Quintus Mucius Scaevola Pontifex
Encyclopedia
Quintus Mucius Scaevola Pontifex (died 82 BC), the son of Publius Mucius Scaevola
(consul in 133 BC and also Pontifex Maximus
) was a politician of the Roman Republic
and an important early authority on Roman law
. He is credited with founding the study of law as a systematic discipline. He was nephew and son of two men elected Pontifices Maximi, and would himself be elected chief priest of Rome. He was also the first Roman Pontifex Maximus to be murdered publicly, in Rome in the very Temple of the Vestals, signifying a breakdown of historical norms and religious taboos in the Republic.
in 106 BC, aedile
in 104 BC and consul
in 95 BC. As consul, together with his relative Lucius Licinius Crassus
he had a law (the Lex Licinia Mucia
) passed in the senate in that denied Roman citizenship to certain groups within the Roman sphere of influence ("Italians" and "Latins"). The passage of this law was one of the major contributing factors to the Social War.
Scaevola was next made governor of Asia, a position in which he became renowned for his harsh treatment of corrupt tax collectors and for publishing an edict that later became a standard model for provincial administration. He proved so popular that the people he governed instituted a festival day (the dies Mucia) in his honour.
Returning to Rome, he was elected pontifex maximus
. He took the opportunity to more strictly regulate the priestly colleges and to ensure that traditional rituals were properly observed.
Scaevola was the author of a treatise on civil law (Jus civile primus constituit generatim in libros decem et octo redigendo) that spanned 18 volumes, compiling and systematising legislation and precedents. He also wrote a short legal handbook (ο̉ροι, or simply Liber Singularis) containing a glossary of terms and an outline of basic principles. Four short sections of this latter work were incorporated by Justinian I
into his Pandectae, but nothing of the rest of his works is extant today. Speeches by Scaevola extant in ancient times were praised by Cicero
.
He was also the originator of cautelary law giving his name to the cautio muciana and the praesuptio muciana.
in 82 BC. Refusing to side with the Marians despite his daughter's marriage to Young Marius, he was pursued by them and killed in the temple of the Vestals and his body thrown into the Tiber. A previous attempt had been made on his life in 86 BC.
, who was wife of Pompey the Great and mother of his three surviving children. By his granddaughter Pompeia (wife of Faustus Cornelius Sulla, eldest surviving son of the Dictator), Scaevola had illustrious descendants living well into the first and possibly second century of this era.
Publius Mucius Scaevola
Publius Mucius Scaevola was a prominent Roman politician and jurist. He was tribune in 141 BC, praetor in 136 BC, and consul in 133 BC....
(consul in 133 BC and also Pontifex Maximus
Pontifex Maximus
The Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome. This was the most important position in the ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post...
) was a politician of the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
and an important early authority on Roman law
Roman law
Roman law is the legal system of ancient Rome, and the legal developments which occurred before the 7th century AD — when the Roman–Byzantine state adopted Greek as the language of government. The development of Roman law comprises more than a thousand years of jurisprudence — from the Twelve...
. He is credited with founding the study of law as a systematic discipline. He was nephew and son of two men elected Pontifices Maximi, and would himself be elected chief priest of Rome. He was also the first Roman Pontifex Maximus to be murdered publicly, in Rome in the very Temple of the Vestals, signifying a breakdown of historical norms and religious taboos in the Republic.
Political career
Scaevola was elected tribuneTribune
Tribune was a title shared by elected officials in the Roman Republic. Tribunes had the power to convene the Plebeian Council and to act as its president, which also gave them the right to propose legislation before it. They were sacrosanct, in the sense that any assault on their person was...
in 106 BC, aedile
Aedile
Aedile was an office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to enforce public order. There were two pairs of aediles. Two aediles were from the ranks of plebeians and the other...
in 104 BC and consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
in 95 BC. As consul, together with his relative Lucius Licinius Crassus
Lucius Licinius Crassus
Lucius Licinius Crassus was a Roman consul. He was considered the greatest Roman orator of his day, by his pupil Cicero.He became consul in 95 BC. During his consulship a law was passed requiring all but citizens to leave Rome, an edict which provoked the Social War...
he had a law (the Lex Licinia Mucia
Lex Licinia Mucia
Lex Licinia Mucia was a Roman law established in 95 BC by consuls Lucius Licinius Crassus and Quintus Mucius Scaevola Pontifex. Its purpose was to remove certain groups not amalgamated into the Roman Republic from the citizen rolls by prosecution of all citizens who falsely claimed to have Roman...
) passed in the senate in that denied Roman citizenship to certain groups within the Roman sphere of influence ("Italians" and "Latins"). The passage of this law was one of the major contributing factors to the Social War.
Scaevola was next made governor of Asia, a position in which he became renowned for his harsh treatment of corrupt tax collectors and for publishing an edict that later became a standard model for provincial administration. He proved so popular that the people he governed instituted a festival day (the dies Mucia) in his honour.
Returning to Rome, he was elected pontifex maximus
Pontifex Maximus
The Pontifex Maximus was the high priest of the College of Pontiffs in ancient Rome. This was the most important position in the ancient Roman religion, open only to patricians until 254 BC, when a plebeian first occupied this post...
. He took the opportunity to more strictly regulate the priestly colleges and to ensure that traditional rituals were properly observed.
Scaevola was the author of a treatise on civil law (Jus civile primus constituit generatim in libros decem et octo redigendo) that spanned 18 volumes, compiling and systematising legislation and precedents. He also wrote a short legal handbook (ο̉ροι, or simply Liber Singularis) containing a glossary of terms and an outline of basic principles. Four short sections of this latter work were incorporated by Justinian I
Justinian I
Justinian I ; , ; 483– 13 or 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.One of the most important figures of...
into his Pandectae, but nothing of the rest of his works is extant today. Speeches by Scaevola extant in ancient times were praised by Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
.
He was also the originator of cautelary law giving his name to the cautio muciana and the praesuptio muciana.
Death
Scaevola was killed in the civil unrest surrounding the power struggle between Sulla and Gaius Marius the YoungerGaius Marius the Younger
Gaius Marius Minor, also known in English as Marius the Younger or informally "the younger Marius" , was the adopted son of Gaius Marius, who was seven times consul, and a famous military commander. Appian first describes him as the son of the great Marius, but in a subsequent passage, he is...
in 82 BC. Refusing to side with the Marians despite his daughter's marriage to Young Marius, he was pursued by them and killed in the temple of the Vestals and his body thrown into the Tiber. A previous attempt had been made on his life in 86 BC.
Family
Scaevola was twice married, to two women named Licinia. By his first wife, who was noted for her beauty, but whom he divorced after her adultery with another consul, he had a daughter Mucia TertiaMucia Tertia
Mucia Tertia was a Roman matrona who lived in the 1st century BC. She was the daughter of Quintus Mucius Scaevola, the pontifex maximus, consul in 95 BC. Her mother was a Licinia that divorced her father to marry Quintus Caecilius Metellus Nepos, in a scandal mentioned by several sources...
, who was wife of Pompey the Great and mother of his three surviving children. By his granddaughter Pompeia (wife of Faustus Cornelius Sulla, eldest surviving son of the Dictator), Scaevola had illustrious descendants living well into the first and possibly second century of this era.