Aediles

[DDickey]

I've been doing research on the various magistracies of the Roman Republic and, while researching the various functions of the curule and plebeian aediles, I came across the notion that only curule aediles were considered, strictly speaking, magistrates because they were elected by the assemblies in the comitia tributa. If the plebeian aediles, having been elected in the concilium plebis, weren't considered magistrates, what were they considered, and why weren't they considered magistrates?

 

Thank you in advance.

[M. Porcius Cato]

while researching the various functions of the curule and plebeian aediles, I came across the notion that only curule aediles were considered, strictly speaking, magistrates because they were elected by the assemblies in the comitia tributa. If the plebeian aediles, having been elected in the concilium plebis, weren't considered magistrates, what were they considered, and why weren't they considered magistrates?

 

Good question.

 

First, the primary distinction between curule and plebeian aediles is that patricians could not hold plebeian aedileships, and in the early republic, plebeians could not hold curule aedileships (or--if you go back far enough--any aedileship). Because plebeian aediles were the aediles of the plebs, they were elected by the concilium plebis, which was charged with electing tribunes of the plebs and plebeian aediles.

 

Second, because patricians held special religious significance (viz., in bird watching), their offices also held special religious powers. Consequently, magistracies that possessed these religious powers were called "major magistracies" and those that did not were called "minor magistracies." This issue is taken up in Gellius (13), who quotes the augur Messala:

In the edict of the consuls by which they appoint the day for the centuriate assembly it is written in accordance with an old established form: "Let no minor magistrate presume to watch the skies." Accordingly, the question is often asked who the minor magistrates are. On this subject there is no need for words of mine, since by good fortune the first book of the augur Messala On Auspices is at hand, when I am writing this. 4 Therefore I quote from that book Messala's own words: "The auspices of the patricians are divided into two classes. The greatest are those of the consuls, praetors and censors. Yet the auspices of all these are not the same or of equal rank, for the reason that the censors are not colleagues of the consuls or praetors, while the praetors are colleagues of the consuls. Therefore neither do the consuls or the praetors interrupt or hinder the auspices of the censors, nor the censors those of the praetors and consuls; but the censors may vitiate and hinder each other's auspices and again the praetors and consuls those of one another. The praetor, although he is a colleague of the consul, cannot lawfully elect either a praetor or a consul, as indeed we have learned from our forefathers, or from what has been observed in the past, and as is shown in the thirteenth book of the Commentaries of Gaius Tuditanus; for the praetor has inferior authority and the consul superior, and a higher authority cannot be elected by a lower, or a superior colleague by an inferior. At the present time, when a praetor elects the praetors, I have followed the authority of the men of old and have not taken part in the auspices at such elections. Also the censors are not chosen under the same auspices as the consuls and praetors. The lesser auspices belong to the other magistrates. Therefore these are called 'lesser' and the others 'greater' magistrates. When the lesser magistrates are elected, their office is conferred upon them by the assembly of the tribes, but full powers by a law of the assembly of the curiae; the higher magistrates are chosen by the assembly of the centuries.

 

Nothing in the preceding section (or any other ancient source) suggests that the plebeian aediles were not magistratus. As far as I can tell, they were magistrates by even the strictest Roman definition.

[DDickey]

Thank you for the response. In all my research, including ancient and modern sources, I've never come across anything defining plebeian as not being magistrates until, while beginning to compile my research, I came across this, from the appendix of The Fall of the Roman Republic by David Shotter:

 

"Aedile Four elected annually, of whom two were 'curule' aediles, two 'plebeian' aediles. Strictly only the curule aediles were magistrates [my emphasis], elected by the comitia tributa, the plebeian aediles being elected by the plebs alone, in the concilium plebis. The functions of the two kinds of aediles were, however, apparently indistinguishable. They had a general responsibility for maintenance in the city of Rome, a cura urbis (maintaining roads, water supply, etc.), a responsibility to maintain the corn supply (cura annonae), and they were expected to lay on magnificent games. They also had some limited powers of jurisdiction in minor matters.

