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Gaius Julius Antiochus Epiphanes Philopappos orPhilopappus (Greek:Γάϊος Ἰούλιος Ἀντίοχος Ἐπιφανής Φιλόπαππος; 65 – 116), was a Prince of theKingdom of Commagene who lived in theRoman Empire during the 1st century and 2nd century. He was one of the most prominent Greeks in the Empire.
Philopappos was a man of aristocratic and well-connected origins. He was the first-born son of the Greek prince ofCommagene,Gaius Julius Archelaus Antiochus Epiphanes and anEgyptianGreek woman calledClaudia Capitolina. His younger sister and only sibling wasJulia Balbilla, the poet and personal friend toEmperorHadrian and the EmpressVibia Sabina.
Philopappos’ parents were distantly related. The paternal grandmother of Claudia Capitolina was the Princess Aka II of Commagene, who was a great granddaughter of KingAntiochus I Theos of Commagene, while his father was the first-born son of KingAntiochus IV of Commagene and QueenJulia Iotapa of Commagene. Antiochus IV and Iotapa were direct descendants of Antiochus I Theos. Antiochus IV and Iotapa were husband, wife and full blooded-siblings. He was ofArmenian, Greek andMedian descent. Through his paternal grandparents, he could trace lineage to theSyrian Kingdom, theSeleucid Empire and thePtolemaic Kingdom.[citation needed]
His maternal grandparents wereTiberius Claudius Balbilus and his wife, whose name is unknown. Balbilus was an astrologer and a learned scholar, who was laterPrefect of Egypt. Balbilus and his father, an Egyptian Greek grammarian and astrologer calledThrasyllus of Mendes or Tiberius Claudius Thrasyllus, were friends to some of the first Roman Emperors, includingTiberius,Claudius, andVespasian.[citation needed]
Philopappos was born inSamosata, the capital of the Kingdom of Commagene, in the court of the palace of Antiochus IV. Philopappos’ birth name was Gaius Julius Antiochus Epiphanes. His nickname and the name he is commonly known by today is Philopappos or Philopappus. Philopappos meansFond of Grandfather. He received this nickname because of his close relationship to Antiochus IV and possibly Tiberius Claudius Balbilus. Philopappos had a traditional Greek upper-class education.[citation needed]
In 72 AD,Lucius Caesennius Paetus, the Roman Governor ofSyria, sent letters addressed to Vespasian accusing Antiochus IV, Philopappos's father Epiphanes, and his paternal uncleCallinicus of planning to revolt againstRome and of allying themselves with the King ofParthia. It is not known whether these accusations were true or false. After reading the letters Vespasian felt that he could longer trust the family of Antiochus IV to protect the strategic crossing at theEuphrates River at Samosata, and so he gave orders to Antiochus IV to terminate his rule in Commagene.[citation needed]
Paetus invaded the Kingdom of Commagene as head of theLegio VI Ferrata. The client KingsAristobulus of Chalcis andSohaemus of Emesa also supplied troops to Paetus, all of which arrived the night before the battle. As Epiphanes and Callinicus prepared themselves that night for war, Antiochus IV was preparing to flee toCilicia.[citation needed]
On the morning of the day on which the battle was supposed to occur, out of fear of the Romans, Epiphanes, along with his family, and Callinicus fled to the King of Parthia while Antiochus IV fled to Cilicia. There is a possibility that Epiphanes and Callinicus had engaged in a short-lived attempt to resist invasion before they fled to Parthia. Vespasian brought Epiphanes and his family and Callinicus peacefully back to Rome with an honor guard. Epiphanes and his family and Callinicus lived in Rome with Antiochus IV for the remainder of his life. Vespasian gave Antiochus IV and his family sufficient revenue to live on, and so they had a glamorous life and were treated with great respect.[citation needed]
Philopappos and his family never returned to Commagene. Commagene was reorganized as a part of the Roman Province of Syria.[citation needed]
In 72, Philopappos's sister Julia Balbilla was born in Rome. After the deaths of both of his grandfathers, Philopappos and his family settled inAthens. His father died in 92 of unknown causes, after which, Claudia Capitolina returned to her birth city ofAlexandria, where she married for the second time toMarcus Junius Rufus, a politician. Capitolina spent her remaining years in her birth city; for a period of time Balbilla was with her mother, but later returned to Philopappos in Athens.
Philopappos always considered himself as having the status of a monarch. He spent the remainder of his life in Athens and became a prominent and respected benefactor of the city. Philopappos assumed civic, political, and religious duties in Athens and Rome. He belonged to the Roman elite and became friends with the EmperorTrajan and Trajan's heir and second paternal cousin Hadrian. Through Trajan and Hadrian, Philopappos also met their families.
Philopappos hadRoman and Athenian citizenship. He served as anArchon in Athens and had become friends with Greek philosophers, through whom he became acquainted with the Greek historianPlutarch. In his writings, Plutarch describes Philopappos as ‘very generous and magnificent in his rewards’ and describes his character as ‘good-humored and eager for instruction’.
Philopappos served as aChoregos (producer for a chorus) twice; as anAgonothetes (magistrate of games) once and was a member of theDeme Besa. Between 105 and 116, Philopappos was made a member of theArval Brethren, an ancient group of Roman priests who offered annual sacrifices to theLares and the gods to guarantee good harvests.
Trajan appointed him to thePraetorian Guard in Rome. Thereafter, Trajan and Hadrian promoted him to theRoman Senate, even though neither his father nor paternal grandfather was of senatorial rank. Philopappos rose further through the ranks and served as asuffect consul in 109.
There is a possibility that Philopappos married at some point, and may have had children and further descendants; however, there are no surviving records of this.
Philopappos' death in 116 caused great sadness to his sister Julia Balbilla, the citizens of Athens, and possibly to the imperial family. To honor his memory, Balbilla, along with the citizens of Athens, erected a tomb structure on theMouseion Hill, southwest of theAcropolis. His marble tomb is known as the “Philopappos Monument”, and from it, the hill became known as the “Philopappos Hill”.
One of the adversaries of the title character ofDigenis Akritas is a leader of brigands named Philopappas. According to Dension Bingham Hall, the name of this character was taken from the historical personage, adding that "many legends surround this name, some of which have been woven into the poem."[1]
Media related toGaius Iulius Philopappus at Wikimedia Commons
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| Preceded byas consules suffecti | Suffect consul of theRoman Empire 109 withGnaeus Antonius Fuscus | Succeeded byas consules suffecti |
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