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'''Marcus Marius Gratidianus''' (d. 82 BC) was a [[praetor]] and a partisan of the [[populares|popularist]] faction led by his uncle [[Gaius Marius]] during the [[Roman Republic]]an [[Roman civil wars#Late Republic|civil wars of the 80s]]. Gratidianus is noted primarily for undergoing a particularly violent death during the [[Proscription#Proscription of 82 BC|Sullan proscriptions]]; in the most sensational account, he was tortured and dismembered at the tomb of [[Quintus Lutatius Catulus|Catulus]] by [[Catilina]], in an act described by [[Sallust]]<ref>In a speech [[Sallust]] ([http://www.attalus.org/translate/sallust.html#1.48 ''Histories'',1,48.14]) attributes to [[M. Aemilius Lepidus]].</ref> as a [[human sacrifice]].

As praetor, Gratidianus is also known for his [[monetary policy|currency reform]] during the economic crisis of the 80s.

== Life and career ==
Gratidianus was the son of Marius's sister and [[M. Gratidius]] of [[Arpinum]]. He was [[Roman adoption|adopted]] by Marius's brother, Marcus. An aunt married the M. Tullius Cicero who was the grandfather of the famous [[Cicero]].<ref>Livy, [http://www.livius.org/li-ln/livy/periochae/periochae086.html#88 ''Periocha'' 88]; Robin Seager, "Sulla," in ''The Cambridge Ancient History'' (Cambridge University Press, 2nd edition 1994), vol. 9, p. 173; A.R. Dyck, ''A [[Commentary (philology)|Commentary]] on Cicero, [[De officiis]]'' (University of Michigan Press, 1996), p. 598.</ref> Gratidianus may have had a particularly pungent relationship with one of his in-laws: his sister seems to have been the first wife of [[Catiline|L. Sergius Catilina]], who was accused by Cicero of participating in his torture and murder.<ref>Evidence of the marriage from a fragment from Sallust's ''Historiae'' (1.37, with the commentary on the passage by P. McGushin, ''Sallust: the Histories'', 1992); see [[Ronald Syme]], ''Sallust'' (University of California Press, 2002; originally published 1964), pp. 85–86 [http://books.google.com/books?id=79MPl3kMIV4C&pg=PA375&dq=Gratidianus+Catulus+prosecution+OR+prosecuted+OR+prosecuting+OR+prosecute&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=1&as_miny_is=2009&as_maxm_is=12&as_maxy_is=2009&num=100&as_brr=3&as_pt=ALLTYPES#PPA85,M1 online.]</ref>

In 87 BC, Gratidianus was probably a [[tribune|tribune of the ''plebs'']]<ref>Unless otherwise noted, offices and dates are from [[Thomas Robert Shannon Broughton|T.R.S. Broughton]], ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', vol. 2, 99 B.C.–31 B.C. (New York: American Philological Association, 1952), pp. 50, 52 (note 8), 57, 59 (note 1), 60, 589.</ref> and thus among the six of the year's ten tribunes who left the city to take up arms when [[Lucius Cornelius Cinna|Cinna]] was banished.<ref>Seager, ''Cambridge Ancient History'', p. 174; Dyck, ''A Commentary on Cicero, De officiis'', p. 598.</ref> He was a [[legatus|legate]] that same year, probably the commander named Marius<ref>[[Granius Licinianus]] [http://www.attalus.org/translate/granius.html#20 p20]; this Marius was probably not the [[Gaius Marius the Younger|son of Gaius Marius]], who seems to have been with his father at the time.</ref> who was sent north by Cinna with the objective of seizing [[Rimini #Ancient history|Ariminum]] and cutting off any reinforcements that might be sent to Sulla from [[Gallia Cisalpina|Cisalpine Gaul]]. This Marius succeeded at defeating [[Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus (consul 79 BC)|Servilius Vatia Isauricus]] and took over his army.<ref>Seager, ''Cambridge Ancient History'', p. 176; Michael Lovano, ''The Age of Cinna'' (Franz Steiner, 2002), p. 87 [http://books.google.com/books?id=g2m-b88G7T4C&pg=PA74&dq=Gratidianus+inauthor:lovano&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=1&as_miny_is=2009&as_maxm_is=12&as_maxy_is=2009&num=100&as_brr=3&as_pt=ALLTYPES#PPA87,M1 online.]</ref>

By the end of 87, Gratidianus had returned to Rome with Cinna and Marius. He took on the prosecution of [[Quintus Lutatius Catulus|Q. Lutatius Catulus]], a move that was later to prove fateful. Catulus had been the consular colleague of Marius in 102 BC and had shared his [[Roman triumph|triumph]] over the [[Cimbrian War|Cimbri]], but had later broken with him. Catulus committed suicide rather than face the consequences of an inevitable guilty verdict.<ref>Dyck, ''A Commentary on Cicero, De officiis'', p. 598; Bruce Marshall, "Catilina and the Execution of M. Marius Gratidianus," ''Classical Quarterly'' 35 (1985), p. 125, note 8; [[Erich Gruen]], ''Roman Politics and the Criminal Courts, 149–78 B.C.'' (Cambridge, Mass., 1968), pp. 232–234.</ref>

