Publius Cornelius Scipio (born 48 BC) was a Roman senator active during the Principate. He was consul in 16 BC as the colleague of Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus.[1] He was also proconsular governor of Asia, probably around the years 8/7 BC.[2]
Ancestry
Little is known about Scipio's ancestry, beyond his father's praenomen Publius. The latest securely documented members of the Cornelii Scipiones was Metellus Scipio and his daughter Cornelia; there were still several Scipiones during the Principate, but how they are related is a subject of conjecture. The use of Publius, primarily used by the Scipiones Nasicae, could indicate that he was the grandson of Metellus Scipio, but he could have also been a son (or grandson) of Scipio Salvito.[3]
It was long believed the consul of 16 BC was the son of a hypothesized Publius Cornelius Scipio, the first husband of Scribonia, later the wife of Octavian.[4] Suetonius only mentions children from Scribonia's second marriage.[5]
Family
At least two people have been identified as his children by an unidentified woman:
- Cornelius Scipio, who was accused of and punished for adultery with Julia the Elder in 2 BC.[6] While Ronald Syme believes this man is different from the consul,[7] Henri Etcheto believes he could be the same as the consul of 16 BC.[8]
- Publius Cornelius Scipio, quaestor in Achaea circa AD 2.[9] Another suggestion by Syme; however Etcheto argues this man could have been adopted from the plebeian Aurelii Orestides, because this Scipio was tribune of the plebs, a magistracy only held by the plebeians and the Scipiones were patricians.[10]
Syme also suggests possible third child, the "Cornelia Scipionum gentis" wife of the long-lived Lucius Volusius Saturninus, consul in AD 3.[11] However, in another part of his book Syme notes this Cornelia is mentioned in an inscription as "L.f."[12] and suggests Scipio's possible daughter was the mother of Volusius' wife by Lucius Cornelius Lentulus consul of 3 BC.[13] Etcheto rejects this connection with the Corneli Lentuli, and considers that she was a direct heir of the Scipiones, but does not attempt to identify her father.[14]
See also
References
- ^ Cooley, The Cambridge Manual of Latin Epigraphy, p. 457
- ^ Syme, The Augustan Aristocracy, pp. 252, 405.
- ^ Etcheto, Les Scipions, p. 191.
- ^ The history of this mistake is set forth in John Scheid, "Scribonia Caesaris et les Cornelii Lentuli", Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique, 100 (1976), pp. 485-491
- ^ Suetonius, Life of Augustus, 62: "Mox (Caesar) Scriboniam in matrimonium accepit, nuptam ante duobus consularibus, ex altero etiam matrem."
- ^ Velleius Paterculus, 2.100
- ^ Syme, The Augustan Aristocracy, pp. 59, 252
- ^ Etcheto, Les Scipions, pp. 191, 192.
- ^ AE 1967, 458
- ^ Etcheto, Les Scipions, p. 192.
- ^ Syme, The Augustan Aristocracy, p 59
- ^ CIL XV, 7441
- ^ Syme, The Augustan Aristocracy, pp. 252f
- ^ Etcheto, Les Scipions, pp. 192, 193.
Bibliography
- Alison E. Cooley, The Cambridge Manual of Latin Epigraphy, Cambridge: University Press, 2012.
- Henri Etcheto, Les Scipions. Famille et pouvoir à Rome à l’époque républicaine, Bordeaux, Ausonius Éditions, 2012
- R.A. Billows, "The Last of the Scipios", American Journal of Ancient History, 7 (1982), pp. 53-68.
- Ronald Syme, The Augustan Aristocracy, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Gaius Furnius, and Gaius Junius Silanus as Ordinary consul | Consul of the Roman Empire 16 BC with Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus | Succeeded by Lucius Tarius Rufus as Suffect consul |