Gaius Vibius Rufus 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 An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14th ...

, who flourished 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 suffect consul in the second half of AD 16 with Gaius Pomponius Graecinus as his colleague. The first of his family to achieve consular rank, Rufus was a ''

homo novus ''Novus homo'' or ''homo novus'' (Latin for 'new man'; ''novi homines'' or ''homines novi'') was the term in ancient Rome for a man who was the first in his family to serve in the Roman Senate or, more specifically, to be elected as consul. When ...

'', one of ten in the first five years of the reign of

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

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 ...

notes both inscriptions which attest to his consulate misrepresent his name. In the ''Fasti Antiates Minores'', his name appears as "C. Vibius Libo". Syme explains the person who carved this inscription accidentally repeated "Libo" from the name on the line above: L. Scribonius Libo. The second is in the ''

Fasti Ostienses The ''Fasti Ostienses'' are a calendar of Roman magistrates and significant events from 49 BC to AD 175, found at Ostia, the principal seaport of Rome. Together with similar inscriptions, such as the ''Fasti Capitolini'' and ''Fasti Triumphale ...

'', where he is presented as " . VibiusRufinus"; in this case, the engraver was distracted by the name on the next line, "C. Pomponius Graecinus."

Life

His family origins are unclear. "Every region of Italy avows its Vibii, normally obscure," writes Syme.Syme, "Vibius Rufus", p. 368 Dio Cassius preserves two anecdotes about Rufus. One is that he acquired the

curule chair A curule seat is a design of a (usually) foldable and transportable chair noted for its uses in Ancient Rome and Europe through to the 20th century. Its status in early Rome as a symbol of political or military power carried over to other civilizat ...

once owned by

Julius 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, ...

. The other is that he married the second wife and widow of the orator

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

, Publilia. An inscription found near

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 ( ...

names a freedman of the married couple, providing further evidence of their marriage: "M. Publilius Publiliae et C. Vibi Rufi l. Strato." Syme notes that Publilia was wealthy, and that marrying for wealth was common in their time, providing examples contemporary to Rufus and Publilia. Although the '' praenomen'' of her father is known, Syme comments, "It is perhaps unfortunate, but no great loss, that her wealthy father Marcus should elude discovery." Between the unknown date of this marriage, and his consulate, Rufus established himself as an orator:

Seneca the Younger Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (; 65 AD), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and, in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca was born in ...

mentions him almost thirty times in his writings.Syme, ''The Augustan Aristocracy'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986), p. 225 According to Syme, "Specimens quoted show directness, and a lack of metaphor, paradox, or subtlety." By the time Rufus achieved the consulate, he was an elderly man. Another inscription attests that a few years after he stepped down from that office, Rufus was appointed president of the ''curatores riparum et alvei Tiberis'', one of the officials responsible for public works inside the city, regulating the Tiber and the maintenance of Rome's sanitation system; this board was created in response to a severe flood the year prior to Rufus' consulship.

mentions the possibility that after he completed his duties on that board Rufus might have also been appointed ''

curator aquarum The ''Curator Aquarum'' was a Roman official responsible for managing Rome's water supply and distributing free grain. Curators were appointed by the emperor. The first curator was Agrippa. Another notable ''Curator Aquarum'' was Frontinus, a R ...

'' between Gaius Fonteius Capito and Marcus Cocceius Nerva.Syme, ''Augustan Aristocracy'', pp. 225f Vibius Rufus and Publilia are known to have had at least one son, Gaius Vibius Rufinus, suffect consul in either the year 21 or 22.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vibius Rufus, Gaius 1st-century Romans Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome Rufus, Gaius