In the Roman world, reputation and character were powerful concepts. A person could be brought to prominence or reduced to infamy through his reputation alone. Some have attempted to cultivate their image to suit their own purposes, while others have seen theirs ruined by detractors. After the discovery of the conspiracy, the alleged participants could be punished with the Damnatio memoriae, deemed unworthy of remembrance. However, due to the practical difficulties of this and the importance of remembering conspiracies, it was more likely that a conspirator would instead slander his reputation and remove any posthumous honors. Thus their names would remain in the documentation, but they would serve as examples for any other potential conspirators. The stories of Catiline, Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, and Messalina have all been preserved, but they gained ignominious reputations among their contemporaries and among historians. treated as guilty by many of his contemporaries and by later historical sources. It does not appear that any attempt was made to erase Catiline from memory; its story is instead told in detail by both Cicero and Sallust. Sallust described Catiline as having some good qualities that inspired others to follow him, such as physical strength and eloquence, but that he was ultimately depraved (Sallust 5). For Sallust Catiline represented the moral decay that struck Rome; he was able to surround himself with criminals and reprobates because Rome was already corrupt (Sallust 6, 14). He accused him of corrupting the youth and reported the belief that he had killed his stepson (Sallustius......middle of paper......Those powerful enough to avoid or reject any accusation may still be criticized posthumously by historians. The trials of Maiesta have shown the power of reputations; based on them and the accusation of an informant, a person could lose his life. The concept of Damnatio memoriae poses a problem for the historian if there were conspirators whose legacies were successfully erased. , but it would be difficult to find out. If instead the Damnatio memoriae were applied more to take away the honors and ruin the reputation of a conspirator, as this essay postulates, it might be difficult to ascertain the true character of the person and the facts that actually happened. However, with the evidence and existing analytical tools, it is clear that a person's reputation, character, and legacy had great significance to the Romans and influenced the stories of the period..