Pomey the Great


According to Plutarch’s biography of Pomey the Great, in 81 B.C., at the close of the Roman civil war fought between factions favoring either Lucius Cornelius Sulla (the “Sullans”) or Gaius Marius (the “Marians”), Sulla sent Pompey to Sicily, to mop up the Marians who had taken refuge there. When Pomey arrived at Messena (now Messina) with his army, the local authorities met him, complaining that under Roman law he had no jurisdiction over them. Pompey famously replied: “Stop quoting laws to us. We carry swords.”
Surprisingly, it does not seem that that episode has ever been the subject of a painting. The image is Gabriel de Saint-Aubin’s 1765 watercolor “The Triumph of Pompey,” depicting Pompey receiving a hero’s welcome on his return to Rome in 81 B.C.

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