The Assassination of Spurius Maelius

Famine Strikes After a peaceful year in 441 BCE, the Romans are in for nasty shock over the course of 440 and 439 BCE. It all begins with a crippling famine, and there seems to have been signs of problems ahead before the food shortage really set in. In Pliny the Elder, there is a reference to an aedile of the plebs (Marcus Marcius) selling grain to the poor at a very low price. Episode 127 - The Assassination of Spurius Maelius There are some startling differences in our source material this episode. What we can agree on is that the crisis was so severe, Lucius Minucius was appointed as Prefect of the Grain, aka The Nacho King of Rome. His job was to track down some corn and get it the Romans ASAP. Image of a random assortment of grains courtesy of www.themindfulword.org Emergency Relief Unfortunately, Minucius seems to have been incompetent and the famine dragged on. To try and help out his fellow Romans, a wealthy equestrian named Spurius Maelius made use of his extensive connections to secure the needed grain. He succeeds where Minucius had failed, and even worse, he distributes the corn for FREE to the populace. Nothing makes you so popular as distributing free food, especially if it’s amid a famine. There's Only So Much Room at the Top Maelius’ actions highlight the enormous power that the aristocrats of Rome still wielded thanks to their wealth and the practice of patronage. However, Maelius does not seem to have been one of the ‘club’. He does not seem to have been one of the patricians. Exactly what impact this had is difficult to determine. * Did his popularity go to his head and lead to schemes of restoring the monarchy? * Was Cincinnatus dusted off and brought out of retirement to deal with this threat? * Did the people seize control and replace Minucius with Maelius? * Was there a senatorial conspiracy to kill those who spoke out against the government… including Maelius? * Are we dealing with a state-sanctioned assassination? Or is this an elaborate cover-up?  (Hello, JFK conspirators? We've got another one to add to the list....) We will leave that to you to decide. All we can say for certain is that this episode is full of intrigue. Never has Ancient Rome seemed more like a gangster film. Get ready for the assassination of Spurius Maelius! Things to Look Out For * The young patricians * Roman units of measurement * The return of the butcher’s stand in the Forum   * Cincinnatus possibly pulling a Lethal Weapon * When Dr Rad accidentally says that Minucius was rescued by Coriolanus instead of Cincinnatus back in 458 BCE * A Master of the Horse with a name that we just can’t leave alone! Our Players 440 BCE Consuls * Proculus Geganius – f. – n. Macerinus (Pat.) * T. Menenius Agripp. F. Agripp. n. Lanatus (Pat.) – Cos. 452 OR * L. Menenius T. f. Agripp. n. Lanatus (Pat.) Aedile of the Plebs * M. Marcius Praefectus Annonae * L. Minucius (Esquilinus Augurinus) (Pat.) – Cos. Suff. 458