Quintus Aemilius Papus ( fl. 282 BC275 BC), a member of the ''

gens Aemilia The gens Aemilia, originally written Aimilia, was one of the greatest patrician families at ancient Rome. The gens was of great antiquity, and claimed descent from Numa Pompilius, the second King of Rome. Its members held the highest offices o ...

'' - an ancient ruling class — of the Papus family, was a Roman general and statesman.

Career

Quintus Aemilius Papus was elected consul for 282 BC and 278, both times with

Gaius Fabricius Luscinus Gaius Fabricius Luscinus Monocularis ("the one-eyed"), son of Gaius, was said to have been the first of the Fabricii to move to ancient Rome, his family originating from Aletrium. In 284 BC he was one of the ambassadors to Tarentum, successfully k ...

as his colleague. During his first consulship, Papus successfully warred against the

Boii The Boii (Latin plural, singular ''Boius''; grc, Βόιοι) were a Celtic tribe of the later Iron Age, attested at various times in Cisalpine Gaul (Northern Italy), Pannonia (Hungary), parts of Bavaria, in and around Bohemia (after whom the ...

in Northern Italy. In 280 he and Fabricius were amongst the three ambassadors who were sent to

Pyrrhus of Epirus Pyrrhus (; grc-gre, Πύρρος ; 319/318–272 BC) was a Greek king and statesman of the Hellenistic period.Plutarch. ''Parallel Lives'',Pyrrhus... He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house, and later he becam ...

. Papus was elected censor in 275 BC, again with Luscinus as his colleague.

Family

According to William Smith, Quintus Aemilius Papus was the grandfather of Lucius Aemilius Papus.William Smith. (1870)
"Papus - Q. Aemilius Papus"
''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology''. Volume 3. p. 120. This, however, contradicts information derived from the younger man's

filiation Filiation is the legal term for the recognized legal status of the relationship between family members, or more specifically the legal relationship between parent and child. As described by the Government of Quebec: Filiation is the relationship ...

which was Lucius Aemilius Q.f. Cn.n. Papus, or Lucius Aemilius, son of Quintus, grandson of Gnaeus (or Cnaieus). Quintus was thus either father of Lucius Aemilius Papus, or a

patrilineal Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...

relative.

Anecdote about Papus

Valerius Maximus Valerius Maximus () was a 1st-century Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes: ''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX'' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' ...

, writing much later, said that

there was silver in the homes of Gaius Fabricius uscinusand Quintus Aemilius Papus, the leading men of their era. Each of them had a dish for the gods and a salt cellar, but Fabricius was more elegant because he chose to put a little pedestal of horn under his dish. Papus behaved rather assertively when he inherited those items, because he decided on account of their religious significance that he would not get rid of them.Valerius Maximus. (2004)
''Memorable Deeds and Sayings: One Thousand Tales From Ancient Rome''.
Indianapolis: Hackett. p. 139.

References

Roman censors Papus, Quintus 3rd-century BC Roman consuls {{AncientRome-politician-stub