Lepidus

Lĕpĭdus, i, m.,

• a surname in the gens Aemilia; e. g. M. Aemilius Lepidus, consul 675 A. U. C., an enemy of Sylla, Cic. Cat. 3, 10, 24; id. Verr. 2, 3, 91, § 212.—Another M. Aemilius Lepidus, triumvir with Antony and Octavius, Cic. Mil. 5, 13; id. Phil. 5, 14, 39; v. his letters to Cicero ap. Cic. Fam. 10, 34 sq.—Hence,
• • A Lĕpĭdā-nus, a, um, adj., of or belonging to Lepidus, Lepidan: bellum, Sall. H. Fragm. 3, 63 Dietsch.—
  • B Lĕpĭdĭānus, a, um, adj., of or belonging to Lepidus, Lepidian: tumultus, which broke out a year after Sylla's death, in the consulate of M. Aemilius Lepidus, Macr. S. 1, 32.

2. Lepidus, ī, m., Beiname der ämilischen gens, worunter am bekanntesten M. Aemilius Lepidus, im Jahre 79 v. Chr. Konsul mit Q. Katulus dem Sohne, erbitterter Feind Sullas, der nach Sullas Tode dessen acta kassieren wollte u. dadurch Veranlassung zu bürgerlichen Unruhen (tumultus) gab, Cic. Cat. 3, 24: als Prätor in Sizilien Bedrücker der Sizilianer, Cic. Verr. 3, 212. – M. Aemilius Lepidus, im J. 44 v. Chr. mit Antonius u. Oktavianus Triumvir, Cic. Mil. 13; Phil. 5, 38 sqq.; ep. 10, 6 u. 10 20 sq. (zwei Briefe desselben, Cic. ep. 10, 34 sq.). – Dav. (vom zuerst gen. Lepidus) a) Lepidānus, a, um, lepidanisch, des Lepidus, bellum, Sall. hist. fr. 3, 63 (3, 85). – b) Lepidiānus, a, um, lepidianisch, tumultus, Macr. sat. 1, 13, 17.

2 Lĕpĭdus, (9) ī, m. , Lépidus ou Lépide [branche de la gens Æmilia] ; entre autres le collègue dʼOctave et dʼAntoine dans le triumvirat : Cic. Mil. 13 ; Phil. 5, 39.

Le'pidus

Παρθυαῖος, the name of a celebrated family of the Aemilia gens, which was one of the most ancient patrician gentes. [Aemilia Gens.] This family first occurs in Roman history at the beginning of the third century before the Christian era, and from that time it became one of the most distinguished in the state. Finally, it became connected by marriage with the imperial house of the Caesars, but disappears towards the end of the first century of the Christian era. The following genealogical table is in some parts conjectural, but these are pointed out in the course of the article. (Comp. Perizonius, Animad. Hist. p. 131; Norisius, Cenot. Pis. p. 257, &c.; Eckhel, vol. v. p. 123; Clement. Cardinal. Memorie Romane di Antichità, vol. i. p. 182; Orelli, Onom. Tull. vol. ii. p. 15; Drumann Gesch. Roms, vol. i. p. 1, &c.)

Le'pidus

1. M. Aemilius Lepidus, consul B. C. 285, but whose name only occurs in the Fasti.

Le'pidus

2. M. Aemilius Lepidus, M. F. M. N., probably a grandson of No. 1, was augur and twice consul. He died in the year of the battle of Cannae, B. C. 216; and his three sons exhibited in his honour funeral games which lasted for three days, and in which twenty-two pairs of gladiators fought in the forum. (Liv. 23.30.) His first consulship was in B. C. 232, when the agrarian law of C. Flaminius was passed (Plb. 2.21; Zonar. viii. p. 401c); but the date of his second consulship is uncertain. Some have supposed that he was consul suffectus in B. C. 220. (Pighius, ad Ann.)

Le'pidus

3. M. Aemilius Lepidus, M. F. M. N., eldest son of the preceding, was praetor in B. C. 218, when he commanded in Sicily; and in the following year he is spoken of by Livy as praetor in Rome; but we must suppose that in the latter year he was only propraetor. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the consulship for B. C. 216. (Liv. 21.49, 51, 22.9, 33, 35, 23.30.)

Le'pidus

4. L. Aemilius Lepidus, brother of No. 3. (Liv. 23.30.)

Le'pidus

5. Q. Aemilius Lepidus, brother of Nos. 3 and 4. (Liv. 23.30.)

Le'pidus

7. M. Aemilius Lepidus, M. F. M. N., the son of No. 3, was perhaps the Lepidus who is said to have served in the army while still a boy (puer), and to have killed an enemy, and saved the life of a citizen. (V. Max. 3.1.1.) This event is referred to in the accompanying coin of the Aemilia gens: it bears on the obverse a woman's head, and on the reverse a horseman, with the legend M. LEPIDUS AN. XV. PR. H. O. C. S., that is, M. Lepidus annorum xv. praetextatus hostem occidit, civem servavit. He was one of three ambassadors sent by the Romans in B. C. 201 to the Egyptian court, which was then a firm ally of the republic, and had solicited them to send some one to administer the affairs of the kingdom for their infant sovereign Ptolemy V. Although Lepidus was the youngest of the three ambassadors, he seems to have enjoyed the most power and influence, and accordingly we find writers speaking of him alone as the tutor of the Egyptian king (Tac. Ann. 2.67; Just. 30.2, 3; V. Max. 6.6.1); and it is not improbable that he remained in Egypt in that capacity when his colleagues returned to Rome. His superior importance is also shown by his colleagues sending him alone to Philip III. of Macedonia, who had exhibited signs of hostility towards the Romans by the siege of Abydos, and who was not a little astonished at the haughty bearing of the young Roman noble on this occasion. How long Lepidus remained in Egypt is uncertain, but as he was chosen one of the pontiffs in B. C. 199, we must conclude that he was in Rome at that time, though he may have returned again to Egypt. He was elected aedile B. C. 192, praetor 191 with Sicily as his province, and consul 187, after two unsuccessful attempts to obtain the latter dignity. In his consulship he was engaged, with his colleague C. Flaminius, in the conquest of the Ligurians; and after the reduction of this people, he continued the Via Flaminia from Ariminum by way of Bononia to Placentia, and from thence to Aquileia. (Comp. Strab. v. p.217.) He was elected pontifex maximus B. C. 180, censor 179, with M. Fulvius Nobilior, and consul a second time 175. He was six times chosen by the censors princeps senatus, and he died in B. C. 152, full of years and honours. Judging fron the strict orders which he gave to his sons to bury him in a plain and simple manner (Liv. Epit. 48), we may conclude that he belonged to that party of the Roman nobles who set their faces against the refined but extravagant habits which the Scipios and their friends were introducing into the state. Lepidus the triumvir is called by Cicero (Cic. Phil. 13.7) the pronepos of this Lepidus; but he would seem more probably to have been his abnepos, or great-great-grandson. This Lepidus left several sons; but we can hardly suppose that either the M. Lepidus Porcina, who was consul B. C. 137, or the M. Lepidus who was consul B. C. 126, were his sons, more especially as Livy mentions one of his sons, M. Lepidus (37.43), as tribune of the soldiers in B. C. 190: the other two we may therefore look upon as his grandsons. (Plb. 16.34; Liv. 31.2, 18, 32.7, 35.10, 24, 36.2, 38.42, 39.2, 56; Plb. 23.1; V. Max. 6.3.3; Liv. 40.42, 45, 46; V. Max. 4.2.1; Cic. de Prov. Cons. 9; Liv. Epit. 48, comp. 40.51, 41.27, 43.15, Epit. 46, 47; Plb. 32.22.)

