Lucius Mummius Achaicus in The Sack of Corinth, by Thomas Allom

Tony robert-fleury, l'ultimo giorno di corinto, ante 1870

Lucius Mummius (2nd century BC), was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

statesman and general. He was consul in the year 146 BC along with Scipio Aemilianus. Mummius was the first of his family to rise to the rank of consul thereby making him a

novus homo ''Novus homo'' or ''homo novus'' (Latin for 'new man'; ''novi homines'' or ''homines novi'') was the term in ancient Rome for a man who was the first in his family to serve in the Roman Senate or, more specifically, to be elected as consul. Whe ...

. He received the

agnomen An ''agnomen'' (; plural: ''agnomina''), in the Roman naming convention, was a nickname, just as the ''cognomen'' was initially. However, the ''cognomina'' eventually became family names, so ''agnomina'' were needed to distinguish between simil ...

Achaicus for his victories over the

Achaean League The Achaean League ( Greek: , ''Koinon ton Akhaion'' "League of Achaeans") was a Hellenistic-era confederation of Greek city states on the northern and central Peloponnese. The league was named after the region of Achaea in the northwestern P ...

destroying the famous ancient city of Corinth, at that time a leading city of the League, as part of his campaign. Mummius' victory over the Achaean League and the sack of Corinth placed Rome firmly in control of all Greece from a political standpoint - something Rome had avoided doing even though their involvement in the Greek East dated back as far as 226 BC when they confronted Illyrian piracy.

Career

Almost nothing is known about Lucius Mummius' early career. He won one of the

praetor 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 vari ...

ships (for 154 BC) during the elections of 155 BC.

Hispania

In 154 BC the Senate assigned Mummius the task of restoring order in

Hispania Ulterior Hispania Ulterior (English: "Further Hispania", or occasionally "Thither Hispania") was a region of Hispania during the Roman Republic, roughly located in Baetica and in the Guadalquivir valley of modern Spain and extending to all of Lusitania ( ...

(Further Spain), which was reeling from a revolt by native Lusitanian (the Lustianian Rebellion of 155-150 BC). The rebellion was led by the Lusitanian chieftains

Punicus Punicus (known as ''Púnico'' in Portuguese and Spanish; died 153 BC) was a chieftain of the Lusitanians, a proto-Celtic tribe from western Hispania. He became their first military leader during the Lusitanian War, and also led their first majo ...

and Caesarus. In the initial phases of his campaign he experienced several reverses, but he regrouped and at Ocile he led his army of 9,000 foot and 500 horse in a victorious battle against a numerically superior force of Lusitanians, killing about 15,000 rebels and lifting the siege; his successor, Marcus Atilius, went on to take Oxthracae, the largest city in Lusitania. Mummius 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 ...

for his victory over the Lusitanians.

Corinth

Mummius was elected consul for 146 BC. He was appointed to take command of the

Achaean War The Achaean War of 146 BC was fought between the Roman Republic and the Greek Achaean League, an alliance of Achaean and other Peloponnesian states in ancient Greece. It was the final stage of Rome's conquest of mainland Greece, taking place jus ...

, inheriting the command from Metellus Macedonicus. Having obtained an easy victory over the incapable Achaean leader Diaeus, Mummius entered Corinth after a victory over the defending forces. All the men of Corinth were put to the sword, the women and children were sold into slavery, and the statues, paintings and works of art were seized and shipped to

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 ...

. Corinth was then reduced to ashes. However, at least two ancient authors give accounts that suggest Corinth was not completely destroyed. The apparently needless cruelty of Mummius in Corinth, is explained by Mommsen as due to the instructions of the senate, prompted by the mercantile party, which was eager to dispel a dangerous commercial rival. According to Polybius, Mummius was unable to resist the pressure of those around him. In the subsequent settlement of affairs, Mummius exhibited considerable administrative powers and a high degree of justice and integrity, which gained him the respect of the inhabitants. He especially abstained from offending their religious sensibilities. On his return to Rome he was honored with a

, and was the first ''

'' to receive an

for military services.

Censor

In 142 BC he was censor with

Scipio Aemilianus Africanus 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 ...

, whose severity frequently brought him into collision with his more lenient colleague.

Art

His indifference to works of art and ignorance of their value is shown by his well-known remark to those who contracted for the shipment of the treasures of Corinth to Rome, that "if they lost or damaged them, they would have to replace them." He was, in other words, unaware that a "new-for-old-deal" was inappropriate for such valuable antiques. Mummius plundered Corinth and sent home ship loads of its priceless art and rich furniture to Rome. For the theatrical pageants exhibited by him he erected a theatre with improved acoustical conditions and seats after the Greek model, thus marking a distinct advance in the construction of places of entertainment.

References

Sources

Velleius Paterculus Marcus Velleius Paterculus (; c. 19 BC – c. AD 31) was a Roman historian, soldier and senator. His Roman history, written in a highly rhetorical style, covered the period from the end of the Trojan War to AD 30, but is most useful for the per ...

, i.12

Attribution

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mummius, Lucius, Achaicus 2nd-century BC births 2nd-century BC deaths 2nd-century BC Roman consuls Ancient Roman generals Characters in Book VI of the Aeneid Lucius, Achaicus Roman censors Roman Corinth Roman governors of Hispania