Competition and Corruption: Sodalicia in Late Republican Rome

Abstract

Roman Republican elections especially during the Late Republic were a ubiquitous phenomenon. The small number of higher magistracies in comparison to the growing number of eligible candidates often led to a fierce competition within the political elite. To secure a win, competitors running for office made use of a whole spectrum of methods which often overstepped the legal and moral boundaries and eventually resulted in legal measures. The lex Licinia de sodaliciis enacted in 55 BCE is one of these measures. This article studies the lex by raising questions about its historic background, its target – electoral misconduct by organising sodalicia that is political associations within the voting districts – the trials conducted under the law, the effect associations had on Roman politics, and the Senate’s effort to regulate them thorough legislation.