- Lucius Vitellius
:"This page is on Lucius
Vitellius , the father of the emperorVitellius .
For his other son, the emperor's brother, seeLucius Vitellius the younger ."Lucius Vitellius Veteris (the elder) (before 5 BC-51) was the youngest of four sons ofquaestor Publius Vitellius and the only one of them not to die through politics. Under EmperorTiberius , he wasconsul in 34 and governor ofSyria in 35. He supported EmperorCaligula and was a favorite of EmperorClaudius ' wife Empress ValeriaMessalina . DuringClaudius ' reign he was consul twice more and governedRome while theRoman Emperor was absent on his invasion of Britain. Around the time that Claudius marriedAgrippina the Younger in 49 Vitellius, served as aRoman censor .He wielded great influence and was known for his outstanding character, though at one point a Roman Senator accused him of
treason . He died ofparalysis in 51. Lucius received a state funeral and had a statue on the rostra ‘steadfast loyal to the Emperor’.Lucius married a Roman woman called
Sextilia , a reputable woman from a distinguished family. She gave birth to two sons and they were:
*AulusVitellius , who was the short lived emperor in 69
*Lucius.ources:
* Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, Vitellius
* Tacitus, The Annals of Imperial Rome.External links
* [http://virtualreligion.net/iho/vitellius_1.html Lucius Vitellius] entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
* [http://www.livius.org/vi-vr/vitellius/lucius.html Livius.org: Lucius Vitellius]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.