Several inscriptions mention presidents (magistri) or attendants (ministri) of country districts. These were the rural equivalent of the presidents and attendants of urban districts (E62—64). Like them, these men tended to be freedmen and slaves respectively, and were thus excluded from membership of the local town council. Although we do not have any direct evidence for their carrying out religious duties, it is likely that they did so, as part of their local administrative responsibilities. By acting as officials of a country district, they could gain prestige and status, as well as acting as public benefactors. Such men clearly took some pride in their positions, commemorating their status upon their tombs (F98). The epitaph of Marcus Obellius Firmus (G12) reveals that the inhabitants of a country district (pagani) had a formal system for meeting and passing decrees, much like the town council did. This also lies behind the dedication of an honorific statue to Marcus Holconius Celer by pagani (F96).
Honorific dedication of a statue by pagani (F96)
This statue base was found reused in one of the buildings at the south end of the Forum; its letters had been erased with a chisel, but it was still possible to read the text.
F96 CIL X 944
To Marcus Holconius [Celer], son of Marcus, duumvir with judicial power, quinquennial [designate, priest] of Augustus; the inhabitants of a country district (set this up).
Fortunate Augustan Suburban Country District (F97—99)
One particular district, the Fortunate Augustan Suburban Country District, is prominent in the historical record: it was apparently reorganized in 7 BC, perhaps related in some way to that year’s reorganization of the city of Rome by Augustus into regions, wards and neighbourhoods. The presidents of this district also acted as benefactors in the town itself, paying for part of the Amphitheatre’s stone seating (D1).
POLITICS AND PUBLIC LIFE
The first attendants (F97)
F97 illustrates a sense of hierarchy even between slaves, since the slave of a member of the imperial household is given prominence at the start of the list. ‘Agrippa Minor' is Agrippa Postumus (grandson of Augustus), aged 5 in 7 BC. He nominally owned a villa somewhere near Pompeii, and also a roof-tile workshop, revealed by roof-tiles of 11 BC stamped with the inscription ‘workshop of Agrippa Minor'.
F97 CIL X 924 = ILS 6381, 7 bc
Dama, slave of Agrippa Minor, Manlianus slave of Lucretius, Anteros slave of Staius Rufus, Princeps slave of Mescinius, the first attendants of the Fortunate Augustan Suburban Country District set this up, in the consulship of Tiberius Claudius Nero for the second time and Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso.
Tomb of a president (F98)
This epitaph was found on a tomb outside Herculaneum Gate, accompanied by a relief showing two fasces with axes, symbols of authority more normally associated with consuls at Rome or local magistrates.
F98 CIL X 1042 = ILS 6378
Marcus Arrius Diomedes, freedman of a woman, (set this up) to himself and his family to their memory; president of the Fortunate Augustan Suburban Country District.
Tomb of a country district dweller (F99)
This inscription was found outside the Herculaneum Gate. As well as acting as an epitaph, it regulates the dimensions of the tomb enclosure.
F99 CIL X 1027 = ILS 6379
To Numerius Istacidius Helenus, inhabitant of the Augustan Country District; to Numerius Istacidius Ianuarius; to Mesonia Satulla. 15 feet deep, 15 feet broad.
World History
