The Caecilii Metelli were one of the most important families of the late

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...

. They rose to prominence in the beginning of the third century, with the

consulship A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...

Lucius Caecilius Metellus Denter Lucius Caecilius Metellus Denter was consul in 284 BC, and praetor the year after. In this capacity, he fell in the war against the Senones and was succeeded by Manius Curius Dentatus. Fischer, in his ''Römische Zeittafeln'', has him as praetor ...

in 284 BC. It was however Quintus Caecilius Metellus, consul in 143, who greatly improved the prestige of the family, notably thanks to his victory during the

Fourth Macedonian War The Fourth Macedonian War (150–148 BC) was fought between Macedon, led by the pretender Andriscus, and the Roman Republic. It was the last of the Macedonian Wars, and was the last war to seriously threaten Roman control of Greece until the Fi ...

, for which he received the ''

agnomen An ''agnomen'' (; plural: ''agnomina''), in the Roman naming convention, was a nickname, just as the ''cognomen'' was initially. However, the ''cognomina'' eventually became family names, so ''agnomina'' were needed to distinguish between simila ...

'' Macedonicus. His descendants and those of his younger brother

Lucius Lucius ( el, Λούκιος ''Loukios''; ett, Luvcie) is a male given name derived from ''Lucius'' (abbreviated ''L.''), one of the small group of common Latin forenames (''praenomina'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius derives from L ...

received an astonishing number of magistracies during the last century of the Republic. As the most powerful family in Roman politics, the Metelli distinguished themselves by their unwavering support of 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 ...

, the conservative faction that opposed the social reforms advocated by the

Populares 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 ...

. Their defeat during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

against

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

abruptly ended their influence.

''Stemma''

The overall structure of the ''stemma'' is taken from the one drawn by Münzer in the '' Realencyclopädie'', which has recently been reproduced by Karl-J. Hölkeskamp''.''

T. P. Wiseman Timothy Peter Wiseman (born 3 February 1940), who usually publishes as T. P. Wiseman and is named as Peter Wiseman in other sources, is a classical scholar and professor emeritus of the University of Exeter. He has published numerous books ...

made some important corrections in two articles on the descendants of Balearicus and the later Metelli, which have been included.Wiseman, "Last of the Metelli" & "Celer and Nepos". The ''nomen'' Caecilius is omitted for all the men named Metellus. All dates are BC, except stated otherwise. Numbers in brackets indicates the order of marriages. Dotted lines show adoptions.

References

Bibliography

* T. Robert S. Broughton, ''The Magistrates of the Roman Republic'', American Philological Association, 1952–1960. * August Pauly,

Georg Wissowa Georg Otto August Wissowa (17 June 1859 – 11 May 1931) was a German classical philologist born in Neudorf, near Breslau. Education and career Wissowa studied classical philology under August Reifferscheid at the University of Bresla ...

Friedrich Münzer Friedrich Münzer (22 April 1868 – 20 October 1942) was a German classical scholar noted for the development of prosopography, particularly for his demonstrations of how family relationships in ancient Rome connected to political struggles. He d ...

, ''et alii'', '' Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft'' (abbreviated ''PW''), J. B. Metzler, Stuttgart, 1894–1980. * Christopher Smith, Kaj Sandberg (editors), ''Omnium Annalium Monumenta: Historical Writing and Historical Evidence in Republican Rome'', Leiden & Boston, Brill, 2017. *

,
The Last of the Metelli
, ''Latomus'', T. 24, Fasc. 1 (Jan. 1965), pp. 52–61. * ——,
Celer and Nepos
, ''

The Classical Quarterly ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'', 2, Vol. 21, No. 1 (May, 1971), pp. 180–182. {{DEFAULTSORT:Caecilii Metelli Family Tree Ancient Roman family trees *