Quintus Catius was an officer (''

legatus A legate (Latin: , ) was a high-ranking Roman military officer in the Roman army, equivalent to a high-ranking general officer of modern times. Initially used to delegate power, the term became formalised under Augustus as the officer in comman ...

'') 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 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 ...

. Catius was

plebeian 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 ...

with Lucius Porcius Licinius in 210 BC. Using money collected through fines, they dedicated bronze statues at the Temple of Ceres and presented games (''

ludi ''Ludi'' (Latin:games; plural of "ludus") were public games held for the benefit and entertainment of the Roman people (''populus Romanus''). ''Ludi'' were held in conjunction with, or sometimes as the major feature of, Roman religious festiv ...

'') that the Augustan historian

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

says were quite magnificent for their time. In 207 BC, Catius was left in charge of the Roman camp at

Canusium Canosa di Puglia, generally known simply as Canosa (), is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani, Apulia, southern Italy. It is located between Bari and Foggia, on the northwestern edge of the plateau of the Altopiano dell ...

when his commanding officer Gaius Claudius Tiberius Nero joined

consular A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

colleague

Marcus Livius Salinator Marcus Livius Salinator (254 – c. 191 BC) was a Roman general and politician who fought in the Second Punic War, most notably during the Battle of the Metaurus. Born in 254 BC, Livius was elected consul of the Roman Republic with Lucius Aemiliu ...

to fight against Hasdrubal. Nero's move was virtually unprecedented; a consul was to fight only within his own ''

provincia A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provin ...

'' with the troops assigned to him by 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 ...

, but Nero thought the circumstances justified extreme measures which also gave him an element of surprise. Catius was left to face off against

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 ...

, who decided to stay put. This delegation of authority anticipated a highly controversial case two years later concerning an egregious exercise of ''

imperium In ancient Rome, ''imperium'' was a form of authority held by a citizen to control a military or governmental entity. It is distinct from '' auctoritas'' and '' potestas'', different and generally inferior types of power in the Roman Republic a ...

'' under

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 ...

by his legate

Quintus Pleminius Quintus Pleminius was a propraetor (''legatus pro praetore'') in 205 BC. He was given command over Locri in Bruttium by Scipio Africanus after its recapture, considered the "outstanding event" in Sicilian operations that year. His governorship, ...

; Catius, by contrast, had benefitted from the nearby support of the experienced and respected Fulvius Flaccus, a four-time consul. 721-Grece

In 205, Catius and

Marcus Pomponius Matho Marcus Pomponius Matho was a Roman politician in the third century BC.Titus Livius, XXIX, 38, 17Zonaras, VIII, 18Tassilo Schmitt, The New Pauly's Encyclopedia of Classical Antiquity, Vol.10 p.121 Career Matho himself was consul in 231 BC, togethe ...

, who would later become 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 disch ...

in charge of the investigation against Pleminius, were sent as Rome's ambassadors to

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), was an ancient sacred precinct and the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient Classical antiquity, classical world. The A ...

with gifts to dedicate at the temple. These included a 200-pound gold crown and images (''simulacra'') of the spoils seized from Hasdrubal, amounting to 1,000 pounds of silver. This embassy occurred in the context of what Livy characterizes as a sudden attack of religiosity at Rome, which in addition to a consultation with the

Sibylline books The ''Sibylline Books'' () were a collection of oracular utterances, set out in Greek hexameter verses, that, according to tradition, were purchased from a sibyl by the last king of Rome, Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, and consulted at momentous cri ...

resulted most famously in the importation of the

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

Cybele Cybele ( ; Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya, Kubeleya'' "Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian: ''Kuvava''; ''Kybélē'', ''Kybēbē'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible forerunner in the earliest ...

to Rome. Catius and Matho received favorable omens when they sacrificed to

Pythian Apollo Apollo is one of the Olympian deities in ancient Greek and Roman religion and Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, music and dance, truth and prophecy, healing and diseases, the Sun and light, poe ...

at Delphi. The question posed by the Roman ambassadors goes unrecorded, but the oracle responded with what was probably already a safe prediction: "The

Roman people The Roman people was the ethnicity and the body of Roman citizens (; ) during the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire. This concept underwent considerable changes throughout the long history of the Roman civilisation, as i ...

will soon have a victory much greater than that from whose spoils you have brought gifts." This was taken as confirmation of Scipio's desire to operate in Africa.Joseph Eddy Fontenrose, ''The Delphic Oracle, Its Responses and Operations, with a Catalogue of Responses'' (University of California Press, 1978), p. 345, noting that Livy's source may be the historian Fabius Pictor. The Catii were an obscure family; the only other member to attain prominence during the Republic was Gaius Catius Vestinus, a

military tribune A military tribune () 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 tribunes as a stepping stone to the Senate. The should not be confused with the ...

in 43 BC under

Marcus Antonius Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catius, Quintus 3rd-century BC Romans 3rd-century BC diplomats Ancient Roman diplomats

Quintus Quintus is a male given name derived from ''Quintus (praenomen), Quintus'', a common Latin language, Latin forename (''praenomen'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Quintus derives from Latin word ''quintus'', meaning "fifth". Quintus is ...

Plebeian aediles Roman legates

See also

References