Delayed Career of the ‘Delayer’
The Early Years of Q. Fabius Maximus Verrucosus, the ‘Cunctator’
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9316254 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rachel Feig Vishnia (Tel Aviv University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 26 |
| Pages | 19-37 |
| Publication date | 2020-04-28 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Scripta classica Israelica (BOOK_SERIES) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0334-4509 • E-ISSN: 2731-2933 |
| Publisher | Israel Society for the Promotion of Classical Studies (PUBLISHER • IL) |
| DOI | 10.71043/sci.v26i.3321 |
| OpenAlex | W7632374 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
A well-known elogium* 1 attests that he was twice dictator, five times consul, censor, twice interrex, cu rule aedile, twice quaestor, twice tribune of the soldiers, pontifex and augur.He celebrated two triumphs and was nominated princeps senatus at two lustra,2 Verrucosus was doubtless a worthy heir to his illustrious patrician forefathers whose achievements were renowned and highly venerated.3Yet, despite this memorable career and noble de scent, it seems highly probable, as I hope to show, that when Verrucosus was first elected consul in 233 he was about sixty years old, far older than the average age of con suls in that period.Why was the career of a scion to one of Rome's noblest families, a man who would become known as the 'delayer', delayed for so long?Was this the common office-hold ing pattern in the second half of the third century BCE, before the increase in the number of praetors, the introduction of a stricter cursus honorum and the requirement of a mini mum age for consuls as stipulated by the lex Villia Annalis in 180?4 Is it possible to establish the precise dates for the junior magistracies which Verrucosus held, that are recorded in the elogium but are otherwise unattested, and determine the reasons why he held -as no one else did before or after him -the quaestorship twice?5 * I wish to thank the referees o f SCI for valuable and helpful criticism and suggestions.An earlier version o f this paper was presented at the 28th annual conference o f The Israel Soci ety for the Promotion o f Classical Studies held at the Ben Gurion University (Beer Sheva, June 2004).1 dates are BCE.Translations are from the Loeb
Biology · Zoology · Classical Antiquity Studies · Historical and Religious Studies of Rome · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies
| Citations per year | 0.38 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2018 - 2022 (5) |
| Highly cited | No |