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Fig. 46. Marble tiles from the temple of Hera Lacinia. (Naval Museum, Capo Colonna).
(Photo: D. Bartoli).
The account of Livy is interesting for two reasons. First of all, it is direct evidence that in
the first quarter of the second century B.C. it was not unusual to ship marble by sea,
avoiding the costs and difficulties of land transportation even for small, portable artifacts
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like roof tiles. Secondly, the import of marble tiles impressed the public so much, probably
because it represented an oriental novelty deemed pretentious and extravagant for the
Roman modesty, that the Senate was convened in a rush and decreed to send the tiles back
immediately to the temple of Hera Lacinia. Religious concerns for the offense rendered to
the immortal gods, taken alone, do not fully explain the Senate’s quick response in sending
Flaccus’ tiles back to Croton - almost with the first ship available. It is equally likely that
the senators did not want to upset their Italic allies by desecrating an ancient shrine of
Magna Graecia, or to set the dangerous precedent of luxuria (decadent, extravagant luxury)
taking place in Rome. Q. Fulvius Flaccus had to be prevented from becoming too popular
and, therefore, a dangerously powerful political rival. The Republic and the supremacy of