Lucius Licinius Crassus

For more information on Lucius Licinius Crassus, visit Britannica.com.

1. Lucius Licinius Crassus (140–91 BC), the outstanding Roman orator of his day, exemplar for Cicero, who makes him the chief speaker in his De oratore. He was a strong supporter of the aristocracy. His speeches have not survived, but a saying has: see AHENOBARBUS.

2. Marcus Licinius Crassus (115–53 BC), the triumvir, one of Sulla's lieutenants, who had made a fortune in the proscriptions. In 71 he put down the slave revolt led by Spartacus, who had defeated the consuls in the previous year. He was consul in 70 with Pompey whom he now felt to be his rival. They greatly modified Sulla's constitution and diminished the power of the senate. In the following years Crassus increased his fortune, and by helping suitably eminent or promising men in need (such as Julius Caesar) he gained much influence. When Caesar returned from Spain, he, Pompey, and Crassus made an informal coalition, known in modern times as ‘the first triumvirate’, with the purpose of enabling each man to achieve his particular aim. Crassus helped Caesar to become consul in 59. In 55 Caesar procured the consulship for both Pompey and Crassus, and arranged for Crassus to proceed afterwards to the province of Syria, which the latter reckoned to be the place to acquire wealth and military glory by a victory over the Parthians. In the event the Romans suffered an appalling defeat at Carrhae in 53 and Crassus was subsequently murdered by the Parthians. The Parthian king was celebrating the marriage of his son and entertaining the wedding party with a performance of Euripides' Bacchae, when a messenger arrived with the head and hand of Crassus. To the delight of the spectators the actors applied to Crassus' head the lines in the play referring to that of Pentheus.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2007)

Lucius Licinius Crassus (140 BC–91 BC) was a Roman consul. He was considered the greatest Roman orator of his day, by his pupil Cicero.

He became consul in 95 BC. During his consulship a law was passed (the lex Licinia Mucia) requiring all but citizens to leave Rome, an edict which provoked the Social War. In 92 BC he was elected censor with Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus.

Licinius Crassus was married to Mucia, younger daughter of the Consul Quintus Mucius Scaevola Augur by his wife Laelia, daughter of Gaius Laelius Sapiens. They had two surviving daughters:

• Licinia Crassa Prima or Major married to the Praetor Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio, a descendant of Scipio Africanus and Scipio Nasica, and by whom she had issue
• Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius, eventually Pontifex Maximus adopted their son, who then became known as Metellus Scipio.

According to both Plutarch and Cicero, a Licinia, daughter of this man, was married to Gaius Marius the Younger; the married appears to have taken place around 95 BC, though the date is pure supposition by scholars, based on our reconstruction of a political alliance between Crassus and Gaius Marius, the two fathers, the fact that men could not marry before they turned 14, but that leading families tended to marry early to cement alliances. Nothing is know of Licinia after Marius the Younger's death in 82 BC, although in the time of Caesar a Pseudo-Marius appeared in Rome claiming to be their son - Cicero seems to have accepted the possibility that he might indeed be a Marius, though he tried not to involve himself in a politically difficult situation.

Preceded by Gaius Cassius Longinus and Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus

Consul of the Roman Republic with Quintus Mucius Scaevola Pontifex 95 BC

Succeeded by Gaius Coelius Caldus and Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1907 edition of The Nuttall Encyclopædia.

File:Julius caesar.jpg

This Ancient Roman biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)