Quintus Mucius Scaevola Augur

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Quintus Mucius Scaevola Augur (c.159 BCE – 88 BCE) was a politician of the Roman Republic and an early authority on Roman law. He was first educated in law by his father (whose name he shared) and in philosophy by the stoic Panaetius of Rhodes.

Scaevola was made tribune in 128 BCE, aedile in 125 BCE, and praetor in 121 BCE, in which capacity he acted as governor of Asia. Upon his return to Rome the following year faced a charge of extortion brought by Titus Albucius (probably on personal grounds) which he successfully defended. In 117 BCE, he was elected consul. In his old age, Scaevola vigorously maintained his interest in the law and in the affairs of Rome. He also passed on his knowledge of law to some of Rome's most celebrated orators, as the teacher of Cicero and Atticus. In 88 BCE, he defended Marius against Sulla's motion to have him named an enemy of the people, saying that he would never agree to have this done to a man who had saved Rome.

Cicero used the persona of his old master as an interlocutor in three works, his De Oratore, De amicitia, and De republica.

Scaevola married Laelia, daughter of Gaius Laelius (close friend of Scipio Aemilianus Africanus) and had a son and two daughters. One of his daughters, Mucia, married the orator Lucius Licinius Crassus.

Preceded by: Quintus Marcius Rex and Marcus Porcius Cato

Consul of the Roman Republic with Lucius Caecilius Metellus Diadematus 117 BC

Succeeded by: Quintus Fabius Maximus Eburnus and Gaius Licinius Geta