Manius Acilius Glabrio was a Roman general and

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 ...

of the

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 ...

in 191 BC. He came from an illustrious

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 (''

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; plural: ''gentes'' ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same Roman naming conventions#Nomen, nomen and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a ''stirps'' (p ...

'') whose members held magistracies throughout the Republic and into the Imperial era.

Career

Glabrio was a

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 Republic, Roman state that was open to the plebs, plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most importan ...

in 201,

plebeian aedile ''Aedile'' ( ; la, aedīlis , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enf ...

in 197, and ''

praetor peregrinus Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vario ...

'' in 196. He was elected consul for the year 191 BC together with Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica. As consul, Glabrio defeated the

Seleucid The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...

ruler

Antiochus the Great Antiochus III the Great (; grc-gre, Ἀντίoχoς Μέγας ; c. 2413 July 187 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 222 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the r ...

at the

Battle of Thermopylae The Battle of Thermopylae ( ; grc, Μάχη τῶν Θερμοπυλῶν, label=Greek, ) was fought in 480 BC between the Achaemenid Persian Empire under Xerxes I and an alliance of Greek city-states led by Sparta under Leonidas I. Lasting o ...

, and compelled him to leave

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. He then turned his attention to the

Aetolian League The Aetolian (or Aitolian) League ( grc-gre, Κοινὸν τῶν Αἰτωλῶν) was a confederation of tribal communities and cities in ancient Greece centered in Aetolia in central Greece. It was probably established during the early Hellen ...

, who had persuaded Antiochus to declare war against Rome, and was only prevented from crushing them by the intercession of

Titus Quinctius Flamininus Titus Quinctius Flamininus (c. 228 – 174 BC) was a Roman politician and general instrumental in the Roman conquest of Greece. Family background Flamininus belonged to the minor patrician ''gens'' Quinctia. The family had a glorious place ...

. In 189, Glabrio was a candidate for the

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

, but was opposed by the

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 ...

faction. He was accused by the

tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on the ...

s of having concealed a portion of the Syrian spoils in his own house; his

legate Legate may refer to: *Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class :*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period *A member of a legation *A representative, ...

gave evidence against him, and he withdrew his candidature. Glabrio was the first Roman to introduce the practice of overlaying statues with gold, a practice he initiated after having defeated Antiochus the Great.

Legacy

It is probable that Glabrio was the author of the '' Lex Acilia de intercalando'', a law which left it to the discretion of the

pontiff A pontiff (from Latin ''pontifex'') was, in Roman antiquity, a member of the most illustrious of the colleges of priests of the Roman religion, the College of Pontiffs."Pontifex". "Oxford English Dictionary", March 2007 The term "pontiff" was late ...

s to insert or omit the

intercalary Intercalation may refer to: *Intercalation (chemistry), insertion of a molecule (or ion) into layered solids such as graphite * Intercalation (timekeeping), insertion of a leap day, week or month into some calendar years to make the calendar foll ...

month of the year; see

Roman calendar The Roman calendar was the calendar used by the Roman Kingdom and Roman Republic. The term often includes the Julian calendar established by the reforms of the Roman dictator, dictator Julius Caesar and Roman emperor, emperor Augustus in the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acilius Glabrio, Manius consul 563 AUC 3rd-century BC Romans 2nd-century BC Roman consuls 2nd-century BC Roman generals 2nd-century BC Roman praetors Glabrio, Manius consul 563 AUC Plebeian aediles Tribunes of the plebs