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Aelius

This webpage reproduces part of the
Historia Augusta

published in the Loeb Classical Library,
1921

The text is in the public domain.

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and I believe it to be free of errors.
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Marcus Aurelius

(Vol. I) Historia Augusta

 p101  The Life of Antoninus Pius

[Legamen ad paginam Latinam] 1 1 Titus Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Antoninus Pius​1 was descended, on his father's side, from a family which came from the country of Transalpine Gaul, more specifically, from the town of Nîmes. 2 His grandfather was Titus Aurelius Fulvus, who after various offices of honour attained to a second consul­ship​2 and the prefecture of the city; 3 his father was Aurelius Fulvus, also consul, and a stern and upright man. 4 His mother was Arria Fadilla; her mother was Boionia Procilla and her father Arrius Antoninus, twice consul​3 and a righteous man, who pitied Nerva that he assumed the imperial power. 5 Julia Fadilla was his mother's daughter, 6 his stepfather being Julius Lupus, a man of consular rank. 7 His father-in‑law was Annius Verus​4 and his wife Annia Faustina,​5 who bore him two sons​6 and two daughters, of whom the elder​7 was married to Lamia Silanus and the younger​8 to Marcus Antoninus.

 p103  8 Antoninus himself was born at an estate at Lanuvium on the thirteenth day before the Kalends of October in the twelfth consul­ship of Domitian and first of Cornelius Dolabella. He was reared at Lorium​9 on the Aurelian Way, where he afterwards built the palace whose ruins stand there to‑day. 9 He passed his childhood first with his paternal grandfather, then later with his maternal; and he showed such a duti­ful affection toward all his family, that he was enriched by legacies from even his cousins, his stepfather, and many still more distant kin.

[Legamen ad paginam Latinam] 2 1 In personal appearance he was strikingly handsome, in natural talent brilliant, in temperament kindly; he was aristocratic in countenance and calm in nature, a singularly gifted speaker and an elegant scholar, conspicuously thrifty, a conscientious land-holder, gentle, generous, and mindful of others' rights. He possessed all these qualities, moreover, in the proper mean and without ostentation, 2 and, in fine, was praiseworthy in every way and, in the minds of all good men, well deserving of comparison with Numa Pompilius. 3 He was given the name of Pius by the senate,​10 either because, when his father-in‑law was old and weak, he lent him a supporting hand in his attendance at the senate (which act, indeed, is not sufficient as a token of great dutifulness, since a man were rather unduti­ful who did not perform this service than duti­ful if he did), 4 or because he spared those men whom Hadrian in his ill-health had condemned  p105 to death, 5 or because after Hadrian's death he had unbounded and extraordinary honours decreed for him in spite of opposition from all, 6 or because, when Hadrian wished to make away with himself, by great care and watchfulness he prevented him from so doing,​11 7 or because he was in fact very kindly by nature and did no harsh deed in his own time. 8 He also loaned money at four per cent, the lowest rate ever exacted,​12 in order that he might use his fortune to aid many.

9 As quaestor​13 he was generous, as praetor illustrious, and in the consul­ship he had as colleague Catilius Severus. 10 His life as a private citizen he passed mostly on his estates but he was well-known everywhere. 11 He was chosen by Hadrian from among the four men of consular rank under whose jurisdiction Italy was placed,​14 to administer that particular part of Italy in which the greater part of his own holdings lay; from this it was evident that Hadrian had regard for both the fame and the tranquillity of such a man.

[Legamen ad paginam Latinam] 3 1 An omen of his future rule occurred while he was administering Italy; for when he mounted the tribunal, among other greetings some one cried, "God save thee, Augustus". 2 His proconsul­ship in Asia​15 he conducted in such a fashion that he alone excelled his grandfather; 3 and in this proconsul­ship, too, he received another omen foretelling his rule; for at Tralles a priestess, being about to greet him after the custom of the place (for it was their custom  p107 to greet the proconsuls by their title), instead of saying "Hail, proconsul," said "Hail, imperator"; 4 at Cyzicus, moreover, a crown was transferred from an image of a god to a statue of him. 5 After his consul­ship, again, a marble bull was found hanging in his garden with its horns attached to the boughs of a tree, and lightning from a clear sky struck his home without inflicting damage, and in Etruria certain large jars that had been buried were found above the ground again, and swarms of bees settled on his statues throughout all Etruria, and frequently he was warned in dreams to include an image of Hadrian among his household gods.

