According to Livy, Menenius was chosen by the patricians during the secession of the plebs in 494 BC to persuade the plebs to end their secession. Livy says that Menenius told the soldiers a fable about the parts of the human body and how each has its own purpose in the greater function of the body. The rest of the body thought the stomach was getting a free ride so the body decided to stop nourishing the stomach. Soon, the other parts became fatigued and unable to function so they realized that the stomach did serve a purpose and they were nothing without it. In the story, the stomach represents the patrician class and the other body parts represent the plebs. Eventually, Livy says, an accord was reached between the patricians and the plebs, which included creating the office of tribune of the plebs.[6]
It is not improbable that Saint Paul, an educated Roman citizen, knew this story (not necessarily through Livy) and was prompted by it[7] in his use of the same parable when he admonished the Christians of Corinth that, for all their "diversity of gifts", they were all members of one body (I Cor. 12: 13 ff). However, the imagery was not new, even for Livy. It appears in Xenophon's Memorabilia (2.iii.18) and in Cicero's De Officiis (III.v.22).
One puzzle about Menenius concerns his social status: Was he patrician or plebeian? Livy asserts that he was "an eloquent man and dear to the plebeians as being one of themselves by birth." On the other hand, he was sent to the plebs as a representative of the Senate, and furthermore he had held the office of consul. The consulship, according to the traditional historiography, was at this time reserved strictly for patricians. Ancient accounts of early Roman history are compromised by uneven use of sources, the author's bias toward either senatorial or popular interests, and sheer uncertainty. The existence of the "plebeian" and "patrician" social division in the earliest period of Rome's history has been questioned by modern scholars.[8]
Menenius died in 493 BC. Livy records that during his life he had been beloved of both the senate and the plebs (particularly the latter since his involvement in ending their secession). As his estate lacked funds to pay for his funeral, the people contributed to his funeral expenses by way of a levy.[6]
Menenius had a son who would become consul in 439 BC.[9]
^Why Paul’s Fabulous Body is Missing its Belly: The Rhetorical Subversion of Menenius Agrippa’s Fable in 1 Corinthians 12.12-30, 2018,october,Daniel Lynwood Smith
^Survey by A. Drummond, "Rome in the fifth century II," ch. 5, The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. 7.2, The Rise of Rome.
^Walbank, F. W., A. E. Astin, M. W. Frederiksen, and R. M. Ogilvie. The Cambridge Ancient History, Cambridge University Press 1990. ISBN0-521-23446-8.
agrippa, menenius, lanatus, consul, agrippa, menenius, lanatus, died, consul, roman, republic, with, publius, postumius, tubertus, victorious, over, sabines, awarded, triumph, which, celebrated, april, according, livy, also, roman, troops, against, latin, town. Agrippa Menenius Lanatus died 493 BC was a consul of the Roman Republic in 503 BC with Publius Postumius Tubertus He was victorious over the Sabines and was awarded a triumph which he celebrated on 4 April 503 BC According to Livy he also led Roman troops against the Latin town of Pometia 2 3 4 In some traditions he and his colleague also completed a census during their consulship 5 Agrippa Menenius LanatusConsul of the Roman RepublicIn office 1 September 503 BC 1 29 August 502 BCServing with Publius Postumius TubertusPreceded byPublius Valerius Publicola Titus Lucretius TricipitinusSucceeded byOpiter Verginius Tricostus consul 502 BC Spurius Cassius VecellinusPersonal detailsBornUnknownAncient RomeDied493 BCAncient RomeChildrenTitus Menenius Lanatus Agrippa Menenius T f Agrippae n LanatusAccording to Livy Menenius was chosen by the patricians during the secession of the plebs in 494 BC to persuade the plebs to end their secession Livy says that Menenius told the soldiers a fable about the parts of the human body and how each has its own purpose in the greater function of the body The rest of the body thought the stomach was getting a free ride so the body decided to stop nourishing the stomach Soon the other parts became fatigued and unable to function so they realized that the stomach did serve a purpose and they were nothing without it In the story the stomach represents the patrician class and the other body parts represent the plebs Eventually Livy says an accord was reached between the patricians and the plebs which included creating the office of tribune of the plebs 6 It is not improbable that Saint Paul an educated Roman citizen knew this story not necessarily through Livy and was prompted by it 7 in his use of the same parable when he admonished the Christians of Corinth that for all their diversity of gifts they were all members of one body I Cor 12 13 ff However the imagery was not new even for Livy It appears in Xenophon s Memorabilia 2 iii 18 and in Cicero s De Officiis III v 22 One puzzle about Menenius concerns his social status Was he patrician or plebeian Livy asserts that he was an eloquent man and dear to the plebeians as being one of themselves by birth On the other hand he was sent to the plebs as a representative of the Senate and furthermore he had held the office of consul The consulship according to the traditional historiography was at this time reserved strictly for patricians Ancient accounts of early Roman history are compromised by uneven use of sources the author s bias toward either senatorial or popular interests and sheer uncertainty The existence of the plebeian and patrician social division in the earliest period of Rome s history has been questioned by modern scholars 8 Menenius died in 493 BC Livy records that during his life he had been beloved of both the senate and the plebs particularly the latter since his involvement in ending their secession As his estate lacked funds to pay for his funeral the people contributed to his funeral expenses by way of a levy 6 Menenius had a son who would become consul in 439 BC 9 Menenius was also a character in William Shakespeare s Coriolanus See also EditMenenia gens Agrippa disambiguation References Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Agrippa Menenius Lanatus Robert Maxwell Ogilvie Commentary on Livy books 1 5 Oxford Clarendon Press 1965 pp 404 405 Livy Ab urbe condita II 16 32 33 Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology William Smith Editor Fasti Triumphales Broughton vol i pp 8 Jerome Chronicon ad ann 504 a b Livy From the Founding of the City Why Paul s Fabulous Body is Missing its Belly The Rhetorical Subversion of Menenius Agrippa s Fable in 1 Corinthians 12 12 30 2018 october Daniel Lynwood Smith Survey by A Drummond Rome in the fifth century II ch 5 The Cambridge Ancient History Vol 7 2 The Rise of Rome Walbank F W A E Astin M W Frederiksen and R M Ogilvie The Cambridge Ancient History Cambridge University Press 1990 ISBN 0 521 23446 8 Political officesPreceded byPublius Valerius PublicolaTitus Lucretius Tricipitinus Roman consul503 BC With Publius Postumius Tubertus Succeeded byOpiter Verginius TricostusSpurius Cassius Vecellinus Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Agrippa Menenius Lanatus consul 503 BC amp oldid 1136844962, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
