The primary theme of Livy Book 3 is the decemviri, a board of ten men that the Romans had empowered to create new laws to better their city. Although later Romans such as Livy attribute to the decemviri the creation of the Twelve Tables, the longest surviving legal text at Rome towards which the Romans showed a fair amount of respect, in this book Livy is intent on showing his readers that ultimately the decemviri were no good and that they abuse their powers just as the kings of Rome had. To prove this point, Livy tells a story in which Appius Claudius comes across as nefarious as a comic-book villain.
Livy first explains that Appius falls for a certain plebeian woman, the daughter of Lucius Verginius, a respected centurion. Since she is engaged to another, Appius has to come up with a crazy scheme in order to have her. He does. He decides to conspire with Marcus Claudius in order to illegally claim this woman as his own slave, whom he will then turn over to Appius.
Claudius meets Verginia in the forum and claims her as his own slave. Her fiancé contests that claim and so they go to court. Appius’ main strategy is to take advantage of how only Verginia’s father has the ability to represent her and since he is a soldier and currently out of Rome, that leaves her in a very vulnerable situation. Livy further makes Appius look deranged with lust in this circumstance since he attributes to Appius the passage of a law that in cases concerning the contested nature of a slave, during the interim that person in question is allowed to go free.
In any case, Verginia’s fiancé and extended family manage to thwart the attempt to decide the matter prior to Verginius returning home. But Verginius’ return does not stop Appius: he nonetheless rules that Verginia is Claudius’ slave (3.47).
Verginius is rightfully stunned and then appears to acquiesce to the power of Appius the decemvir. He then asks for a final moment with his daughter. Livy then writes:
“… He took the girl and her nurse aside next to the shops near the temple of Venus Cloacina, now known as the New Shops, and, snatching a knife from the butcher’s stall and saying, “I am asserting your freedom in the only way I know how, my daughter,’ stabbed her to the heart.” (3.47 trans. TJ Luce).
The Roman people hail Verginius’ filicide as a logical response. In a speech, Verginius explains that “His daughter’s life had been dearer to him than his own, but she could not live that life as a free and chaste woman. When he saw her being hurried off like a slave to be debauched, he thought it better to lose her to death than to defilement.” (3.50 trans TJ Luce) In another speech, he says that he explains that he treated her as a war captive (3.57).
On the one hand, this story is a great example of Roman misogyny, as it is clear that Livy thinks that it’s reasonable for Verginius to place such a high value on his daughter’s virginity that he would rather murder her himself than she Appius rape her. On the other hand, this story is also about the anxiety of enslavement, and how the Romans understood that enslavement made a person vulnerable to rape at any moment. In other words, this story suggests that the Romans in some way did understand that enslavement and rape went hand in hand. Another anxiety central to this story is one similar to the anxiety that New Comedy exploits when slaves and prostitutes are revealed to have been born as citizens on distant lands at the last minute. Because slavery was not racialized, it was entirely possible to misjudge who was and who was not a slave. And since such a question was one of property and of civil status, ultimately only governments could decide who was who. But as Verginius learns, governments can be corrupted.
Verginia’s fiancé spins Appius’ corruption as an example of why the decemviri have too much power (3.48). He then works with others to take down the decemviri, a process that Livy covers in close detail. One of the other stories that Livy uses to slander the decemviri is that of a veteran, who accuses the decemviri of whipping him by showing the scars on his back (3.58).
