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Quintus Mucius Scaevola | |
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Born | 140 BC[1] |
Died | 82 BC (aged 57–58) |
Cause of death | Murdered |
Nationality | Roman |
Occupation(s) | Politician, jurist, priest |
Office | Consul of Rome (95 BC) Pontifex maximus (89–82 BC) |
Spouse | Licinia |
Children | Mucia 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.