Gaius Fabricius Luscinus

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Gaius Fabricius Luscinus (the Cognomen means "the blinded"), son and grandson of a Gaius, was a member of the Roman plebeian gens Fabricia , which may not originally come from Rome. As the first of his family ( homo novus ) he got into senatorial offices, perhaps with the support of the patrician dynasty of the Aemilians , and became one of the leading senators during the final phase of the Samnite Wars and the war against Pyrrhus .

284 BC Fabricius Luscinus was one of the ambassadors who led peace negotiations with Taranto . 282 BC He was elected consul for the first time (with his colleague Quintus Aemilius Papus ) and fought against the Samnites , Lucanians and Bruttians . He received a triumphal procession for his successes . In particular, he freed Thurii from the Samnites. The city erected an honorary statue for him in Rome.

After the Romans were defeated by Pyrrhos, king of Epirus , at Herakleia , Luscinus was 280/279 BC. Leader of the embassy (besides him, his former consular colleague Aemilius Papus and Publius Cornelius Dolabella ), which negotiated with the king. He refused the peace conditions of Pyrrhus and probably also the ransom and the exchange of prisoners. Plutarch reports that Pyrrhus was so impressed that he could not bribe Fabricius that he even released the prisoners without a ransom. The historicity of this legation is, however, questioned.

278 BC Fabricius became consul a second time, again together with Aemilius Papus, and again successfully fought against the Samnites, Lucanians and Bruttians. He also defeated the army of Taranto after Pyrrhus withdrew from Italy to Sicily, and received a second triumphal procession. In 275 BC Fabricius was elected censor ; here too, Quintus Aemilius Papus was his colleague. As a censor, he took action against luxury in the Roman upper class and expelled the former dictator and two-time consul Publius Cornelius Rufinus from the Senate for possession of silver tableware that weighed ten pounds.

Because of this legendary act, Fabricius Luscinus was later regarded as an exemplary representative of ancient Roman virtues; his life, especially the fight against Pyrrhus, was embellished in numerous anecdotes. He is said to have renounced the spoils of war from the Samnites, whose patronage he had assumed, and sent them back to them. Marcus Tullius Cicero names him in a list of the great triumphers of the republic and often cited him as an example. In the Augustan period he received an honorary statue in the Roman Forum , the honorary inscription (Elogium) of which has been partially preserved. Fabricius Luscinus was unusually buried within the Pomerium rather than outside the city .

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ a b Friedrich Münzer : Roman noble parties and noble families. Pp. 62 and 413 .
  2. ^ Cassius Dio 9, Frg. 39 ( English translation ).
  3. ↑ Pliny , naturalis historia 34, 32 .
  4. ^ Dionysius of Halicarnassus 19, 13, 1 ( English translation ).
  5. ^ Plutarch, Pyrrhos 19 ( English translation ).
  6. ^ Pierre Lévèque: Pyrrhos. de Boccard, Paris 1957, pp. 341-370 (not accessed).
  7. ↑ Titus Livius , periocha 14 ; Valerius Maximus 2, 9, 4 ; u. a.
  8. ↑ Valerius Maximus 4, 3, 6 .
  9. ^ Cicero, in Pisonem 58 .
  10. ^ Cicero, paradoxa Stoicorum 50 .
  11. ↑ CIL 6, 37048 ( photo ). The attribution to Fabricius Luscinus is not entirely certain.
  12. ^ Cicero, de legibus 2, 58 .
personal data
SURNAME Fabricius Luscinus, Gaius
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Luscinus, Gaius Fabricius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Roman consul
DATE OF BIRTH before 284 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH after 275 BC Chr.