Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer († early 59 BC ) was a Roman politician of the late Republic.

Metellus Celer was a son of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Nepos , who died in 98 BC. Chr. Consul had been, and the Licinia crassa. In 78 BC He led a military command, perhaps as a military tribune . 68 BC Metellus Celer was probably a tribune of the people (but it could also have been his brother Quintus Caecilius Metellus Nepos ). 66 BC BC (maybe also in the previous year) he served as a legate under Pompey in the war against Mithridates of Pontus .

As praetor in 63 BC Metellus Celer led the trial of Gaius Rabirius , which Titus Labienus used to send a political signal to the Senate . Rabirius was convicted. Gaius Iulius Caesar and his relative Lucius Iulius Caesar acted as judges . Rabirius' appeal to the people was interrupted by Metellus Celer by pulling down the military flag on the Ianiculum and thus ending the meeting. A decision that was probably negative for Rabirius could not be made. Since this year at the latest, Metellus Celer has been a member of the college of augurs .

In the following year (since the end of 63 BC) Metellus was governor of the province of Gallia cisalpina . In this capacity he took part in the suppression of the Catilinarian conspiracy by blocking the way to Gallia transalpina for the troops of Catiline . For the year 60 BC He was elected consul. During his tenure, he turned against Pompey and his brother-in-law Publius Clodius Pulcher , who wanted to convert to the plebs as a patrician in order to be able to exercise the office of tribune. Metellus was transferred as the proconsular province of Gallia transalpina . However, he died surprisingly at the beginning of 59 BC. Chr.

Metellus Celer was married to Clodia , the sister of Publius Clodius Pulcher and daughter of Appius Claudius Pulcher , who was notorious for her dissolute lifestyle: she was suspected of having committed incest with her brother and of poisoning her husband.

Cicero called him a "most respected, courageous and patriotic man who, as soon as he stepped over the threshold of his house, almost surpassed all of his fellow citizens in efficiency, fame and prestige".

literature

John Hazel: Who's Who in the Roman World. 2nd edition. Routledge, London et al. 2002, ISBN 0-415-29162-3 , p. 198, ( limited online version in the Google Book Search USA ).
Erich S. Gruen : The Last Generation of the Roman Republic. 1st paperback print. University of California Press, Berkeley CA et al. 1995, ISBN 0-520-20153-1 , pp. 58-59, 71, 85-86, 93, 99-99, 130-131, 133, 279-280, 307, 352 , 396, ( limited online version in Google Book Search - USA ).
Matthew Bunson: A Dictionary of the Roman Empire. Oxford University Press (US), New York NY et al. 1995, ISBN 0-19-510233-9 , p. 276, ( limited online version in the Google Book Search USA ).

Individual evidence

↑ See family tree of his father of the same name in Jona Lendering: Lucius Julius Caesar on livius.org .

personal data
SURNAME	Caecilius Metellus Celer, Quintus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Roman consul 60 BC Chr.
DATE OF BIRTH	2nd century BC BC or 1st century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH	59 BC Chr.

[1] See family tree of his father of the same name in Jona Lendering: Lucius Julius Caesar on livius.org .