Cytheris the actress and courtesan; and the Roman calendar

Roman Lives, Life in Rome

Cytheris the actress and courtesan; and the Roman calendar

Issue 4. 16.5.25

(ante diem xvii Kalendas Iunias anno MMDCCLXXVIII ab urbe condita)

Editorial

Welcome to issue 4 of Roman Lives, Life in Rome. I’m recently back from the fantastic first Leicester Roman festival, where I met up with the gang of historical Roman authors I’ve got to know at various events such as Eboracum and Colchester in the past, as well as some authors I have corresponded with but met for the first time. In the author’s tent with me were Simon Turney, Anthony Riches, LJ Trafford, Simon Elliot, Nick Holmes and Nick Brown, as well as the children’s authors Robin Price and Kate Cunningham.

Authors at Leicester Roman festival

The festival itself involved the erection of a huge recreation of the ancient Leicester forum entrance created entirely from cardboard boxes and gaffer tape!

Leicester Forum recreated in cardboard!

Welcome to those of you that I signed up for this newsletter at the Festival. It was great to meet so many readers, and I hope you enjoy the books.

Next weekend I’ll be at Eboracum Roman festival doing it all over again!

https://visityork.org/events/eboracum-roman-festival-2025

My other newsletter, Alex Gough on Ancient Rome and More. will be coming a little less frequently so I can concentrate on writing this one and others - I will mainly do that quarterly with short updates when I have news.

As for Roman Lives, Life in Rome, in this issue I discuss the mysterious Cytheris, actress, courtesan and lover of Mark Antony and Brutus.

In the second section, I write about the Roman Calendar, date and time, which, for something that looks so superficially like our own methods, is annoyingly complex, especially in the late Republic.

Roman lives: Cytheris, actress, courtesan and muse

Very few people will have heard of Volumnia Cytheris, yet she was intimately familiar with two of the key players in the downfall of the Roman Republic, Mark Antony and Marcus Junius Brutus, having been the lover of both. In addition, she had been identified as Lycoris, the mistress and muse of the poet Gallus, in much the same way Clodia is identified as Catullus’ poetic lover, Lesbia (see issue 1 of these newsletters). However, the backgrounds of Cytheris and Clodia could not be more different. Clodia came from the noblest of descent, though possibly like her brother Clodius she tried to downplay that. Cytheris on the other hand was originally the lowest of the low in Roman society – a slave.

Cytheris was born sometime around 70BC. Little is known about her life, but there is enough for us to catch a glimpse of this fascinating woman and to make some informed speculation. She was either born or became the slave of a wealthy freedman (i.e. a former slave himself) called Publius Volumnius Eutrapelus. Eutrapelus was a supporter of Caesar and both a correspondent of and dinner party host for Cicero. At some point, the slave, possibly known as Cytheris, was manumitted by Eutrapelus. However, to be a freedwoman was not the same as being a free woman. She had to take Volumnius’ name, hence she is known after this time as Volumnia, though her stage name probably continued to be Cytheris. She still owed her service to Eutrapelus, including sexual favours, and it seemed he pimped her out to gain influence with noble Romans, including at least Gallus, Brutus and Antony, and likely others as well.

Cytheris was a mime actress. Pantomimes arrived in Greece a little later, and while mimes and pantomimes had much in common, actors and actresses in pantomimes wore masks and the shows were often a solo dancer portraying mythological themes without speaking, supported by musicians and a chorus. Mimes tended to be rather more low-brow, with more farce and vulgarity. Mimes were performed in theatres, marketplaces or at private dinners, and often drew large crowds. Mimes were the only form of theatre in ancient Rome in which women were allowed to perform. Adultery plots were common, and required only three actors, the husband, the wife and her lover.

