Marcus Atius Balbus

Marcus Atius Balbus
Marcus Atius Balbus
Born	105 BC; Aricia, Italy, Roman Republic
Died	51 BC
Spouse(s)	Julia Minor
Children	Atia Balba "Prima" (possibly); Marcus Atius Balbus (possibly); Atia Balba "Secunda"; Atia Balba "Tertia"
Parents	(father); Pompeia (mother);

Marcus Atius Balbus (105 – 51 BC) was a 1st-century BC Roman who served as a praetor in 62 BC, he was a cousin of the general Pompey on his mother's side and a brother-in-law of the Dictator Julius Caesar through his marriage to Caesar's sister Julia Minor. Through Julia he became the maternal grandfather of Augustus the first Roman Emperor.

Early life[]

Balbus was born and raised in Aricia into a political family and was the son and heir of the elder Marcus Atius Balbus (148 – 87 BC). His mother was Pompeia, the sister to consul Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, father of Pompey Magnus, a member of the First Triumvirate with Julius Caesar and Marcus Licinius Crassus.

The family of the elder Balbus came from a Roman senatorial family of plebs status from Aricia (modern Ariccia, Italy). "Balbus" in Latin means stammer.

Career[]

During the consulship of Julius Caesar in 59 BC, Balbus was appointed along with Pompey to a board of commissioners under a Julian Law to divide estates in Campania among the commoners. Cicero stated that Pompey would say as a joke about Balbus, that he was not a person of any importance.

Personal life[]

He married Julia Minor, the younger of the two elder sisters of the dictator Julius Caesar. Julia bore him two or more daughters and possibly a son.^[1] One of the daughters married Gaius Octavius and became the mother of Octavia Minor (fourth wife of triumvir Mark Antony) and of the first Roman emperor Augustus. A younger daughter married Lucius Marcius Philippus and became the mother of Marcia.^[2]

Another Atia who was married to a Gaius Junius Silanus is attested.^[3]^[4] This Atia may have been another daughter of Balbus and Julia or a granddaughter. Ronald Syme also speculated that this Atia may have been a daughter of Balbus by another wife named Claudia.^[5]

Death[]

Balbus died in 51 BC.

References[]

^ Syme, Ronald (1970). Ten Studies in Tacitus. Clarendon P. p. 63. ISBN 9780198143581.
^ Lovano, Michael (2014). All Things Julius Caesar: An Encyclopedia of Caesar's World and Legacy. ABC-CLIO. p. 72. ISBN 9781440804212.
^ Kajava, Mika (1995). Roman Female Praenomina: Studies in the Nomenclature of Roman Women. ISBN 9789519690216.
^ Craven, Maxwell (8 December 2019). "The Imperial Families of Ancient Rome".
^ Syme, Ronald (1989). The Augustan Aristocracy. Oxford: Oxford Clarendon Press. p. 194. ISBN 978-0-19-814731-2. A third Atia can now be conjured up. (Limited Previes: "Atia, wife of Marcius Philippus (suff. 38 BC)" and "A daughter (Atia) would supply a wife for C. Silanus" of this page in Google Books)

Sources[]

Suetonius, The Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Augustus
https://web.archive.org/web/20060511155339/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0464.html

External links[]

Coinage of Balbus (or possibly his son)

[1] Syme, Ronald (1970). Ten Studies in Tacitus. Clarendon P. p. 63. ISBN 9780198143581.

[2] Lovano, Michael (2014). All Things Julius Caesar: An Encyclopedia of Caesar's World and Legacy. ABC-CLIO. p. 72. ISBN 9781440804212.

[3] Kajava, Mika (1995). Roman Female Praenomina: Studies in the Nomenclature of Roman Women. ISBN 9789519690216.

[4] Craven, Maxwell (8 December 2019). "The Imperial Families of Ancient Rome".

[RonaldSyme-5] Syme, Ronald (1989). The Augustan Aristocracy. Oxford: Oxford Clarendon Press. p. 194. ISBN 978-0-19-814731-2. A third Atia can now be conjured up. (Limited Previes: "Atia, wife of Marcius Philippus (suff. 38 BC)" and "A daughter (Atia) would supply a wife for C. Silanus" of this page in Google Books)

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