#publius claudius pulcher

[just-late-roman-republic-things]

>Be Publius Claudius Pulcher. No, not THAT one, you're his ancestor during the First Punic War.

>Be so sexy (pulcher) that all your descendants are named the Sexy Claudii after you.

>So sexy. But so stupid.

>Nevertheless you are Hot, Rich and Famous Enough to get elected consul for 249 BCE, just in time to lead Rome's navy against the Carthaginians in battle.

>Hold up. "Navy?" Boats are for LOSERS. How are you supposed to look cool shanking Carthaginians if they're on another boat?

>You and a hundred other smelly unwashed dudes are crammed onto a dumb pointy boat with some fucking chickens. Sacred chickens. Because birds are messengers of the gods or some shit like that.

>You can see the enemy ships right there but nooo you're not allowed to attack them until the chickens are cool with it, and the chickens won't fucking eat.

>You did not spend oodles of sesterces to become consul and blow lunch over the side of a stinky boat just for chickens to tell you what to do.

>If they will not eat then let them DRINK. You hurl the chickens off the boat and command the fleet to plow full speed ahead.

>Carthage beats your ass so bad Rome doesn't attempt to fight a sea battle for seven years, and the Carthaginians comfortably put most of their ships in reserve.

>You are hauled in front of the Senate, charged with treason and sacrilege, exiled, and die soon afterward.

>Your sexiness, however, lives on.

[catilinas]

dolabella cringe compilation / oxford classical dictionary entry

[memories-of-ancients]

The Sacred Chickens of Ancient Rome

In Ancient Rome the Sacred Chickens were a roost of…sacred chickens that were used for divination by Roman priests. Revered for their ability to give portents of the future, the chickens were attentively raised and kept by the priests, hence why depictions of Roman priests often show them with chickens.

To use the Sacred Chickens for fortunetelling, feed would be spread around the ground and the chickens set loose. If the chickens ate voraciously then a favorable outcome could be expected. If not, then an unfavorable outcome was expected. If a favorable outcome was needed, then the chickens would be kept in cages for a period of time without food before being set loose, which seems to me no different than shaking a magic eight ball repeatedly until you get the right answer. Regardless, the portents of the Sacred Chickens were taken very seriously, and matters of state or military were not conducted until first consulting with the chickens.

In 249 BC during the First Punic War, the Roman Consul Publius Claudius Pulcher was leading a fleet of 120 Roman warships on a surprise attack on the Carthaginian port of Drepana. When feed was spread out on the deck of the ship, the chickens refused to eat, signaling that the attack was doomed to failure. Pulcher, believing the Sacred Chickens to be superstitious nonsense, ordered the chickens cast overboard exclaiming “Bibant, quoniam esse nolunt” (Let them drink if they will not eat) .  The morale of the Roman fleet spiraled downward. After all how could one conduct a successful military campaign without good portents from the Sacred Chickens? When the fleet attacked the port, it made a clumsy and slow advance against the harbor, thus losing the element of surprise. The Carthaginian fleet quickly mobilized and attacked the Romans, sinking or capturing 93 Roman ships. Ignore the Sacred Chickens at your own peril!

Of course today we know it is unlikely that the Romans lost the battle because of the Sacred Chickens. Fortunately today in our modern societies we do not take such superstitions seriously. Oh BTW Punxsutawney Phil didn't see his shadow, so spring is around the corner! Better go get my snow tires removed.

[iphisesque]

the thing about my immortal's "(that's how i got my name)" is how it inadvertently encapsulates the nature of certain roman names. hi my name is marcus tullius cicero and i have a cecil-shaped mole on my nose (that's how i got my name). hi my name is publius cornelius scipio africanus and i conquered africa (that's how i got my name). hi my name is publius claudius pulcher and im a major fucking hottie (that's how i got my name).

[edwardscissorfeet]

what the HELL is this @/publius claudius pulcher?????? your coward ass is always hiding behind press releases. you are a SPINELESS LOSER. you're still patrician and that's FINAL.

