Marcus Agrippa: Right-hand Man of Caesar Augustus (49 page)

Bad luck had struck twice. Nineteen months earlier, Lucius had been taken ill on his military service in the Hispanic provinces. He died at Massilia (Marseille) on 20 August 2 CE aged 19.
¹¹⁹
He also left no heirs. The embalmed corpses of the two young men were brought separately under military escort back to Rome and received by the magistrates and people of the cities the cortèges passed through. Posthumously the Senate voted honours for the young Caesars, and arranged for the golden shields and spears they had received on achieving the age of military service to be hung in the Senate House.
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The caskets containing their ashes were placed in the Mausoleum of Augustus, where they joined those of their birth father M. Agrippa, and Augustus’ sister Octavia, his nephew and son-in-law Marcellus, and stepson Drusus the Elder.

Augustus now had to completely rewrite the succession plan which he had carefully conceived over a quarter-of-a-century before.
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The decision Augustus made was extraordinary. By a decree of the Senate on 27 or 28 June 4 CE, he formally adopted Tiberius (whose name changed to Ti. Iulius Caesar) who had returned from self-imposed exile two years earlier.
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It was presented to the public that the arrangement was made for ‘the good of the commonwealth’.
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The adoption by Augustus opened the way for Tiberius to be rehabilitated and to resume the tribunician power.
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The surprise, however, was that he required Tiberius to adopt his nephew, Germanicus, as his son (who now became Germanicus Iulius Caesar).
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Probably as a precaution against anything happening to – or in his relations with – Tiberius, Augustus also adopted his grandson Agrippa Postumus (who became M. Iulius Caesar Agrippa Postumus).
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Postumus (
plate 41
) was the last surviving son of M. Agrippa’s line by Iulia and his adoption was likely undertaken in the belief that he would yet prove himself a worthy successor. Tacitus describes him unflatteringly, ‘though devoid of worthy qualities, and having only the brute courage of physical strength, [he] had not been convicted of any gross offence.’
¹²⁷
In the event he was to prove a great disappointment – or so the ancient historians would want us to believe. The curious fact is that on achievement of his manhood in early 3 CE his recognition ceremony, in which he would be expected to don the
toga pura
, was delayed and Augustus did not accompany him to the
Forum
.
¹²⁸
Moreover, unlike the adopted sons of Augustus before him, he was not granted the now customary honours of political advancement by five years or the appointment as
princeps iuventutis
. Was there a hidden agenda? There is a suspicion that supporters of C. Caesar were pushing to have Augustus recognize him as his associate and, thus, to block any rivals, principally Tiberius, but also the son of the late M. Agrippa.
¹²⁹
When Caius died unexpectedly Augustus was again forced to reevaluate his dynastic plan and so Postumus Agrippa once more became a candidate. Yet he is presented by historians as lacking the drive and ambition of either of his natural or adoptive fathers and instead as idling his time fishing, drinking, arguing violently and generally acting in ways others interpreted as depraved or even insane.
¹³⁰
An opportunity to redeem himself arose in 6 CE when rebellion broke out in Illyricum. Tiberius led the counterinsurgency in a co-ordinated invasion of the western Balkans and needed help in the struggle. Germanicus Caesar raised and led an irregular unit with distinction in what was to be the first step in his illustrious military career, and assumed more responsibilities as the rebellion dragged into its second and third years.
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When asked to do his duty it is reported that Postumus raged at his adoptive mother, Livia Drusilla, arguing the point over and over that he had been denied his father’s inheritance. Exasperated by the resentful 21-year-old, Augustus disowned him by abdication, involuntarily separating him from his adopted family. It was a devastating move for the young man. As an
adoptatus abdicatus
he lost his valuable Julian name – since he now returned to
gens Vipsania
– and forfeited the property inheritance due him on the death of Augustus.
¹³²
Worse, Augustus banished him first to Surrentum (Sorrento) in 6 – ‘because of his low tastes and violent temper’, Suetonius informs us – and then offshore to the small island of Planasia (Pianosa) near Corsica in 9, assigning a guard detail in case he tried to escape – or hang himself.
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Augustus died on 19 August 14 CE, ‘having lived 75 years, 10 months, and 26 days, and having been sole ruler, from the time of his victory at Actium thirteen days short of forty-four years.’
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Despite his mutable health, he had outlived Agrippa by twenty-six years. According to his wishes the funeral was based on the programme he had laid on for his old friend.
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Tiberius, who gave the eulogy at Augustus’ funeral, now reluctantly assumed the position of
princeps
.
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He had already accumulated the same legal powers as Augustus, which made the transition of power seamless. Shortly after Tiberius’ accession, however, reports reached Rome that Postumus Agrippa had been killed and that it had been on Tiberius’ orders.
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It was not clear if it was while Augustus was still alive or when his successor assumed office. Tiberius responded quickly to deny any involvement in his death, arguing he was
en route
to Illyricum when he had been recalled.
¹³⁸
Another rumour was already circulating that, before he passed away, Augustus had secretly visited Planasia to see his grandson and that he had promised to restore him to his rightful place in the family. Some suspected Livia’s involvement, but nothing was ever proved.
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There were reports that Agrippa Postumus’ personal slave Clemens had gathered a band of men to avenge his young master, but he was outwitted, arrested and disappeared.
¹⁴⁰
The whole affair was quickly forgotten. As for his mother Iulia the Elder, while Tiberius had idled on Rhodes, she had been accused of sexual misconduct and exiled to the almost barren island of Pandataria (Ventotene) by Augustus – though involvement in a plot against her father has also been suggested as the more likely reason for her banishment.
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Divorced from Tiberius by 2 BCE and in exile thereafter, Iulia had since been moved to Rhegium (Reggio di Calabria) on the toe of the Italian mainland and controls on her were relaxed.
¹⁴²
On his accession, the new
princeps
decided not to recall her: indeed, during that same year, she unexpectedly died – presumably of natural causes – aged 53.
¹⁴³
In accordance with Augustus’ wishes, her ashes were not placed in his mausoleum.
¹⁴⁴