===Currency reform===
:''See also [[Fourrée]].''
As [[praetor]] in 85, Gratidianus was among those [[Roman Magistrates|officials]] who attempted to address Rome's economic crisis. A number of praetors and tribunes drafted a currency reform measure to reassert the former official exchange rate of silver (the [[denarius]]) and the bronze ''[[As (Roman coin)|as]]'', which had been allowed to fluctuate and destabilize. Gratidianus seized the opportunity to attach his name to the edict and claim credit for publishing it first. The currency measure pleased the ''[[equites]]'' more than did the debt reform legislation of [[Lucius Valerius Flaccus (suffect consul 86 BC)|L. Valerius Flaccus]], which permitted the repayment of loans at one-quarter of the amount owed.<ref>[[H.H. Scullard]], ''From the Gracchi to Nero: A History of Rome from 133 B.C. to A.D. 68'' (Routledge, 5th edition 1988), p. 73 [http://books.google.com/books?id=1DcIx7ADqOgC&pg=PA71&dq=%22some+attempt+was+made+to+improve+economic+conditions%22+inauthor:scullard&lr=&as_brr=0&as_pt=ALLTYPES online.]</ref> Gratidianus had hoped to garner support for his candidacy as [[Roman consul|consul]], and while in this he did not succeed, he was hailed as a hero of the economy and honored with statues throughout the city.<ref>Seager, ''Cambridge Ancient History'', pp. 180–181 [http://books.google.com/books?id=3yUkzNLiY4oC&pg=PA180&dq=%22other+recorded+measures+were+aimed+at+easing%22&lr=&as_brr=0&as_pt=ALLTYPES online.]</ref> It was said, with a certain amount of Ciceronian hyperbole, that no man had ever been dearer to the ''plebs''.<ref>[[Cicero]], [http://www.stoics.com/cicero_book.html#Gyges3 ''De officiis'' 3.80].</ref>

===Twice praetor===
Gratidianus had an unusual second praetorship, possibly as a "consolation prize" when his faction decided to back [[Gaius Marius the Younger|the younger Marius]] and [[Gnaeus Papirius Carbo|Carbo]] for the consulship of 82. Although his ambitions were known and his qualifications far exceeded those of his cousin, Gratidianus probably never made a formal announcement of his candidacy as consul and is assumed to have stepped aside for the sake of factional unity. The more likely [[populares|popularist]] ticket for 82 would have been Gratidianus and [[Quintus Sertorius]]; the political snub evidently contributed to the latter's [[secession]] in [[Hispania|Spain]]. The dates for Gratidianus's praetorships are arguable; [[Thomas Robert Shannon Broughton|T.R.S. Broughton]] gives 86 and 84, but the timing of the currency reform makes 85 a more secure date, with the second term in 84, 83, or 82.<ref>C.F. Conrad, "Notes on Roman Also-Rans," in ''Imperium sine fine: T. Robert S. Broughton and the Roman Republic'' (Franz Steiner, 1996), pp. 104–105 [http://books.google.com/books?id=wEtE8c1jGY4C&pg=PA104&dq=%22According+to+Asconius%22+intitle:Imperium&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&num=100&as_brr=3&as_pt=ALLTYPES online,] citing also G.V. Sumner, ''The Orators in Cicero's Brutus'' (Toronto, 1973), pp. 118–119.</ref>

==Sensational death==
During the conclusion of [[Sulla's second civil war]], Gratidianus was tortured and killed at the tomb of the ''[[gens]] [[Lutatius|Lutatia]]''. Details of the killing vary. In the most sensational version, his arms and legs were broken, his ears cut off, and his eyes gouged out. The son of Catulus, who was later consul (78 BC), instigated Gratidianus's murder in revenge.<ref>Livy, [http://www.livius.org/li-ln/livy/periochae/periochae086.html#88 ''Periocha'' 88]; Matthew Dillon and Lynda Garland, ''Ancient Rome: From the Early Republic to the Assassination of Julius Caesar'' (Taylor & Francis, 2005), p. 523 [http://books.google.com/books?id=wHEGcPZZmHwC&pg=PA523&dq=%22marcus+marius+gratidianus,+twice+praetor%22+intitle:ancient+intitle:rome&lr=&as_brr=0&as_pt=ALLTYPES online]; Seager, ''Cambridge Ancient History'', p. 195.</ref> [[Cicero]] says that Catiline brought the head through the streets of Rome to present it to [[Lucius Cornelius Sulla|Sulla]].<ref>T.P. Wiseman, "Caesar, Pompey and Rome, 59–50 B.C.," in ''The Cambridge Ancient History'', vol. 9, p. 348, note 106 for citations of ancient sources, [http://books.google.com/books?id=3yUkzNLiY4oC&pg=PA348&dq=%22the+brutal+murder+of+the+popular+hero%22&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=1&as_miny_is=2009&as_maxm_is=12&as_maxy_is=2009&as_brr=0&as_pt=ALLTYPES online.]</ref>

==Selected bibliography==
*''The Cambridge Ancient History'' (Cambridge University Press, 2nd edition 1994), vol. 9.
*Dyck, A.R. ''A [[Commentary (philology)|Commentary]] on Cicero, [[De officiis]].'' University of Michigan Press, 1996. Limited preview [http://books.google.com/books?id=ty-4VdbP04YC&pg=PA598&dq=%22M.+Marius+Gratidianus+of+Arpinum%22+intitle:commentary+intitle:cicero+intitle:officiis+inauthor:dyck&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=1&as_miny_is=2009&as_maxm_is=12&as_maxy_is=2009&as_brr=0&as_pt=ALLTYPES online.]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:82 BC deaths]]
[[Category:1st-century BC Romans]]
[[Category:Roman praetors]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman senators]]
[[Category:Executed Ancient Roman people]]
[[Category:People executed by the Roman Republic]]
[[Category:1st-century BC executions]]

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Marcus Marius Gratidianus - Revision history

wikademia>Dr. Eme: 1 revision

wikademia>Good Olfactory: Quick-adding category 1st-century BC executions (using HotCat)