''Amicitia'' is the
Latin for friendship, either between individuals, between the state and an individual or between states. It was "a technical term of Roman political life" from the 2nd century BC, when, according to
Seneca, it was introduced by the ''
Populares
Optimates (; Latin for "best ones", ) and populares (; Latin for "supporters of the people", ) are labels applied to politicians, political groups, traditions, strategies, or ideologies in the late Roman Republic. There is "heated academic dis ...
''
Gaius Gracchus and
Marcus Livius Drusus, who thereby ranked their ''
clientes''. The
clients and allies of the
Roman state were called ''amici populi Romani'' (friends of the Roman people) and listed on the ''tabula amicorum'' (table of friends). Such ''amicitia'' did not involve treaties or reciprocal obligations. Although ''amicitia'' between individuals was ideally genuine friendship marked by mutual fondness, in practice it was often mere political alliance. Forming and breaking bonds of ''amicitia'' was thus highly formal. The ''amici Augusti'' (friends of Augustus) formed the court in
imperial times.
[Howard Hayes Scullard and Andrew William Lintott, "Amicitia", in ''The Oxford Classical Dictionary'', 4th ed. (Oxford University Press, 2012).]
See also
*
Cicero, ''
Laelius de amicitia''
References
{{reflist
Society of ancient Rome
Foreign relations of ancient Rome