Episode 145 - Power to the Plebs

We've all been waiting for YEARS for this... more power to the plebs! Yes, you heard us correctly. For once, the patricians will not get exactly what they want. Episode 145 - Power to the Plebs Icilii, Icilii, Icilii It is 409 BCE and another exciting year in the conflict of the orders (allegedly). The plebeians were enraged when elections were held for consuls instead of military tribunes with consular power. The plebeians decided to channel the advice of the First Wives Club. Don't get mad, get everything! Denied the chance to elect their hero from the previous year, the plebeians rallied together and secured THREE plebeian quaestorship. The quaestorship had technically been open to plebeians since 420 BCE. However, it took a decade for the plebeians to finally take the plunge. They were assisted by several tribunes of the plebs from the Icilii family. The Icilii often appear when something important happens for plebeian rights. Don't you just love the grand narrative of Roman history? Hungry for more, the plebeians decided to push for elections of military tribunes with consular elections. They were determined to elect a plebeian candidate in 408 BCE. The patricians were already aghast at the prospect of plebeian quaestors, so they were hardly going to let that happen. Once again, we find ourselves in a stalemate, with neither the patricians or the plebeians willing to back down. Join us for another action-packed episode! Things to Look Out For: * Tribune of the plebs in trench coats and sunglasses * Way too many Icilii running around Rome * Dr Rad’s phone alarm going off and her not hearing it because, you know, she’s deaf. Really sorry about that, guys! * Patricians fantasising about world apocalypse * More military action at the mysterious Carventum Need to catch up on 411 and 410 BCE? Check out Episode 144 - Where in the World is Carventum? Our Players 409 BCE Consuls * Cn. Cornelius A. F. M. m. Cossus (Pat) Mil. Tr. c.p. 414 * L. Furius (L. f. Sp. n.?) Medullinus (Pat.) Cos. 413 Tribune of the Plebs * (L.?) Icilius * ? Icilius * ? Icilius Quaestors * P. Aelius * K. Fabius Ambustus (Pat.) * P. Papius * Q. Silius Our Sources Dr G reads the Fasti Capitolini and Diodorus Siculus 13.80.1. Dr Rad reads Livy ab Urbe Condita 4.54-55. Broughton, T. R. S., Patterson, M. L. 1951. The Magistrates of the Roman Republic Volume 1: 509 B.C. – 100 B.C. (The American Philological Association) Cornell, T. J. 1995. The Beginnings of Rome: Italy and Rome from the Bronze Age to the Punic Wars (c. 1000-264 BC) (Taylor & Francis) Forsythe, G. 2006.