Pompey the Great is often seen as the nearly man of the Roman late republic. Naturally compared to his contemporary, and eventual adversary, Julius Caesar he is frequently regarded as a senate loyalist who failed to adapt to the changing nature of politics in the last century BCE.
A great deal of this reputation, I believe, comes from an absence of religion in his life when compared to others. There is no divine ancestor to search for, nor is there a great haul of religious offices. The ancient written sources tend to gloss over any significant religious events in his life, and as such many modern accounts follow suit.
However, when we look deeper at the life of Pompey we can see that religion was indeed a key part of the image Pompey attempted to portray for himself from an early point in his career and was actively cultivated by himself and his entourage from an early point in his career.
Over the next few posts I will aim to trace this religious programme of Pompey. From his Pirate adventures, to his dalliances in the East where he was bestowed with major honours by citizens of Greek cities and is even afforded a priesthood in his honour. Finally I will look at his return to Rome and his dedications to both Hercules and his attempts to rival Caesar in claiming Venus as his patron deity.
For this post I felt I would leave with a comment on the echoes we see of Pompey’s religious programme prior to obtaining the command in the East against Mithradates VI found in Cicero’s work Pro Lege Manilia (In Support of the Proposal of Manilius).
Cicero’s Pro Lege Manilia is a campaign trail speech, he sees Pompey as the right fit against the formidable enemy Mithradates VI. Whilst Cicero does indeed stress the martial prowess of Pompey the Great following his successful campaign against the pirates in the east there is also an under belly of religious reasoning for Cicero’s support.
In particular it draws on the reputation Pompey has a saviour figure in the east, brought by the gods to Rome to bring peace to war ravaged lands. These can be acutely seen in Sections 14.42 and 14.49.
“And will anyone doubt, that this important war ought to be entrusted to him, who seems to have been born by some divine counsel for the express purpose of finishing all the wars which have existed in their own recollection?”
“…can you hesitate, O Romans, to apply this wonderful advantage which is offered you and given you by the immortal gods, to the preservation and increase of the power of the republic?”
These are largely Greek ideals. Cicero does caveat these statements with the fact that these are honours bestowed on Pompey from the Greek cities, not the Romans. However for them to have any levity in the late Republican political discourse they must have been known about and well established for them not to induce the Ire of the politically conservative of the Roman Senate.
What then, from Pompey’s career had led to this image being not all that alien and acceptable in Rome? That will be explored in the next post.