[thoodleoo]

sometimes i wonder what it would have been like to be on publius claudius pulcher's ships. like imagine youre a roman soldier heading to carthage to fight and this guy gets the worst fucking possible omens from the sacred chickens and instead of turning the ship around he throws the chickens into the ocean, makes you go into battle anyway, and gets so utterly ass-blasted that it takes 7 years for the romans to rebuild their fleet, and now youre drowning while carthaginian ships sail all around you. all because this bitch didnt listen to the chickens

[hickorysux]

Publius Claudius Pulcher

[shcherbatskya]

btw this is so terrible for me. publius claudius pulcher, but he exists in like. the early few years of the social war, serving in the war. and i am confused and i don’t get it. is it clodius or is it some other guy who i can’t fucking find on a family tree. sobbing and throwing up.

[aristocraticvision]

Chapter 56: Catalina

When consular elections were held that year, such was the flagrant use of bribery by the winning ticket that the senate quickly annulled the results and called for a new election in October.

On this occasion, Catalina took the opportunity to submit his name as a candidate, but Pius was more than ready – calling on the senate for a ruling that only the original candidates would be able to stand.

In a fury, Catalina began hanging about with unsavory company, walking the forum with violent ruffians, making threats and kicking up trouble whenever he had the chance.

“Some in the senate have already demanded his censure,” Cicero said. “Unfortunately, his advocates among the aristocracy are shielding him.”

“I should have thought Catalina much to uncouth for their tastes,” Quintus said.

“Even the boni know how to make use of a street fighter when the occasion demands it,” Atticus observed. “After all, many a cultured household is protected by a savage dog or two.”

Still, no one had volunteered to take on the Africans’ case against Catalina – much to Cicero’s relief – until one day one of Cicero’s former students, Marcus Caelius Rufus, rushed into my master’s library.

“Clodius!” he cried breathlessly. “Clodius has agreed to prosecute Catalina!”

Cicero was stunned. Publius Clodius Pulcher, a young man in his early 20s, was chief among a group of disreputable noblemen (of which, sadly, young Rufus was a part) who continually drank and whored their way around the city. Clodius – a patrician Claudian who embraced the common spelling of his name as an affectation to endear himself to the head count – was rich, intelligent and exceedingly arrogant.

“What would such a creature be doing in a law court?” Cicero joked, standing to face his guest. “Except as a defendant, of course.”

But Rufus defended his friend.

“Say what you will, but Clodius is brilliant,” he said. “If you need greater proof, just plan on visiting the extortion court tomorrow morning.”

Cicero was determined to be there, and, just after sunrise, dragged me to the forum to watch.

Soon after, a group of young men strode regally across the forum to the court’s table. One of them, a golden-haired Adonis, stepped forward, and his voice rang out.

“I am Publius Clodius Pulcher, son of Appius Claudius Pulcher, consul,” he said, his voice deeper and more resonant than his look would suggest. “I come before you to lay charges against Sergius Catalina for the crimes he committed in Africa. That province and its people demand justice!”

His friends applauding, Clodius turned on his heel and marched off through the surprised crowd, leaving Cicero shaking his head. He turned to me.

“Go, find my brother and Atticus,” he said. “Have them meet me at home at once.”

BEGINNING | PREV | NEXT

[husheduphistory]

Consulting the Coop: Ancient Rome’s Sacred Chickens and Big Decisions

When faced with a decision there are typically two ways to proceed, you evaluate the options for yourself and choose the best avenue or you might feel the need to ask advice from a trusted source. This source can be anyone, a relative, friend, coworker, counselor, or…if you were living in one specific timeframe…you headed right for the chicken coop.

Ancient Rome can conjure majestic images of architecture, artwork, and bring to mind familiar names of great intellectuals and mighty leaders like Caesar, Cicero, Marcus Aurelius, Claudius, and Augustus. Considering how immense and powerful Rome was, it might be surprising how reliant it was on superstition and reading “signs” given to them by the gods. The Romans often took part in augury, using the outcome of various practices and rituals as predictions of the future. Some practices involved reading the entrails of animals, some may have looked at plant leaves, others may have studied storms, but one of the most common forms of this type of divination involved birds, and in ancient Rome the most vital of these birds were chickens.

