Aediles vs. Duoviri: Vote Today!

It is Election Day here in Pompeii, as many of the Men in Pompeii are setting out to the Comitium to cast their votes. The streets are filled with campaign ads and political propaganda, as candidates try to persuade the undecided to cast their ballots for them.

It is a beautiful April day here in Pompeii, and all throughout the land the men, with their tesserula in hand, are out and about ready to cast their votes for whom will take the titles of aedile and duoviri. As this article progresses, all questions about today’s election will be answered, which should persuade you, the voter, to go out and vote!

So, what do the titles aedile and duoviri actually mean? An aedile, a term originated by the Romans, “[is] a chief magistrate” who looks after the food supply, business endeavors, and the games (1). Aediles are also responsible for maintaining the infrastructure of Pompeii, specifically the “repair of temples, public buildings, streets, sewers, and aqueducts” (2). They also are in “charge of the provision markets and of weights and measures, along with the distribution of grain”, those aediles given the title ceriales (3).

Every year, Pompeii elects four aediles, two curule aediles and two plebeian aediles. The plebian aediles represent the general public in Pompeii and throughout Rome, specifically the middle to lower class. Within Rome itself, the Concilium Plebis, which “was the plebeian assembly” elects the plebian aediles (4). Beginning in the year 366, the Concilium Plebis created a new type of aedile called the curule aediles, which were more superior to the plebeians. Special privileges extended to the curule aediles included “a fringed toga, a curule chair, and the right to ancestral masks” (5).

The other part of this election is the choosing of the duoviri. The duoviri simply are “the general name given to pairs of co-equal magistrates and functionaries” who preside and are responsible for many functions in Pompeii, including the political happenings (6). The duoviri are generally two men who are given specific areas in society in which they have to make sure it is working properly and serving the needs of the citizens of Pompeii. Over time, new positions were created in Rome along with its colonies and municipia, like Pompeii. For example, the Duumviri iuri dicundo, “whose chief duties were concerned with the administration of justice” sometimes even had four magistrates, which was known as Quatturoviri (7). The duoviri run Pompeii and control all of the major aspects of life, while the aediles are given lesser responsibility.

All throughout Pompeii today, all the candidates have one last chance to woo all of the men who will choose the next aediles and duoviri, who will then begin their duties on the first of July. Women do not have a say in elections here in Pompeii, which may change someday. Here is one piece of propaganda by Lollius, who is running for duumviri viis extra urbem purgandis, which controls “the building of roads and public and sacred buildings [temples]” (8).

Today is a very important day for Pompeii, as new leaders are to be elected which will help lead us into the future. It is your responsibility as men of Pompeii to go out and vote for your favorite candidate, to have a say in what goes on, to be involved in the political system, and to change our present and our future here in Pompeii.

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