Marcus Claudius Marcellus (julio-claudian Dynasty)

Marcus Claudius Marcellus ( 42 - 23 BC ) was the son of Octavia Thurina Minor , sister of Caesar Augustus , and Gaius Claudius Marcellus Minor , a former consul. He was descended through his father from Marcus Claudius Marcellus , a famous general in the Second Punic War .

Since Augustus had no sons, Octavia's eldest son was one of his closest relatives. Already at the age of three he was engaged to a daugther of Sextus Pompeius with whom Octavian needed to make peace, but the engagement was forgotten when Sextus Pompeius was defeated. As he grew older, Marcellus was seen often in public with Augustus, including at his triumphs over Mark Antony and Cleopatra and a campaign against the Cantabri . In 25 BC , Marcellus married Augustus' only daughter, Julia The Elder . This cemented his status as Augustus' intended heir, although Augustus' political powers were not formally hereditary and the title of Roman Emperor did not exist yet. He was, we are told, a young man of noble qualities, cheerful in mind and disposition, and equal to the station for which he was being reared, ( Velleius II.XCIII)

Augustus began to encourage Marcellus' political career, and in spite of his youth he was elected Aedile in 23 BC . However, Marcellus became ill that year, and soon died in Baiae . His marriage with Julia had been childless, and she was soon married to Augustus' close friend, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa .

The Theater Of Marcellus , Rome, was a project that he funded, though he did not live to see it completed.

The novel, '' I, Claudius '', ascribes the death of Marcellus and many other members of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty to Livia , on the basis of hearsay repeated by Dio Cassius (53.33.4). Tacitus and other historians suggest that other potential heirs such as Tiberius and Agrippa felt threatened by Marcellus.

Information About

Marcus Claudius Marcellus (julio-claudian Dynasty)