Lucius Cornelius Sulla: Encyclopedia II - Lucius Cornelius Sulla - Retirement

Lucius Cornelius Sulla - Retirement

With a lifetime dictatorship in his hands, Sulla was elected consul for the second time in 80 BC, but within a year he took the decision of stepping out of every political activity and withdrawing to a country villa. Sulla's purpose was to write his memoirs, but he ended up surrounded by a troupe of actors, dancers and prostitutes. Amongst them was Metrobius, a famous actor that he knew since his youth. In his last address to the senate, Sulla was keen to acknowledge him as his lifetime lover, to the dismay of the audience. Within this merry company, Sulla died after a brief illness in 78 BC. The symptoms described in contemporary accounts indicate that the cause of death was liver failure, brought on by a lifetime of hard drinking.

His epitaph, written by Sulla himself, was "No greater friend, no worse enemy".

The conflict between Marius and Sulla destroyed the old Roman Republic, though it tottered along for another 50 years before Caesar killed it. Sulla proved that force could be used as a route to total political power in Rome. His example was copied by many later Roman generals. His long reign of terror in 81 BC enriched his friends, embittered his enemies, and made a mockery of the notions of Roman justice and Roman law. The Roman republic never recovered.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Retirement", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki