Publius Furius Philus was a

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 ...

in 223 BC, a

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 vario ...

in 216, and a censor in 214. He died the following year, before resigning his office.

Family and background

Furius was a member of the patrician '' gens Furia'', an ancient and noble house at

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 ...

. Many members of his ''

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 ...

'' had previously held the highest offices of the state, most famously Marcus Furius Camillus. However, the branch or ''stirps'' of the family known as the Furii Phili had not previously held any curule magistracies. From his ''filiation'', we know that Publius' father was named Spurius and his grandfather Marcus, but nothing is known of them. Publius had a son, likewise named Publius, who was a young man at the time of his father's death. It is not known how they were related to the later Furii Phili.

Consulship

Furius was a consul with

Gaius Flaminius can refer to: * Gaius Flaminius (consul 223 BC) * Gaius Flaminius (consul 187 BC) __NoToC__ Gaius Flaminius was Roman consul in 187 BC, together with Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. During his consulship, he fought to pacify Ligurian tribesmen who had ...

in 223 BC, the third year of the

Gallic War The Gallic Wars were waged between 58 and 50 BC by the Roman general Julius Caesar against the peoples of Gaul (present-day France, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland). Gallic, Germanic, and British tribes fought to defend their homel ...

. Both consuls marched to

Northern Italy Northern Italy ( it, Italia settentrionale, it, Nord Italia, label=none, it, Alta Italia, label=none or just it, Nord, label=none) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. It consists of eight administrative regions ...

. However, no sooner had they set out, than the aristocratic party at Rome devised a means for depriving Flaminius, who had earned their ire by passing an

agrarian law Agrarian laws (from the Latin ''ager'', meaning "land") were laws among the Romans regulating the division of the public lands, or ''ager publicus''. In its broader definition, it can also refer to the agricultural laws relating to peasants and hu ...

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 232, of his office. The aristocrats declared that the consular election was not valid on account of some fault in the auspices; and a letter was forthwith sent to the camp of the consuls, with orders to return to Rome. But, as all preparations had been made for a great battle against the

Insubres The Insubres or Insubri were an ancient Celts, Celtic population settled in Insubria, in what is now the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Lombardy. They were the founders of Mediolanum (Milan). Though completely Gaulish at the time of Roman rep ...

on the Addua, the letter was left unopened until the battle was gained. Furius obeyed the command of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, and laid down his office. His colleague continued the campaign and celebrated a triumph over the Gauls before laying down his command.

Praetorship

Furius was elected praetor ''urbanus'' in the third year of the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...

, BC 216; and after the fatal

Battle of Cannae The Battle of Cannae () was a key engagement of the Second Punic War between the Roman Republic and Carthage, fought on 2 August 216 BC near the ancient village of Cannae in Apulia, southeast Italy. The Carthaginians and their allies, led by ...

in this year, he and his colleague

Manius Pomponius Matho Manius Pomponius Matho ( 236 – 211 BC) was a Roman general who was elected consul for the year 233 BC with Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus. He was also the maternal grandfather of the general and statesman Scipio Africanus. Career During his c ...

summoned the senate to take measures for the defense of the city. Shortly afterwards he received the fleet from Marcus Claudius Marcellus, with which he proceeded to Africa, but having been severely wounded in an engagement off the coast he returned to

Lilybaeum Marsala (, local ; la, Lilybaeum) is an Italian town located in the Province of Trapani in the westernmost part of Sicily. Marsala is the most populated town in its province and the fifth in Sicily. The town is famous for the docking of Giuse ...

Censorship

In 214 BC, Furius was a censor with

Marcus Atilius Regulus Marcus Atilius Regulus () was a Roman statesman and general who was a consul of the Roman Republic in 267 BC and 256 BC. Much of his career was spent fighting the Carthaginians during the first Punic War. In 256 BC, he and Lucius Ma ...

, but he died at the beginning of the following year, before the solemn purification (''lustrum'') of the people had been performed; and Regulus accordingly, as was usual in such cases, resigned his office. These censors visited with severity all persons who had failed in their duty to their country during the great calamities that Rome had lately experienced. They reduced to the condition of aerarians all the young nobles who had planned to leave Italy after the battle of Cannae, among whom was Lucius Caecilius Metellus, who was a

quaestor A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...

in the year of their censorship. As, however, Metellus was elected tribune of the plebs for the following year notwithstanding his degradation, he attempted to bring the censors to trial before the people, immediately after entering upon his office, but was prevented by the other tribunes from prosecuting such an unprecedented course. Furius was also one of the

augur An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying i ...

s at the time of his death.''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 p ...

'', William Smith, Editor.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Furius Philus, Publius 213 BC deaths 3rd-century BC Roman augurs 3rd-century BC Roman consuls 3rd-century BC Roman generals Philus, Publius Roman censors Year of birth unknown