Page "Fabius Maximus" Paragraph 6

The Romans were unimpressed with this defensive strategy and at first gave Fabius his epithet Cunctator as an insult.

The strategy was in part ruined because of a lack of unity in the command of the Roman army, since Fabius ' Master of the Horse, Minucius, was a political enemy of Fabius.

At one point, Fabius was called by the priests to assist with certain sacrifices, and as such, Fabius left the command of the army in the hands of Minucius during his absence.

Fabius had told Minucius not to attack Hannibal in his absence, but Minucius disobeyed Fabius and attacked anyway.

The attack, though of no strategic value, resulted in the retreat of several enemy units, and so the Roman people, desperate for good news, believed Minucius to be a hero.

Upon hearing of this, Fabius became enraged, and as Dictator, he could have ordered Minucius ' execution for his disobedience.

One of the Plebeian Tribunes ( chief representatives of the people ) for the year, Metilius, was a partisan of Minucius, and as such he sought to use his power to help Minucius.

The Plebeian Tribunes were the only magistrates independent of the Dictator, and so with his protection, Minucius was relatively safe.

Plutarch states that Metilius " boldly applied himself to the people in the behalf of Minucius ", and had Minucius granted powers equivalent to those of Fabius.

By this, Plutarch probably means that as Plebeian Tribune, Metilius had the Plebeian Council, a popular assembly which only Tribunes could preside over, grant Minucius quasi-dictatorial powers.