Le elezioni consolari del 215 a.C. e la posizione politica di M. Claudio Marcello

The aim of this paper is to clarify the political subdivision of the senatorial aristocracy in the year 215 B.C. and, in particular, to provide a new interpretation of the position assumed by M. Claudius Marcellus. Although this character has generally been associated with two different political factions - the Fabian one and that of the Scipios - it will instead seek to argue that he represented an autonomous and independent force that sought to exploit its popularity and the internal division of the senate to obtain a prestigious command on the most important front of the Hannibalic war.