Spurius Cassius Vecellinus
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Spurius Cassius Vecellinus or Vicellinus (died 485 BC) was one of the most distinguished men of the early Roman Republic. He was three times consul, and celebrated two triumphs. He was the first magister equitum, and the author of the first agrarian law. The year following his last consulship, he was accused of aiming at regal power, and was put to death by the patricians.
Background
His surname variously appears as Vecellinus, Vicellinus, and Viscellinus. The latter has been shown to be incorrect, and Vecellinus is usually preferred. The otherwise unattested name may be a reference to a Mount Vecilius mentioned by Livy.[1][2][3][4]
According to one tradition, Cassius' father was still living and hale at the time of his death. If this were the case, it would be difficult to place Cassius' birth much earlier than 540 or 535 BC. Cassius also left behind him three sons, whose names have not been preserved. It is believed that the original Cassii were patricians, although the later members of the
Magistracies
Cassius' first consulship was in 502 BC, the eighth year of the Republic. His colleague was
In the following year,
Cassius was consul for the second time in 493 BC, with
In 486 BC, Cassius was consul for the third time, with Proculus Verginius Tricostus Rutilus. Cassius marched against the Volsci and Hernici, but they sued for peace, and once again showing his talent for diplomacy, Cassius formed a league with the Hernici. Livius states that the Hernici agreed to surrender two thirds of their land, but a more likely explanation is that the Romans, Latins, and Hernici agreed to share their acquired land evenly, with each receiving one third of the lands conquered by their mutual arms. This treaty, resembling one formerly in force under the kings,[citation needed] held for over a hundred years. On his return, Cassius celebrated his second triumph.[17][18][19]
Trial and execution
After concluding the treaty with the Hernici, Cassius proposed the first agrarian law at Rome, arguing for the land to be distributed amongst the plebs and the Latin allies. Cassius' colleague, Verginius, and the patricians strongly opposed the law. Debate and discord ensued, and the plebs turned against Cassius, suspecting him of aiming at regal power.[17]
In 485 BC once Cassius had left office he was condemned and executed. Livy says that the method of his trial is uncertain. Livy's preferred version is that a public trial on the charge of
Dionysius states that he was hurled from the Tarpeian Rock.[23]
Niebuhr argues that it was impossible that a man who had been thrice consul and twice triumphed should still be in his father's power.[7]
Cassius Dio expressed his belief in the consul's innocence.[24]
In 159 BC the statue of Cassius erected on the spot of his house was melted down by the censors. Some seem to have called for the execution of Cassius' sons also, but according to Dionysius, they were spared by the senate.[25][26]
Chronological uncertainty
E.J. Bickerman has suggested that Cassius' third consulship occurred in 480 BC, the same year as the
See also
References
- ^ M. Hertz (1871), "Das Cognomen des Sp. Cassius", Hermes vol. 5 no. 3, pp. 474–475
- ^ Münzer, Cassius 91, RE 3.2, col. 1749
- ^ Ogilvie, Livy 1–5 (Oxford), pp. 277–278
- ^ Oxford Classical Dictionary, "Cassius Vecellinus, Spurius"
- ^ Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft.
- ^ Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith, Editor.
- ^ a b Barthold Georg Niebuhr, History of Rome, vol. ii, pp. 166ff; Lectures on the History of Rome, pp. 89ff, ed. Schmitz (1848).
- ^ Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Romaike Archaiologia, v. 49, vi. 29.
- ^ Fasti Capitolini.
- Ab Urbe Condita, ii. 17, 22, 25, 26.
- ^ Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, ii. 18.
- ^ Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Romaike Archaiologia, v. 75, vi. 20.
- ^ a b Livy, Ab urbe condita, ii. 33.
- ^ Marcus Tullius Cicero, De Republica, ii. 33, Pro Balbo, 23.
- ^ Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Romaike Archaiologia, vi. 49, 94, 95.
- ^ Barthold Georg Niebuhr, History of Rome, vol. ii, pp. 38ff.
- ^ a b c Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, ii. 41.
- ^ Oxford Classical Dictionary, 2nd Ed. (1970).
- ^ Fasti Triumphales
- ^ Cicero, De Republica, ii. 27, 35, Philippicae, ii. 44, Laelius de Amicitia, 8, 11, Pro Domo Sua, 38.
- ^ Valerius Maximus, Factorum ac Dictorum Memorabilium libri IX, vi. 3. § 1.
- ^ Gaius Plinius Secundus, Historia Naturalis, xxxiv. 6. s. 14.
- ^ Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Romaike Archaiologia, viii. 68-80.
- ^ Cassius Dio, Exc. de. Sentent., 19, p. 150.
- ^ Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Romaike Archaiologia, viii. 80.
- ^ Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, William Smith, Editor.
- ^ Bickerman, E. J. Chronology of the ancient world. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York (1980), p. 138.
- ^ Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica, xi. 1. § 2.
- ^ Herodotus, vii. 37, 166, 206, viii. 51.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Viscellinus, Sp. Cassius". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 3. pp. 1271–72.