Antonius Felix (possibly Tiberius Claudius Antonius Felix, in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: ὁ Φῆλιξ; born circa 5–10) was the 4th

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 ...

procurator Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to: * Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency * ''Procurator'' (Ancient Rome), the title o ...

of Judea Province in 52–60, in succession to

Ventidius Cumanus Ventidius Cumanus (''fl.'' 1st century AD) was the Roman procurator of Iudaea Province from AD 48 to c. AD 52. A disagreement between the surviving sources, the Jewish historian Josephus and the Roman Tacitus, makes it unclear whether his authori ...

Life

Felix was the younger brother of the Greek freedman Marcus Antonius Pallas. Pallas served as a secretary of the treasury during the reign of the Emperor Claudius. Felix was a

freedman – either of Claudius, according to which theory

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for '' The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly ...

(''Antiq.'' xx. 7) calls him Claudius Felix, or of Claudius's mother, Antonia Minor, a daughter of Triumvir

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...

Octavia Minor Octavia the Younger ( la, Octavia Minor; c. 66 BC – 11 BC) was the elder sister of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus (known also as Octavian), the half-sister of Octavia the Elder, and the fourth wife of Mark Antony. She was also the great-gr ...

and niece of Emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

. According to

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

, Pallas and Felix descended from the Greek Kings of Arcadia.

Procurator of Judaea

Felix became the procurator by the petition of his brother. Felix's cruelty, coupled with his accessibility to bribes (see Book of Acts ), led to a great increase of crime in Judaea. The period of his rule was marked by internal feuds and disturbances, which he put down with severity. In 58, Felix hired assassins to murder Jonathan, the High Priest, shortly after the latter took office. Jonathan had often criticized Felix about governing the Jewish affairs, and threatened to report to Caesar if Felix did not do well because Jonathan was the one who made recommendation to Caesar to send Felix to be the procurator of Judea. Felix persuaded one of Jonathan's most trusted friends, Doras, a citizen of Jerusalem, to hire robbers to kill Jonathan by promising to give him a large sum of money. Doras arranged for some hired men to mingle with the worshippers in the Temple in Jerusalem, while they hid daggers under their garments. These assassins succeeded in killing Jonathan during a Jewish festival and were never caught.Josephus, Flavius. '' Antiquities of the Jews'
20.8.5
/ref> According to the Acts of the Apostles, after Paul the Apostle was arrested in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and rescued from a plot against his life, the local Roman

chiliarch Chiliarch is a military rank dating back to antiquity. Originally denoting the commander of a unit of about one thousand men (a chiliarchy) in the Macedonian army, it was subsequently used as a Greek translation of a Persian officer who functioned ...

Claudius Lysias transferred him to Caesarea, where he stood trial before Felix. On at least one further occasion Felix and his wife Drusilla heard Paul discourse, and later on frequently sent for Paul and talked with him. However, his actual desire was to receive a bribe from Paul, a request that the Apostle didn't give into (). When Felix was succeeded as procurator, having already detained Paul for two years, he left him imprisoned as a favor to the Jews ( Acts 24:27). Upon returning to Rome, Felix was accused of using a dispute between the Jews and Syrians of Caesarea as a pretext to slay and plunder the inhabitants, but through the intercession of his brother, the freedman Pallas, who had great influence with the Emperor

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unti ...

, he escaped unpunished.

Porcius Festus Porcius Festus was the 5th procurator of Judea from about 59 to 62, succeeding Antonius Felix. Term in office The exact time of Festus in office is not known. The earliest proposed date for the start of his term is c. 55–56, while the latest i ...

succeeded him as procurator of Judea. Many historians believe that Felix may have had

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

(like many other Romans), and that this was the cause of his death.

Marriages and issues

Felix married three times. His first wife was Drusilla of Mauretania, probably the daughter of

Ptolemy of Mauretania Ptolemy of Mauretania ( grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ''Ptolemaîos''; la, Gaius Iulius Ptolemaeus; 13 9BC–AD40) was the last Roman client king and ruler of Mauretania for Rome. He was the son of Juba II, the king of Numidia and a member ...

and Julia Urania. Felix's second wife was the Judean Drusilla of Judea, daughter of Herod Agrippa I and Cypros. Drusilla of Judea divorced Gaius Julius Azizus, King of Emesa to marry Felix. The couple had a son, Marcus Antonius Agrippa, who died, along with many of the inhabitants of Pompeii and Herculaneum, in the eruption of

Mount Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of ...

on 24 August 79. Antonia Agrippina (whose name was found in graffiti in a Royal Tomb in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

) may have been a granddaughter from Agrippa. His third wife's name is not attested. A man named Lucius Anneius Domitius Proculus is described in an inscription as the great-grandson of Felix, his grandmother is named as Antonia Clementiana, presumably Felix's daughter. Another inscription names a Tiberius Claudius (with a missing cognomen) who was in some way associated with a Titus Mucius Clemens. Marcus Antonius Fronto Salvianus (a quaestor) and his son Marcus Antonius Felix Magnus (a high priest in 225) are possible descendants as well.

References

External links

* Roman coinage of Felix can be seen under Roman Procurators a

{{DEFAULTSORT:Antonius Felix, Marcus Emperor's slaves and freedmen Roman governors of Judaea 1st-century Greek people People in Acts of the Apostles 1st-century Romans 1st-century Roman governors of Judaea Felix Felix, Antonius

Life

Procurator of Judaea

Marriages and issues

See also

References

Further reading

External links