As an actress, Cytheris was part of the class of people known as “infamis.” These were people without social or legal standing, and also included gladiators and prostitutes. As an example of how some people perceived those of infamis status, and actresses in particular, we can look at Cicero’s repugnant defence of Gnaeus Plancius, who was being charged with illegal electioneering. The defendant’s morality was called into question when he was accused of raping a mime actress (showing that at least some people at the time considered this wrong!). Cicero waved this away with the lines:

“ You say that an actress was raped by him. And this is said to have happened at Atina, while he was quite young, by a sort of established licence of proceeding towards theatrical people, well known in all towns. O how elegantly must his youth have been passed, when the only thing which is imputed to him is one that there was not much harm in…”

Once Cytheris was freed she was in a slightly more privileged position than the slave actresses (and actors) and prostitutes, who would be required to perform sexual services for their masters and anyone their master’s chose, and for no reward of their own. Cytheris was more of an upper-class courtesan, and as such was probably treated better than those less fortunate, and would have been required to have fewer sexual partners. Nevertheless, she is still unlikely to have had much choice in the matter (though nor did freeborn noble women get a choice of who they were to marry).

Her first attested lover was the poet, orator and politican, Cornelius Gallus. It is thought that the Lycoris of his poems refers to Cytheris, and he seems heartbroken at her loss, just as Catullus was over Clodius. Of course, we don’t know if Cytheris chose to move on, or her former master Volumnius decided it would be more to his benefit if she was placed with another lover. A papyrus found in 1978 contains some fragments of poems by Gallus, and is thought be the oldest extant lines of Roman poetry. The first legible line reads, “…sad because of you Lycoris.”

After Gallus, Cytheris took up with Mark Antony, and I suspect he was genuinely fond of her. In 49BC, Mark Antony was the ruler of Italy while Caesar was away on campaign, and he flouted his power, outraging the upper classes. Cicero in his second Phillipic (his diatribes against Mark Antony) wrote that:

“The tribune of the people was borne along in a chariot, lictors crowned with laurel preceded him; among whom, on an open litter, was carried an actress; whom honorable men, citizens of the different municipalities, coming out from their towns under compulsion to meet him, saluted not by the name by which she was well known on the stage, but by that of Volumnia. A car followed full of pimps; then a lot of debauched companions; and then his mother, utterly neglected, followed the mistress of her profligate son, as if she had been her daughter-in-law. O the disastrous fecundity of that miserable woman! With the marks of such wickedness as this did that fellow stamp every municipality, and prefecture, and colony, and, in short, the whole of Italy. She was a courtesan who had been enfranchised by her master Volumnius.”

It’s interesting to note that Cicero apparently takes exception to her being called Volumnia, partly because it was a name of some historical significance in Rome, but also because he didn’t feel she deserved to be honoured by the crowds in that way, but should be addressed by her stage name, more in keeping with her status. Cicero also refers to Cytheris in letters to his friends, although calls her Volumnia when writing to his wife Terentia, sympathising with her after Cytheris had somehow treated Terentia badly (possibly when Terentia asked Cytheris to intercede on the exiled Cicero’s behalf with Antony).

Antony may have retained Cytheris as his paramour for a couple of years, but the relationship likely had to end when Antony married the strong-minded Fulvia. Fulvia would have accepted infidelity as most Roman women did, but she would not have allowed a rival such as Cytheris who might be pre-eminent in Antony’s affections (and indeed their marriage may have been in trouble when Antony was in Egypt and Cleopatra, and Fulvia with Antony’s brother rebelled against Octavian in Italy. Fomenting a civil war is certainly one way of getting your absent husband’s attention. Sadly Fulvia died shortly after this, so we will never know if they could have been reconciled).

A later source stated that Cytheris was also the lover of Marcus Junius Brutus, Caesar’s assassin, although whether this was before or after Antony is uncertain (I suspect afterwards, though it must have been before the Ides of March 44BC, so she will not have gone with Antony’s enemy to spite him – they were not yet enemies at this time).

We last hear about Cytheris in 46BC, outraging Cicero once again, in his letter to one Papirius Paetus (Letters to Friends, IX,26):

“I have just lain down to dinner at three o'clock, when I scribble a copy of this note to you in my pocket-book. You will say, "where?" With Volumnius Eutrapelus. One place above me is Atticus, one below Verrius, both friends of yours. Do you wonder that our slavery is made so gay? …

Now listen to the rest. Below Eutrapelus lay Cytheris. At such a party as that, say you, was the famous Cicero, ‘To whom all looked with rev'rence, on whose face Greeks turned their eyes with wonder?’ To tell you the truth, I had no suspicion that she would be there... As for myself, the fact is that that sort of thing never had any attraction for me when I was a young man, much less now I am an old one.”

