Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum (c. 206 BC – c. 141 BC) was a politician of the Roman Republic. Born into the illustrious family of the Cornelii Scipiones, he was one of the most important Roman statesmen of the second century BC,Münzer, Roman Aristocratic Parties, p. 231. Münzer said he was "indisputably the most eminent man in Rome" in the 140s BC. being consul two times in 162 and 155 BC, censor in 159 BC, pontifex maximus (chief priest) in 150 BC, and finally princeps senatus (leader of the Senate) in 147 BC.
Corculum was a talented military commander, who played a decisive role during the Battle of Pydna in 168 BC; he later won a triumph over the Dalmatae in 155 BC. He was remembered as a staunch conservative, defender of the ancestral Roman customs against political and cultural innovations, notably Hellenism, in contradiction with the policies of his famous father-in-law Scipio Africanus and cousin Scipio Aemilianus. This conservatism led him to order the destruction of the first stone theatre in Rome in 151 BC and to oppose the final war against Carthage, advocated by his rival Cato the Censor. In spite of his political influence, Corculum could not prevent the war from being voted in 149 BC, with the probable support of his cousin Scipio Aemilianus, who destroyed Carthage in 146 BC.
Due to a lack of sources, his life is sparsely known. Moreover, ancient authors often give contradictory accounts of his life; as a result, modern historians have had diverging interpretations to explain some of his deeds, especially his opposition to the war against Carthage, or his destruction of the first Roman theatre in stone.
Family background
Corculum belonged to the patrician gens Cornelia, which was the foremost gens of the Republic in terms of consulships (the Cornelii had obtained 42 consulships before his).Fasti Consulares. The Scipiones formed one of the two main stirpes of the Cornelii—the other being the Lentulii—with 14 consulships since Publius Cornelius Maluginensis Scipio, consul in 395 and founder of the family. Corculum was the son of Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica (consul in 191) and grandson of Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus (consul in 222) who died during the Second Punic War. In addition, he was the cousin of Scipio Africanus, who defeated Hannibal, and Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus, who defeated Antiochos III. He also had a younger brother named Lucius, whose career is unknown, possibly because he was demoted by Cato the Censor during his censorship of 184.Cicero, De Oratore, ii. 260.Gellius, Attic Nights, iv. 20 § 3–6.Etcheto, Les Scipions, p. 174, who notes that at this time Cato was an enemy of the Scipiones.
Corculum married his second cousin Cornelia, eldest daughter of Scipio Africanus. They were betrothed in Africanus' lifetime, but married after his death in 183; on this occasion Corculum received a large dowry of 25 silver talents.Polybius, xxxi. 26.Livy, xxxviii. 57.Sumner, Orators, pp. 60, 61. The marriage may have been concluded between Scipio Nasica and Africanus' daughter to improve relations among the family, which had been strained by political competition between its members; for instance, Nasica had run against Scipio Asiaticus for the consulship in 191 and for the censorship in 184.Etcheto, Les Scipions, pp. 140, 141.
The Scipiones used a number of personal nicknames to distinguish themselves from other prominent men of the family.Münzer, Roman Aristocratic Parties, p. 353. Corculum's father used the agnomen Nasica ("nosed"), which was retained by his descendants—including Corculum—as a second cognomen. The agnomen Corculum is unique in Roman history; it is probably an archaic Latin word meaning "intellectual giftedness" or "cleverness".Pliny, vii. 118. It is not known how Corculum received this nickname, but it may derive from his ingenious military strategies.Wheeler, "'Sapiens' and Stratagems", pp. 189–190.
Cicero speaks highly of Corculum, describing him as "an able orator", but it seems that his speeches were already lost by Cicero's time.Cicero, Brutus, 79. He says "we are told [he] was esteemed an able orator".Rawson, Cambridge Ancient History, vol. VIII, p. 470.Vasaly, Representations, p. 120 (note 46). He and Aurelius Victor add that Corculum was a respected jurist, specialising in civil and pontifical law.Aurelius Victor, 44.Bauman, Lawyers, p. 95. Some scholars thought that he was even given a house on the Via Sacra by the state, in order to be consulted by the people more easily, but this honour was given to his father.Digest, i. 2 § 2. 37 (extract from Pomponius, with the wrong praenomen Gaius).Wheeler, "'Sapiens' and Stratagems", p. 190 (note 98).Mignone, Republican Aventine, p. 78 (note 2).
The Scipiones Nasicae claimed a moral superiority over Rome with the epithet of optimus vir (the "best man"), carried at least since Lucius Scipio (consul in 259) as he is described as such on his epitaph. It seems that his descendants were able to convince their peers of this claim, because Corculum's father (the consul of 191) officially received the title of Optimus Vir from the senate when in 204 he was asked to bring the sacred stone of the goddess Magna Mater from Ostia to Rome.Livy, xxix. 14, who adds he does not know why Nasica was named the best man. The Goddess had been brought from Asia to Italy.Etcheto, Les Scipions, pp. 77, 78, 318 (note 48). Corculum is likewise designated by Livy as the "best man" in the Periochae.Livy, Periochae, 49. The Nasicae likely used the prestige of this epithet for their own benefit, but contrary to Africanus, Asiaticus, and Aemilianus, they followed a very conservative line and scrupulously respected the senatorial supremacy, while their cousins often breached constitutional rules with the support of popular assemblies.Botteri, "Diodore de Sicile, 34-35", pp. 81, 82.Etcheto, Les Scipions, pp. 140–143. Africanus and Aemilianus were for example elected consul before the legal age. Etcheto adds that the name of Optimates—the conservative faction in the Senate of the later Republic—possibly originates from this title of optimus vir, claimed by Nasica Serapio, who was also the first leader of the Optimates during Tiberius Gracchus' tribunate.