After being relocated from their home near Athens, the chickens were tended to by a pullarius, a “priest of the sacred chicken”, and it was these priests that became responsible for some major decisions in Roman history. The process was straightforward, the chickens were kept in pens and were denied food for a certain amount of time. When there was an important decision to be made the pullarius fed the chickens grain. If the hungry birds ate the grain it signaled a “yes” to the question. But, if they did not eat it was a definite “no” and it was highly advised that a new avenue be considered.

But what if they did not listen to the chickens? What could possibly go wrong? The birds were presented with questions on every level, including ones that carried an immense amount of weight and heavy consequences for Rome. On more than one occasion they were not listened to and those who defied the sacred chickens were left with deep regret.

Ancient Roman mosaic of a rooster. Image commons.wikimedia.org.

At the beginning of the First Punic War (264-241 BCE) the Roman navy’s biggest obstacle was the far superior naval force of Carthage that boasted better ships and more advanced sailors. One thing that Rome did have in its favor was a gift for engineering and tactics which eventually gave them a fleet of ships that could challenge the Carthaginian ships. By 249 BCE the fleet of 123 ships had a number of impressive victories under its belt and was under the command of Publius Claudius Pulcher. When Pulcher successfully cornered the Carthaginian navy in the harbor of Drepanum he had two options, to sit in wait creating a blockade or, his preferred choice, to launch a surprise attack. He knew who he had to ask. Pulcher happened to have some sacred chickens on his ship, but their reaction to his inquiry did not please the admiral. They refused to eat the grain given to them…an ambush was not advised.

Pulcher’s next step would have appalled many in Rome. The chickens very clearly advised him not to attack the Carthaginian fleet. But, not only did he go against the chickens, he may have outright disrespected them. According to some records, when the birds refused their grain he said to his crew “If they will not eat, let them drink!” before throwing them into the sea.

The attack on the fleet of Carthage was devastating for Pulcher. Of the 123 ships he brought into battle only 30 survived and up to 20,000 men were lost, decimating the Roman navy and destroying all the headway and moral they built during their previous victories. Pulcher survived the ordeal but when he returned to Rome he was heavily fined for his actions and accused of treason.

An illustration of Pulcher consulting the sacred chickens. Image via https://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/sacred_chickens_of_rome

In the year 137 BCE Gaius Hostilius Mancinus was the Roman consul during the Numantine War. Before engaging in a campaign against the Numantians in Spain Gaius went to consult the sacred chickens about his plans. There were typically two outcomes here, the chickens ate the grain or they did not. This time however, the chickens did not even consider the grain. Instead they ran straight into the surrounding woods and could not be found. This should have been a very clear answer to Gaius telling him his campaign was not looking favorable. But instead, he went on to battle. What followed was a military disaster for Gaius. They were beaten in battles several times over, they failed to build a camp, and by daybreak they were completely surrounded by the enemy. The situation could have spelled utter doom for the Romans, but among them was the son of a man named Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, a man the Numantians were familiar with and held in high regard. To save thousands of lives Gaius had to agree to a peace deal with his opponents, sending him and his army crawling back to Rome and leaving all of their belongings behind. When Gaius appeared before the Senate, they were furious with him and the embarrassment of his dealings with the Numantians. Gaius was stripped naked, put in chains, and the new Roman consul was ordered to bring him back to the Numantians in Spain. Once there, they refused to receive him. Gaius eventually returned to Rome where he lived out the rest of his years forever marked with humiliation. Plutarchus later dubbed him “the most unfortunate of the Romans.”

The sacred chickens of Rome in their coop from an engraving of military insignia and instruments of war by Nicolas Beatrizet. The full engraving is found at Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae, [Image no. B293], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

Tiberius Gracchus was a controversial Roman politician for his time. While serving as Tribune of the Plebs he proposed a land reform bill that sought to transfer land from wealthy landowners to poorer citizens, much to the chagrin of the Senate. By 133 BCE Tiberius was seeking a second term to continue his cause and on the day of the election he traveled to Campus Martius for the vote. Before leaving though he made sure to consult the family chickens to ask if he should attend at all. The chickens told him he should not go. He should have listened to them.