The following coin of Lepidus refers to his embassy to Egypt mentioned above, and to his acting as guardian of Ptolemy V. The obverse contains a female head, intended to represent the city of Alexandria, with the legend Alexandrea, and the reverse Lepidus placing the diadem on the head of the king, with the legend M. LEPIDVS PONT. MAX. TVTOR REG. S. C. From the fact that Lepidus is here described as pontifex maximus, and that Valerius Maximus (6.6.1), in relating his guardianship, speaks of him as pontifex maximus and twice consul, Pighius has supposed (Annal. vol. ii. p. 403) that Lepidus must have been guardian of the Ptolemies VI. and VII.; but Eckhel (vol. v. pp. 123-126) has very ably refuted this opinion, and has shown that this coin was struck by one of the descendants of Lepidus, who would naturally introduce in the legend of the coin one of the distinguished offices of his ancestor, though held at a period subsequent to the event commemorated on the coin.

Le'pidus

8. M. Aemilius Lepidus, M'. F. M'. N., son probably of No. 6, consul B. C. 158, is mentioned only by Pliny (Plin. Nat. 34.6), and in the Fasti. We learn from the Fasti Capitolini that he was M'. F. M'. N; from which we perceive that he could not have been the son of No. 7, as Drumann alleges.

Le'pidus

9. M. Aemilius Lepidus, the son of No. 7, tribune of the soldiers in the war against Antiochus the Great, B. C. 190. (Liv. 37.43.)

Le'pidus

10. M. Aemilius Lepidus Porcina, M. F. M. N., son probably of No. 9, and grandson of No. 7, was consul B. C. 137. He was sent into Spain in his consulship to succeed his colleague C. Hostilius Mancinus, who had been defeated by the Numantines [Mancinus]; and while he was waiting for reinforcements from home, as he was not yet in a condition to attack the Numantines, he resolved to make war upon the Vaccaei, under the pretence of their having assisted the Numantines. This he did merely from the desire of distinguishing himself; and the senate, immediately his intention became known, sent deputies to command him to desist from his design, as they deprecated a new war in Spain, after experiencing so many disasters. Lepidus, however, had commenced the war before the deputies arrived, and had summoned to his assistance his relation, D. Brutus, who commanded in Further Spain, and was a general of considerable experience and skill. [Brutus, No. 15, p. 509b.] Notwithstanding his aid, Lepidus was unsuccessful. After laying waste the open country, the two generals laid siege to Pallantia, the capital of the Vaccaei (the modern Palencia), but they suffered so dreadfully from want of provisions, that they were obliged to raise the siege; and a considerable part of their army was destroyed by the enemy in their retreat. This happened in the proconsulship of Lepidus, B. C. 136; and when the news reached Rome, Lepidus was deprived of his command, and condemned to pay a fine. (Appian, App. Hisp. 80-83, who says that Lepidus was deprived of his consulship, by which we must understand proconsulship; Liv. Epit. 56; Oros. 5.5.) Lepidus was augur in B. C. 125, when he was summoned by the censors, Cn. Servilius Caepio and L. Cassius Longinus, to account for having built a house in too magnificent a style. (Vell. 2.10; V. Max. 8.1,damn. 7.)

Lepidus was a man of education and refined taste. Cicero, who had read his speeches, speaks of him as the greatest orator of his age, and says that he was the first who introduced into Latin oratory the smooth and even flow of words and the artificial construction of sentences which distinguished the Greek. He helped to form the style of Tib. Gracchus and C. Carbo, who were accustomed to listen to him with great care. He was, however, very deficient in a knowledge of law and Roman institutions. (Cic. Brut. 25, 86, 97, de Orat. 1.10. Tuscul. 1.3; Auctor, ad Herenn. 4.5.) In politics Lepidus seems to have belonged to the aristocratical party. He opposed in his consulship (B. C. 137) the law for introducing the ballot (lex tabillaria) proposed by L. Cassius Longinus (Cic. Brut. 25); and it appears from a fragment of Priscian (vol. i. p. 456), that Lepidus spoke in favour of a repeal of the lex Aemilia, which was probably the sumptuary law proposed by the consul, M. Aemilius Scaurus in B. C. 115. (Meyer, Orator. Rom. Fragm. p. 193, &100.2d. ed.)

Le'pidus

11. M. Aemilius Lepidus, M. F. M. N., consul B. C. 126 (Cic. Brut. 28; Obsequ. 89; Oros. 5.10.), and brother apparently of No. 10., though it is difficult to account for their both having the same praenomen.

Le'pidus

12. Q. Aemilius Lepidus, the grandfather of Lepidus the triumvir, must have been either a son or grandson of No. 7. [See below, No. 17.] But the dates will hardly allow us to suppose that he was a son. He was therefore probably a son of No. 9, and a grandson of No. 7.

