Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/890

Rh 872 CRASSUS. mentioned by Cicero in b.c. 43 {Pldlipp. v. 6. xiii. 2) as one of the friends of Antony. His ori- ginal name would therefore have been Pasicleu, and he would have taken the name of his patron as a matter of course upon manumission. It may be, however, that the Crassitius mentioned by Ci- cero is the same as the grammarian. CRASSUS, M. AQUI'LIUS, was praetor in B.C. 43, and was sent by the senate into Picenum to levy troops, in order to resist Octavianus, when he marched upon the city in this year, in order to demand the consulship. Crassus was seized in a slave's dress, and brought to Octavianus, who did not punish him at the time, but afterwards in- cluded his name in the proscription. ( Appian, B. C. iii. .93, 94.) It is thought by some commentators that we ought to read Acilius instead oi AquUius. If this conjecture be correct, the Crassus men- tioned above would be the same as the Acilius, who was included in the proscription, and whose escape is related by Appian. (B. C. iv. 39.) CRASSUS, CALPU'RNIUS, descended from the ancient family of the (Licinii ?) Crassi, con- spired against Nerva ; but when his designs were detected, he received no punishment from the em- peror, but was merely removed to Tarentum with his wife. Crassus was subsequently put to death, on account of his forming a conspiracy against the life of Trajan. (Aur. Vict. EpU. 12 ; Dion Cass. Ixviii. 3, 16. CRASSUS, L. CANI'DIUS, was with Lepidus in Gaul, in B. c. 43, when Antony was compelled to seek refuge there, and was the main instru- ment in bringing about the union between the armies of Lepidus and Antony. Three years later, B. c. 40, he was consul suffectus with L. Cornelius Balbus, and afterwards he was one of the legates of Antony, whom he accompanied in his campaign against the Parthians. In b. c. 38, CRASSUS. when Antony returned from that expedition, Ca- nidius Crassus remained in Armenia, and conti- nued the war against those nations with consider- able success, for he defeated the Armenians, and also the kings of the Iberians and Albanians, and penetrated as far as the Caucasus. In the cam- paign which Antony made against the Parthians in B. c. 36, Crassus was as unfortunate as the other Roman generals, all of whom suffered great losses, and were compelled to retreat. In B. c. 32, when Antony resolved upon the war with Octavian, Crassus was commissioned to lead the army, which was stationed in Armenia, to the coast of the Me- diterranean. On the outbreak of the war many of Antony's friends advised him to remove Cleopatra from the army, but Crassus who was bribed by the queen, opposed this plan, and she accordingly ac- companied her lover to the fatal war. Shortly afterwards, however, Crassus also advised Antony to send her back to Egypt, and to fight the decisive battle on the land and not on the sea. This time his advice was disregarded. During the battle of Ac- tiura, Crassus who had the command of Antony's land forces, could only act the part of a spectator. After the unfortunate issue of the seafight, Crassus and his army still held out for seven days in the hope that Antony would return ; but in the end Crassus in despair took to flight, and followed his master to Alexandria, where he informed him of the issue of the contest and of the fate of his army. After the fall of Antony Crassus was put to death by the command of Octavianus. He died as a coward, although in times of prosperity he had been in the habit of boasting, that death had no terrors for him. (Cic. ad Fam. x. 21 ; Dion Cass, xlviii. 32, xlix. 24 ; Plut. Ant. 34, 42, 56, 63, 65, 68, 71, Comparat. Dem. c. Ant. 1 ; Veil. Pat. ii. 85, 87 ; Oros. vi. 19.) [L. S.] CRASSUS, CLAU'DIUS. [Claudius, p.767.] CRASSUS, LICI'NIUS. Stemma Crassorum. (A.) C. Licinius Varus. 1. P. Licinius Crassus, Cos. B. c. 171. I 2. C. Licinius Crassus, Cos. b. c. 168. 3. C. Licinius Crassus, Tr. PI. b. c. 145. (.>) 4. C. Licinius [Crassus] ? 5. Licinia, vestal, b. c. 123. (B.) 6. P. Licinius Crassus Dives, Cos. b. c. 205. ... I 7. P. Licinius Crassus Dives. I 8, P. Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus, adopted son of No. 7, Cos. b. c. 131. ...I 9. M. Licinius Crassus Agelastus. 10. Licinia, (.') married Claudius Asellus. 11. Licinia, married 12. Licinia, married C. Sulpicius Galba. C. Sempronius Gracchus. 13. M. Licinius Crassus, Pr.B.c. 107. 14. P. Lie. Crassus Dives, (a) Cos. B. c. 97 ; married Venuleia, 1