6 While setting out to assume his proconsular office he lost his elder daughter.​16 7 About the licence and loose living of his wife a number of things were said, which he heard with great sorrow and suppressed. 8 On returning from his proconsul­ship he lived for the most part at Rome, being a member of the councils of Hadrian,​17 and in all matters concerning which Hadrian sought his advice, ever urging the more merci­ful course.

[Legamen ad paginam Latinam] 4 1 The manner of his adoption, they say, was somewhat thus: After the death of Aelius Verus, whom Hadrian had adopted and named Caesar, a day was set for the meeting of the senate, 2 and to this Arrius Antoninus came, supporting the steps of his father-in‑law. 3 For this act, it is said, Hadrian adopted him.​18 But this could not have been the only reason for the adoption, nor ought it to have been, especially since Antoninus had always done well in his administration of public office, and in his proconsul­ship  p109 had shown himself a man of worth and dignity. 4 At any rate, when Hadrian announced a desire to adopt him, he was given time for deciding whether he wished to be adopted. 5 This condition was attached to his adoption,​19 that as Hadrian took Antoninus as his son, so he in turn should take Marcus Antoninus, his wife's nephew, and Lucius Verus, thenceforth called Verus Antoninus, the son of that Aelius Verus whom Hadrian had previously adopted. 6 He was adopted on the fifth day before the Kalends of March,​20 while returning thanks in the senate for Hadrian's opinion concerning him, 7 and he was made colleague to his father in both the proconsular and the tribunician power.​21 8 It is related as his first remark, that when he was reproved by his wife because he was not sufficiently generous to his household in some trifling matter, he said: "Foolish woman, now that we have gained an empire, we have lost even what we had before". 9 To the people he gave largess on his own account​22 10 and also paid the moneys that his father had promised. He contributed a large amount of money, too, to Hadrian's public works,​23 and of the crown-gold​24 which had been presented to him on the occasion of his adoption, he returned all of Italy's share, and half of their share to the provinces.

 p111  [Legamen ad paginam Latinam] 5 1 His father, as long as he lived, he obeyed most scrupulously, and when Hadrian passed away at Baiae​25 he bore his remains to Rome with all piety and reverence, and buried him in the gardens of Domitia; moreover, though all opposed the measure, he had him placed among the deified.​26 2 On his wife Faustina he permitted the senate to bestow the name of Augusta,​27 and for himself accepted the surname Pius.​28 The statues decreed for his father, mother, grandparents and brothers, then dead, he accepted readily; nor did he refuse the circus-games ordered for his birthday,​29 though he did refuse other honours. In honour of Hadrian he set up a superb shield​30 and established a college of priests.31

3 After his accession to the throne he removed none of the men whom Hadrian had appointed to office, and, indeed, was so steadfast and loyal that he retained good men in the government of provinces for terms of seven and even nine years. 4 He waged a number of wars, but all of them through his legates. For Lollius Urbicus,​32 his legate, overcame the Britons​33 and built a second wall, one of turf,​34 after driving back the barbarians. Through other legates or governors, he forced the Moors to sue for peace,​35 and  p113 crushed the Germans​36 and the Dacians​37 and many other tribes, and also the Jews, who were in revolt. 5 In Achaea also and in Egypt​38 he put down rebellions and many a time sharply checked the Alani​39 in their raiding. [Legamen ad paginam Latinam] 6 1 His procurators were ordered to levy only a reasonable tribute, and those who exceeded a proper limit were commanded to render an account of their acts, nor was he ever pleased with any revenues that were onerous to the provinces. 2 Moreover, he was always willing to hear complaints against his procurators.

3 He besought the senate to pardon those men whom Hadrian had condemned,​40 saying that Hadrian himself had been about to do so. 4 The imperial pomp he reduced to the utmost simplicity and thereby gained the greater esteem, though the palace-attendants opposed this course, for they found that since he made no use of go-betweens, they could in no wise terrorize men or take money for decisions about which there was no concealment.​41 5 In his dealings with the senate, he rendered it, as emperor, the same respect that he had wished another emperor to render him when he was a private man. 6 When the senate offered him the title of Father of his Country, he  p115 at first refused it,​42 but later accepted it with an elaborate expression of thanks. 7 On the death of his wife Faustina, in the third year of his reign, the senate deified her,​43 and voted her games and a temple​44 and priestesses and statues of silver and of gold. These the Emperor accepted, and furthermore granted permission that her statue be erected in all the circuses; 8 and when the senate voted her a golden statue, he undertook to erect it himself. 9 At the instance of the senate, Marcus Antoninus, now quaestor, was made consul; 10 also Annius Verus,​45 he who was afterwards entitled Antoninus, was appointed quaestor before the legal age.​46 11 Never did he resolve on measures about the provinces or render a decision on any question without previously consulting his friends,​47 and in accordance with their opinions he drew up his final statement. 12 And indeed he often received his friends without the robes of state and even in the performance of domestic duties.

