#sextus pompeius

[caeruleumvexillum]

Could be Octavian, Sextus or Marcus Antonius.

[pompeiusliker]

a sextus pompey but like loosely taking inspiration from the bust we have of him

[theantonian]

SEXTUS POMPEIUS was only 32 years old when he died. Had he bit the bullet and swore fealty to Antony and become a naval commander under Antony, perhaps things could have turned out better for both of them in the long run. Being an experienced and battle-hardened naval commander and learning many lessons from fighting Agrippa on the seas. But as soon as he reaches Antony's side of the Empire after his defeat at Naulochus, he tries to ally himself with the Parthians, Antony's enemies. He then puts up a futile fight against Antony with all the remaining forces. He is captured and killed.

If he had just decided to join Antony, he could have prevented Agrippa from stealing and destroying Antony's ships at the Battle of Actium. Just imagine if he was put in command of the Romano-Egyptian fleet at Actium. Perhaps he could have won that naval engagement for Antony.

[lionofchaeronea]

Denarius minted by Sextus Pompeius (ca. 67-35 BCE), son of Pompey the Great and admiral during the wars of the Second Triumvirate. On the obverse, a galley with eagle, scepter, and trident, beneath a column topped by a statue of Neptune. On the reverse, the sea monster Scylla (who had a human head and torso but whose loins were variously described as dogs and serpents), wielding a rudder as a club.

Sextus Pompeius, a naval commander of considerable skill, was one of the principal threats to the uneasy alliance between Octavian and Antony in the years following Julius Caesar's assassination. Based on Sicily, which allowed him both to menace the Italian coast and to deprive Rome itself of much-needed Sicilian grain, Sextus gave Octavian much grief until his final defeat by Octavian's admiral M. Agrippa at Naulochus (36 BCE). The coin above is thought to have been minted between 42 and 40 and to celebrate a naval victory over Octavian (which may have been aided by a storm in the Strait of Messina). Of particular note is Sextus' attempt to stress his ties with his father, who had nominally been the Senate's champion against Caesar. The obverse styles Sextus both as MAGNUS, like his father, and PIUS, marking his filial devotion. His office as given on the reverse is PRAEF(ECTUS) CLAS(SIS) ET ORAE MARIT(IMAE) EX S(ENATUS) C(ONSULTO)--"Prefect of the fleet and the maritime coast by command of the Senate"--in token of his claim to represent Republican authority against the usurpation of the triumvirs.

Photo credit: Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com

[duxfemina]

Reblog if you have Roman Republic content on your blog

(aside from just during the international Tumblr holiday that is the Ides of March)

Put in the tags who your favs are

[oldschoolfrp]

“In the time of Nero, the Roman author Lucan wrote how the necromantic sorceress Erictho was tracked down by Sextus Pompeius, son of Caesar’s rival Pompey the Great, who wished to converse with a dead man’s spirit. . . She invokes chaos, the Kindly Ones [the furies], Proserprine, Hecate, and Hermes.”  (Roger Raupp illus. from AD&D 2e HR5: The Glory of Rome designed by David Pulver, TSR, 1993)  Besides the historical setting, this campaign book provides two new character kits for specialist mages, the Roman Witch and Philosopher-Mage, some NPC magician rules, plus a few new spells and magic items.

[didoofcarthage]

Sextus Pompeius Consulting Erichtho before the Battle of Pharsalus by John Hamilton Mortimer 

British, 18th century

oil on canvas

private collection

[romegreeceart]

Portrait of a Roman, possibly Sextus Pompeius (Hermitage museum)

The bust was sculpted in the 30s BCE by a so called Ermitage meister and scholars believe that it may depict famous naval commander Sextus Pompeius. This assumption is based on numismatic evidence and one has to admit that there is some resemblance between coin images and this sculpture. The man portrayed is also obviously mourning (=beard) and this has been mentioned as an additional proof.