Setia, Sacriportus e la marcia di Silla verso Roma

Abstract

Setia, Sacriportus and Sulla’s march on Rome.
This article is divided into two parts: the fi rst one is specifi cally devotedto Sulla’s march through Latium on Rome after his landing at Brindisiin 83 BC. In particular, the main focus is on the problem of Sulla’s pathfrom Capua to Sacriportus (where the famous battle against Marius theYounger took place in 82 BC), and the likely siege of Setia (accordingto Appianus). The second one deals with the place name Sacriportuswith a particular reference to a scholium to Lucan in which Sacriportusis identifi ed with Laurentum. The conclusions will be: (1) that Sullalikely besieged Setia and then, at least until before the detour to Setia, walked through the Via Appia and perhaps later the Via Latina; (2) thatthe scholium to Lucan, if this short text does not contain a blunder ofthe scholiast, presumably depends on a literary tradition strictly linkedto Servius’ commentary on the Aeneid, which aimed to detect parallelsbetween the Aeneid and the Pharsalia. Finally, it cannot be ruled outthe possibility that the ‘sacredness’ contained in the place name couldbe connected to Sulla’s religious ‘propaganda’.