Spurius Cassius Vecellinus or Vicellinus (died 485 BC) was one of the most distinguished men of the early Roman Republic. He was three times consul, and celebrated two triumphs. He was the first magister equitum , and the author of the first agrarian law. The year following his last consulship, he was accused of aiming at regal power, and was put to death by the patricians.
His surname variously appears as Vecellinus, Vicellinus, and Viscellinus. The latter has been shown to be incorrect, and Vecellinus is usually preferred. The otherwise unattested name may be a reference to a Mount Vecilius mentioned by Livy. [1] [2] [3] [4]
According to one tradition, Cassius' father was still living and hale at the time of his death. If this were the case, it would be difficult to place Cassius' birth much earlier than 540 or 535 BC. Cassius also left behind him three sons, whose names have not been preserved. It is believed that the original Cassii were patricians, although the later members of the gens occurring in history were all plebeian. The historian Niebuhr suggests that Cassius' sons may have been expelled by the patricians from their order, or that they or their descendants may have voluntarily passed over to the plebeians, because the patricians had shed the blood of their father. [5] [6] [7]
Cassius' first consulship was in 502 BC, the eighth year of the Republic. His colleague was Opiter Verginius Tricostus. Dionysius reports that Cassius carried on war against the Sabines, whom he defeated (with great loss to the Sabines) near Cures. The Sabines sued for peace, and surrendered a large portion of their land. On his return to Rome, Cassius celebrated his first triumph, which is confirmed by the Fasti Triumphales. Livy, however, states that the two consuls carried on war against the Aurunci, and took the town of Suessa Pometia. The same events he reports under 495 BC, which is in agreement with Dionysius. Thus, Dionysius probably preserves the correct account. [8] [9] [10]
In the following year, Titus Larcius was appointed the first dictator, and as his magister equitum he nominated Cassius. The reason for the institution of these offices was the fear of impending war with both the Sabines and the Latins. After a failed round of negotiations, war was declared against the Sabines, but as both sides were reluctant to come to blows, no hostilities ensued. War with the Latins came in 498 BC, with the Battle of Lake Regillus. Following the Roman victory, Cassius is said to have urged the senate to destroy the Latin towns. [11] [12]
Cassius was consul for the second time in 493 BC, with Postumus Cominius Auruncus. The consuls entered upon their office during the secession of the plebs to the Mons Sacer. The strife between the patricians and plebeians was a recurring theme throughout the early history of the Republic, and in time cost Cassius his life. In contrast with his former position, Cassius ratified a treaty with the Latins on Rome's behalf, thereby removing one source of danger to the fledgling Republic. [13] The treaty became known as the Foedus Cassianum, bearing the consul's name. Cicero related that a copy of the treaty was still extant in his day, and its terms are summarized by Dionysius. Later the same year, Cassius consecrated the temple of Ceres, Bacchus, and Proserpina. [13] [14] [15] [16]
In 486 BC, Cassius was consul for the third time, with Proculus Verginius Tricostus Rutilus. Cassius marched against the Volsci and Hernici, but they sued for peace, and once again showing his talent for diplomacy, Cassius formed a league with the Hernici. Livius states that the Hernici agreed to surrender two thirds of their land, but a more likely explanation is that the Romans, Latins, and Hernici agreed to share their acquired land evenly, with each receiving one third of the lands conquered by their mutual arms. This treaty, resembling one formerly in force under the kings,[ citation needed ] held for over a hundred years. On his return, Cassius celebrated his second triumph. [17] [18] [19]
After concluding the treaty with the Hernici, Cassius proposed the first agrarian law at Rome, arguing for the land to be distributed amongst the plebs and the Latin allies. Cassius' colleague, Verginius, and the patricians strongly opposed the law. Debate and discord ensued, and the plebs turned against Cassius, suspecting him of aiming at regal power. [17]
In 485 BC once Cassius had left office he was condemned and executed. Livy says that the method of his trial is uncertain. Livy's preferred version is that a public trial on the charge of high treason was held on the orders of the quaestores parricidii Caeso Fabius and Lucius Valerius, at which Cassius was condemned by the people, and subsequently by public decree his house was demolished (being near the temple of Tellus). The alternative version is that Cassius' own father conducted a private trial (presumably exercising authority as pater familias) and put his son to death, and subsequently dedicated his son's assets to the goddess Ceres, including by dedicating a statue to her with the inscription "given from the Cassian family". [17] [20] [21] [22]
