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

LAETORIUS. LAEVINUS. 709
bnent, and was occupied with agricultural pursuits, ple, Cominius. He first escaped and then killed
and an old female slave attended to his wants (Od. himself, but the people passed sentence on him.
i. 189); but, after the departure of Telemachus, he nevertheless. (Val. Max. vi. 1. ~ 11; Suid. s. v.
was so overpowered by his grief, that he gave up rdios A~atciptos; Dionys. Excerpt. Vales. p. 88,
his rustic pursuits. (Od. xvi. 138.) After the &c., ed Mai.)
murder of the suitors, Odysseus visited him, and 4. M. LAETORIUS PLANCIANUS, magister equiled him back to his house, and Athena made him tumrn of the dictator Q. Ogulnius Gallus, B. C. 257.
young again, so that soon after he was able to take (Fast. Capit.)
part in the fight against the approaching Ithacans. 5. C. LAETORIUS, curule aedile, B. C. 216, sent
(Od. xxiv. 204-370, 497.) [L. S.] as ambassador by the senate to the consuls App.
LAE'RTIUS DIO'GENES. [DIOGoENES.] Claudius and Q. Fulvius Flaccus, B. c. 212, praetor,
LAESPO'DIAS (AaLo7roslas), was one of three B. C. 210, and decemvir sacris faciundis, B. C. 209.
Athenian commanders, who, with a force of 30 (Liv. xxiii. 30, xxv. 22, xxvi. 23, xxvii. 7, 8.)
ships, joined the Argives in ravaging the Lacedae- 6. L. LAXRTORIUS, plebeian aedile in B. c. 202,
nlonian coast, B. C. 414; and thus, at the moment was obliged to abdicate as his election was declared
when Gylippus was sailing for Syracuse, gave the invalid on religious grounds. (Liv. xxx. 39.)
Spartan government justification for open hostili- 7. CN. LAETOR1US, legate of the praetor, L.
ties. He is named again, B. C. 411, as one of three Fulvius Purpureo in the battle against the Gauls,
ambassadors who were sent by the Four Hundred B. C. 200. (Liv. xxxi. 21.)
to treat with Sparta, but were, when their ship, 8. LAETOR1US, a friend of C. Gracchus, who on
the Paralus, was off Argos, seized and given in the wooden bridge opposed himself to the pursuers
custody to the Argives by the sailors, who pro- of Gracchus, and, as he could not stop them, killed
ceeded to join the fleet at Samos. (Thuc. vi. 105, himself. (Val. Max. iv. 7. ~ 2.) Plutarch (C.
viii. 86.) He had something the matter with the Gracch. 16, ]7) calls him Licinnius.
shin or calf of his leg, and arranged his dress to 9. M. LAETORiUS, a senator of the party of
conceal it. Marius, was declared a public enemy by Sulla, esTi, c; KaSaicaqLov Aartaro8far, et T7)V eLY; caped from Rome, and afterwards returned with
says Poseidon, when scolding the uncouth Triballus Marius. (Appian, B. C. i. 60, &c.) [W. I.]
for letting his garment hang about his legs. (Aris- LAETUS (Aaros), a Greek writer of uncertoph. Av. 1568.) And the Scholiast gives a variety tain age, who translated from the Phoenician lanof references (see also Plut. Synimp. vii. 8), which guage a work of Theodotus. (Clem. Alex. Strom.
show that his misfortune made him a standing joke i. p. 140; Euseb. Praep. Ev. x. 11, where Xaeros
with the comedians. [A. H. C.] is a false reading.)
LAETA. [GRATIANLUS, p. 303.] LAETUS, Q. AEMI'LIUS, was praefect of the
LAETI'LIUS. 1. The person whom Verres praetorium under Commodus, and one of the chief
constantly employed as his tabellarius. (Cic. Verr. agents in his assassination. [CoMMOD us, Ecii. 26, 56.) LECTUS,. MARCIA.] By Laetus and his associate
2. C. LAETIr,Ivs APALUS, whose name occurs Eclectus the vacant throne was offered to Pertinax,
as duumvir along with that of Ptolemaeus, the son and Laetus was the first to incite the guards to rebel
of the younger Juba, on a coin of New Carthage against the new prince, and to proclaim Sosius
or Gades. (Eckhel, vol. iv. p. 160, vol. v. p. 232.) Falco, the consul, emperor in his place. At length
LAETO RIUS. 1. M. LAETORIus, a centurion the turbulent career of this adventurer was brought
primi pili, mentioned as the first plebeian magis- to a close by Julianus, who put him to death on
trate, B. C. 495, chosen even before the secession the suspicion that he was favourable to the claims
to the Sacred Hill and the election of the first tri- of Severus. (Dion Cass. lxxii. 19, 22, lxxiii. 1,
bunes of the people; for there cannot be any doubt 6, 8, 9; Herodian. i, 16, 17, ii. 1, 2; Lamprid.
that this Laetorius was a plebeian, although it is Commod. 15, 17; Capitolin. Pertin. 5, 6;Sparnot exactly stated by Livy (ii. 27). - He was chosen tian. Julian. 6, Sept. Sever. 4.) [W. R.]
to establish a guild of merchants (collegium merca- LAETUS, was one of the lieutenants of Septorusm), to dedicate a temple of Mercury, and to timius Severus in the campaign against the Arasuperintend the corn market. From these functions bians and Parthians, A. D. 195; and a few years
it is probable that he was aedile, and the conclusion afterwards (A. D. 199) gained- great renown by his
is obvious that the establishment of the plebeian gallant and successful defence of Nisibis against a
aedileship preceded that of the tribuneship. (Comp. sudden attack headed by Vologaesus. NotwithVal.- Max. ix. 3. ~ 6.) standing this good service, and the high reputation
2. C. LAETORIUS, was tribune of the people in which he enjoyed both as a statesman and a general,
B. C. 471, and by his courage and energy decided he was put to death by the emperor, who had bethe success of the Publilian rogation, by which the come jealous of his popularity with the soldiers.
comitia tributa obtained the power of legislating (Dion Cass. lxxv. 2, 9, 10.) [W. R.]
for the whole community, and of electing the ple- LAEVI'NUS, a cognomen of the Gens Valeria
beian magistrates, tribunes and aediles, who ac- at Rome. It appears on the Fasti for the first
cordingly must have been chosen formerly either time in B. C. 280, and was -extant in the age of
by the comitia curiata or centuriata, a disputed Augustus (Hor. Sat. 1, 6, 12, Schol. Vet.), and in
point on which see Diet. of Ant. s. v. Tribunus. that of Domitian or Nerva. (Mart. Ep. vi. 9.)
(Liv. ii. 56-58; Dionys. ix. 41-49.) It seems Laevina is also mentioned by Martial. (Ep. i. 62).
not improbable that this Laetorius, if not a relation, 1. P. VALERIUS LARVINUS, one of the consuls
was the same who, with the praenomen Marcus, in B. c. 280, obtained for his. province Southern
occurs in the annals a few years before. [No. 1.] Italy, and the conduct of the war with Pyrrhus,
3. M. LAETORIUS MERGUS, a military tribune king of Epeirus. Pyrrhus had recently landed at
during the third Samnite war (B. c. 298-290), Tarentum, and it was important to force him to
was accused of adultery by the tribune of the peo- engage before he was joined by his Italian allies,
z z 3