Spolia Opima - Political Implications

Political Implications

Of course, while these noted above are the only recognized instances, there is a case where the honour was not awarded despite the fact that the act itself had (it is likely) been achieved. The man concerned, Marcus Licinius Crassus (not to be confused with his grandfather the triumvir of the same name) had defeated an enemy leader in single combat (in Macedonia) in 29 BC and was thus eligible to claim the honour of spolia opima.

The main reason that Crassus' victory was downplayed (he was granted a Roman Triumph upon his return to Italy) has a lot to do with the charged political atmosphere of Rome at the time. His victory occurring when it did, the chronological proximity to the initial settlement of the Emperor Augustus (then Octavian) meant that the spolia opima was swallowed in an effort to consolidate Octavian's position in the eyes of the Senate. The efforts and successes of other military leaders were also not recognized. This helped maintain military stability and strengthen the prestige of the Emperor. Octavian needed to unite all Roman leaders behind him and to strengthen his own military prestige (as we are told in the Res Gestae Divi Augusti). The emperor also wanted to avoid the rise of powerful military commanders with their own political factions, and thus dissuade a relapse into the civil wars wrought previously by factionalism in the Roman armies.