WotWotius Posted December 3, 2006 Report Share Posted December 3, 2006 Does anybody know of any contemporary sources on piracy before 66BC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Porcius Cato Posted December 3, 2006 Report Share Posted December 3, 2006 Does anybody know of any contemporary sources on piracy before 66BC? In other words, how do we know the nature of the piracy problem that existed at the time of the lex Gabinia? Diodorus of Sicily is a good ancient source on piracy, and he has much to say about it (going back to at least the day of Alexander). I don't know whether Diodorus was a contemporary of any of the piracy he discusses (certainly not the pirates sponsored by Alexander), but would it really matter? Most of his evidence is ultimately hearsay. If he relates one tale from Thucydides and another tale from his butcher--is the latter more reliable than the former merely because he lived at the same time as his butcher? Polybius discusses the piracy of the Aetolians. Also, there is an inscription praising Epichares for his prosecution of the pirates in the Chremonidean War, which was obviously long before 66 BC. The inscription is surely contemporaneous given the outcome of Athenian resistance to Macedonian domination. There are some more inscriptions that are relevant, but I don't know how much more you want nor why you want it, so I'll stop here. If you want more, I have a couple good articles on Hellenistic piracy. IM me for PDFs. Are you writing a paper? And is it due Monday? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primus Pilus Posted December 3, 2006 Report Share Posted December 3, 2006 I'm not sure if by contemporary, you simply meant ancient source, or if you truly meant witnesses to the events. In any case, here a few ancient sources that discuss piracy just to get you started. Mind you this is just a tiny sampling... Appian Illyrian Wars Appian on the Cilician Pirates (ch. 92, 93) Appian Civil Wars book 5 ch. 77, 80 Livy History of Rome book 37 ch. 11, 13, 37, 38 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WotWotius Posted December 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 3, 2006 There are some more inscriptions that are relevant, but I don't know how much more you want nor why you want it, so I'll stop here. If you want more, I have a couple good articles on Hellenistic piracy. IM me for PDFs. Are you writing a paper? And is it due Monday? No, I have been assigned to do a project on the subject due in for next term. I'm not sure if by contemporary, you simply meant ancient source, or if you truly meant witnesses to the events. In any case, here a few ancient sources that discuss piracy just to get you started. Mind you this is just a tiny sampling... Appian Illyrian Wars Appian on the Cilician Pirates (ch. 92, 93) Appian Civil Wars book 5 ch. 77, 80 Livy History of Rome book 37 ch. 11, 13, 37, 38 Sorry, I meant ancient sources, and contemporary inscriptions. Oh, and thank you both for you help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M. Porcius Cato Posted December 4, 2006 Report Share Posted December 4, 2006 No, I have been assigned to do a project on the subject due in for next term. People ask for paper help all the time (which is fine as far as I'm concerned). But if you want to make UNRV history (or is that UNRV History history?), be the first to let us know what you find! I'd love to know much more about the piracy situation that existed prior to the lex Gabinia, and I'm sure that if you do a project on this, you'll find more than I could from spending 20 minutes on the topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pantagathus Posted December 4, 2006 Report Share Posted December 4, 2006 The hot spots for piracy during the time in question were the Adriatic, the Ligurian coast, the Liparean islands off Sicily and around the Balearics. The Adriatic was a particular nuisance for the Romans. The Illyrian kings & queens just loved to resort to piracy and you often come across anecdotes of multiple examples of Roman military action against the Istri during the 2nd Century BC. Then the Liburnian tribes seemed to take their place after the Istri were subdued. Piracy by the Ligurians (mainly the Inguani) & the Balearic tribes in the Western Mediterranean started to figure in after the 2nd Punic War & throughout the 2nd Century BC due to the commencement of quite lucrative shipping between Spain (mostly Gades) & Rome. Here are a couple of names to get you started in your research: Queen Teuta - ~230 BC, Illyrian Queen who utilized a piratical fleet & killed a Roman ambassador when the Romans sent an embassy to complain about the piracy (Polyb. II.5 & II.8) P. Cornelius Scipio Asina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primus Pilus Posted December 4, 2006 Report Share Posted December 4, 2006 There is a brief mention of the Cilician pirates regarding Spartacus in Plutarch's "Life of Crassus". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pantagathus Posted December 4, 2006 Report Share Posted December 4, 2006 There is a brief mention of the Cilician pirates regarding Spartacus in Plutarch's "Life of Crassus". Yes, forgive me because actually it was Cilician pirates who were at the forefront of Pompey's 'Piratical War' right before the Lex Gabinia and sort of the cause of critical mass on the issue. The ironic thing is, I've seen it maintained that Rome's increasing desire for more slaves fueled the Cilician piratical trade and it was only until these 'Asian' brigands started operating off of Italy itself did Rome finally decide to do anything about it in 103 BC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skarr Posted December 4, 2006 Report Share Posted December 4, 2006 (edited) The famous Mark Antony's father, same name, except for his ignoble cognomen Creticus, meaning "man of chalk", which was given to incompetent men, was given responsibility to eliminate the pirates by a decree of the senate. However, he failed miserably in his task and plundered the very provinces he was supposed to protect. According to one account, he managed to escape after being roundly defeated with the loss of many ships, only after he signed an "abject" treaty. I'm sure Mark Antony must have suffered a lot due to his father's reputation and perhaps this spurred him on to achieve something on his own, although he felt overshadowed by Caesar for most of his life. Crete was a hotbed of pirates and many of the pirate kings openly set up bases there and formed alliances with the citizens of Crete. There are even accounts of their bold incursions into Italy itself, not only along the coastal towns like Brundisium but at Ostia itself, where they seized all Roman noblemen of note. Pirates plagued Rome for many years, despite Pompey's boast some years later that he had cleared the Mediterranean ("Our Sea") of all pirates. Pompey's own son was a pirate, causing much headache to both Antony and Octavius, until the wily Agrippa found a way of defeating him. Edited December 4, 2006 by Skarr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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