Gaius Laelius (Consul 140 BC)

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Gaius Laelius was a politician of the Roman Republic and a friend of Scipio Aemilianus .

His father of the same name was friends with the older Scipio . The son associated with writers ( Terence , Lucilius towards the end of his life ) and philosophers, which earned him the nickname Sapiens ("the wise"). 147 and 146 BC He was the legate of his friend Scipio Aemilianus in the Third Punic War and helped him significantly in the conquest of Carthage . In 145 he was praetor and in the following year probably involved in the fight against Viriathus as a propaetor in Spain . 140 BC Laelius became consul and stayed in Rome while his colleague Quintus Servilius Caepio took over the war in Spain. Laelius is said to have tried in his consulate, probably with Scipio's approval, to improve the lot of the Italian peasants, but he met resistance from his senatorial comrades, who let him abandon the plan (the problem was attacked a few years later by the tribune Tiberius Gracchus back on).

Laelius was repeatedly politically active in the following years (during the reform attempts of Tiberius Gracchus on the side of his opponents) and is said to be 129 BC. Have written the funeral speech on Scipio. He probably died between that year and 123 BC. One of his two daughters was married to Quintus Mucius Scaevola .

The friendship between Laelius and Scipio was considered exemplary, so that Marcus Tullius Cicero took it as the starting point for his writing Laelius de amicitia ("about friendship"). Laelius is also the interlocutor in other dialogues of Cicero.

literature

  • Michèle Ducos: Laelius Sapiens (C.). In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques . Volume 4, CNRS Éditions, Paris 2005, ISBN 2-271-06386-8 , pp. 75-79
  • Karl-Ludwig Elvers : Laelius, C. In: Der Neue Pauly (DNP). Volume 6, Metzler, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-476-01476-2 , Sp. 1055 f.
  • Werner Suerbaum : C. Laelius Sapiens. In: Werner Suerbaum (Ed.): The archaic literature. From the beginnings to Sulla's death (= Handbook of Ancient Latin Literature , Volume 1). CH Beck, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-406-48134-5 , pp. 489-491

Remarks

  1. ↑ The dating is controversial, there are obvious reasons for the year of his praetur. See T. Robert S. Broughton : The Magistrates Of The Roman Republic. Volume 3: Supplement (= Philological Monographs. Vol. 15, Part 3). Scholars Press, Atlanta GA 1986, ISBN 0-89130-811-3 , p. 116.
personal data
SURNAME Laelius, Gaius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Roman politician, consul 140 BC Chr.
DATE OF BIRTH before 182 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH after 129 BC Chr.