publius scipio, as he was referred to in contemporary sources early in his life, was adopted in adulthood through the testament of quintus caecilius metellus pius, consul in 80 bce and "pontifex maximus". he retained his patrician status: "scipio's ancestry," notes syme, "was unmatched for splendour." as jerzy linderski has shown at length, this legal process constitutes adoption only in a loose sense; scipio becomes a caecilius metellus in name while inheriting the estate of metellus pius, but was never his "son" while the "pontifex maximus" was alive. he was called "metellus scipio" but also sometimes just "scipio" even after his adoption. the official form of his name as evidenced in a decree of the senate was "q. caecilius q. f. fab. metellus scipio."