Gaius Lutatius Catulus ( 242–241 BC) was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

statesman and naval commander in the

First Punic War The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of Punic Wars, three wars fought between Roman Republic, Rome and Ancient Carthage, Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years ...

. He was born a member of the

plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins ...

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; plural: ''gentes'' ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same nomen and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a ''stirps'' (plural: ''stirpes''). The ''gen ...

Lutatius The gens Lutatia, occasionally written Luctatia, was a plebeian family of ancient Rome. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship was Gaius Lutatius Catulus in 242 BC, the final year of the First Punic War. Orosius mentions their burial pl ...

. His

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became here ...

"Catulus" means "puppy". There are no historical records of his life prior to consulship, but his career probably followed the standard

cursus honorum The ''cursus honorum'' (; , or more colloquially 'ladder of offices') was the sequential order of public offices held by aspiring politicians in the Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire. It was designed for men of senatorial rank. The ''c ...

, beginning with service in the

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry in ...

and continuing with the positions of

military tribune A military tribune (Latin ''tribunus militum'', "tribune of the soldiers") was an officer of the Roman army who ranked below the legate and above the centurion. Young men of Equestrian rank often served as military tribune as a stepping stone ...

and

quaestor A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...

. He was elected as a

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

in 242 BC, a ''

novus homo ''Novus homo'' or ''homo novus'' ( Latin for 'new man'; ''novi homines'' or ''homines novi'') was the term in ancient Rome for a man who was the first in his family to serve in the Roman Senate or, more specifically, to be elected as consul. W ...

''. His colleague as consul was Aulus Postumius Albinus. In addition to the consulship Postumius held the position of

Flamen Martialis In ancient Roman religion, the Flamen Martialis was the high priest of the official state cult of Mars, the god of war. He was one of the '' flamines maiores'', the three high priests who were the most important of the fifteen flamens. The Flamen ...

, and for this reason the pontifex maximus Lucius Caecilius Metellus forbade him from leaving the city. Lutatius was therefore the only candidate for commanding the war in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. The

senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

appointed the

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vari ...

Quintus Valerius Falto as his second-in-command. This was somewhat of a novelty, since a second praetorship was created only a few years earlier, thereby allowing one of the praetors to leave Rome. Typically the two consuls shared the command of the army. Upon assuming command Lutatius and Valerius embarked for Sicily. Lutatius had the command of both legions and a new fleet. This fleet was funded by donations from wealthy citizens as the prolonged war had left the public treasury virtually empty. The degree to which Lutatius was involved with the construction of the fleet is unknown. No decisive action in the war was taken in 242 BC. His brother, Quintus Lutatius Cerco, was elected consul in the following year (and censor in 236 BC), but Lutatius and Valerius were granted proconsulship and propraetorship, respectively, allowing them to continue leading the military efforts against

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

. In 241 BC Carthage sent a large fleet commanded by an admiral called Hanno to Sicily with dual purpose of regaining naval supremacy and resupplying their besieged garrisons in Sicily. A wound prevented Lutatius from commanding the fleet in the ensuing

Battle of the Aegates The Battle of the Aegates was a naval battle fought on 10 March 241 BC between the fleets of Carthage and Rome during the First Punic War. It took place among the Aegates Islands, off the western coast of the island of Sicily. The Carthagin ...

personally, and so the command passed to Valerius. The battle ended in decisive Roman victory. Carthage, unable to fund a replacement fleet, was forced to negotiate a peace treaty favorable to the Romans with Lutatius. Both Lutatius and Valerius were awarded a triumph by the

. To celebrate his victory, Lutatius built a temple to Juturna in

Campus Martius The Campus Martius (Latin for the "Field of Mars", Italian ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which cove ...

, in the area currently known as Largo di Torre Argentina. There is no historical record of his subsequent life or career. Gaius Lutatius Catulus is also the main character of Finnish writer Jukka M. Heikkilä's book ''Merikonsuli'' ("The Marine Consul").

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lutatius Catulus, Gaius consul 512 AUC 3rd-century BC Roman consuls Ancient Roman admirals Ancient Roman generals Catulus, Gaius consul 512 AUC Roman commanders of the First Punic War