[Legamen ad paginam Latinam] 7 1 With such care did he govern all peoples under him that he looked after all things and all men as if they were his own. As a result, the provinces all prospered in his reign, 2 informers were abolished, 3 the confiscation of goods was less frequent than ever before, and only one man was condemned as guilty of aspiring to the throne. 4 This was Atilius  p117 Titianus,​48 and it was the senate itself that conducted his prosecution,​49 while the Emperor forbade any investigation about the fellow-conspirators of Atilius and always aided his son to attain all his desires. Priscianus did indeed die for aspiring to the throne, but by his own hand, and about his conspiracy also the Emperor forbade any investigation.

5 The board of Antoninus Pius was rich yet never open to criticism, frugal yet not stingy; his table was furnished by his own slaves, his own fowlers and fishers and hunters. 6 A bath, which he had previously used himself, he opened to the people without charge, nor did he himself depart in any way from the manner of life to which he had been accustomed when a private man. 7 He took away salaries from a number of men who held obvious sinecures, saying there was nothing meaner, nay more unfeeling, than the man who nibbled at the revenues of the state without giving any service in return; 8 for the same reason, also, he reduced the salary of Mesomedes, the lyric poet. The budgets of all the provinces and the sources of revenue he knew exceedingly well. 9 He settled his private fortune on his daughter, but presented the income of it to the state. 10 Indeed, the superfluous trappings of royal state and even the crown-lands he sold, living on his own private estates and varying his residence according to the season. 11 Nor did he undertake any expedition​50 other than the visiting of his lands in Campania, averring that the equipage of an emperor, even of one over frugal, was a burdensome thing to the provinces. 12 And yet he was regarded with immense respect by all nations, for, making his residence in the city, as he did, for the purpose of being in a central location, he was able to receive messages from every quarter with equal speed.

 p119  [Legamen ad paginam Latinam] 8 1 He gave largess to the people,​51 and, in addition, a donation to the soldiers,​52 and founded an order of destitute girls, called Faustinianae​53 in honour of Faustina. 2 Of the public works that were constructed by him the following remain to‑day: the temple of Hadrian​54 at Rome, so called in honour of his father, the Graecostadium,​55 restored by him after its burning,​56 the Amphitheatre,​57 repaired by him, the tomb of Hadrian,​58 the temple of Agrippa,​59 and the Pons Sublicius,​60 3 also the Pharus, the port at Caieta, and the port at Tarracina, all of which he restored, the bath at Ostia,​61 the aqueduct at Antium, and the temples at Lanuvium. 4 Besides all this, he helped many communities​62 to erect new buildings and to restore the old; and he even gave pecuniary aid to Roman magistrates and senators to assist them in the performance of their duties.

5 He declined legacies from those who had children of their own and was the first to establish the rule that bequests made under fear of penalty​63 should not be valid. 6 Never did he appoint a successor to a worthy magistrate while yet alive, except in the case  p121 of Orfitus, the prefect of the city, and then only at his own request. 7 For under him Gavius Maximus,​64 a very stern man, reached his twentieth year of service as prefect of the guard; he was succeeded by Tattius Maximus,​65 8 and at his death Antoninus appointed two men​66 in his place, Fabius Cornelius Repentinus and Furius Victorinus,​67 9 the former of whom, however, was ruined by the scandalous tale that he had gained his office by the favour of the Emperor's mistress. 10 So rigidly did he adhere to his resolve that no senator should be executed in his reign,​68 that a confessed parricide was merely marooned on a desert island, and that only because it was against the laws of nature to let such a one live. 11 He relieved a scarcity of wine and oil and wheat with loss to his own private treasury, by buying these and distributing them to the people free.

