Book IV of the Annales recounts a speech given by the historian Cremutius Cordus during his trial for this crime, which prompted his suicide by starvation. For 10 points each:
[10h] Give the Latin word for this nebulous crime of “diminishing the greatness of the Roman people.” According to Tacitus, professional accusers called delatores won property from those accused of this crime under Tiberius.
ANSWER: maiestas [or majestas; accept lex maiestatis; reject “majesty,” “law of majesty,” or “Lèse-majesté”]
[10e] Cordus was charged with maiestas for writing a history that overly praised these two people. Junia Tertia, the wife of one of these people and half-sister of the other, died 64 years after they both died at the Battle of Philippi.
ANSWER: Brutus AND Cassius [or Marcus Junius Brutus AND Gaius Cassius Longinus]
[10m] The charge was first used by Lucius Appuleius Saturninus, who sought a catch-all way to prosecute incompetent generals in this war. “Mules,” or soldiers carrying their own packs, won this war at Vercellae.
ANSWER: Cimbrian War [or Cimbric War; accept equivalents mentioning a war against the Cimbri and Teutones]
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