A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

530 CAECINA.
many, and was employed by Germanicus, in the
following year, in the war against Arminius. With
the view of distracting the attention of the enemy,
Caecina was sent with forty cohorts through the
territory of the Bructeri to the river Amisia; and
when Germanicus determined upon retreating after
a hard-fought but indecisive battle with Arminius,
he ordered Caecina to lead back his division of the
army to the Rhine. His way lay through an extensive marsh, over which there was a causeway
known by the name of the Long Bridges. Here
his army was attacked and nearly destroyed by
Arminius; but he eventually defeated the Germans
with great slaughter, and reached the Rhine in
safety. [ARMIINIUS.] On account of this victory,
he received the insignia of a triumph. (Tac. Ann.
i. 31, 32, 56, 60, 63-68, 72.)
This is the last military command which Caecina
appears to have held. He is mentioned in A. D.
20 as the author of a proposition in the senate that
an altar should be erected to the goddess of Vengeance, on account of the suppression of Piso's conspiracy; and again in A. D. 21, as proposing that
the governors of provinces should not be allowed to
take their wives with them into their provinces.
Tacitus gives a speech of his on the latter of these
motions, in which he states, that he had always
lived in harmony with his wife, who had borne
him six children. His motion, which was opposed
by Valerius Messallinus and Drusus, was not carried. (Tac. Ann. iii. 18, 33, 34.)
5. CAECINA PAETUS, was put to death by the
emperor Claudius in A. D. 42. The heroism of his
wife Arria on this occasion is mentioned under
ARRIA. His daughter married Thrasea, who was
put to death by Nero. (Plin. Ep. iii. 16; Dion
Cass. lx. 16; Martial, i. 14; Zonaras, xi. 9.)
6. C. CAECINA LARGUS, consul A. D. 42 with
the emperor Claudius, inhabited the magnificent
house which formerly belonged to Scaurus, the contemporary of Cicero. (Dion Cass. lx. 10; Ascon.
in Scaur. p. 27, ed. Orelli; Plin. H.N. xvii. 1.)
7. P. CAECINA LARGUS, one of the chief friends
of the emperor Claudius, was perhaps the brother
of No. 6, unless indeed he is the same person, and
C should be read in Tacitus instead of P. (Tac.
Ann. xi. 33, 34.)
8. CAECINA TUSCUS, the son of Nero's nurse,
had been appointed in A. D. 56, according to Fabius
Rusticus, praefect of the Praetorian troops in the
place of Afranius Burrus, but did not enter upon
the office, as Burrus was retained in the command
through the influence of Seneca. Caecina was subsequently appointed governor of Egypt by Nero,
but was afterwards banished for making use of the
baths which had been erected in anticipation of
the emperor's arrival in Egypt. He probably returned from banishment on the death of Nero,
A. D. 68, as we find him in Rome in the following
year. (Tac. Ann. xiii. 20; Suet. Ner. 35; Dion
Cass. Ixiii. 18; Tac. Hist. iii. 38.)
9. A. CAECINA ALIENUS (called in the Fasti
A. Licinius Caecina), was quaestor in Baetica in
Spain at the time of Nero's death, A. D. 68, and
was one of the foremost in joining the party of
Galba. He was rewarded by Galba with the command of a legion in Upper Germany; but, being
shortly afterwards detected in embezzling some
of the public money, the emperor ordered him
to be prosecuted. Caecina, in revenge, induced his
troops to revolt to Vitellius. Caecina was a great

CAECINA.
favourite with the soldiers. His personal presence
was commanding; he was tall in statuie, comely in
person, and upright in gait; he possessed considerable ability in speaking; and, as he was ambitious,
he used every means to win the favour of his troops.
After persuading them to espouse the side of Vitellius, he set out at the beginning of the year (A. D.
69), on his march towards Italy at the head of an
army of 30,000 men, the main strength of which
consisted in one legion, the twenty-first. In his
march through Switzerland, he ravaged the country
of the Helvetians in a frightful manner, because they
had refused to own the authority of Vitellius. He
crossed the Great St. Bernard and marched through
northern Italy without meeting with any opposition. Upon entering Italy, he observed greater
discipline than he had done previously, and prevented his troops from plundering the country
but his dress gave great offence to the citizens, because he wore in receiving them a military cloak
of various colours, and also trowsers, which were
reckoned as characteristic of barbarians. People
were also scandalized at his wife Salonina riding
as it were in state upon a beautiful horse, and
dressed in purple.
As Placentia was garrisoned by the troops of
Otho, who had now succeeded Galba, Caecina
crossed the Po, and proceeded to attack that city.
He was, however, repulsed in his attack with considerable loss, and thereupon recrossed the Po and
retired towards Cremona. Otho's troops were commanded by Suetonius Paullinus and Celsus, the former a general of great skill and military experience,
who frustrated all the plans of Caecina. Anxious
to retrieve his honour before he was joined by Fabius Valens, who was advancing with the other
division of the German army, Caecina determined
to make a vigorous effort to gain some decisive advantage. HIe accordingly laid an ambush at a place
called Castorum, twelve miles from Cremona; but
his plans were betrayed to the enemy, and he suffered a signal defeat. Shortly afterwards, he was
joined by Fabius Valens, and their united forces
then gained a victory over Otho's troops at Bedriacum, which established the power of Vitellius in
Italy. The unhappy country, however, was now
exposed to pillage in every direction, as neither
Caecina nor Valens attempted to restrain his soldiers, the former through desire of preserving his
popularity with them, the latter because he himself took part in the plunder.
After obtaining possession of Rome, Caecina and
Valens were advanced to the consulship, and entered
upon the office on the 1st of September, A. D. 69.
Meantime, Antonius Primus, who had declared in
favour of Vespasian, was preparing to invade Italy,
and Caecina was accordingly sent against him.
Caecina met with Antonius in the neighbourhood
of Verona, and might with his numerous army
have easily crushed him; but he resolved to desert
the cause of Vitellius, and concerted measures for
that purpose with Lucilius Bassus, who meditated
the same treachery and had the command of Vitellius's fleet. But when he attempted to persuade
his soldiers to take the oath of allegiance to Vespasian, they rose against him and put him in irons.
In this state of things, they were attacked by Antonius, who conquered them near Bedriacum, and
forthwith proceeded to assault Cremona, where
most of the conquered had taken refuge. Alarmed
at the success of Antonius, Caecina was released