Le'pidus

13. M. Aemilius Lepidus, Q. F. M. N., the son of No. 11, and the father of the triumvir, was praetor in Sicily in B. C. 81, where he earned a character by his oppressions only second to that of Verres. (Cic. in Verr. 3.91.) In the civil wars between Marius and Sulla he belonged at first to the party of the latter, and acquired considerable property by the purchase of confiscated estates; but he was afterwards seized with the ambition of becoming a leader of the popular party, to which post he might perhaps consider himself as in some degree entitled, by having married Appuleia, the daughter of the celebrated tribune Appuleius Saturninus. He accordingly sued for the consulship in B. C. 79, in opposition to Sulla; but the latter, who had resigned his dictatorship in this year, felt that his power was too well established to be shaken by any thing that Lepidus could do, and accordingly made no efforts to oppose his election. Pompey, moreover, whose vanity was inflamed by the desire of returning a candidate against the wishes of the all-powerful Sulla, exerted himself warmly to secure the election of Lepidus, and not only succeeded, but brought him in by more votes than his colleague, Q. Lutatius Catulus, who belonged to the ruling party. Sulla viewed all these proceedings with great indifference, and contented himself with warning Pompey, when he met him returning in pride from the election, that he had strengthened one who would be his rival.

The death of Sulla in the following year, B. C. 78, soon after Lepidus and Catulus had entered upon their consulship, determined Lepidus to make the bold attempt to rescind the laws of Sulla and overthrow the aristocratical constitution which he had established. There were abundant materials of discontent in Italy, and it would not have been difficult to collect a numerous army; but the victory of the aristocratical party was too firmly secured by Sulla's military colonies to fear any attempts that Lepidus might make, since he did not possess either sufficient influence or sufficient talent to take the lead in a great revolution. He seems, moreover, to have reckoned upon the assistance of Pompey, who remained, on the contrary, firm to the aristocracy. The first movement of Lepidus was to endeavour to prevent the burial of Sulla in the Campus Martius, but he was obliged to relinquish this design through the opposition of Pompey. He next formally proposed several laws with the object of abolishing Sulla's constitution, but their exact provisions are not mentioned by the ancient writers. We know, however, that he proposed to recall all persons who had been proscribed, and to restore to them their property, which had passed into the hands of other parties. Such a measure would alone have thrown all Italy into confusion again. At Rome the utmost agitation prevailed. Catulus showed himself a firm and dauntless friend of the aristocracy, and appears to have obtained a tribune to put his veto upon the rogations of Lepidus. The exasperation between the two parties rose to its height, and the senate saw no other means of avoiding an immediate outbreak except by inducing the two consuls to swear that they would not take up arms against one another. To this they both consented, and Lepidus the more willingly, as the oath, according to his interpretations only bound him during his consulship, and he had now time to collect resources for the coming contest. These the senate itself supplied him with. They had in the previous year voted Italy and Further Gaul as the consular provinces, and the latter had fallen to Lepidus. Anxious now to remove him from Italy, the senate ordered him to repair to his province, under the pretence of threatening dangers, and furnished him with money and supplies. Lepidus left the city; but instead of repairing to his province he stopped in Etruria and collected an army. The senate thereupon ordered him to return to the city in order to hold the comitia for the election of the consuls; but he would not trust himself in their hands. This year seems to have passed away without any decisive measures on either side. At the beginning of the following year, however, B. C. 77, Lepidus was declared a public enemy by the senate. Without waiting for the forces of M. Brutus, who had espoused his cause and commanded in Cisalpine Gaul, Lepidus marched straight against Rome. Here Pompey and Catulus were prepared to receive him; and in the battle which was fought under the walls of the city, in the Campus Martius, Lepidus was easily defeated and obliged to take to flight. While Pompey marched against Brutus in Cisalpine Gaul, whom he overcame and put to death [Brutus, No. 20], Catulus followed Lepidus into Etruria. Finding it impossible to hold his ground in Italy, Lepidus sailed with the remainder of his forces to Sardinia; but repulsed even in this island by the propraetor, he died shortly afterwards of chagrin and sorrow, which is said to have been increased by the discovery of the infidelity of his wife. The aristocratical party used their victory with great moderation, probably from fear of driving their opponents to join Sertorius in Spain. (Sall. Hist. lib. 1, and Fragm. p. 190, in Gerlach's ed. min.; Appian, App. BC 1.105, 107; Plut. Sull. 34, 38, Pomp. 15, 16; Liv. Epit. 90 ; Flor. 3.23; Oros. 5.22; Eutrop. 6.5; Tac. Ann. 3.27; Suet. Jul. 3, 5; Cic. in Cat. 3.10; Plin. Nat. 7.36, 54; Drumann's Rom, vol. iv. pp. 339-346.)

Le'pidus

14. Mam. Aemilius Mam. F. M. N. Lepidus Livianus, who appears to have been a grandson of No. 8, but only an adopted son, as his surname Livianus shows, was consul,B. C. 77, with D. Junius Brutus. He belonged to the aristocratical party, and is mentioned as one of the influential persons who prevailed upon Sulla to spare the life of the young Julius Caesar. He failed in obtaining the consulship at his first attempt, because he was supposed, though very rich, to have declined the office of aedile in order to avoid the expences attending it. (Suet. Jul. 1; Cic. Brut. 47, de Off. 2.17 ; Obsequ. 119; V. Max. 7.7.6.)

Le'pidus

15. M'. Aemilius Mam. F. M. N. Lepidus, probably likewise a son of No. 8, was consul, B. C. 66, with L. Volcatius Tullus, the same year in which Cicero was praetor. He is mentioned several times by Cicero, but never attained much political importance. In B. C. 65, he is spoken of as one of the witnesses against C. Cornelius, whom Cicero defended. He belonged to the aristocratical party, but on the breaking out of the civil war in B. C. 49, he retired to his Formian villa to watch the progress of events. Here he was in almost daily intercourse with Cicero, from whose letters we learn that Lepidus was resolved not to cross the sea with Pompey, but to yield to Caesar if the latter was likely to be victorious. He eventually returned to Rome in March. (Sal. Cat. 18; Cic. in Cat. 1.6, pro Sull. 4; D. C. 36.25; Ascon. in Cornel. p. 66, ed. Orelli; Cic. Att. 7.12, 23, 8.1, 6, 9, 15, 9.1.)

