person
Gaius Sulpicius Gallus
Sulpicius Gallus
Roman astronomer and statesman, consul 166 BC; predicted the lunar eclipse before the battle of Pydna for L. Aemilius Paulus.
Reading notes
- Ad Familiares 4.6 §1 your Galus
C. Sulpicius Gallus (cos. 166 BC), the astronomer-statesman who predicted the lunar eclipse before Pydna, was a kinsman of the Sulpician house, which is why Cicero calls him 'your' Galus in addressing Servius Sulpicius. He too was remembered for bearing the loss of a son.
- Cato the Elder, On Old Age §49 What delight it gave him to foretell to us, long in advance, the eclipses of the sun and moon
Gaius Sulpicius Gallus (consul 166 BC) was famed for astronomy; he is said to have predicted an eclipse on the eve of Pydna (168 BC), calming the troops. Here he is Aemilius Paulus's learned friend.