Geminius (follower of Antonius)

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Geminius was a in the second half of the 1st century BC. Living Roman politician. He was a follower of the triumvir Mark Antony .

As 32 BC When the war preparations for the final battle between Antony and his triumvirate colleague Octavian for sole rule in the Roman Empire were in full swing, there was a lively dispute in Antony's camp as to whether Cleopatra , who took part in the war, should be sent back to Egypt. High-ranking supporters of Antonius such as the consuls Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Gaius Sosius , who had fled from Rome , already pushed into Ephesus , but in vain, especially when Cleopatra was removed from the headquarters, because the Egyptian queen provided the best ammunition for Octavian's propaganda. Many men on Antony's management staff also viewed the conflict between the triumvirs as a purely internal Roman dispute and were probably irritated by the self-confident demeanor of the Ptolemaic. According to another interpretation, the removal of Cleopatra is said to have been requested in the hope of being able to avoid the civil war with Octavian.

Antony's partisans in Italy sent Geminius to Athens , where he was supposed to influence Antony again to send the Ptolemaic woman home. The anti-Cleopatra-hostile tradition in Plutarch claims that the Queen immediately suspected Geminius of being a negotiator for Antony's Roman wife Octavia and therefore always had him treated hurtfully. Geminius had endured this resetting in the hope that he would one day receive a private audience with Antonius. During a meal at which a lot of alcohol had already been consumed, Geminius was finally asked to explain the purpose of his mission. But Geminius only incurred the wrath of Antony with his reply that everything would be fine if Cleopatra returned to her homeland. The queen, however, noticed that Geminius had been wise to tell the truth without using torture. A little later, Geminius returned to Rome without having completed his task.

With this episode, Plutarch denounces the alleged arrogance of the Egyptian monarch, who even threatened a Roman with torture, even though the torture of Roman citizens was forbidden under Roman law. The historian Michael Grant admits that the details of Plutarch's portrayal cannot necessarily lay claim to truth, but believes that it is fundamentally likely that one or more messengers sent from Rome should persuade Antonius to send Cleopatra back to Egypt. Plutarch's report is extremely dubious for the ancient historian Christoph Schäfer .

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ Christoph Schäfer, Cleopatra , 2006, p. 203.
  2. ^ Felix Stähelin : Cleopatra 20). In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume XI, 1, Stuttgart 1921, Col. 767 f.
  3. ↑ Plutarch , Antonius 59, 2ff.
  4. ↑ Michael Grant, Cleopatra , 1998, p. 276.
  5. ↑ Christoph Schäfer, Cleopatra , 2006, p. 208.
personal data
SURNAME Geminius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Follower of Mark Antony
DATE OF BIRTH 1st century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 1st century BC BC or 1st century