Quintus Mucius Stcevola (consul of 174 BC)

Quintus Mucius belonged to the recently exalted plebeian clan Muciev . Later genealogies connected the family with the legendary Guy Mucius Cord , who burned his right hand in front of Porsenna and received the nickname “Lefty” ( lat. Scaevola ), but researchers consider this a fiction ^[1] . The first mention of Stcevol in the sources dates back to 215 BC. e., when Quintus Mucius Stcevola became a praetor . Consul 174 BC e. was his youngest son and the second consul in the family after his brother - Publius Mucius Stcevola ^{[2] [3]} .

The Mutsiev family was connected by a political union with the influential plebeian clan Fulviev Flaccov , who played an important role in Quint's career. Presumably thanks to the support of Fulviev and Quintus, and his brother Publius received praetorship for 179 BC. e. ^[4] ; the consuls then were Quintus Fulvius Flaccus and his brother Lucius Manlius Acidin Fulvian . The public got the most prestigious post of urban praetor, and Quintus - governorship in Sicily ^[5] . In 175 BC e. Quint was elected consul, and the decisive role was played by the help of his brother, who, as the consul of the current year, led the election ^[6] .

Patrician Spurius Postumius Albin Pavlul became the colleague of Stcevola on the consulate ^[7] . Since most of the story of Titus Libya on the events of 174 BC. e. lost, about the activity of Quintus Mucius at this post only one thing is known ^[8] : together with Albin, he was supposed to collect two legions for the army, but faced serious problems due to a large-scale epidemic ^[9] .

The next mention of Stcevol refers to 171 BC. e. Then the Third Macedonian War was going on , and Quint as a military tribune crossed to the Balkans as part of the army, headed by the consul Publius Licinius Crassus ^[10] . In the equestrian battle at Kallinique in Thessaly , which ended in the defeat of the Romans, he commanded the central part of the battle formation ^[11] . Crassus later provided Stsevola with a detachment of two thousand people and charged him with these forces to occupy the city of Ambracia in Aetolia ^[12] .

After this, Quintus Mucius is no longer mentioned in the sources. Meanwhile, he could live long enough: in 171 BC. e. Stcevola was a relatively young man ^[8] .

Quintus Mucius had a son of the same name , an outstanding lawyer who held a consular post in 117 BC. e. and received from his contemporaries the nickname Augur ^{[8] [13]} .

Sources

1. Titus Livy . The history of Rome from the foundation of the city. - M .: Nauka, 1994 .-- T. 3 .-- 768 p. - ISBN 5-02-008995-8 .

Literature

1. Egorov A. Mutsii Stcevola, Licinius of Crassus and Julia Caesari (Roman intelligentsia and the crisis of the late I - early II centuries BC) // Mnemon. - 2003. - No. 2 . - S. 191-204 .
2. Broughton R. Magistrates of the Roman Republic. - New York, 1951. - Vol. I. - P. 600.
3. Münzer F. Mucius // Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft . - 1933. - Bd. XVI, 1. - Kol. 412-414.
4. Münzer F. Mucius 16 // Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft . - 1933. - Bd. XVI, 1. - Kol. 424-425.
5. Münzer F. Mucius 20 // Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft . - 1933. - Bd. XVI, 1. - Kol. 430.
6. Münzer F. Mucius 21 // Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft . - 1933. - Bd. XVI, 1. - Kol. 430-436.

• Quintus Mucius Stcevola (consul of 174 BC) (English) . - in Smith 's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.