[Legamen ad paginam Latinam] 9 1 The following misfortunes and prodigies occurred in his reign: the famine, which we have just mentioned, the collapse of the Circus,​69 an earthquake​70 whereby towns of Rhodes and of Asia were destroyed — all of which, however, the Emperor restored in splendid fashion, — and a fire at Rome which consumed three hundred and forty tenements and dwellings.​71 2 The town of Narbonne,​72 the city of  p123 Antioch, and the forum of Carthage​73 also burned. 3 Besides, the Tiber flooded its banks, a comet was seen, a two-headed child was born, and a woman gave birth to quintuplets. 4 There was seen, moreover, in Arabia, a crested serpent larger than the usual size, which ate itself from the tail to the middle; and also in Arabia there was a pestilence, while in Moesia barley sprouted from the tops of trees. 5 And besides all this, in Arabia four lions grew tame and of their own accord yielded themselves to capture.

6 Pharasmenes,​74 the king, visited him at Rome and showed him more respect than he had shown Hadrian. He appointed Pacorus king of the Lazi,​75 induced the king of the Parthians​76 to forego a campaign against the Armenians merely by writing him a letter, and solely by his personal influence brought Abgarus the king​77 back from the regions of the East. 7 He settled the pleas of several kings.​78 The royal throne of the Parthians, which Trajan had captured, he refused to return when their king asked for it,​79 8 and after hearing the dispute between Rhoemetalces​80 and the imperial commissioner, sent the former back his kingdom of the Bosphorus. 9 He sent troops to the Black Sea to bring aid to Olbiopolis​81 against the Tauroscythians and forced the latter to give hostages to Olbiopolis.  p125 10 No one has ever had such prestige among foreign nations as he,​82 for he was ever a lover of peace, even to such a degree that he was continually quoting the saying of Scipio in which he declared that he would rather save a single citizen than slay a thousand foes.

[Legamen ad paginam Latinam] 10 1 When the senate declared that the months of September and October should be called respectively Antoninus and Faustinus, Antoninus refused. 2 The wedding of his daughter Faustina, whom he espoused to Marcus Antoninus,​83 he made most noteworthy, even to the extent of giving a donative to the soldiers. 3 He made Verus Antoninus consul after his quaestor­ship. 4 On one occasion, he sent word to Apollonius,​84 whom he had summoned from Chalcis, to come to the House of Tiberius​85 (where at the time he was staying) in order that he might put Marcus Antoninus in his charge, but Apollonius replied "The master ought not come to the pupil, but the pupil to the master". Whereupon the Emperor ridiculed him, saying "It was easier, then, for Apollonius to come to Rome from Chalcis than from his house to my palace". The greed of this man he had noticed even in the matter of his salary. 5 It is related of him, too, as an instance of his regard for his family, that when Marcus was mourning the death of his tutor and was restrained by the palace servants from this display of affection, the Emperor said: "Let him be only a man for once; for neither philosophy nor empire takes away natural feeling".

 p127  6 On his prefects he bestowed both riches and consular honours.​86 7 If he convicted any of extortion he nevertheless delivered up the estates to their children, providing only that the children should restore to the provinces what their fathers had taken. 8 He was very prone to acts of forgiveness. 9 He held games​87 at which he displayed elephants and the animals called corocottae and tigers and rhinoceroses, even crocodiles and hippopotami, in short, all the animals of the whole earth; and he presented at a single performance as many as a hundred lions together with tigers.

[Legamen ad paginam Latinam] 11 1 His friends he always treated, while on the throne, just as though he were a private citizen, for they never combined with his freedmen to sell false hopes of favours,​88 and indeed he treated his freedmen with the greatest strictness. 2 He was very fond of the stage, found great delight in fishing and hunting and in walks and conversation with his friends, and was wont to pass vintage-time in company with his friends in the manner of an ordinary citizen. 3 Rhetoricians and philosophers throughout all the provinces he rewarded with honours and money. The orations which have come down in his name, some say, are really the work of others, according to Mariusº Maximus, however, they were his own. 4 He always shared his banquets, both public and private, with his friends; 5 and never did he perform sacrifices by proxy except when he was ill. 6 When he sought offices​89 for himself or for his sons all was done as by a private individual. 7 He himself was often present at the banquets of his intimates, 8 and among other  p129 things it is a particular evidence of his graciousness that when, on a visit at the house of Homullus,​90 he admired certain porphyry columns and asked where they came from, Homullus replied "When you come to another's house, be deaf and dumb," and he took it in good part. In fact, the jibes of this same Homullus, which were many, he always took in good part.

