The Caecilii Metelli in the Roman Republic
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Brigham Young University BYU ScholarsArchive Theses and Dissertations 2011-03-11 From Obsurity to Fame and Back Again: The Caecilii Metelli in the Roman Republic Dustin Wade Simmons Brigham Young University - Provo Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd Part of the Classics Commons, and the Comparative Literature Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Simmons, Dustin Wade, "From Obsurity to Fame and Back Again: The Caecilii Metelli in the Roman Republic" (2011). Theses and Dissertations. 2503. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/2503 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. From Obscurity to Fame and Back Again: The Caecilii Metelli in the Roman Republic Dustin Wade Simmons A thesis submitted to the faculty of Brigham Young University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Cecilia M. Peek, chair Eric D. Huntsman Roger T. Macfarlane Department of Humanities, Classics, Comparative Literature Brigham Young University April 2011 Copyright © 2011 Dustin Wade Simmons All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT From Obscurity to Fame and Back Again: The Caecilii Metelli in the Roman Republic Dustin Wade Simmons Department of Humanities, Classics, Comparative Literature, BYU Master of Arts The house of the Caecilii Metelli was one of ancient Rome’s most prestigious yet overshadowed plebeian families. Replete with dynamic orators, successful generals, and charismatic women, the Caecilii Metelli lived during the period of Rome’s great expansion. Having participated in its transformation into the principal power in the Mediterranean, they survived until the fall of the Republic. By contemporary Roman standards they were a powerful and respected family. Seventeen consulships, nine triumphs, nine members of priestly colleges—including three who became pontifex maximus—and five censors are evidence of their high position in Rome. The trappings of magisterial office and military decorations notwithstanding, the Caecilii Metelli were nevertheless often overshadowed on the stage of Roman politics by stronger personalities and did not receive substantial attention in the ancient sources. This study seeks to understand the political connections and activities of the Caecilii Metelli in Republican Rome. While attention must be given to the appropriate social and historical contexts, the focus must always remain on the individuals and their interactions with each other. Each generation of the Metellan family was involved in varying degrees in the political processes of the time. A deeper understanding of the role of the Metelli in these processes shows that the Metelli can be understood as a family of outsiders who successfully attempted to make their presence felt in Roman politics, but were ultimately doomed to fail in the collapse of the Republic. They can serve as a paradigm for understanding the struggles of aristocratic families to maintain power and influence throughout the Roman Republic. Keywords: Caecilius Metellus, prosopography, Republican Rome, Roman politics ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis began in the fall of 2007 in a senior seminar on piracy in the ancient Mediterranean taught by Dr. Stephen Bay, when I was randomly assigned to give a report on Metellus Creticus. Almost immediately I was intrigued by the Caecilii Metelli and that interest has continued to this day. I must thank Brigham Young University for the financial support I have received, particularly in the form of an undergraduate Office of Research and Creative Activities grant and a Graduate Research Fellowship Award. Thanks are due to my committee chair, Dr. Cecilia M. Peek for her efforts to read this work in its various stages. Few will truly know of her sacrifices, and I am grateful. Dr. Roger Macfarlane’s confidence in me throughout this process was encouraging and most welcome. Special thanks must go to my friend and mentor Dr. Eric Hunstman, who has taught me more than anyone about ancient history and how to study it effectively and apply its lessons. I count myself lucky to have been his student and now his friend. My parents and siblings have been enthusiastically supportive of my efforts and no amount of thanks is sufficient for the time they spent listening to me excitedly recount things they cared nothing about. My wife Rachelle and three children Aidan, Matty, and Cami have been the most supportive of all, but are happier than anyone that this project has reached its end. Now there will be even more time for sword-fights, wrestling, and other adventures. They are a continual reminder of what is most important and have taught me how to appreciate the finer things in life, which are usually quiet and fleeting moments together. Finally, I must give thanks to Almighty God, who has sustained and blessed me and my family far beyond what we have merited. