Free Marcus Agrippa: Right-hand Man of Caesar Augustus by Lindsay Powell

Maximus (36.24), the decorative artworks displayed in the Saepta Iulia (16.201, 36.29), the spectacular Diribitorium (36.102), the decorations of the Thermae Agrippae (34.62, 36.189) and the Pantheon (36.38), his alleged banishment to the East (7.149), a critique of his Orbis Terrarum (3.16–17), the fact he wrote a memoir (7.148), his gout and attempts to cure himself of it (23.58) and his tortured response to rumours of Iulia’s infidelities (7.6).
    Plutarch (Loukas Mestrios Plutarchos, L. Mestrius Plutarchus), c. 46– 120 CE – The Greek speaking biographer, essayist and historian wrote a number of works, most famously Οἱ Βίοι Παράλληλοι ( Parallel Lives ), which compared the lives of famous Greek and Roman soldiers and statesmen. Plutarch did not write a book about Agrippa per se , but he mentions him in stories concerning M. Antonius, Brutus, Cassius, Cicero, Pompeius Magnus and Sex. Pompeius. He reports that Agrippa was put in charge of leading the high-profile prosecution against the ring leader, C. Cassius Longinus (Plutarch, Brutus 27), his letters urging Caesar to return to Rome ( Antonius 73.3) and his marriage to Claudia Marcella ( Antonios 87.2).
    Seneca the Younger (L. Annaeus Seneca), c. 4 BCE–65 CE – The playwright, Stoic philosopher, statesman, tutor and later advisor to the Emperor Nero recorded the amusing story of a defence lawyer making fun of Agrippa’s missing middle name ( Controversiae 2.4.12–13), describes him in almost spiritual terms as a ‘great-souled man’ and also relates that Agrippa’s favourite saying was ‘Harmony makes small things grow; lack of harmony makes great things decay’ ( Epistulae 94.46, based on Sallust, Bellum Iugurthinum 10.6).
    Servius (Maurus Servius Honoratus), late fourth century CE – Considered in his time as the most learned man in Italy, Servius was a grammarian and scholar who wrote commentaries on the poetic works of Vergil. In the sixteenth century Pierre Daniel published the work with additional material drawn from other antiquarian sources – now lost – as In Vergilii Carmina Commentarii . This commentary on the Aeneid contains a passage that Agrippa was appointed tribune ( Ad. Aen . 8.682) and invented the collapsible tower for naval vessels prior to the Battle of Mylae. In his other work ( Ad Georg . 2.162) he mentions that Agrippa wrote a memoir.
    Strabo (Strabonos), 63/64 BCE–c. 24 CE – The historian, geographer and philosopher Strabo is best known for his Γεωγραφικά ( Geography ), a seventeen-volume descriptive survey of the world known to the Romans. Begun some time around 20 BCE, Strabo gives us valuable snippets about the relocation of the Ubii nation across the Rhine ( Geog . 4.3.4), Agrippa’s road network radiating from Lugdunum (4.6.11), the Orbis Terrarum (2.5.17) and his purchase of artworks in Asia, including the Fallen Lion of Lysippos, to decorate his public buildings. (13.1.18–19).
    Suetonius (C. Suetonius Tranquillus), c. 69/75-after 130 CE – Suetonius wrote the De Vita Caesarum ( Lives of the Caesars ), in which he collected biographical facts, rumours and tidbits about Iulius Caesar and the eleven men who followed him. He records the visit of Agrippa and Augustus to the astrologer in Apollonia ( Divus Augustus 94.11), his great-grandson’s contempt for his humble birth ( Caligula 23.1), his naming of Portus Iulius in honour of Caesar ( Divus Augustus 16.1), his marriage to Claudia Marcella ( Divus Augustus 63.1), the aedes Agrippae ( Divus Augustus 97.1), the tantrum Agrippa allegedly threw over Marcellus ( Divus Augustus 66.3), the birth of Iulia the Younger ( Divus Augustus 64), that Agrippina the Elder was his daughter ( Caligula 7) and Caligula’s strongly negative reaction to being called a relative of Agrippa ( Caligula 23).
    Tacitus (P. or C. Cornelius Tacitus), 56–117 CE – Tacitus was a senator who wrote several books during the reign of the Emperor Trajan. He followed in