Digital Prosopography of the Roman Republic

AEMI1553 M. Aemilius (83) M. f. M. n. Lepidus Porcina

Status

  • Patrician

Life Dates

  • 180?, birth (Sumner Orators) Expand

    Sumner R46.

Relationships

son of
? M. Aemilius (68) M. f. M. n. Lepidus (cos. 187) (Badian 1990)
? M. Aemilius (70) M'. f. M'. n. Lepidus (cos. 158) (Zmeskal 2009)
brother of
? Q. Aemilius (A) Lepidus (sen. C3-C1?) (DPRR Team)
? M. Aemilius (69) Lepidus (tr. mil. 190) (DPRR Team)
? M. Aemilius (71) Lepidus (cos. 126) (DPRR Team)
? M'. Aemilius (C) Lepidus (son of? M. Aemilius (70) M'. f. M'. n. Lepidus (cos. 158)) (DPRR Team)
related to
D. Iunius (57) M. f. M. n. Brutus Callaicus (cos. 138) (Zmeskal 2009) Expand

Career

  • Augur? 155 to 126 (Rüpke 2005) Expand
    • Patrician. Probable member of the college of Augurs just before the death of Tiberius Gracchus in 133. Augur before 125, and probably much earlier (Broughton MRR I)
    • Vell. 2.10.1; Val. Max. 8.1, damn. 7; see Censors. Had probably held the priesthood for many years. See 129, Augurs. (Broughton MRR I)
    • Cos. 137. See MRR 1.472. As the passage in Frontin. Aq. 1.7 makes no mention of praetors and deals primarily with actions of a M. Lepidus who was a member of the college of Xviri s. f., and as Porcina is attested a member of the college of augurs by or before 125 B.C. (see MRR 1.511, cf. 496), the evidence for Porcina's praetorship in 143 disappears, and the consul of 158, M. Aemilius M'. f. M'. n. Lepidus (70) should be accepted as the Xvir s. f. active in 143 (see above; Sumner, Orators 47-48; cf. MRR 1.473, note 1). Porcina must have been praetor by 140 in any case, and may well be the praetor M. Aemilius M. f. named in Sherk, RDGE no. 7. (Broughton MRR III)
  • Praetor before 139 urbanus, Rome (Broughton MRR III) Expand
    • The identification of Porcina and the date to be assigned to his praetorship depend on the reading of the text of Frontinus, who gives the consular dates. I accept the Mss reading collega since Marcius (Pr. 144), whose command was prorogued, would still be termed Praetor, like Sentius (Pr. 94) in Macedonia till 89 and Verres (Pr. 74) in Sicily till 71. Both Consuls being absent, Porcina as Praetor Urbanus would preside over meetings of the Senate; cf. Münzer, APF 239-241. Bardt (Priester 30) would accept Pighius' emendation collegio, identify Lepidus as the Consul of 158, and assign him and Lentulus to the Decemviri s. f. Professor L. R. Taylor suggests that collega means that both Porcina and Marcius were members of the augural college (cf. Vell. 2.10.1). In either case the basis for dating Porcina's praetorship in 143 would disappear. However, he became Praetor by 140 at the latest. On collega and collegio and on Marcius, see M. Stuart, AJPh 64 (1943) 440-444; CPh 39 (1944) 40-44; AJA 49 (1945) 226-251. On the M. Aemilius M. f. named in SIG(3) 679, whom the editors identify with Porcina, see also 161, Praetors, note 1. (Broughton MRR I)
    • Aided his "colleague," Marcius Rex, to secure permission to bring water by aqueduct to the Capitol, contrary to the Sibylline books (Frontin. Aq. 1.7; Liv. Oxy. Per. 54). (Broughton MRR I)
    • Cos. 137. See MRR 1.472. As the passage in Frontin. Aq. 1.7 makes no mention of praetors and deals primarily with actions of a M. Lepidus who was a member of the college of Xviri s. f., and as Porcina is attested a member of the college of augurs by or before 125 B.C. (see MRR 1.511, cf. 496), the evidence for Porcina's praetorship in 143 disappears, and the consul of 158, M. Aemilius M'. f. M'. n. Lepidus (70) should be accepted as the Xvir s. f. active in 143 (see above; Sumner, Orators 47-48; cf. MRR 1.473, note 1). Porcina must have been praetor by 140 in any case, and may well be the praetor M. Aemilius M. f. named in Sherk, RDGE no. 7. (Broughton MRR III)
    • p. 741, footnote 144 (Brennan 2000)
  • Consul 137 (Broughton MRR I) Expand
    • Cic. Brut. 106; Fast. Cap., Degrassi 52f., 125, 468f. ([C. Ho]stilius A. f. L. n. Manci[nus]); Fast. Ant., ib. 160f. (M. A[i]mili. Lepid., [C. H]ostili. Man[- - - -]); Liv. Oxy. Per. 55; App. Ib. 80; Obseq. 24; Oros. 5.4.19; Chr. 354 (Porcina et Mancino); Fast. Hyd. (Lepido Porcina et Mancino); Chr. Pasc. ({Gr}); Cassiod.; and on Porcina, Diod. 33.28; Cic. Brut. 97. Mancinus in Hither Spain was defeated and trapped by the Numantines, and saved his army by surrendering and signing a treaty of peace. This the Senate refused to ratify, but replaced him by his colleague and voted (see 136) to surrender him to the Numantines (Cic. Har. Resp. 43; Caec. 98; Rep. 3.28; De Or. 1.181, and 238; 2.137; Off. 3.109; Liv. Per. 55; Val. Max. 1.6.7; 2.7.1; Vell. 2.1.5, 2.1, and 90.3; Quintil. Inst. Or. 7.4.12-13; Plut. TG 5-7; App. Ib. 79-80; Flor. 1.34.5-7; Obseq. 24; Eutrop. 4.17; Oros. 5.4.19-5.11; Mart. Cap. 5.456; Schulten, Gesch. Numantia 75-78). Lepidus opposed the ballot law of Cassius Ravilla (Cic. Brut. 97; see Tribunes of the Plebs), and was sent to Spain to replace Mancinus. (Broughton MRR I)
  • Proconsul 136 Hispania Citerior (Broughton MRR I) Expand
    • According to Appian Lepidus was relieved of his consulship ({Gr}) after his defeat, but he cannot have reached Spain until late in 137. Livy (Per. 56) calls him Proconsul, and the operations against the Vaccaei and Pallantia are best placed in this year. On the chronology of Brutus' campaigns, see RE, and Schulten, Gesch. Numantia 78. Schulten believes that the lunar eclipse of April 1, 136, marks the date of the retreat from Pallantia. (Broughton MRR I)
    • Proconsul (Liv. Per. 56). While awaiting the Senate's decision regarding Mancinus' treaty with Numantia he attacked the Vaccaei and in cooperation with Brutus besieged Pallantia, but after a defeat was superseded in his command, and upon his return was forced to pay a fine (Liv. Per. 56; App. Ib. 80-83; Oros. 5.5.13-14; Schulten, Gesch. Numantia 78-80). (Broughton MRR I)
  • Augur 125 to 124 (Rüpke 2005)
  • Augur? 123 (Rüpke 2005)

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