162 Gnosticism Further reading: Dalley, Stephanie Myths from Mesopotamia Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989; Foster, B R “Gilgamesh (1.132).” In William W Hallo, ed The Context of Scripture Leiden, Netherlands: Brill, 1997; Tigay, Jeffrey H The Evolution of the Gilgamesh Epic Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982 Dewayne Bryant Gnosticism See Christian Dualism Gracchi (second century b.c.e.) Roman politicians The brothers Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus (163–133 b.c.e.) and Gaius Sempronius Gracchus (154–121 b.c.e.) were Roman politicians who tried to wrest power from the oligarchy that dominated the Roman Republic Both were to introduce reforms aimed at giving more power to the “common man,” and political enemies killed them both The Gracchi brothers came from one of the noble families of Rome Their great-grandfather Tiberius Gracchus had been consul in 238 b.c.e.; a great-uncle, also called Tiberius Gracchus, was consul in 215 and 213 b.c.e.; and their father, also called Tiberius Gracchus, was consul in 177 and 163 b.c.e In addition, their mother, Cornelia, was the daughter of Publius Scipio “Africanus,” the general who defeated the Carthaginian general Hannibal at the Battle of Zama in 202 b.c.e., ensuring Roman domination of the Mediterranean Sea In a story told by Plutarch, the father of the two Gracchi brothers, an elderly man with a young wife, found two snakes on his bed Seeking advice from priests, he was told that if he killed the male snake, he would die, whereas if he killed the female snake, his wife would die He was not allowed to kill them both or to let them both go free Deeply attached to his wife, the elderly politician killed the male one and died soon afterward, leaving his widow to bring up the 12 children Only three of them survived adolescence—the two brothers Tiberius and Gaius, and a sister, Sempronia Tiberius, the older of the two surviving brothers, was described by his biographer Plutarch as “gentle and composed,” and he spoke in a “decorous tone.” With his background and upbringing it was only natural that he would enter the political scene In order to hold office in the Roman Republic it was obligatory for a man to have served in the army or navy for 10 years Tiberius Gracchus entered the military early and served at Carthage under his cousin Scipio Aemilianus (who was also the husband of his sister, Sempronia) He was then a quaestor in Spain in 137 b.c.e under Gaius Hostilius Mancinus Soon after this Tiberius Gracchus entered Roman politics Tiberius Gracchus, elected tribune in 133 b.c.e., had a political platform by which he would reallocate government land and also enforce an old law that restricted the holding of arable land to a maximum of 500 iugera (about 335 acres) per person There would then be a commission that would confiscate land from people who had holdings in excess of the law and hand it over in small parcels of land to army veterans and other loyal subjects This would increase the agricultural base of the economy, reduce the “drift” of people moving to the cities, and help alleviate any possible food shortages Furthermore, it would massively increase the number of Roman citizens in the countryside dominated by slaves (making a slave revolt a very real concern), and the rural population could also provide sons for Rome’s armies— city dwellers being more reluctant to enlist As this would involve breaking up large estates that had sprung up on government land, the idea was hated by many of the senators whose families owned these estates The idea raised by Gracchus was not entirely new, but he was the first member of the elite to try to push it through and make it law Some have seen this action as a cynical one to entice large numbers of people to vote for him and repopulate with his supporters areas where some of the small tribes lived Others have viewed it as an economic necessity to provide a food supply for a burgeoning city Many writers have hailed it as a process of land reform and referred to Tiberius Gracchus and his brother as protocommunists It was abundantly clear that the Senate would not support any new law that would reduce their landownership, wealth, and power, and opponents of Tiberius Gracchus rallied their forces However, Tiberius offered as a compromise that each child could hold an additional 250 iugera The senators flatly refused to consider this As a result, Tiberius Gracchus decided not to put the matter to the Senate for debate but to put the bill for the new law to a people’s assembly This was not illegal but broke some traditions going back several centuries by which the Senate could deliberate in the same way as U.S congressional committees work The move to take the bill to the People’s Assembly was vetoed by Marcus Octavius, one of the tribunes Tiberius Gracchus then resubmitted it, and Octavius again vetoed it This second veto was unprecedented and went