Name Lucius Metellus Role Consul 251 BC | Died 221 BC | |
Parents Lucius Caecilius Metellus Denter Children Quintus Caecilius Metellus, Marcus Caecilius Metellus Grandchildren Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus, Lucius Caecilius Metellus Calvus People also search for Quintus Caecilius Metellus Great grandchildren Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus | ||
Lucius Caecilius Metellus (ca. 290 BC – 221 BC) was the son of Lucius Caecilius Metellus Denter. He was Consul in 251 BC and 247 BC, Pontifex Maximus in 243 BC and Dictator in 224 BC.
He defeated the Carthaginian chief Hasdrubal at the celebrated Battle of Panormus, leading to the turn of the First Punic War and to the Roman domination of Sicily. In that battle, in which he deserved the Honours of the Triumph, he defeated thirteen enemy generals and captured one hundred and twenty elephants, some of which he exhibited to the Roman people, since then starting to appear with frequency in the Caecilii coins.
In this battle, so decisive for Rome, the enormous Carthaginian advantage, resulting from the terrible elephants the Romans faced for the first time, was subdued by luring the enemy to terrain where staked ditches had been dug. This, coupled with the element of surprise and a quick counterattack, allowed the Roman infantry to rout the attacking Carthaginians.
While Metellus was Pontifex Maximus, a fire devoured the Temple of Vesta and threatened to destroy the Palladium and other sacred objects. Lucius Caecilius Metellus, without hesitating, threw himself amidst the flames and reappeared with the tutelary symbol of the first Rome. His eyes couldn't withstand, however, the violence of the heat and he went blind, for which the Senate granted him the privilege of going by chariot to the Curia. In memory of that noble achievement of their ancestor, the Caecilii started to mint the image of Pallas on their consular coins.
He was the father of Lucius Caecilius Metellus, Quintus Caecilius Metellus and Marcus Caecilius Metellus.