Caecilia Metella (died around 80 BC) was a Roman matron at the beginning of the 1st century BC. The daughter of the pontifiex maximus

Lucius Caecilius Metellus Dalmaticus Lucius Caecilius Metellus Delmaticus (born ) was a Roman politician and general. He was a son of Lucius Caecilius Metellus Calvus and brother of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus. He was consul in 119 BC; during his year, he opposed Gaius M ...

, she married two of the most prominent politicians of the period, first the

princeps senatus The ''princeps senatus'' ( ''principes senatus'') was the first member by precedence on the membership rolls of the Roman Senate. Although officially out of the ''cursus honorum'' and possessing no ''imperium'', this office conferred prestige on t ...

Marcus Aemilius Scaurus, then

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla had t ...

Life

Caecilia belonged to the

plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of ...

family of the

Caecilii Metelli The gens Caecilia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are mentioned in history as early as the fifth century BC, but the first of the Caecilii who obtained the consulship was Lucius Caecilius Metellus Denter, in 284 BC. ...

, at the time the most important family of the late second century. Her father was

, consul in 119 BC and pontifex maximus ''circa'' 114. Her first marriage was to Marcus Aemilius Scaurus, an ageing politician at the peak of his power. Scaurus was a

patrician Patrician may refer to: * Patrician (ancient Rome), the original aristocratic families of ancient Rome, and a synonym for "aristocratic" in modern English usage * Patrician (post-Roman Europe), the governing elites of cities in parts of medieval ...

, the ''

'' (leader of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

) and a traditional ally of her family. Caecilia bore Scaurus two children: Marcus Aemilius Scaurus and Aemilia. Following Scaurus' death in 89, Caecilia married

, who was fifty. In his account of the life of Sulla,

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

wrote that this was a prestigious marriage for Sulla due to Caecilia being the daughter of the Pontifex Maximus, the high priest of Roman state religion. The marriage was ridiculed by the people and many leading men were dissatisfied because they thought that it was unworthy of Caecilia. She became Sulla's third wife and he married her only a few days after divorcing

Cloelia Cloelia ( grc, Κλοιλία) was a legendary woman from the early history of ancient Rome. Biography She was one of the women taken hostage by Lars Porsena, as a part of the peace treaty which ended the war between Rome and Clusium in 508 BC. ...

for 'barrenness'. Because of this and despite the fact that Sulla praised Cloelia and gave her gifts, many thought that he had accused her unfairly. However, he always showed Caecilia great deference. Because of this, when Sulla refused the request of the people to restore the exiled supporters of Marius (after Sulla's march on Rome in 88 BC) they asked Caecilia for help. Plutarch wrote that it "was thought also that when

ulla Ulla is a given name. It is short for Ursula in German-speaking countries and Ulrika/Ulrikke in Scandinavian countries. As of 31 December 2011, there were 61,043 females named Ulla in Sweden, with the name being most popular during the 1930s a ...

took the city of Athens, he treated its people more harshly because they had scurrilously abused Caecilia from the walls." In another passage, Plutarch specified that the scurrilous abuse against Sulla and Caecilia was from

Aristion Aristion (died 1 March 86 BC in Athens) was a philosopher who became tyrant of Athens from c. 88 BC until his death in 86 BC. Aristion joined forces with king Mithridates VI of Pontus against Greece's overlords, the Romans, fighting alongside Pont ...

, the tyrant of Athens. Sulla had her daughter Aemilia marry to

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

to forge an alliance with him. While Sulla was in Greece, the supporters of

Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...

seized Rome and perpetrated violence against those of Sulla. Caecilia thus fled with her and Sulla's children with difficulty, informed Sulla that his villas had been burned and offered to help the

Optimates Optimates (; Latin for "best ones", ) and populares (; Latin for "supporters of the people", ) are labels applied to politicians, political groups, traditions, strategies, or ideologies in the late Roman Republic. There is "heated academic dis ...

(who supported Sulla) at home. After Sulla celebrated his triumph for his victory in Greece, Caecilia bore him twin children, "

named the male child Faustus, and the female

Fausta Flavia Maxima Fausta ''Augusta'' (289–326 AD) was a Roman empress. She was the daughter of Maximian and second wife of Constantine the Great, who had her executed and excluded from all official accounts for unknown reasons. Historians Zosimu ...

; for the Romans call what is auspicious and joyful, 'faustum.'" While Sulla was devoting a lavish feast in honour of the god Hercules, Caecilia was sick and dying. The priests forbade Sulla "to go near her or to have his house polluted by her funeral." Sulla divorced her and had her taken to another house while she was still alive. In this way he respected the law. Sulla transgressed his laws limiting the expenses of funerals and of banquets, organised a sumptuous funeral and drowned his sorrows in drinking parties and extravagant banquets. Plutarch mentioned that another, unnamed son who died shortly before the death of his mother Caecilia appeared to him in a dream. Plutarch clarified this by saying that when Sulla died he left two young children by Caecilia.Plutarch, Parallel Lives, The Life of Sulla, 37.2, 4

Notes

References

* Plutarch, Parallel Lives, The Live of Sulla, The Complete Collection of Plutarch's Parallel Lives, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014; ; see
The Life of Sulla
accessed June 2016. {{Authority control 80s BC deaths 1st-century BC Roman women 1st-century BC Romans Caecilii Metelli Wives of Sulla

Life

See also

Notes

References