The following study provides a comprehensive survey on suicide during the Roman Republic with implications on the differences between Roman values and moral thinking on a pragmatic level as opposed to the theoretical level. The need for this study stems from the current state of scholarship on the subject and the methodologies employed. By compiling potential suicides indiscriminately or focusing exclusively on literary portrayals, scholars have advanced certain fundamental misconceptions that now dominate modern understandings of Roman suicide and its cultural significance.

This project relies on the creation and analysis of what amounts to the first comprehensive compilation of historically attested suicides during the Republican period from 264--30 BCE. This catalogue differentiates itself from other collations through a grounding in empirical evidence, thoroughness in providing all relevant accounts, and consideration of context.

This methodology has produced significant new findings. Contrary to recent theories, it becomes clear that Roman self-killing was not an expected response to shame or loss of honor due to conspicuous political or military failings. The evidence shows that suicide was much more often a personal decision reached through a rough pattern of weighing up costs and incentives based on circumstances rather than an act undertaken in accordance with societal norms.

Research shows a close connection between the emergence of civil conflict and Roman suicide. Civil strife essentially alters the standard rules in armed conflict, impacting both the perspectives and the behavior of the participants. This proves a significant dynamic for Roman suicide: Romans had a noteworthy history of violent precedents leading to a reluctance of falling into the hands of domestic enemies, which in turn contributed greatly to increased suicide rates among aristocrats.

This increase and Cato's landmark suicide caused suicide to acquire a prominent position in the communal discourse. As a result, the act began assuming a new cultural position by the Republic's final years. Suicide gained a greater capacity to be ennobling, symbolic, or to provide some commentary on an agent's character or cause. These conclusions reinforce a fundamental point that has been overlooked: Roman suicide had a traceable history and evolved over time.