C. Claudius Marcellus 214

vol. III p.2733

214) C. Claudius Marcellus

Unlike what Ps.-Ascon. Verr. p.206 Or. says, he was not pronepos but abnepos of the famous M. Marcellus nr. 220, since the difference in time between this man's grandson and him is too big. In 674 = 80, he became praetor and in 675 = 79 he managed Sicilia as proconsul (Cic. Verr. III 212). His predecessor M. Aemilius Lepidus (vol. I p.554 nr. 72) had been guilty of awful cruel acts; <10> in contrast to the ancient customs of his house, Marcellus was mindful of the regular people and sought to help them by managing things more fairly (Cic. div. in Caec. 13; Verr. II 8. 51. 110. III 42. 212. IV 37. Ps.-Ascon. Verr. p. 206 Or.). They showed their appreciation for this by setting up statues for him; there is one attested in Tyndaris (Cic. Verr. IV 86f. 90), and in Tauromenion the basis of another has been preserved (Γάιος Κλαύδιος | Μαάρκου υἱὸς Μαάρκελλος | γ. IGI 435). <20> In 684 = 70, Marcellos was part of the consilium of the praetor M'. Acilius Glabrio, who presided over the trial of Verres (Cic. div. in Caec. 13), and he was also one of the judges in the trial himself (Cic. Verr. IV 90). He played no further role in political life; this is probably when he had his relationship with Cicero, who praises him in 692 = 62: apud me parentis gravitatem obtinebat (Sulla 19f.), and in the year 703 = 51 he says that he was pluribus beneficiis vel defensus tristibus temporibus vel ornatus secundis by him (ad fam. XV 7, cf. 8. 10, 2. 11, 2). <30> In this year, he sent Marcellus a letter congratulating him because his son nr. 216 had been elected consul, and in it he also makes a point of giving his best wishes to his wife Iunia (ad fam. XV 8, cf. 7). At the head of his letter, Cicero calls Marcellus his colleague; that was when he was an augur; two further passages in Cicero (div. II 75; leg. II 32), the first of which written in 710 = 44 must have been written after Marcellus' death, <40> tell us that he had also written a work on the discipline of augury, which emphasised its practical value in contrast to Ap. Claudius Pulcher nr. 297's mysticism. It is unknown whether Marcellus was related to C. Antonius Hybrida, and what relationship he had to P. Cornelius Sulla (Cic. Sulla 19f.).

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This article is referenced by: C. Claudius Marcellus (216)