Originally published on September 4, 2019 (Episode 124)
Introduction
Few Roman figures were as celebrated in later centuries as Cincinnatus, the farmer-statesman who twice assumed the dictatorship only to relinquish power as soon as his duty was done. His story inspired republicans from the Renaissance to the American founding. Yet how much of it is true, and why did Romans choose to believe it?
Steele Brand’s Killing for the Republic: Citizen-Soldiers and the Roman Way of War (Hopkins, 2019) explores these questions by looking at the Roman army as a civic institution. The book is not only about military organization but also about what the Roman republic valued: duty, self-restraint, and the responsibilities of citizenship. As Brand argues, the Roman citizen-soldier ideal still offers lessons for modern republics wrestling with the balance between military service and civic life.
About the Guest
Steele Brand is a historian whose work examines the intersection of military history, political institutions, and civic identity, with special attention to the enduring influence of Roman republican ideals. When he served as a soldier in the United States Army, he took a copy of Polybius’ history of the Roman Republic with him to Afghanistan.
For Further Investigation
Steele Brand, Killing for the Republic: Citizen-Soldiers and the Roman Way of War (Hopkins, 2019)
Related Episodes
“Polybius of Megalapolis”—Steele Brand on a Greek historian’s project to explain how the Roman Republic became so strong
“The Death of Caesar”—Barry Strauss on the end of the Republic
“Mortal Republic”—Edward Watts on the end of the Republic
Listen & Discuss
What did it mean to be a citizen-soldier in the Roman Republic?
Why was Cincinnatus elevated as a model hero over more imperial figures like Alexander?
What lessons can today’s republics take from Rome’s civic and military values?
Know someone who thinks Rome only matters for its emperors? Share this and change their mind.
