Petreius
- name of a Roman gens. —So, esp, a lieutenant of Pompey in the civil war, Caes. B. C. 1, 38; 63; cf. Cic. Att. 8, 2, 3. He is probably the same person with M. Petrejus, lieutenant of the consul C. Antonius, who defeated the followers of Catiline at Faesulae, A. U. C. 692; Cic. Sest. 5, 12; Sall. C. 59, 5 sq.—Hence,
- A Petrēius, a, um, adj., Petreian; here prob. belongs: petreia vocabatur, quae pompam praecedens in coloniis aut municipiis imitabatur anum ebriam, ab agri vitio, scilicet petris, appellata, Paul. ex Fest. p. 243, 5 Müll.; cf. Fest. p. 242, 14 ib.—
- B Petrēiānus, a, um, adj., of or belonging to Petreius, Petreian: auxilium, Auct. B. Afr. 19.
Marcus. A person of great military experience, first mentioned in B.C. 62, when he served as legatus to the proconsul C. Antonius, and commanded the army in the battle in which Catiline perished. He belonged to the aristocratic party; and in 55 he was sent into Spain along with L. Afranius as legatus of Pompey, to whom the provinces of the two Spains had been granted. Soon after the commencement of the Civil War in 49, Caesar defeated Afranius and Petreius in Spain, whereupon the latter joined Pompey in Greece. After the loss of the battle of Pharsalia (48), Petreius crossed over to Africa, and took an active part in the campaign in 46, which was brought to an end by the decisive defeat of the Pompeian army at the battle of Thapsus. Petreius then fled with Iuba, and, despairing of safety, they fell by each other's hands (Caes. B. C. i. 38, 63).