Tiberius Claudius Marcus Appius Atilius Bradua Regillus Atticus,[Pomeroy, The murder of Regilla: a case of domestic violence in antiquity] otherwise known as Atticus Bradua[Graindor, Un milliardaire antique p. 29] (around 145-after 209), was a Roman Empire politician of Athens and Italian descent who was Roman consul in 185 AD.
Ancestry and Family
Atticus Bradua was born to a wealthy family of consular rank.
[Wilson, Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece pp. 349-350] He was the second son of the
Roman consul and
Sophism Herodes Atticus of Athens and the Roman Aspasia Annia Regilla.
His paternal grandparents were the consular Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes and the wealthy heiress Vibullia Alcia Agrippina,
while his maternal grandparents were the consul Appius Annius Trebonius Gallus and Atilia Caucidia Tertulla.
Through his maternal grandfather, Atticus Bradua was a relative of the empresses Faustina the Elder and Faustina the Younger, the wives of
Antoninus Pius and
Marcus Aurelius respectively.
[Pomeroy, The murder of Regilla p. 14]
Life
While the place of birth of Atticus Bradua is not known, he was raised in Greece. As a child, he could not learn how to read. His father purchased twenty-four slave boys to whom he gave names beginning with the letters of the alphabet to help Bradua learn his letters.
[Pomeroy, The murder of Regilla p. 48] According to an inscription, there is a possibility that Bradua was sent to
Sparta by his father to become an ephebe (citizen-cadet).
[Pomeroy, The murder of Regilla p. 49]
The parents of Bradua erected a great outdoor nymphaeum (a monumental fountain) at Olympia. The monumental fountain features statues of the ruling imperial family, alongside the family of Herodes and Regilla. Among the statues was one of Bradua which is on display at the Archaeological Museum of Olympia.
Bradua was about 15 years old when his mother died. His maternal uncle claimed that his father murdered her.[Wilson, Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece p. 350] but relations between the two remained poor. When Herodes Atticus died in 177, he left nothing to Atticus Bradua.
Wealth, political career and benefactions
After the death of his mother, Atticus Bradua inherited the estate that his mother owned with his father on the
Appian Way.
Atticus Bradua was considered by others as more competent than Herodes Atticus, probably due to his status and wealth.
At some point during the reign of
Antoninus Pius (138–161), the Emperor promoted Atticus Bradua to Patrician rank.
Atticus Bradua served as an ordinary consul in 185[Susan I. Rotoff, "An Athenian Archon List of the Late Second Century after Christ", Hesperia, 44 (1975), pp. 402-8] Sometime after his consulship, he served as Proconsul of a Roman Province.[Pomeroy, The murder of Regilla p. 50]
Atticus Bradua followed in the footsteps of his parents as a benefactor, but not on such a lavish scale, as his fortune was much smaller than his father's.
An inscription found on a grey limestone dated after 185 at the Curia at Leptis Magna (the capital of the Africa Province) is possibly dedicated to Atticus Bradua. This inscription shows that Atticus Bradua may have served as a Proconsul of Africa, could have served as a local patron and may have changed his name to honor the memory of his family, mother and maternal ancestry, and to express discontent with his father. The inscription reads:
- To Marcus Atilius Metilius Bradua Caucidius Tertullus Claudius Atticus Vibullius Pollio Gauidius Latiaris Atrius Bassus, proconsul; Decimus Junius Crescens, Decimus Junius Galba, Quintus Calpurnius Capito, Lucius Plautius Octavianus to their patron.
[ Inscriptions of Roman Tripolitania, by J. M. Reynolds and J. B. Ward-Perkins, enhanced electronic reissue by Gabriel Bodard and Charlotte Roueché (2009). "517. Honours for Ti. Cl. M. Appius Atilius Bradua Regillus Atticus"]
Sources
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Graindor, P., Un milliardaire antique, Ayers Company Publishers, 1979
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Wilson, N.G., Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece, Routledge, 2006
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Pomeroy, S.B., The murder of Regilla: a case of domestic violence in antiquity, Harvard University Press, 2007
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