Aemilii
Part of The Encyclopedia of Southern Italy.
Aemilii: A patrician gens (= clan) of ancient Rome. They claimed to be descended from the great Greek mystic philosopher Pythagoras, through his son Mamercus. Several of Rome’s most illustrious families made up the various branches of the Aemilii gens: the Pauli, the Lepidi, and the Scauri. The Roman consul Lucius Aemilius Paullus was one of generals who suffered the humiliating defeat at Cannae at the hands of Hannibal in 216 BC. His son and namesake later obtained the consulship for himself on his own merits, while his daughter, Aemilia, married Publius Cornelius Scipio, the great general who finally defeated Hannibal and forced Carthage to surrender. In 194 BC, the younger Aemilius was appointed to be one of the three Roman commissioners overseeing the creation of colony at Croton. Because of his family’s belief in their descent from Pythagoras, who was closely connected with Croton, this task must have had some special significance for Aemilius. Later in his career, he would achieve fame for his defeat of King Perseus of Macedonia and the annexation of that kingdom into the Roman State.