Postumus’ sister Vipsania Iulia Agrippina (Iulia the Younger) – M. Agrippa’s second child by Iulia the Elder – married L. Aemilius Paulus, son of the
censor
.
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It seemed she would lead the model life Augustus hoped for his younger family members, but she too was accused of infidelities – with D. Iunius Silanus – and in 8 CE was exiled to Trimerus (Isole Tremiti), an island off Italy’s Adriatic coast. Augustus would not accept the love child and had insisted it be exposed to die.
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The notable success in M. Agrippa’s lineage by Iulia was his fourth child, Vipsania Agrippina (Agrippina the Elder,
plate 42
). She was raised in Augustus’ household after her father died. Access to her was strictly controlled during her childhood.
¹⁴⁷
In her late teenage years she was married to Germanicus.
¹⁴⁸
The couple had nine children, of which six survived. She enjoyed a normal relationship with her highly-regarded husband, and she showed her devotion years after his mysterious death in Syria in 19 CE.
¹⁴⁹
Rumours quickly spread that he had been poisoned and that Cn. Calpurnius Piso, the then governor – whose relationship with Germanicus was tempestuous at best – had been under orders from the emperor to murder him. After cremating the body in the forum of the city, Agrippina personally carried the casket containing her husband’s ashes to Rome.
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Landing in Brundisium she was met by huge crowds of well-wishers, and a military escort – in accordance with the status of a governor general’s wife – was provided by Tiberius which accompanied her on the road to Rome. She was regarded by the Roman people as ‘the glory of the country, the sole surviving offspring of Augustus, the solitary example of the old times’.
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In the years following her husband’s death she did all she could to advance the interests of her children. Tiberius professed to take care of them as the adoptive father of Germanicus.
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Her eldest son, Nero Iulius Caesar, initially proved a very popular young man in whom many saw his father reincarnated. A conscientious, but shy young man, he was later declared an enemy of the state and met his end miserably by suicide.
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His ambitious and wild brother, Drusus Iulius Caesar, fell under the malicious influence of Tiberius’
praefectus
of the Praetorian Cohort, L. Aelius Seianus, who manipulated the young man for his own purpose. He too died as an enemy of the state – from starvation, having been locked away without food in the palace.
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The boys’ mother saw her relationship with Tiberius deteriorate beyond recovery and she – like her son Nero – became the subject of a sustained intimidation campaign orchestrated by Seianus and his agents.
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After she withdrew from Rome she was arrested and exiled to Pandateria, where she cheated both the guards and Tiberius by starving herself to death on 18 October 33 CE.
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Her oldest daughter, Iulia Agrippina (Agrippina the Younger), who had been born on the Rhine when her father was on active service there, was beloved by the citizens of the provincial capital of Germania Inferior.
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They renamed their city in her honour
Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium
(modern Cologne) and referred to themselves as
Agrippinenses
. She was married to a senator of the respected
Domitii Ahenobarbi
and their son, born in 37 CE, was named L. Domitius Ahenobarbus.
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The other daughter Iulia Drusilla was suspected of incestuous relations with her young brother C. Iulius Caesar Germanicus, but was married off to C. Cassius Longinus, a friend of the
princeps
.
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Her youngest sister Iulia Livilla was betrothed to Quinctilius Varus (son of the infamous legate forever associated with the massacre of three legions at Teutoburg), but actually married M. Vinicius who became consul in 30.

