Lucius Cornelius Scipio (born c. 300 BC), consul in 259 BC during the

First Punic War The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years, in the longest continuous conflict and grea ...

was a

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 throug ...

and censor of

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

. He was the son of

Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus (c. 337 BC270 BC) was one of the two elected Roman consuls in 298 BC. He led the Roman army to victory against the Etruscans near Volterra. A member of the noble Roman family of Scipiones, he was the father of Lu ...

, himself consul and censor, and brother to

Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Asina (lived 3rd century BC) was a Roman general and statesman involved in the First Punic War. Scipio Asina belonged to the patrician family of the Cornelii Scipiones. He was son of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus and ...

, himself twice consul. Two of his sons ( Publius Cornelius Scipio and

Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus (died 211 BC) was a Roman general and statesman during the third century BC. He played a major part in the Second Punic War establishing Roman Rule in the east of the Iberian Peninsula and tying up several Carthagini ...

) and three of his grandsons (

Scipio Africanus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–183 BC) was a Roman general and statesman, most notable as one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the best military com ...

Scipio Asiaticus Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus (properly Asiagenes; 3rd century BC – after 183 BC) was a general and statesman of the Roman Republic. He was the son of Publius Cornelius Scipio (consul 218 BC), Publius Cornelius Scipio and the younger broth ...

and Scipio Nasica) also became consuls and were all famous generals. Among these five men, the most famous was

. As consul in 259 BC, he led the Roman fleet in the capture of Aleria and then

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

, but failed against

Olbia Olbia (, ; sc, Terranoa; sdn, Tarranoa) is a city and commune of 60,346 inhabitants (May 2018) in the Italian insular province of Sassari in northeastern Sardinia, Italy, in the historical region of Gallura. Called ''Olbia'' in the Roman age, ...

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

. The ''

Fasti Triumphales The ''Acta Triumphorum'' or ''Triumphalia'', better known as the ''Fasti Triumphales'', or Triumphal Fasti, is a calendar of Roman magistrates honoured with a celebratory procession known as a ''triumphus'', or Roman triumph, triumph, in recognit ...

'' record that he was awarded a

triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

, but two other inscriptions on his career do not mention it. The following year he was elected censor with

Gaius Duilius Gaius Duilius ( 260–231 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. As consul in 260 BC, during the First Punic War, he won Rome's first ever victory at sea by defeating the Carthaginians at the Battle of Mylae. He later served as censor in 258, ...

. He was succeeded by

Gaius Sulpicius Paterculus Gaius Sulpicius Paterculus served as a consul to the Roman Republic in 258 BC, together with Aulus Atilius Calatinus. He succeeded Lucius Cornelius Scipio who was the second consul of 259. Punic War Gaius Sulpicius Paterculus served as a comman ...

as second consul. He later dedicated a temple to the Tempestates, locating it near the

Porta Capena Porta Capena was a gate in the Servian Wall in Rome, Italy. The gate was located in the area of Piazza di Porta Capena, where the Caelian, Palatine and Aventine hills meet. Probably its exact position was between the entrance of Via di Valle de ...

Epitaph

Sepolcro scipioni, iscrizione B, lucio cornelio scipione console nel 259 ac

Fragments of his sarcophagus were discovered in the

Tomb of the Scipios The Tomb of the Scipios ( la, sepulcrum Scipionum), also called the , was the common tomb of the patrician Scipio family during the Roman Republic for interments between the early 3rd century BC and the early 1st century AD. Then it was abandoned ...

and are now in the

Vatican Museums The Vatican Museums ( it, Musei Vaticani; la, Musea Vaticana) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of ...

. They preserve his epitaph, written in

Old Latin Old Latin, also known as Early Latin or Archaic Latin (Classical la, prīsca Latīnitās, lit=ancient Latinity), was the Latin language in the period before 75 BC, i.e. before the age of Classical Latin. It descends from a common Proto-Italic ...

: :L·CORNELIO·L·F·SCIPIO :AIDILES·COSOL·CESOR :HONC OINO·PLOIRVME·COSENTIONT R :DVONORO·OPTVMO·FVISE·VIRO :LVCIOM·SCIPIONE·FILIOS·BARBATI :CONSOL·CENSOR·AIDILIS·HIC·FVET·A :НЕС·CE PIT·CORSICA·ALERIAQVE·VRBE :DEDET·TEMPESTATEBVS·AIDE·MERETO which has been transcribed and restored in modern upper- and lower-case script as: : : : : : : and also transcribed in classical Latin as: : : : : : : A translation is: :Romans for the most part agree, :that this one man, Lucius Scipio, was the best of good men. :He was the son of Barbatus, :Consul, Censor, Aedile. :He took Corsica and the city of Aleria. :He dedicated a temple to the Storms as a just return. This inscription is number two of the elogia Scipionum, the several epitaphs surviving from the tomb.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelius Scipio, Lucius 3rd-century BC Roman consuls Roman censors Senators of the Roman Republic

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 ...

Roman patricians 300s BC births Year of birth uncertain Year of death unknown