As to Cytheris’ later life, we can only speculate. Her association with such rich and powerful men likely allowed her to retire in some comfort, particularly once her looks faded and Volumnius had no further use for her. We can only hope that she was able to enjoy a long, happy life, and the ill-uses she was forced into when she was younger did not cause lasting trauma.

Depiction of Mark Antony as Hercules with Cytheris dressed as Iole, from "Monumens de la vie privée des douze Césars" by Pierre d'Hancarville

References

Keith, A. (2011) Lycoris Galli/Volumnia Cytheris: a Greek Courtesan in Rome, Eugesta, vol 1.

Sewell, J., & Smout, C. (Eds.) (2020) The Palgrave Handbook of the History of Women on Stage. Springer International Publishing. Oxford.

Commercial break

Caesar’s General by Alex Gough

The e-zine continues below if you want to skip this bit (but please don’t). This time I’m highlighting book two of my Mark Antony series, Caesar’s General. Cytheris is a major character in this book, and I found her very sympathetic to write. As with most of his women, Antony seemed to have treated her well, but if there was genuine affection there, his need to end things for the sake of his career would have been difficult for them both.

Caesar’s General documents Antony’s life from just after the battle of Alesia until the Ides of March in 44BC. During this time, Antony rose to become Caesar’s right hand man, and was vital in Caesar’s civil war against Pompey. His behaviour earned Caesar’s disapproval from time to time, however, and he wasn’t always in Caesar’s good books!

From the back cover:

“The empire is at a crisis point. Caesar, Rome’s greatest general and conqueror of Gaul, now faces being stripped of his command and dragged back to Italy for prosecution by his enemies.

His former ally, Pompey, has sided with his opponents in the Senate and frustrates all efforts to find peace.

Caesar does the unthinkable. He crosses the Rubicon and marches his army into Italy to invade Rome, with Mark Antony at his side. The empire is thrown into civil war. Antony will either rise to the heights of power, or be executed as a traitor. The die has been cast.”

Amazon reviews:

“5.0 out of 5 stars ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 July 2024

Verified Purchase

The first book was Caesar's Soldier, this book is the second in the series. I have read all of The imperial Assassin series by Alex Gough and they were equally as good.

There hasn't been many novels about Mark Anthony so this is a real treat, I purchased the hardback version of this and the previous book. If you enjoyed Conn Igguldens Emperor series about Julius Caesar, you will enjoy this, it's like the icing on the cake.

Now on with the e-zine!”

“5.0 out of 5 stars Alex Gough has done it again! Great read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 April 2025

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For me it was a really interesting read. I read a lot of books about the Roman Republic, early Empire, especially up to the reign of Augustus (Octavian). Usually Mark Anthony is given an overall bad press. It was refreshing to read something written about him from his viewpoint. I'm anxiously waiting for the 3rd book, It's due for release on kindle in June. Anything written by Alex Gough is always very well written and researched. He has helped me stop seeing Anthony as villain to Caesar and Octavian’s heroes.”

Aspects of Roman life: Time and Date in Ancient Rome

Detail of a Roman mosaic with illustrations of the various months, in the Archeological Museum of Sousse. Here is April. Source: Wikimedia Commons, author Ad Meskens.

The Roman empire survived for many centuries from the foundation of the city until its downfall, which depending on how you count it, might have been in the fifth or fifteenth century AD. Many changes took place over that time, including in their calendar.

Romans in the Republic and empire described which year they were referring to in two ways. One was simply counting forward from the traditional founding data of the city, 753BC. Thus 44BC, the year of Caesars assassination, was anno DCCX ab urbe condita (A.U.C, from the founding of the city). The other way was to refer to the year by the name of the two consuls. Thus 44BC would have been they year of the consuls Gaius Julius Caesar and Marcus Antonius. This latter could be problematic however. Firstly, there was a limited supply of names in the Roman aristocracy, and it was common for relatives to share identical names, and for brothers, cousins and fathers to all achieve the consulship. It was further confused because, especially in the years of more absolute rule, men such as Caesar or Augustus would often resign the consulship, sometimes after just a single day, in order for favoured supporters to get their promotion. In late antiquity, the regnal year of the emperor could be used. Our current system of Anno Domini did not come into being until after the fall of the western empire, in AD 525, based on an estimation of the year of Jesus’ birth by a 6^th century Eastern Roman monk named Dionysius Exiguus.

