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The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, First Edition. Edited by Roger S. Bagnall, Kai Brodersen, Craige B. Champion, Andrew Erskine,
and Sabine R. Huebner, print pages 362–364.
© 2013 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Published 2013 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah20009
2
institutions (Saller 1982: 14). In politics and As in politics, amicitia was useful in private
administration, both under the republic and affairs to exert influence. Approximately 25–30
the empire, networks of family and friends percent of Cicero’s recommendations concern
provided the most effective way to influence businessmen, who received introductions, help
decision-making and to obtain official posi- in enforcing contracts, official positions, and
tions, although they remained inherently unsta- so forth (Deniaux 1993).
ble alliances and provided no substitute for The language of amicitia was commonly
political parties, as once thought by Syme and used metaphorically in the political discourse
Taylor (Saller 1982; Yakobsen 1999: 65–123). of international relations. Allied kings and
In private affairs amicitia provided crucial nations received the title amicus sociusque. As
services and support (Verboven 2002). Most an ideological construct, amicitia in interna-
gifts and services were purely symbolic, but tional relations expressed sovereignty and
amici were expected to provide substantial sup- theoretical equality, but also goodwill, trust,
port in bad times. They were expected also to and solidarity beyond the explicit obligations
include each other in their wills. Towards the of formal treaties.
end of his life, Cicero claimed to have received
20 million sesterces in legacies and inheritances
SEE ALSO: Clientela, Roman Republic; Fides;
(Phil. 2.40). Legacies to friends were usually
Guest-friendship (hospitium); Honor–shame
small if the testator had close living family,
culture; Patron, patronage, Roman.
but when he was childless close friends stood
to receive the bulk of the inheritance. The
obsession with captatio testamenti (inheritance REFERENCES AND SUGGESTED READINGS
hunting) illustrates the strength of the custom
and the fear for ulterior motives behind expres- Brunt, P. A. (1988) “Amicitia in the Late Roman
sions of friendship (Champlin 1991: 131–54). Republic.” In The fall of the Roman Republic and
Amici played a major part also in obtaining related essays: 352–81. Oxford.
loans and upholding each other’s solvency Burton, P. J. (2004) “Amicitia in Plautus: a study
of Roman friendship processes.” American
(fides). Cato, for instance, used an inheritance
Journal of Philology 125: 209–43.
from a cousin to extend loans to his friends Champlin, E. (1991) Final judgments: duty and
(Plut. Cat. Min. 6. 4; see also Cic. Att. 10.11.2; emotion in Roman wills, 200 BC–AD 250.
Mart. 2. 30). More important than free or cheap Berkeley.
loans were personal securities. The close link Deniaux, E. (1993) Clientèles et pouvoir à l’époque
between creditworthiness (fides) and honor de Cicéron. Rome.
meant that to sustain a friend’s fides was an Konstan, D. (1997) Friendship in the Classical
imperative duty (see Cic. Att. 12.52.1). world. Cambridge.
Friends played a role also in the manage- Saller, R. P. (1982) Personal patronage under the
ment of property and business interests as Early Empire. Cambridge.
agents, representatives, and supervisors. The Verboven, K. (2002) The economy of friends:
economic aspects of amicitia and patronage in the
jurist Paulus asserted that “there is no
Late Republic. Brussels.
mandatum unless it is unremunerated, because Verboven, K. (2011) “Friendship among the
it springs from personal duty [officium] and Romans.” In M. Peachin, ed., The Oxford
friendship” (Dig. 17.1.1.4). T. POMPONIUS ATTICUS handbook of social relations in the Roman world:
was procurator for both Cicerones, M. Cato, 404–21. Oxford.
Q. Hortensius, and A. Torquatus, as well as for Yakobsen, A. (1999) Elections and electioneering
numerous Roman knights (Nep. Att. 15.1–3). in Rome. Stuttgart.