Aulus vitellius biography of michael

Titus Flavius Sabinus Vespasianus (later known as Titus Flavius Caesar Vespasianus Augustus), commonly known as Titus, was the tenth Roman Emperor, reigning from 79 to 81 CE, and the second ruler of the Flavian dynasty. Titus is often regarded as one of the most exemplary emperors due to his good nature, charisma, and charitable acts, despite his short lived reign. An excellent general, Titus is remembered for participating in his father’s campaign against the the rebellious Jews of Judaea, in which he successfully reconquered the province and celebrated a grand triumph. Titus is also remembered for his charitable disposition, as the eruption of Mount Vesuvius occurred during his reign as emperor, in which Titus orchestrated a mass relief effort to help those in need. The completion of various public works, including the famed Colosseum, is attributed to Titus. By far one of the most beloved Roman emperors, his death is considered a great tragedy as who knows what prosperity was held in store for Titus’ future reign.

Let us delve into the life and legacy of Titus.

Bust of Titus

Titus was born in December 39 CE, the eldest son of the then Roman general Titus Flavius Sabinus Vespasianus (“Vespasian”) and his wife Flavia Domitilla Major. The gens Flavia, especially the Flavii Sabini, rose to prominence during the early imperial period of Rome, as the old Roman aristocracy had gradually died out. Titus’ family did not experience any fortune until his father Vespasian participated in Emperor Claudius’ invasion of Britain where he distinguished himself in several crucial battles. With Vespasian’s rise in both the military and political scene in Rome he was able to provide a court education for Titus. Titus became close friends with Claudius’ son Britannicus, he was even present at the dinner where Britannicus was poisoned by Nero, the adopted son and heir of Claudius. It is said Titus drank from the

THE TWELVE CAESARS

ACTA ACCLA, April 2005

Emperor January - June 69 CE

Text by Hugh Kramer

Aulus Vitellius, who was to become the ninth Emperor of Rome, was born in September of 15 CE to Lucius Vitellius and his wife, Sextilia. His father was thrice consul and Vitellius became acquainted with the imperial circle at a very young age. As a boy, he spent considerable time at the Capraean villa where the aged Emperor Tiberius had surrounded himself with the juvenile male and female prostitutes he liked to call his "minnows" and this is where Vitellius received his first introduction to vice.

Successive emperors also appreciated his more notorious talents. Caligula admired his skill as a charioteer; Claudius, his skill at dice. Nero admired both of these but was even more indebted to his skill as a flatterer. Vitellius was the most ardent champion of his patron’s lyre-playing and the leader of the sycophants who begged for performances.

Imperial favor led to public office. Achieving the consulship in 48 CE, Vitellius later became the Curator of Public Works and also served as temporary Proconsul of North Africa. Additionally, he was appointed to at least two priesthoods. He was a member of the Arval Brethren, an archaic order of priests charged with maintaining the fertility of plowed fields, and the quindecemviri sacris faciundis, a fifteen member priestly college responsible for guarding the prophetic Sibylline books, but equally well known for its lavish feasts. It was perhaps at these feasts that Vitellius developed his reputation for gluttony.

Vitellius' chance for power came after Nero's death when, to everyone's surprise, the new Emperor, Ga

Crop your artwork:

Scan your QR code:

Gratefully built with ACNLPatternTool

Paolo Farinati was an Italian painter of the Mannerist style, active in mainly in his native Verona, but also in Mantua and Venice.

He may have ancestors among Florentine stock to which belonged the Ghibelline leader Farinata degli Uberti, celebrated in Dante's Divina Commedia. He was a contemporary of the prominent artist of Verona, Paolo Veronese. He was succeeded by other members of the Cagliari family, of whom most or all were outlived by Farinato. He was instructed, according to Giorgio Vasari, by his father and by the Veronese Niccolò Giolfino, and probably by Antonio Badile and Domenico del Riccio (Brusasorci).

Proceeding to Mantua, he formed his initial style partly on the influence of Giulio Romano. His first major work was an altarpiece for the Duomo of Mantua. The chapel of the Sacrament in that church was frescoed concurrently by Farinati, Paolo Veronese, Domenico Riccio, and Battista del Moro.

Vasari praised his thronged compositions and merit of draughtsmanship. His works are to be found not only in Venice and principally in Verona, but also in Padua and other towns belonging or adjacent to the Venetian territory. In 1584, he painted one of the trio of painters (Farinati, Felice Brusasorzi, and Anselmo Canera) depicting events from the life of Moses for the palace of Pellegrino Ridolfi in the Veronese contrada of San Pietro Incarnario. The canvas depicting Moses Defending the Daughters of Jethro was Farinati's contribution, now in the Museo degli Affreschi G.B. Cavalcaselle in Verona.

He was a prosperous and light-hearted man, and continually progressed in his art, passing from a comparatively dry manner into a larger and bolder one, with much attraction of drapery and of landscape. Late in life, his style resembled that of Paolo Veronese. The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes, painted in the church of San Giorgio in Braida, is accounted his masterpiece, executed at the advanced age of seventy-nine, an