Caecilia Metella (daughter of Celer)
Caecilia Metella was daughter of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer and Clodia. She was an infamous woman in Rome during the late Republic and a celebrity of sorts.[1]
Biography
Early life
She was the daughter of the
Marriage and scandals
In 53 BC, Metella Celer was married to Publius Cornelius Lentulus Spinther, a conservative politician, allied to her father's family. Like her mother, Metella did not content herself with a simple married life. Briefly after the wedding she started an affair with Publius Cornelius Dolabella, a man of the opposite political spectrum. Spinther divorced her in 45 BC in the midst of a huge scandal.[a] Cicero bitterly discusses the affair in his letters, because at the time, his daughter Tullia was Dolabella's wife.
Metella went back to her family in absolute disgrace. She was still in her twenties and very beautiful. Her cousins did not hesitate in using her for political conspiracies. Metella seduced several of
See also
- List of Roman women
- Women in ancient Rome
- Caecilii Metelli family tree
Notes
- ^ In the past it was believed by some that she was the wife of Publius Cornelius Lentulus Spinther the Younger,[4] the son of her husband, but this is not generally supported today.
References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William (1870). "Caecilia or Metella.6". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 2. p. 526.
- ^ ISBN 9780812222098.
- ^ Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association. University of California: American Philological Association. 1939. p. 215.
- ISBN 9781136742910.
- ^ "A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology: By various writers. Ed. By William Smith. Illustr. By numerous engravings on wood. In 3 vols". 1872.