Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius (c. 157 BCE – 86 BCE) was a Roman general and politician who, in his early military career, had served under Scipio Aemilianus (of Third Punic War fame) in an expedition to Numantia in Iberia. He went on to have a distinguished military and political career, but not without controversy. As you will see from the excerpts from Plutarch’s Parallel Lives below, Marius was ambitious, and what was known as a novo homo or “new man” (one who was the first in his family to serve in the Senate and be elected consul). His policies leaned decidedly towards the poulares which also made him enemies among the senators who supported the optimates faction.
Life of Gaius Marius (excerpts) by Plutarch
II. With respect to the personal appearance of Marius, I saw a stone statue of him at Ravenna in Gaul, which was perfectly in accordance with what is said of the roughness and harshness of his character. He was naturally of a courageous and warlike turn, and had more of the discipline of the camp than of the state, and accordingly his temper was ungovernable when he was in the possession of power. It is stated that he never studied Greek literature, and never availed himself of the Greek language for any serious purpose, for he said it was ridiculous to study a literature the teachers of which were the slaves of others; and after his second triumph, when he exhibited Greek plays on the occasion of the dedication of a certain temple, though he came to the theatre, he only sat down for a moment and then went away.
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III. Marius was the son of obscure parents, who gained their living by the labor of their hands, and were poor. His father’s name was Marius; his mother’s name was Fulcinia. It was late before he saw Rome and became acquainted with the habits of the city, up to which time he lived at Cirrhæato, a village in the territory of Arpinum, where his mode of life was rude, when contrasted with the polite and artificial fashions of a city, but temperate and in accordance with the old Roman discipline. He first served against the Celtiberians when Scipio Africanus was besieging Numantia, and he attracted the notice of his commander by his superiority in courage over all the other young soldiers, and by the readiness with which he adapted himself to the change in living which Scipio introduced among the troops, who had been corrupted by luxurious habits and extravagance. He is said also to have killed one of the enemy in single combat in the presence of the general. Accordingly, Marius received from Scipio various honorable distinctions; and on one occasion, after supper, when the conversation was about generals, and one of the company, either because he really felt a difficulty or merely wished to flatter Scipio, asked him where the Roman people would find such another leader and protector when he was gone, Scipio with his hand gently touched the shoulder of Marius, who was reclining next to him, and said, “Perhaps here.” So full of promise was the youth of Marius, and so discerning was the judgment of Scipio.
IV. Now it is said that Marius, mainly encouraged by these words, which he viewed as a divine intimation, entered on a political career, and obtained the tribuneship, in which he was assisted by Cæcilius Metellus, of whose house the family of Marius had long been an adherent. During his tribuneship, Marius proposed a law on the mode of voting, which apparently tended to deprive the nobles of their power in the Judicia: the measure was opposed by Cotta, the consul, who persuaded the Senate to resist the proposed law, and to summon Marius to account for his conduct. The decree proposed by Cotta was drawn up, and Marius appeared before the Senate; but so far from being disconcerted, as a young man might naturally be, who without any advantages had just stepped into public life, he already assumed the tone which his subsequent exploits authorized, and threatened to carry off Cotta to prison if he did not rescind the decree. Upon Cotta turning to Metellus and asking his opinion, Metellus arose and supported the consul; but Marius, sending for the officer who was outside of the house, ordered him to carry off Metellus himself to prison. Metellus appealed to the rest of the tribunes without effect, and the Senate yielded and abandoned the decree. Marius now triumphantly came before the popular assembly and got his law ratified, having proved himself to be a man unassailable by fear, not to be diverted from his purpose by any motive of personal respect, and a formidable opponent to the Senate by his measures which were adapted to win the public favor. But he soon gave people reason to change their opinion; for he most resolutely opposed a measure for the distribution of corn among the citizens, and succeeding in his opposition, he established himself in equal credit with both parties, as a man who would do nothing to please either, if it were contrary to the public interest.
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VI. During his prætorship Marius got only a moderate degree of credit. But on the expiration of his office, he obtained by lot the further province of Iberia (Spain), and it is said that during his command he cleared all the robber establishments out of his government, which was still an uncivilized country in its habits and in a savage state, as the Iberians had not yet ceased to consider robbery as no dishonorable occupation. Though Marius had now embarked on a public career, he had neither wealth nor eloquence, by means of which those who then held the chief power were used to manage the people. But the resoluteness of his character, and his enduring perseverance in toil, and his plain manner of living, got him the popular favor, and he increased in estimation and influence, so as to form a matrimonial alliance with the illustrious house of the Cæsars, with Julia, whose nephew Cæsar afterward became the greatest of the Romans and in some degree imitated his relation Marius, as I have told in the Life of Cæsar.
