Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus (c. 188 BC – 116 BC/115 BC) was a statesman and general of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

during the second century BC. 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 148 BC,

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 143 BC, the

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 ...

Hispania Citerior Hispania Citerior (English: "Hither Iberia", or "Nearer Iberia") was a Roman province in Hispania during the Roman Republic. It was on the eastern coast of Iberia down to the town of Cartago Nova, today's Cartagena in the autonomous community of ...

in 142 BC and censor in 131 BC. He got his

agnomen An ''agnomen'' (; : ''agnomina''), in the Roman naming convention, was a nickname, just as the ''cognomen'' had been initially. However, the ''cognomina'' eventually became family names, and so ''agnomina'' were needed to distinguish between sim ...

, Macedonicus, for his victory over the Macedonians in the

Fourth Macedonian War The Fourth Macedonian War (150–148 BC) was fought between Macedon, led by the pretender Andriscus, and the Roman Republic. It was the last of the Macedonian Wars, and was the last war to seriously threaten Roman control of Greece until the First ...

Career

Fourth Macedonian War

In 148 BC, as a

, he led Roman troops into victory over Andriscus twice. Andriscus was a self-proclaimed pretender to the

Macedon Macedonia ( ; , ), also called Macedon ( ), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, which later became the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled by the royal ...

ian throne who claimed to be son of

Perseus In Greek mythology, Perseus (, ; Greek language, Greek: Περσεύς, Romanization of Greek, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus and Bellerophon, the greatest Greek hero and slayer of ...

, last king of the Antigonid dynasty. Andriscus had risen against Rome intending to liberate Macedonia with an army recruited from

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 ...

. Under Metellus' authority Macedonia was reduced and made a

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

. For that he was awarded the ''

'' Macedonicus, and since then introduced the ''Clypeus Macedoniccus'' in his family's medals.

Achaean War

In 146 BC, he defeated Critolaos of Megalopolis at the Battle of Scarpheia and the Arcadians at Chaeronea but Metellus was then sent to fight in the

Achaean War The Achaean War of 146 BC was fought between the Roman Republic and the Greek Achaean League, an alliance of Achaean and other Peloponnesian states in ancient Greece. It was the final stage of Rome's conquest of mainland Greece, taking place jus ...

to avenge an insult offered to a Roman

Embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a Sovereign state, state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase ...

Corinth Corinth ( ; , ) is a municipality in Corinthia in Greece. The successor to the ancient Corinth, ancient city of Corinth, it is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Sin ...

. He fought under the command of

Lucius Mummius Achaicus Lucius Mummius (2nd century BC) was a Roman Republic, Roman statesman and general. He was consul in the year 146 BC along with Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus (consul 146 BC), Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus. Mummius was the first of his family to rise to ...

whose ultimate victory in the war against the

Achaean League The Achaean League () was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic-era confederation of polis, Greek city-states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea (ancient region), Achaea in the northwestern Pelopon ...

delayed Macedonicus from celebrating immediately the honours of the Triumph which his success at the battle of Scarpheia merited. On his return to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

he received the honour of a triumph and the

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

. At some point after this, he built the Portico of Metellus () beside the Circus Flaminius in the southern Campus Martius, which contained two temples: one dedicated to Jupiter Stator and one dedicated to Juno. Metellus is generally agreed to have been responsible for the building of the temple to Jupiter; it is disputed whether he also constructed the temple to Juno. These were the first

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

temples in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, and Metellus ornamented them with Lysippus's equestrian statues of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

's generals.

Numantine War

In 143-142 BC, when

, he campaigned against the Celtiberians in central Hispania during the Numantine War, defeating the Arevaci, Lusones, Belli, Titii and the Vaccaei. He did not confront the city of Numantia, which then became the focus of the war and which resisted for ten years.

Politics

In 133 BC, he gave a speech attacking Tiberius Gracchus regarding that tribune's plan to bypass the traditional prerogative of the senate and keep the vast fortune of the recently deceased Attalus III of

Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; ), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greece, ancient Greek city in Aeolis. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north s ...

under the control of the Plebeian Assembly. Attalus had bequeathed his kingdom to the people of Rome. Metellus was elected censor in 131 BC, boldly pledging to halt the growing degradation of Roman custom. In a speech which he delivered at his appointment, he proposed that matrimony was to be mandatory for all

citizens Citizenship is a membership and allegiance to a sovereign state. Though citizenship is often conflated with nationality in today's English-speaking world, international law does not usually use the term ''citizenship'' to refer to nationality; ...

, in order to put an end to the libertine behaviour then already widespread. A century later

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

caused this speech to be read at 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 ...

and published as an edict for the knowledge and regeneration of the Roman People. His moralizing efforts awakened strong popular opposition, led by the

tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the Tribune of the Plebs, tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs ac ...

Gaius Atinius Labeo Macerio whom he had previously expelled from the Senate. He was almost killed by the mob on the Tarpeian Rock. Later there were some disagreements between him and Scipio Aemilianus, but he never lost sight of the merits of this adversary, whose death he mourned, ordering his sons to transport Aemilianus' body to the crematory pyre. Celebrated for his eloquence and his taste for the

Arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...

, he died in 116/115 BC. He was generally respected as the paradigm of the fortunate Roman for from an illustrious birth he united all manner of civil and military honours, and left a large family of four sons, of whom one was then

, two had already been and one would be soon. His two sons-in-law, Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica and Gaius Servilius Vatia would also attain the consulship.

Family

He was the oldest son of Quintus Caecilius Metellus and grandson of Lucius Caecilius Metellus. He was the father of: * Quintus Caecilius Metellus Balearicus *

Lucius Caecilius Metellus Diadematus Lucius Caecilius Metellus Diadematus was the second son of ancient Rome, Roman politician and general Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus. During his Roman consul, consulship in 117 BC he supported the development of Roman roads, roads in Itali ...

* Marcus Caecilius Metellus * Gaius Caecilius Metellus Caprarius * Caecilia Metella, born c. 170 BC, wife of Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica * Caecilia Metella, born c. 170 BC, wife of Gaius Servilius Vatia * Caecilia Metella, wife of Quintus Servilius Caepio

In popular culture

Metellus was played by Gordon Mitchell in the 1961 film '' The Centurion''. "Metellus raising the siege", a painting by Armand-Charles Caraffe, commemorates the legend of Metellus lifting the siege of Centobrigia in 142 BC, in order to spare the lives of innocents.

In-text citation

Sources

UNRV.com
* Stockton, David. ''The Gracchi,'' Oxford University Press, Oxford ENG; 1979.

Attribution

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus, Quintus 180s BC births 110s BC deaths 2nd-century BC Roman augurs 2nd-century BC Roman consuls 2nd-century BC Roman generals 2nd-century BC Roman praetors Macedonicus, Quintus Ancient Roman censors Roman governors of Macedonia Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain