Gaius Asinius Pollio 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 lette ...

senator and orator active during the

Principate The Principate is the name sometimes given to the first period of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the so-called Dominate. ...

. He was ordinary consul for 23 with Gaius Antistius Vetus as his colleague. He was the oldest son 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. Bi ...

; his brother was

Marcus Asinius Agrippa Marcus Asinius Agrippa was a Roman Empire, Roman Roman senate, senator, who was active during the Principate. He was Roman consul, consul in AD 25 as the colleague of first Cossus Cornelius Lentulus (consul AD 25), Cossus Cornelius Lentulus, then ...

, consul in 25.

Ronald Syme Sir Ronald Syme, (11 March 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. He was regarded as the greatest historian of ancient Rome since Theodor Mommsen and the most brilliant exponent of the history of the Roman ...

, ''The Augustan Aristocracy'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986), p. 135 Pollio's mother was

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 ...

. Through her, he was the half-brother of the younger

Drusus Drusus may refer to: * Claudius (Tiberius Claudius Drusus) (10 BC–AD 54), Roman emperor from 41 to 54 * Drusus Caesar (AD 8–33), adoptive grandson of Roman emperor Tiberius * Drusus Julius Caesar (14 BC–AD 23), son of Roman emperor Tiberiu ...

. We know from his coins Pollio was

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military command, or ...

ar governor of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

. In 45, Pollio was exiled as an accuser of a conspiracy and later was put to death on orders from Empress

Valeria Messalina Valeria Messalina (; ) was the third wife of Roman emperor Claudius. She was a paternal cousin of Emperor Nero, a second cousin of Emperor Caligula, and a great-grandniece of Emperor Augustus. A powerful and influential woman with a reputatio ...

. The ''Asinia Pollionis filia'' mentioned on an inscription from

Tusculum Tusculum is a ruined Roman city in the Alban Hills, in the Latium region of Italy. Tusculum was most famous in Roman times for the many great and luxurious patrician country villas sited close to the city, yet a comfortable distance from Rome ( ...

may have been his daughter. Pollio was perhaps the father (or brother) of Gaius Asinius Placentinus who lived around the middle of the 1st century.I.G. II², 4172

Notes

References

*William Smith, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', Kindle Edition; ASIN: B00LSQHSGY Imperial Roman consuls Roman governors of Asia Pollio, Gaius 1st-century Romans Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown {{AncientRome-politician-stub

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