[Legamen ad paginam Latinam] 12 1 A number of legal principles​91 were established by Antoninus with the aid of certain men, experts in jurisprudence, namely, Vindius Verus,​92 Salvius Valens, Volusius Maecianus, Ulpius Marcellus, and Diavolenus.​93 2 Rebellions, wherever they occurred, he suppressed​94 not by means of cruelty, but with moderation and dignity. 3 He forbade the burial of bodies within the limits of any city; he established a maximum cost for gladiatorial games; and he very carefully maintained the imperial post.​95 Of everything that he did he rendered an account, both in the senate and by proclamation.

4 He died in the seventieth​96 year of his age, but his loss was felt as though he had been but a youth. They say his death was somewhat as follows: after he had eaten too freely some Alpine cheese at dinner he vomited during the night, and was taken with a fever the next day. 5 On the second day, as he saw that his condition was becoming worse, in the presence of his prefects he committed the state and his daughter to Marcus Antoninus, and gave orders that the golden statue of Fortune, which was wont to stand  p131 in the bed-chamber of the emperor,​97 be given to him. 6 Then he gave the watchword to the officer of the day as "Equanimity," and so, turning as if to sleep, gave up the ghost at Lorium. 7 While he was delirious with fever, he spoke of nothing save the state and certain kings with whom he was angry. 8 To his daughter he left his private fortune,​98 and in his will he remembered all his household with suitable legacies.

[Legamen ad paginam Latinam] 13 1 He was a handsome man, and tall in stature; but being a tall man, when he was bent by old age he had himself swathed with splints of linden-wood bound on his chest in order that he might walk erect. 2 Moreover, when he was old, he ate dry bread before the courtiers came to greet him, in order that he might sustain his strength. His voice was hoarse and resonant, yet agreeable.

3 He was deified by the senate, while all men vied with one another to give him honour, and all extolled his devoutness, his mercy, his intelligence, and his righteousness. All honours were decreed for him which were ever before bestowed on the very best of emperors. 4 He well deserved the flamen and games and temple​99 and the Antonineº priesthood.​100 Almost alone of all emperors he lived entirely unstained by the blood of either citizen or foe so far as was in his power, and he was justly compared to Numa, whose good fortune and piety and tranquillity and religious rites he ever maintained.


The Editor's Notes:

1 The correct form of his name prior to his adoption was T. Aurelius Fulvus Boionius Arrius Antoninus; see CIL VIII.8239.

2 The year is unknown; his first consul­ship was in 85. He had previously commanded the Third Legion, the Gallica, and had been honoured by Otho for successes against the Sarmatians.

3 His first consul­ship was in 69; year of his second is not known. He was one of the correspondents of the younger Pliny.

4 See Marc. i.2.

5 Her full name was Annia Galeria Faustina.

6 Their names are given in their sepulchral inscriptions from the Mausoleum of Hadrian as M. Aurelius Fulvus (p101)Antoninus and M. Galerius Aurelius Antoninus; see CIL VI.988 and 989. Both died before their father was adopted by Hadrian.

7 Aurelia Fadilla. She died before her father's adoption (cf. c. iii.6). Her sepulchral inscription is preserved (CIL VI.990).

8 Annia Galeria Faustina the younger. On her marriage to Marcus see c. x.2 and note.

9 In southern Etruria, about ten miles W of Rome. The Via Aurelia ran NW from Rome along the coast of Etruria.

10 The first three of the following reasons for the bestowal of the surname Pius on Antoninus are also given in Hadr. xxiv.3‑5. The third is also given in Dio, LXX.2.1, and the last in Eutrop. viii.8; Suidas, s.v. Antoninus; and Orosius, VII.14.1.

11 Cf. Hadr. xxiv.9.

12 The early rate of interest, said to have been fixed by the Twelve Tables, seems to have been 10 per cent. In the later republican period 12 per cent was frequently exacted, but in 54 B.C. money could be had for 4 per cent and the rise of the (p105)rate to 8 per cent. was a matter for comment; see Cicero, ad Att. IV.15.7; ad Quint. Fr. II.14.4.

Thayer's Note: For comprehensive details on interest, see the article Fenus in Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities; notice the difference of opinion as to the common rate among the Romans.