Le'pidus

16. L. Aemilius Paullus, M. F. Q. N., was a son of No. 13, and a brother of M. Lepidus, the triumvir. (Vell. 2.67.) His surname Paullus instead of Lepidus has led many to suppose that he was only an adopted brother of the triumvir; but Drumann has shown that Paullus was own brother of the triumvir. (Drumann's Rom, vol. i. p. 5.) The surname of Paullus was probably given him by his father in honour of the celebrated Aemilius Paullus, the conqueror of Macedonia, which he might do with the less scruple, as Paullus appears to have left no descendants bearing his name. Lepidus might therefore naturally desire that this family should be, as it were, again revived by one of his sons; and to show the more honour to the name, he gave it to his eldest son; for that L. Paullus was older than his brother the triumvir appears almost certain from the respective dates at which they attained the offices of the state. Some writers have supposed that the triumvir must have been the elder from his bearing the praenomen of his father; but since Lucius was the praenomen of the conqueror of Macedonia, we can easily understand why the father should depart on this occasion from the usual Roman practice of giving his own praenomen to his eldest son.

Since Aemilius Paullus undoubtedly belonged to the family of the Lepidi, and not to that of the Paulli, he is inserted in this place and not under Paullus.

Aemilius Paullus did not follow the example of his father, but commenced his public career by warmly supporting the aristocratical party. His first public act was the accusation of Catiline in B. C. 63, according to the Lex Plantia de vi, an act which Cicero praised as one of great service to the state, and on account of which Paullus incurred the hatred of the popular party. He must then have been quite a young man, for he was not quaestor till three years afterwards; and it was during his quaestorship in Macedonia, in B. C. 59, under the propraetor C. Octavius, that he was accused by L. Vettius as one of the persons privy to the pretended conspiracy against the life of Pompey. He is mentioned in B. C. 57 as exerting himself to obtain the recall of Cicero from banishment.

In his aedileship, B. C. 55, Paullus restored one of the ancient basilica in the middle of the forum, and likewise commenced a new one of extraordinary size and splendour. (Cic. Att. 4.16.) Respecting these basilicae, which have given rise to considerable dispute, a few remarks are made below, where a coin is given representing one of them.

In B. C. 53, Paullus obtained the praetorship, but not until the month of July, in consequence of the disturbances at Rome, which prevented the elections taking place till that month. He was chosen consul for the year B. C. 50, along with M. Claudius Marcellus, as one of the most determined enemies of Caesar. But he grievously disappointed the hopes of the aristocrats who had raised him to the consulship, for Caesar gained him over to his side by a bribe of 1500 talents, which he is said to have expended on the completion of his basilica. By accepting this bribe he lost the confidence of all parties, and accordingly seems to have taken no part in the civil war between Pompey and Caesar. After the murder of the latter, in B. C. 44, Paullus joined the senatorial party; and he was one of the senators who declared M. Lepidus a public enemy, on the 30th of June, B. C. 43, on account of his having joined Antony; and, accordingly, when the triumvirate was formed in the autumn of the same year, his name was set down first in the proscription list by his own brother. The soldiers, however, who were appointed to kill him, allowed him to escape, probably with the connivance of his brother. He passed over to Brutus in Asia, and after the death of the latter repaired to Miletus. Here he remained, and refused to go to Rome, although he was pardoned by the triumvirs. As he is not mentioned again, he probably died soon afterwards. (Sal. Cat. 31; Schol. Bob. in Vatin. p. 320, ed. Orelli; Cic. in Vatin. 10, ad Att. 2.24, ad Qu. Fr. 2.4, pro Mil. 9, ad Att. 6.1, 3, ad Fam. 8.4, 8, 10, 11, 15.12, 3; Appian, App. BC 2.26; D. C. 40.43, 63; Suet. Jul. 29; Plut. Caes. 29, Pomp. 58; Liv. Epit. 120 ; Appian, App. BC 4.12, 37; D. C. 47.6 ; Veil. Pat. 2.67.)

The preceding coin contains on the obverse the head of Vesta, and on the reverse the Basilica Aemilia.

It has been already seen that Cicero says (ad Att. 4.16) that Aemilius Paullus restored a basilica in the forum, and also commenced a new one. The former must have been the same as the one originally built by the censors M. Aemilius Lepidus and M. Fulvius Nobilior, in B. C. 179. As M. Fulvius seems to have had the principal share in its construction (Liv. 40.51), it was generally called the Fulvia basilica (Plut. Caes. 29), sometimes the Aemilia et Fulvia (Varr L. L. 6.2), but after the restoration by Aemilius Paullus, it was always called the Basilica Paulli or Aemilia. The restoration of this basilica was almost completed in B. C. 54, the year in which Cicero (l.c.) was writing. But the question where the new one was built is a very difficult one to answer. Most modern writers have supposed that the two basilicae were built by the side of one another side the forum; but this seems hardly possible to have been the case, since we never find mention of more than one basilica Aemilia or Paulli in all the ancient writers. (Tac. Ann. 3.72; Plin. Nat. 36.15, 24; Stat. Silv. 1.1. 29; Plut. Caes. 29, Galb. 26; D. C. 49.42, 54.24; Appian, App. BC 2.26.) Becker, therefore, supposes (Handb. der Rom. Alterthümer, vol. i. pp. 301-306) that the new building, which Paullus commenced, was the same as the one afterwards called the Basilica Julia, more especially as Paullus is expressly said to have received money from Caesar for the erection of one of these basilica. Cicero's letter (l.c.) certainly speaks as if the new basilica were to be built by Paullus at Caesar's expense; and it may therefore be that the statement of Appian (App. BC 2.26) and Plutarch (Plut. Caes. 29), that Paullus was bribed by Caesar in his consulship with a sum of 1500 talents, and that he expended this upon the basilica Aemilia, is not quite correct. The mistake, however, is a very natural one; for though the 1500 talents, might have been appropriated to the erection of the new basilica, subsequent writers would naturally suppose that the money had been expended upon the building which bore the name of Aemilius Paullus in their own time. For a further discussion of this subject, which hardly belongs to the present work, the reader is referred to Becker (l.c.)

