Cornelia Metella ( 73 BC – after 48 BC) was the daughter of

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio Nasica Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio (c. 95 – 46 BC), often referred to as Metellus Scipio, was a Roman senator and military commander. During the civil war between Julius Caesar and the senatorial faction led by Pompey, he was a staunch supp ...

(who was a consul in 52 BC and originally from the gens Cornelia). She appears in numerous literary sources, including an official dedicatory inscription at

Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on th ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

inscription translated into

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

as ''Cornelia Q. Metelli Pii Scipionis filia''. Despite her father's testamentary "adoption" by Metellus Pius, Cornelia is never called Caecilia Metella in any extant sources. Münzer supposed that she retained the '' gens Cornelia'' name because she was born before her father's adoption, which was a legal formality. Discussed by

Jerzy Linderski Jerzy Sever Linderski (born 21 August 1934 in Lwow, Poland, now Lviv) is a contemporary Polish scholar of ancient history and Roman religion and law. Currently George L. Paddison Professor of Latin ''Emeritus'' at the University of North Carolin ...

, "Q. Scipio Imperator," in ''Imperium sine fine: T. Robert S. Broughton and the Roman Republic'' (Franz Steiner, 1996), p. 15
online.
/ref>

Biography

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

describes her as a beautiful woman of good character, well read and a skilled player of the lyre. She was also very well educated in geometry and philosophy. Cornelia was first married to Publius Licinius Crassus, son of

Marcus Licinius Crassus Marcus Licinius Crassus (; 115 – 53 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He is often called "the richest man in Rome." Wallechinsky, David & Wallace, I ...

, in 55 or 54 BC, when he returned to Rome after serving under

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, an ...

Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during ...

. After her first husband's death at the

Battle of Carrhae The Battle of Carrhae () was fought in 53 BC between the Roman Republic and the Parthian Empire near the ancient town of Carrhae (present-day Harran, Turkey). An invading force of seven legions of Roman heavy infantry under Marcus Liciniu ...

, Cornelia became the fifth wife of

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

in 52 BC. She was a faithful follower of Pompey and met him in

Mytilene Mytilene (; el, Μυτιλήνη, Mytilíni ; tr, Midilli) is the capital of the Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University o ...

with his son Sextus Pompeius, after the

Battle of Pharsalus The Battle of Pharsalus was the decisive battle of Caesar's Civil War fought on 9 August 48 BC near Pharsalus in central Greece. Julius Caesar and his allies formed up opposite the army of the Roman Republic under the command of Pompey ...

in 48 BC. Together, they fled to Egypt where Pompey was murdered. On his arrival, Caesar punished the murderers of Pompey and gave Cornelia his ashes and signet ring. She returned to Rome and spent the rest of her life in Pompey's estates in Italy.

Cultural references

Annelies Burmeister as Cornelia in Händel's

Cornelia appears in

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

's 1724 opera '' Giulio Cesare in Egitto'' ("Julius Caesar in Egypt"), where she pleads with Caesar to spare her husband; he is about to grant her plea, but Pompey was already killed by the Egyptians. She is the title and main character in

Robert Garnier Robert Garnier (1544 – 20 September 1590) was a French poet and dramatist. He published his first work while still a law-student at Toulouse, where he won a prize (1565) in the Académie des Jeux Floraux. It was a collection of lyrical ...

's play '' Cornélie'' and its English language adaptation '' Cornelia'' by

Thomas Kyd Thomas Kyd (baptised 6 November 1558; buried 15 August 1594) was an English playwright, the author of '' The Spanish Tragedy'', and one of the most important figures in the development of Elizabethan drama. Although well known in his own time, ...

. In the first season of the TV series ''

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

'', broadcast in 2005, Cornelia is portrayed by actress Anna Patrick. Unlike the historic Cornelia, this portrayal sees her as middle aged, and as having two children probably from her first marriage, not with Pompey.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornelia Metella 70s BC births 1st-century BC Roman women 1st-century BC Romans Cornelii Scipiones Wives of Pompey

Biography

Cultural references

See also

References