Titus Annius Milo

Titus Annius Milo Papianus (/ˈmaɪloʊ/) was a Roman political agitator, the son of Gaius Papius Celsus, but adopted by his maternal grandfather, Titus Annius Luscus. In 52 BC he was prosecuted for the murder of Publius Clodius Pulcher, and was unsuccessfully defended by his friend Marcus Tullius Cicero in the speech Pro Milone.

Life

Political life

He was a supporter of Pompey, and organized bands of armed slaves and gladiators to support the cause by public violence in opposition to Clodius, who gave similar support to the populares. Milo was tribune of the plebs in 57 BC. He took a prominent part in bringing about the recall of Cicero from exile, in spite of the opposition of Clodius.

On 23 January 57 BC, Clodius tried to use a force of gladiators to block a move to recall Cicero from exile, but Milo arrested Clodius' gladiators. He was subsequently attacked by Clodius' gangs and attempted to prosecute Clodius for violence. He was unsuccessful at doing so, and recruited gangs of his own. Later that year he tried to prosecute Clodius again, but Clodius escaped this by being elected aedile in 56, thus being immune from prosecution.

Milo became praetor in 54 BC, and in that year married Cornelia Fausta, daughter of the dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla and ex-wife of Gaius Memmius.

Death of Clodius

In 53 BC, Milo was candidate for the consulship (against Quintus Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Publius Plautius Hypsaeus, nominees of Pompey) and Clodius was standing for the praetorship. There was a breakdown of order at Rome and the rival factions rioted in the streets. The elections were void because of the excessive use of the tribunes' veto and 52 BC began with an interregnum.

On January 18, 52 BC, Milo, Clodius, and their respective gangs met on the Appian Way at Bovillae. Milo was on the way to Lanuvium in order to appoint a priest. Conflicting stories claim Clodius was either peacefully heading to Rome after receiving news a friend had died, or else was lying in wait for Milo. The result was a pitched battle that ensued, and Clodius was killed by Milo's slaves.

Trial and death

The followers of Clodius carried his body to the Senate House - the Curia Hostilia - and set fire to it to cremate him. In the ensuing unrest, the Senate called on Pompey to become sole consul. He set about restoring order partly by force but also by the legal means now at his disposal. He passed a law regarding electoral bribery and violence and charged Milo under it.

It is generally agreed that Pompey intended the conviction of Milo regardless of the facts of the case, in order to restore order by placating Clodius' supporters. Pompey vetted Milo's jury, and the presiding magistrate, Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (consul 54 BC) was Pompey's client.

The defence team consisted of the great Marcus Tullius Cicero, Marcus Caelius Rufus and Marcus Marcellus. Under Pompey's new procedural rules, the trial should have lasted five days, with the summing up for the defence and the verdict on the fifth. However, on the first day, Marcellus had to seek protection from the mob of Clodius' supporters. On subsequent days, Pompey's soldiers ringed the court, though the proceedings were very disorderly. Called on to give a speech in Milo's defense. Cicero broke down and was unable to finish. It is unclear how far along in the speech he got, but he later published Pro Milone, as an expanded form of what he'd planned for the day. Cicero lost the case, and Milo was convicted by 38 votes to 13. Milo fled Rome, and went into exile at Massilia (today Marseille), and his property was sold by auction. In his absence, he was subsequently convicted on three different charges: of using bribery in his campaign for consulship, of malpractice under the law on illegal association, and of the murder of Clodius.

Cassius Dio states that when Cicero had finished writing up his speech, he sent a copy to Milo in exile. Milo wrote back that it was lucky for him that the same speech had not been made in court, because otherwise he would "not now be enjoying the delicious red mullet of Massilia".

Milo later joined Marcus Caelius Rufus in 48 in rebellion against Caesar, but he died at the siege of Compsa, near Thurii in Lucania, killed by a stone thrown from the city walls.

In popular culture

Titus Annius Milo appears as a recurring character in John Maddox Roberts' SPQR series of novels. These historical mysteries are presented as memoirs of fictional Decius Caecilius Metellus the Younger; Milo is a trusted friend of Metellus.

Milo also appears as a character in A Murder on the Appian Way, Last Seen in Massilia and A Mist of Prophecies, in the Roma Sub Rosa series of historical mystery novels by Steven Saylor.

Milo appears in Conn Iggulden's book The Field of Swords, the third in the series Emperor, as a street gangster who wages a private war with Publius Clodius.

Milo is a character in Colleen McCollough's Caesar.

He also appears in the book Street Fighter: Son of Spartacus in a plot to assassinate Julius Caesar.

References

• Uwe Homola: Untersuchungen zu Titus Annius Milo. Diss. Mannheim 1997 (Microfiche).
• W.J. Tatum, The Patrician Tribune. Publius Clodius Pulcher, Chapel Hill 1999.
• L. Fezzi, Il tribuno Clodio, Roma-Bari 2008
• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Milo, Titus Annius". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Further reading

• Ruebel, James S., "The Trial of Milo in 52 B.C.: A Chronological Study", Transactions of the American Philological Association (1974-), Vol. 109, (1979), pp. 231–249, American Philological Association.