Aulus Postumius Albinus was a statesman of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kingd ...

, notably

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 th ...

in 151 BC. He was also a historian and wrote the ''Annals'' in Greek. Apparently the son of Aulus Postumius Albinus Luscus, he was

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected ''magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vario ...

in 155 BC, and consul in 151 BC with Lucius Licinius Lucullus. He and his colleague were thrown into prison by the tribunes for conducting the levies with too much severity. He was one of the ambassadors sent in 153 BC to make peace between

Attalus Attalus or Attalos may refer to: People *Several members of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon ** Attalus I, ruled 241 BC–197 BC ** Attalus II Philadelphus, ruled 160 BC–138 BC ** Attalus III, ruled 138 BC–133 BC *Attalus, father of ...

and Prusias, and accompanied Lucius Mummius Achaicus into Greece in 146 BC as one of his legates. There was a statue erected to his honor on the isthmus. Albinus was well acquainted with

Greek literature Greek literature () dates back from the ancient Greek literature, beginning in 800 BC, to the modern Greek literature of today. Ancient Greek literature was written in an Ancient Greek dialect, literature ranges from the oldest surviving writte ...

, and wrote in that language a poem and a Roman history, the latter of which is mentioned by several ancient writers. Polybius speaks of him as a vain, arid lightheaded man, who disparaged his own people, and was indifferently devoted to the study of Greek literature. He relates a tale of him and Cato the Elder, who reproved Albinus sharply because in the preface to his history he begged the pardon of his readers, if he should make any mistakes in writing in a foreign language; Cato reminded him that he was not compelled to write at all, but that if he chose to write, he had no business to ask for the indulgence of his readers. This tale is also related by Aulus Gellius, Macrobius,

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 his ...

, and the '' Suda''. Polybius also relates that he retreated to Thebes, when the battle was fought at Phocis, on the plea of indisposition, but afterwards wrote an account of it to the Senate as if he had been present.

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 est ...

speaks with rather more respect of his literary merits; he calls him a "learned man" (''doctus homo''). Macrobius quotes a passage from the first book of the Annals of Albinus respecting Brutus, and as he uses the words of Albinus, it has been supposed that the Greek history may have been translated into Latin. A work of Albinus, on the arrival of

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus (mythology), Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both ...

in Italy, is referred to by Servius, and the author of the work "De Origine Gentis Romanae".Krause, ''Vitae et Fragm. Veterum Historicorum Romanorum'', p. 127, &c.

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* ''

Historicorum Romanorum reliquiae The ''Historicorum Romanorum reliquiae'' is the "monumental" two-volume collection of scholarly editions of fragmentary Roman historical texts edited by Hermann Peter and published between 1870 and 1914. Peter published the Latin editions of these ...

'', Hermannus Peter (ed.), vol. 1, in aedibus B. G. Teubneri, Lipsiae, 1914²
pagg. 49-50.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Postumius Albinus, Aulus 603 2nd-century BC historians 2nd-century BC Roman consuls Aulus 603 Roman legates Roman Republican praetors

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