Cassius Vecellinus, Spurius

▪ Roman consul

flourished late 6th and early 5th centuries BC

      Roman consul who, by bringing peace to the area around Rome, contributed to the growth of the city in an early phase of its development.

      Although the name Cassius is plebeian, he is said to have held the consulate three times. During his first term (502 BC) he defeated the Sabines (Sabine), a people who lived northeast of Rome. During his second consulate (493) he concluded with the Latins the mutual defense treaty that lasted until about 380 and remained the basis of Rome's relationship with the Latin cities. Some sources—of questionable authority—maintain that during a third consulate (486) Cassius proposed an agrarian law to assist needy plebeians, a measure violently opposed both by the patricians and by the wealthy plebeians, who, according to the same sources, had Cassius condemned and executed. Later historians saw him as predecessor of the Gracchi (2nd century BC), and the accounts contain many anachronisms.

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