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VII. When Cæcilius Metellus was appointed consul with the command of the war against Jugurtha, he took Marius with him to Libya in the capacity of legatus. Here Marius distinguished himself by great exploits and brilliant success in battle, but he did not, like the rest, seek to increase the glory of Metellus and to direct all his efforts for the advantage of his general, but disdaining to be called a legatus of Metellus, and considering that fortune had offered him a most favorable opportunity and a wide theatre for action, he displayed his courage on every occasion. Though the war was accompanied with many hardships, he shrunk not from danger however great, and he thought nothing too mean to be neglected, but in prudent measures and careful foresight he surpassed all the officers of his own rank, and he vied with the soldiers in hard living and endurance, and thus gained their affections. For certainly there is nothing which reconciles a man so readily to toil as to see another voluntarily sharing it with him, for thus the compulsion seems to be taken away; and the most agreeable sight to a Roman soldier is to see his general in his presence eating common bread or sleeping on a coarse mat, or taking a hand in any trench-work and fortification. Soldiers do not so much admire a general who shares with them the honor and the spoil, as one who participates in their toils and dangers; and they love a general who will take a part in their labors more than one who indulges their license. By such conduct as this, and by gaining the affection of the soldiers, Marius soon filled Libya and Rome with his fame and his glory, for the soldiers wrote to their friends at home and told them there would be no end to the war with the barbarian, no deliverance from it, if they did not elect Marius consul.
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[Marius then had a falling out with Metellus over a judicial matter and took an acrimonious departure from Metellus to return to Rome in time to stand for consul in the next election. He spoke against Metellus’ leadership and vowed to bring the war with Jugurtha to a successful end.]
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IX. Being declared consul by a great majority [in 107 BCE], he immediately set about levying soldiers in a way contrary to law and usage, by enrolling a great number of the poorer sort and of slaves, though former generals had never admitted men of this kind into the army, but had given arms, as they would anything else that was a badge of honor, only to those who had the due qualification, inasmuch as every soldier was thus considered to pledge his property to the State. It was not this however which made Marius most odious, but his insolent and arrogant expressions, which gave offense to the nobles, for he publicly said that he considered his acquisition of the consulship a trophy gained over the effeminacy of the noble and the rich, and that what he could proudly show to the people was his own wounds, not the monuments of the dead or the likenesses of others. And he would often speak of the generals who had been defeated in Libya, mentioning by name Bestia and Albinus, men of illustrious descent indeed, but unskilled in military matters, and for want of experience unsuccessful; and he would ask his hearers whether they did not think that the ancestors of Bestia and Albinus would rather have left descendants like himself, for they also had gained an honorable fame; not by noble birth, but by their virtues and their illustrious deeds. This was not said as a mere empty boast, nor simply because he wished to make himself odious to the nobles; but the people, who were delighted to hear the Senate abused, and always measured the greatness of a man’s designs by the bigness of his words, encouraged him and urged him on not to spare the nobles if he wished to please the many.
X. When Marius had crossed over to Libya, Metellus, giving way to his jealousy, and vexed to see the crown and the triumph, when he had already completed the war and it only remained to seize the person of Jugurtha, taken from him by another, a man too who had raised himself to power by ingratitude to his benefactor, would not stay to meet Marius, but privately left the country, and Rutilius, one of his legati, gave up the army to the new consul. But at last retribution for his conduct overtook Marius; for he was deprived of the glory of his victories by Sulla, just in the same way as he had deprived Metellus of his credit: and how this happened I will state briefly, since the particular circumstances are told more at length in the Life of Sulla. Bocchus, who was king of the barbarians in the interior, and the father-in-law of Jugurtha, showed no great disposition to help him in his wars, because of the faithlessness of Jugurtha, and also because he feared the increase of his power. But when Jugurtha, who was now a fugitive from place to place, made Bocchus his last resource and took refuge with him, Bocchus received his son-in-law more from a regard to decency, as he was a suppliant, than from any goodwill, and kept him in his hands; and while he openly interceded with Marius on behalf of Jugurtha, and wrote to say that he would not surrender him and assumed a high tone, he secretly entertained treacherous designs against Jugurtha, and sent for Lucius Sulla, who was the Quæstor of Marius, and had done some service to Bocchus during the campaign. Sulla confidently went to Bocchus, but the barbarian, who had changed his intentions and repented of his design, for several days wavered in his plan, hesitating whether he should deliver up Jugurtha or keep Sulla a prisoner: at last, however, he determined to carry into effect his original design, and surrendered Jugurtha into the hands of Sulla. Thus was sown the seed of that irreconcilable and violent animosity between Marius and Sulla which nearly destroyed Rome: many claimed the credit of this transaction for Sulla on account of their dislike of Marius, and Sulla himself had a seal-ring made, which he used to on which there was a representation of the surrender of Jugurtha by Bocchus. By constantly wearing this ring Sulla irritated Marius, who was an ambitious and quarrelsome man, and could endure no partner in his glory. But the enemies of Marius gave Sulla most encouragement by attributing to Metellus the credit of the first and best part of the war, and that of the latter part and the conclusion to Sulla, their object being to lower Marius in public estimation and to withdraw the people from their exclusive attachment to him.