This accusation, like the one of Appius’ coveting of Verginia, depicts the decemviri as acting as slave-owners of the Roman people, a charge similar to ones that Livy brings against the worst of the Roman kings. Indeed, the similarities between this story and that of Tarquin Superbus’ rape of Lucretia is so obvious that Livy even explicitly makes the connection at the beginning of this story (3.44). But just as how the travesties of the Roman kings give birth to the more glorious Republic, so too the tragedies of the decemviri are ultimately righted as Rome moves forward. Appius kills himself and his accomplice Claudius is convicted. Verginius waives the death penalty and instead sends him into exile. Livy then concludes by writing “Thus the shade of Verginia, more fortunate in death than in life, moved from house to house in search of vengeance, and when all had been punished, found rest at last.” (3.58)
Livy first explains that Appius falls for a certain plebeian woman, the daughter of Lucius Verginius, a respected centurion. Since she is engaged to another, Appius has to come up with a crazy scheme in order to have her. He does. He decides to conspire with Marcus Claudius in order to illegally claim this woman as his own slave, whom he will then turn over to Appius.
Claudius meets Verginia in the forum and claims her as his own slave. Her fiancé contests that claim and so they go to court. Appius’ main strategy is to take advantage of how only Verginia’s father has the ability to represent her and since he is a soldier and currently out of Rome, that leaves her in a very vulnerable situation. Livy further makes Appius look deranged with lust in this circumstance since he attributes to Appius the passage of a law that in cases concerning the contested nature of a slave, during the interim that person in question is allowed to go free.
In any case, Verginia’s fiancé and extended family manage to thwart the attempt to decide the matter prior to Verginius returning home. But Verginius’ return does not stop Appius: he nonetheless rules that Verginia is Claudius’ slave (3.47).
Verginius is rightfully stunned and then appears to acquiesce to the power of Appius the decemvir. He then asks for a final moment with his daughter. Livy then writes:
“… He took the girl and her nurse aside next to the shops near the temple of Venus Cloacina, now known as the New Shops, and, snatching a knife from the butcher’s stall and saying, “I am asserting your freedom in the only way I know how, my daughter,’ stabbed her to the heart.” (3.47 trans. TJ Luce).
The Roman people hail Verginius’ filicide as a logical response. In a speech, Verginius explains that “His daughter’s life had been dearer to him than his own, but she could not live that life as a free and chaste woman. When he saw her being hurried off like a slave to be debauched, he thought it better to lose her to death than to defilement.” (3.50 trans TJ Luce) In another speech, he says that he explains that he treated her as a war captive (3.57).
On the one hand, this story is a great example of Roman misogyny, as it is clear that Livy thinks that it’s reasonable for Verginius to place such a high value on his daughter’s virginity that he would rather murder her himself than she Appius rape her. On the other hand, this story is also about the anxiety of enslavement, and how the Romans understood that enslavement made a person vulnerable to rape at any moment. In other words, this story suggests that the Romans in some way did understand that enslavement and rape went hand in hand. Another anxiety central to this story is one similar to the anxiety that New Comedy exploits when slaves and prostitutes are revealed to have been born as citizens on distant lands at the last minute. Because slavery was not racialized, it was entirely possible to misjudge who was and who was not a slave. And since such a question was one of property and of civil status, ultimately only governments could decide who was who. But as Verginius learns, governments can be corrupted.
Verginia’s fiancé spins Appius’ corruption as an example of why the decemviri have too much power (3.48). He then works with others to take down the decemviri, a process that Livy covers in close detail. One of the other stories that Livy uses to slander the decemviri is that of a veteran, who accuses the decemviri of whipping him by showing the scars on his back (3.58).
This accusation, like the one of Appius’ coveting of Verginia, depicts the decemviri as acting as slave-owners of the Roman people, a charge similar to ones that Livy brings against the worst of the Roman kings. Indeed, the similarities between this story and that of Tarquin Superbus’ rape of Lucretia is so obvious that Livy even explicitly makes the connection at the beginning of this story (3.44). But just as how the travesties of the Roman kings give birth to the more glorious Republic, so too the tragedies of the decemviri are ultimately righted as Rome moves forward. Appius kills himself and his accomplice Claudius is convicted. Verginius waives the death penalty and instead sends him into exile. Livy then concludes by writing “Thus the shade of Verginia, more fortunate in death than in life, moved from house to house in search of vengeance, and when all had been punished, found rest at last.” (3.58)