Publius Claudius Pulcher | |
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Spouse(s) | Unknown Claudia Marcella Minor (possibly) |
Children | Claudius Pulcher Claudia Pulchra (possibly) [1] |
Parents |
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Publius Claudius Pulcher (c. 60-59 BC [lower-alpha 1] – after 31 BC, possibly born Publius Clodius Pulcher) was a son of Publius Clodius Pulcher and his wife Fulvia. He was briefly the brother-in-law of Octavian (the future emperor Augustus) through Octavian's marriage to his sister Claudia.
Publius, who was the son of Publius Clodius Pulcher and Fulvia, had one full sister Claudia, and three half-brothers, Gaius Scribonius Curio, Marcus Antonius Antyllus and Iullus Antonius from his mothers later marriages to Gaius Scribonius Curio (married in 52 BC) and Mark Antony (married in 49 BC). His father Clodius might have been married to a woman named Pinaria Natta before Fulvia, but there are no children known from this possible match. [2]
It is not known exactly when he was born, but he was still referred to as a "boy" (puer) in 44 BC and he was likely born no earlier than 60 BC. [3]
In 59 Publius's father (who was born as a patrician) was adopted by a man of plebeian status named Publius Fonteius and changed the spelling of his own name from Publius Claudius Pulcher to Publius Clodius Pulcher. [lower-alpha 2] If Publius was born after this he might have been born under the name "Clodius", although it is known that he reverted to the patrician spelling at some point after his father's death. [5]
In 52 BC when his father was killed by Titus Annius Milo and his followers, there were accusations that Milo had also had a slave abduct the boy from his father's villa in Alba and bring him to see the body of his father and to demand that he allow them to cut up Clodius' body. [6] At his father's funeral he was not considered old enough to deliver a funeral oration. [7] [lower-alpha 3] Around this time he was referred to as a parvulus [9] which would mean "little child". [10] [lower-alpha 4]
Publius appears to have been raised by his mother's last husband Mark Antony. As a young man he likely asked for Antony to recall the exiled Sextus Cloelius (sometimes called "Sextus Clodius") as a favour. Sextus had been a major supporter of his father. [14] His younger sister Claudia married Octavian around 43-41 BC, but when the relations between Octavian and his mother Fulvia broke down about a year later the marriage was broken off. Fulvia died of illness in 40 BC in Greece after traveling with her children following battles with Octavians forces.
Valerius Maximus regarded Publius as a lethargic nonentity who only rose to the Praetorship after 31 BC under the Second Triumvirs and died young amid scandals of luxurious excess and an obsessive attachment to a common prostitute. [15] Besides his praetorship he was also a quaestor and a member of the priestly college of the augurs. [16] It is possible that he survived the Battle of Actium and went over to Octavian's side after the defeat of his step-father Mark Antony, later making a further career under the emperor. [17]
An inscription of ownership on an expensive Egyptian alabaster vase once owned by him has survived to attest to his short official career, and includes an unusual triple filiation which confirms the literary evidence to the effect that Clodius' own filiation was: Ap. f. Ap. n. Ap. pron. (son of Appius cos.79, grandson of Appius cos.143). [18]
He seems to have had at least one son, possibly named Appius. The Claudius Pulcher who was triumvir monetalis in 11 BC may have been this son. [19] The son may have been born some time in the 20s BC. [20]
There has also been some speculation among historians such as George Patrick Goold [21] that he might have been the father of Claudia Pulchra who was the daughter of Augustus' niece Claudia Marcella Minor. Some historians such as Ronald Syme have rejected this proposal [22] while others like Susan Treggiari are open to the possibility. [23] Another interpretation put forth is that Claudia Pulchra was indeed Publius's daughter, but by Claudia Marcella Major, the elder sister of Claudia Marcella Minor. [24] Goold argues that an engagement between Publius and Marcella would have fit the political climate around 43 BC when Octavian himself was marrying Pulcher's sister Claudia. He conjectures that the future emperor might have reasoned that betrothing his niece to a son of a plebeian hero would have its advantages after his experience with the Pseudo-Marius. [25] [lower-alpha 5]
He appears as a young infant in Respublica by Richard Braccia. [28] His possible kidnapping is also a plot poing in A Murder on the Appian Way by Steven Saylor. [29]
Clodius is an alternate form of the Roman nomen Claudius, a patrician gens that was traditionally regarded as Sabine in origin. The alternation of o and au is characteristic of the Sabine dialect. The feminine form is Clodia.
