Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus ( c . 135 BC – late 50s BC ) was a politically active member of the Roman upper class . He was praetor in 74 BC and pontifex from 73 BC until his death . He was consul in 69 BC along with Quintus Hortensius Hortalus . Family . The Caecilii Metelli were extremely prominent , conservative members of the Roman nobility in the Republican period , though they were members of the plebeian gens Caecilia . Their greatest influence was from the second century BC onwards . The name Metellus possibly means ' mercenary ' . A saying attributed to Naevius stated that " it is fated for the Metelli to become consuls at Rome , " and it seems to be true : Creticus ' brother , father , grandfather , three uncles , great grandfather , and great great grandfather were all consuls . Quintus Caecilius Metellus Macedonicus was Creticus ' grandfather . He was praetor in 148 BC , and he received the command in Macedonia . There he defeated Andriscus , a pretender to the throne , for which he received a triumph and the cognomen ' Macedonicus ' . He was censor in 131 BC , and consul in 143 BC . Macedonicus , as a conservative aristocrat , opposed Tiberius Gracchus and Gaius Gracchus . Each of his four sons became consul . Creticus ' father was Gaius Caecilius Metellus Caprarius , the youngest son of Macedonicus . In 133 BC he served under Scipio Aemilianus in Numantia . Caprarius was praetor in 117 BC , consul in 113 BC , and fought as proconsul in Thrace in 112 BC . He triumphed for his victory in Thrace in 111 BC . He was censor in 102 BC . Creticus had two brothers . One was Lucius Caecilius Metellus . He was praetor in 71 BC and governor of Sicily in 70 BC . He died in office as consul in 68 BC . The other was Marcus Caecilius Metellus , praetor and president of the extortion court in 69 BC . Creticus ' sister , Caecilia Metella , was the wife of Gaius Verres , who was governor of Sicily from 73 - 71 BC . Creticus ' daughter was also named Caecilia Metella . She married the Marcus Licinius Crassus who was a son of the famous Marcus Crassus , the so - called " triumvir " . Caecilia Metella ' s tomb still survives on the Via Appia . Career . The conflict with Crete . According to Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus , Crete was aiding Mithridates , king of Pontus , by supplying him with mercenaries in the first century BC . Mithridates was at war with the Romans at the time , and Rome was having a difficult time with him . The Cretans also contributed to and were in alliance with the pirates of the Mediterranean . Pirates were a terrible problem in the Mediterranean at that time ; they added the risk of kidnapping to sailing , they pilfered grain from shipments to Rome , and they attacked ports . Marcus Antonius Creticus , father of the famous Marc Antony , sent legates to Crete concerning their involvement with Mithridates and the pirates ; the Cretans dismissed the matter , and a war began . In an attempt at a peace treaty , the Romans demanded the surrender of Lasthenes , Crete ' s commander against the Romans , along with all of the Romans the Cretans held prisoner , all of their pirate ships , three hundred hostages , and four thousand talents of silver . The island of Crete refused to meet these terms . During his consulship , Quintus Caecilius Metellus was given the proconsular command against the pirate - infested Crete ; his co - consul , Quintus Hortensius Hortalus . had refused it . Metellus captured several cities and made great progress before the island appealed to Pompey the Great . They did this in 67 BC , when Pompey had control over the Mediterranean to eliminate piracy under the proposal of Gabinius . The Cretans offered to surrender to Pompey , perhaps believing he would be less harsh than Metellus . Pompey ignored Metellus ' command over the island and accepted the Cretan ' s surrender . Pompey ordered Metellus to leave the island with his troops , but Metellus persisted . Metellus then defeated the island of Crete and made it a province of Rome . Because of Metellus ' refusal to leave Crete when Pompey ordered it , Pompey and his allies prevented his triumph until 62 BC . Upon celebrating his triumph , Metellus received the cognomen ' Creticus ' , the Latin word for ' Cretan ' . In return for the opposition to his triumph , Metellus used his influence to prevent the ratification in the senate of Pompey ' s reorganization of the east until 60 BC . Metellus remained a prominent member of Pompey ' s opposition until his death in the late 50s BC . Gaul . According to Cicero in his letters to Atticus , Creticus was an ambassador sent to Gaul in the hopes of preventing the Gallic states from joining the Aedui in 60 BC . He was sent along with Lucius Flaccus and Lentulus . Role in Verres ' trial . In Cicero ' s speech Against Verres , delivered in late 70 BC , Cicero , the attorney prosecuting on behalf of the province of Sicily , denounces Verres , the defendant on trial , in the extortion court . Verres was the governor of Sicily from 73 - 71 BC , and the Sicilians charged him with being morally corrupt and flagrant with bribery as well as having stolen 40 million sesterces worth of money and items from Sicily . They also charged him with having killed Roman citizens without trial , something forbidden by Roman law . Creticus and Quintus Hortensius Hortalus were to be the two consuls in the coming year . They were both friends with Verres , and they supported him ; Hortalus was his defense lawyer . Marcus Caecilius Metellus , one of Creticus ' brothers , was to be president of the extortion court in the coming year . The defense planned to put the trial off until the coming year , when Quintus Caecilius Metellus , Quintus Hortensius Hortalus , and Marcus Caecilius Metellus would be able to influence the court ' s decision . Quintus Caecilius Metellus sent for the Sicilians and told them that Verres would come to no harm due to the power invested in himself , his family , and other supporters of Verres in the coming year . Because of this , Cicero reviles Quintus Caecilius Metellus as corrupt to the point that he would " throw duty and dignity to the winds " without even having a real connection to Verres . Cicero goes on to suggest twice that Quintus Caecilius Metellus won his office due to Verres ' bribery rather than his own merit , and tries to turn Quintus Caecilius Metellus against Verres by stating that Verres proclaimed it to be so . In a later speech , Post Reditum in Senatu ( ' in the senate after his return ' ) , Cicero , having been exiled for executing Roman citizens without a trial during the Catilinarian Conspiracy , returns to Rome . He is aided in this by the consul , Quintus Caecilius Metellus Celer , a relative of Creticus . Cicero praises Celer for being truly noble and naturally excellent in disposition , although he claims them to be enemies . Cicero goes on to praise the Metelli as a group for being exemplary citizens . Other references . In Juvenal ' s eighth satire , he speaks about virtue alone making one truly noble , rather than an inherited name . He uses a few cognomens to illustrate his point , including that of Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus .