Quintus Lutatius Catulus Capitolinus (c. 121 – 61 BC) was a politician in the lateRoman Republic. His father was the like-namedQuintus Lutatius Catulus,consul in 102 BC. He gained the agnomen "Capitolinus" for his defense of the capital in 77 BC againstLepidus.
Catulus inherited his father's hatred of the leading statesman and generalMarius, and was a consistent though moderate supporter of the aristocracy. DuringSulla'sproscription, Catulus avenged the death of his father with the assistance ofCatiline, who tortured and killedMarcus Marius Gratidianus at the tomb of the senior Catulus.[1]
During Sulla's dictatorship, he was involved in the reconstruction of theTemple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus which had been destroyed by fire in 83, also giving his name to the new temple.[2]
In 78 BC, he was consul withMarcus Aemilius Lepidus, who after the death of Sulla proposed the overthrow of his constitution, the re-establishment of the distribution of grain, the recall of the banished, and other measures in thepopulares spirit. Catulus vigorously opposed this, and a temporary compromise was effected.
But Lepidus, having levied troops in his province ofTransalpine Gaul, returned to Rome at the head of an army. Catulus defeated him at the Milvian bridge and nearCosa in Etruria after which Lepidus made his escape toSardinia, where he died soon afterwards. In 67 and 66 Catulus unsuccessfully opposed theGabinian andManilian laws which he viewed as prejudicial to constitutional freedom because they conferred special powers uponPompey. He consistently opposedJulius Caesar, whom he endeavoured to implicate in theCatilinarian conspiracy. Caesar, in return, accused him of embezzling public money during the reconstruction of the temple on the Capitol, and proposed to obliterate his name from the inscription and deprive him of the office of commissioner for its restoration. Catulus' supporters rallied round him, and Caesar dropped the charge. Later Caesar took his revenge on Catulus by defeating him in the election to the religious office ofPontifex Maximus in 63 BC.
Catulus held the office ofcensor, but soon resigned, being unable to agree with his colleagueCrassus. Although not a man of great abilities, Catulus exercised considerable influence through his political consistency and his undoubted solicitude for the welfare of the state.
Catulus's great-grandson was the emperorGalba, whomSuetonius claims was extremely proud of his ancestry: "Nero was succeeded by Galba, who was related in no degree to the house of the Caesars, although unquestionably of noble origin and of an old and powerful family; for he always added to the inscriptions on his statues that he was the great-grandson of Quintus Lutatius Catulus Capitolinus."[3]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Catulus".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 545.
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| Preceded by | Roman consul 78 BC With:M. Aemilius Lepidus | Succeeded by |
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