Dionysius states that he was hurled from the Tarpeian Rock. [23]
Niebuhr argues that it was impossible that a man who had been thrice consul and twice triumphed should still be in his father's power. [7]
Cassius Dio expressed his belief in the consul's innocence. [24]
In 159 BC the statue of Cassius erected on the spot of his house was melted down by the censors. Some seem to have called for the execution of Cassius' sons also, but according to Dionysius, they were spared by the senate. [25] [26]
E.J. Bickerman has suggested that Cassius' third consulship occurred in 480 BC, the same year as the Battle of Salamis. However, this assertion rests on the accuracy of Diodorus Siculus, who stated that his consulship coincided with the archonship of Calliades in Athens. Calliades was archon in 480 BC. Herodotus confirms the possibility that the battles of Thermopylae and Salamis were fought shortly after the Olympic Games of that year, and only a few months after these events: "On approach of spring, the sun suddenly quit his seat in the heavens, and disappeared" when Xerxes left Sardis, a few weeks or months before crossing over to Greece. This eclipse occurred on February 17, 478 BC, providing a valuable chronological reference. [27] [28] [29]
The gens Cassia was a Roman family of great antiquity. The earliest members of this gens appearing in history may have been patrician, but all those appearing in later times were plebeians. The first of the Cassii to obtain the consulship was Spurius Cassius Vecellinus, in 502 BC. He proposed the first agrarian law, for which he was charged with aspiring to make himself king, and put to death by the patrician nobility. The Cassii were amongst the most prominent families of the later Republic, and they frequently held high office, lasting well into imperial times. Among their namesakes are the Via Cassia, the road to Arretium, and the village of Cassianum Hirpinum, originally an estate belonging to one of this family in the country of the Hirpini.
Agrarian laws were laws among the Romans regulating the division of the public lands, or ager publicus. In its broader definition, it can also refer to the agricultural laws relating to peasants and husbandmen, or to the general farming class of people of any society.
Land reform in the Roman republic was a system first attempted in the Roman Republic in 486 BC under the consulships of Spurius Cassius Vecellinus, and Proculus Verginius Tricostus Rutilus.
Appius Claudius Sabinus Regillensis or Inregillensis was the legendary founder of the Roman gens Claudia, and consul in 495 BC. He was the leading figure of the aristocratic party in the early Roman Republic.
Appius Claudius Crassus InregillensisSabinus was a Roman senator during the early Republic, most notable as the leading member of the ten-man board which drew up the Twelve Tables of Roman law around 451 BC. He is also probably identical with the Appius Claudius who was consul in 471 BC.
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The gens Verginia or Virginia was a prominent family at ancient Rome, which from an early period was divided into patrician and plebeian branches. The gens was of great antiquity. It frequently filled the highest honors of the state during the early years of the Republic. The first of the family who obtained the consulship was Opiter Verginius Tricostus in 502 BC, the seventh year of the Republic. The plebeian members of the family were also numbered amongst the early tribunes of the people.
Opiter Verginius Tricostus served as consul of the early Roman Republic in 502 BC, with Spurius Cassius Vecellinus. He was the first from the powerful Verginia family to obtain the consulship.
Caeso Fabius Vibulanus was consul of the Roman republic in 484, 481, and 479 BC. He had earlier held the office of quaestor parricidii in 485 BC in connection with the trial and execution of Spurius Cassius Vecellinus.
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Proculus Verginius Tricostus Rutilus was a Roman statesman who served as Consul.
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The lex Publilia, also known as the Publilian Rogation, was a law traditionally passed in 471 BC, transferring the election of the tribunes of the plebs to the comitia tributa, thereby freeing their election from the direct influence of the Senate and patrician magistrates.
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Gaius Claudius Ap. f. M. n. Sabinus Regillensis, was a member of the great patrician house of the Claudii at Ancient Rome. He held the consulship in 460 BC.
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Servius Sulpicius Camerinus Cornutus was a Roman politician in the 5th century BC, consul in 461 BC and decemvir in 451 BC.
Publius Furius Medullinus Fusus was a Roman politician during the 5th century BC, and was consul in 472 BC.
Publius Valerius Poplicola was consul of the Roman Republic in 475 BC and 460 BC, and interrex in 462 BC.
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Viscellinus, Sp. Cassius". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology . Vol. 3. pp. 1271–72.
