Entre vida pública e luxuria privada: a propósito das villae de Luculo

Abstract

Both in ancient sources and in modern imagination, the final years of Lucullus’ career are commonly associated with the pleasures of an idle and luxurious life. Accordingly, it is hardly surprising that some of the current anecdotes highlighting his extravagance are set in his sumptuous villas. At the same time, it is undoubtedly significant that quite a few of these stories establish a contrast between his luxuria and the supposed temperantia of Pompey, his principal adversary in the political arena. As the conflict between the two statesmen persisted for many years, it is clear that Lucullus continued to be active in Roman public life even after his return from the campaign against Mithridates. This is reflected in a number of references to the variegated use of the noble’s villas and gardens. In these settings, he used to receive guests from the Greek world, tried to reconcile himself with Pompey in the course of a dinner, and invited the people to a major feast organised on the occasion of his triumph. Thus, the various functions of his residences correspond to the multiple activities of a politician in late Republican Rome.