Pollio

Pollĭo (Pōlĭo, v. Lachm. Lucr. p. 33), ōnis, m., a Roman surname. So esp.,

• I Asinius Pollio, v. Asinius.—
• II Trebellius Pollio, v. Trebellius.—
• III The name of a bad actor, Plaut. Bacch. 2, 2, 37 (215). —
• IV v. Polio.

1. Pōllio (Pōlio), ōnis, m., ein röm. Familienname. Am bekanntesten sind Asinius Pollio, s. Asiniusno. a. – Trebellius Pollio, einer der sechs späteren Geschichtschreiber, Verf. der Kaisergeschichte von Hadrian bis auf Karinus, Vopisc. Aurel. 2, 1. Vgl. W. Teuffel Gesch. der röm. Liter.⁶ § 392, 7. – ➳ Lachmann Lucr. p. 33 hält die Schreibweise Polio für die richtigere; vgl. Georges Lexik. der lat. Wortf. S. 537.

2 Pōllĭō, (10) ōnis, m. , surnom romain ; not^t Asinius Pollion, ami dʼAuguste : Virg. B. 4 ; Hor. O. 2, 1, 14 || Trebellius Pollion, un des écrivains de lʼhistoire Auguste : Vop. Aur. 2, 1.

Pollio , Gaius Asinius

A celebrated Roman poet, orator, and historian. He was born B.C. 75, and made his first public appearance by bringing an impeachment in B.C. 54. In the Civil Wars he fought on Caesar's side at Pharsalus and in Africa and Spain. After the murder of Caesar he at first inclined to the republicans, but in B.C. 43 joined Antony, and on the breaking up of the Triumvirate obtained Gallia Transpadana for his province. In the redistribution of lands there he saved the poet Vergil's paternal estate for him. After negotiating the Peace of Brundisium between Antony and Octavianus, B.C. 41, he became consul in 40, conquered the Parthini in Dalmatia in 39, and celebrated a triumph. He then retired from political life, and devoted himself to the advancement of learning. He served the cause of literature not only by his own writings, but by setting up the first public library at Rome, and by introducing the custom of reading new works aloud to a circle of experts before publication. (See recitatio.) He was himself a stern critic of others, as we see by his strictures on Cicero, Sallust, and Livy , though it was remarked that he was not always so severe upon himself. He was especially celebrated as an orator; yet his speeches, in spite of careful preparation, were devoid of elegance, and, as Quintilian remarks, might be supposed to have been written a century earlier than Cicero's. He wrote tragedies also, in which the same stiffness and dryness are complained of. He likewise composed a history of the Civil Wars in seventeen books, from the First Triumvirate to the battle of Philippi, which seems not to have been published in a complete form till after his death. Not one of his works has survived. The history of Caesar's African campaign, Bellum Africanum, has sometimes been attributed to him, but on insufficient grounds. He died in his eightieth year (A.D. 4). Three letters of his to Cicero are found among the Ciceronian collection, Ad Familiares (x. 31-33). Fragments of his history of the Civil Wars can be seen in St. Peter's Historicorum Fragmenta, 262. See Aulard, De Asini Pollionis Vita et Scriptis (Paris, 1877); and Schmalz, Sprachgebr. des Asinius Pollio (Munich, 1890).

Pollio , Vedius

A Roman knight and a friend of Augustus. He was by birth a freedman, and has obtained a place in history on account of his riches and his cruelty. He was accustomed to feed his lampreys with human flesh, and whenever a slave displeased him, the unfortunate wretch was forthwith thrown into the pond as food for the fish. On one occasion Augustus was supping with him, when a slave had the misfortune to break a crystal goblet, and his master immediately ordered him to be thrown to the fishes. The slave fell at the feet of Augustus, praying for mercy; and when the emperor could not prevail upon Pollio to pardon him, he dismissed the slave as an act of imperial power, and commanded all Pollio's crystal goblets to be broken and the fish-pond to be filled up. Pollio died B.C. 15, leaving a large part of his property to Augustus. It was this Pollio, who built the celebrated villa of Pausilypum (q.v.) near Naples.