# Pontius Aquila > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Pontius_Aquila > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Pontius_Aquila.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontius_Aquila > Source revision: 1299174969 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|Assassin of Julius Caesar}} '''Pontius Aquila''' (possibly '''Lucius Pontius'''; died 21 April 43 BC) was a Roman politician, military commander, and one of the assassins of [Julius Caesar](/source/Julius_Caesar). In 45 BC, as [tribune of the plebs](/source/tribune_of_the_plebs), he annoyed Caesar by refusing to stand during his [triumphal](/source/Roman_triumph) procession, and, in the following year, joined [the conspiracy to kill the dictator](/source/Assassination_of_Julius_Caesar). Aquila died fighting at the [Second Battle of Mutina](/source/Battle_of_Mutina) against [Mark Antony](/source/Mark_Antony) in April 43 BC, before the formation of the [Second Triumvirate](/source/Second_Triumvirate) later that year. ==Life== [Pontius](/source/Pontia_gens) Aquila probably belonged to an undistinguished family from [Sutrium](/source/Sutrium) in southern [Etruria](/source/Etruria).{{harvnb|Cadoux|Badian|p=1183}}. {{harvnb|Taylor|p=247}}, and {{harvnb|Wiseman|p=253}}, identified him with the pontiff Lucius Pontius Aquila attested on an inscription ({{CIL|11|3254}}) in that town. {{harvnb|Münzer|loc=col. 35}}, was less certain, but agreed that this probably establishes Sutrium as Aquila's home town. He seems to have been a committed republican and opponent of [Julius Caesar](/source/Julius_Caesar) from the start, and probably supported Caesar's enemy [Pompey](/source/Pompey) in [the civil war](/source/Caesar's_Civil_War) which began in 49 BC.{{sfnm|1a1=Drumann|1a2=Groebe|1p=638|2a1=Münzer|2loc=col. 35}} In 45 BC, during Caesar's dictatorship, he was [tribune of the plebs](/source/tribune_of_the_plebs), and at Caesar's [triumph](/source/Roman_triumph) in October, Aquila did not, unlike the other tribunes, stand up in honor as the procession passed by. This irritated Caesar so much, he cried out, "come then, Aquila, take back the republic from me, tribune",{{langx|la|repete ergo a me Aquila rem publicam tribunus|link=no}}. and for several days he would not make a public promise to anyone without vindictively adding, "that is, if Pontius Aquila will allow me".{{langx|la|si tamen per Pontium Aquilam licuerit|link=no}}. [Suetonius](/source/Suetonius), ''[Life](/source/The_Twelve_Caesars) of Julius Caesar'', [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html#78 78.2].{{sfn|Münzer|loc=col. 35}} This taunt probably resulted in a feud between the two, as Pontius became one of Caesar's assassins. After the [Ides of March](/source/Ides_of_March), he became a deputy (''[legatus](/source/legatus)'') of the governor of [Cisalpine Gaul](/source/Cisalpine_Gaul), [Decimus Brutus](/source/Decimus_Junius_Brutus_Albinus), another of the assassins. When the rebel [Mark Antony](/source/Mark_Antony) marched against Decimus in 43 BC and besieged him at [Mutina](/source/Mutina), Aquila did not remain holed up with Decimus in the city, but instead went out on the field, recruited troops and gathered equipment from his own pocket, and conducted operations independently. In late January, he took the town of [Claternae](/source/Claternae) jointly with the consul [Aulus Hirtius](/source/Aulus_Hirtius), and then proceeded to [Pollentia](/source/Pollentia), where he defeated Antony's subordinate, [Titus Munatius Plancus Bursa](/source/Titus_Munatius_Plancus_Bursa), in battle. Aquila joined Hirtius again outside Mutina to break Antony's siege of Decimus at Mutina.{{sfn|Münzer|loc=col. 35}} In [the ensuing battle](/source/Battle_of_Mutina), the republicans were victorious, but both Hirtius and Aquila were killed. At the request of [Cicero](/source/Cicero), the [Senate](/source/Roman_Senate) honored Aquila with a statue and reimbursed his heirs with the costs he had personally incurred during the war. Münzer commented that, of Caesar's known assassins, Aquila met the most honorable end.{{sfn|Münzer|loc=col. 36}} It has been suggested that Aquila be identified with the Pontius whose property near [Neapolis](/source/Naples) was, according to [Cicero](/source/Cicero), confiscated by Caesar, which would have given Aquila an additional motive to conspire against the dictator aside from political convictions.