13 About 111.

14 See Hadr. xxii.13.

15 About 135. An inscription set up at Ephesus during his proconsul­ship is extant; see CIL III.2965.

16 Aurelia Fadilla; see note to c. i.7.

17 See note to Hadr. viii.9.

18 But see c. ii.3; Hadr. xxiv.3.

19 Cf. Hadr. xxiv.1; Ael. vi.9; Dio, LXIX.21.1. On the names of his two adopted sons see note to Hadr. xxiv.1.

20 According to the Calendar of Philocalus of 354 the date was afterwards commemorated by races in the circus at Lorium; see CIL i2 pp258 and 310.

21 By the bestowal of these two powers, the basis of the civil and of the military power of the emperor respectively, he became consors imperii, or partner in the imperial power. Such a position had often been bestowed on the heir apparent of the emperor. With regard to the proconsul power, the convention was always observed that it was valid only in the provinces, and the title of proconsul was not borne by the emperor within the confines of Italy.

22 Commemorated by coins of 139 with the legend Liberalitas; see Cohen, II2 p316 f., Nos. 480‑482.

23 Attested by inscriptions from various towns of Italy; see E. E. Bryant, Reign of Ant. Pius (Cambridge, 1896), p38.

24 See Hadr. vi.5 and notes.

25 See Hadr. xxv.6.

26 See Hadr. xxvii.2.

27 On the coins issued in her honour during her life-time she is regularly called Faustina Aug. Antonini Aug. P. P.; see Cohen, II2 p424 f.

28 The name appears on coins of the latter part of 138; see Cohen, II2 p277, No. 66 f.

29 On such games see Hadr. viii.2 and note. Races in honour of Antoninus are listed for the 19 September (his birthday) in the Calendar of Philocalus.

30 The clipeus was a shield-shaped plate of metal, in this case doubtless of gold. It contained, sometimes an honorary inscription, sometimes a bust in high relief.

31 See Hadr. xxvii.3 and note.

32 Q. Lollius Urbicus had held a command in the war in Judaea under Hadrian, and later had been governor of Germania Inferior.

33 Probably in 142, for in an inscription of this year he is designated as Imp. II; see CIL X.515 = Dessau, Ins. Sel. 340. The victory is commemorated on coins with the legend Britannia and designs signifying a victory; see Cohen, II2 p281 f., Nos. 113‑116, 119. The revolt was begun by the Brigantes, who lived just south of Hadrian's wall; see Paus., VIII.43.4.

34 It ran from the Firth of Forth to the Firth of Clyde, a distance of 40 miles. It was constructed by the soldiers of three legions, the II Augusta, the VI Victrix, and the XX Valeria Victrix; see CIL VII p191‑194.

35 The rebellion seems to have been in western Mauretania, the province of Mauretania Tingitana; see Paus. VIII.43.3, (p112)and CIL III.5211‑5215. It probably took place about 145, although it is argued by Bryant (op. cit. p71 f.) that it is to be placed in 152. The victory is commemorated in an inscription in Rome, CIL VI.1208.

36 This victory is also commemorated in the inscription CIL VI.1208. The time of this campaign is set by Bryant (p52) as between 140 and 145.

37 About 157. See Aristid., Or. xiv, vol. I. 351 Dind., and CIL III.1416.

38 It is described by Aristides (Or. xiv, i. 35 Dind.) as an outbreak of those who lived on the shore of the Red Sea. According to Joannes Malalas (p280 f. Bonn) Antoninus went in person to Alexandria at the time of the revolt, but this is almost certainly an error (cf. c. vii.11).

39 This people lived in south-eastern Russia, between the Don and the Caspian Sea, and had made raids into Armenia and Cappadocia in the time of Hadrian. They afterwards spread toward the west, and invaded the Empire by way of Moesia.

Thayer's Note: Not southeastern Russia, although the area has from time to time been occupied by Russia. The homelands of the Alani are better described as lying in the Kuban, Georgia, and other parts of the Northern Caucasus.

40 See Hadr. xxv.8.

41 Under those emperors who were careless in the announcement of decisions or in answers to petitions it was not unusual for a dishonest favourite or official to demand money from petitioners for securing a favourable answer; he would then either actually influence the emperor in his decision, or, more often, merely claim that a favourable decision had been secured by his own efforts, and demand the payment of the bribe. This practice was known as fumos vendere; see c. xi.1; Alex. xxiii.8; xxxvi.2.

