Publius Cornelius Scipio (flamen Dialis)
Publius Cornelius Scipio (c. 195 – c. 170 BC) was a priest of the Roman Republic, who belonged to the prominent family of the Cornelii Scipiones. He was the grandson of Scipio Africanus and son of P. Cornelius Scipio. He is only known from an inscription found in the Tomb of the Scipios, which tells that he was "flamen Dialis", the prestigious priest of Jupiter. Family background. In the second century BC, the patrician Cornelii Scipiones were the leading family of the Roman Republic, thanks to the large victories won by its members, such as that  of Scipio Africanus against Hannibal, Scipio Asiaticus against Antiochus III, Scipio Hispallus against the Spaniards, or Scipio Nasica against the Boii. Scipio Africanus had two sons, Publius and Lucius, who however did not have the same prestigious career as their father; Lucius was embroiled in a corruption scandal, and Publius, the elder, had a weak health. The latter was nonetheless a noted historian and scholar. Scipio the historian had only one son, the flamine, who however died before him. His early death left his father childless and prompted the adoption of a son of Aemilius Paullus, then known as Scipio  Aemilianus. As Aemilianus had already been adopted by the Battle of Pydna in 168 BC, Scipio's death must have taken place just before. As his death is not recorded in Livy's "History of Rome", Jörg Rüpke has suggested that it took place in 170, because there is a lacuna in Livy's manuscript at the place where he should have given the names of the new priests. Scipio still had the time to marry, as it was a requirement to become flamine, but his wife is unknown. Flamen Dialis. Scipio is only known as having been Flamen Dialis , the great priest of Jupiter. As 6 of the 11 known flamines were Cornelii, several historians have noted that the gens had a special relationship with Jupiter. The Cornelii also frequently pictured Jupiter on the coins they minted until the end of the Republic. Scipio was appointed flamen by the Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, likely in 174 BC. Tomb. The first line mentioning the flamen was added later, perhaps by Scipio Aemilianus when he reorganised the familial tomb in the 130s BC. He might have wanted to enhance the prestige of his adoptive brother, who died before he could have a  political career. Epitaph. Fragments of his sarcophagus were discovered in the Tomb of the Scipios and are now in a wall of the Vatican Museums. Only the broken frontal plate survives, preserving the epitaph, written in Old Latin Saturnian meter: The break obscures a few letters, marked by the brackets. The epitaph has been stated in modern upper- and lower-case script with the missing letters restored as: and also transcribed in classical Latin verse as: translated as: This inscription is number three of the so-called elogia Scipionum, the several epitaphs surviving from the tomb. Henri Etcheto suggests that  the peculiar tone employed in the epitaph, with the use of the second person ("tua"), while the other elogia are written in the third person, reveals that it was composed by Scipio's father, as he was known for his literary qualities.