Things soon began to go bad for Tiberius. As he left his house he stubbed his toe badly, bloodying his shoes as he continued to the assembly. When he arrived at the Capitol he was informed of some dire news, that some opponents in the Senate had hatched a plan to kill him. Arming themselves with anything they could find, Tiberius and his followers braced themselves. In the massive crowd it is said Tiberius pointed to his head to signal he was in danger, but his enemies took the sign as him saying he wanted to be crowned king. The heated senators had had enough. They and their followers armed themselves and headed for Tiberius and his supporters. What followed was the eruption of a massive riot that resulted in the deaths of approximately 300 people. One of the dead was Tiberius, he had been beaten to death and his body thrown into the Tiber. The death of Tiberius, the blatant murder of an elected official, was shocking and it marked the beginning of the end for Rome.

As Rome transformed over time, moving from Republic to Empire, their methods and customs changed. While augury remained a presence in Roman culture the practices moved away from the sacred chickens until eventually divination as a whole became frowned upon with the onset of Christianity.

Today anyone looking for answers through divination has many methods to choose from ranging from decks of cards to reading animal bones and everything in between. Greatly missing from today’s list of options are the sacred chickens, the common birds responsible for some of the biggest moments in Ancient Roman history.

**********************************************************

Sources:

The Sacred Chickens of Rome by Paul Sheridan https://www.anecdotesfromantiquity.com/the-sacred-chickens-of-rome/

The Sacred Chickens of Rome https://www.weirduniverse.net/blog/comments/sacred_chickens_of_rome

The Sacred Chickens that Shaped Roman Decision-Making by Alexander Meddings https://historycollection.com/sacred-chickens-shaped-roman-policymaking/

The Disgraced Ancient Roman Admiral Who Did Not Heed The Sacred Chickens During The First Punic War https://thehistorianshut.com/2018/09/14/the-disgraced-ancient-roman-admiral-who-did-not-heed-the-sacred-chickens/

History with the Szilagyis Episode 3: The Sacred Chickens of Rome https://historywiththeszilagyis.org/hwts003

[p-clodius-pulcher]

Here’s my personal working order of birth for the children of Appius Claudius Pulcher (c. 129 BC – 76 BC):

Clodia Metelli, to wife 1

Unrecorded sister, during/after who’s birth wife 1 died

Appius Claudius

Claudia Tertia, to wife 2

Gaius Claudius

Publius Clodius

Claudia former wife of Lucullus

[just-late-roman-republic-things]

Do you ever think about how Appius Claudius Pulcher was an election-rigging necromancer and Publius Clodius Pulcher was a crossdressing mob boss and their little brother Gaius was just some guy

[destinyandcoins]

can you imagine being a roman commander in charge of a naval fleet in 249 BCE and you’re facing off against your mortal enemy, the carthaginians, and shit’s exhausting and you’ve been at this for a couple of decades already and neither side is winning and you’re just so tired because there’s no end in sight and some fucker has brought some sacred chickens on your ship for some kind of ceremony of divining or as part of a ritual to the gods that will boost your moral and help bring you to victory and that’s nonsense, you think, so you throw the fucking chickens overboard and tell your men to get back to work.

except then you lose the battle of drapana and literally everyone blames you. not because you failed as a commander or your strategies were shit or you didn’t have the resources you needed, no, but because you threw the sacred chickens overboard and clearly you invited divine wrath and it’s all your fault

and then for the next 2000 years your petty tantrum of throwing some chickens off a boat is literally part of history and the only thing anyone remembers about you

[elucubrare]

you can throw a sacred chicken in the ocean but you can't make it drink

[natalieironside]

Natalie can you tell us something really stupid about the Roman empire?

Romans were extremely superstitious and put a lot of stock in omens and portents, and it was common practice to consult the auguries before doing anything difficult or noteworthy. At the Battle of Drepana during the Punic Wars, the Roman naval commander Publius Claudius Pulcher did this by consulting his ship's sacred chickens; the idea being that you scatter grain in front of the sacred chickens, and if they eat it that's a good sign, but if they refuse to eat it's a bad sign. The sacred chickens refused to eat, signifying that battle should be avoided that day, so Pulcher threw them overboard and declared, "If they are not hungry, let them drink," then gave the order engage the Carthaginians.