Marcus Antonius, commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the autocratic Roman Empire.
Year 43 BC was either a common year starting on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday or a leap year starting on Sunday or Monday of the Julian calendar and a common year starting on Monday of the Proleptic Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pansa and Hirtius. The denomination 43 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.
This article concerns the period 49 BC – 40 BC.
Clodia, nicknamed Quadrantaria, Nola, Medea Palatina by Cicero, and occasionally referred to in scholarship as Clodia Metelli, was one of three known daughters of the ancient Roman patrician Appius Claudius Pulcher.
Publius Clodius Pulcher was a Roman politician and demagogue. A noted opponent of Cicero, he was responsible during his plebeian tribunate in 58 BC for a massive expansion of the Roman grain dole as well as Cicero's exile from the city. Leader of one of the political mobs in the 50s, his political tactics – combining connections throughout the oligarchy with mass support from the poor plebs – made him a central player in the politics of the era.
The gens Claudia, sometimes written Clodia, was one of the most prominent patrician houses at ancient Rome. The gens traced its origin to the earliest days of the Roman Republic. The first of the Claudii to obtain the consulship was Appius Claudius Sabinus Regillensis, in 495 BC, and from that time its members frequently held the highest offices of the state, both under the Republic and in imperial times.
Fulvia was an aristocratic Roman woman who lived during the Late Roman Republic. Fulvia's birth into an important political dynasty facilitated her relationships and, later on, marriages to Publius Clodius Pulcher, Gaius Scribonius Curio, and Mark Antony. All of these men would go on to lead increasingly promising political careers as populares, tribunes, and supporters of Julius Caesar.
Appius Claudius Pulcher was a Roman noble, general and politician of the 1st century BC. He was the father of a number of renowned Romans, most notable: the infamous Clodius and Clodia.
Appius Claudius Pulcher was a Roman patrician, politician and general in the first century BC. He was consul of the Roman Republic in 54 BC. He was an expert in Roman law and antiquities, especially the esoteric lore of the augural college of which he was a controversial member. He was head of the senior line of the most powerful family of the patrician Claudii. The Claudii were one of the five leading families which had dominated Roman social and political life from the earliest years of the republic. He is best known as the recipient of 13 of the extant letters in Cicero's ad Familiares corpus, which date from 53 to 50 BC. They do not include any of Appius' replies to Cicero. He is also well known for being the older brother of the infamous Clodius and Clodia.
Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus was a senator and praetor of the Roman Republic. He was born with the name Appius Claudius Pulcher, into the patrician family of the Claudii Pulchri but adopted by a Livii Drusi as a small child. His daughter Livia Drusilla became the wife of the first Roman Emperor Augustus, and he was a direct ancestor of the Julio-Claudian emperors Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero.
Claudia was the daughter of Fulvia by her first husband Publius Clodius Pulcher. She was the stepdaughter of Mark Antony and half-sister of his sons Marcus Antonius Antyllus and Iullus Antonius.
Publius Servilius Isauricus was a Roman senator who served as consul in 48 BC together with Julius Caesar. He is generally regarded as a puppet of Caesar, having a long friendship with the Dictator.
Caecilia Metella was a Roman matron of the first century BC, who belonged to the powerful family of the Caecilii Metelli. She was possibly the mother of Clodius.
Claudia Marcella Minor (PIR2 C 1103, born some time before 39 BC) was a niece of the first Roman emperor Augustus. She was the second surviving daughter of the emperor's sister Octavia the Younger and her first husband Gaius Claudius Marcellus. Marcella had many children by several husbands, and through her son Marcus Valerius Messalla Barbatus she became the grandmother of the empress Messalina.
Appius is a Latin praenomen, or personal name, usually abbreviated Ap. or sometimes App., and best known as a result of its extensive use by the patrician gens Claudia. The feminine form is Appia. The praenomen also gave rise to the patronymic gens Appia.
Appius Claudius Pulcher was a Roman politician. An early supporter of Augustus, he was elected consul in 38 BC.
Claudia Pulchra (14 BC – AD 26) (PIR2 C 1116) was a Patrician woman of Ancient Rome who lived during the reigns of the Roman emperors Augustus and Tiberius.
Gaius Scribonius Curio was the son of Gaius Scribonius Curio, consul in 76 BC and censor in 61 BC. His political allegiances changed over the course of the 50s BC until his tribunate, when he sided with Julius Caesar after possibly receiving a massive bribe. During the civil war, he sided with Caesar and led Caesarian troops to Sicily and then to Africa, where he was killed in battle.