Q. Lutazio Catulo: una biografia politica della Repubblica postsillana

Despite being one of the most prominent statesmen in the two decades between Sulla’s demise and the compact of 60 BC, Q. Lutatius Catulus (cos. 78 BC) has received little academic attention. Scholars often tend to oversimplify his long career, presenting him as a Sullan partisan and a fierce opponent of the so-called populares. Yet, throughout his career, Catulus struggled to propose a consistent political agenda – grounded on the idea of strengthening the law against any threat to order and property – to the wealthy classes and the Sullan veterans. By focusing on the literary and epigraphic evidence dealing with Catulus’ accomplishments and resources, this paper aims to investigate practical policy-making in the post-Sullan Republic and to inquire into the opportunity to start a consistent political agenda before the potentes took over the Republic. As we shall see, Catulus represented concrete interests, and his political legacy outlived him well into the imperial age.