Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/232

214 of himself when accused of bribery by Duronius. (Cic. de Orat. ii. 68.) 6. A defence of Norbanus, who was accused of having caused the destruction of a Roman army by the Cimbri through carelessness. (Cic. de Orat. ii. 25, 39, 40, 48.)

(Orelli, Onomasticon Tullianum; Drumann, Geschichte Roms, vol. i, p. 58, &c.; Ellendt, Proleg. ad Cic. Brut.; Meyer, Orat. Rom. Fragm. p. 139, &c.; Westermann, Geschichte der Römischen Beredtsamkeit, §§ 46—48.)

 9. , son of the preceding and father of the Triumvir, was praetor in 75, and obtained in 74, through the influence of P. Cethegus and the consul Cotta, the command of the fleet and all the coasts of the Mediterranean, in order to clear the sea of pirates. But Antonius was avaricious and greedy, and misused his power to plunder the provinces, and especially Sicily. He did not succeed either in the object for which he had been appointed. An attack which he made upon Crete, although he was assisted by the Byzantines and the other allies, entirely failed; the greater part of his fleet was destroyed; and he probably saved himself only by an ignominious treaty. He shortly after died in Crete, and was called Creticus in derision. Sallust (Hist. lib. iii.) described him as "perdundae pecuniae genitus, et vacuus a curis nisi instantibus." He was married twice; first, to Numitoria, who had no children (Cic. Philipp. iii. 6), and afterwards to Julia. (Plut. Ant. i. 2; Cic. Div. in Caecil. 17, in Verr. ii. 3, iii. 91; Pseudo-Ascon. in Div. p. 122, in Verr. pp. 176, 206, ed. Orelli; Vell. Pat. ii. 31; Appian, Sic. 6 ; Lactant. Inst. i. 11. § 32; Tac. Ann. xii. 62.)

 10. , surnamed  (Plin. H. N. viii. 53. s. 79, according to Drumann, Gesch. Roms, i. p. 531, because he was a homo semiferus, the friend of Catiline and the plunderer of Macedonia), was the second son of Antonius, the orator [], and the uncle of the triumvir []. He accompanied Sulla in his war against Mithridates, and on Sulla's return to Rome, 83, was left behind in Greece with part of the cavalry and plundered the country. He was subsequently accused for his oppression of Greece by Julius Caesar (76). Six years afterwards (70), he was expelled the senate [sic] by the censors for plundering the allies and wasting his property, but was soon after readmitted. He celebrated his aedileship with extraordinary splendour. In his praetorship (65) and consulship (63) he had Cicero as his colleague. According to most accounts Antony was one of Catiline's conspirators, and his well-known extravagance and rapacity seem to render this probable. Cicero gained him over to his side by promising him the rich province of Macedonia, in which he would have a better opportunity of amassing wealth than in the other consular province of Gaul. Antony had to lead an army against Catiline, but unwilling to fight against his former friend, he gave the command on the day of battle to his legate, M. Petreius.

At the conclusion of the war Antony went into his province, which he plundered so shamefully, that his recall was proposed in the senate in the beginning of 61. Cicero defended him; and it was currently reported at Rome that Cicero had given up the province to Antony on the secret understanding, that the latter should give him part of the plunder. Antony said the same himself; and Cicero's conduct in defending him in the senate, and also when he was brought to trial subsequently, strengthened the suspicion. In 60, Antony was succeeded in the province by Octavius, the father of Augustus, and on his return to Rome was accused in 59 both of taking part in Catiline's conspiracy and of extortion in his province. He was defended by Cicero, but was notwithstanding condemned on both charges, and retired to the island of Cephallenia, which he rendered subject to him, as if it were his own; he even commenced building a city in it. (Strab. x. p. 455.) He was subsequently recalled, probably by Caesar, but at what time is uncertain. We know that he was in Rome at the beginning of 44 (Cic. Philipp. ii. 38), and he probably did not long survive Caesar. (For the ancient authorities, see Orelli's Onomasticon Tull. and Drumann's Geschichte Roms, i. p. 31.)

 11. . [.]

 12. , the son of M. Antonius Creticus [] and Julia, the sister of L. Julius Caesar, consul in 64, was born, in all probability, in  83. His father died while he was still young, and he was brought up in the house of Cornelius Lentulus, who married his mother Julia, and who was subsequently put to death by Cicero in 63 as one of Catiline's conspirators. Antony indulged in his very youth in every kind of dissipation, and became distinguished by his lavish expenditure and extravagance; and, as he does not appear to have received a large fortune from his father, his affairs soon became deeply involved. He was, however, released from his difficulties by his friend Curio, who was his companion in all his dissipation, and between whom and Antony there existed, if report be true, a most dishonourable connexion. The desire of revenging the execution of his step-father, Lentulus, led Antony to join Clodius in his opposition to Cicero and the aristocratical party. But their friendship was not of long continuance; and Antony, pressed by his creditors, repaired to Greece in 58, and from thence to Syria, where he served under the proconsul A. Gabinius as commander of the cavalry. He soon became distinguished as a brave and enterprizing officer. He took part in the campaigns against Aristobulus in Palestine (57, 56), and also in the restoration of Ptolemy Auletes to Egypt in 55. In the following year (54) he went to Caesar in Gaul, whose favour and influence he acquired, and was in consequence, on his return to Rome (53), elected quaestor for the following year. He was supported in his canvass for the quaestorship by Cicero, who became reconciled to him through the mediation of Caesar. As quaestor (52) he returned to Gaul, and served under Caesar for the next two years (52, 51).

Antony's energy and intrepidity pointed him out to Caesar as the most useful person to support his interests at Rome, where it was evident that the aristocratical party had made up their minds to crush Caesar, if it were possible. Antony accordingly left Gaul in 50 and came to Rome. Through the influence of Caesar, he was elected into the college of augurs, and was also chosen one of the tribunes of the plebs. He entered on his office on the 10th of December, and immediately commenced attacking the proceedings of Pompey and the aristocracy. On the 1st of January in the following year (49), the senate passed a decree depriving Caesar of his command. Antony and his colleague