Herodes Atticus
Encyclopedia
101
Year 101 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Traianus and Paetus...
-177
177
Year 177 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Commodus and Plautius...
) was a very distinguished, rich Greek aristocrat
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
who served as a Roman Senator
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
and a Sophist
Sophism
Sophism in the modern definition is a specious argument used for deceiving someone. In ancient Greece, sophists were a category of teachers who specialized in using the tools of philosophy and rhetoric for the purpose of teaching aretê — excellence, or virtue — predominantly to young statesmen and...
. He is notable as a proponent in the Second Sophistic
Second Sophistic
The Second Sophistic is a literary-historical term referring to the Greek writers who flourished from the reign of Nero until c. 230 AD and who were catalogued and celebrated by Philostratus in his Lives of the Sophists...
by Philostratus
Philostratus
Philostratus or Lucius Flavius Philostratus , , called "the Athenian", was a Greek sophist of the Roman imperial period. His father was a minor sophist of the same name. He was born probably around 172, and is said by the Suda to have been living in the reign of emperor Philip the Arab . His death...
.
Ancestry and Family
Herodes Atticus was a Greek of AthenianAthens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
descent. His ancestry can be traceable to the Athenian noble woman Elpinice
Elpinice
Elpinice was a noble woman of classical Athens.She was the daughter of Miltiades, tyrant of the Greek colonies on the Thracian Chersonese, and half sister of Cimon, an important Athenian political figure...
(a half sister of statesman Cimon and daughter of politician Miltiades the Younger
Miltiades the Younger
Miltiades the Younger or Miltiades IV was the son of one Cimon, a renowned Olympic chariot-racer. Miltiades considered himself a member of the Aeacidae, and is known mostly for his role in the Battle of Marathon; as well as his rather tragic downfall afterwards. His son Cimon was a major Athenian...
). He claimed his lineage from the Athenian King Theseus
Theseus
For other uses, see Theseus Theseus was the mythical founder-king of Athens, son of Aethra, and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, both of whom Aethra had slept with in one night. Theseus was a founder-hero, like Perseus, Cadmus, or Heracles, all of whom battled and overcame foes that were...
; the Athenian Monarch named Cecrops
Cecrops
This name may refer to two legendary kings of Athens:* Cecrops I* Cecrops IIIt more often refers to Cecrops I, who was the better known....
; King Aeacus
Aeacus
Aeacus was a mythological king of the island of Aegina in the Saronic Gulf.He was son of Zeus and Aegina, a daughter of the river-god Asopus. He was born on the island of Oenone or Oenopia, to which Aegina had been carried by Zeus to secure her from the anger of her parents, and whence this...
and the God Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
. He had an ancestor four generations removed from him called Polycharmus. Polycharmus from 9/8 BC-22/23, could have served as an Archon of Athens
Archon of Athens
This is a list of the eponymous archons of Athens.-Background:The archon was the chief magistrate in many Greek cities, but in Athens there was a council of archons which comprised a form of executive government...
. His family bore the Roman family name, Claudius. There is a possibility that a paternal ancestor of his, received Roman citizenship
Roman citizenship
Citizenship in ancient Rome was a privileged political and legal status afforded to certain free-born individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance....
, from an unknown member of the Claudian gens.
Herodes Atticus was born to a distinguished and very rich family of consular rank. He was born to a Roman Senator, Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes
Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes (suffect consul 132)
Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes was a distinguished Greek aristocrat of the Roman Empire.- Origin and life :Claudius Atticus was a Greek of Athenian descent. As he bears the Roman family name, Claudius, there is a possibility that a paternal ancestor of his, received Roman citizenship, from an...
and the wealthy heiress Vibullia Alcia Agrippina
Vibullia Alcia Agrippina
Vibullia Alcia Agrippina was a Greek Aristocrat and Heiress that lived in the Roman Empire.Vibullia was a Greek of Athenian descent and was a member of a very wealthy family who were prominent in Athens . She was the daughter of the Athenian Aristocrats, Claudia Alcia and Lucius Vibullius Rufus...
. Herodes Atticus had a brother named Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodianus and a sister named Claudia Tisamenis
Claudia Tisamenis
Claudia Tisamenis was a Greek Aristocratic woman that lived in the 2nd century in the Roman Empire-Ancestry and Family:Tisamenis was of Athenian descent. Her ancestry can be traceable to the Athenian noble woman Elpinice . She had an ancestor four generations removed from her called Polycharmus...
. His maternal grandparents were Claudia Alcia and Lucius Vibullius Rufus
Lucius Vibullius Rufus
Lucius Vibullius Rufus sometimes known as Vibullius Rufus was a Greek Aristocratic that lived in the second half of the 1st century and the first half of the 2nd century in the Roman Empire....
