Marcus Claudius Marcellus - Middle Life: The Spolia Opima

Middle Life: The Spolia Opima

Following the end of the First Punic War in which Marcellus fought as a soldier, the Gauls of the North declared war upon Rome in 225 BC. In the fourth and final year of the war, Marcellus was appointed one of the two consul seats, his colleague being Cn. Cornelius Scipio Calvus. The previous consuls had defeated the Insubrians, the primary Gallic tribe involved, all the way up to the Po River. Following such terrible defeats, the Insubrians surrendered, but Marcellus, not yet consul, persuaded the two acting consuls not to accept the terms of peace. As Marcellus and his colleague were ushered into office as the new consul, the Insurbrians mustered 30,000 of their Gallic allies, the Caesatae, to fight the Romans. Marcellus invaded the Insubrians up to the Po River, just as the previous consuls had done. From here, the Gauls sent 10,000 men across the Po and attacked Clastidium, a Roman stronghold, to divert the Roman attacks. This battlefield was stage of Marcellus’ confrontation with the Gallic king, Viridomarus, which cemented his place in history.

The confrontation, as told by Plutarch, is so heavy in detail that one might question the veracity of his narration. Plutarch recounts that prior to the battle, Viridomarus spotted Marcellus, who wore commander insignia upon his armor, and rode out to meet him. Across the battlefield, Marcellus viewed the beautiful armor upon the back of the enemy riding toward him. Marcellus concluded that this was the nicest armor, which he had previously prayed would be given by him to the gods. The two engaged in combat whereupon, Marcellus, “by a thrust of his spear which pierced his adversary's breastplate, and by the impact of his horse in full career, threw him, still living, upon the ground, where, with a second and third blow, he promptly killed him.” Marcellus extracted the armor from his fallen foe, upon which he pronounced it as the spolia opima. The spolia opima, meaning "ultimate spoil," is known in Roman history as the most prestigious and honorable prize that a general can earn. Only a general who kills the leader of the opposing army prior to a battle may be honored with taking a spolia opima.

After he had slain the formidable warrior, whom he later learned was the king, Marcellus dedicated the armor, or spolia opima, to Jupiter Feretrius, as he had promised before the battle. Herein lies a wrinkle in Plutarch’s retelling of the event. When Marcellus first saw the finely dressed warrior, he did not recognize him as a king, but merely a man with the nicest armor. But immediately following the battle, Marcellus prayed to Jupiter Feretrius, saying that he had killed a king or ruler. This inconsistency indicates that Plutarch’s story may have been exaggerated for dramatic effect, causing discrepancies. Furthermore, Plutarch had probably written the account to glorify Marcellus as a hero of Rome, instead of as a record of history.

Following the battle between Marcellus and the king of the Gauls, the outnumbered Romans broke the siege of Clastidium, won the battle and proceeded to push the Gallic army all the way back to their primary headquarters of Mediolanum. Here, the Romans defeated the Gauls who surrendered themselves to the Romans. The terms between the Romans and Gauls were accepted and the Gallic war ended. Polybius, a historian of the 2nd century BC, admits that much of the overall success in the Gallic War belongs to Marcellus’ colleague, Scipio, but because Marcellus had won the spolia opima, Marcellus was celebrated triumphantly. Following the Gallic wars, Marcellus seems to drift from the historical radar until the year 216 BC, ushering in the latter part of his life.