- Lex Papiria de dedicationibus
"Lex Papiria de dedicationibus" (The Papirian Law Concerning Dedications) was a law established in
ancient Rome in around304 BC , though the date is uncertain.According to
Cicero , it was an old law introduced by thetribunes that forbade the dedication of a temple, and for religious purposes, or of an altar without permission of thePopular Assembly . By the late 3rd century BC, the legal procedure for dedicating a temple apparently required introduction in theRoman Senate , reference of the petition tothe College of Pontiffs , and then proposal to the Popular Assembly for final approval. By the mid 2nd century, the Lex Papiria probably was used as precedent to decide what approval was necessary to dedicate a statue. What is unclear is whether the Lex Papiria governed dedications generally or only by imperatores and other magistrates of at least praetorian rank. It is also unclear whether the Lex expressly forbade dedications by magistrates of lower rank such as the tribunes and theaediles .Much of what we know about the law is due to its importance in Cicero's action for deconsecration in 57 BC before the College of Pontiffs. Cicero's opponent
Clodius had dedicated Cicero's house in Rome as a shrine toLibertas , and Cicero sought relief on the grounds that Clodius' dedication had violated the Lex Papiria. Clodius' defense apparently was that theLex Clodia de exsilio Ciceronis contained a sufficient authorization for the dedication.See also
*
Roman Law
*List of Roman laws External links
* [http://web.upmf-grenoble.fr/Haiti/Cours/Ak The Roman Law Library, incl. "Leges"]
References
W. Jeffrey Tatum, The Lex Papiria de Dedicationibus, "Classical Philology," Vol. 88, No. 4. (Oct., 1993), pp. 319-328.
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