HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Gaius Asinius Pollio (75 BC – AD 4) was a
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
soldier, politician, orator, poet, playwright,
literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...
, and historian, whose
lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography * Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland *Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
contemporary history provided much of the material used by the historians
Appian Appian of Alexandria (; grc-gre, Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς ''Appianòs Alexandreús''; la, Appianus Alexandrinus; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Hadr ...
and Plutarch. Pollio was most famously a patron of Virgil and a friend of Horace and had poems dedicated to him by both men.


Early life

Asinius Pollio was born in ''Teate Marrucinorum'', the modern current
Chieti Chieti (, ; , nap, label= Abruzzese, Chjïétë, ; gr, Θεάτη, Theátē; lat, Theate, ) is a city and '' comune'' (municipality) in Central Italy, east by northeast of Rome. It is the capital of the province of Chieti in the Abruzzo regio ...
in Abruzzi, central Italy. According to an inscription his father was called Gnaeus Asinius Pollio. He had a brother called Asinius Marrucinus, whom Catullus calls out for his tasteless
practical joke A practical joke, or prank, is a mischievous trick played on someone, generally causing the victim to experience embarrassment, perplexity, confusion, or discomfort.Marsh, Moira. 2015. ''Practically Joking''. Logan: Utah State University Press. ...
, whose name suggests a family origin among the
Marrucini The Marrucini were an Italic tribe that occupied a small strip of territory around the ancient ''Teate'' (modern Chieti), on the east coast of Abruzzo, Italy, limited by the Aterno and Foro Rivers. Other Marrucinian centers included ''Ceio'' (Sa ...
. He may therefore have been the grandson of Herius Asinius, a plebeian and a general of the Marrucini who fought on the Italian side in the Social War. Pollio moved in the literary circle of
Catullus Gaius Valerius Catullus (; 84 - 54 BCE), often referred to simply as Catullus (, ), was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote chiefly in the neoteric style of poetry, focusing on personal life rather than classical heroes. His s ...
, and entered public life in 56 BC by supporting Lentulus Spinther. In 54 he unsuccessfully impeached Gaius Cato, a distant relative of the more famous Cato the Younger. Gaius Porcius Cato had acted as the tool of the
triumvirs A triumvirate ( la, triumvirātus) or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs ( la, triumviri). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are ...
Pompey,
Crassus Marcus Licinius Crassus (; 115 – 53 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He is often called "the richest man in Rome."Wallechinsky, David & Wallace, Ir ...
and
Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
in his tribunate in 56.


Political career

Despite his initial support of Lentulus Spinther, in the
civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policie ...
between Caesar and Pompey, Pollio sided with Caesar. He was present when Caesar deliberated whether to cross the
Rubicon The Rubicon ( la, Rubico; it, Rubicone ; rgn, Rubicôn ) is a shallow river in northeastern Italy, just north of Rimini. It was known as Fiumicino until 1933, when it was identified with the ancient river Rubicon, famously crossed by Julius C ...
and begin the war. After Pompey and the Senate fled to Greece, Caesar sent Pollio to Sicily to relieve Cato of his command. He and Gaius Scribonius Curio were sent to Africa to fight the province's governor, the Pompeian
Publius Attius Varus Publius Attius Varus (died 17 March 45 BC) was the Roman governor of Africa during the civil war between Julius Caesar and Pompey. He declared war against Caesar, and initially fought Gaius Scribonius Curio, who was sent against him in 49 BC. P ...
. Curio defeated Varus at Utica, despite his opponents' poisoning of the water supply. Curio marched to face Pompey's ally King Juba of Numidia, but was defeated and killed, along with all his men, on the
Bagradas River The Medjerda River ( ar, وادي مجردة), the classical Bagrada, is a river in North Africa flowing from northeast Algeria through Tunisia before emptying into the Gulf of Tunis and Lake of Tunis. With a length of , it is the longest rive ...
. Pollio managed to retreat to Utica with a small force. He was present as Caesar's legate at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48, and recorded Pompeian casualties at 6,000. In 47 Pollio was probably tribune, and resisted the efforts of another tribune, Publius Cornelius Dolabella, to cancel all debts. The following year he returned to Africa, this time with Caesar himself, in pursuit of Cato and
Metellus Scipio Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Scipio (c. 95 – 46 BC), often referred to as Metellus Scipio, was a Roman senator and military commander. During the civil war between Julius Caesar and the senatorial faction led by Pompey, he was a staunch sup ...
.


