Gnaeus Octavius (consul 87 BC)
Gnaeus Octavius (died 87 BC) was a
Early career
Gnaeus Octavius was a member of the
Although he had failed to be elected
Octavius was not a natural supporter of Sulla; he disliked both Sulla's march on
Because of his interest in soothsayers, modern scholars have supposed that Octavius was a member of the decemviri sacris faciundis, the priests in charge of the Sibylline books.[6]
Conflict with Cinna
Things came to a head when the
Octavius then illegally stripped Cinna of his consulship and his citizenship, and had elected in his stead
When Cinna and Marius began their siege of Rome. Strabo, who was playing a double game with both Octavius and Cinna, attempted to convince Octavius to enter into negotiations with Cinna.[11] An attack by the Marian forces took the Janiculum, but they were repulsed by Octavius and Strabo, with Octavius suffering serious losses.[12] These losses and the sudden death of Strabo soon after saw Octavius' army become increasingly demoralized. He lost 6,000 troops in the battle, while Strabo had lost some 11,000, both through the fighting and a plague that was running through his army. Due to the fear of famine in Rome, Octavius joined his men to Strabo's units, positioned outside the gates, after which he fled from Rome.[13]
Meeting up with Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius and Publius Licinius Crassus (who had eventually obeyed Octavius' plea to return to Rome) at the Alban Hills, he was frustrated when they began to negotiate with Cinna, even going so far as recognizing Cinna as consul.[14] Fearful of this turn of events, and of news that the Senate was also contemplating coming to terms with Cinna, he fell out with Metellus Pius, who had initially refused his soldiers' demands that he take command from Octavius.[15] The army's apparent disloyalty finally convinced Octavius to return to Rome.
Death and reputation
Although he tried to continue the resistance against Cinna, Octavius was unable to prevent the Senate from coming to terms with Cinna who entered Rome as consul.[16] Although Cinna gave a vague promise that no harm would come to Octavius, Octavius was persuaded by a group of colleagues to abandon the forum and set himself up on the Janiculum as consul in protest against the recognition of Cinna, accompanied by a small number of nobles and a tiny remnant of his military forces. He refused to escape when Gaius Marcius Censorinus and a small cavalry force stormed the Janiculum, capturing him. Octavius was then beheaded by Censorinus who took his head to Cinna, before nailing it to the Rostra.[17]
Octavius was said to have held to strict principles in his politics and was known for his honesty.
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Emperor |
|
Consul |
Cn. Octavius Rufus q. c. 230 BC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
eq. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cn. Octavius cos. 165 BC | C. Octavius tr. mil. 216 BC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
C. Octavius magistr. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cn. Octavius tr. pl. | C. Octavius procos. MAC. 60 BC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
L. Octavius cos. 75 BC | Cn. Octavius cos. 76 BC | C. Octavius (Augustus) imp. ROM. 27 BC–AD 14 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
M. Octavius aed. 50 BC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
See also
Footnotes
- ^ Broughton, pg. 26; Smith, pg. 8
- ^ Broughton, pgs. 39-40
- ^ Keaveney , pg. 73
- ^ Keaveney, pg. 72
- ^ Broughton, pg. 46; Lovano, pg. 32
- ^ Rüpke (ed.), Fasti Sacerdotum, p. 818.
- ^ Lovano, pg. 33
- ^ Lovano, pgs. 33-34
- ^ Broughton, pg. 46
- ^ Lovano, pg. 39
- ^ Lovano, pgs. 39-40
- ^ Broughton, pgs. 48-49; Lovano, pg. 41
- ^ Lovano, pg. 42
- ^ Lovano, pg. 44
- ^ Broughton, pg. 47
- ^ Lovano, pg. 45
- ^ Lovano, pg. 47
- ^ Smith, pg. 8
References
- Lovano, Michael, The Age of Cinna: Crucible of Late Republican Rome (2002)
- Keaveney, Arthur, Sulla: The Last Republican (1982)
- Broughton, T. Robert S., The Magistrates of the Roman Republic, Vol II (1951)
- Jörg Rüpke, Anne Glock, David Richardson (translator), Fasti Sacerdotum: A Prosopography of Pagan, Jewish, and Christian Religious Officials in the City of Rome, 300 BC to AD 499, Oxford University Press, 2008.
- Smith, William, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, Vol III (1867).