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Not all Romans came to Athens as benign visitors. n10 On both occasions, he stayed for some time. n9 Other Roman magistrates who visited Athens in an official capacity include Cicero, who came in 51 while on his journey to Cilicia to take up his post as proconsul and also on his return a year later. The remainder of his fleet, however, remained anchored in the Piraeus for the winter (Cic. Antonius tarried for several days in Athens and while in the city engaged in philosophical and rhetorical discourses until he was able to depart for Side. n8 Anticipating the future movements of Pompey, the proconsul Marcus Antonius, grandfather of Mark Antony, stopped in Athens on his way to fight the Cilician pirates in 102. When the Athenians refused to repeat the rites for him, Crassus abruptly departed in anger. According to Cicero, Crassus wished to be initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries, but arrived after the ceremonies had been completed. n7 In 120 B.C., Mucius Scaevola augur visited the city when returning from Asia, as did the questor Licinius Crassus orator around 110 B.C. It was an expected occurence for a Roman official to visit Athens, if only for a short period, on his way to-or from-the East. We awaited, we worshipped, we saw, we send forth. To the extent that you know yourself to be mortal, the more you are a god. Plutarch records the inscription and the side of the gate upon which each is inscribed: As Pompey exited the city, presumably through either the Dipylon or Piraeus Gates, he was able to read two lines of poetic verse hastily inscribed for his benefit, one line (perhaps painted) on the inner façade and one on the outer. Pompey subsequently departed the city for his ships waiting anchored in the Piraeus harbor. There Plutarch mentions that Pompey stopped briefly, "sacrificed to the gods, and addressed the δῆμος ( Pomp. According to Plutarch, our best source for these events, Pompey departed from Brundisium for Cilicia and made haste toward the East, avoiding most cities and other ports-of-call along the way, except for Athens. With the pirates hemmed in by Pompey's legates, it fell to the imperator himself to secure the final victory. In a coordinated and seemingly simple effort, Pompey's naval squadrons squeezed the pirates back to the Cilician coast-all in a mere 40 days. Under the provisions of the extraordinary imperium, the Senate provided Pompey with 500 ships, 20 legions, and almost unlimited funds at his disposal. Nevertheless, Rome was still not able to guarantee the island's safety from the pirates. n3 Gaius Valerius Triarus, a legate under Lucullus, recaptured Delos later that same year and constructed a fortification wall around the city to provide protection against future attacks. The pirates captured many inhabitants to be sold into slavery and put many of the commercial and sacred structures to the torch. n2 As a graphic example of Rome's weakness in the open sea, the pirate Athenodoros, with backing from the Pontic king Mithradates, easily raided the island of Delos, an Athenian possession, in 69.
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Pirates, operating openly on Rome's Mare Nostrum, demonstrated that Rome's imperium in the East was incomplete and thus threatened to undermine the political stability of Rome's relations with her subject cities and nations. In addition to the real threat to the Roman supply routes, there also existed a perceived notion that Rome's mastery of the eastern Mediterranean was at risk. n1 Any resistance within the Senate to this unprecedented investiture of power on one individual was allayed by the need for grain by the urban populace of Rome. The need for this law arose because pirates, operating from bases primarily along the Rough Cilician coast, severely jeopardized the steady supply of grain to Italy. In the spring or early summer of 67 B.C., Pompey was charged by the Roman Senate under a plebiscite of the Lex Gabinia to rid the Mediterranean from the threat of pirates. Among those who came to the city was Pompey the Great. The cultural prestige and historical preeminence of Athens were the main reasons that attracted Roman officials to its gates. Although no longer a major political power and declining in importance during the Hellenistic period, Athens still held tremendous weight as among the more influential Greek cities in terms of regional politics and trade. In either case, the fortunes of Athens often came to be affected-for good or bad-by those Romans who would use the city to further their own political gains. Others came to Athens acting in an official capacity. Some came as visitors and tourists to bask in the reputation of the venerable city. During the first century B.C., many Roman visitors passed through Athens' gates in official and non-official capacities.