Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura
 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (November 2023) |
Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura | |
|---|---|
| Known for | step-father of Mark Antony |
| Spouse | Julia |
Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura (114 BC[1] – 5 December 63 BC) was one of the chief figures in the Catilinarian conspiracy. He was also the step-father of the future triumvir Mark Antony.
Biography
[edit]When accused by Sulla (to whom he had been quaestor in 81 BC) of having squandered the public money, he refused to render any account, but insolently held out the calf of his leg (sura), on which part of the person boys were punished when they made mistakes in playing ball, akin to inviting a slap on the wrist. He was praetor in 75 BC, governor of Sicily in 74 BC, and consul in 71 BC.
In 70, he was one of a number of senators expelled from the senate for immorality (he was later readmitted at an unknown date). In 63, soon after his election to praetor, he joined Catiline. Relying upon a Sibylline oracle that three Cornelii should be rulers of Rome, Lentulus regarded himself as the destined successor of Lucius Cornelius Sulla and Lucius Cornelius Cinna. When Catiline left Rome after Cicero's second speech In Catilinam, Lentulus took his place as chief of the conspirators in the city. In conjunction with Gaius Cornelius Cethegus, he undertook to murder Cicero and set fire to Rome, but the plot failed owing to his timidity and indiscretion.
On learning that ambassadors from the Allobroges were in Rome bearing a complaint against their oppression by Roman provincial governors, Lentulus made overtures to them with the object of obtaining armed assistance. Pretending to fall in with his views, the ambassadors obtained a written agreement signed by the chief conspirators, and informed Q. Fabius Sanga, their "patron" in Rome, who in turn informed Cicero.
The conspirators were arrested and forced to admit their guilt. He was put to death in the Tullianum on 5 December 63 BC, along with other senatorial supporters of Catiline.
See also
[edit]- Lentulus, Roman patrician family.
References
[edit]Citations
[edit]Bibliography
[edit]- Dio Cassius xxxvii. 30, xlvi. 20
- Plutarch, Cicero, 17
- Sallust, Catilina
- Cicero, In Catilinam, iii., iv.; Pro Sulla, 25.
- March, Duane A. (1989), "Cicero and the 'Gang of Five'", Classical World, Volume 82, p.225–234.
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Lentulus". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 430–431.
- Sumner, G.V. (1973). The Orators in Cicero's Brutus: Prosopography and Chronology. University of Toronto Press. ISBN 0-8020-5281-9.
