Amatius

Amatius (sometimes called Amatius Pseudomarius) was a per­son of low origin who pretended to be either the son or grandson of the great Roman general Gaius Marius.[1] On the death of Julius Caesar in 44 BC, Amatius came forward as a popular leader, and erected an altar to Caesar on the spot where his body had been burnt. He was, however, shortly afterwards seized by the consul Mark Antony and put to death without a trial. This illegal act was approved of by the Roman Senate in consequence of the advantages they derived from it. Valerius Maximus says that his name was Herophilus.[2][3][4][5][6][7]

References

  1. ^ Smith, William (1867). "Amatius". In William Smith. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. 1. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. pp. 137. http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0146.html. 
  2. ^ Valerius Maximus, ix. 15. § 2
  3. ^ Appian, Civil Wars iii. 2, 3
  4. ^ Livy, Epit. 116
  5. ^ Cicero, Letters to Atticus xii. 49, xiv. 6—8
  6. ^ Cicero, Philippicae i. 2
  7. ^ Nicolaus of Damascus, Life of Augustus c. 14. p. 258, ed. Coraes

This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology by William Smith (1870).