The basilica Aemilia in the forum was rebuilt at his own expense by Paullus Aemilius Lepidus [No. 19], the son of the present article, and dedicated in his consulship, B. C. 34 (D. C. 49.42). It was burnt down twenty years afterwards, B. C. 14, by a fire, which also destroyed the temple of Vesta, and was rebuilt nominally by Paullus Lepidus, but in reality by Augustus and the friends of Paullus (D. C. 54.24). The new building was a most magnificent one; its columns of Phrygian marble were especially celebrated (Plin. Nat. 36.15, 24). It was again repaired by Lepidus [No. 23] in the reign of Tiberius, A. D. 22 (Tac. Ann. 3.72).

Le'pidus

17. M. Aemilius Lepidus, M. F. Q. N., the triumvir, was the brother of the preceding [No. 16], and the son of No. 13. He was a lineal descendant of the pontifex maximus, M. Aemilius Lepidus, consul in B. C. 187 and 175, though, as we have seen, it is doubtful whether he was the abnepos or great-grandson of the latter, as Cicero calls him [see No. 7].

M. Lepidus is first mentioned in the year B. C. 52, when the senate appointed him interrex, after the death of Clodius, for the purpose of holding the comitia. Rome was almost in a state of anarchy; and because Lepidus refused to hold the comitia for the election of the consuls, on the ground that it was not usual for the first interrex to do so, his house was attacked by the Clodian mobs, and he himself narrowly escaped with his life. On the breaking out of the civil war between Pompey and Caesar, B. C. 49, Lepidus, who was then praetor, joined the party of the latter; and as the consuls had fled with Pompey from Italy, Lepidus, as praetor, was the highest magistrate remaining in Italy. Caesar accordingly, when he set out for Spain, to carry on the war against Afranius and Petreius, left Lepidus nominally in charge of the city, though he really depended upon Antony for the preservation of peace in Italy. During Caesars absence in Spain, Lepidus presided at the comitia, in which the former was appointed dictator, who was thus able to hold the consular comitia, which it would have been impossible for a praetor to have done.

In the following year, B. C. 48, Lepidus received the province of Nearer Spain, with the title of proconsul, and here displayed both the vanity and avarice which marked his character. Having compelled the proconsul Q. Cassius Longinus, in Forther Spain, and his quaestor M. Marcellus, who were making war upon one another, to lay down their arms, he assumed the title of imperator, though he had not struck a blow. On his return to Rome B. C. 47, Caesar gratified his vanity with a triumph, though the only trophies he could display, says Dio Cassius (43.1), was the money of which he had robbed the province. In the course of the same year Caesar made him his magister equitum, and in the next year, B. C. 46, his colleague in the consulship. He was likewise nominated magister equitum by Caesar for the second and third times in B. C. 45 and 44.

In B. C. 44 Lepidus received from Caesar the government of Narbonese Gaul and Nearer Spain, but had not quitted the neighbourhood of Rome at the time of the dictator's death. He was then collecting troops for his provinces, and the conspirators had therefore proposed to murder him as well as Antony with the dictator; but this project was overruled. On the evening before the fatal 15th of March Caesar had supped with Lepidus (Appian, App. BC 2.115), and he was present on the following day in the curia of Pompey, in the Campus Martius, and saw Caesar fall by the daggers of his assassins. (Plut. Caes. 67; the statement of Appian, App. BC 2.118, and Dio Cassius 44.22, that Lepidus was not present, is less probable). Lepidus hastily stole away from the senate house with the other friends of Caesar, and after concealing himself for a few hours, repaired to his troops, the possession of which in the neighbourhood of Rome, seemed almost to place the supreme power in his hands. Accordingly, in the night of the 15th of March, he took possession of the forum with his soldiers, and on the following morning addressed the people to exasperate them against the murderers of the dictator. Antony, however, dissuaded him from resorting to violence, and in the negotiations which followed with the aristocracy Lepidus adopted all the views of the former. He was, therefore, a party to the hollow reconciliation which took place between the aristocracy and Caesar's friends. In return for the support which Antony had received from Lepidus, he allowed the latter to be chosen pontifex maximus, which dignity had become vacant by Caesar's death; and, to cement their union still more closely, Antony betrothed his daughter to the son of Lepidus. As Antony had no further occasion for Lepidus in Rome, he now repaired to his provinces of Gaul and Spain, with the special object of effecting a reconciliation between Sex. Pompey and the new rulers at Rome. This was proposed at Antony's suggestion, who was anxious to withdraw Pompey from Spain and induce him to come to Rome, that he might thus have deprived the senate of a considerable part of their forces, in case of the civil war breaking out again. The senate did not see through Antony's design; Lepidus succeeded in his mission, and accordingly received marks of honour from both parties; the senate on the 28th of November, on the proposition of Antony, voted him a supplicatio.

Shortly afterwards an open rupture occurred between Antony and the senate. Antony had obtained from the people the province of Cisalpine Gaul, which D. Brutus then held, and which he refused to surrender to him [Brutus, No. 17]. Antony accordingly marched against him, and as the latter was unable to resist him in the field, he threw himself into Mutina, which was forthwith besieged by Antony. The senate espoused the side of Brutus, and were now exceedingly anxious to induce Lepidus to join them, as he had a powerful army on the other side of the Alps, and could easily crush Antony if he pleased. Under the pretence, therefore, of showing him additional marks of honour on account of his inducing Pompey to lay down his arms, the senate, on the proposition of Cicero, voted an equestrian statue of Lepidus, and conferred upon him the title of imperator. Lepidus, however, hesitated what part to take, and seems to have been anxious to wait the result of the contest between Antony and the senate, before committing himself irrevocably to either party. He did not even thank the senate for their decree in his honour; and when they requested him to march into Italy and assist the consuls Hirtius and Pansa, in raising the siege of Mutina, he only sent a detachment of his troops across the Alps under the command of M. Silvanus, and to him he gave such doubtful orders that Silvanus thought it would be more pleasing to his general that his soldiers should fight for rather than against Antony, and accordingly joined the latter. Meantime, Lepidus incurred the displeasure of Cicero and the aristocracy, by writing to the senate to recommend peace. Shortly afterwards, in the latter half of the month of April, the battles were fought in the neighbourhood of Mutina, which compelled Antony to raise the siege and take to flight. He crossed the Alps with the remains of his troops, and proceeded straight to Lepidus, who finding it impossible to maintain a neutral position any longer, united his army to that of Antony on the 28th of May. The senate, therefore, on the 30th of June, proclaimed Lepidus a public enemy, and ordered his statue to be thrown down. The young Octavian still continued to act nominally with the senate; but with his usual penetration he soon saw that the senate would be unable to resist the strong force that was collecting on the other side of the Alps, and therefore resolved to desert the falling side. For besides their own troops Lepidus and Antony were now joined by Asinius Pollio, the governor of Further Spain, and by L. Munatius Plancus, the governor of Further Gaul, and were preparing to cross the Alps with a most formidable army. In August Octavian compelled the senate to allow him to be elected consul, and likewise to repeal the decrees that had been made against Lepidus and Antony; and towards the latter end of October he had the celebrated interview at Bononia, between Lepidus and Antony, which resulted in the formation of the triumvirate. [Augustus, p. 425b.] In the division of the provinces among the triumvirs, Lepidus obtained Spain and Narbonese Gaul, which he was to govern by means of a deputy, in order that he might remain in Italy next year as consul, while the two other triumvirs prosecuted the war against Brutus and Cassius. Of his large army he was only tc retain three legions for the protection of Italy; the remaining seven were divided between Octavian and Antony. Thus Lepidus was to play only a secondary part in the impending struggle between the triumvirs and the senate; and with this he seems to have been contented, for he never displayed any love of enterprise. In the proscription-lists which were published on the return of the triumvirs to Rome, Lepidus placed the name of his own brother Paullus, as has been already related. [See above, p. 766a.] Shortly afterwards, on the 31st of December, Lepidus celebrated a triumph as a consequence of the supplicatio which the senate had voted a year previously.