, while his paternal grandfather was Hipparchus and his unnamed wife.
His parents were related as uncle and niece. His maternal grandmother with his father were sister and brother His maternal uncle Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus
Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus
Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus was a Greek Aristocrat that lived in the second half of the 1st century and the first half of the 2nd century in the Roman Empire....
was an Archon of Athens in the years 99-100 and his maternal cousin, Publius Aelius Vibullius Rufus
Publius Aelius Vibullius Rufus
Publius Aelius Vibullius Rufus was a Greek Aristocrat that lived in the 2nd century in the Roman Empire.Aelius Rufus was a Greek of Athenian descent and was a member of a very wealthy family who were prominent in Athens. He was the son of Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus who served as an Archon of...
was an Archon of Athens between 143-144.
Life
Herodes Atticus was born in Marathon, GreeceMarathon, Greece
Marathon is a town in Greece, the site of the battle of Marathon in 490 BC, in which the heavily outnumbered Athenian army defeated the Persians. The tumulus or burial mound for the 192 Athenian dead that was erected near the battlefield remains a feature of the coastal plain...
. In his childhood years, he spent between Greece and Italy. According to Juvenal
Juvenal
The Satires are a collection of satirical poems by the Latin author Juvenal written in the late 1st and early 2nd centuries AD.Juvenal is credited with sixteen known poems divided among five books; all are in the Roman genre of satire, which, at its most basic in the time of the author, comprised a...
Satire III, he received an education in rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
and philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. Herodes Atticus was educated by many of the best teachers from the Greek culture and Roman culture. Throughout his life, Herodes Atticus remained entirely Greek in his cultural outlook.
Roman Emperor Hadrian
Hadrian
Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...
in 125 appointed him as Prefect
Prefect
Prefect is a magisterial title of varying definition....
of the free cities in the Roman province of Asia. He then later returned to Athens, where he became famous as a teacher. In the year 140, Herodes Atticus was elected and served as an Archon of Athens. Later in 140, the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius , also known as Antoninus, was Roman Emperor from 138 to 161. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty and the Aurelii. He did not possess the sobriquet "Pius" until after his accession to the throne...
, invited him to Rome from Athens to educate his two adopted sons, who were future Roman Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus
Lucius Verus
Lucius Verus , was Roman co-emperor with Marcus Aurelius, from 161 until his death.-Early life and career:Lucius Verus was the first born son to Avidia Plautia and Lucius Aelius Verus Caesar, the first adopted son and heir of Roman Emperor Hadrian . He was born and raised in Rome...
. Sometime after Herodes Atticus came to Rome from Athens, he was betrothed to an aristocratic wealthy woman called Aspasia Annia Regilla
Aspasia Annia Regilla
Aspasia Annia Regilla, full name Appia Annia Regilla Atilia Caucidia Tertulla , was a wealthy, aristocratic and influential Roman woman, who was a distant relative of several Roman Emperors and Roman Empresses. She was the wife of the prominent Greek Herodes Atticus .-Genealogy:Regilla was born...
, who was a relative to the wife of Antoninus Pius, Roman Empress Faustina the Elder
Faustina the Elder
Annia Galeria Faustina, more familiarly referred to as Faustina I , was a Roman Empress and wife of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius.-Early life:...
. When Regilla and Herodes Atticus married, Regilla was 14 years old and Herodes Atticus was 40 years old. As Herodes Atticus was in favor with the Emperor, as a mark of his friendship with the Emperor, Antoninus Pius appointed him as a consul in 143.
Herodes Atticus and Regilla controlled a large area of land around the Third Mile of the Appian Way
Appian Way
The Appian Way was one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, Apulia, in southeast Italy...
outside of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, which was known as the "Triopio" (from Triopas
Triopas
In Greek mythology, Triopas, Triophas or Triops was the name of several characters, whose relations are unclear. He belonged to the house of Phoroneus....
, King of Thessaly
Thessaly
Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....
). For his remaining years he travelled between Greece and Italy.
Sometime after his consulship, he returned to Greece with his wife and their children.
Herodes Atticus was the teacher of three notable students who were Achilles, Memnon and Polydeuces (Polydeukes). "The aged Herodes Atticus in a public paroxysm of despair at the death of his eromenos, Polydeukes, commissioned games, inscriptions and sculptures
on a lavish scale and then died, inconsolable, shortly afterwards."
Herodes Atticus had a distinguished reputation for his literary work. Most of his works are now lost.
Herodes Atticus was a philanthropist and a patron of public works. He funded a number of building projects which were:
- A StadiumPanathinaiko StadiumThe Panathinaiko or Panathenaic Stadium , also known as the Kallimarmaro , is an athletic stadium in Athens that hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896...
