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

PLANCUS. PLANCUS. 333
when shortly afterwards Lepidus joined Antony, nius publicly upbraided him with his conduct
and their united forces threatened to overwhelm (Vell. Pat. ii. 83).
Plancus, the latter, despairing of any assistance Plancus had no occasion to change again, and
from the senate, was easily persuaded by Asinius quietly settled down to enjoy the fortune he had
Pollio to follow his example, and unite with acquired by the plunder of Syria, caring nothing
Antony and Lepidus. He therefore abandoned about the state of public affairs, and quite conD. Brutus to his fate, and the latter was shortly tented to play the courtier in the new monarchy.
afterwards slain in the Alps. Plancus during his It was on his proposal that Octavian received the
government of Gaul founded the colonies of Lug- title of Augustus in B. c. 27; and the emperor
dunum and Raurica (Oreili, Inscrip. No. 590; conferred upon him the censorship in B. c. 22 with
Dion Cass. xlvi. 50; Sen. Ep. 91; Strab. iv. Paulus Aemilius Lepidus. He built the temple
pp. 186, 192.) of Saturn to please the emperor, who expected the
In the autumn of the same year, B. C. 43, the wealthy nobles of his court to adorn the city with
triumvirate was formed, and Plancus agreed to public buildings. The year in which Plancus died
the proscription of his own brother L. Plautius. is uncertain.
[See PI,AUTIUS.] He returned to Rome at the The character of Plancus, both public and priend of the year, and on the 29th of December rate, is drawn in the blackest colours by Velleius
he celebrated a triumph for some victory gained in Paterculus, who, however, evidently talkes delight
Gaul. I- n the inscription given below it is said in exaggerating his crimes and his vices. But
to have been ex Raetis; and the victory was still, aftermaking every deduction from his colourprobably only an insignificant advantage gained ing, the sketch which we have given of the life of
over some Alpine tribes, in consequence of Plancus shows that he was a man without any
which he had assumed the title of imperator fixed principles, and not only ready to desert his
even before the battle of Mutina, as we see fronm friends when it served his interests, but also to
his correspondence with Cicero (ad Faer. x. betray their secrets for his own advantagse. His
8, 24). private life was equally contemptible: his adulIn B. C. 42 Plancus was consul according to the teries were notorious. The ancient writers speak
arrangement made by the dictator Caesar, and had of him as one of the orators of the time, but we
as his colleague M. Lepidus in place of D. Brutus. know nothing of him in that capacity. One of
The Perusinian war in the following year, B. c. 41, Horace's odes (Carns. i. 7) is addressed to him.
placed Plancus in great difficulty. He had the In personal appearance he resembled an actor of
command of Antony's troops in Italy; and accord- the name of Rubrilus, who was therefore nickingly when L. Antonius, the brother, and Fulvia, named Plancus. The various honours which
the wife of the triumvir, declared war against Plancus held are enumerated in the following
Octavian, they naturally expected assistance from inscription (Orelli, No. 590): "L. Munat. L. f.
Plancus; but as he did not know the views of his L. n. L. pron. Plancus Cos. Cens. Imp. iter. VII.
superior, he kept aloof from the contest as far as vir Epul. triump. ex Raetis aedem Saturni fecit
possible. On the fall of Perusia in B. C. 40, he de manubiis agros divisit in Italia Beneventi, in
fled with Fulvia to Athens, leaving his army to Gallia colonias deduxit Lugdunum et Rauricam."
shift for itself as it best could. He returned to Plancus had three brothers and a sister, a son and
Italy with Antony, and again accompanied him a daughter. His brothers and son are spoken of
when he went back to the East. Antony then below: his sister Munatia married M. Titius
gave him the government of the province of Asia, [TITIUS], his daughter Munatia Plancina married
which he abandoned on the invasion of the Par- Cn. Piso. LPLANCINA.] (Caes. B. G. v. 24, &c.,
thians under T. Labienus, and took refuge in the B. C. i. 40; Hirt. B. Aft. 4; Cic. ad Fain. x.
islands. He subsequently obtained the consulship 1-24, xi. 9, 11, 13-15, xii. 8, Phil. iii. 15,
a second time (Plin. H. N. xiii. 3. s. 5), but the xiii. 19; Plut. Brut. 19, Anton. 56, 58; Appian,
year is not mentioned: he may have been one of B. C. iii. 46, 74, 81, 97, iv. 12, 37, 45, v. 33, 35,
the consuls suffecti in B. C. 36. In B.C. 35 he 50, 55, 61, 144; Dion Cass. xlvi. 29, 50, 53,
governed the province of Syria for Antony, and xlvii. 16, xlviii. 24, 1. 3; Vell. Pat. ii. 63, 74,
was thought by many to have been tlhe cause of 83; Macrob. Sat. ii. 2; Suet. Ill. RMet. 6; Plin.
the murder of Sex. Pompeius. On his return to H. N. vii. 10. s. 12; Solin. i. 75.)
Alexandria he was coolly received by Antony There are several coins of Plancus. The folon account of the shameless manner in which he lowing one was not struck in B.c. 40, as Eckhel
had plundered the province. He remained at supposes (vol. vi. p. 44), but in B. c. 34 to comAlexandria some time longer, taking part in the
orgies of the court, and even condescending on one
occasion to play the part of a mime, and represent
in a ballet the story of Glaucus. But foreseeing S t A
the fall of his patron he resolved to secure himself,,
and therefore repaired secretly to Rome in B.c..
32, taking with him his nephew Titius. From __, _
Plancus Octavian received some valuable information respecting Antony, especially in relation
to his will, which he employed in exasperating
the Romans against his rival. Plancus himself, COIN OF L. MUNATIUS PLANCUS.
like other renegades, endeavoured to purchase the
favour of his new master by vilifying his old one; memorate the victory over the Armenians (Borgand on one occasion brought in the senate such hesi, Giorn. Arcad. vol. xxv. p. 359, &c.). It
abominable charges against Antony, from whom represents on the obverse a lituus and a guttus,
lie had received innumerable favours, that Copo- which was a vessel used in sacrifices, with the