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[Marius was then called on to lead the fight against the invading Cimbri and Teutones tribes who had already defeated several of Rome’s legions. His election as consul in 104 BCE (while he was absent from Rome) meant that the law of not serving more than once in 10 years was set aside. He was sent to Gaul to rebuild the Gallic legions and fight the Cimbri. Marius was elected consul again in 103, 102, 101, and 100 BCE.]
Reforms to Military
XIII. On his expedition to meet the Cimbri, Marius continually exercised his forces in various ways in running and in forced marches; he also compelled every man to carry all his baggage and to prepare his own food, in consequence of which men who were fond of toil, and promptly and silently did what they were ordered, were called Marian mules. Some, however, think that this name had a different origin; as follows:—When Scipio was blockading Numantia, he wished to inspect not only the arms and the horses, but also the mules and wagons, in order to see in what kind of order and condition the soldiers kept them. Marius accordingly produced his horse, which he had kept in excellent condition with his own hand, and also a mule, which for good appearance, docility, and strength far surpassed all the rest. The general was much pleased with the beasts of Marius and often spoke about them, which gave rise to the scoffing epithet of Marian mule, when the subject of commendation was a persevering, enduring, and labor-loving man.
XIV. Marius was favored by a singular piece of good fortune; for there was a reflux in the course of the barbarians, and the torrent flowed towards Iberia before it turned to Italy, which gave Marius time to discipline the bodies of his men and to confirm their courage; and what was most of all, it gave the soldiers an opportunity of knowing what kind of a man their general was. For the first impression created by his sternness and by his inexorable severity in punishing, was changed into an opinion of the justice and utility of his discipline when they had been trained to avoid all cause of offense and all breach of order; and the violence of his temper, the harshness of his voice, and ferocious expression of his countenance, when the soldiers became familiarised with them, appeared no longer formidable to them, but only terrific to their enemies. But his strict justice in all matters that came before him for judgment pleased the soldiers most of all. . . .
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The Social War
After several years, victory against the Cimbri and Teutones brought Marius a joint triumph with pro-consul Catulus. His sixth consulship turned triumph to disaster, according to Plutarch, as Marius became involved with the controversial tribune Saterninus (a populares) and supported his reforms lowering the price of wheat, granting land to veterans, and extending citizenship to many of Rome’s allies. Yet Marius ended up breaking with his allies Saturninus and Glaucia and the elections for 99 BCE were mired in political violence including the assassination of one of the candidates, Gaius Memmius, and a violent attack on the Capitoline Hill where Saturninus and Glaucia were besieged with their supporters. Marius had Saturninus and Glaucia arrested, but a mob attacked the senate where they were being held and both men were killed before they could be brought to some kind of trial.
Marius then left the city and traveled through Asia Minor. He would not return to Rome until the start of the so-called Social War of 91-87 BCE (so named because of the Latin word for allies – socii). This war was stirred by a series of actions that tightened up treatment of allies, such as the lex Licinia Mucia that had non-Roman residents of the city of Rome expelled or the assassination of Marcus Livius Drusus (tribune) who had proposed expanding citizenship to all freemen in Italy. Several of Rome’s Italian allies broke with Rome over not being granted citizenship. Marius was recalled to serve as legate with his nephew, the consul Publius Rutilius Lupus.
