Mors Repentina and the Roman Art of Dying

Sudden death features rarely in the ancient sources: the Elder Pliny and Suetonius supply the most detailed testimonials. Most discussions of dying are philosophical in tone and promote an image of “prepared” death which considerably influenced the later Christian tradition. Five aspects of a Roman art of dying emerge, elements of which are paralleled in a more pragmatic sixth, the will. The sudden deaths in Pliny and Suetonius, however, may indicate a popular tradition in which absence of pain or fear overrode preparation. Closer examination of two of these suggests that features of both traditions might be combined to produce the “ideal” death.