Agrippa Postumus

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Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa Postumus (12 BC-14), also known as Agrippa Postumus or Postumus Agrippa, was a son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder. His maternal grandparents were Roman Emperor Augustus and his second wife Scribonia.

In 12 BC, when his father died, Augustus adopted his two older brothers, Gaius Caesar and Lucius Caesar, as his sons and heirs. He ostensibly did not adopt Postumus as a sign of respect for his old friend Marcus (so that he would have one son left to carry on his family).

However, upon the death of Lucius and then Gaius Caesar, Augustus finally decided to adopt both Postumus and Tiberius as his heirs. Upon his adoption as the emperor's son and new designated heir, he became Postumus Julius Caesar Agrippa, while his stepfather became Tiberius Julius Caesar. The anxiety over who would follow in Augustus' footsteps naturally set up Postumus and Tiberius as enemies.

Although there is little clear contemporary account of him, virtually all Roman historians agree that he was considered a rude and brutish sort, with only Tacitus paying him any sympathy. (Though even that is slight: [He was] the young, physically tough, indeed brutish, Agrippa Postumus. Though devoid of every good quality, he had been involved in no scandal.) In any case, there has never been a clear consensus on why it happened, but sometime around 6 or 7, Augustus banished him to the small island of Planasia. Tacitus suggests that he was always disliked and shunned by Livia, as he stood in the way of her son Tiberius succeeding to the throne after Augustus.

In any case, Postumus's banishment did ensure Tiberius's priority as Augustus's heir. Tacitus (Ann. 1.3) reports a rumor that Augustus paid a highly covert visit to the island in 13 to apologize to his adopted son and give him notice of plans to return him to Rome. Augustus was accompanied by a trusted friend, Fabius Maximus, and swore him to secrecy about the matter; Maximus then told his wife, Marcia, who mentioned it to Livia. Maximus was soon found dead, and Marcia subsequently claimed she was responsible for his death. Dio's version (56.30) reports the island visit as fact, though the brief account is likely based on Tacitus' account^{[citation needed]} and does not mention Fabius and Marcia. It is dubious whether this tale has any veracity.

Regardless of Augustus' supposed visit, the emperor died the following year without having removed Postumus from Planasia, and very shortly after his death Postumus was executed by his guards. Inconsistent accounts of who ordered the death existed almost from the start, when Tiberius immediately and publicly disavowed the act upon being notified of it (Tacitus, Ann. 1.5). While some suggested that Augustus himself may have ordered it via secret instructions not to let Postumus survive him, it is more likely that either Tiberius or Livia (with or possibly without Tiberius's knowledge) gave the order,^{[citation needed]} taking advantage of the confusing initial political situation upon Augustus' death.

[edit] In Fiction

Robert Graves' work I, Claudius suggests that through Livia's influence, Augustus grew to dislike him, and Graves even creates a fictional incident in which Postumus is framed by Livia and her granddaughter Livilla for rape charges against the latter.

A statue of Agrippa Postumus can be seen at [1]