Our current naming of the months is based on the Roman calendar. But why is September the ninth month not the seventh, October the tenth not the eighth etc? A common meme circulating around the internet goes something like: “A: Whoever decided the nineth month should be September should be stabbed; B: I have excellent news for you…” This plays on the fact that Caesar rearranged the Roman calendar, but it was not in fact Caesar that changed the correspondence of the name of the month with its position in the year.

The original Roman calendar, supposedly invented by Romulus according to later tradition, had ten months, and the first month of the year was March (Martius in the Roman calendar). There then followed Aprilis, Mais and Iunius, (April, May and June). The fifth month was Quintilis, the sixth month was Sextilis, then September, October, November and December came after. According to Livy, the king Nuna Pompilius divided the calendar into twelve months, adding Januarius and Februarius. The year was 355 days long, but the Romans were aware that the seasons rotated on a 365 day basis. To keep the calendar in line with the seasons, they added intercalary months every so often. Unfortunately, this practice became neglected, so by the time of the late Republic, the seasons and the calendar were hopelessly out of sync (making it incidentally a real pain in the neck attempting to reconcile dates and seasons when writing historical fiction and non-fiction – I noticed in writing the Mark Antony series that some non-fiction authors had made mistakes where they had a theory based on for example how early in the year it was possible to start a military campaign, missing the fact that the month and the season did not correspond).

Julius Caesar, in his short time as dictator, rearranged the calendar with the help of an Egyptian astronomer Sosigenes. The year 46BC had three intercalary months to bring it back into sync, and thereafter each day had 365 days with every fourth year having an extra day added. This was remarkably accurate and kept the calendar very closely aligned with the seasons for many centuries, until the Gregorian calendar made some tweaks in the sixteenth century. Soon after Caesar’s death Quintilus was renamed Julius (July) in honour of Julius Caesar and a little later again, Sextilis was renamed Augustus (August) in honour of Caesar Augustus.

There were three principal days in each month. The Kalends was always the first of the month. Months were said to be full if they contained 31 days and hollow if they contained 30 days. After Caesar’s reforms, the months had the number of days enumerated in the rhyme “thirty days hath September…”. The Nones came six days after the Kalends in full months, and four days after in hollow months. The Ides came eight days after the nones. Each day of the month was reckoned either as a cardinal day, or the number of days before the cardinal day. Thus April the 2^nd would be described as “ante diem iv Nonas Apriles,” four days before the Nones of Apri, while the 25^th April would be described as “ante diem vii Kalendas Maias” – seven days before the Kalends of May. Note that Romans used inclusive counting however. This, together with the Latin grammar required, makes it hopelessly confusing to get the date accurate in Roman terminology, at least for me, and so for the dating in the Mark Antony books I have used the amazing calculator at https://latin.org/wordpress/roman-date-converter/ (don’t forget to tweak Quintilis/July and Sextilis/August though as it forgets these).

Dates in the Roman calendar could be Fastus, permissible, days when legal action could be initiated, Comitialis, days on which public assemblies could take place, or Nefastus, days on which public and legal activities were forbidden, usually because of superstitious reasons, but also for political reasons. For example, after Mark Antony’s death, his birthday was declared nefastus.

Romans had hours like us, but they divided the time between sunrise and sunset into twelve hours, with similar divisions at night. This meant that the length of an hour varied between seasons, and was different during the day and night except on the two equinoxes. Minutes were not invented until 1000 AD, and it was not until 1577 that a minute hand was first included on a clock. In the 17^th century pendulum clocks became able to count seconds.

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed. I would love any feedback, either here on substack, or on social media. I’m currently most active on my Facebook page, Alex Gough Author, where I share interesting Roman-themed news, pictures and articles, but I’m also occasionally on X: @romanfiction and bluesky @alexgoughauthor.bsky.social My website is www.romanfiction.com

Until next time.

Vale,

Alex