A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

VITELLIUS. VITELLIUS. 1273
2. A. VITELLUS was consul suffectus A. D. 32, was, "Saepe facias;" which is as much as to say,
in the same year with Cn. Domitius, the father of "O king, live for ever." Vitellius, though one of the
the emperor Nero, and he died in that year. He strong partizans of Agrippina, was accused (A. D. 52)
was distinguished for the splendour of his enter- of maJestas by Junius Lupus, a senator; but the actainments. cusation only ruined the accuser. (Tacit. Ann. xii.
3. Q. VITELLIUS was one of those whom Tibe- 42.) Lucius died of paralysis soon after he was
rius (Tacit. Annal. ii. 48) removed from the senate attacked. He saw his two sons by Sextilia consuls
or allowed to withdraw, on the ground of their before he died, and, indeed both of them were conscandalous life and the wasting of their property. suls in the same year, A. D. 48, in which the em4. P. VITELLIUS served under Germanicus in peror Claudius and Lucius Vitellius were censors.
Germany (Tacit. Ann. i. 70), and he conducted The Senate honoured the man with a public funeral
the second and fourteenth legions in their return and a statue in front of the Rostra, bearing the infrom the expedition against the Catti and other scription " Pietatis immobilis erga Principem."
German tribes A. D. 15. He was afterwards sent " As to L. Vitellius," says Tacitus (Ann. vi. 32),
with C. Antius to make the census of the Gauls. " 1 am not ignorant that he had a bad name in
(Tacit. Ann. ii. 6.) Vitellius was one of the pro- Rome, and that many scandalous things were said
secutors of Cn. Piso, who was charged with the of him, but in the administration of the provinces
death of Germanicus, and Vitellius was eloquent he showed the virtues of a former age."
in his accusation. (Tacit. Ann. iii. 10, 13.) He 6. L. VITELLIUS, the son of Lucius, and the
subsequently obtained the dignity of the praetor- brother of Aulus, afterwards emperor, was consul
ship. After the death of Sejanus, among whose in A. D. 48. He was one of those who advised the
friends he was, he was accused on some vague death of Caecina (Tacit. lTist. iii. 37); and he is
charges; while he was in custody, he asked for a accused of taking off Junius Blaesus by poison.
penknife, with which he inflicted a slight wound When A. Vitellius quitted Rome for the camp in
on himself. The wound was not mortal, but Vi- the Apennines, Lucius was left to defend the city;
tellius died shortly after from grief and vexation. but on the news of Tarracina being occupied by
(Tacit. Ann. v. 8; Suet Vitell. c. 2.) His wife the partizans of Vespasian, the emperor sent his
Acutia was tried on the charge of Majestas, and brother Lucius with six cohorts and five hundred
convicted. (Tacit. A4gz. vi. 47.) horse to put down the insurrection in Campania.
5. L. VITELLIUS was father of the emperor and Lucius took Tarracina (Tacit. Ilist. iii. 76, &c.),
of the emperor's brother Lucius. Lucius, the father and made a great slaughter. If heo had marched to
was a consummate flatterer, and by his arts he Rome after this success, he might have made a
gained promotion. He set the example of adoring formidable resistance to the party of Vespasian,
Caesar Caligula as a god, but this was done mainly for Lucius was a man of great activity and energy.
to save his life. After being consul in A. D. 34, he But the feeble conduct of the emperor at Rome
had been appointed governor of Syria, and he had soon brought the contest to an end. Lucius was
induced Artalanus, the king of the Parthians, not on his march from Tarracina to Rome, when he
only to come to a conference with him, but also to surrendered to the party of Vespasian, and was
make his obeisance to the signa of the legions, which taken to the city and put to death. (Tacit. HFist. iv.
were apparently marked with the Roman emperor's 2; Dion Cass. lxv. 22.) [G. iL.]
effigy, or were accompanied by it. (Dion Cassius, VITELLIUS, AULUS, the son of L. Vitellius,
lix. 27.) Vitellius had got favourable terms of who was three times consul and censor, was born
peace from Artabanus. But all this only excited probably on the 24th of September, A. D. 1.5. Aulus
Caligula's jealousy, and he sent for Vitellius to put was consul during the first six months of A. D. 48,
him to death. The governor saved himself by his and his brother Lucius during the six following
abject humiliation and the gross flattery, which months. He was proconsul of Africa for a year,
pleased and softened the savage tyrant. A story and during another year legatus of the same prois told so extravagant as hardly to be credible, if vince under his brother, in which capacities he is
anything were not credible of a madman like Ca- said to have behaved with integrity. He had
lignla. The emperor on one occasion said that he some knowledge of letters and some eloquence.
had commerce with the moon, and asked Vitellius His vices made him a favourite of Tiberius, Cails
if he had ever seen their embraces. Vitellius, af- Caligula, Claudius, and Nero, who loaded him with
fecting profound veneration, with his eyes on the favours. People were much surprised when Galba
ground, and in a faint tremulous voice replied, " To chose such a man to command the legions in Lower
you gods alone, my master, is it permitted to see Germany, for he had no military talent. His
one another." Nobody ever beat this, and Vitellius great talent was eating and drinking. When he
reigned the king of flatterers. He paid the like left Rome for his command, his affairs were so
attention to Claudius and to Messalina. He was embarrassed that he had to put his wife Galeria
rewarded by being twice consul with Claudius, and Fundana and his children in lodgings, and to let
censor. He and Messalina are accused of being his house. Some of his creditors wished to prevent
the chief cause of the death of Valerius Asiaticus. him from leaving Rome; and he only got rid of
(Tacit. Annal. xi. 1-3.) After the execution of their importunity by dishonest proceedings against
Messalina, he artfully removed the difficulty which some, and giving security to others. When he beClaudius had about celebrating his marriage with came emperor he compelled his creditors to give up
his niece Agrippina, by making it appear that the their securities, and told them that they ought to be
Senate and the people wished for the marriage. content with having their lives spared. (Sueton.
The Senate carried their adulation and hypocrisy Vitellius, c. 3, &c.; Dion Cass. lxv.)
so far as to say that they would compel the emperor The way in which Vitellius was elevated to the
to the marriage, if he hesitated. (Tacit. Ann. xii. supreme power on the third of January A. D. 69,
5, &c.) When Claudius was celebrating the Secular has been told in the life of OTHO. After Otho's
Gaines, the compliment of this outrageous flatterer death his soldiers submitted to Caecina, a:nd took