Drepana was one of the most disastrous naval defeats in Roman history, costing the republic 93 ships and 20,000 sailors in a single day.

[romegreeceart]

Famous people

Tag list of famous people from Ancient Rome and Greece. A few hellenistic rulers and some Etruscans are also included.

And for some reason the page is not working properly. The HTML code is there, but it only works on my dashboard. On this page links are inactive. I figure that page only understands “/tagged/Agrippina-the-Elder” - versions, but I’m too lazy / busy to rewrite the code. So if you want to check a tag, you’ll have to copy and paste it after the word “ .../tagged/”. And same goes for all the lists below.

URLs + copy&paste:

https://romegreeceart.tumblr.com/tagged/

https://romegreeceart.tumblr.com/archive/tagged/

A

Aelia Flaccilla- Pillar of the Church

Agrippina the Elder

Agrippina the Younger

Aemilia Lepida and her descendants  v emperor Nero

Aeschylus

Aetius

Alaric

Alcibiades

Alexander the Great

Ancus Marcius

Antinous

Antiochus I Soter

Antiochus III the Great

Antisthenes (philosopher, cynic school)

Antonia Minor - mother of Claudius and Germanicus

Antoninus Pius

Apicius

Apollodorus of Damascus

Apollonius of Tralles (Greek sculptor)

Aristotle

Arsinoe II

Arsinoe III

Artemisia II of Caria

Aspasia

Atticus (Cicero’s friend)

Attila

Augustus

Aulus Rustius Verus (Pompeian politician)

Aurelianus

B

Baltimore painter (Apulia, 4th century BCE)

Berenike II

Britannicus

Brygos Painter

Brutus (liberator, founder of the republic)

Brutus (assassin)

C

Caesarion

Caligula

Callimachus

Caracalla

Carausius (Roman Britain, emperor)

Carinus

Cassius Dio

Catiline

Cato the Elder

Cato the Younger

Cicero

Claudia Antonia (emperor’s daughter)

Claudius

Claudius Gothicus

Cleopatra

Cleopatra Selene

Cleopatra III

Clodius Albinus

Commodus

Constantine the Great

Constantius II

Constantius Chlorus

Corbulo

Cornelia Africana

Cornelia Minor (Caesar’s wife)

Crispina

Crispus (Constantine’s eldest son)

Croesus

Cynisca (Spartan princess, olympic winner)

D

Darius III

Decius

Demosthenes

Didia Clara (daughter of Didius Julianus)

Didius Julianus

Diocletianus

Dioscorides Pedanius (physician, botanist)

Diva Claudia (daughter of Nero)

Domitianus

Drusus Caesar (son of Germanicus)

Drusus the Younger (son of Tiberius)

Drusus the Elder (son of Livia)

E

Elagabalus

Eumachia (Pompeian priestess and patroness)

Euripides

F

Fabius Maximus Cunctator (”The Shield of Rome”)

Faustina Maior

Faustina Minor

Female painters

Flavian dynasty

G

Gaius Caesar

Galerius

Galba

Galen

Galla Placidia

Gallic emperors

Gallienus

Germanicus

Gelon

Gens Aemilia

Gens Cornelia

Gens Calpurnia

Geta

Gordian I

Gordian II

Gordian III

Gracchi Brothers

Gratian

Greek tyrants

H

Hadrianus

Hannibal

Hegias (Greek sculptor, 5th century BCE

Hellenistic kings

Herennius Etruscus (co-emperor)

Hermione Grammatike

Herodes Atticus

Herodotus

Hippocrates

Historians

Homeros

Honorius

Hostilianus

I

Iaia of Cyzicus (female painter)

Jovianus

Juba II

Julia (Augustus’ daughter)

Julia Aquilia Severa (Vestal virgin and empress)

Julia Domna

Julia Drusilla

Julia Felix (Pompeian business woman)

Julia Flavia (Titus’ daughter)

Julia Maesa

Julia Soaemias

Julian the Apostate

Julio-Claudian family (julioclaudian)