- Athens - OdeonOdeon of Herodes AtticusThe Odeon of Herodes Atticus is a stone theatre structure located on the south slope of the Acropolis of Athens. It was built in 161 AD by Herodes Atticus in memory of his wife, Aspasia Annia Regilla...
- Athens - A theater at CorinthCorinthCorinth is a city and former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corinth, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...
- A stadium at DelphiDelphiDelphi is both an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece on the south-western spur of Mount Parnassus in the valley of Phocis.In Greek mythology, Delphi was the site of the Delphic oracle, the most important oracle in the classical Greek world, and a major site for the worship of the god...
- The baths at ThermopylaeThermopylaeThermopylae is a location in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. It derives its name from its hot sulphur springs. "Hot gates" is also "the place of hot springs and cavernous entrances to Hades"....
- An aqueduct at Canusium in ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
- An aqueduct at Alexandria TroasAlexandria TroasAlexandria Troas is an ancient Greek city situated on the Aegean Sea near the northern tip of Turkey's western coast, a little south of Tenedos . It is located in the modern Turkish province of Çanakkale...
- A nymphaeumNymphaeumA nymphaeum or nymphaion , in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs....
(a monumental fountain) with his wife at OlympiaOlympia, GreeceOlympia , a sanctuary of ancient Greece in Elis, is known for having been the site of the Olympic Games in classical times, comparable in importance to the Pythian Games held in Delphi. Both games were held every Olympiad , the Olympic Games dating back possibly further than 776 BC... - various benefactions to the peoples of ThessalyThessalyThessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....
, EpirusEpirusThe name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...
EuboeaEuboeaEuboea is the second largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. The narrow Euripus Strait separates it from Boeotia in mainland Greece. In general outline it is a long and narrow, seahorse-shaped island; it is about long, and varies in breadth from to...
, BoeotiaBoeotiaBoeotia, also spelled Beotia and Bœotia , is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. It was also a region of ancient Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, the second largest city being Thebes.-Geography:...
and Peloponnesus
Throughout his life, Herodes Atticus had a stormy relationship with the citizens of Athens, and before he died, made a reconciliation with them. When he died, the citizens of Athens gave Herodes Atticus an honorary burial. His funeral had taken place in the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, in which he commissioned to build.
Children
Regilla bore Herodes Atticus six children, whom three survived to adulthood. Their children were:- Son, Claudius – born and died in 141
- Daughter, ElpiniceElpinice (daughter of Herodes Atticus)Appia Annia Claudia Atilia Regilla Elpinice Agrippina Atria Polla otherwise most commonly known as Elpinice was a Roman noblewoman of Greek Athenian and Italian Roman descent who lived in the Roman Empire.-Ancestry and Family:...
– born as Appia Annia Claudia Atilia Regilla Elpinice Agrippina Atria Polla, 142-165 - Daughter, AthenaisAthenais (daughter of Herodes Atticus)Marcia Annia Claudia Alcia Athenais Gavidia Latiaria , otherwise most commonly known as Athenais was a Roman noblewoman of Greek Athenian and Italian Roman descent who lived in the Roman Empire.-Ancestry and Family:...
– born as Marcia Annia Claudia Alcia Athenais Gavidia Latiaria, 143-161 - Son, Atticus BraduaAtticus BraduaTiberius Claudius Marcus Appius Atilius Bradua Regillus Atticus , otherwise known as Atticus Bradua was a Roman Politician of Greek Athenian and Italian Roman descent who lived in the Roman Empire.-Ancestry and Family:...
– born as Tiberius Claudius Marcus Appius Atilius Bradua Regillus Atticus, born 145 - Son, Regillus – born as Tiberius Claudius Herodes Lucius Vibullius Regillus, 150-155
- Unnamed child who died with Regilla or died even perhaps three months later in 160
After Regilla died in 160, Herodes Atticus never married again. When he died in 177, his son Atticus Bradua and his grandchildren survived him. Sometime after his wife’s death, he adopted his cousin’s first grandson Lucius Vibullius Claudius Herodes as his son.
Legacy
Herodes Atticus and Regilla from the 2nd century until present are considered great benefactors in Greece, in particular in Athens. The couple is commemorated in Herodou Attikou StreetHerodou Attikou Street
Herodou Attikou Street or Irodou Attikou Street is located east of downtown Athens and is adjacent to the National Garden of Athens...
and Rēgíllēs Street and Square, in downtown Athens. In Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, their names are also recorded on modern streets, in the Quarto Miglio suburb close to the area of the Triopio.