Time in Hispania

When Caesar was assassinated in 44, Pollio was leading his forces in Hispania against Sextus Pompeius, and distinguishing himself early in the campaign. He had accepted the commission reluctantly because of a personal enmity with another of Caesar's allies. Marcus Aemilius Lepidus was appointed the new governor of the province, but Pollio, while remaining loyal to Caesar's supporters, held out against him, announcing at Corduba that he would not hand over his province to anyone who did not have a commission from the Senate. A few months later his '' quaestor,'' Lucius Cornelius Balbus, absconded from Gades with the money intended to pay the soldiers, and fled to
Mauretania Mauretania (; ) is the Latin name for a region in the ancient Maghreb. It stretched from central present-day Algeria westwards to the Atlantic, covering northern present-day Morocco, and southward to the Atlas Mountains. Its native inhabitants, ...
. Pollio was then so severely defeated by Pompeius that he had to escape the battlefield in disguise.


Role in civil war

Pollio vacillated between Mark Antony and Octavian as civil war between them brewed, but ultimately threw in his lot with Antony. Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian soon joined forces in the Second Triumvirate. In their series of bloody proscriptions, Pollio's father-in-law, Lucius Quintius, was one of the first to be marked for murder. He fled by sea, but committed suicide by throwing himself overboard. In the division of the provinces, Gaul fell to Antony, who entrusted Pollio with the administration of Gallia Transpadana (the part of
Cisalpine Gaul Cisalpine Gaul ( la, Gallia Cisalpina, also called ''Gallia Citerior'' or ''Gallia Togata'') was the part of Italy inhabited by Celts (Gauls) during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. After its conquest by the Roman Republic in the 200s BC it was co ...
between the Po and the
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Sw ...
). In superintending the distribution of the Mantuan territory amongst the veterans, he used his influence to save from confiscation the property of the poet Virgil. In 40, Pollio helped to arrange the peace of
Brundisium Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histo ...
by which Octavian and Antony were for a time reconciled. In the same year, Pollio entered upon his
consulship A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...
, which had been promised him in 43 by the Second Triumvirate. Virgil addressed the famous fourth ''
eclogue An eclogue is a poem in a classical style on a pastoral subject. Poems in the genre are sometimes also called bucolics. Overview The form of the word ''eclogue'' in contemporary English developed from Middle English , which came from Latin , wh ...
'' to him, though there is uncertainty regarding whether Virgil composed the poem in anticipation of Pollio's consulship or to celebrate his part in the Treaty of Brundisium. Virgil, like other Romans, hoped that peace was at hand and looked forward to a Golden Age under Pollio's consulship. However, Pollio did not complete his consular year. He and his co-consul were removed from office by Antony and Octavian in the final months of the year. The following year, Pollio conducted a successful campaign against the
Parthini The Parthini, Partini or Partheni were an Illyrian tribe that lived in the inlands of southern Illyria (modern Albania). They likely were located in the Shkumbin valley controlling the important route between the Adriatic Sea and Macedonia, wh ...
, an Illyrian people who adhered to Marcus Junius Brutus, and celebrated a triumph on 25 October. Virgil's eighth ''eclogue'' was addressed to Pollio while he was engaged in this campaign. In 31, Octavian asked him to take part in the
Battle of Actium The Battle of Actium was a naval battle fought between a maritime fleet of Octavian led by Marcus Agrippa and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII Philopator. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC in the Ionian Sea, nea ...
against Antony, but Pollio, remembering the kindness that Antony had shown him, remained neutral.