42 See Hadr. vi.4 and note. Pius accepted the title in 139, for it appears for the first time on coins of this year; e.g., Cohen, II2 p279, No. 98 f.

43 Many coins were struck in her honour with the title Diva Faustina. The actual apotheosis is represented by her ascension to heaven on an eagle with the legend Consecratio; see Cohen, II2 p427, Nos. 182‑185.

44 On the Sacra Via, near the eastern end of the Forum. It is still standing and is used as the church of S. Lorenzo in Miranda. It was also dedicated to Antoninus after his death (p115)(c. xiii.4), and the names of both Antoninus and Faustina appear in the inscription on the architrave (CIL VI.1005).

Thayer's Note: For full details and sources, including a photograph and links to comprehensive references on the church, see the article Temple of Antoninus and Faustina in Platner and Ashby's Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome.

45 i.e., Lucius Verus.

46 In the time of the empire the minimum age was twenty-five. Exceptions to this, however, were common in the case of members of the imperial family; see also the case of Marcus (Marc. v.6). Verus was made quaestor at the age of twenty-three; see Verus ii.11.

47 Apparently, the members of his consilium; see Hadr. viii.9.

48 See note to Hadr. xv.6.

49 Hadr. vii.4.

50 In view of this statement, it seems necessary to refuse credence to the assertion of Aristides (Or. xxiii i. 453 f. Dind.) and Malalas (p280 Bonn) that Antoninus went in person to Egypt and Syria; see note to c. v.5.

51 On nine different occasions, according to coins with the legend Liberalitas; see Cohen, II2 p316‑322, Nos. 480‑532.

52 In 145, on the occasion of the marriage of his daughter Faustina to Marcus; see c. x.2.

53 Similar endowments for destitute children had been made by Nerva (Aur. Vict., Epit. xii.4) and by Trajan (Dio, LXVII.5, and CIL XI.1146). This memorial to Faustina was commemorated on coins with the legend Puellae Faustinianae; see Cohen, II2 p433, Nos. 261‑263. A similar endowment in memory of the younger Faustina was established by Marcus; see Marc. xxvi.6.

54 Situated in the Campus Martius, probably not far from the Pantheon. It is represented as an octastyle temple on a coin of 151; see Cohen, II2 p330, No. 618. The temple was probably dedicated in 145; see Verus iii.1.

Thayer's Note: For full details and sources, including an engraving, see the article Hadrianeum in Platner and Ashby's Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome.

55 Probably the Graecostasis. It was a sort of platform, between the Senate-house and the Rostra, used by envoys from foreign nations; see Varro, Ling. Lat. V.155.

Thayer's Note: The Graecostadium and the Graecostasis were different structures altogether. For full details and sources, see the articles Graecostadium — and, if you must, Graecostasis — in Platner and Ashby's Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome.

56 See c. ix.1.

57 i.e. the Colosseum.

Thayer's Note: For comprehensive details and sources on the Colosseum, and photographs of course, see my site including many offsite links as well.

58 See Hadr. xix.11 and note.

59 If this reading is correct the Pantheon must be meant; see note to Hadr. xix.10. However, perhaps it is an error (p119)for Templum Augusti, the restoration of which is commemorated on coins of Pius; see Cohen, II2 p270, Nos. 1‑12.

Thayer's Note: For full details and sources on the Pantheon, and photographs of course, see my site including many offsite links as well; for the Temple of Augustus, see the article Templum Augusti in Platner and Ashby's Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome.

60 The earliest, and for a long time the only, bridge across the Tiber. It was built of piles, and after the construction of other bridges was preserved for religious and sentimental reasons. Its site was near the Forum Boarium, now the Piazza della Bocca dellaº Verità.

Thayer's Note: For full details and sources, see the article Pons Sublicius in Platner and Ashby's Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome.

61 This had been promised by Hadrian; see the dedicatory inscription, CIL XIV.98 = Dessau, Ins. Sel. 334.

62 For a list see Bryant, p116 f.

63 Apparently an allusion to the law which provided that a senator must leave a specified sum to the public treasury (or to the emperor). This was rescinded by Pius; see Zonaras, XII.1, p593D, and Malalas, XI p281 Dind.

64 Several inscriptions set up in his honour are extant; according to these he was granted consular honours on his retirement; see Hadr. viii.7 and note, and c. x.6.

65 Commemorated in several inscriptions. He was prefect of the vigiles, the watchmen and firemen, in 156, and was advanced to the prefecture of the guard about 158.