In B. C. 42 Lepidus remained in Rome as consul and in the fresh division of the provinces, made between Octavian and Antony, after the battle of Philippi at the close of this year, Lepidus was deprived of his provinces, under the pretext of his having had treasonable intercourse with Sex. Pompey; but it was arranged that, in case he should be proved innocent of the crime laid to his charge, he should receive Africa as a compensation for the provinces taken from him: so soon did Octavian and Antony make him feel that he was their subject rather than their equal. The triumvirs were unable to prove anything against Lepidas, but it was not till after the Perusinian war in B. C. 40, that Octavian allowed Lepidus to take possession of his province, and he probably would not have obtained it even then, had not Octavian been anxious to attach Lepidus to his interests, in case of a rupture between himself and Antony. Lepidus remained in Africa till B. C. 36. On the renewal of the triumvirate in B. C. 37, for another five years, Lepidus had been included, though he had now lost all real power. In the following year, B. C. 36, Octavian summoned him to Sicily to assist him in the war against Sex. Pompey. Lepidus obeyed, but tired of being treated as a subordinate, he resolved to make an effort to acquire Sicily for himself and regain his lost power. He left Africa on the 1st of July, B. C. 36, and on his arrival in Sicily proceeded to act on his own account, without consulting Octavian. He first subdued Lilybaeum and the neighbouring towns, and then marched against Messana, which he also conquered. The eight Pompeian legions, which formed the garrison of the latter town, joined him, so that his army now amounted to twenty legions. Lepidus, therefore, felt himself strong enough to assume a threatening position, and accordingly, on the arrival of Octavian, claimed Sicily for himself, and an equal share as triumvir in the government of the state. A civil war seemed inevitable. But Lepidus did not possess the confidence of his soldiers; Octavian found means to seduce them from their allegiance, and at length, feeling sure of support from a numerous body of them, adopted one day the bold resolution of riding into the very camp of Lepidus, and calling upon his troops to save their country from a civil war. Although this daring attempt did not immediately succeed, and Octavian was obliged to retire with a wound in his breast, yet it had eventually the desired effect. Detachment after detachment deserted Lepidus, who found himself at last obliged to surrender to Octavian. All his courage now forsook him. He put on mourning, and threw himself before the knees of Octavian, begging for his life. This Octavian granted him, but he deprived him of his triumvirate, his army, and his provinces, and commanded that he should live at Circeii, under strict surveillance. He allowed him, however, to retain his private fortune, and his dignity of pontifex maximus.

Thus ended the public life of Lepidus. After the conspiracy of his son against the life of Augustus at the time of the battle of Actium (see below), Lepidus was ordered to return to Rome; and, though he had not been privy to it, he was treated by Augustus with the utmost indignity. Still the loss of honour and rank, and the insults to which he was exposed, did not shorten his life, for he survived till B. C. 13. Augustus succeeded him as pontifex maximus.

Lepidus was one of those men who have no decided character, and who are incapable of committing great crimes for the same reason that they are incapable of performing any noble acts. He possessed great wealth, and, like almost all his contemporaries, was little scrupulous about the means of acquiring it. Neither in war nor in peace did he exhibit any distinguished abilities; but that he was not so contemptible a character, as he is drawn by Drumann, seems pretty certain from the respect with which he was always treated by that great judge of men, Julius Caesar. It seems clear that Lepidus was fond of ease and repose, and it is not improbable that he possessed abilities capable of effecting much more than he ever did.

His wife was Junia, the sister of the M. Brutus who killed Caesar. [Junia, No. 2.] Further Information

The passages of Cicero referring to Lepidus are given in Orelli, Onom. Tull. vol. ii. pp. 14, 15; Appian, B. C. lib. ii. iii. v.; Dio Cass. lib. xli--xlix.; Vell. 2.64, 80; Flor. 4.6, 7; Liv. Epit. 119, 120, 129; Suet. Octav. 16, 31; Sen. de Clem. i 10.

Le'pidus SCIPIO

18. Scipio, a brother of the two preceding [Nos. 16 and 17], and a son of No. 13, must have been adopted by one of the Scipios. He fell in battle in the war of his father against the aristocratical party, B. C. 77. (Oros. 5.22.)

