Cornelius Scipio Salvito
Cornelius Scipio ‘Salvito’ (the agnomen Salvito was conferred on him due to his resemblance to a mime artist of the same name)[1] was a minor member of the Cornelia gens who lived in the late Roman Republic.[2] He was a relative of Scipio Africanus, the Roman general who defeated Hannibal.[3]
Salvito was, according to Plutarch and Suetonius, "a contemptible nobody",[4] who was taken by Julius Caesar in 46 BC on his North African campaign against the remnants of Pompey's forces, led by Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio Nasica. Because of a long-standing belief that only a Scipio could be victorious in Africa, and because he was facing a Scipio, Caesar placed Salvito at the front of his army, either as a good luck charm to calm his nervous troops, or to demonstrate his contempt to Scipio Nasica.[5] Caesar forced him to attack the enemy frequently and to bring on the battle.
Sources
- Cassius Dio, Roman History, Book 42
- Plutarch, Life of Caesar
- Suetonius, Life of Julius Caesar
Notes
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