Later life

From the spoils of the war Pollio constructed the first
public library A public library is a library that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also civil servants. There are five fundament ...
at Rome, in the ''
Atrium Libertatis {{Infobox ancient site , name = ''Atrium Libertatis'' , native_name = , alternate_name = , image = , alt = , caption = , map_type = , map_alt = , map_size = , coordinates = , location = Rome, Italy , region = , typ ...
'', also erected by him, which he adorned with
statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...
s of the most celebrated heroes. The library had Greek and Latin wings, and reportedly its establishment posthumously fulfilled one of Caesar's ambitions. There was a magnificent art collection attached to this library. Pollio loved Hellenistic art at its most imaginative, even including the rather extravagant group known as the
Farnese Bull The ''Farnese Bull'' ( it, Toro Farnese), formerly in the Farnese collection in Rome, is a massive Roman elaborated copy of a Hellenistic sculpture. It is the largest single sculpture yet recovered from antiquity. Along with the rest of the Fa ...
. Like the library, the
art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The lon ...
was open to the public. After his military and political successes, Pollio appears to have retired into private life as a patron of literary figures and a writer. He was known as a severe literary critic, fond of an archaic style and purity. In retirement, Pollio organized literary readings where he encouraged authors to read their own work, and he was the first Roman author to recite his own works. One of the most dramatic such readings brought the poet Virgil to the attention of the imperial family, when Virgil read from his work-in-progress the ''
Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the ...
,'' and flattered the imperial family by his portrayal of
Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons o ...
, whom the Julii Caesares believed to be their direct patrilineal ancestor. As a result, Virgil was praised by Augustus himself.Tony Perrotet
"The Ancient Roman Reading Craze"The Believer
September 2003
Pollio may have died in his villa at Tusculum. He was apparently a staunch republican, and thus held himself somewhat aloof from Augustus.


Personal life

Married to Quinctia, daughter of Lucius Quinctius, who was executed in 43, Pollio is also notable as the father of
Gaius Asinius Gallus Gaius Asinius Gallus (before 38 BC – AD 33) was a Roman senator, son of Gaius Asinius Pollio and Quinctia. He was the second husband of Vipsania, eldest daughter of Marcus Agrippa and first wife of Tiberius, who ultimately imprisoned him. Bio ...
, the second husband of
Vipsania Agrippina Vipsania Agrippina (; 36 BC – 20 AD) was the first wife of the Emperor Tiberius. She was the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Pomponia Caecilia Attica, thus a granddaughter of Titus Pomponius Atticus, the best friend of Cicero. Biogr ...
, daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Augustus's partner, second-in-command and second son-in-law. Gallus and Vipsania had several sons together, two of whom were full consuls and a third was ''consul suffectus''.


Legacy

Pollio's contemporary history, though itself lost, provided much of the material for the historians Appian and Plutarch. As such, he significantly influenced posterity's perception of his time — a key moment in Roman history. According to the poet Horace (''Odes'' 2.1.1–4), he dated the start of the Civil Wars to the consulship of Quintus Metellus Celer in 60 BC.
Johan Rudolph Thorbecke Johan Rudolph Thorbecke (14 January 1798 – 4 June 1872) was a Dutch liberal statesman, one of the most important Dutch politicians of the 19th century. Thorbecke is best known for heading the commission that drafted the revision of the Consti ...
, a Dutch statesman of the 19th century, wrote a thesis about Pollio at the
University of Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of L ...
. Pollio makes a cameo appearance in Robert Graves's novel '' I, Claudius,'' where he discusses the ethics of writing history with young
Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Drusus and Antonia Minor ...
and Titus Livius.


See also

* Pollio


References


Sources

* Louis H. Feldman, "Asinius Pollio and Herod's Sons", ''The Classical Quarterly'', New Series, Vol. 35, No. 1 (1985), pp. 240–243. Article reading online requires subscription to JSTOR. * Miland Brown, Loot, Plunder, and a New Public Library. * G. S. Bobinski, (1994). Library Philanthropy. In W.A Wiegand and D.G. Davis (Eds.), ''Encyclopedia of Library History''. New York: Garland Publishing. {{DEFAULTSORT:Asinius Pollio, Gaius 75 BC births AD 4 deaths 1st-century BC historians 1st-century BC Roman poets 1st-century BC Roman consuls Ancient Roman generals Pollio, Gaius Correspondents of Cicero Italian librarians Last of the Romans Latin historians People from Chieti