Who dated Lucius Cornelius Sulla?

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. A great commander and ruthless politician, Sulla used violence to advance his career and his conservative agenda. Although he attempted to create a stable constitutional order, the Republic never recovered from his coup d'état, civil war, and purges.

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/Venus.

Sulla played an important role in the long political struggle between the optimates and populares factions at Rome. He was a leader of the optimates, who sought to maintain senatorial supremacy against the populist reforms advocated by the populares, headed by Marius. In a dispute over the command of the war against Mithridates, initially awarded to Sulla by the Senate but withdrawn as a result of Marius' intrigues, Sulla marched on Rome in an unprecedented act and defeated Marian forces in battle. The populares seized power once he left with his army to Asia. He returned victorious from the east in 82 BC, marched on Rome again and crushed the populares and their Italian allies at the Battle of the Colline Gate.

Sulla revived the office of dictator, which had been dormant since the Second Punic War, over a century before. He used his powers to purge his opponents, and reform Roman constitutional laws, to restore the primacy of the Senate and limit the power of the tribunes of the plebs. Resigning his dictatorship in 79 BC, Sulla retired to private life and died the following year. Later political leaders such as Julius Caesar followed the precedent set by Sulla with his military coup to attain political power through force.

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.