Publius Ventidius Bassus

[Artimi]

http://www.dream-worlds.net/forum/topic554_post16960.html

 

After reading an article about Venditius at Classical Wisdom,  I went looking for more information and found this topic on a site.   Interesting.

 

there are soooo many places in the web, but I still prefer books,  paper I can touch.

[Aurelia]

I'm curious, did you randomly read about Ventidius or did you specifically look for info about his life? I had never heard of him before...

 

You can spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week looking up stuff on the net but I also prefer (paper) books in my hands.

[Pompieus]

A fascinating figure. Born in Asculum in Picenum in 91 or 90 BC, during the Bellum Italicum or Social War-possibly during the siege of Asculum by Pompieus Strabo (Pompey the Great's father). Nothing is known about Ventidius' father but he was possibly a prominent man in the region, and the child was carried by his mother in Pompey Strabo's triumph in 89.

His family was broken and impoverished by the defeat of the Italian Allies, but Ventidius worked his way back, serving as a common soldier then as an army contractor. He served with Caesar in Gaul, and though he is not mentioned in Caesar's writings, he impressed the dictator enough to be made tribune of the plebs in 45BC.

When Caesar was assassinated he went with Antonius and was made praetor in 43BC, played a prominent part in the War of Mutina and was made consul suffectus.

In 39 Antonius sent him East against the Parthians (who had taken advantage of the Roman civil war to occupy Syria and Asia Minor) and the renegade Labienus (also a Picentine). In 39 he defeated and killed Labienus and in 38 the Parthian prince Pacorus, and drove them across the Euphrates.

Ventidius celebrated the first triumph ever over the Parthians in November 38BC. He was a well known commander in antiquity and is mentioned by Frontinus, Josephus, Cassius Dio, Plutarch et al, though some derided him as a mule driver become consul. His career is indicative of the rise of Italians (as opposed to Latins), humbled in the Social War to high positions in the state under Caesar and Augustus.

Edited July 24, 2014 by Pompieus

[Viggen]

...interesting, only book on amazon (i could find) dedicated to him was in German

 

Macht und Treue (German Edition)

Publius Ventidius - a career between Republic and Monarchy

[Artimi]

I subscribe to the Classical Wisdom newsletter.   They have several articles per issue.  There was a part 1 of a article about this person and he sounded so interesting.  Then I started searching for him on the net.  Looking forward to the next part next week.  

[Pompieus]

Yes, books and journals are best but they are disappearing fast.

 

There are some articles on Ventidius (the cognomen "Bassus" is apparenty late and uncertain) in scholarly journals (with references) if you can't wait for the next issue (and if you can find them)  viz:

 

  Classical Journal Vol 47 No 7 (1952) by J E Seaver "Neglected Roman Military Hero"

  Acta Classica 36 (1993) by G J Wylie "P Ventidius from Novus Homo to Military Hero"

 

It's tempting to compare Ventidius' career with that of his fellow Picentine Labienus.  Labienus was a protégé of Pompey the Great and was already a senator (ex praetor) when he went to Gaul with Caesar as a legate, while Ventidius was handling the mule trains.  Is it possible that they represented pro and anti Pompiean factions in Picenum (where the Pompeys were great landowners) and that Labienus' family supported the winning side in the Social War and made it big, while Ventidius' family was among the rebels and lost everything?  Then the Civil War turned the wheel of fortune again such that Labienus died fighting against his country, his son a renegade in Parthia;  and Ventidius, an ex-consul and triumphator, was given a state funeral.

Edited July 26, 2014 by Pompieus

[Aurelia]

I have definitely heard of Labienus. Probably, as Pompieus pointed out, his name survived because he was close to Pompey whereas Ventidius remained (sort of) anonymous.