The Caecilii Metelli were one of the most important families of the late
Roman Republic. They rose to prominence in the beginning of the third century, with the
consulship
A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...
of
Lucius Caecilius Metellus Denter
Lucius Caecilius Metellus Denter was consul in 284 BC, and praetor the year after. In this capacity, he fell in the war against the Senones and was succeeded by Manius Curius Dentatus.
Fischer, in his ''Römische Zeittafeln'', has him as praeto ...
in 284 BC. It was however
Quintus Caecilius Metellus, consul in 143, who greatly improved the prestige of the family, notably thanks to his victory during the
Fourth Macedonian War, for which he received the ''
agnomen
An ''agnomen'' (; plural: ''agnomina''), in the Roman naming convention, was a nickname, just as the '' cognomen'' was initially. However, the ''cognomina'' eventually became family names, so ''agnomina'' were needed to distinguish between sim ...
'' Macedonicus. His descendants and those of his younger brother
Lucius
Lucius ( el, Λούκιος ''Loukios''; ett, Luvcie) is a male given name derived from '' Lucius'' (abbreviated ''L.''), one of the small group of common Latin forenames ('' praenomina'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius derives from ...
received an astonishing number of magistracies during the last century of the Republic.
As the most powerful family in Roman politics, the Metelli distinguished themselves by their unwavering support of the
Optimates, the conservative faction that opposed the social reforms advocated by the
Populares. Their defeat during the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policie ...
against
Julius Caesar abruptly ended their influence.
''Stemma''
The overall structure of the ''stemma'' is taken from the one drawn by
Münzer in the ''
Realencyclopädie'', which has recently been reproduced by Karl-J. Hölkeskamp''.''
T. P. Wiseman
Timothy Peter Wiseman (born 3 February 1940), who usually publishes as T. P. Wiseman and is named as Peter Wiseman in other sources, is a classical scholar and professor emeritus of the University of Exeter. He has published numerous books ...
made some important corrections in two articles on the descendants of Balearicus and the later Metelli, which have been included.
[Wiseman, "Last of the Metelli" & "Celer and Nepos".]
The ''nomen'' Caecilius is omitted for all the men named Metellus. All dates are BC, except stated otherwise. Numbers in brackets indicates the order of marriages. Dotted lines show adoptions.
References
Bibliography
*
T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', American Philological Association, 1952–1960.
*
August Pauly
August Friedrich von Pauly (; ; 9 May 1796, in Benningen am Neckar – 2 May 1845, in Stuttgart) was a German educator and classical philologist.
From 1813 to 1818 he studied at the University of Tübingen, then furthered his education at Heid ...
,
Georg Wissowa
Georg Otto August Wissowa (17 June 1859 – 11 May 1931) was a German classical philologist born in Neudorf, near Breslau.
Education and career
Wissowa studied classical philology under August Reifferscheid at the University of Bresla ...
,
Friedrich Münzer, ''et alii'', ''
Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft'' (abbreviated ''PW''), J. B. Metzler, Stuttgart, 1894–1980.
*
Christopher Smith, Kaj Sandberg (editors), ''Omnium Annalium Monumenta: Historical Writing and Historical Evidence in Republican Rome'', Leiden & Boston, Brill, 2017.
*
T. P. Wiseman
Timothy Peter Wiseman (born 3 February 1940), who usually publishes as T. P. Wiseman and is named as Peter Wiseman in other sources, is a classical scholar and professor emeritus of the University of Exeter. He has published numerous books ...
,
The Last of the Metelli, ''Latomus'', T. 24, Fasc. 1 (Jan. 1965), pp. 52–61.
* ——,
Celer and Nepos, ''
The Classical Quarterly
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
'', 2, Vol. 21, No. 1 (May, 1971), pp. 180–182.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caecilii Metelli Family Tree
Ancient Roman family trees
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