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABBREVIATIONS .............................................................................................................................. v PREFACE: RECONSTRUCTING ROMAN REPUBLICAN POLITICS ........................................................ vii CHAPTER 1 (ORIGINS–200 B.C.): LUCIUS METELLUS & THE FOUNDATIONS OF GREATNESS. ......... 1 CHAPTER 2 (200–121 B.C.): METELLUS MACEDONICUS AND THE RISE TO PROMINENCE ............. 54 CHAPTER 3 (120–100 B.C.): DOMINANCE AND METELLUS NUMIDICUS ........................................ 87 CHAPTER 4 (100–46 B.C.): RESURGENCE AND FINAL DESCENT—PIUS AND SCIPIO .................... 121 CONCLUSION: THE METELLI AFTER THAPSUS .............................................................................. 182 APPENDIX 1: CURSUS HONORUM FOR MEMBERS OF THE METELLAN FAMILY ............................. 186 APPENDIX 2: MAGISTRACIES AND OFFICES OF THE METELLI ....................................................... 209 APPENDIX 3: FAMILY STEMMATA ................................................................................................ 229 APPENDIX 4: CHRONOLOGY OF ROMAN HISTORY SHOWING METELLAN INVOLVEMENT ............. 239 APPENDIX 5: PROSOPOGRAPHY AND THE CAECILII METELLI ....................................................... 247 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................ 252 iv ABBREVIATIONS References to Classical sources are those used in the Oxford Latin Dictionary and the Oxford Classical Dictionary, revised third edition. Scholarly journals are referenced in accordance with l’Année Philologique; book titles are given in full in the bibliography. Other standard abbreviations are as follows: AHRW Scullard, H.H. A History of the Roman World, 753–146 B.C. 4th ed. New York: Routledge, 1980. CIL Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. Edited by T. Mommsen et al. Berlin, 1863–. FC Badian, E. Foreign Clientelae, 264–70 B.C. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1984. FS Rüpke, Jörg. Fasti Sacerdotum: A Prosopography of Pagan, Jewish, and Christian Religious Official in the City of Rome, 300 B.C. to A.D. 499. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008. GN Scullard, H.H. From the Gracchi to Nero: A History of Rome, 133 BC–AD 68. 5th ed. New York: Routledge, 1996. IG Inscriptiones Graecae. Berlin, 1873–. IGRR R. Cagnat et al. Inscriptiones Graecae ad re Romanas pertinentes. 4 volumes. Paris, 1911–27. ILLRP A. Degrassi. Inscriptiones Latinae Liberae Rei Publicae. 2 volumes. Florence: La Nuova Italia, 1957–63. ILS Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae. 3 volumes in 5 parts. Berlin, 1892–1916. v LGRR Gruen, E.S. The Last Generation of the Roman Republic. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1974. ORF Oratorum Romanorum Fragmenta Liberae Rei Publicae. Edited by Enrica Malcovati. Aug. Taurinorum: In Aedibus I.B. Paraviae, 1967. PPAC Taylor, L.R. Party Politics in the Age of Caesar. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1949. RAPF Münzer, Friedrich. Roman Aristocratic Parties and Families. Trans. Thérèse Ridley. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1999. RE Pauly-Wissowa-Kroll. Real-Encyclopädie der klassischen Altertumswissenschaft. Stuttgart, 1893–. RP Scullard, H.H. Roman Politics, 220–150 B.C. 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1973 RPCC Gruen, E.S. Roman Politics and the Criminal Courts, 149–78 B.C. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1968. RR Syme, Ronald. The Roman Revolution. Revised ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. SIG W. Dittenberger. Sylloge inscriptionum graecarum. Leipzig, 1915–1924. VDRR Taylor, L.R. The Voting Districts of the Roman Republic. Rome: American Academy in Rome, 1960. vi Preface RECONSTRUCTING ROMAN REPUBLICAN POLITICS Between the consular bookends (284–46) of the family’s history, Rome’s power and empire expanded greatly to include all of Italy, a vast portion of Europe, and a large portion of North Africa and the Near East.1 The Caecilii Metelli, as part of Rome’s governing class, played a role in the decisions of empire that facilitated this growth and the ensuing issues and problems. The family appears in the historical record suddenly in the generation before the First Punic War, rose to prominence in the aftermath of the political turmoil centered on the Gracchi, and then died out during the bloodshed of the civil wars that finally destroyed the Republic. Several members of the Metellan family held the most important and influential religious posts