Marcus Lollius (son of consul)

Marcus Lollius, perhaps with the cognomen Paulinus,[1] was a Roman Senator who was active in the second half of 1st century BC and first half of 1st century.

Due to a passage in Tacitus,[2] a number of scholars have argued that Lollius was a suffect consul, possibly even in AD 13. However, Ronald Syme pointed out that Lollius could never have been consul due to the disgrace of his father in 2 BC, which resulted in a prolonged antipathy towards him by Tiberius. "When requesting the Senate to honor Sulpicius Quirinius with a public funeral," Syme writes, "and recounting his merits and his loyalty, the Princeps was put in mind of the Rhodian years and could not suppress harsh words about Lollius."[3] Syme proposes an emendation that would make the passage refer to the elder Lollius, not this one. Providing a definite solution is the findings of Diana Gorostidi Pi, who completed the list of consuls for this year and showed there is no room for Lollius here.[4]

Family Background

Lollius was a member of the plebeian gens Lollia.[5] He was the son of the Roman senator and Military Officer Marcus Lollius[6] and his wife Aurelia.[7] Ronald Syme identifies Aurelia as "a sister of the postulated and unattested Aurelius Cotta who adopted the younger son of Messalla Corvinus".[7] Lollius was the namesake of his father and paternal grandfather. Publius Lollius Maximus may have been his brother, or at least a close relation.[8]

Career

Little is known on the life of Lollius. The Horrea Lolliana was either built by his father or Lollius himself.[9] It is known from the inscriptions refer to them and also, from their plan in the Severan Marble Plan of Rome.[9] It seems his family had long trade connections and his family’s name is found among the Italian merchants on the Greek island of Delos in the Hellenistic period.[9]

Wife and issue

Lollius married a Roman noblewoman called Volusia Saturnina, a daughter to the consul Lucius Volusius Saturninus and his wife Nonia Polla.[10] Her paternal grandmother was Claudia, aunt of the emperor Tiberius.

Through Volusia, Lollius was the father of two daughters:[6]

References
  1. Marcus Lollius no. 5 article at ancient library Archived 2012-10-22 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Annales, XII.1
  3. Syme, The Augustan Aristocracy (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986), p. 177
  4. Pi, "Sui consoli dell’anno 13 d.C.: Nuovi dati dai fasti consulares Tusculani", Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, 189 (2014), pg 265–275
  5. Lollia Gens article at ancient library Archived 2013-10-18 at the Wayback Machine
  6. Marcus Lollius’ article at Livius.org
  7. Syme, Augustan Aristocracy, p. 178
  8. Harrison, Homage to Horace: A Bimillenary Celebration, p. 290
  9. Rickman, Roman Granaries and Store Buildings, p. 164
  10. Syme, Augustan Aristocracy, p. 56

Sources
  • Horace - Edited by O.A.W Dilke, Horace: Epistles Book I, Taylor & Francis
  • G. Highet, The Classical Tradition: Greek and Roman Influences on Western Literature, Oxford University Press, 1949
  • G. Rickman, Roman Granaries and Store Buildings, CUP Archive, 1971
  • S.J. Harrison, Homage to Horace: A Bimillenary Celebration, Oxford University Press, 1995
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