Lucius Julius Libo

Lucius Julius L. f. L. n. Libo was a member of the ancient patrician house of the Julii, who held the consulship in 267 BC, and won an important military victory.

The son and grandson of Lucius, Libo was the only significant member of his gens to appear in history during a span of nearly a century and a half. The Julii had been one of the leading families of the early Republic, claiming six consulships between 489 and 430 BC, and nine times filling the office of consular tribune from 438 to 379. But the last of the early Julii to hold a magistracy was Gaius Julius Iulus, who had been nominated dictator in BC 352.

For modern scholars, Libo represents a link between the Julii Iuli of the early Republic, and the Julii Caesares, who flourished from the time of the Second Punic War to early Imperial times. It is not known whether Libo was descended from one of the Julii Iuli, or from a collateral branch of the family, nor whether he was an ancestor of the Caesars, although it has long been conjectured that they were his descendants. In recent years, one scholar has postulated that Lucius Julius, the father of Sextus Julius Caesar, who was praetor in 208 BC, was the son of Libo, but if so it is not clear whether his surname was Libo or Caesar.

Libo was elected consul for 267 BC, together with Marcus Atilius Regulus. The two consuls carried on a war against the Sallentini, a Messapian people of Apulia, whom they conquered. In recognition of their victory, Libo and Regulus were granted a triumph, which they celebrated on January 23, 266.