Lucius Mummius
Lucius Mummius was a significant Roman military leader and politician in the mid-2nd century BCE, best known for his campaigns in Spain and Greece. As governor of Spain, he led Roman forces against the Lusitanians, achieving a notable victory that earned him a triumph upon his return to Rome. In 146 BCE, Mummius served as consul and successfully defeated the Achaean League, leading to the destruction of Corinth, a city that had previously threatened Roman ambassadors. Following this victory, he was instrumental in reorganizing the Greek peninsula, attaching rebellious communities to the Macedonian province and enhancing religious sites throughout Greece.
Mummius is often recognized for his appreciation of Greek culture, as he distributed artworks and monuments from the plunder of Corinth across Italy and even into Spain. This admiration for Greek aesthetics coexisted with his military conquests, highlighting a complex relationship between cultural appreciation and imperial aggression during his time. In 142 BCE, he served as censor, focusing on public morality in contrast to the more severe approaches of his contemporaries. His career reflects the duality of Roman values in the context of expansion and governance in the Hellenistic world.
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Subject Terms
Lucius Mummius
Related civilizations: Republican Rome, Spain and Hellenistic Greece
Major role/position: Military leader and statesman
Life
As Rome’s provincial governor in Spain, Lucius Mummus (LEW-shee-uhs MUHM-ee-uhs) commanded the Republic’s forces against the Lusitanians in 153 and 152 b.c.e. Responding to their devastating attack with unforgiving slaughter, he celebrated a triumph on returning to Rome.
As consul in 146 b.c.e., Mummius defeated the Achaean League. Succeeding Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus as commander at the Isthmus, Mummius crushed Achaea’s forces in late summer. His troops then plundered the city of Corinth, where, months earlier, Rome’s ambassadors had been threatened with violence. Assisted by a senatorial commission, he organized the affairs of the Greek peninsula, razing Corinth to the ground and attaching other communities that had opposed Rome to the Macedonian province. Attentive to the gods, he also repaired and adorned religious shrines throughout Greece. On returning home in 145 b.c.e., he celebrated his second triumph.
In 142 b.c.e., Mummius served as censor, a magistracy responsible for supervising public morals. His moderation contrasted with the severity of his colleague, the conqueror of Carthage, Scipio Africanus.
Influence
Mummius admired Greek culture, distributing statues, monuments, and paintings from the plunder of Corinth to towns throughout Italy and even in Spain. However, like many Roman philhellenists, he saw no contradiction in making war against contemporary Greek communities.
Bibliography
Green, Peter. Alexander to Actium: The Historical Evolution of the Hellenistic Age. Reprint. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993.