Lucius Arruntius was a Roman admiral. He saw action during the War with

Sextus Pompeius Sextus Pompeius Magnus Pius ( 67 – 35 BC), also known in English as Sextus Pompey, was a Roman military leader who, throughout his life, upheld the cause of his father, Pompey the Great, against Julius Caesar and his supporters during the las ...

, and the war 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 ...

and Octavian (later named

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 ...

). He is most notable for his participation during the

Battle of Actium The Battle of Actium was a naval battle fought between a maritime fleet of Octavian led by Marcus Agrippa and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII Philopator. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC in the Ionian Sea, ...

, where he was in command of victorious Augustus' central division. He was also instrumental in convincing Octavian to pardon Gaius Sosius, one of Mark Antony's generals, after his capture. Arruntius was consul in 22 BC as the colleague of Marcus Claudius Marcellus Aeserninus.

Life

Arruntius came of an opulent family at the Volscian city of Atina. His wealth made him a target in the proscriptions of the Second Triumvirate, which he evaded by arming his '' clientes'' and slaves then fighting his way to the Italian coast, from whence he sailed to join the forces of Sextus Pompeius. At some point after the

Pact of Misenum The Pact of Misenum was a treaty to end the naval blockade of the Italian Peninsula during the Sicilian revolt. The pact was signed in 39 BC between Sextus Pompeius and the members of the Second Triumvirate – specifically, Mark Antony and Gai ...

was concluded in 39 BC, Arruntius was one of several Pompeians who switched sides and became a supporter of Octavian. Martha Hoffman Lewis included Arruntius among those elevated to patrician status in 29 BC. He attended the

Ludi Saeculares The Saecular Games ( la, Ludi saeculares, originally ) was a Roman religious celebration involving sacrifices and theatrical performances, held in ancient Rome for three days and nights to mark the end of a and the beginning of the next. A , sup ...

in 17 BC according to an inscription as a ''

quindecimviri sacris faciundis In ancient Rome, the were the fifteen () members of a college (''collegium'') with priestly duties. They guarded the Sibylline Books, scriptures which they consulted and interpreted at the request of the Senate. This ''collegium'' also oversaw ...

''. According to Gaius Stern, he appears on the Ara Pacis within the

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offerin ...

of the ''quindecimviri sacris faciundis''. A Lucius Arruntius is also mentioned in

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

's ''

Epistulae morales ad Lucilium The ' (Latin for "Moral Letters to Lucilius"), also known as the ''Moral Epistles'' and ''Letters from a Stoic'', is a collection of 124 letters that Seneca the Younger wrote at the end of his life, during his retirement, after he had worked for ...

'' as an imitator of

Sallust Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (; 86 – ), was a Roman historian and politician from an Italian plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became during the 50s BC a partisan ...

ius' literary style and as the author of a historical work on the

Punic War The Punic Wars were a series of wars between 264 and 146BC fought between Rome and Carthage. Three conflicts between these states took place on both land and sea across the western Mediterranean region and involved a total of forty-three yea ...

.''Epistulae morales'', 114.17 This could either be the Arruntius mentioned above or his son.

Family

He had a son, Lucius Arruntius, consul AD 6, who played a prominent role in the Senate after Augustus died.

Sources

* Hoyos, B. (1989). A Forgotten Roman Historian: L. Arruntius and the ‘True’ Causes of the First Punic War. Antichthon, 23, 51–66. doi:10.1017/S0066477400003683 * Martha Hoffman Lewis, ''The Official Priests of Rome under the Julio-Claudians. A Study of the Nobility from 44 B.C. to 68 A.D.'', Rome 1955. * Gaius Stern, ''Women Children and Senators on the Ara Pacis Augustae'', University of California Berkeley dissertation 2006.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arruntius, Lucius (consul 732 AUC) 1st-century BC Romans Ancient Roman admirals Lucius (consul 732 AUC) Arruntius, Lucius (732 AUC) Year of birth uncertain 1st-century BC Roman consuls