Vibullius Agrippa

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history of ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

, lviii. 21 (also sometimes called Vibulenus Agrippa) was an ancient Roman man of the first century who was accused of a crime and killed himself in front of the Roman senate.

Name

Agrippa is called "Vibulenus" by

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

and "Vibullius"

. Modern historians, such as

Ronald Syme Sir Ronald Syme, (11 March 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. He was regarded as the greatest historian of ancient Rome since Theodor Mommsen and the most brilliant exponent of the history of the Roma ...

, tend to favour "Vibullius" based on inscriptional evidence. "Vibulenus" may have been a

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 ...

Trial

Agrippa was accused of some crime, probably treason, before the senate in the final years of the reign of

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

, in 33 AD according to Dio and 36 AD according to Tacitus. His case is often mentioned to highlight the frequency with which ordinary citizens were being executed in that time, and for the novelty of the case's outcome: Agrippa faced his accusers in the senate and swallowed poison that he had brought with him in a ring. Undeterred, the

lictor A lictor (possibly from Latin language, Latin ''ligare'', meaning 'to bind') was a Ancient Rome, Roman civil servant who was an attendant and bodyguard to a Roman magistrate, magistrate who held ''imperium''. Roman records describe lictors as hav ...

s rushed his body to the prison (the ''

tullianum The Mamertine Prison (), in antiquity the Tullianum, was a prison (''carcer'') with a dungeon (''oubliette'') located in the Comitium in ancient Rome. It is said to have been built in the 7th century BC and was situated on the northeastern slope ...

'') and hanged or

strangled Strangling or strangulation is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain by restricting the flow of oxygen through the trachea. Fatal strangulation typically occurs ...

him anyway, but he was already dead. Unlike an execution, this sort of pre-emptive

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

prevented, at least in theory, the state or his accusers from claiming a share of his property, and allowed the suicide to be buried, provided they died before being convicted.

does not record whether Agrippa's mock execution in the ''

'' was sufficient to satisfy the letter of the law and allow confiscation of his property.

Family

Vibullia Alcia Agrippina may have been his descendant or other type of relative.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vibulenus Agrippa Ancient Roman equites Suicides in Ancient Rome 36 deaths 1st-century Romans Year of birth unknown Suicides by poison

Agrippa Agrippa may refer to: People Antiquity * Agrippa (mythology), semi-mythological king of Alba Longa * Agrippa (astronomer), Greek astronomer from the late 1st century * Agrippa the Skeptic, Skeptic philosopher at the end of the 1st century * Ag ...