Political career Aedile (169 BC) Corculum's first known magistracy is that of curule aedile in 169.Broughton, vol. I, p. 424. Together with his colleague Publius Cornelius Lentulus (the future consul of 162), they funded the most lavish circus games ever seen so far, which included 63 panthers, 40 bears and elephants.Livy, xliv. 18. Livy does not tell the nature of the show; it could have been staged hunts (venatio), or a simple parade of animals.Futrell, Blood in the Arena, pp. 26–28.Briscoe, Commentary, books 41–45, p. 522. The aediles benefited from a law passed the previous year by the tribune of the plebs Gnaeus Aufidius, which allowed importation of beasts from Africa for the circus games.Pliny, viii. 64.Broughton, vol. I, pp. 420, 423 (note 6), who nevertheless says that this tribune could be placed at the end of the 2nd century.Zanda, Fighting Hydra-like Luxury, p. 122. The ban on such imports might have been justified by the fear that they could enrich Carthage, from where they were bought—a policy perhaps sponsored by Cato.Scullard, Roman Politics, p. 226.Futrell, Blood in the Arena, p. 28.
Role at Pydna (168 BC)
The Third Macedonian War began in 171 after King Perseus of Macedon had allegedly tried to assassinate Rome's ally Eumenes II of Pergamon (among many other reasons).Derow, Cambridge Ancient History, vol. VIII, p. 307.Burton, Third Macedonian War, pp. 78–123. However, Perseus managed to defend his kingdom rather well for a couple of years. In 168 Rome mustered a strong army under the consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus to put an end to the conflict.Burton, Third Macedonian War, p. 159, for an inventory of the Roman army. Paullus chose Corculum to serve as one of his military tribunes, probably for family reasons, as Paullus was also the brother-in-law of Scipio Africanus, and the Aemilii were long allies of the Cornelii.Broughton, vol. I, p. 429.Syme, Roman Papers, vol. VI, pp. 338, 339.Linderski, "Roman Officers", p. 69. Despite their family connections, ancient historians' accounts show that they had difficult relations throughout the campaign.Etcheto, Les Scipions, p. 142.
Most of what is known on the final military operations of the Third Macedonian War derive from two lost—and conflicting—sources, quoted by later classical writers. The first one is the Histories of Polybius, who talked to several witnesses of the war (Romans and Macedonians); his story was mostly followed by Livy. The second account is a letter or memoir written by Corculum himself and addressed to a king, possibly Massinissa of Numidia, as the Cornelii had personal ties with him since Scipio Africanus.J. W. Rich, Fragments of the Roman Historians, vol. I, p. 637.Etcheto, Les Scipions, p. 356 (note 43), suggests that the king could have actually been an Attalid, either Eumenes II or Attalus II, since Corculum's father was the host of Attalus I in 205–204. This memoir was used by Plutarch in his Life of Aemilius, who notes the discrepancies with Polybius. The memoir is considered to be one of the earliest Roman autobiographical texts, second to a long letter of Scipio Africanus to Philip V, which likely inspired Corculum.Candau, "Republican Rome", pp. 121–132. Opinions on the memoir have widely diverged among modern historians; some consider it to be a faithful account of the events, while others have rejected it as an act of self-advertising, with further opinions in-between.Walbank, Commentary on Polybius, vol. I, p. 31. Walbank shows that Corculum's story was already rejected by Polybius.Hammond & Walbank, History of Macedonia, Vol. III, p. 546. The authors largely dismiss Corculum's story.Burton, Third Macedonian War, pp. 214–218. After summarising most previous opinions on the letter, Burton completely rejects Corculum's account and prefers the one deriving from Polybius.
In southern Macedonia Perseus had fortified the north bank of the Elpeus River to prevent Paullus from entering his kingdom from the south. Paullus therefore designed a circling movement around Mount Olympus to flank Perseus. He appointed Corculum to head this operation, assisted by Quintus Fabius Maximus Aemilianus (Paullus' natural son, adopted into the Fabii); Corculum said he and Fabius volunteered.Livy, lxiv. 35.Plutarch, Aemilius, 15, 16. According to Polybius, Corculum took 5,000 men with him (Corculum said 8,320 men in his memoir).Burton, Third Macedonian War, p. 215. At first, he faked a movement to the sea, but once at Heracleum he told his staff the real purpose of the mission, and moved by night to Pythium (departing in the night of 17 and 18 June 168). Meanwhile, Paullus attacked the Macedonians to prevent them from detecting Corculum's move. Pythium was successfully taken in the early morning of 20 June 168, perhaps because the garrison was still asleep. Corculum's version is different, as he wrote that a deserter warned Perseus of the flanking manoeuvre; he therefore had to face a force of 12,000 men, whom he defeated—and also personally killed a giant Thracian. Livy, following Polybius, tells the Macedonians were only 5,000, a number favoured by modern historians.Burton, Third Macedonian War, p. 216. In any case, after hearing of the capture of Pythium, Perseus retreated north, and set his camp just before Pydna. Corculum then completed the turning movement around Mount Olympus and met with Paullus (who had followed Perseus) on 21 June.Walbank, Commentary on Polybius, vol. III, pp. 381–384. Livy says that Corculum and other officers in Paullus' staff wanted to attack Perseus immediately, but the consul preferred to delay in order to rest the troops.Livy, lxiv. 36.