Suetonius, Biography of the Caesars: Claudius 28
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/419
Context
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, or simply Suetonius (69-122 C.E.), was a
historian of the early Roman Empire. Possibly originating in Numidia (modern Algeria),
he was an accomplished intellectual in the Imperial capital who developed a close
relationship with Pliny the Younger, on whose provincial staff he may have served in
Bithynia and Pontus in 110-112 C.E., and who rose to serve in high administrative
offices under Trajan and Hadrian. His Biography of the Caesars
(de vita Caesarum), which has become over the centuries one of the
most popular and influential historical works of ancient Rome, vividly portrayed the
private and public lives of the first 12 leaders of the Roman Empire, starting with
Julius Caesar and continuing through Augustus to Domitian. In this passage from the
account of Claudius, Suetonius discusses how the emperor showered benefits on his
freedmen, including Antonius Felix, the procurator of Judaea in 52-60 C.E. It is
uncertain whether Felix was a freedman of Claudius or of Claudius’s mother Antonia
Minor, the daughter of Mark Antony and Octavia Minor and niece to Augustus.
Text
Libertorum praecipue suspexit Posiden spadonem, quem etiam Britannico
triumpho inter militares viros hasta pura donavit, nec minus Felicem, quem cohortibus et
alis provinciaeque Iudaeae praeposuit, trium reginarum maritum, et Harpocran, cui
lectica per urbem vehendi spectaculaque publice edendi ius tribuit …1
Textual Note
Ed. Kaster 2016Translation
Among (Claudius’s) freedmen he held in high regard the eunuch
Posides, whom he even presented with the Spear without Iron at his British triumph,
along with men who had served as soldiers. He was no less fond of Felix, whom he placed
in command of the cohorts and cavalry units, as well as the province of Judaea, and who
married three queens. And there was Harpocras, to whom he granted the privilege of
riding through the city on a litter and producing public entertainments …2
Translation Note
Adapted from Rolfe 1997Discussion Note
We know two of Felix’s royal wives: Drusilla the daughter of Juba II of Mauretania, and Drusilla the daughter of Herod Agrippa I of Judaea, former wife of Azizus of Emesa.Works Cited
- 1 Suetonius, C. Suetoni Tranquilli De Vita Caesarum Libros VIII ; et De Grammaticis et Rhetoribus Librum, ed. Robert A. Kaster, Scriptorum Classicorum Bibliotheca Oxoniensis (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2016), bk: 28.
- 2 Suetonius, Suetonius, ed. Donna W. Hurley, trans. J. C. Rolfe, rev. ed., vol. 2, 2 vols., Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1997), vol: 2, p: 56-57.
How to Cite This Entry
et al., “Suetonius, Biography of the Caesars: Claudius 28,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/419.
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et al., “Suetonius, Biography of the Caesars: Claudius 28.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published June 30, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/419.About this Entry
Entry Title: Suetonius, Biography of the Caesars: Claudius 28
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- Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
- Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
- David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editors, “Suetonius, Biography of the Caesars: Claudius 28”
- and Joseph L. Rife, entry contributors, “Suetonius, Biography of the Caesars: Claudius 28”
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