Milo was an ally of
Pompey and of the
Optimates. He organized bands of armed slaves, hired thugs and gladiators in opposition to Clodius, who supported Pompey's rival,
Julius Caesar, and the
Populares. The two opposing factions clashed in the streets of Rome between 57 BC and 52 BC.
Cursus honorum Milo was
tribune of the plebs in 57 BC. He took a prominent role in recalling Cicero from exile after Clodius had arranged for his exile the previous year. In 56 BC, Milo was charged with illegal violence by Clodius. He was defended by Cicero and Pompey (among others). The trial led to riots between Milo's and Clodius's supporters in the
Forum. Pompey's opponents supported Clodius; they wanted to weaken Pompey. Eventually, Milo was acquitted. On 23 January 57 BC, Clodius tried to use a force of gladiators to block a move to recall Cicero from exile, but Milo arrested Clodius' gladiators. Milo was subsequently attacked by Clodius' gangs. Milo attempted to prosecute Clodius for carrying out this violence but was unsuccessful. Later that year he tried to prosecute Clodius again, but Clodius escaped by being elected aedile in 56 BC and so was immune from prosecution. Milo became
praetor in 54 BC, and in that year, he married
Fausta Cornelia, daughter of the
dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla, and the ex-wife of
Gaius Memmius. In 53 BC, Milo made a bid for one of the
consulships of the following year (he ran against
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Scipio and
Publius Plautius Hypsaeus, nominees of
Pompey, who were running together) while Clodius was standing for the praetorship. Milo was a strong candidate for he had won popular support through largesse and the promotion of extravagant games, and he enjoyed the support of the Optimates. Pompey, however, gave his support to Milo's opponents. Plautius was an old
quaestor of his and Scipio was his father-in-law. Meanwhile, Clodius feared he would achieve little as praetor if Milo were to become consul. Milo's and Clodius's supporters clashed in the streets of Rome leading to a breakdown of order. The elections were declared void because of the excessive use of the tribunes' vetoes which meant that 52 BC began with an interregnum.
Death of Clodius On 18 January 52 BC, Milo and Clodius, each with an armed retinue, met on the
Appian Way near
Bovillae. Milo was on his way to
Lanuvium to appoint a priest. Conflicting stories claim that Clodius was either peacefully heading to Rome after receiving news a friend had died or lying in wait for Milo. Whatever the reason, a scuffle led to a fight between the two parties, with Clodius being wounded by one of Milo's men (an ex-gladiator called Birria). Clodius fled to an inn, from which he was extracted on Milo's orders and murdered.
Trial The followers of Clodius carried his body to the Senate House, the
Curia Hostilia, and set fire to it. Milo returned to Rome and, with the aid of the tribune
Marcus Caelius Rufus, he tried to swing popular opinion round to his side again. On 22 January Milo tried to obtain an interview with Pompey at his house on the Pincian, apparently with a positive suggestion to improve the situation by withdrawing his candidature. Pompey refused to even see him. The Senate took action and passed the
consultum ultimum (the ultimate decree), urging the
interrex, the tribunes and Pompey to take steps to protect the Republic. In the ensuing unrest, the Senate called on Pompey to become sole consul. He levied troops and set about restoring order, partly by force but also by the legal means now at his disposal. He passed a law regarding both electoral bribery and violence and charged Milo under the new law. Pompey's actions may have been designed to placate Clodius's supporters, who would not be soothed even after they had set fire to the Curia. Pompey hand-picked Milo's jury, and the presiding magistrate,
Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, was Pompey's client. Milo was defended by
Marcus Tullius Cicero,
Marcus Caelius Rufus and Marcus Marcellus. Under Pompey's new procedural rules, the trial should have lasted five days, with the summing up for the defence and the verdict on the fifth day. However, on the first day, Gaius Causinius Schola appeared as a witness against Milo and described the deed in such a way as to portray Milo as a cold-blooded murderer. That worked up the Clodian crowd, who, in turn, terrified the advocate on Milo's side, Marcus Marcellus. As he began his questioning of the witnesses, the Clodian crowd drowned out his voice and surrounded him. On subsequent days, Pompey brought in armed men to keep order. On the final day of the trial, Cicero was to give a closing speech to try to prevent Milo from being condemned. Instead, he broke down after he was intimidated by the Clodian mob and either did not finish or did not present the speech well and in the style for which he was renowned. Milo was convicted by 38 votes to 13. ==Exile==