Name mistake?
Posted: Sat Nov 13, 2004 2:49 am
Salvete omnes,
I've been re-reading Plutarch's life of Pompey, and he states that after the death of Iulia, Pompey married Cornelia, the daughter of Metellus Scipio. Given that Metellus was (As far as I know) a cognomen exclusively given to the Caecilii, how is it possible for a daughter of Caecilius to be called Cornelia? I assumed that this was a mistake on Plutarch's part. Or could it be a bizarre consequence of an adoption? Can anyone explain this?
Many thanks,
Marcus Scribonius Curio Britannicus.
I've been re-reading Plutarch's life of Pompey, and he states that after the death of Iulia, Pompey married Cornelia, the daughter of Metellus Scipio. Given that Metellus was (As far as I know) a cognomen exclusively given to the Caecilii, how is it possible for a daughter of Caecilius to be called Cornelia? I assumed that this was a mistake on Plutarch's part. Or could it be a bizarre consequence of an adoption? Can anyone explain this?
Many thanks,
Marcus Scribonius Curio Britannicus.