Eunus 1

vol. VI p.1143-1145

1) Eunus (Εὔνους)

The leader of the slaves in the First Servile War in Sicily. He was from Apameia (Diod. XXXIV 2, 5) in Syria (Liv. ep. LVI. Flor. II 7, 4). He was of particular interest to Poseidonios, since they both came from a very similar area, and it’s his detailed account that forms the basis of Diodorus’s XXXIVth book. <page break 1143/1144> In its second section (vol. V p.86-101 Dind.) there are multiple extracts from it, which mostly relate to the beginning and to the end of the slave revolt. Its actual duration has been a matter of significant debate. Flor. II 7, 7, in an account with rather a lot of rhetorical flourish, lists four Roman praetors who were defeated by the rebels before a consular army was sent out against them. <10> If we say that these otherwise unknown and unidentifiable praetors served in separate years, then the rebellion would have started at some point in 613 = 141. However, the huge mistake that Florus ibid. 7f. 11 makes with the name of the consul who put down the rebellion (M. Peperna consul 624 = 130 who defeated Aristonikos, instead of P. Rupilius, cf. G Rathke De Romanorum bellis servilibus [Diss. Berl. 1904] 16f.) puts his credibility into doubt as regards the other names he has listed, so the beginning of the revolt may have occurred later on, in around 618 = 136 (cf. Rathke loc. cit. 25-41). 94f.). <20> This can be confirmed by the new sections of the Epitome of Livy found at Oxyrhynchus: the older epitome puts the start of the First Servile War in Sicily in book LVI, but the newer one stops at the year 617 = 137 with book LV, without any word of this revolt, which grants us a reliable terminus post quem. <30> Eunus was a slave of somebody called Antigenes in Enna. He was able to cultivate a certain reputation for himself, among both his peers and his master, by delivering prophecies and performing magic - fire-breathing, to be precise, which he was able to do with the help of a hollow nut (Diod. XXXIV 2, 5-7, cf. 11. Flor. II 7, 4f.). He claimed that he was being possessed by the Syrian goddess (Diod. Flor. loc. cit.: cf. Wissowa Religion und Kultus der Römer 301) and proclaimed that he himself was going to become king (Diod. 7-9. 41). <40> When the slaves owned by the cruel Damophilos of Enna (see vol. IV p.2076 nr. 6) asked him if they would be successful if they rebelled against their master, he prophesied a good outcome for them, and made himself their leader (Diod. 10. 24b. Flor.). Four hundred slaves joined the plot, fell upon Enna in the middle of the night at Eunus’ command, took over the city, enacted cruel revenge on those who had wronged them, and began to carry out the most horrific atrocities (Diod. 11-15. 24b). <50> Then, after many more men joined their ranks, they elected to make Eunus their leader: not because of his courage or skill in war, but only because of his miracles and the good omen of the etymology of his name (Diod. 14 E). Eunus himself got himself a diadem and other symbols of kingship, named himself Antioch, King of the Syrians, and made his concubine - who was herself Syrian - the Queen, and then called an assembly of his most capable followers (Diod. 16. 24. 42. Flor. 6). <60> A great many men, of all sorts, flooded into his army: all ergastula were opened, and the free but poor citizens of the island had goals in common with the masses of slaves, and the troops who had formed at Agrigentum in the West, lead by the Cilician Cleon, subordinated themselves to Eunus - much to the surprise of their enemies. <page break 1144/1145> According to Diod. 16-18, his followers started at around 6000, then rose to 10000, were then bolstered by 5000 under Cleon, then rose again to 20000, and finally reached 200,000 in number. According to Livy, they seem to have started at around 2000 in number (Flor. 6), and grown to 70,000 (this is the count for the entirety of the forces in Oros. V 6, 4, but inaccurately refers to Cleon’s army specifically in Liv. ep. LVI). <10> All of Sicily was razed to the ground by these rebels (Diod. Strab. VI 272f. Flor.), a number of the most important cities were taken over, and multiple praetorian armies were defeated by them (Flor. see above, cf. also vol. III p.1392 nr. 96, vol. IV p.1357 nr. 172, though the praetorships of Piso and Lentulus may have fallen a year later). This lead the Romans to decide to send out consuls with stronger armies: In 620 = 134, C. Fulvius Flaccus went out; in 621 = 133 it was L. Piso Frugi, and in 622 = 132 P. Rupilius was sent to Sicily (Liv. ep. LVI. LIX. Oros. V 9, 6f.). <20> After Piso had taken Murgentium and begun the siege (see vol. III p.1392 nr. 96), the matter fell to Rupilius to handle. First, he besieged Tauromenion, drove those he was sieging to an extreme state of need, and then gained access to the stronghold when somebody from Murgentium betrayed them. Then, he turned himself to Enna, the start and mid-point of the revolution, and here the following events played out. <30> During the siege, Eunus tried to keep his followers’ morale high (Diod. 46) and preserve good discipline (cf. the guarding of the sanctuary of Demeter in Cic. Verr. IV 112), but after the city fell he revealed himself to be weak and cowardly. He slipped away into the mountains with a guard of 1000 men, and when the Romans followed him over and there was no more hope of safety, his followers killed each other. Eunus, on the other hand, hid himself away in a cave with his bodyguard, and was found here alive (Diod. 22). <40> He died shortly afterwards from a skin disease either in prison in Murgentium or while being transported to Rome, and in that way escaped a much harsher fate (Diod. 23. Plut. Sulla 36, 6; on phthiriasis being the cause of death, cf. Gröbe in Drumann G. R.² II 560-562). According to the scant accounts that we have, Eunus was a similar character to those that often turn up in revolutionary movements that are both social and religious, like eg. Johann von Leyden. <50>

[Münzer.]

This article is referenced by: Kleon (5)