Roman History, 55.8

Cassius Dio  translated by Earnest Cary

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8Tiberius on the first day of the year in which he was consul with Gnaeus Piso convened the senate in the Curia Octaviae, because it was outside the pomerium. 2After assigning to himself the duty of repairing the temple of Concord, in order that he might inscribe upon it his own name and that of Drusus, he celebrated his triumph, and in company with his mother dedicated the precinct called the precinct of Livia. He gave a banquet to the senate on the Capitol, and she gave one on her own account to the women somewhere or other. 3A little later, when there was some disturbance in the province of Germany, he took the field. The festival held in honour of the return of Augustus was directed by Gaius, in place of Tiberius, with the assistance of Piso. The Campus Agrippae and the Diribitorium were made public property by Augustus himself. 4The Diribitorium was the largest building under a single roof ever constructed; indeed, now that the whole covering has been destroyed, the edifice is wide open to the sky, since it could not be put together again. Agrippa had left it still in process of construction, and it was completed at this time. The portico in the Campus, however, which was being built by Polla, Agrippa’s sister, who also adorned the race-courses, was not yet finished. 5Meanwhile the funeral combats in honour of Agrippa were given, all except Augustus putting on black clothing and even Agrippa’s sons doing the same. There were not only combats between single champions but also between groups of equal numbers on either side; and they were held in the Saepta both as an honour to Agrippa and because many of the structures around the Forum had been burned. 6The blame for the fire was laid upon the debtor class, who were suspected of having contrived it on purpose, in order that they might have some of their debts remitted when they appeared to have lost heavily. They, for their part, however, gained nothing from the fire; but the streets were put in charge of supervisors, chosen from the people, whom we call street commissioners. 7These men were allowed to use the official dress and two lictors, but only in the regions under their administration and on certain days, and they were given control over the force of slaves which had previously been associated with the aediles to save buildings that caught fire. The aediles, however, together with the tribunes and praetors, were still assigned by lot to have charge of the whole city, which was divided into fourteen wards. This is also the present arrangement.

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