66 See note to Hadr. ix.5.

67 For his death see Marc. xiv.5.

68 See note to Hadr. vii.4.

69 It is said that 1112 persons were killed; see Mommsen, Chron. Min. I.146.

70 The earthquake which destroyed Rhodes occurred about 140; a description of it is given in an oration of Aristides (804 Dind.). The neighbouring island of Cos and the city of Stratonicea in Caria were also devastated. There seems to have been a second earthquake about 151, which devastated Bithynia, Lesbos, Smyrna and Ephesus.

71 Mentioned also by Gellius, XV.1.2.

72 See CIL XII.4342 and p521. Narbo Martius, which had received the status of a colony in 45 B.C., was the capital of the province of Gallia Narbonensis.

73 Also included among his benefactions in Paus. VIII.43.4.

74 King of the Hiberi; see Hadr. xiii.9 and note. He had refused to come meet Hadrian (Hadr. xxi.13), but now came to Rome with his wife; see Dio, LXIX.15.3 = LXX.2.1 (Boissevain).

75 The Lazi lived on the south-eastern shore of the Black Sea, south of the river Phasis (Rion).

76 Vologases III. He seems to have made preparations for a war against the Romans (Marc. viii.6), and troops were despatched to Syria ob bellum Parthicum; see CIL IX.2457 = Dessau, Ins. Sel. 1076.

77 Of Osrhoene.

78 See the coins of 140‑144 with the legends Rex Armeniis datus and Rex Quadis datus, Cohen, II2 p338 f., Nos. 686‑689.

79 It had been promised by Hadrian to Osrhoes, the predecessor of Vologases; see Hadr. xiii.8.

80 T. Julius Rhoemetalces, king of the Cimmerian Bosphorus (the Crimea and the district east of the Strait of Kertch) from 131 to 153. Several inscriptions and coins of his are extant.

81 Olbia or Olbiopolis was a Greek city on the river Hypanis (Bug) in south-western Russia.

Thayer's Note: "South-western Russia" was the name imposed by Tsarist Russia on Ukraine, in which meaning the term is now deprecated. Olbia lies at the estuary of the Buh River in the Mykolaiv region of Ukraine.

82 Cf. Eutrop. viii.8. According to Aur. Victor, Epit. xv.4, ambassadors from the Indi, Bactri, and Hyrcani came to him.

83 She had been betrothed by Hadrian to Lucius Verus; see Ael. vi.9; Marc. vi.2; Verus ii.3.

84 A Stoic philosopher, the teacher of both Marcus and Verus; see Marc. ii.7; iii.1; Verus ii.5. He is mentioned with gratitude by Marcus in εἰς ἑαυτόν i.8. His home was Chalcedon, according to Marc. ii.7, Nicomedia, according to Dio, LXXI.35.1; Chalcis is evidently an error.

85 The Domus Tiberiana was at the northern end of the Palatine Hill; very extensive ruins are extant. It seems to have been the usual residence of Pius when at Rome; see Marc. vi.3; Verus ii.4.

86 See note to Hadr. viii.7.

87 Probably in 148, in commemoration of the tenth anniversary of his accession to power. Coins, evidently referring to these spectacles, were issued in 149 bearing the legend Munificentia and representations of a lion and an elephant; see Cohen, II2 p325, Nos. 562‑566.

88 See note to c. vi.4.

89 i.e. went through the formality of asking the senate to confer them.

90 M. Valerius Homullus, cos. in 152. He tried to arouse the suspicion of Pius against Lucilla, Marcus' mother; see Marc. vi.9.

91 As incorporated in the Digesta and the Codex of Justinian, these deal with the questions of inheritances, adoption and guardian­ship, manumission, and the treatment of slaves by their masters.

92 Verus, Maecianus and Marcellus are frequently cited in the Digesta. Maecianus was Marcus's instructor in law; see Marc. iii.6.

93 Apparently an error for Iavolenus (Priscus), the celebrated jurist. He, however, was an older contemporary of Pliny, (p129)and it can hardly be supposed that he was actually consulted by Pius.

94 See c. v.4‑5.

95 See note to Hadr. vii.5.

96 Really in his seventy-fifth year; cf. c. i.8.

97 Cf. Marc. vii.3; see also Sev. xxiii.5.

98 Cf. c. vii.9.

99 See note to c. vi.7.

100 See note to Hadr. xxvii.3.


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