Le'pidus

19. Paulus Aemilius Lepidus, L. F. M. N., the son of L. Aemilius Paullus [No. 16], with whom he is frequently confounded. His name is variously given by the ancient writers Aemilius Paullus, or Paullus Aemilius, or Aemilius Lepidus Paullus, but Paullus Aemilius Lepidus seems to be the more correct form. He probably fled with his father to Brutus, and seems to have been entrusted by the latter with the defence of Crete; for we find him after the death of Brutus joining the remnants of the republican party with the Cretan troops, and sailing with them into the Ionian sea. He must subsequently have made his peace with the triumvirs, as we find him accompanying Octavian in his campaign against Sex. Pompey in Sicily in B. C. 36. In B. C. 34 he obtained the consulship, but only as consul suffectus, on the 1st of July, and dedicated the basilica Aemilia, which had been originally erected by his father [see p. 766], but which he had rebuilt. In B. C. 22 he was censor with L. Munatius Plancus, with whom he could not agree, and died while holding this dignity. Dio Cassius seems to have confounded him with his father in saying that the censor had been formerly proscribed; it is not impossible, however, that the son may have been proscribed along with his father, although no other writer mentions the fact. (Appian, App. BC 5.2; Suet. Octav. 16 D. C. 49.42, 54.2; Vell. 2.95 Propert. 4.11. 67.)

The wife of Paullus Aemilius Lepidus was Cornelia, the daughter of Cornelius Scipio and of Scribonia, who was subsequently the wife of Augustus. She was thus the step-daughter of Augustus, and her family became still more closely connected with the imperial house by the marriage of one of her sons, L. Aemilius Paullus [No. 22], to a daughter of Julia, who was her half-sister, being the daughter of Augustus and Scribonia. There is an elegy of Propertius (4.11), in which Cornelia is represented as consoling her husband Paullus on account of her death. She there speaks of having died in the consulship of her brother (4.11. 65), who is supposed to have been the P. Cornelius Scipio who was consul in B. C. 16. Thus a contradiction arises between Velleius Paterculus (2.95) and Dio Cassius (54.2) on the one hand, and Propertius on the other, as the two former writers say that Paullus died during his censorship. Perhaps, however, the brother of Cornelia may not have been the consul of B. C. 16, but one of the consuls suffecti, not mentioned in the Fasti. Paullus had by Cornelia three children, two sons and a daughter [Nos. 22, 23, 24], to all of whom Propertius alludes. The daughter was born in the censorship of her father (Propert. 4.11. 67), and if Paullus really died in his censorship there could have been only a very short interval between his wife's death and his own. The annexed coin probably has reference to this Paullus Aemilius Lepidus: it has on the obverse the head of Concordia with PAVLLVS LEPIDVS CONCORDIA, and on the reverse a trophy with several figures, and the words TER PAVLLVS. The reverse refers to the victory of the celebrated L. Aemilius Paullus over Perseus: on the right hand of the trophy stands Aemilius Paullus himself, and on the left Perseus and his two sons. Ter may refer to his triumph lasting three days, or to his having enjoyed three different triumphs. (Comp. Eckhel, vol. v. pp. 130, 131.)

There is another coin of Paullus Aemilius Lepidus, with the same obverse as the one given above, but with the reverse representing the Scribonian puteal, which we find on the coins of the Scribonian gens [see Libo], and with the legend PVTEAL SCRIBON. LIBO. This emblem of the Scribonia gens was used on account of the wife of Paullus being the daughter of Scribonia, who had then become the wife of Augustus, as is stated above.

Le'pidus

20. M. Aemilius Lepidus, the son of the triumvir [No. 17] and Junia, formed a conspiracy in B. C. 30, for the purpose of assassinating Octavian on his return to Rome after the battle of Actium; but Maecenas, who had charge of the city, became acquainted with the plot, seized Lepidus, without creating any disturbance, and sent him to Octavian in the East, who put him to death. His father was ignorant of the conspiracy, but his mother was privy to it. [Junia, No. 2.] Velleius Paterculus, who never speaks favourably of any of the enemies of Octavian, describes Lepidus as "juvenis forma quam mente melior." Lepidus was married twice: his first wife was Antonia, the daughter of the triumvir [Antonia, No. 4], and his second Servilia, who put an end to her life by swallowing burning coals when the conspiracy of her husband was discovered. (Vell. 2.88; Appian, App. BC 4.50; D. C. 54.15; Suet. Octav. 19; Liv. Epit. 133; Senec. de Clem. 9, De Brev. Vitae, 1.9.)

Le'pidus

21. Q. Aemilius Lepidus, consul B. C. 21 with M. Lollius. (D. C. 54.6; Hor. Ep. 1.20. 28.) It appears from an inscription quoted under Fabricius [Vol. II. p. 132b], that he and Lollius repaired the Fabrician bridge. The descent of this Lepidus is quite uncertain: the conjecture of Drumann (Gesch. Roms, vol. i. p. 24) that he was a son of the triumvir is in itself improbable; and we find besides that he is called in inscriptions M'. F., and not M. F.

Le'pidus

22. L. Aemilius Paullus, the son of Paullus Aemilius Lepidus [No. 19] and Cornelia, married Julia, the grand-daughter of Augustus, being a daughter of M. Agrippa and Julia, who was the daughter of Augustus. Paullus is therefore called the progener of Augustus. As Julia, the daughter of Augustus, was the half-sister of Cornelia [see above, No. 19], Paullus married his first cousin. He was consul in A. D. 1 with C. Caesar, his wife's brother, and the grandson of Augustus; but, notwithstanding his close connection with the imperial family, he nevertheless entered into a conspiracy against Augustus, of the particulars of which we are not informed. (Propert. 4.11. 63; Suet. Oct. 19, 64; Dio Cass. lv. Ind.) Respecting Julia, the wife of Paullus, see Julia, No. 7.

Le'pidus

23. M. Aemilius Lepidus, the brother of No. 22, was consul A. D. 6 with L. Arruntius. (Propert. 4.11. 63; D. C. 4.25.) Instead of conspiring against Augustus, like his brother, he seems always to have lived on the most intimate terms with him. He was employed by Augustus in the war against the Dalmatians in A. D. 9. (Vell. 2.114, 115; D. C. 56.12.) When Augustus shortly before his death was speaking of the Roman nobles, whose abilities would qualify them for the supreme power, or whose ambition would prompt them to aspire to it, he described Lepidus as capax sed aspernans. (Tac. Ann. 1.13.) The high estimation in which he was held by Augustus he continued to enjoy even with the jealous and suspicious Tiberius; and although he took no part in the fulsome flatteries which the senate were continually presenting to the emperor, and used his influence in the cause of justice, yet such was his prudence, that he did not forfeit the favour of Tiberius. The praises bestowed upon him by Velleius Paterculus (l.c.), which would not of themselves be of much value, as this writer always speaks favourably of the friends of Augustus, are confirmed by the weightier authority of Tacitus, who bears the strongest testimony to the virtues and wisdom of Lepidus. (Tac. Ann. 4.20.)

