Lucius Antonius (1st century BC) was the younger brother and supporter of

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 ...

, a

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 lett ...

politician. He was nicknamed Pietas as a young man.

Biography

Early life

Lucius was a son of Marcus Antonius Creticus, son of the rhetorician Marcus Antonius Orator executed by

Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...

' supporters in 86 BC, and Julia, a third cousin of

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...

. Together with his older brothers Mark Antony and Gaius Antonius, he spent his early years roaming through Rome in bad company.

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

refers to the untamed life of the youths and their friends, frequenting gambling houses and drinking too much.

Career

Lucius was always a strong supporter of Mark Antony. In 44 BC, the year of Antony's consulship and

's assassination, Lucius, as

tribune of the plebs Tribune of the plebs, tribune of the people or plebeian tribune ( la, tribunus plebis) was the first office of the Roman state that was open to the plebeians, and was, throughout the history of the Republic, the most important check on the power o ...

, brought forward a law authorizing Caesar to nominate the chief magistrates during his absence from Rome. After the murder of Caesar, he supported his brother Marcus. He proposed an agrarian law in favor of the people and Caesar's veterans and took part in the operations at

Mutina Modena (, , ; egl, label= Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and '' comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. A town, and seat o ...

(43 BC). In 41 BC, he was

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

with

Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus Publius Servilius Vatia Isauricus (c. 130 BC – 44 BC), was a Roman politician and general of the First Century BC. He was elected one of the two consuls for 79 BC. From 78 to 74 BC, as proconsul of Cilicia, he fought against the Cilician Pirat ...

as his senior partner. In this year, he assisted Mark Antony's wife, Fulvia, who was anxious to recall her husband from

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...

's court, in the raising of an eight legion army to

fight Combat (French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

against Octavian's unpopular policies. Later, observing the bitter feelings that had been evoked by the distribution of land among the veterans of Caesar, Antonius and Fulvia changed their attitude and stood forward as the defenders of those who had suffered from its operation. Antonius marched on Rome, drove out Lepidus, and promised the people that the triumvirate would be abolished. On the approach of Octavian, he retired to

Perusia The ancient Perusia, now Perugia, first appears in history as one of the 12 confederate cities of Etruria. It is first mentioned in the account of the war of 310 or 309 BC between the Etruscans and the Romans. It took, however, an important p ...

in Etruria, where he was besieged by three armies, and compelled to surrender in the winter of 41 BC. The city was destroyed but his life was spared, and he was sent by Octavian to Spain as governor. Nothing is known of the circumstances or date of his death.

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

, in his ''Philippics'', actuated in great measure by personal animosity, gives a highly unfavorable view of his character.

References

Citations

Sources

* Appian, ''Bellum Civile'', v. 14 ff. * Dio Cassius xlviii. 5–14. * Suetonius, ''De Vita Caesarum'', II, 14–5.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Antonius, Lucius 1st-century BC Roman consuls Antonii Ancient Roman generals Family of Mark Antony