Quintus Mucius Scaevola Pontifex

Quintus Mucius Scaevola
Born140 BC[1]
Died82 BC (aged 57–58)
Cause of deathMurdered
NationalityRoman
Occupation(s)Politician, jurist, priest
OfficeConsul of Rome (95 BC)
Pontifex maximus (89–82 BC)
SpouseLicinia
ChildrenMucia Tertia

Quintus Mucius Scaevola "Pontifex" (140–82 BC) was a politician of the Roman Republic and an important early authority on Roman law. He is credited with founding the study of law as a systematic discipline.[2] He was elected Pontifex Maximus (chief priest of Rome), as had been his father and uncle before him.[3] He was the first Roman Pontifex Maximus to be murdered publicly, in Rome in the temple of the Vestal Virgins, signifying a breakdown of historical norms and religious taboos in the Republic.

  1. ^ Cicero Brutus 145, 150, 161, De Oratore 1.180
  2. ^ Tuori, Kaius. Ancient Roman Lawyers and Modern Legal Ideals: Studies on the Impact of Contemporary Concerns in the Interpretation of Ancient Roman Legal History Vittorio Klostermann: 2007 ISBN 3-465-04034-1 ISBN 9783465040347
  3. ^ Knight, Charles. The English Cyclopedia 1857; p. 293.