Gaius Atilius Regulus (killed 225 BC at

Telamon In Greek mythology, Telamon (; Ancient Greek: Τελαμών, ''Telamōn'' means "broad strap") was the son of King Aeacus of Aegina, and Endeïs, a mountain nymph. The elder brother of Peleus, Telamon sailed alongside Jason as one of his Argon ...

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

) was one of the two

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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

consuls who fought a

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

invasion of Italy in 225–224 BC; he was killed in battle and beheaded. Atilius came from a prominent family of consuls for four generations; the family originally hailed from southern Italy.

Family

Atilius was a younger son of the Roman hero

Marcus Atilius Regulus Marcus Atilius Regulus () was a Roman statesman and general who was a consul of the Roman Republic in 267 BC and 256 BC. Much of his career was spent fighting the Carthaginians during the first Punic War. In 256 BC, he and Lucius ...

, the consul captured during the

First Punic War The First Punic War (264–241 BC) was the first of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the early 3rd century BC. For 23 years, in the longest continuous conflict and grea ...

. His elder brother,

, was

Roman consul The consuls were the highest elected public officials of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC). Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum''an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspire ...

for the year 227 BC, together with Publius Valerius Flaccus, and consul ''suffectus'' for 217 replacing Gaius Flaminius and later censor. An uncle of the same name was also twice consul during the First Punic War.

William Smith William, Willie, Will, Bill, or Billy Smith may refer to: Academics * William Smith (Master of Clare College, Cambridge) (1556–1615), English academic * William Smith (antiquary) (c. 1653–1735), English antiquary and historian of University C ...

, ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' is a biographical dictionary of classical antiquity, edited by William Smith (lexicographer), William Smith and originally published in London by John Taylor (English publisher), Tayl ...

'', 1870, Atilius' father Marcus died by 255 in the failed invasion of Africa. Another version, debated subsequently by historians moves his death to 250 after an act of great self-sacrifice (some modern historians believe Roman accounts of his self-sacrifice and barbaric death to be invention and propaganda). His mother Marcia allegedly tortured two Punic prisoners to death in revenge. According to

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

, he had at least two surviving sons and one surviving daughter when he returned to Carthage.

Military career

Atilius was elected consul in 225 as the plebeian consul with the patrician Lucius Aemilius Papus, and was sent to quell a revolt in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

which he quickly accomplished. He then returned to the Italian mainland to fight the Gauls, and fell in the

Battle of Telamon The Battle of Telamon was fought between the Roman Republic and an alliance of Celtic tribes in 225 BC. The Romans, led by the consuls Gaius Atilius Regulus and Lucius Aemilius Papus, defeated the Celts led by the Gaesatae kings Concolitanu ...

Battle of Telamon

After hearing about the Celtic (or Gaulish) invasion of

Etruria Etruria ( ) was a region of Central Italy delimited by the rivers Arno and Tiber, an area that covered what is now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and north-western Umbria. It was inhabited by the Etruscans, an ancient civilization that f ...

, the consul returned hastily to engage in battle. Atilius decided to engage the Gauls on his own. By being the first to engage in battle, he hoped to get the larger share of the credit of the victory. However, his plans went awry when the Roman cavalry encountered the more experienced Celtic cavalry and was cut to pieces. According to Polybius

Just at this time, Gaius Atilius, the other Consul, had reached Pisa from Sardinia with his legions and was on his way to Rome, marching in the opposite direction to the enemy. When the Celts were near Telamon in Etruria, their advanced foragers encountered the advance guard of Gaius and were made prisoners. On being examined by the Consul they narrated all that had recently occurred and told him of the presence of the two armies, stating that the Gauls were quite near and Lucius behind them. The news surprised him but at the same time made him very hopeful, as he thought he had caught the Gauls on the march between the two armies. He ordered his Tribunes to put the legions in fighting order and to advance thus at marching pace in so far as the nature of the ground allowed the attack in line. He himself had happily noticed a hill situated above the road by which the Celts must pass, and taking his cavalry with him, advanced at full speed, being anxious to occupy the crest of the hill before their arrival and be the first to begin the battle, feeling certain that thus he would get the largest share of credit for the result.

At first the battle was confined to the hill, all the armies gazing on it, so great were the numbers of cavalry from each host combating there pell-mell. In this action Gaius the Consul fell in the melee fighting with desperate courage, and his head was brought to the Celtic kings; but the Roman cavalry, after a stubborn struggle, at length overmastered the enemy and gained possession of the hill.Polybius, ''Histories,'
2.28
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Atilius' death did not dismay his officers who continued the battle without him and won possession of the hill. However, the Roman victory was due to the Gaulish decision to face the battle both ways (according to historian Aryeh Nusbacher) and thus divide their energies. The surviving consul Lucius Aemilius Papus obtained sole credit for the victory, and was awarded a triumph. It is not known if Atilius was married or left any surviving issue. No Atilii Reguli appear in subsequent histories.

References

Sources

''History of Rome''
Rev. Canon Roberts (translator), Ernest Rhys (Ed.); (1905) London: J. M. Dent & Sons, Ltd. *

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

''Histories'', 2.28-2.28
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atilius Regulus, Gaius consul 529 AUC 3rd-century BC births 225 BC deaths 3rd-century BC Roman consuls Regulus, Gaius consul 529 AUC Roman consuls who died in office Ancient Roman generals killed in action Year of birth unknown