Decii

Reading notes

• On the Nature of the Gods §3.15 the self-devotions of the Decii

  The ritual self-sacrifice (devotio) by which Publius Decius Mus and his son consecrated themselves and the enemy to the gods of the dead before charging to their deaths in battle. Cotta reinterprets it as a general's stratagem rather than divine appeasement.

• On Duties §1.61 the Decii

  Three generations of the Decius Mus family who, by the ritual of devotio, vowed themselves and the enemy army to the gods of the dead and charged to their deaths to secure Roman victory. The proverbial Roman self-sacrifice in war.

• On Duties §3.16 the two Decii

  Publius Decius Mus, father and son, who in successive generations ritually devoted themselves to death in battle to secure Roman victory. They were stock Roman examples of self-sacrificing courage.

• Thirteenth Philippic §27 descended, I suppose, from those famous Decii, the `Mice'

  Cicero puns: the Antonian Decius is no kin to the heroic Decii Mures who devoted their lives for Rome, but a "mouse" (mus) who has gnawed at Caesar's bounty. The wordplay turns on the cognomen Mus.

• Tusculan Disputations §2.59 The Decii saw the flashing swords of the enemy

  The Decii (Publius Decius Mus, father and son) famously performed the devotio, ritually devoting themselves to death and charging into the enemy to secure victory for Rome. Cicero's standard example of Roman self-sacrifice that overcame fear of wounds.