THE DELEGATION OF THE XVIRI TO ENNA CA. 133 BC AND THE MURDER OF TIBERIUS GRACCHUS

Abstract

Abstract In the Verrine orations, Cicero mentions an unusual delegation of public Roman priests, members of the xviri sacris faciundis, to the Sicilian city of Enna shortly after the death of Tiberius Gracchus. Most historians have traditionally followed Cicero's lead in associating these two events, assuming that the religious mission was orchestrated by the Roman Senate in order to influence the Roman plebs in the aftermath of Gracchus' spectacular murder. An alternative interpretation makes the Sicilians the intended audience. A closer look at the evidence for the delegation, however, and consideration of Roman conceptions of religious territory make both connections unlikely. I argue instead that the delegation of priests was motivated above all by territorial religious concerns raised by recent catastrophes in the Roman province.