Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes (65 before 160) was a distinguished Greek aristocrat of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

Origin and life

Claudius Atticus was a Greek of

Athenian Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

descent. As he bears the Roman family name,

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 Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...

, there is a possibility that a paternal ancestor of his received Roman citizenship from an unknown member of the Claudius gens. His great-great-grandfather was a man called Polycharmus (c. 9/8 BC-22/23 AD).Day, ''An economic history of Athens under Roman domination'' p. 238 Claudius Atticus was born and raised into a very distinguished, wealthy family. He was the son of Hipparchus (born c. 40) and an unnamed woman.Graindor, ''Un milliardaire antique'' p. 29 His sister, Claudia Alcia, married the Athenian aristocrat Lucius Vibullius Rufus. In his lifetime, Hipparchus was considered one of the wealthiest men in the

; he was reputed to possess one hundred million

sesterces The ''sestertius'' (plural ''sestertii''), or sesterce (plural sesterces), was an ancient Roman coin. During the Roman Republic it was a small, silver coin issued only on rare occasions. During the Roman Empire it was a large brass coin. The na ...

.Day, ''An economic history of Athens under Roman domination'' p. 242 This reputation is evident in a line from

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...

(''The Twelve Caesars'',

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...

, 13): :When Salvius Liberalis was defending a rich client he earned commendation from Vespasian by daring to ask: ‘Does the Emperor really care whether Hipparchus is, or is not, worth a million gold pieces?’ However, Hipparchus' fortune ultimately led to his downfall.

's second son

Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavi ...

, in either 92 or 93, ordered

proscriptions Proscription ( la, proscriptio) is, in current usage, a 'decree of condemnation to death or banishment' (''Oxford English Dictionary'') and can be used in a political context to refer to state-approved murder or banishment. The term originated ...

on a large number of wealthy men. The father of Claudius Atticus seems to have been accused of attempting to form an extra-constitutional regime in Athens. Consequently, his fortune and estates were confiscated, and, on Domitian's orders, Hipparchus was either executed or exiled. In later years, in a house that Claudius Atticus acquired near the

Theatre of Dionysus The Theatre of Dionysus (or Theatre of Dionysos, el, Θέατρο του Διονύσου) is an ancient Greek theatre in Athens. It is built on the south slope of the Acropolis hill, originally part of the sanctuary of Dionysus Eleuthereus (Di ...

in Athens, he found an immense treasure.Day, ''An economic history of Athens under Roman domination'' p. 243 As a precaution, he wrote a letter to the

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

Nerva Nerva (; originally Marcus Cocceius Nerva; 8 November 30 – 27 January 98) was Roman emperor from 96 to 98. Nerva became emperor when aged almost 66, after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero and the succeeding rulers of the Flavian dy ...

informing him of this and asking what to do with the treasure. Nerva replied in a letter stating: "Use what you have found". However, Claudius Atticus again wrote to Nerva, stating that this discovery was beyond his station in life, to which Nerva replied: "Then misuse your windfall, for it is yours". It is possible that this treasure was hidden there by Hipparchus during Domitian's proscriptions. With it, Claudius Atticus restored his family's influence and prestige. In 98, using money from the treasure, Claudius Atticus purchased a seat in the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

. According to two fragments from the Christian chronicler Hegesippus, Claudius Atticus served as the 7th

legate Legate may refer to: *Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class :*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period *A member of a legation *A representative, ...

of the Iudaea Province from 99 to 102. Claudius Atticus served as one of the

suffect consul 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 ...

s in the year 133, being the first Greek from old Greece to reach the post, and probably also its first member in the Roman Senate.

Family

Claudius Atticus married an Athenian heiress called Vibullia Alcia Agrippina, a member of a very wealthy and prominent family. Vibullia was also his niece, being the daughter of his sister, Claudia Alcia.Wilson, ''Encyclopedia of ancient Greece'' p. 349 She bore him three children:Pomeroy, ''The murder of Regilla: a case of domestic violence in antiquity'' * Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes, otherwise known as

Herodes Atticus Herodes Atticus ( grc-gre, Ἡρώδης; AD 101–177) was an Athenian rhetorician, as well as a Roman senator. A great philanthropic magnate, he and his wife Appia Annia Regilla, for whose murder he was potentially responsible, commissioned ...

, 101-177 * Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodianus *

Claudia Tisamenis Claudia Tisamenis was a Greek aristocratic woman that lived in the 2nd century in the Roman Empire. Ancestry and family Tisamenis was of Athenian descent. Her ancestry can be traced to the Athenian noble woman Elpinice (a half sister of statesman ...

Herodes Atticus and his wife,

Aspasia Annia Regilla Appia Annia Regilla, full name Appia Annia Regilla Atilia Caucidia TertullaPomeroy, ''The murder of Regilla: a case of domestic violence in antiquity'' (Greek: , 125–160), was a wealthy, aristocratic and influential Roman woman, who was a dista ...

, erected a great outdoor

nymphaeum A ''nymphaeum'' or ''nymphaion'' ( grc, νυμφαῖον), in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs. These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habit ...

(a monumental fountain) at

Olympia, Greece Olympia ( el, label=Modern Greek, Ολυμπία ; grc, Ὀλυμπία ), officially Archaia Olympia ( el, label=Modern Greek, Αρχαία Ολυμπία; grc, Ἀρχαία Ὀλυμπία, links=no; "Ancient Olympia"), is a small town in E ...

. The monumental fountain features statues and honors members of the ruling imperial family, relatives of Herodes Atticus, and his wife. Among the statues is a bust of Claudius Atticus, now on display at the Archaeological Museum of Olympia

References

Sources

* Suetonius - The Twelve Caesars – Vespasian * Day, J., ''An economic history of Athens under Roman domination'', Ayers Company Publishers, 1973 * Graindor, P., ''Un milliardaire antique'', Ayers Company Publishers, 1979 * Wilson, N.G., ''Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece'', Routledge, 2006 * Pomeroy, S.B., ''The murder of Regilla: a case of domestic violence in antiquity'', Harvard University Press, 2007 * https://web.archive.org/web/20110716083759/http://www.sleepinbuff.com/13history.pdf
"Plancia Magna, Aurelia Paulina, and Regilla: Civic Donors"

"Procurators"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atticus Herodes, Tiberius 65 births 2nd-century deaths Year of death unknown 1st-century Romans 2nd-century Romans 1st-century Athenians 2nd-century Athenians 1st-century Roman governors of Judaea 2nd-century Roman governors of Judaea Ancient Athenians Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Roman governors of Judaea Ancient Roman governors Claudii