Lucius Licinius, the conqueror of Mithridates, was born probably about 109 B.C. At an early age he distinguished himself so much in the social war, that Sulla gave him the command of a fleet during the first war with Mithridates, and appointed him quaestor of Asia. After discharging this office with great prudence, he returned to Rome in 80 B.C., to fill the curule aedileship, and in the following year he was appointed praetor. No sooner had he been elected consul in 74 B.C., than the second Mithridatic war broke out, and Lucullus hastened into Asia to attack the enemy. His first exploit was the relieving of his colleague, Cotta, who, after suffering defeat both by land and sea, had been shut up in Chalcedon. Attacking the enemy successively at Rhynaeus, the Aesepus, and the Granicus, Lucullus in a short time annihilated the land forces of Mithridates. He mustered a fleet with equal celerity, and routed the squadron of the king near the island of Lemnos. Mithridates had, meanwhile, retreated into his native kingdom, and thither Lucullus now marched. After baffling the pursuit of the Romans for some time, the king was forced, in 72 B.C., to flee to his son-in-law, Tigranes, Prince of Armenia. To this country accordingly, the war was transferred in 69 B.C., and the defeat of the Armenian forces before the walls of their capital, Tigranocerta, was followed soon after by the fall and pillaging of that city. In 68 B.C., Mithridates and Tigranes had consolidated their shattered armies, and met Lucullus at the River Arsanias, but were again defeated and forced to flee ignominiously. Other successes would have followed, had not a spirit of disaffection in the minds of the soldiers, that was due partly to the reserved disposition of Lucullus, and partly to the machinations of his enemies at Rome, now broken out into open mutiny. After struggling with it ineffectually, and seeing Mithridates recover Pontus and Cappadocia, Lucullus, in 66 B.C., was superseded in the command by his old rival Pompey. On returning to Rome, his well-earned triumph was delayed for three years, through the intrigues of his enemies. He then passed into private life to enjoy the immense wealth he had amassed in the East, and he soon became as noted for his luxurious indolence as he had been for his military activity. He laid out extensive gardens in the suburbs of Rome, and built two magnificent villas, the one near Neapolis, and the other at Tusculum. A student and a lover of the fine arts from his earliest years, he now passed much of his time in collecting an extensive library, in decorating his mansions with costly paintings and statues, and in conversing with the learned men whom he loved to gather round him. Cicero was his intimate friend, and in the Academies praises his learning very highly. Shortly before his death, which happened at some time previous to 56 B.C., Lucullus is said to have fallen into a state of dotage. He was the first to introduce cherries into Europe.

Lucullus, Marcus Licinius, a younger brother of the preceding, was also called M. Terentius Varro Lucullus, on account of his adoption by M. Terentius Varro. Under Sulla he held the office of quaestor, and afterwards of a lieutenant. In 77 B.C. he was appointed praetor, and succeeding his brother as consul in 73 B.C., obtained Macedonia for a province, and there waged a successful war with the Bessi, the Dardanians, and the Greek cities on the Euxine. His exploits were rewarded by a triumph in 71 B.C. In 67 B.C. he was one of the legates appointed to settle the affairs of Pontus, and appears in history as one of the leaders of the aristocratic party in 65 B.C. He died at some period before 49 B.C. M. Lucullus is characterized by Cicero as one of the "lights and ornaments of the republic."