Publius Licinius Crassus

Publius Licinius Crassus Dives ( 59–57 BC) was a Roman senator during the time of the First Triumvirate in the late Republic. He was the judge who examined in 59 BC the controversial affair of Lucius Vettius, who was supposedly involved in a conspiracy to assassinate the "triumvir" Pompey. Broughton supposed, on basis of this, that Dives had been a plebeian aedile in the previous year. Dives was a praetor in 57 BC, and, along with his other colleagues in office, supported the recall of the ex-consul Cicero from exile. He appears to have squandered a substantial amount of his wealth, causing Cicero to comment, in 59 BC, that his surname (Latin for 'rich') was no longer appropriate for him. Valerius Maximus reported that Crassus went bankrupt and that the name "Dives" became a provocative taunt; this must have happened after his term as praetor.