__NOTOC__ Marcus Cornelius Cethegus (c. 248 BC196 BC) was a Roman Republican

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 ...

and censor during the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of Punic Wars, three wars fought between Ancient Carthage, Carthage and Roman Republic, Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For ...

, best known as a political ally of his kinsman

Scipio Africanus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–) was a Roman general and statesman who was one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Ancient Carthage, Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the greatest milit ...

Political career

He was chosen as

curule A curule seat is a design of a (usually) foldable and transportable chair noted for its uses in Ancient Rome and Europe through to the 20th century. Its status in early Rome as a symbol of political or military power carried over to other civiliza ...

aedile Aedile ( , , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enforce public orde ...

in 213 BC, with his young kinsman

as his colleague (although Scipio was under-age, being only 22 or 23 compared to the usual mid-thirties). He was appointed ''

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 ...

'' to replace the '' pontifex maximus'' Lucius Cornelius Lentulus Caudinus who had died. In 211 BC, as

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 ...

, he was in charge of

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

. In 209 BC, before he had been consul, he was elected censor with

Publius Sempronius Tuditanus Publius Sempronius C.f. Tuditanus (fl. 3rd century BC) was a Roman Republican consul and censor, best known for leading about 600 men to safety at Cannae in August, 216 BC and for the Treaty of Phoenice which ended the First Macedonian War, in 2 ...

. During their censorship, Cethegus disagreed with his colleague about which senator should be elected Princeps Senatus. Tuditanus had the right of choice and chose

Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus (), surnamed Cunctator ( 280 – 203 BC), was a Roman statesman and general of the third century BC. He was Roman consul, consul five times (233, 228, 215, 214, and 209 BC) and was appointed Roman dictator, dict ...

, while Cethegus wanted the most senior censor Titus Manlius Torquatus to be the Princeps Senatus''.'' In 204 BC, he was elected

, possibly to aid his kinsman Scipio, then in Africa. In 203 BC he was

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 ...

in Italia Superior, where, in conjunction with the praetor Publius Quintilius Varus, he gained a hard-won victory over

Mago Barca Mago Barca (; died 202 BC) was a Carthaginian, member of the Barcid family, who played an important role in the Second Punic War, leading forces of Carthage against the Roman Republic in Iberia and northern and central Italy. Mago was the ...

Hannibal Hannibal (; ; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Punic people, Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Ancient Carthage, Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. Hannibal's fat ...

's brother, at the

Battle of Insubria The Battle of Insubria in 203 BC was the culmination of a major war, carried out by the Carthaginian commander Mago, brother of Hannibal Barca, at the end of the Second Punic war between Rome and Carthage in what is now northwestern Italy. Mag ...

, which forced him to retreat from Italy. He died in 196 BC during an epidemic in Rome.

Other roles

He had a great reputation as an

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14 ...

, and is characterised by

Ennius Quintus Ennius (; ) was a writer and poet who lived during the Roman Republic. He is often considered the father of Roman poetry. He was born in the small town of Rudiae, located near modern Lecce (ancient ''Calabria'', today Salento), a town ...

as the quintessence of persuasiveness (''suadae medulla'').

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...

calls him an authority on the use of Latin words.Horace ''Ars Poet.'' 50; ''Epistles'', ii.2.117

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius Cethegus, Marcus 240s BC births Year of birth uncertain 196 BC deaths 3rd-century BC Roman consuls 3rd-century BC Roman praetors 2nd-century BC Romans Curule aediles Marcus Pontifices Ancient Roman censors Roman commanders of the Second Punic War Ancient Roman patricians