Quintus Poppaeus Q. f. Q. n. Secundus was consul ''suffectus'' in AD 9, and one of the authors of the ''

lex Papia Poppaea The ''Lex Papia et Poppaea'', also referred to as the ''Lex Iulia et Papia'', was a Roman law introduced in 9 AD to encourage and strengthen marriage. It included provisions against adultery and against celibacy after a certain age and compleme ...

''.

Background

Secundus was descended from a respectable, if undistinguished

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 ...

family. His father and grandfather were also named ''Quintus'', and from their shared

filiation Filiation is the legal term for the recognized legal status of the relationship between family members, or more specifically the legal relationship between parent and child. As described by the Government of Quebec: Filiation is the relationship ...

we know that Secundus was the brother of

Gaius Poppaeus Sabinus Gaius Poppaeus Sabinus was a Ancient Rome, Roman Roman senate, senator (died AD 35), who served as Roman consul, consul in AD 9 with Quintus Sulpicius Camerinus as his colleague. He enjoyed the friendship of the Roman Emperor, Emperors Augustus an ...

, consul ''ordinarius'' in the same year that Secundus was ''suffectus''. It is unclear which was the elder; typically an elder son would be named after his father, but the cognomen ''Secundus'' suggests that he was the younger brother.''PIR'', vol. III, p. 86 ("P", Nos. 627, 628).

Consulship

Secundus was appointed consul ''suffectus ex Kalendis Juliis'' together with Marcus Papius Mutilus, succeeding Gaius Poppaeus Sabinus and Quintus Sulpicius Camerinus.''Fasti Capitolini'', . They held the consulship for six months, departing at the end of the year. During their term of office, Papius and Poppaeus authored the law that bore their names.Cassius Dio, lvi. 10. The ''lex Papia Poppaea'' was intended to discourage

adultery Adultery is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal consequences, the concept ...

, prevent the intermarriage of members of the senatorial class with

freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...

or the children of freedmen, and encouraged lawful marriage and procreation, by establishing a set of regulations and legal penalties for those who remained unmarried or failed to produce children without receiving some sort of legal dispensation.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'', pp. 691, 692 ("Julia et Papia Poppaea").

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history of ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

notes with irony that both Papius and Poppaeus were unmarried and childless. The law was part of a more extensive attempt by

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 ...

to promote public morality. Other such laws came to be known as ''leges Juliae'' after the emperor's ''

nomen gentilicium The (; or simply ) was a hereditary name borne by the peoples of Roman Italy and later by the citizens of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. It was originally the name of one's (family or clan) by Patrilineality, patrilineal descent. Howeve ...

''. Both for this reason and because the original language of the ''lex Papia Poppaea'' has been lost, and its exact provisions confused with related enactments, the law is also referred to as the ''lex Julia et Papia Poppaea''.

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

relates that the law failed to achieve its aims, and some eight years after its passage, the emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

established a commission to ameliorate its penalties, due to the number of persons subjected to prosecution, the number of informers whom the law encouraged, and the vast amount of property confiscated under its provisions.Tacitus, ''Annales'', iii. 25, 28.

Footnotes

References

Bibliography

Publius Cornelius Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historiography, Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical ...

, ''

Annales Annals are a concise form of historical writing which record events chronologically, year by year. The equivalent word in Latin and French is ''annales'', which is used untranslated in English in various contexts. List of works with titles contai ...

''. * Lucius Cassius Dio Cocceianus (

), ''Roman History''. * ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' is a biographical dictionary of classical antiquity, edited by William Smith (lexicographer), William Smith and originally published in London by John Taylor (English publisher), Tayl ...

'',

William Smith William, Willie, Will, Bill, or Billy Smith may refer to: Academics * William Smith (Master of Clare College, Cambridge) (1556–1615), English academic * William Smith (antiquary) (c. 1653–1735), English antiquary and historian of University C ...

, ed., Little, Brown and Company, Boston (1849). *

Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; ; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th ce ...

''et alii'', ''

Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum The ''Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum'' (''CIL'') is a comprehensive collection of ancient Latin inscriptions. It forms an authoritative source for documenting the surviving epigraphy of classical antiquity. Public and personal inscriptions throw ...

'' (The Body of Latin Inscriptions, abbreviated ''CIL''), Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften (1853–present). * ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities ''A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities'' is an English language encyclopedia first published in 1842. The second, improved and enlarged, edition appeared in 1848, and there were many revised editions up to 1890. The encyclopedia covered law ...

'', William Smith, ed., Little, Brown, and Company, Boston (1859). * René Cagnat ''et alii'', ''

L'Année épigraphique ''L'Année épigraphique'' (''The Epigraphic Year'', standard abbreviation ''AE'') is a French publication on epigraphy (i.e the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing). It was set up by René Cagnat, as holder of the chair of 'Epigraphy a ...

'' (The Year in Epigraphy, abbreviated ''AE''), Presses Universitaires de France (1888–present). * Paul von Rohden,

Elimar Klebs Elimar Klebs (15 October 1852 – 16 May 1918) was a German historian of ancient history. He was the brother of botanist Georg Klebs. Biography Klebs was born in Braunsberg (Braniewo), Prussia. He studied in Berlin under Theodor Mommsen ...

, &

Hermann Dessau Hermann Dessau (6 April 1856, Frankfurt am Main – 12 April 1931, Berlin) was a German ancient historian and epigrapher. He is noted for a key work of textual criticism published in 1889 on the ''Historia Augusta'', which uncovered reasons to ...

, ''

Prosopographia Imperii Romani The ', abbreviated ''PIR'', is a collective historical work to establish the prosopography of high-profile people from the Roman Empire. The time period covered extends from the Battle of Actium in 31 BC to the reign of Diocletian. The final volum ...

'' (The Prosopography of the Roman Empire, abbreviated ''PIR''), Berlin (1898). {{DEFAULTSORT:Poppaeus Secundus, Quintus 1st-century Romans Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Secundus, Quintus

Background

Consulship

See also

Footnotes

References

Bibliography