AUBERT, JEAN-JACQUES

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2820 as alluding to some sort of rebellion in Egypt after Cleopatra’s downfall, we aretold that the papyrus fragment actually has no relevance to Gallus. Elsewhere,however, issues of potential signiµcance (for example, the abrupt resignation ofMessalla Corvinus as praefectus urbi) are merely alluded to in footnotes (p. 339). Littleenlightenment is o¶ered on some notorious problems, such as the identity of theconspirator Varro Murena: arguing that the identities of L. Licinius Varro Murenaand A. Terentius Varro Murena can be resolved into one person by an adoption (p.293) does not work onomastically.The patient reader will uncover some useful perspectives, however, particularly inPart Two. Here R.V. explores episodes that were deliberately misrepresented byAugustus as political conspiracies, and conversely real conspiracies (the two Julias)whose political realities were hidden by him. In the µrst category, for example,analysis of the cases of Salvidienus Rufus (pp. 124–46) and Cornelius Gallus(pp. 147–68) illuminates the uncertain position of Octavian during the triumviral andpost-Actium years, and his need to e¶ect compromises with his senior partner in thetriumvirate, Antony, in the former instance, and with the Senate in the latter. Shemakes an interesting case for Gallus’ downfall being engineered by the Senate, partlyas a reprisal for Octavian’s denial of spolia opima to Licinius Crassus, and partly as are·ection of the Senate’s fears about its prerogatives being further undermined inOctavian’s new world order, as re·ected in the appointment of an equestrian to governEgypt. In both these cases, she suggests, it was in everyone’s interest to represent thedownfall of two of Octavian’s key allies as political conspiracy.She also argues that conspiracies had a direct impact upon the way in whichAugustus’ powers evolved (pp. 355–65), with the trial of Primus followed by theconspiracy of Caepio and Murena in 23 .. helping to shape the so-called ‘SecondSettlement’, for example. Furthermore, she raises the interesting prospect that thereorganisation of elections for praetors and consuls made by the lex Valeria Corneliaof .. 5 was a way of responding to the problems raised by Egnatius Rufus’ bid forpopular support, by reducing the independence of the comitia. Overall, she raises theinteresting paradox that opposition to Augustus in the end helped to strengthen hisposition, as he was adept at suppressing resistance, manipulating images of it forpropaganda purposes, and moulding his position in the state in response to hisopponents’ concerns. This paradox may well be worth further thought, even if oneobjects to the book’s assumptions that Augustus claimed to be restitutor rei publicaein a constitutional sense, and that he played a central role in actively formulatingpropaganda (pp. 119–20), shaping the ways in which literary sources subsequentlyrepresented conspiracies against him.University of Warwick ALISON E. COOLEYa.cooley@warwick.ac.ukDISPOSAL OF CORPSESH  (F.) , D (J .C.) (edd.) Libitina. Pompes funèbres etsupplices en Campanie à l’époque d’Auguste. Édition, traduction etcommentaire de la Lex Libitinae Puteolana. Pp. x + 175, ills, pls. Paris:De Boccard, 2003. Paper. ISBN: 2-7018-0156-7.doi:10.1017/S0009840X05000892The so-called Lex Libitinae Puteolana was µrst published in 1966 by L. Bove (RAAN,   171The Classical Review vol. 56 no. 1 © The Classical Association 2006; all rights reservedhttps:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0009840X05000892Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 10 Jul 2017 at 16:51:46, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at41, 207–39 and Labeo 13.1, 1967, 22–48) and, in spite of its enormous interest due toits linguistic and historical content, it has never been thoroughly commented upon.The present collective work constitutes a signiµcant improvement, but it is by nomeans the µnal word on this precious document, at least as far as its historicalsigniµcance is concerned. The book is composed of a very detailed description of thestone (although the reader will have to consult the editio princeps or the Annéeépigraphique 1971, no. 88, to µnd information relating to the circumstances of itsdiscovery, and to its archaeological context), a diplomatic rendering of the text, acritical edition with a translation of the well-preserved parts (including some of therestored text!), and a two-part commentary divided into six short monographicdiscussions of linguistic, topographic, historical, economic, managerial andlegal/procedural issues, followed by an extensive linear commentary on the text. Fourdrawings in the text (pp. 1, 5–7) and six plates provide a welcome visual aid that issu¸cient to give a general idea of the remaining parts of the overall inscription, butsomewhat inadequate to allow di¸cult readings to be checked (the details of Pl. 5and 6 underline the fact that other parts of the inscription would have beneµted fromsimilar reproductions).The text consists of a job description for the performance of corpse disposal in thecolony of Puteoli. The undertaker (manceps), acting on behalf of an associate (socius)or, at times (i.e. 2.16, 18, 24, 28, 3.17, 22, and possibly 3.1 and 3), of ‘the one whomthe case in point may concern’ (‘isve ad q(uem) e(a) r(es) q(ua) d(e) a(gitur)p(ertinet)’), probably a kind of business manager or institor (p. 67, n. 80), is showncontracting with the colony, probably through an unspeciµed magistrate, to beentrusted with the responsibility of hiring morticians and organising their work to ridthe territory of corpses that may otherwise be left unburied. The document details themany obligations and rights of the entrepreneur, the make-up of his sta¶, theprocedure to be followed in terms of access to services, with priority given todecurions, to children, and to those who committed suicide by hanging, compen-sation to be paid for dereliction of duty, arbitration in cases of litigation againstcompetitors