Plebeian aedile

Aedile (Latin: aedīlis Latin pronunciation: [ae̯ˈdiː.lɪs], from aedes, "temple edifice") was an office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings (aedēs) and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enforce public order.

There were two pairs of aediles: the first were the "plebeian aediles" (Latin aediles plebis) and possession of this office was limited to plebeians; the other two were "curule aediles" (Latin aediles curules), open to both plebeians and patricians, in alternating years. An aedilis curulis was classified as a magister curulis.

The office of the aedilis was generally held by young men intending to follow the cursus honorum to high political office, traditionally after their quaestorship but before their praetorship. It was not a compulsory part of the cursus, and hence a former quaestor could be elected to the praetorship without having held the position of aedile. However, it was an advantageous position to hold because it demonstrated the aspiring politician's commitment to public service, as well as giving him the opportunity to hold public festivals and games, an excellent way to increase his name recognition and popularity.

The plebeian aediles were created in the same year as the Tribunes of the People (494 BC). Originally intended as assistants to the tribunes, they guarded the rights of the plebs with respect to their headquarters, the Temple of Ceres. Subsequently, they assumed responsibility for maintenance of the city's buildings as a whole. Their duties at first were simply ministerial. They were the assistants to the tribunes in whatever matters that the tribunes might entrust to them, although most matters with which they were entrusted were of minimal importance. Around 446 BC, they were given the authority to care for the decrees of the senate (senatus consulta). When a senatus consultum was passed, it would be transcribed into a document, and deposited in the public treasury, the Aerarium. They were given this power because the Roman Consuls, who had held this power before, arbitrarily suppressed and altered the documents. They also maintained the acts of the Plebeian Council (popular assembly), the "plebiscites". Plebiscites, once passed, were also transcribed into a physical document for storage. While their powers grew over time, it is not always easy to distinguish the difference between their powers, and those of the Roman Censors. Occasionally, if a Censor was unable to carry out one of his tasks, an Aedile would perform the task instead.

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