Julio-Claudian dynasty

Julio-Claudian

Julio-Claudian dynasty

Julius Caesar 1

Julius Caesar (2)

Julius Vindex

K

Kings

Kresilas (Athenian sculptor)

Kritios (Athenian sculptor)

L

Lady of Aigai

Lady of Vix (Celtic woman, late 6th century BCE)

Lassia (priestess of Ceres, Pompeii)

Lepidus

Leonidas

Livia

Livilla

Livius

Lucilla (daughter of Marcus Aurelius)

Lucius Appuleius Saturninus

Lucius Caecilius Jucundus (Pompeian banker)

Lucius Caesar

Lucius Herennius Flores (Boscoreale Villa, real owner ?)

Lucius Verus

Lysippos

Lysippos 2

M

Maecenas

Macrinus

Magnus Maximus

Mamia (Pompeian priestess and patroness)

Marcellus (Augustus’ heir)

Marcus Agrippa

Marcus Antonius

Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Claudius Tacitus (emperor)

Marcus Licinius Crassus

Marcus Terentius Varro

Marius

Martialis

Masinissa

Maussollos of Halicarnassos

Maxentius

Maximianus

Maximinus Daia

Maximinus Thrax

Members of imperial families

Menander

Miami painter

Milonia Caesonia

Miltiades (Greek general)

Mona Lisa of Galilee

Myron

N

Nero

Nero Julius Caesar (son of Germanicus)

Nerva

Nerva-Antonine family

Numa Pompilius

O

Octavia the Younger (Augustus’ sister)

Octavia (Claudius’ daughter)

Optimates

Otho

Ovidius

P

Paionios (Greek sculptor)

Patronesses

Penthesilea painter

Pericles

Pertinax

Pescennius Niger

Pheidias

Philip the Arab

Philosophers

Philip II of Macedonia

Phryne (Greek courtesan)

Plancia Magna

Plato

Pliny the Elder

Pliny the Younger

Poets

Polykleitos

Pompeius

Poppaea Sabina

Populares

Postumus Agrippa

Postumus (Gallic emperor)

Probus

Ptolemy of Mauretania

Praxiteles

Ptolemy I

Publius Clodius Pulcher

Publius Fannius Synistor

Publius Licinius Crassus (triumvir’s younger son)

Publius Sittius

Publius Quinctilius Varus

Pythagoras

Pyrrhus

Pytheas (a greek explorer)

Q

Queens

R

Roman Caesars (= princes, heirs to the throne)

Roman Civil War Commanders

Roman client kings

Roman consuls

Roman dictators

Roman emperors

Roman empresses

Roman generals

Roman gentes

Romans who declined the throne

Romulus Augustulus

Romulus and Remus

S

Sabina

Sallustius

Sappho

Scipio Africanus

Scopas

Sejanus

Septimius Severus

Seven sages

Severan dynasty

Severus Alexander

Sextus Pompeius

Shuvalov painter

Silanion ( Greek sculptor)

Socrates

Solon

Sophocles

Stilicho

Strabo

Sulla

Sulpicia (Roman female poet)

T

Tacitus

Tarpeia

Tarquinius Superbus

Themistocles

Theodosius

Theophrastus

Thucydides

Tiberius

Tiberius Claudius Verus (Pompeian politician)

Tigranes the Great

Titus

Titus Labienus

Titus Tatius

Titus Quinctius Flaminius

Trajanus

Trebonianus Gallus

Tribunes of the plebs

U

Ulpia Severina  (interim sovereign in 275 CE)

Urban prefects

Usurpers

V

Vaballathus (Palmyran king)

Valens

Valentinianus I

Valentinianus III (murderer of Aetius)

Valerianus

Valeria Messalina

Vel Saties

Velia Velcha (“Mona Lisa of antiquity”)

Velimna family (Hypogeum, Brescia)

Vercingetorix

Vergilius

Vespasianus

Vibia Sabina

Vipsania Agrippina

Viriathus (Lusitanian freedom fighter)

Vitellius

Volusianus

X

Xenophon

Y

Z

Zenobia