Marcus Vitorius Marcellus or Vitorius Marcellus (c. 60after 105) 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 ...

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

who lived in the 1st century and 2nd century. He was a friend of

Quintilian Marcus Fabius Quintilianus (; 35 – 100 AD) was a Roman educator and rhetorician born in Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing. In English translation, he is usually referred to as Quin ...

and the poet

Statius Publius Papinius Statius (Greek language, Greek: Πόπλιος Παπίνιος Στάτιος; , ; ) was a Latin poetry, Latin poet of the 1st century CE. His surviving poetry includes an epic in twelve books, the ''Thebaid (Latin poem), Theb ...

. Marcellus was

suffect consul The consuls were the highest elected public officials of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC). Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum''an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspire ...

for the ''

nundinium Nundinium was a Latin word derived from the word '' nundinum'', which referred to the cycle of days observed by the Romans. During the Roman Empire, ''nundinium'' came to mean the duration of a single consulship among several in a calendar year. ...

'' of September to December 105 with Gaius Caecilius Strabo as his colleague.

Life

The family of Marcellus had their roots in Teate Marrucinorum on the east side of Italy; his father was probably named Gaius Vitorius.Anthony Birley, ''Septimius Severus: The African Emperor'', revised edition (London: Routledge, 1988), p. 18 Marcellus received his education from the famous

rhetoric Rhetoric is the art of persuasion. It is one of the three ancient arts of discourse ( trivium) along with grammar and logic/ dialectic. As an academic discipline within the humanities, rhetoric aims to study the techniques that speakers or w ...

ian,

, who dedicated his ''

Institutio Oratoria ''Institutio Oratoria'' ( English: Institutes of Oratory) is a twelve-volume textbook on the theory and practice of rhetoric by Roman rhetorician Quintilian. It was published around year 95 AD. The work deals also with the foundational education ...

'' to Marcellus, hoping "my treatise seemed likely to be of use for the instruction of your son, whose early age shows his way clear to the full splendor of genius."

Anthony Birley Anthony Richard Birley (8 October 1937 – 19 December 2020) was a British ancient historian, archaeologist and academic. He was one of the leaders of excavations at of the Roman fortress at Vindolanda and also published several books on Roman ...

identifies Lucius Septimius Severus, the grandfather of the emperor

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...

, as one of his classmates.

Ronald Syme Sir Ronald Syme, (11 March 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. He was regarded as the greatest historian of ancient Rome since Theodor Mommsen and the most brilliant exponent of the history of the Roma ...

finds it worthy to note that although

Pliny the Younger Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo; 61 – ), better known in English as Pliny the Younger ( ), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and e ...

was also a student of Quintilian, and the poet Statius knew both Pliny and Marcellus, Marcellus "gets no mention from Pliny, a close coeval (pr. 93), who prosecuted a different kind of career and gained a more rapid advancement through two urban posts."Syme
"Hadrianic Proconsuls of Africa"
''

Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik The (commonly abbreviated ZPE; "Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy") is a peer-reviewed academic journal which contains articles that pertain to papyrology and epigraphy. It has been described as "the world's leading and certainly most prolific ...

'', 37 (1980), p. 5 Statius dedicated his fourth book of ''Silvae'' to Marcellus, and a number of allusions to Marcellus' life appear in the poems collected in that book. Around the years 94 to 96, Marcellus was in Rome and was ''curator viae Latinae'', or overseer of the

Via Latina The Via Latina (Latin for "Latin Road") was a Roman road of Italy, running southeast from Rome for about 200 kilometers. Route It led from the Porta Latina in the Aurelian walls of Rome to the pass of Mount Algidus; it was important in the ea ...

. In ''Silvae'' 4.4.34, Statius writes to Marcellus while he is overseeing road construction, urging Marcellus to stop working during the summer and take a holiday. He states to Marcellus "that excellent qualities will be greater achieved after relaxation". The next possible mention of Marcellus is dated after his consulship. Two inscriptions in North Africa referring to a

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 ...

ar governor Marcellus have been identified with Vitorius Marcellus, and his time as governor dated to 120/121.Syme, "Hadrianic Proconsuls", pp. 4-6;

Werner Eck Werner Eck (born 17 December 1939) is professor of Ancient History at Cologne University, Germany, and a noted expert on the history and epigraphy of imperial Rome.Eck, W. (2007) ''The Age of Augustus''. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, cover notes. Hi ...

concurs in this identification ("Jahres- und Provinzialfasten der senatorischen Statthalter von 69/70 bis 138/139", ''

Chiron In Greek mythology, Chiron ( ; also Cheiron or Kheiron; ) was held to be the superlative centaur amongst his brethren since he was called the "wisest and justest of all the centaurs". Biography Chiron was notable throughout Greek mythology for ...

'', 13 (1983), p. 154) Marcellus married Hosidia, the daughter of the Senator and general Gaius or

Gnaeus Hosidius Geta Gaius or Gnaeus Hosidius Geta ( ; c. 20 – after 95 AD) was a Roman Senator and general who lived in the 1st century. Geta was a praetor some time before 42. In the latter year, commanding a legion, probably the '' Legio IX Hispana'' in the Afr ...

; together they had a son,

Gaius Vitorius Hosidius Geta Gaius Vitorius Hosidius Geta ( ) was a Roman who lived in the 1st century AD and 2nd century AD. Geta was an only son and might have had a sister called Vitoria. His father was Roman consul and senator Marcus Vitorius Marcellus and his mother was ...

Life

References

Further reading