century drawn by lot under the name of C. and L. Caesar, or under the name of Germanicus Caesar, as the case may be, and announce each candidate destined under that name; and that category of centuries which by this rogatio is added should proceed exactly as the ten centuries proceed under the statute of Cinna and Volesus; and the person who holds the destinatio should see that account is taken of all the tribes. All other matters not explicitly written in this rogatio should be performed just as in the statute which the consuls Cinna and Volesus passed.

Tabula Hebana (ll. 72–83)

And that during the ludi Augustales, when the seats of the sodales shall be placed in the theatres, the curule chairs of Germanicus Caesar should be placed among them, with crowns of oak leaves, in memory of that priesthood; and that those chairs, once the temple of the Divine Augustus shall be completed, should be carried out of that temple, and in the meantime should be placed in the temple of Mars Ultor and carried out of there; and whoever shall see to the holding of the games written above should see that the chairs be placed in the theatres and, when they are to be replaced, be replaced in that temple. And that, since it has been prescribed that the temples of the gods be closed until the bones of Germanicus Caesar be interred in the burial mound, those of the equestrian order who shall have the broad stripe, who shall wish to perform their duty and shall be able to attend, should come into the Campus Martius without the stripe; those who possess the public horse should come with the trabea. And that on the sixth day before the Ides of October, the day on which Germanicus Caesar died, the temples of the immortal gods which are in the city of Rome or within one mile of it should be closed each year, and that those who hold the contracts for those temples should see that this is done; and that on the same day the magistri of the sodales Augustales who shall be in office each year should see that inferiae are performed for the manes of Germanicus Caesar in front of the burial mound of the Divine Augustus; or, if one or more of the magistri shall not be able to attend that sacrifice, those who shall be obliged to hold that office in the following year should perform it in the place of those who shall not be able to [—].

Tabula Hebana — rogatio in honour of Germanicus — commentary

With the Tabula Hebana — the bronze found at Heba in Etruria in 1947, the law's fullest witness — the text becomes continuously legible. Its first clause sets likenesses (imagines) of Germanicus and of his natural father Drusus among the portraits of ‘men of distinguished talent’ in the portico by the temple of Apollo on the Palatine — the very room in which the Senate met, and in which this law and the decree behind it were to be displayed (Crawford, Roman Statutes I, 1996, no. 37, 536–537).

The second clause inserts the name of Germanicus into the carmen Saliare, the ancient hymn of the Salii — an honour, the law notes, already paid to Gaius and Lucius Caesar. The precedent is deliberate: the honours of one dead prince are built, clause by clause, on those of the last. Tacitus records both these honours among those decreed for Germanicus (Annals 2.83).

The long central section is the law's operative heart, and the reason it survives at all: it amends the Roman constitution. It adds five new voting-centuries, named for Germanicus, to the ten created in AD 5 by the lex Valeria Cornelia and named for the dead princes Gaius and Lucius Caesar. In these fifteen centuries, senators and equites of the judicial decuriae cast an advance vote — the destinatio — designating candidates for the consulship and praetorship (Crawford, Roman Statutes I, 1996, no. 37, 536–537).

The clauses then regulate the procedure in exhaustive bureaucratic detail: the fifteen wicker baskets, the waxed ballots, the whitened name-boards, the equalised lot-balls of the thirty-three tribes thrown into a revolving urn, the calling of tribe after tribe, the reading-out of results. It is this section that the Rogatio for Drusus Caesar of AD 23 repeats almost word for word on the Tabula Ilicitana — proof that the Drusus law was modelled directly on this one. The word destinatio and the careful cross-references to ‘the statute which Cinna and Volesus passed’ (the lex Valeria Cornelia) show a state legislating by precedent (Crawford, Roman Statutes I, 1996, no. 37, 539; the General Introduction, Ch. V).

The law's final surviving section turns from the constitution back to commemoration. It places curule chairs of Germanicus, crowned with oak, among the seats of the sodales Augustales at the ludi Augustales; it regulates equestrian dress during the mourning; and it fixes the anniversary of his death — the sixth day before the Ides of October, 10 October — as a day on which the temples of Rome are closed and inferiae are offered at the tomb of Augustus (Crawford, Roman Statutes I, 1996, no. 37, 531–532).

The Tabula Hebana breaks off just after the start of the clause on the annual inferiae. Crawford suggests the lost continuation regulated those rites along the lines of the decree for Lucius Caesar at Pisa — the Decreta Pisana — and that the penalties for failing to perform them stood in the Todi Fragment (Crawford, Roman Statutes I, 1996, no. 37, 513).

Critical apparatus in Palatio in porticu quae est ad Apollinis — The portico beside the temple of Apollo on the Palatine, an inaugurated templum in which the Senate met — the same room in which the SCPP and this dossier were displayed (Crawford, Roman Statutes I, no. 37, 563). in‹l‹us‹t‹ris — The bronze engraves INIVSIRIS; the editor corrects to in(l)us(t)ris = inlustris, 'of distinguished (talent)' — a phrase already in Cicero, Pro Caelio 1. ad (decem) centur(ias) ... adiciantur (quinque) — The constitutional core: five new centuries added to the ten created by the lex Valeria Cornelia of AD 5. The resolved numerals stand for the numeral-signs on the bronze. L(ucius) Valerius Messalla Volesus Cn(aeus) Cornelius Cinna Magnus — The consuls of AD 5, who carried the lex Valeria Cornelia; named here (and as 'Cinna et Volesus' below) because this law repeatedly cross-refers to their statute as its procedural model. rogatione{m} — A surplus letter: the engraver wrote ROGATIONEM where the syntax requires rogatione. Such surplus letters are marked { } and deleted. se‹d‹entium in supsellis — The voters sit on benches (subsellia, here spelt supsellis), as they did for the original ten centuries. The Tabula Ilicitana of the Drusus law preserves the same clause almost verbatim. trium et (triginta) trib(uum) excepta Suc(usana) et Esq(uilina) — Thirty-three of the thirty-five Roman tribes; the urban tribes Suburana and Esquilina are excluded from the sortition. The detail recurs identically in the Drusus law. in ‹(quindecim)‹ centur(ias) — A correction of the numeral on the bronze; the fifteen centuries (ten of the Caesars plus five of Germanicus). ⟨ex⟩ (decem) centur(is) — The preposition ex was omitted by the engraver and is supplied by the editor; letters the engraver omitted are marked ⟨ ⟩. Roma{m} prop{r}iusue urbem — Two surplus letters: the bronze engraves ROMAM and PROPRIVS where the text requires Roma and propius. The temples within one mile of Rome are to be closed on the anniversary.

Editions and commentary M. H. Crawford (ed.), Roman Statutes I (London 1996), no. 37 — the canonical critical edition; in folder. V. Ehrenberg & A. H. M. Jones, Documents Illustrating the Reigns of Augustus and Tiberius (Oxford 1949), doc. 365 ADDENDUM — the second-edition apparatus; in folder. A. H. M. Jones, 'The Elections under Augustus,' Journal of Roman Studies 45 (1955), pp. 9-21 — the seminal English-language analysis of the destinatio procedure the Hebana revealed; in folder. Notizie degli Scavi lxxii (ser. 8, vol. 1), 1947, pp. 49ff. — the editio princeps; cited above via EJ 1949.