Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/509

Rh BLAESU& scriptitma, BETii.rrs, a king of the Arvomi in (.laiil. When the proconsul Cn. Domitiiis Ahcnol)arbu3 undertook the war in B. c. 121 ngaiflst tlie Allobroges, who were joined by the Arverni under nituitus, these Gallic tribes were defeated near the town of Vindalium. After tliis first disaster the Allobroges and Arverni made im- mense prepai-ations to renew the contest with the Romans, and IJituitus again took the field with a verj- numerous army. At the point where the Isara empties itself into the Rhodanus, the consul Q. Pibiu3 ]Iaximus, the grandson of Paullus, met the Gauls in the autumn of B. c. 121. Although the Romans were far inferior in numbers, j'et they g-ained such a complete victorj', that, according to the lowest estimate, 120,000 men of the army of Bituitus fell in the battle. After this irreparable loss, Bituitus, who had been taken prisoner in an insidious manner by Cn. Domitius, was sent to Rome. The senate, though disapproving of the conduct of Domitius, exiled Bituitus to Alba. His eon, Congentiatus, was likewise made prisoner and sent to Rome. Florus adds, that the triumph of Q. Fabius was adorned by Bituitus riding in a silver war-chariot and with his magnificent armour, just as he had appeared on the field of battle. (Liv. EpU. 61 ; Florus, iii. 2; Veil. Pat. ii. 10; Suet. Nero^ 2 ; Appian, Gallic. 12, where Bituitus is erroneously called king of the Allobroges ; Eu- trop. iv. 22, where the year and the consuls are given incorrectly ; Oros. v. 14; Val. Max. ix. 6. § ?t comp. Strab. iv. p. 191 ; Plin. H. N. vii. 61.) [L. S.] BITYS (BiTws), an Egyptian seer, who is said by lamblichus ((/e Myst. viii. 5) to have interpreted to Ammon, king of Egypt, tlie books of Hermes written in hieroglyphics. BLAESUS (BAcutroy), an ancient Italian poet, bora at Capreae, who wrote serio-comic plays {(TKov^oyiKoioi) in Greek. (Steph. Byz. s. v. Kairpii].) Two of these plays, the MeaorpiSas and ^Tovpuos, are quoted by Athenaeus (iii. p. lll,c., xi. p. 487, c), and Hesychius refers to Blaesus (s. vv. Mokkuvwctis^ MoXy^, ^vKutSs), but without mentioning the names of his plays, Ca- saubon supposed that Blaesus lived under the Ro- man empire ; but he must have lived as earl}- as the 3rd century b. c, as Valckenar (ad TJieocr. p. 290, a.) has shewn, that Athenaeus took his quotations of Blaesus from the YKuxraai of Pamphilus of Alex- andria, who was a disciple of Aristarchus; and also that Pamphilus borrowed a part of his work explaining the words in Blaesus and similar poets from the TKuxraai ^IraKiKai of Diodorus, who was a pupil of Aristophanes of Alexandria. (Comp. Sch weigh, ad Aiken, iii. p. Ill, c.) BLAESUS, "a stammerer," was the name of a plebeian family of the Sempronia gens under the republic. It also occurs as a cognomen of the Junii and of one Pedius under the empire. 1. C. Skmpronius Ti. F. Ti. n. Blaesus, con- sul in b. c 253 in the first Punic war, sailed with his colleague, Cn. Servilius Caepio, with a fleet of 2G0 ships to the coast of Africa, which they laid waste in frequent descents, and from which they obtained great boot}-. They did not, however, accomplish anything of note; and in the lesser Syrtis, through the ignorance of the pilots, their ships ran aground, and only got oflf, upon the re- turn of the tide, by throwing everything over- board. This disaster induced them to return to BLAESUS. 491 Sicily, and in their voyage from thence to Italy they were overtaken olV cjipe Palinurus by a tre- mendous storm, in which 150 ships perished. Notwithstanding tliese misfortunes, each of them obtained a triumph for their successes in Africa, as we learn from the Fasti. (Polyb. i. 39 ; Eutrop. ii. 23; Oros. iv. 9; Zonar. ^-iii. 14.) Blaesus was consul a second time, in 244 (Fasti Capit.), in which year a colony was founded at Brundusiura. (Veil. Pat. i. 14.) 2. Sempronius Blaesus, quaestor in b. c. 217 to the consul Cn. Servilius Geminus, was killed, together with a thousand men, in a descent upon the coast of Africa in this year. (Liv. xxii. 31.) 3. C. Sempronius Blaesus, tribune of the plebs in B. c. 211, brought Cn. Fulvius to trial on account of his losing his army in Apulia. (Liv. xxvi. 2 ; comp. Val. Max. ii. 8. § 3.) 4. Cn. Sempronius Blaesus, legate in b. c. 210 to the dictator Q. Fulvius Flaccus, by whom he was sent into Etruria to command the army which had been under the praetor C. Calpuraius. (Liv. xxvii. 5.) It is not improbable that this Cn. Blaesus may be the same as No. 3, as Qi. is very likely a false reading for C, since we find none of the Sempronii at this period with the for- mer praenomen, while the latter is the most com- mon one. 5. P. Sempronius Blaesus, tribune of the plebs in B. c. 191, opposed the triumph of P. Cornelius Scipio Nasica, but withdrew his opposition through the remonstrances of the consuL (Liv. xxxvi. 39, 40.) 6. C. Sempronius Blaesus, plebeian aedile in B.C. 187, and praetor in Sicily in 184. In 170, he was sent with Sex. Julms Caesar as ambassador to Abdera, (Liv. xxxix. 7, 32, 38, xliii. 6.) BLAESUS, a Roman jurist, not earlier than Trebatius Testa, the friend of Cicero : for Blaesus is cited by Labeo in the Digest (33. tit. 2. s. 31) as reporting the opinion of Trebatius. Various conjectures have been made without much plausi- bility for the purpose of identifying the jurist with other persons of the same name. Junius Blaesus, proconsul of Africa in A. D. 22, was probably some- what later than the jurist. (Majansius, vol. ii. p. 162 ; G. Grotii, Fita Idoricm, c. 9. § 18.) [J.T.G.] BLAESUS, JU'NIUTS. 1. The governor of Pannonia at the death of Augustus, a. d. 14, when the formidable ir,surrection of the legions broke out in that province, which was with difliculty quelled by Drusus himself. The conduct of Blae- sus in allowing the soldiers relaxation from their ordinarj' duties was the immediate cause of the in- surrection, but the real causes lay deeper. Through the influence of Sejanus, who was his uncle, Blae- sus obtained the government of Africa in 21, where he gained a victory over Tacfarinas in 22, in con- sequence of which Tiberius granted him the insig- nia of a triumph, and allowed him the title of Imperator — the last instance of this honour being conferred upon a private person. We learn from Velleius Paterculus, who sjiys that it was difficult to decide whether Blaesus was more useful in the camp or distinguished in the forum, that he also commanded in Spain. (Dion Cass. 1 vii. 4 ; Tac. Ann. i. 16, &c., iii. 35, 58, 72-74; Veil Pat. ii. 125.) It appears from the Fasti, from which we learn that his praenomen was Quintus, that Blae- sus was consul suffectus in 28 ; but he shared i» the fall of Sejanus in 31, and was deprived, as was