Lucius Domitius Apollinaris

Lucius Domitius Apollinaris was a Roman senator of the late first century. He best known for his literary activities, as an acquaintance of Pliny the Younger and a patron of the poet Martial. He was appointed suffect consul for AD 97 with Sextus Hermetidius Campanus as his colleague.

Martial dedicated three of the books of his epigrams to Apollinaris, the fourth, seventh, and eleventh.[1]

Life

The family origins of Apollinaris lie in Vercellae in Northwestern Italy. Thanks to the ingenuous identification of Apollinaris with the subject of a headless inscription found in Asia Minor by Werner Eck, we know most of the earliest steps of his cursus honorum.[2] Apollinaris first recorded republican magistracy was quaestor, which was followed by plebeian tribune, and praetor. Then he was appointed one of the nine curatores viarum or curator of the public roads in Italy. This was followed by two terms of service as legatus or military commander, first of the Legio XVI Flavia Firma, then of Legio VI Ferrata which was stationed in Syria. Eck suspects his command of Legio VI was during the governorship of Publius Valerius Patruinus (AD 87-91), for Patruinus was the father of Apollinaris' wife, Valeria Vetilla. After concluding his command of Legio VI Ferrata, Apollinaris returned to Rome to serve as prefect of the aerarium militare for three years.

At this point we know of his career from other sources. It has been long known that Apollinaris was governor of Lycia et Pamphylia from 93 to 96.[3] An inscription recovered from Xanthos by A. Ballard records his name and the other members of his family, who are assumed to have been living in Lycia with him.[4] After his return from Lycia, Apollinaris returned to Rome. It is at this time that we have one of our earliest glimpses of him. In a letter to Quadratus (Epistulae, IX.13), Pliny recalls his prosecution after the assassination of Domitian of the delator or informer Publicius Certus. One of the five senators who had spoken against this prosecution was Apollinaris; Pliny's description of him as "consul designate" firmly places it in this period. Despite Apollinaris' speech, Pliny was able to convince the senate to approve the prosecution. Although the emperor Nerva failed to act on the motion to prosecute, Certus was passed over in consideration for a consulship, and in any event fell ill and died soon afterwards.

Our next glimpse of Apollinaris is from one of Martial's poems (10.12) addressed him after stepping down as consul.[5]

Apparently the disagreement over Publicius Certus was not sharp enough to poison the friendship between Apollinaris and Pliny, for around the time of his consulate Pliny wrote to him in support of Sextius Erucius candidacy for plebeian tribune.[6] Unfortunately, this is the last time we can assign a date to any mention of his activities.

Pliny addressed one more letter to Apollinaris. Apparently Pliny wrote to him about taking a vacation on his estate in Tuscany, and Apollinaris replied to this news with alarm for Pliny's health. The existing letter is a reply to explain his estate is located in a desirable region of Etruscia, and includes an extensive description of Pliny's villa at Tifernum (the modern Citta di Castello).[7] In this letter, Pliny makes a pointed allusion to the location of his three rural estates, since we know through one of Martial's poems Apollinaris owned villas in several more fashionable locations that include Tusculum, Algidus, Praeneste, and Antium.[8]

Family

Apollinaris' family is better documented than most of his contemporaries. We know the name of his wife, Valeria Vetilla, a native of Tivoli, the daughter of Valerius Patruinus suffect consul in the year 82. Together they had at least three children:

References

  1. ↑ Martial IV.86, VII.26, XI.15
  2. ↑ Eck, "Epigraphische Untersuchungen zu Konsuln und Senatoren des 1.-3. Jh. N. Chr.", Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, 37 (1980), p. 56 n. 86
  3. ↑ Eck, "Jahres- und Provinzialfasten der senatorischen Statthalter von 69/70 bis 138/139", Chiron, 12 (1982), pp. 321-325
  4. ↑ AE 1981, 826
  5. ↑ So Rouurd P. Nanta dates this poem. (Poetry for Patrons: Literary Communication in the Age of Domitian (Brill, 2002), pp. 160f)
  6. ↑ Pliny, Epistulae, II.9
  7. ↑ Pliny, Epistulae, V.6
  8. ↑ Martial X.30
  9. ↑ Ronald Syme, "People in Pliny", Journal of Roman Studies, 58 (1968), p. 147
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