Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla was a Roman politician. He served as

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

in 127 BC and censor at the following

lustrum A lūstrum (, plural lūstra) was a term for a five-year period in Ancient Rome. It is distinct from the homograph ''lustrum'' ( ): a haunt of wild beasts (and figuratively, a den of vice), plural ''lustra'' ( ).Oxford Latin Desk Dictionary (20 ...

in 125 BC. His first recorded office was that of

tribune of the plebs Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power o ...

in 137 BC. As a tribune of the plebs, he successfully proposed in the ''concilium plebis'' a law to introduce secret ballot for all trials before the Assemblies except those related to ''perduellio'' (treason); the bill was supported by

Scipio Aemilianus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus (185–129 BC), known as Scipio Aemilianus or Scipio Africanus the Younger, was a Roman general and statesman noted for his military exploits in the Third Punic War against Carthage and during the ...

but opposed by the then-consul

Marcus Aemilius Lepidus Porcina Marcus Aemilius Lepidus Porcina was a consul of the Roman Republic in 137 BC. In 125 BC Lepidus was an augur (a divinatory priest). In that year he was prosecuted by the censors. According to Velleius Paterculus, he was prosecuted by both censors ...

and his tribunician colleague Marcus Antius Briso. He served in the praetorship some time before 130 BC, and was elected to the consulship for 127 BC with

Lucius Cornelius Cinna Lucius Cornelius Cinna (died 84 BC) was a four-time consul of the Roman Republic, serving four consecutive terms from 87 to 84 BC, and a member of the ancient Roman Cinna family of the Cornelia gens. Cinna's influence in Rome exacerb ...

. After his consulship, he was elected as censor for 125 BC with Gnaeus Servilius Caepio; during their censorship, they constructed the

Aqua Tepula The Aqua Tepula is an ancient Roman aqueduct completed in 125 BC by censors Gnaeus Servilius Caepio, who had served as consul in 141 BC, and Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla. The water from the Aqua Tepula was, as implied in the na ...

and named Publius Cornelius Lentulus as ''

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 ...

''. He was renowned for severity as a

iudex A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

and gained fame for formulating the question " Cui bono?" ("Who benefits?") as a principle of criminal investigation. In 113 BC, he was appointed special prosecutor in the case of three

Vestal Virgin In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals ( la, Vestālēs, singular ) were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame. The Vestals were unlike any other public priesthood. They were chosen before puberty ...

s accused of unchastity under a law passed by one of the tribunes that year. He condemned and put to death two of them – who had been acquitted by the pontifex maximus,

Lucius Caecilius Metellus Delmaticus 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 ...

– as well as the men involved; doing so, however, incurred for him some suspicion of political bias.

References

Sources * * * * Ancient Roman jurists 2nd-century BC Roman consuls Roman censors Longinus Ravilla, Lucius {{AncientRome-law-bio-stub