Lucius Sestius Albanianus Quirinalis ( 43–23 BC) was an aristocrat of the late

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 Ki ...

. Although having Republican tendencies,

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

appointed him suffect consul in 23 BC to fill his role.

Life

Sestius was a son of

Publius Sestius Publius Sestius (d. after 35 BC) was a Roman politician and governor in the 1st century BC. He first appears as quaestor for the consul Gaius Antonius Hybrida and served in the campaign to put down the second Catilinarian conspiracy. He serve ...

and the daughter of one Gaius Albanius. Although Horace made him the subject of one of his odes (I.4),

Ronald Syme Sir Ronald Syme, (11 March 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. He was regarded as the greatest historian of ancient Rome since Theodor Mommsen and the most brilliant exponent of the history of the Roman ...

explains it was simply to "indicate the publication year of the first three books" of his

ode An ode (from grc, ᾠδή, ōdḗ) is a type of lyric poetry. Odes are elaborately structured poems praising or glorifying an event or individual, describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally. A classic ode is structured in three majo ...

s.Syme, ''Aristocracy'', p. 383 Syme notes although Sestius served as a

proquaestor In ancient Rome a promagistrate ( la, pro magistratu) was an ex-consul or ex-praetor whose ''imperium'' (the power to command an army) was extended at the end of his annual term of office or later. They were called proconsuls and propraetors. Thi ...

of Marcus Junius Brutus, "he leaves no trace of either proper rank or capacity for the supreme magistracy" and opines that "Sestius may have been leading a life of tranquil leisure." If so, then this may indicate that Sestius had an aversion to public life, one of the characteristics of an

Epicurean Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded around 307 BC based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism. Later its main opponent became Stoicism. Few writings by Ep ...

. This aversion to public life would make him a safe choice to serve as a consul; the following year Lucius Licinius Varro Murena, brother of

Aulus Terentius Varro Murena Aulus Terentius Varro Murena (died 24 BC) was a Roman general and politician of the 1st century BC. Biography Murena was the natural born son of Aulus Terentius Varro, and adopted brother to Lucius Licinius Varro Murena. He was well connected t ...

, who was selected to be consul in 23 BC, but at the last moment replaced by Calpurnius Piso, was accused of conspiring against Augustus and murdered during his arrest.

Other activities

During the excavations of the villa in

Settefinestre Villa Settefinestre lies between Capalbio and Orbetello in Tuscany, Italy, and is the site of a late Republican Roman slave-run villa owned by the senatorial family of the Volusii, built in the 1st century BC and enlarged in the 1st century AD w ...

, which belonged to Sestius Quirinalis' parents, potteries stamped with the letters LS ("Lucius Sestius") were found. Literary sources credit him with the dedication of three ''arae'' (altars) of the

Imperial cult An imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor or a dynasty of emperors (or rulers of another title) are worshipped as demigods or deities. "Cult" here is used to mean "worship", not in the modern pejorative sense. The cult may ...

in north-west Hispania, at some time around 19 BC.

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

, Nat. Hist., 4.111: see also Ptolemy, Geog., 2.6.3: Pomponeus Mela, 3.13.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sestius Albanianus Quirinalis, Lucius 1st-century BC Romans Albanianus Quirinalis, Lucius Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome

Life

Other activities

See also

References