Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio

Who was Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio?

Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio, the son of Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum and his wife Cornelia Africana Major, was a member of the gens Cornelia and a politician of the ancient Roman Republic. He was consul in 138 BC.

The gens Cornelia was a family of patrician descent. Notable figures from his family line include Scipio Africanus, the first conqueror of Carthage and Scipio Aemilianus, the third conqueror of Carthage and main opponent of Tiberius Gracchus. Gracchus himself was Scipio Nasica's cousin.

His accomplishments are sparsely recorded or discussed in the scholarly world, though he still played an integral role in the overthrow of Tiberius Gracchus as well as held many important offices within the Cursus honorum.

Scipio Nasica Serapio was the third member of his family to bear the agnomen Nasica. He succeeded his father as Pontifex Maximus in 141 BC, possibly because of his illustrious family name and his father's great reputation.