Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus (c. 114 BC – late 50s BC) was a politically active member of the
Family
The
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus was Creticus' grandfather. He was praetor in 148 BC, and was granted command in Macedonia the following year. There, he defeated Andriscus, a pretender to the throne, for which he received a triumph and the cognomen 'Macedonicus'. He was consul in 143 BC and censor in 131 BC. Macedonicus, as a conservative aristocrat, opposed Tiberius Gracchus and Gaius Gracchus. Each of his four sons became consul.
Creticus' father was Gaius Caecilius Metellus Caprarius, the youngest son of Macedonicus. In 133 BC he served under Scipio Aemilianus in Numantia. Caprarius was praetor in 117 BC, consul in 113 BC, and fought as proconsul in Thrace in 112 BC. He received a triumph for his victory in Thrace in 111 BC. He was censor in 102 BC.
Creticus had two brothers. One was Lucius Caecilius Metellus. He was praetor in 71 BC and governor of Sicily in 70 BC. He died in office as consul in 68 BC. The other was Marcus Caecilius Metellus, praetor. In 69 BC he presided over the quaestio de repetundis, a standing tribunal of senatorial iudices (juror-judges) for investigating and deciding cases of extortion.
Creticus' sister, Caecilia Metella, was the wife of Gaius Verres, who was governor of Sicily from 73 BC to 71 BC.
Creticus' daughter was also named
Career
Role in Verres's trial
In
The conflict with Crete
According to
After his consulship, Metellus was given the proconsular command against the pirates on Crete; his co-consul, Hortensius, had refused it.
Because of Metellus's refusal to leave Crete when Pompey ordered it, Pompey and his allies prevented his triumph until 62 BC.[5] Upon celebrating his triumph, Metellus received the cognomen 'Creticus', the Latin word for 'Cretan'. As revenge for the opposition to his triumph, Metellus used his influence to prevent the ratification in the senate of Pompey's reorganization of the east until 60 BC.[1] Metellus remained a prominent member of Pompey's opposition until his death in the late 50s BC.[5]
Gaul
According to Cicero in his letters to Atticus, Creticus was an ambassador sent to Gaul in the hopes of preventing the Gallic states from joining the Aedui in 60 BC. He was sent along with Lucius Flaccus and Lentulus.
Other references
In his speech Post Reditum in Senatu ('in the senate after his return'), Cicero, having been exiled for executing Roman citizens without a trial during the
In Juvenal's eighth satire, he speaks about virtue alone making one truly noble, rather than an inherited name. He uses a few cognomens to illustrate his point, including that of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus.
References
- ^ a b c d Salazar, Christine F. Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopedia of the Ancient World Vol. 2. Boston: Brill Leiden. 2003. 874–879.
- ^ Grant, Michael. Cicero: Selected Works. London: Penguin Books. 1960. 45.
- ^ Grant, Michael. Cicero: Selected Works. London: Penguin Books. 1960. 47.
- ^ a b c d livius.org
- ^ a b Hornblower, Simon and Antony Spawforth. The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3rd Edition New York: Oxford University Press. 1966. 269.
- ^ Cicero, Post Reditum in Senatu, iii.5 .
Sources
- Grant, Michael. Cicero: Selected Works. London: Penguin Books. 1960. 45–47.
- Hornblower, Simon and Anthony Spawforth. The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3rd Edition. New York: Oxford University Press. 1996. 269.
- Humphries, Rolfe. The Satires of Juvenal. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. 1958. 102.
- Salazar, Christine F. Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopedia of the Ancient World, Vol. 2. Boston: Brill Leiden. 2003. 874–879.
- Watson, John Selby. Eutropius: Abridgement of Roman History. London: Henry G. Bohn. 1853. 6.11.
- Winstedt, E.O.Cicero: Letters to Atticus. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 1912. 83.
- The Conquest of Crete from Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus: The Embassies. livius.org
- Yonge, C.D. Post Reditum in Senatu. London: Henry G. Bohn. 1856.