The name of M. Lepidus occurs several times in Tacitus, and must be carefully distinguished from that of M'. Lepidus [see No. 25], with which it is frequently confounded, both in the MSS. and editions of the historian. M. Lepidus is first mentioned in Tacitus at the accession of Tiberius, A. D. 14, next in A. D. 21, when he declined the proconsulate of Africa, and also in the debate in the senate in the same year respecting the punishment of C. Lutorius Priscus; again in A. D. 24; then in A. D. 26, when he was appointed governor of the province of Asia; and lastly in A. D. 33, which was the year of his death. (Tac. Ann. 1.13, 3.35, 50, 4.20, 56, 6.27.) It was this M. Lepidus who repaired the Aemilia Basilica in A. D. 22 (Tac. Ann. 3.72), as is mentioned above. [No. 16.]

Le'pidus

24. Aemilia Lepida [Lepida, No. 1.]

Le'pidus

25. M'. Aemilius Lepidus, Q. F., the son apparently of No. 21, was consul with T. Statilius Taurus in A. D. 11. (D. C. 56.25.) He must be carefully distinguished from his contemporary M. Aemilius Lepidus, with whom he is frequently confounded. [See No. 23.] Though we cannot trace the descent of this M'. Lepidus [see No. 21], yet among his ancestors on the female side were L. Sulla and Cn. Pompey. (Tac. Ann. 3.22.) It is perhaps this M'. Lepidus who defended Piso in A. D. 20; and it was undoubtedly this Lepidus who defended his sister later in the same year. [Lepida, No. 2.] In A. D. 21 he obtained the province of Asia, but Sex. Pompey declared in the senate that Lepidus ought to be deprived of it, because he was indolent, poor, and a disgrace to his ancestors, but the senate would not listen to Pompey, maintaining that Lepidus was of an easy rather than a slothful character, and that the manner in which he had lived on his small patrimony was to his honour rather than his disgrace. (Tac. Ann. 3.11, 22, 32.)

Le'pidus

26. Aemilia Lepida, sister of No. 25. [Lepida, No. 2.]

Le'pidus

27. Aemilius Lepidus, the son of L. Aemilius Paullus [No. 22] and Julia, the granddaughter of Augustus. He was consequently the great-grandson of Augustus. He was one of the minions of the emperor Caligula, with whom he had the most shameful connection. So great a favourite was he with Caligula, that the latter allowed him to hold the public offices of the state five years before the legal age, and promised him to make him his successor in the empire. He moreover gave him in marriage his favourite sister Drusilla [Drusilla, No. 2], and allowed him to have intercourse with his other sisters, Agrippina and Livilla. But, notwithstanding all these marks of favour, Caligula put him to death, A. D. 39, on the pretext of his conspiring against him. (D. C. 59.11, 22; Suet. Cal. 24, 36; comp. Tac. Ann. 14.2.)

Le'pidus

28. Aemilia Lepida, sister of No. 27, and wife of the emperor Claudius. [Lepida, No. 3.]

Le'pidus

29. Aemilia Lepida, daughter of No. 23, and wife of Drusus, son of Germanicus. [Lepida, No. 4.]

Lepidus

an author of unknown date, wrote in Greek an abridgement of history, of which Stephanus of Byzantium quotes the first and eighth books (s. vv. Τεγέα, Βουθρωτός, Σκόποι).

Lepĭdus

(1) Lucius Aemilius Paulus, brother of M. Lepidus, the triumvir. His surname of Paulus was probably given him by his father, in honour of the celebrated Aemilius Paulus, the conqueror of Macedonia; but since he belonged to the family of the Lepidi, and not to that of the Pauli, he is mentioned in this place and not under the title Paulus. Aemilius Paulus commenced his public career by supporting the aristocratic party. His first public act was the accusation of Catiline in B.C. 63. He was quaestor in Macedonia in 59; aedile, 55; praetor, 53; and consul, 50, with M. Claudius Marcellus. Paulus was raised to the consulship, on account of his being one of the most determined enemies of Caesar, but Caesar gained him over to his side by a bribe of 1500 talents, which he is said to have expended on the completion of a magnificent basilica commenced by him in his aedileship. After the murder of Caesar (B.C. 44), Paulus joined the senatorial party. He was one of the senators who declared M. Lepidus a public enemy, on account of his having joined Antony; and, accordingly, when the Second Triumvirate was formed, his name was set down first in the proscription list by his own brother. The soldiers, however, who had been ordered to kill him, allowed him to escape. He passed over to Brutus in Asia, and after the death of the latter repaired to Miletus, where he remained, and refused to go to Rome, although he was pardoned by the triumvirs.

(2) M. Aemilius, the triumvir, son of the M. Lepidus, consul B.C. 78, who took up arms to rescind the laws of Sulla , but was defeated by Pompey and Catulus. The son was praetor in 49, and supported Caesar in the Civil War. In 46 he was consul with Caesar, and in 44 he received from the latter the government of Narbonese Gaul and Nearer Spain. He was in the neighbourhood of Rome at the time of the dictator's death; and having the command of an army, he was able to render M. Antony efficient assistance. Lepidus was now chosen pontifex maximus, which dignity had become vacant by Caesar's death, and then repaired to his provinces of Gaul and Spain. Antony, after his defeat at Mutina (43), fled to Lepidus, who espoused his cause against the Senate. They crossed the Alps at the head of a powerful army, and were joined in the north of Italy by Octavian (afterwards Augustus). In the month of October the celebrated Second Triumvirate was formed, by which the Roman world was divided between Augustus, Antony, and Lepidus. In the fresh division of the provinces after the battle of Philippi (42), Lepidus received Africa, where he remained till 36. In this year Augustus summoned him to Sicily to assist him in the war against Sex. Pompey. Lepidus obeyed; but, tired of being treated as a subordinate, he resolved to make an effort to acquire Sicily for himself. He was easily subdued by Augustus, who spared his life, but deprived him of his triumvirate, his army, and his provinces; and commanded that he should live at Circeii, under strict surveillance. He allowed him, however, to retain the office of pontifex maximus. He was not privy to the conspiracy which his son formed to assassinate Augustus in 30. He died in 13. Augustus succeeded him as pontifex maximus.