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Atticus Bradua

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Tiberius Claudius Marcus Appius Atilius Bradua Regillus Atticus,[1] otherwise known as Atticus Bradua [2] (around 145-after 209) was a Roman Politician of Greek Athenian and Italian Roman descent who lived in the Roman Empire.

Ancestry and Family

Atticus Bradua born to a distinguished and very rich family of consular rank.[3] He was second son and among the children of the Greek Athenian Roman Senator, Sophist Herodes Atticus and the Roman highly aristocratic, influential noblewoman Aspasia Annia Regilla.[1]

The paternal grandparents of Atticus Bradua were the Roman Senator Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes and the wealthy heiress Vibullia Alcia Agrippina [1][2] while his maternal grandparents were the Roman Senator, Consul Appius Annius Trebonius Gallus and the aristocratic woman Atilia Caucidia Tertulla.[1] His paternal uncle was Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodianus, while his paternal aunt was Claudia Tisamenis.[1] The maternal uncle of Atticus Bradua was Appius Annius Atilius Bradua who served as an ordinary consul in 160.[1][4]

Through his maternal grandfather, Atticus Bradua was a relative to the Roman Empress Faustina the Elder, wife of the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius.[5] Faustina the Elder was the mother of Roman Empress Faustina the Younger and aunt of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius.[5] Thus he was a relative to the family of Faustina the Younger and Marcus Aurelius.

Life

Atticus Bradua was born in an unknown place and was raised in Greece. As a child, he couldn’t learn how to read. His father purchased twenty-four slave boys to whom he gave names beginning with the letters of the alphabet to help Atticus Bradua learn his letters.[6] According to an inscription, there is a possibility that Atticus Bradua was sent to Sparta by his father to become an ephebe (citizen-cadet) and if so, it left no long-lasting influence on him.[7]

The students and freedmen of Herodes Atticus were clamoring for his attention and benefactions. The students and freemen of his father were jealous of the family of Herodes Atticus, and because of his learning disability they may have slandered him.[7]

The parents of Atticus Bradua erected a great outdoor nymphaeum (a monumental fountain) at Olympia, Greece. The monumental fountain features statues and honors members of the ruling imperial family, including members of his family and relatives of his parents. Among the statues is a bust of Atticus Bradua which is on display at the Archaeological Museum of Olympia.[8]

Atticus Bradua was about 15 years old when his mother had died and heard accusations by his maternal uncle that his father murdered his mother.[7] From these accusations, this may have caused an irreparable rift between Herodes Atticus and Atticus Bradua.[7] Herodes Atticus saw Atticus Bradua as a disappointment.[7] Herodes Atticus outlived his family and Atticus Bradua became his only surviving child.[9] Relations between father and son continue to worsen. When Herodes Atticus died in 177, he left nothing to Atticus Bradua.[7] The Athenians considered Herodes Atticus’s treatment towards Atticus Bradua as inhumane.[7]

Wealth, Political Career and Benefactions

After the death of his mother, Atticus Bradua inherited the wealth and the estate that his mother owned with his father on the Appian Way.[7] Atticus Bradua was considered by others, more competent than Herodes Atticus probably due to his status and wealth.[7] Sometime during the reign of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius (138–161), the Emperor promoted Atticus Bradua to Patrician rank.[7]

Atticus Bradua served as an ordinary consul in 185 [9] and became an Archon of Athens in 187.[7] Sometime after his consulship, he served as a Proconsul of a Roman Province.[10]

Atticus Bradua followed in the footsteps of his parents as a benefactor however not on such a lavish scale. As the fortune of Atticus Bradua was much smaller from Herodes Atticus.[10] He contributed a gift to Piraeus which was commemorated and in 209 the Athenian Boule honored Atticus Bradua as a Herald.[10]

According to inscription found on a grey limestone dated after 185 at the Curia at Leptis Magna (the capital of the Africa Province), reveals another honorific inscription possibly dedicated to Atticus Bradua. This inscription shows that Atticus Bradua may have served as a Proconsul of the Africa Province, could have served as a local patron and he may have changed his name. He may have changed his name to honor the memory of his family, mother, maternal ancestry and probably his discontent of his father. The inscription reads

To Marcus Atilius Metilius Bradua Caucidius Tertullus Claudius Atticus Vibullius Pollio Gauidius Latiaris Atrius Bassus, proconsul; Decimus Junius Crescens, Decimus Junius Galba, Quintus Calpurnius Capito, Lucius Plautius Octavianus to their patron.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Pomeroy, The murder of Regilla: a case of domestic violence in antiquity
  2. ^ a b Graindor, Un milliardaire antique p. 29
  3. ^ Wilson, Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece p.p. 349-350
  4. ^ de:Appius Annius Atilius Bradua
  5. ^ a b Pomeroy, The murder of Regilla: a case of domestic violence in antiquity p. 14
  6. ^ Pomeroy, The murder of Regilla: a case of domestic violence in antiquity p. 48
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Pomeroy, The murder of Regilla: a case of domestic violence in antiquity p. 49
  8. ^ McManus, Barbara F. "Plancia Magna, Aurelia Paulina, and Regilla: Civic Donors". Vroma.org. Retrieved 2010-04-28.
  9. ^ a b Wilson, Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece p.p. 350
  10. ^ a b c Pomeroy, The murder of Regilla: a case of domestic violence in antiquity p. 50
  11. ^ Inscriptions of Roman Tripolitania, by J. M. Reynolds and J. B. Ward-Perkins, enhanced electronic reissue by Gabriel Bodard and Charlotte Roueché (2009). "517. Honours for Ti. Cl. M. Appius Atilius Bradua Regillus Atticus"

Sources

Political offices
Preceded by Consul of the Roman Empire with Triarius Maternus Lascivius
185 		Succeeded by
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