Lucius Gellius Poplicola or Publicola ( 43–31 BC) was a Roman senator who led a checkered political career during the civil wars of the late

Republic A republic () is a " state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th ...

. Initially a supporter 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 ...

's assassins,

Brutus Marcus Junius Brutus (; ; 85 BC – 23 October 42 BC), often referred to simply as Brutus, was a Roman politician, orator, and the most famous of the assassins of Julius Caesar. After being adopted by a relative, he used the name Quintus Serv ...

and Cassius, he defected to the

Second Triumvirate The Second Triumvirate was an extraordinary commission and magistracy created for Mark Antony, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Octavian to give them practically absolute power. It was formally constituted by law on 27 November 43 BC with ...

and was later rewarded with a

consulship A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...

, in 36 BC. Gellius fought for

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 ...

against

Octavian 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 ...

at 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, ...

in 31 BC, after which he disappears from history.

Biography

Lucius Gellius is apparently mentioned in a letter by

Lucius Munatius Plancus Lucius Munatius Plancus ( – ) was a Roman senator, consul in 42 BC, and censor in 22 BC with Paullus Aemilius Lepidus. Along with Talleyrand eighteen centuries later, he is one of the classic historical examples of men who have m ...

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 ...

, where he is praised as a good republican who had intermediated between Plancus and Lepidus. After the republican party collapsed in Italy following the

war of Mutina The War of Mutina (December 44 – April 43 BC; also called the Mutina war) was a civil war between the Roman Senate and Mark Antony in northern Italy. It was the first civil war after the assassination of Julius Caesar. The main issue of th ...

, Gellius fled east to join

's assassins,

and Cassius. Here he was detected plotting to take the life of Brutus but was pardoned at the intercession of his brother,

Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus (64 BC – AD 8 or c. 12) was a Roman general, author, and patron of literature and art. Family Corvinus was the son of the consul in 61 BC, Marcus Valerius Messalla Niger,Syme, R., ''Augustan Aristocracy'', ...

. Shortly afterwards he entered into a conspiracy to kill Cassius, but again escaped unpunished through the intercession of his mother Palla. Gellius, however, showed no gratitude for the leniency which had been shown him. Rather, he change sides and joined the

triumvirs A triumvirate ( la, triumvirātus) or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs ( la, triumviri). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are ...

and

. While serving under Antony in the east c. 41 BC he had coins struck, on which he appears with the title of ''Q. P.'', probably ''

Quaestor A ( , , ; "investigator") was a public official in Ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officials who ...

'' '' Propraetore''. He was rewarded for his treachery with the consulship in 36 BC. In the war between Octavian and Antony, he supported Antony, and commanded the right wing of Antony's fleet at the

. As he is not mentioned again in any known historical texts, it can be assumed that he most likely perished in the battle or in the war.

Family

Lucius Gellius Poplicola is identified in the sources as a brother of

, and their mother was called Palla. Münzer and Evans supposed that they were half-brothers, and identified Gellius Poplicola's father as

Lucius Gellius Lucius Gellius (c. 136 BC''Oxford Classical Dictionary'',Gellius, Lucius – c. 54 BC) was a Roman politician and general who was one of two Consuls of the Republic in 72 BC along with Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Clodianus. A supporter of Pompey, ...

, consul in 72 BC. Badian preferred to see them as full brothers, sons of a Valerius Messalla who, in keeping with a trend of the time, gave distinguished ancestral surnames (Poplicola and Corvinus) of the Valerii to both his sons. Gellius Poplicola will then have been adopted by Lucius Gellius, consul of 72 BC, explaining his distinct name. Gellius Poplicola married one Sempronia, sister of Lucius Atratinus.

Endnotes

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gellius Poplicola, Lucius 1st-century BC births 31 BC deaths 1st-century BC Roman consuls Ancient Roman adoptees Ancient Romans killed in action Poplicola, Lucius Recipients of ancient Roman pardons Valerii Messallae Year of birth unknown