who – lawfully or not – broke the monopolistic nature of the publiccontract, and the enforcement of judiciary decisions through the collection of µnesbased on pledge-taking. The mere length of the text ensures that light will be shed onvarious aspects of more or less familiar areas of ancient legal and business practices.Noteworthy is the fact that two provisions (2.8–10 and 11–14) concern the applicationof the death-penalty, by cruciµxion, of private slaves on behalf of their payingmasters, and of convicted criminals. Here the executioner is called redemptor,indicating perhaps that these lines are borrowed from a separate lex contractus (p. 59,n. 18, though timidly), patched together with the rest of the text at a time when thecompany was obviously expanding and diversifying its activities. Incidentally, theselines could provide the earliest extant evidence for public control over the exercise ofthe ius uitae necisque by private slave owners (cf. B. Bonµglio, Index 24, 1996, 311),perhaps with Spartacus’ revolt in the background.Dating the inscription has been a controversial matter. While earlier editors andcommentators have suggested a date as early as the time of Sulla (e.g. J.P. Bodel, inAJAH 11, 1986 [1994] 74–6) on the basis of the language of the text, D. Consoprovides a detailed analysis of all linguistic oddities owed either to the originalauthor/editor of the lex or to its rendering by the stonecutter. The prudent conclusionthat the spelling and the grammatical/lexical usages attested in the text are notinconsistent with an Augustan date should be regarded as not entirely free of partipris (32, 33, 35, etc.; cf. N. Belayche, in the next chapter, pp. 49–52, on the basis of172   https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0009840X05000892Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 10 Jul 2017 at 16:51:46, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available attopographical details, inconclusive as well). As a matter of fact, the inscription makessense, in form and content, at any time during the µrst century .. The administrativeand social problem it aims at solving is indeed timeless, and the solutions wereprobably not so numerous and diverse that a precise dating turns out to be crucial forour understanding of the text. What is most striking is that in spite of the ubiquityand recurrence of the question of corpse disposal in the ancient world, there seems tobe no other evidence of the kind, except for some fragments of a comparableinscription from nearby Cumae, well known to the authors, but unfortunately not theobject of a new publication, translation, and commentary in the same volume. Thereader may wish that the impressive scholarship displayed in each chapter woulddevelop into a fully-·edged discussion of the broader issues raised by the quasiuniqueness of the document under investigation.The volume has its strong points. To mention but one example, Ph. Moreau’sstep-by-step description of the procedure implied by the lex contractus is a feat initself, if only from a methodological point of view. Such an approach could beadvantageously applied to other, larger collections of evidence, such as theµrst-century .. tablets from Agro Murecine. Overall, the volume will facilitate theuse of this fascinating material, and will serve as a starting point for those interestedin business management, city administration and public policy. The Editors must becommended for providing a reliable edition of the text and fostering further debate ona wide range of questions.Université de Neuchâtel (Switzerland) JEAN-JACQUES AUBERTjean-jacques.aubert@unine.chIDEOLOGY IN THE PROVINCESA (C.) Imperial Ideology and Provincial Loyalty in the RomanEmpire. Pp. xxi + 494. Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: Universityof California Press, 2000. Cased, £38. ISBN 0-520-22067-6.doi:10.1017/S0009840X05000909This is a strange book. Its intellectual pedigree is in bloodstock terms by FergusMillar out of Pierre Bourdieu: hunting habitus in the µling cabinet. It is about asmuch fun to read as that sounds.First it should be said that this is a work of considerable scholarship. Every studentof the Roman empire will µnd something of interest in it. For example this reviewerfound the section on the mutable symbolism of Roman army standards (pp. 259–69)thought-provoking. But it does not follow that the whole works as a book.A. sets out with a bunch of questions (pp. xi–xiii). Why did the empire last so long?Why was Rome so stable? Why did the provincials romanise? Why did patriotismfor the empire appear? For A. the answers are that Rome relentlessly justiµed herselfto her subjects; appealing for, and getting government by, consensus. There aremethodological problems with both sides of the equation. That Rome was stable, thatprovincials romanised, and that patriotism emerged are questionable presuppositionsthat need demonstrating rather than self-evident givens. A. is right to take seriouslyRoman ‘propaganda’ (a slippery concept A. never really nails down). But it does notfollow that all contemporaries took it seriously, let alone that they all bought into itsmessage. A. creates a world much like that of Paul Zanker in The Power of Images inthe Age of Augustus (Eng. tr., Ann Arbor, 1988) where everyone internalises imperial   173The Classical Review vol. 56 no. 1 © The Classical Association 2006; all rights reservedhttps:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0009840X05000892Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 10 Jul 2017 at 16:51:46, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at

Book Review: Libitina. Pompes funèbres et supplices en Campanie à l'époque d'Auguste. Édition, traduction et commentaire de la: Hinard(F.), Dumont(J.C.) (edd.) Libitina. Pompes funèbres et supplices en Campanie à l'époque d'Auguste. Édition, traduction et commentaire de la Lex Libitinae Puteolana. Pp. x + 175, ills, pls. Paris: De Boccard, 2003. Paper. ISBN: 2-7018-0156-7

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