Sempronius Gracchus was a Roman nobleman who seduced
Julia the Elder
Julia the Elder (30 October 39 BC – AD 14), known to her contemporaries as Julia Caesaris filia or Julia Augusti filia (Classical Latin: IVLIA•CAESARIS•FILIA or IVLIA•AVGVSTI•FILIA), was the daughter and only biological child of August ...
when she was wife of
Marcus Agrippa; this led to a long-term affair. Gracchus was involved in an intrigue with the imperial family of
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 ...
by which he sought to undermine the position of
Tiberius
Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...
. He was married to a woman called Alliaria. His affair was discovered by Augustus who banished him to Cercina (
Kerkennah Islands
Kerkennah Islands ( aeb, قرقنة '; Ancient Greek: ''Κέρκιννα Cercinna''; Spanish:''Querquenes'') are a group of islands lying off the east coast of Tunisia in the Gulf of Gabès, at . The Islands are low-lying, being no more than abo ...
) where he endured an exile of fourteen years. Most probably he was executed in AD 14 on the orders of Tiberius after his accession.
[Robert Samuel Rogers. "The Deaths of Julia and Gracchus, A.D. 14." ''Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Society,']
Vol. 98, 1967
Accessed 30 Sept. 2012. A character by this name is played by
Charles Laughton
Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was a British actor. He was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play with his future ...
in the 1960
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...
epic film ''
Spartacus
Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprisin ...
''.
Notes
1st-century BC births
14 deaths
1st-century BC Romans
1st-century Romans
Sempronii
Executed ancient Roman people
People executed by the Roman Empire
Ancient Roman exiles
Male lovers of royalty
Lovers of Roman royalty
{{ancientRome-bio-stub