Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology (1870) - Volume 1.djvu/472

454 BALBINUS. remarkable beauty. Alexander was passionately fond of him, and is said to have kissed him pub- licly in the theatre on one occasion. (Curt. vi. 5, X. 1 ; Plut. Alex. 67; Athen. xiii. p. 603, b.) 3. A general of Tigranes or Mithridates, who together with Mithraus expelled Ariobarzanes from Cappadocia in B. c. 92. (Appian, A////ir. 10; comp. Justin, xxxviii. 3.) The name Bagoas frequently occurs in Persian histor}'. According to Pliny (//. A^. xiii. 9), it was the Persian word for an eunuch ; and it is sometimes used by Latin writers as synonymous with an eunuch. (Comp. Quintil. v. 12 ; Ov. Am. ii. 2. 1.) BAGO'PHANES, the commander of the citadel at Babylon, who surrendered it and all the royal treasures to Alexander after the battle of Guaga- mela, b. c. 331. (Curt. v. 1.) BA'LACRUS (BoiKaKpos). 1. The son of Kicanor, one of Alexander's bod'-guard, was ap- pointed satrap of Cilicia after the battle of Jssus, B. c. 333. (Arrian, ii. 12.) He fell in battle against the Pisidians in the life-time of Alexander. (Diod, xviii. 22.) It was probably this Balacrus who manied Phila, the daughter of Antipater, and subsequeiitlv the wife of Craterus. (Phot. p. 111. b. 3, ed. Bekker.) 2. Tiie son of Amj-ntas, obtained the command of the allies in Alexander's army, when Antigonus was appointed satrap of Phrygia, B. c. 334. After the occupation of Egypt, B. c. 331, he was one of the generals left behind in that country with a part of the army. (Arrian, i. 30, iiL 5 ; Curt, viii. 11.) 3. The commander of the javelin- throwers (aKov- naTal) in the army of Alexander the Great. (Arrian, iii. 12, iv. 4, 24.) BA'LAGRUS (BdXaypos), a Greek writer of uncertain date, wrote a work on Macedonia (Mane- Soviicd) in two books at least. (Steph. Byz. s. vv. 'AM'-Agos, "OAStjAos, Aup^ax'Oi'.) B.'LANUS, a Gaulish prince beyond the Alps, who sent ambassadors offering to assist the Romans in their Macedonian war, B. c. 169. (Liv. xliv. 14.) BALAS. [Alexander Bal.as, p. 114.] BALBi'LIUS, who was in Spain, b. c. 44 (Cic. utl Alt. XV. 13), is conjectured by Mongault to be only a diminutive of Cornelius Balbus, the younger, a friend of Cicero's, but this is very im- probable. C. BALBILLUS, governor of Egypt in the reign of Nero, A. d. 55 (Tac. Ann. xiii. 22), and a man of great learning, wrote a work respecting Aegypt and his journeys in that country. (Sencc. Quui'st. Nat. iv. 2 ; Plin. H. N. xix. prdoem.) BALBl'NUS, was proscribed by the triumvirs in B. c. 43, but restored with S-'x. Pompeius in B. c. 39, and subsequently advanced to the con- sulship. (Appian, iv. 50.) No other author but Appian, and none of the Fasti, mention a consul of this name; but as we learn from Appian that Bal- binus was consul in the year in which the con- spiracy of the younger Aemiliiis Lepidus was detected by Maecenas, that is b. c. 30, it is con- jectured that Balbinus may be the cognomen of L. Saenius, who was consul suffectus in that year. BALBl'NUS. When intelligence reached Rome that the elder Gordian and his son had both pe- rished in Africa, and that the savage Maximin, thirsting for vengeance, was advancing towards Italy at the head of a powerful anny, the senate resolved BALBINUS. upon electing two rulers with equal power, one of whom should remain in the city to direct the civil administration, while the other should march against Maximin. The choice fell upon Decimus Caelius Balbinus and Marcus Clodius Pupienus Maxinuis, both consulars well stricken in years, the one a sagacious sUvtesman^ the other a bold soldier and an able general. Balbinus, who was of noble birth, and traced his descent from Cornelius Balbus of Cadiz, the friend of Pompej', Cicero, and Caesar, had governed in succession the most important among the peaceful provinces of the empire. He was celebrated as one of the best orators and poets of the age, and had gained the esteem and love of all ranks. Maximus, on the other hand, was of lowly origin, the son, according to some, of a black- smith, according to others, of a coaclnnaker. He had acquired great renown as an imperial legate by his victories over the Sarmatians in Ulyria and the Germans on the Rhine, had been eventually ap- pointed prefect of the city, and had discharged the duties of that office with a remarkable lirmiiesa and strictness. The populace, still clinging with .affection to the family of Gordian, and dreading the severity of Maximus, refused for a while to ratify the decision of the senate, and a serious tumult arose, which was not quelled until the grandson of Gordian, <i bo}' of fourteen, was presented to the crowd and proclaimed Caesar. While Pupienus was hasten- ing to encounter Maximin, now under the walls of Aquileia, a formidable strife broke out at Rome between the citizens and the praetorians. The camp of the praetorians was closely invested, and they were reduced to great distress in consequence of the supply of water being cut off, but in retalia- tion the}- made desperate sallies, in which whole regions of the town were burned or reduced to ruins. These disorders were repressed for a time by the glad tidings of the destruction of Maximin, and all parties joined in welcoming with the most lively demonstrations of joy the united armies and their triuniphant chief. But the calm was of short duration. The hatred existing between the prae- torians and the populace had been only smothered for a while, not extinguished ; the soldiers of all ranks openly lamented that they had lost a prince chosen by themselves, and were obliged to submit to those nominated by the civil power. A conspi- racy was soon orgxmized by the guards. On a day when public attention was engrossed by the exhi- bition of the Capitoline games, a strong band of soldiers forced their way into the jalace, seized the two emperors, stripped them of their royal robes, dragged them through the streets, and finally put them to death. The chronology of this brief reign is involved in much difficulty, and different historians have con- tracted or extended it to periods varying from twenty-two days to two years. The statements of ancient writers are so irreconcileable, that we have no sure resource except medals; but, by studying carefully the evidence which these afford, we may repose with considerable confidence on the conclu- sion of Eckhel, that the accession of Balbinus and Maximus took place about the end of April, a. d. 238, and their death before the beginning of Au- gust in the same year. We ought to notice here a remarkable innova- tion which was introduced in consequence of the circumstances attending the election of these princes.