Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/96

78 prison (A. D. 44. Acts, xii.) It was not however merely by such acts that he strove to win their favour, as we see from the way in which, at the risk of his own life, or at least of his liberty, he interceded with Caligula on behalf of the Jews, when that emperor was attempting to set up his statue in the temple at Jerusalem. The manner of his death, which took place at Caesarea in the same year, as he was exhibiting games in honour of the emperor, is related in Acts xii., and is confirmed in all essential points by Josephus, who repeats Agrippa's words, in which he acknowledged the justice of the punishment thus inflicted on him. After lingering five days, he expired, in the fifty-fourth year of his age.

By his wife Cypros he had a son named Agrippa, and three daughtters Berenice, who first married her uncle Herodes, king of Chalcis, afterwards lived with her brother Agrippa, and subsequently married Polamo, king of Cilicia; she is alluded to by Juvenal (Sat. 6.156); Mariamne, and Drusilla, who married Felix, the procurator of Judaea. (J. AJ 17.1.2, 18.5-8, 19.4-8; Bell. Jud. 1.28.1, 2.9. 11; D. C. 9.8 ; Euseb. Hist. Eccles. 2.10.)

AGRIPPA, HERO'DES II., the son of Agrippa I., was educated at the court of the emperor Claudius, and at the time of his father's death was only seventeen years old. Claudius therefore kept him at Rome, and sent Cuspius Fadus as procurator of the kingdom, which thus again became a Roman province. On the death of Herodes, king of Chalcis (A. D. 48), his little principality, with the right of superintending the temple and appointing the high priest, was given to Agrippa, who four years afterwards received in its stead the tetrarchies formerly held by Philip and Lysanias, with the title of king. In A. D. 55, Nero added the cities of Tiberias and Taricheae in Galilea, and Julias, with fourteen villages near it, in Peraea. Agrippa expended large sums in beautifying Jerusalem and other cities, especially Berytus. His partiality for the latter rendered hint unpopular amongst his own subjects, and the capricious manner in which he appointed and deposed the high priests, with some other acts which were distasteful, made him an object of dislike to the Jews. Before the outbreak of the war with the Romans, Agrippa attempted in vain to dissuade the people from rebelling. When the war was begun, he sided with the Romans, and was wounded at the siege of Gamala. After the capture of Jerusalem, he went with his sister Berenice to Rome, where he was invested with the dignity of practor. He died in the seventieth year of his age, in the third year of the reign of Trajan. He was the last prince of the house of the Herods. It was before this Agrippa that the apostle Paul made his defence. A. D. 60. Acts. xxv. xxvi.) He lived on terms of intimacy with the historian Josephus, who has preserved two of the letters he received from him. (J. AJ 17.5.4, 19.9.2, 20.1.3, 5.2, 7.1, 8.4, 11, 9.4 ; Bell. Jud. 2.11.6, 12.1, 16, 17.1, 4.1.3; Vit. s. 54; Phot. cod. 33.)

AGRIPPA, MARCIUS, a man of the lowest origin, was appointed by Macrinus in B. C. 217, first to the government of Pannonia and afterwards to that of Dacia. (Dion. Cass. 78.13.) He seems to be the same person as the Marcius Agrippa, admiral of the fleet, who is mentioned by Spartianus as privy to the death of Antoninus Caracallus. (Anton. Car. 6.)

AGRIPPA MENE'NIUS. [MENENIUS.]

AGRIPPA PO'STUMUS, a posthumous son of M. Vipsanius Agrippa, by Julia, the daughter of Augustus, was born in B. C. 12. He was adopted by Augustus together with Tiberius in A. D. 4, and he asstumed the toga virilis in the following year, A. D. 5. (Suet. (Octav. 64, 65; D. C. 54.29, 55.22.) Notwithstanding his adoption he was afterwards banished by Augustus to the island of Planasia, on the coast of Corsica, a disgrace which he incurred on account of his savage and intractable character; but he was not guilty of any crime. There he was under the surveillance of soldiers, and Augustus obtained a senatusconsultum by which the banishment was legally confirmed for the time of his life. The property of Agrippa was assigned by Augustus to the treasury of the army. It is said that during his captivity he received the visit of Augustus, who secretly went to Planasia, accompanied by Fabius Maximus. Augustus and Agrippa, both deeply affected, shed tears when they met, and it was believed that Agrippa would be restored to liberty. But the news of this visit reached Livia, the mother of Tiberius, and Agrippa remained a captive. After the accession of Tiberius, in A. D. 14, Agrippa was murdered by a centurion, who entered his prison and killed him after a long struggle, for Agrippa was a man of great bodily strength. When the centurion afterwards went to Tiberius to give him an account of the execution, the emperor denied having given any order for it, and it is very probable that Livia was the secret author of the crime. There was a rumour that Augustus had left an order for the execution of Agrippa, but this is positively contradicted by Tacitus. (Tac. Ann. 1.3-6; D. C. 55.32, 57.3; Suet. l. c, Tib. 22; Vell. 2.104, 112.) After the death of Agrippa, a slave of the name of Clemens, who was not informed of the murder, landed on Planasia with the intention of restoring Agrippa to liberty and carrying him off to the army in Germany. When he heard of what had taken place, he tried to profit by his great resemblance to the murdered captive, and he gave himself out as Agrippa. He landed at Ostia, and found many who believed him, or affected to believe him, but he was seized and put to death order of Tiberius. (Tac. Ann. 2.39, 40.)

The name of Agrippa Caesar is found on a medal of Corinth.

AGRIPPA, VIBULE'NUS, a Roman knight, who took poison in the senate house at the time of his trial, A. D. 36; he had brought the poison with him in a ring. (Tac. Ann. 6.40; Dion. Cass. 58.21.)

AGRIPPA, M. VIPSA'NIUS, was born in B. C. 63. He was the son of Lucius, and was de scended from a very obscure family. At the age of twenty he studied at Apollonia in Illyria, together with young Octavius, afterwards Octavianus and Augustus. After the murder of J. Caesar in B. C. 44, Agrippa was one of those intimate friends of Octavius, who advised him to proceed immediately to Rome. Octavius took Agrippa with him, and charged him to receive the oath of fidelity from several legions which had declared in his favour. Having been chosen consul in B. C. 43, Octavius gave to his friend Agrippa the delicate commission