Tiberius ruled for twenty-three years and finally died on 16 March 37 CE, aged 78.
¹⁶⁰
He was succeeded by M. Agrippa’s 24-year-old grandson C. Iulius Caesar Germanicus, better known by his nickname Caligula. His rule started well and he was initially immensely popular. However, after Germanicus’ death he lacked a father figure during his youth and he became a wayward and indulgent child. Tiberius liked the boy and invited him to his private villa on Capreae (Capri) where, rumour had it, life was depraved and unspeakable acts took place.
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If true, that unstructured environment may have profoundly and negatively affected the impressionable young man. While Caligula lauded his mother, father and sisters, he actively played down any relationship he had with M. Agrippa. Suetonius writes:

His relations with his sister Iulia Drusilla became notorious.
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He was distraught when she died, perhaps of a fever which was endemic in Rome at the time, on 10 June 38 CE. Her older sisters were implicated in a plot to assassinate Caligula and, following a trial, were banished.

After Caligula was assassinated in 41 CE, his uncle, Ti. Claudius Nero, became
princeps
in 41 CE. Towards the end of his life he took, as his fourth wife, the ambitious but popular Agrippina the Younger.
¹⁶⁴
She brought with her a son by her former husband L. Domitius Ahenobarbus. Claudius adopted him as his own and changed his name to Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus.
¹⁶⁵
Claudius died, possibly from poison administered by his wife in 54 CE, and was succeeded by the young man who now took the name Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, but is better known as the Emperor Nero.
¹⁶⁶
He is suspected of plotting to kill his mother who died under strange circumstances in March 59.
¹⁶⁷
Nero’s reign was a mixed success, though historians have largely portrayed it, perhaps undeservedly, as entirely negative. Deeply unpopular and declared an enemy of the State, he died at his own hand on 9 June 68 by stabbing himself in the throat.
¹⁶⁸
After the last drops of Nero’s life blood spurted from his fatal gash the dynasty of the
Agrippae
,
Claudii
and
Iulii
came to an end.

In one of History’s cruel ironies, the descendants of M. Agrippa fell well short of the fine example of devoted public service set by their tirelessly hardworking forebear. In a damning summary of the line of M. Agrippa, Pliny wrote,