{{sfn|Epstein|p=569}} Münzer was sceptical, however, since Cicero generally referred to Aquila by his surname.{{sfn|Münzer|loc=col. 35}} Zvi Yavetz has also suggested that Caesar's triumph over fellow Romans in a civil war might also been a factor in Aquila's refusal to salute the Roman leader.{{sfn|Yavetz|p=194}} Evans noted that "[Pontius](/source/Pontia_gens)" is a name of [Samnite](/source/Samnites) origin, and conjectured that Caesar's rule might have reminded Aquila of [Sulla](/source/Sulla)'s reign, in which Samnites had been ruthlessly treated.{{sfn|Evans|p=}}{{page needed|date=March 2022}} Aquila may have been an ancestor of [Pontius Pilate](/source/Pontius_Pilate), a 1st-century prefect of [Judaea](/source/Judaea_(Roman_province)) who is known for putting [Jesus](/source/Jesus) of Nazareth to death.{{Cite book|last=Demandt|first=Alexander|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ynEO_Mt8YbkC&q=Demandt+Pilatus|title=Pontius Pilatus|date=2012|publisher=C.H.Beck|isbn=978-3-406-63362-1|pages=46–47|language=de}} ==Footnotes== {{reflist|15em}} == References == {{Refbegin|30em|indent=y}} * {{cite book |last=Cadoux |year=2012 |first=Theodore John |author2=Ernst Badian |section=Pontius Aquila |title=[The Oxford Classical Dictionary](/source/Oxford_Classical_Dictionary) |edition=Fourth |editor=[Simon Hornblower](/source/Simon_Hornblower) |editor2=Antony Spawforth |editor3=[Esther Eidinow](/source/Esther_Eidinow) |publisher=Oxford University Press |orig-year=1949 |isbn=978-0-19954556-8 |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.5234 |name-list-style=amp |author2-link=Ernst Badian |ref={{sfnref|Cadoux|Badian}} }} * {{cite book |last=Drumann |year=1906 |first=Wilhelm |title=Geschichte Roms in seinem Uebergange von der republikanischen zur monarchischen Verfassung, oder: Pompeius, Caesar, Cicero und ihre Zeitgenossen |language=de |edition=2nd |volume=3 |editor=Paul Groebe |publisher=Gebrüder Borntraeger |place=Leipzig |title-link=iarchive:geschichteromsi00groegoog/page/n654/mode/2up |authorlink=Wilhelm Drumann |ref={{sfnref|Drumann|Groebe}} }} * {{cite journal |last=Epstein |year=1987 |first=David F. |title=Caesar's Personal Enemies on the Ides of March |journal=Latomus |volume=46 |issue=3 |pages=566–570 |issn=0023-8856 |jstor=41540686 |ref={{sfnref|Epstein}} }} * {{cite book |last=Evans |year=2003 |first=Richard J. |section=Caesar and the Tribunes of the Plebs |pages= |title=Questioning Reputations: Essays on Nine Roman Republican Politicians |publisher=University of South Africa |place=Pretoria |isbn=1-86888-198-9 |section-url=https://www.academia.edu/33868437/Caesar_and_the_Tribunes_of_the_Plebs |url={{googlebooks|9JbPzQueQW8C|plainurl=y}} |ref={{sfnref|Evans}} }} * {{wikicite |reference=[Münzer, Friedrich](/source/Friedrich_M%C3%BCnzer), "[Pontius 17](/source/s%3Ade%3ARE%3APontius_17)", ''[Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft](/source/Realencyclop%C3%A4die_der_classischen_Altertumswissenschaft)'' (''RE'', ''PW''), volume 22.1, columns 34–36 (Stuttgart, 1953).|ref={{sfnref|Münzer}} }} * {{cite book |last=Taylor |year=2013 |first=Lily Ross |title=The Voting Districts of the Roman Republic: The Thirty-five Urban and Rural Tribes |edition= |editor=Jerzy Linderski |publisher=University of Michigan Press |place=Ann Arbor |orig-date=1960 |isbn=978-0-472-11869-4 |url={{googlebooks|L1zuLQEACAAJ|plainurl=y}} |editor-link=Jerzy Linderski |author-link=Lily Ross Taylor |ref={{sfnref|Taylor}} }} * {{cite book |last=Wiseman |year=1971 |first=T.P. |section=335. L. Pontius Aquila |title=New Men In the Roman Senate 139 B.C.–A.D. 14 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn= |url={{googlebooks|0ysLAQAAIAAJ|plainurl=y}} |ref={{sfnref|Wiseman}} }} * {{cite book |last=Yavetz |year=1983 |first=Zvi |title=Julius Caesar and his Public Image |publisher=Thames and Hudson |place=London |isbn=0-500-40043-1 |url={{googlebooks|k8EiAQAAIAAJ|plainurl=y}} |authorlink=Zvi Yavetz |ref={{sfnref|Yavetz}} }} {{Refend}} Category:1st-century BC births Category:Year of birth unknown Category:43 BC deaths Category:1st-century BC Romans Category:Ancient Roman generals Category:Ancient Romans killed in action Category:Assassins of Julius Caesar Aquila Category:Roman legates Category:Tribunes of the plebs --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Pontius Aquila](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontius_Aquila) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontius_Aquila?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.