Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 2.djvu/1070

Rh 1056 METELLUS. METELLUS. STEMMA METBLLOIWJI. 1. L. Caecilius Meteilus, COS. B.C. 261, 247. I t. Q. Metellug, cosl B. c. 206. I 3. L. Meteilus, tr. pi. B. c. 213. 4, M. Meteilus, pt. B. c. 20o. 3. Q. Meteilus Macedonicus, COS. B. 0. 143. I 6. L. Meteilus CalTus, COS. B. c. 142. 7. y. Meteilus 8. L. Meteilus Balearicus, Diadematus, COS. B. c. 1 23. cos. B.C. 117. 9. M. Me- 10. C. Meteilus tellus, Caprarius, cos. B. c. 115. cos. B. c. 1 13. 16. Q. Meteilus 17. Caecilia, Ntpos, m. App. cos. B. c. 98. Claudius. I 80. Q. Meteilus 21. Q. Meteilus Celer, Nepos, cos. B. c. GO / cos. B. c. 59. m. Clodia. Of uncertain deiceni. 23. Q. Meteilus Creticus, Creticus, qu. B. c. 60 ? 29. Q. Meteilus Creticus, COK. A. D. 7 21. L. Meteilus, cos. B. c. 60. 27. L. Meteilus, tr. pi. B.C. 49' ll.Caecilia, 12. Caecilia, m. C. Servilius m. Scipio Vatia. Wasica. I i I 13. L. Meteilus 14. Q. Meteilus 15. Caecilia, Dalmaticus, Numidicus, m. L. Lu. COS. B. C. 119. COS. B. c. 109. cuUus 2.5. M. Meteilus, pr. B. c. 69. M. Me 8. Caecilia, 19. Q. Metrflus I. 1. Scaurus ; Pius, 2. Sulla. COS. B. c. 80. !2. Q. Meteilus Pius Scipio, COS. B.C. Hi; m. Lepida. Cornelia, m. 1. P. Crassus. 2. Pompev, triumvir, (See Vol.1, p. 835. b. 1. L. Caecilius L. f. C. n. Metellus, consul B. c. 251, with C. Furius Pacilus, in the first Car- thaginian war, was sent with his colleague into Sicily to oppose Hasdrubal, the Carthaginian ge- neral. The Roman soldiers were so greatly alarmed at the elephants in the Carthaginian army, that their generals did not venture to attack the enemy, hut lay inactive for a long time. At last, when Furius Pacilus returned to Italy with a part of the forces, Hasdrubal availed himself of the opportunity to attack Panonnus, but was entirely defeated by Meteilus, who slew a great number of his troops, and captured all his elephants, which he afterwards exhibited in his triumph at Rome. This victory established the Roman supremacy in Sicily, and may be said to have had a decisive influence on the fate of the war. (Polyb. i. 39, 40 ; Fie J. $ 27 ; Eutrop. ii. 24 ; Oros. iv. 9 ; Frontin. Strateg. ii. 5. § 4 ; Cic. de Rep. i. 1 ; Liv. Epit. 19 ; Plin, //. N. vii. 43. 8. 45 ; Dionys. ii. 66.) In B. c. 249, Meteilus was magister equitum to the dictator A. Atilius Calatinus, and in b. c. 247 consul a second time with N. Fabius Buteo, but nothing of importance took place during this year. Four years afterwards (b. c. 243) he was elected pontifex maximus, and held this dignity for twenty- two years, lie must, therefore, have died shortly before the commencement of the second Punic war, B. c. 221. An act of Meteilus during his high- priesthood is recorded by the hiotorians. In B.C. 241 he rescued the Palladium when the temple of Vesta was on fire, but lost his sight in consequence : he was, therefore, rewarded by the people with a statue on the Capitol, and the permission, previously granted to no one, of riding to the senate-house in a carriage. In addition to his other honours he was appointed dictator in b. c. 224, for the purpose of holding the comitia. His merits and distinctions are recorded by Pliny in an extract which he has made from the funeral oration delivered by his son, Q. Meteilus. (Plin. Liv. Dionys. II. cc.; Cic. Cat, 9, pro Scaur. 2 ; Val. Max. i. 4. § 4 ; Ov. Fast. vi, 4:36.) 2. Q. Caecilius L. f. L. n. Metellus, son of the preceding, is enumerated by Cicero in his list of Roman orators {Brut. 14, 19), and his oration at his father's funeral has been spoken of above. (Comp. Plin. H. N. vii. 43. s. 45.) He was elected one of the pontifices in B.C. 216, plebeian aedile in B.C. 209, and curule aedile in b c. 208 (Liv. xxiii. 21, xxvii. 21, 36). In b. c. 207 he served in the army of the consul Claudius Nero, and was one of the legates sent to Rome to convey the joyful news of the defeat and death of Hasdrubal ; and it was mainly in consequence of his services in this war that he owed his elevation to the consulship in the following year. On his return to Rome he was ap- pointed magister equitum to M. Livius Salinator, who was nominated dictator for the purpose of hold- ing the comitia, and it was at these comitia (b. C. 206) that he was elected consul with L. Veturius Philo, who had served with him in the campaign against Hasdrubal (Liv. xxvii. 51, xxviii. 9, 10 ; Cic. Brut. 14). The consuls received Bruttii as their province, in order to prosecute the war against Hannibal ; but their year of office passed over with- out anything of importance occurring, and Metellt remained in the same province as proconsul, durii the following year. At the end of the year he recalled to Rome, and nominated dictator for tli purpose of holding the comitia (Liv. xxviii. 10, 1] 45, 46, xxix. ] 0, 1 1 ). Q. Meteilus had, like hi other distinguished contemporaries, taken an acti'v part in the llannibalian war ; but at the conclusio of this war in B. c. 201, he is reported to have i in the senate that he did not look upon its ter nation as a blessing to Rome, since he feared that the Roman people would now sink back again into its former slumbers, from which it had been roused by the presence of Hannibal. (Val. Max. vii. 2. § 3.) Metellus survived the war many years, and was