originally belonged to the Aurelia gens, whence his surname of Orestes, and was adopted by Cn. Aufidius, the historian, when the latter was an old man [See Vol. I. p. 418b.]. Orestes was repulsed when a candidate for the tribunate of the plebs, but he obtained the consulship in B. C. 71, with P. Cornelius Lentulus. From an anecdote recorded by Cicero (de Off. 2.17) Orestes seems to have carried his election partly by the magnificent treats he gave the people. (Cic. pro Dom. 13, pro Planc. 21; Eutrop. 6.8.)
A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology
Smith, William
A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. William Smith, LLD, ed. 1890