[Primus Pilus]

Thank you for the response. In all my research, including ancient and modern sources, I've never come across anything defining plebeian as not being magistrates until, while beginning to compile my research, I came across this, from the appendix of The Fall of the Roman Republic by David Shotter:

 

"Aedile Four elected annually, of whom two were 'curule' aediles, two 'plebeian' aediles. Strictly only the curule aediles were magistrates [my emphasis], elected by the comitia tributa, the plebeian aediles being elected by the plebs alone, in the concilium plebis. The functions of the two kinds of aediles were, however, apparently indistinguishable. They had a general responsibility for maintenance in the city of Rome, a cura urbis (maintaining roads, water supply, etc.), a responsibility to maintain the corn supply (cura annonae), and they were expected to lay on magnificent games. They also had some limited powers of jurisdiction in minor matters.

[Gaius Paulinus Maximus]

The following come's from Colleen McCullough's glossary in the Masters Of Rome series, although you wouldn't normally class McCullough as one of the best sources to use, never the less I've always found her work to be really well researched and usually very accurate as well.

 

Aedile :- There were four Roman magistrates called aediles; two were plebeian aediles, two were curule aediles. their duties were confined to the city of Rome. The plebeian aediles were created first (in 493 B.C.) to assist the tribune of the plebs in their duties, but more particularly to guard the rights of the plebs to their headquarters, the temple of Ceres in the Forum Boarium. The plebeian aediles soon inherited supervision of the cities buildings as a whole, as well as achivial custody of all plebiscities passed in the plebeian assembly, together with senatorial decrees (consulta) directing the passage of plebiscities. They were elected by the plebeian assembly. Then in 367 B.C. two curule aediles were created to give the patricians a share in custody of public buildings and archives; they were elected by the assembly of the people. Very soon, however, the curule aediles were as likely to be plebeians by status as patricians. From the third century B.C. downwards all four were responsible for the care of the streets, water supply, drains and sewers, traffic, public buildings, monuments and facilities, markets, weights and measures (standard sets of these were housed in the basement of the temple of Castor and Pollux), games and the public grain supply. They had the power to fine citizens and non citizens alike for infringements of any regulation appertaining to any of the above, and deposited the monies in the coffers to help fund the games. Aedile-plebeian or curule-was not a part of the cursus honorum, but because of it's association with the games was a valuable magistracy for a man to hold before he stood for office as praetor. As the plebeian aediles were elected by plebeian assembly, I have come to believe they did not hold imperium, and therefore were not entitled to sit in the curule chair or have lictors.

[M. Porcius Cato]

Livy states that both were magistrates. Livy 3.55

in addition to securing their inviolability by the sanctions of religion, they enacted a law that whoever offered violence to the magistrates of the plebs, whether tribunes, aediles, or decemviral judges, his person should be devoted to Jupiter, his possessions sold and the proceeds assigned to the temples of Ceres, Liber, and Libera

 

That the proceeds should be assigned to Ceres, Liber, and Libera is significant. These deities were strongly associated with plebeian interests, with the Temples of Ceres, Liber, and Libera being on the north slope of the Aventine Hill, the famous site of the Secession of the Plebs. (Some say that the Temple of Ceres was founded in the same year as the Secession of the Plebs.) The strong Ceres-plebeian connection is also indicated by the fact that the Temple of Ceres was the headquarters of the plebeian aediles, was where the records of the plebs were kept, and was the site from which frumentaria were issued. In many ways, Ceres was the patron goddess of the plebs.

[DDickey]

As usual, and unsurprisingly, you all are awesome. Thanks a lot for the links. I'm beginning some pretty serious research, so I'm sure I'll be bugging you with more questions.

 

Thanks again.

[Gaius Octavius]

Hopefully not out of context. What does "... his person should be devoted to Jupiter,..." mean?

[M. Porcius Cato]

Hopefully not out of context. What does "... his person should be devoted to Jupiter,..." mean?

 

I assume it means killed.