Lucius Caecilius Metellus 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

aristocrat. He was

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 disch ...

in 71 BC. He succeeded

Gaius Verres Gaius Verres ( 114 – 43 BC) was a Roman magistrate, notorious for his misgovernment of Sicily. His extortion of local farmers and plundering of temples led to his prosecution by Cicero, whose accusations were so devastating that his defence advo ...

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

in 70 BC. He died in office as

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 thro ...

in 68 BC. His co-consul was Quintus Marcius Rex.

Family

The Caecilii Metelli were an illustrious family of the Roman republic. They were politically conservative, although members of the

plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians or 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 of the gro ...

gens Caecilia. Lucius' grandfather was

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus (c. 188 BC – 116 BC/115 BC) was a statesman and general of the Roman Republic during the second century BC. He was praetor in 148 BC, consul in 143 BC, the Proconsul of Hispania Citerior in 142 BC an ...

. He was praetor in 148 BC, consul in 143 BC, and censor in 131 BC. He was given the command in

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

, where he defeated

Andriscus Andriscus (, ''Andrískos''; 154/153 BC – 146 BC), also often referenced as Pseudo-Philip, was a Greek pretender who became the last independent king of Macedon in 149 BC as Philip VI (, ''Philipos''), based on his claim of being Philip, a n ...

, a pretender to the throne. He received a triumph and the

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; : ''cognomina''; from ''co-'' "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 hereditar ...

'Macedonicus' for his victory. He was an opponent of

Tiberius Gracchus Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus (; 163 – 133 BC) was a Roman politician best known for his agrarian reform law entailing the transfer of land from the Roman state and wealthy landowners to poorer citizens. He had also served in the ...

and

Gaius Gracchus Gaius Sempronius Gracchus ( – 121 BC) was a reformist Roman politician and soldier who lived during the 2nd century BC. He is most famous for his tribunate for the years 123 and 122 BC, in which he proposed a wide set of laws, i ...

.Salazar, Christine F. ''Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopedia of the Ancient World Vol 2.'' Boston: Brill Leiden. 2003. 874-879. Lucius' father was

Gaius Caecilius Metellus Caprarius Gaius Caecilius Metellus Caprarius (born c. 160 BC) was a consul of the Roman Republic in 113 BC with Gnaeus Papirius Carbo. He served under Scipio Aemilianus in Numantia around 133 BC. He was praetor in 117 BC. His proconsulship in Thrace in 112 ...

, Macedonicus' youngest son. Caprarius fought under

Scipio Aemilianus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (185 BC – 129 BC), known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a Roman general and statesman noted for his military exploits in the Third Punic War against Carthage and durin ...

Numantia Numantia () is an ancient Celtiberian settlement, whose remains are located on a hill known as Cerro de la Muela in the current municipality of Garray ( Soria), Spain. Numantia is famous for its role in the Celtiberian Wars. In 153 BC, Num ...

. He was praetor in 117 BC, consul in 113 BC, and fought as

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a Roman consul, consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military ...

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

in 112 BC. He triumphed for his victory in

in 111 BC. He was censor in 102 BC. Lucius had two brothers. One was

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus (c. 114 BC – late 50s BC) was a politically active member of the Roman upper class. He was praetor in 74 BC and pontifex from 73 BC until his death. He was consul in 69 BC along with Quintus Hortensius Hortal ...

. Creticus was

in 74 BC, consul in 69 BC, and

pontifex In Roman antiquity, a pontiff () was a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs."Pontifex". "Oxford English Dictionary", March 2007 The term ''pontiff'' was later applied to any hi ...

from 73 until his death in the late 50s BC. He was given the

ar command against

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

during his consulship. He subjugated the island and triumphed for his victory in 62 BC. He was an opponent of

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey ( ) or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman who was prominent in the last decades of the Roman Republic. ...

. Lucius' other brother was Marcus Caecilius Metellus. He was praetor and president of the extortion court in 69 BC. Lucius' sister, Caecilia Metella, was married to Gaius Verres. Verres was governor of Sicily from 73 to 71 BC and the defendant on trial in

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

's speech '' Against Verres I.''

Role in Verres' trial

In Cicero's '' Against Verres'',

is the prosecuting attorney on behalf of the island of Sicily. They were prosecuting Verres for moral corruption, bribery, theft, and killing Roman citizens without a trial, something forbidden by

Roman law Roman law is the law, legal system of ancient Rome, including the legal developments spanning over a thousand years of jurisprudence, from the Twelve Tables (), to the (AD 529) ordered by Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I. Roman law also den ...

. The trial took place in late 70 BC. Lucius's family supported Verres, and were well-positioned to support him: Lucius was Governor of Sicily when the trial took place, his elder brother, Creticus, was to be consul in 69 BC along with fellow Verres supporter

Quintus Hortensius Hortalus Quintus Hortensius Hortalus (114–50 BC) was a Roman lawyer, an orator and a statesman. Politically he belonged to the Optimates. He was consul in 69 BC alongside Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus. His nickname was ''Dionysia'', after a famo ...

, and Marcus, the youngest brother, was to be president of the extortion court in 69 BC. Because of this, Verres unsuccessfully tried to put off the trial until 69 BC, when the Caecilii Metelli and Hortensius would have the power to gain his acquittal.

References

*Broughton, T. Robert. ''Magistrates of the Roman Republic Vol. 2.'' New York: American Philological Association. 1952. 71, 122, 137. *Salazar, Christine F. ''Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopedia of the Ancient World Vol 2.'' Boston: Brill Leiden. 2003. 874–879. {{DEFAULTSORT:Caecilius Metellus, Lucius (consul 686 AUC) 2nd-century BC births 68 BC deaths 1st-century BC Roman consuls Lucius (consul 686 AUC) Caecilius Metellus, Lucius (686 AUC) Roman Republican praetors

Family

Role in Verres' trial

See also

References