Who dated Metrobius?

Metrobius (Ancient Greek: Μητρόβιος; lived 1st century BC) was an actor and singer, in the Roman Republic. He was said to be the lover of Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix, the famed general and dictator. Metrobius is mentioned twice by Plutarch in his Parallel Lives, who clearly disapproves of his relationship with Sulla. These excerpts are as follows.

"It was this laxity, as it seems, which produced in him [Sulla] a diseased propensity to amorous indulgence and an unrestrained voluptuousness, from which he did not refrain even in his old age, but continued his youthful love for Metrobius, an actor."

"However, even though he [Sulla] had such a wife at home, he consorted with actresses, harpists, and theatrical people, drinking with them on couches all day long. For these were the men who had most influence with him now: Roscius the comedian, Sorex the archmime, and Metrobius the impersonator of women, for whom, though past his prime, he continued up to the last to be passionately fond, and made no denial of it."

Though Sulla took other partners during his career, by Plutarch's account he remained in love with Metrobius until the end of his life.

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (, Latin pronunciation: [ˈɫuːkius kɔrˈneːlius ˈsulːa ˈfeːliːks]; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. Coming to fame for his military exploits, he was the first general during the late republic to march on Rome and win a civil war. After purging his opponents, he assumed the dictatorship, sought to strengthen the republican system by means of reforms to the constitution, and resigned his plenary powers after their enactment.

Sulla held the office of consul twice and revived the dictatorship. A gifted general, he achieved successes in wars against foreign and domestic opponents. Sulla rose to prominence during the war against the Numidian king Jugurtha, whom he captured as a result of Jugurtha's betrayal by the king's allies, although his superior Gaius Marius took credit for ending the war. He then fought successfully against Germanic tribes during the Cimbrian War, and Italian allies during the Social War. He was awarded the Grass Crown for his bravery at the Battle of Nola. Sulla was closely associated with Venus, adopting the title Epaphroditos, meaning favoured of Aphrodite.

Sulla was elected consul for 88 BC; however, amid a dispute over the command of the war against Mithridates of Pontus – initially awarded to Sulla by the Senate but revoked as part of a political deal between Marius and the plebeian tribune Publius Sulpicius – Sulla as consul took his army and marched on Rome. Violently expelling or killing Marius, Sulpicius, and their allies, Sulla left with his army at the close of his consular term to fight Mithridates in Greece. While abroad, Marius returned with Lucius Cornelius Cinna (who succeeded Sulla in the consulship) and they purged their own opponents from the city, including Sulla, whom they declared a public enemy. In the East, Sulla crushed the Pontic armies at the battles of Chaeronea and Orchomenos (86 BC), but offered a generous peace to Mithridates, so he could return to Rome. Although Marius and Cinna had by this point died, Sulla crushed the successors of their faction and won a decisive victory outside Rome at the Battle of the Colline Gate (82 BC).

Forcibly taking control of Roman politics, Sulla revived the office of dictator, which had been dormant since the Second Punic War, over a century before. Even before his dictatorship, he started proscriptions to purge his opponents; with his dictatorial powers, he reformed Roman constitutional laws to restore the primacy of the Senate and limit the power of the tribunes of the plebs. He resigned his dictatorship at the start of 80 BC and assumed an ordinary consulship for the rest of the year. After that consulship, Sulla retired to private life and died shortly thereafter in 78 BC. Sulla left a lasting impression on the next generation of leaders, such as Pompey and Julius Caesar, who followed his precedent to attain political power through force.