Lucius Caecilius Metellus (tribune 49 BC)
Lucius Caecilius Metellus was tribune of the plebs in 49 BC. He was the son of the homonymous consul of 68 BC; during his youth he lived in Sicily with his father and later was assigned there during his own quaestorship in 52 BC.[1] He opposed Caesar during the civil war, supporting the Pompeian efforts around Capua, in March 49, before Caesar occupied the Italian peninsula.[2]
In the first months of the civil war in 49 BC, Caesar occupied Italy and forced Pompey to flee to Macedonia. On 1 April 49 BC a senate meeting was held – involving the few senators who remained at Rome – at the initiative of the tribunes aligned with Caesar.[3] Caesar used the proceedings to inveigh against the harms done to him by the Pompeians and to request money and troops.[4] Possibly when the rump senate was to approve Caesar's financial requests, Metellus vetoed the proceedings.[5]
Afterwards, Caesar moved to raid the aerarium (state treasury) anyway: in response, Metellus put himself before the door and blocked the Caesarians' way.[6] It is not clear whether Caesar was himself present; some ancient sources, such as Plutarch and Lucan,[7] report a confrontation between Metellus and Caesar within the pomerium, but whether this actually occurred is not clear.[8] Regardless, in most tellings, Metellus' life was threatened by Caesar or his men and Metellus was forced aside.[9] The episode, which showed Caesar who purported to have started the civil war to defend tribunician rights trampling on a tribune's rights, was embarrassing.[10] Cicero records Caesar making some threats to have Metellus killed after the fact.[11] Caesar regardless left the city shortly afterwards and the mention of the confrontation before the aerarium is omitted in Caesar's civil war commentaries.[12]
Metellus is last recorded as trying to find his way back to Italy in the aftermath of Caesar's victory at Pharsalus; Caesar wrote to his lieutenant in Italy, Mark Antony, to deny Metellus' return.[13]
See also
References
- ^ Münzer 1897, citing: Cic. Verr., 3.159; CIL X, 7258. Broughton 1952, p. 236.
- ^ Münzer 1897.
- ^ Morstein-Marx 2021, p. 403.
- ^ Morstein-Marx 2021, pp. 404–5; Meier 1995, p. 379.
- ^ Meier 1995, p. 380. "At one point the majority seems to have been prepared to hand over the public fund to Caesar... Metellus... entered his veto".
- ^ Morstein-Marx 2021, pp. 408–9; Goldsworthy 2006, p. 396; Meier 1995, p. 380.
- ^ See Broughton 1952, p. 259, citing: Cic. Att., 10.4.8, 10.8.6; Caes. BCiv., 1.33.3; Luc., 3.114–68; Plut. Caes., 35.3–4; App. BCiv., 2.41; Flor., 2.13.21; Dio, 41.17.2; Zonar., 10.8.
- ^ Morstein-Marx 2021, pp. 407–8, citing Plut. Caes., 35.
- ^ Morstein-Marx 2021, pp. 409–10; Mackay 2009, p. 292; Goldsworthy 2006, p. 396; Meier 1995, p. 380.
- ^ Mackay 2009, p. 292. "The visit to Rome also showed that Caesar's defence of the rights of the tribunes was a fraud".
- ^ Morstein-Marx 2021, p. 410, citing Cic. Att., 10.4.8.
- ^ Meier 1995, pp. 380–81; Münzer 1897.
- ^ Morstein-Marx 2021, p. 432, citing Cic. Att., 11.7.2; Münzer 1897.
Bibliography
- Broughton, Thomas Robert Shannon (1952). The magistrates of the Roman republic. Vol. 2. New York: American Philological Association.
- Goldsworthy, Adrian (2006). Caesar: Life of a Colossus. Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-13919-8.
- Mackay, Christopher S (2009). The breakdown of the Roman republic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-51819-2.
- Meier, Christian (1995) [First published, in German by Severin und Siedler, 1982]. Caesar. Translated by McLintock, David. Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-00895-X.
- Morstein-Marx, Robert (2021). Julius Caesar and the Roman People. Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781108943260. ISBN 978-1-108-83784-2. LCCN 2021024626. S2CID 242729962.
- Münzer, F (1897). . Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft (in German). Vol. III, 1. Stuttgart: Butcher. col. 1205 – via Wikisource.
External links
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