Lucius Pontius Aquila
Lucius Pontius Aquila (* around 83 BC; † April 21, 43 BC ) was a Roman politician who was one of the Caesar murderers.
Pontius Aquila probably held office in 45 BC. The office of tribune . During the triumphal procession of the victorious Gaius Iulius Caesar - since he was a staunch Republican - he was the only one in his college who did not want to get up when the dictator drove by. This irritated Caesar so much that he exclaimed: “Reclaim the authority of the state from my hands, Tribune Aquila!” Caesar was angry about the affront for a long time, and for several days he made no promise to anyone without adding, “... that is, if Aquila allows me. "
This dispute probably caused a lasting feud between the two, so that Aquila joined the conspirators who led the dictator on the Ides of March 44 BC. Murdered BC. After the deed, Aquila served under Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus as a legate in Gallia Cisalpina and tried to relieve the Mutina enclosed by Marcus Antonius . He defeated Titus Munatius Plancus Byrsa and drove him out of Pollentia. Then he went to the consular relief army. He fell on April 21, 43 BC. At the Battle of Mutina , in which Aulus Hirtius defeated Mark Antony.
Pontius Aquila was a friend of Marcus Tullius Cicero and is often mentioned by him in his letters. The speaker managed to have Aquila erected a statue of honor.
literature
- Aquila L. Pontius . In: William Smith (Ed.): Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology . tape 1 : Abaeus – Dysponteus . Little, Brown and Company, Boston 1870, p. 252–253 (English, Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
- Friedrich Münzer : Pontius Aquila. In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume XXII, 1, Stuttgart 1953, Sp. 34-36.
Web links
- Suetonius: The Life of Julius Caesar (J. C. Rolfe English translation, modified)
Remarks
- ↑ Full name from a list from Sutrium , where Aquila may have come from: CIL 11, 3254
- ^ Repete ergo a me Aquila rem publicam tribunus
- ↑ Si tamen licuerit per Pontium Aquilam.
- ^ Suetonius , Caesar 78, 2.
- ^ Cassius Dio 46, 38, 3.
- ^ Cicero , Epistulae ad Brutum 1, 15, 8.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Pontius Aquila, Lucius |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Aquila, Lucius Pontius |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Roman politician, one of the conspirators against Gaius Iulius Caesar |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 83 BC Chr. |
| DATE OF DEATH | 43 BC Chr. |