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Coriolanus: Part 2/2

© Bingley

One of the side-effects of the secession of the plebs was that no agricultural work had been done, and the campaign against the Volscians had left no opportunity for agriculture either. The result was near-famine conditions in Rome, with the plebs bearing the brunt of the shortages. When wheat imports, including a gift of wheat from Syracuse, arrived (491), the patricians, led by Coriolanus, refused to countenance any idea of the wheat being sold to the poor cheaply. In a fiery speech in the Senate, Coriolanus argued that here was an opportunity to pressurise the plebs into giving up the political gains they'd won as a result of their secession three years before.

When news of this speech leaked out, a riot ensued which was only halted by Coriolanus being ordered by the tribunes to appear before the people's assembly on charges of trying to overthrow the constitution. Coriolanus duly appeared, and was found guilty. The penalty was banishment.

After saying goodbye to his wife and mother, Coriolanus left for Antium, where Attius Tullius Aufidius, one of the Volscian leaders who was still implacably hostile to Rome, lived. Together they plotted how to bring about another war between Rome and the Volscians, which the Volscians could win with Coriolanus on their side.

Most of the Volscians had had enough of war but this did not stop Coriolanus and Tullius. Many Volscians were in Rome for the Great Games. Tullius went secretly to the Roman Senate and warned the senators that there was a plot amongst certain Volscians to re-kindle war between Rome and the Volscians by attacking the Romans while the games were on. Alarmed by this warning the Senate decreed that all Volscians should leave Rome by nightfall. Tullius then waylaid the departing Volscians on their way home and played on their resentment of the way they had been expelled from Rome to win support for military action against the arrogant Romans.

Coriolanus and Attius were put in command of the Volscian war effort. In his raids into Roman territory, Coriolanus gave strict orders that patricians' property was to remain unharmed, while plebeians' property was legitimate prey. Naturally this led to further tension between the classes in Rome: the patricians blamed the plebeians for exiling Coriolanus and the plebeians suspected some sort of conspiracy between the patricians and Coriolanus.

As Coriolanus approached nearer to Rome, an embassy was sent offering to repeal his banishment if he would stop the war, but Coriolanus refused to betray his new allies and said he would only stop the war if the territory surrendered by the Volscians after defeats in previous wars was returned to them. He gave the Romans thirty days to consider his offer and withdrew to harry the territory of Rome's allies.

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