Lucius Vipsanius was the elder brother of

Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (; BC – 12 BC) was a Roman general, statesman and architect who was a close friend, son-in-law and lieutenant to the Roman emperor Augustus. Agrippa is well known for his important military victories, notably the B ...

, the right-hand man of Roman emperor

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

History

Early life

Lucius Vipsanius was born in the late

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

to a

plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians or plebs were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of the gro ...

family, his father being Lucius Vipsanius and his mother an unknown woman. His

praenomen The praenomen (; plural: praenomina) was a first name chosen by the parents of a Ancient Rome, Roman child. It was first bestowed on the ''dies lustricus'' (day of lustration), the eighth day after the birth of a girl, or the ninth day after the ...

is not actually known, but has been assumed to be ''Lucius'', since he was older than Marcus, and first sons were generally given their fathers' praenomen in Rome. He and Agrippa likely spent their childhood playing with each other until Lucius was old enough to go to school. Since Lucius became a soldier his education likely took him away from home rather young. He also had a sister named Vipsania Polla, it's not known if she was younger or older than him.

Career

During

Caesar's Civil War Caesar's civil war (49–45 BC) was a civil war during the late Roman Republic between two factions led by Julius Caesar and Pompey. The main cause of the war was political tensions relating to Caesar's place in the Republic on his expected ret ...

, Lucius sided with the Pompeians and fought for Cato the Younger in Africa where he was taken prisoner by

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 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 Caesar's civil wa ...

Numidia Numidia was the ancient kingdom of the Numidians in northwest Africa, initially comprising the territory that now makes up Algeria, but later expanding across what is today known as Tunisia and Libya. The polity was originally divided between ...

after defeat in battle. It is likely that he had actually been captured before and pardoned already. Caesar had a habit of showing clemency to everyone the first time but made sure to punish repeat offenders and as such was likely to have him executed. Despite this he was treated with much respect. Agrippa was 17 years old at the time and was already studying with Caesar's grandnephew Octavian (later known as Augustus). Fearing for his brothers life, Agrippa asked his friend to speak to his uncle and beg him to show mercy for Lucius. This was the first time Octavian had asked his uncle for a favour and the wish was granted. This bound Agrippa forever to his benefactor and earned Octavian a reputation for loyalty. When returning home to Rome Lucius would have been expected to make a courtesy call to Cato's closest relatives there, his sister Servilia and wife Marcia.

Later life

Lucius appears to have been alive later on in his brother's career as he was involved in some type of affair which his brother refused to influence with his authority when a consul asked for his opinion on the matter.

Cultural depictions

In '' I Loved Tiberius'' by Elisabeth Dored Lucius' salvation at the hands of Octavian is mentioned as a reason for Agrippa's undying loyalty to the emperor. The same is done in ''

Cleopatra's Daughter ''Cleopatra's Daughter'' () is a 1960 list of historical drama films, historical drama film set in Ancient Egypt, Egypt during the reign of the pharaoh Khufu (r. 2589-2566 BC). The film stars Debra Paget and was directed by Fernando Cerchio. For ...

'' by

Michelle Moran Michelle Moran (born August 11, 1980) is an American novelist known for her historical fiction writing. Biography Michelle Moran was born in California's San Fernando Valley, August 11, 1980. She took an interest in writing from an early age, pu ...

. In Ray Gleason's ''Affair'' series of novels Lucius plays a bigger role as a character.

References