SP: Cultural Lesson - The Cursus Honorum

Image: an illustration of a man giving an impassioned speech in Rome.The Cursus Honorum

The Cursus Honorum - the course of offices - was the path of political power in Rome during the Republic, with parts of the tradition remaining during the Imperial period. Through a series of political offices, each one required to reach the next higher rank, a Roman man would move from less powerful to more powerful positions in the government. Each office had an age requirement, which was reduced by two years for Patricians (the Roman upper class). Before a Roman man could enter the Cursus Honorum, he had to serve in the military for ten years, either in the Roman cavalry or as an assistant to a more prominent general.

Quaestor

After this military service, and upon reaching the age of 30, a man could run to be elected as one of twenty Quaestors, whose job it was to help in the financial matters of the state. Questors served a term of one year. This image above depicts the famous Tribune of the Plebs, Gaius Sempronius Gracchus, who served as a Quaestor in 126 BCE.

Aedile

Image: a mosaic showing a gladiator fighting a wild animal.

After holding the office of Quaestor, a Roman gained entrance to the Senate. At the age of 36, if he had served as Quaestor, a Roman man could then seek the next office: Aedile. There were four Aediles per year, two that were plebians (the Roman lower class) and two that were patricians, who were called Curule Aediles.

The Aediles were in charge of organizing games and major events and were expected to pay for those games on their own. Therefore, generally only wealthy citizens took this position.

The image depicts a wild beast hunt - the Curule Aedile would be responsible for setting up and funding entertainments of this nature.

Praetor

At the age of 39, if a man had served as either a Quaestor or an Aedile, a citizen would be eligible to run for Praetor. There were two main Praetors and four to six lesser Praetors, who acted as judges. The two main Praetors were the Praetor Peregrinus, who was responsible for legal matters involving foreigners, and the Praetor Urbanus, who was responsible for being the chief justice in the Roman legal system. Note again: each of these offices had to be held in order, according to the rules established by the Roman government.

Consul

Image: an illustration of a consul with several lictors.

The pinnacle of the Cursus Honorum was the office of Consul. At the age of 42, a Roman man who had completed his duties successfully in the other offices of the Cursus Honorum was eligible to run for Consul. Each year, two consuls were elected and they shared the responsibilities of running the state. They were also in charge of the army (they were "commanders in chief"), each being the general of a large collection of troops. The consuls had veto power, meaning they could stop any legislative action they disagreed with.

During the Roman republic, years were marked by the names of the consuls (in the year of the consulship of X and Y). The closest modern equivalent of the consul in U.S. politics is the office of the President of the United States.

The image depicts a consul (the man in the dark toga) being led by his 12 lictors into the Curia, the building in which the Roman senate met. Note each lictor is holding a fasces, which was an axe surrounded by a bundle of sticks, the symbol of imperium (power).

Post-Consulship

Image: an illustration of a lictor holding the fasces.

After a man had served his term as consul, he was granted the governorship of a major province and could seek a position as a Censor, another powerful position, after a number of years. The Censor was not a position considered to be a part of the Cursus Honorum. Additionally, any man who served as consul could be chosen to serve as Dictator. The dictator served alone with almost unlimited power for a single year, but was only an option during a serious crisis, like a foreign invasion. This was an elected role. The most famous Roman dictator, Julius Caesar, was elected to the position, but then, going against the Roman norms, was re-elected and eventually selected to be dictator perpetuo (dictator for life), a previously unheard of exemption to the one year rule.

Imperium

Certain ranks in the Cursus Honorum granted special powers and benefits to individuals. Imperium was the right to command, and with that came the ability to make important decisions, including decisions about life and death. The following offices carried imperium, with each higher office allowing a greater amount of power:

  • Curule Aedile (this is the Patrician Aedile - no plebian offices were granted imperium)
  • Praetor
  • Consul
  • Dictator

With imperium came a set of personal bodyguards, called lictors (pictured), who carried a bundle of sticks called the fasces, again with each office having a larger number in attendance:

  • Two lictors for the Aedile
  • Six lictors for the Praetor
  • Twelve lictors for the Consul
  • Twenty-four lictors for the Dictator

One final benefit of holding office on the Cursus Honorum: anyone holding the office of Quaestor or above was allowed to wear the Toga Praetexta. This was a plain white toga with a broad purple stripe on the border.

Consul with lictors image courtesy of FCIT Links to an external site..