Gaius Sosius
Roman general and supporter of Mark Antony.
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Gaius Sosius (c. 39–17 BC) was a Roman general and politician who rose to prominence as a loyal ally of Mark Antony during the late Republic. With Antony’s backing, he held major offices and military posts, including governor of Syria, and commanded the campaign that placed Herod on the throne of Judea. He became consul in 32 BC, just as the Second Triumvirate expired and open war broke out between Antony and Octavian. Early in his term, Sosius attacked Octavian in the Senate, forcing him to flee Rome.
He joined Antony in the east and served as one of his commanders in the civil war. At the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, Sosius led part of Antony and Cleopatra’s fleet. After the defeat, he was captured but later pardoned. Under Augustus, he was restored to favor and admitted to a priestly college. Sosius oversaw the rebuilding of the Temple of Apollo in Rome, which became known as the Temple of Apollo Sosianus, and seems to have grown quite wealthy. He may have lived well into Augustus’s reign.
Sosius likely came from a Picentine family; his father, also named Gaius Sosius, was the first senator in the line. He first made his mark serving Antony as quaestor around 41–39 BC, stationed at a naval base and mint on the island of Zacynthus. In 39 BC, the triumvirs designated him consul for 32 BC. He accompanied Antony on a tour of the eastern provinces in 38 BC and was made governor of Syria and Cilicia.
In that role, he subdued the rebellious island city of Aradus and, on Antony’s orders, besieged Jerusalem to install Herod as king of the Jews, defeating the incumbent Antigonus. After the siege, his troops hailed him as imperator. The historian Josephus records that Sosius humiliated the captured Antigonus and was only prevented from looting the city by Herod’s gifts to him and his soldiers. Around late 36 BC, Sosius likely helped Octavian finish conquering Sicily from Sextus Pompeius.
Replaced as governor in 35 BC, he returned to Rome and celebrated a triumph on 3 September 34 BC for his Judean victory. He then stayed in the city, managing Antony’s interests until his consulship. To mark his triumph, he began rebuilding the Temple of Apollo in the Campus Martius, adding a cedar statue of Apollo he had taken from Seleucia in Cilicia.
Sosius entered office as consul in 32 BC just as the Second Triumvirate was about to expire and relations between Antony and Octavian collapsed. He and his colleague Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, both Antony supporters, brought a dispatch from Antony seeking approval for the Donations of Alexandria—land grants in the east for his children with Cleopatra—and a proposal for the triumvirs to resign their powers. They never published it, fearing the Donations would be unpopular, and Octavian pressured them to suppress anything unfavorable to him.
Instead, Sosius gave a speech praising Antony and openly denouncing Octavian, then introduced a motion against him, which a tribune vetoed. Octavian responded by reconvening the Senate with armed guards, denouncing Sosius and Antony, and promising evidence against Antony. The consuls and other sympathetic senators fled to Ephesus to join Antony and Cleopatra, setting up a rival Senate. In Rome, Sosius, Domitius, and Antony were stripped of their offices, and war was declared on Cleopatra’s Egypt.
Sosius remained one of Antony’s key lieutenants, one of the few consular senators to stay loyal as the Antonian cause faltered. In summer 31 BC, he used fog to surprise and rout a squadron of Octavian’s fleet under Lucius Tarius Rufus, but was driven back by Marcus Agrippa’s reinforcements, losing the victory and the life of his ally King Tarcondimotus of Cilicia. He commanded the left wing of Antony’s fleet at Actium. After the defeat, Antony and Cleopatra fled and died by suicide. Sosius survived, hid for a time, but was eventually captured and brought before Octavian. He was pardoned at the request of Lucius Arruntius, one of Octavian’s admirals at Actium. Historian Ronald Syme has suggested Sosius may have betrayed Antony’s fleet, and that his capture and rescue might have been staged to showcase Octavian’s mercy.
After Actium, Sosius held no further military commands. He returned to Rome and finished rebuilding the Temple of Apollo, which became known as the Temple of Apollo Sosianus. Classicist Michael Grant notes that Sosius amassed considerable wealth as a financier.
Quick Facts
- Years active
- 39–17 BC, possibly still alive as late as AD 6
- Office
- Governor of Syria and Cilicia
- Consul (32 BC)
- Quindecimvir sacris faciundis
- Children
- 1
Facts from the source article.
Life
Gaius Sosius was likely of Picentine background, and his father, also called Gaius Sosius, was the first recorded Roman senator of the family. He came to prominence during the time of the Second Triumvirate (43–32 BC) in service of the triumvir Mark Antony, of whom he became a devoted supporter. Sosius served as Antony's quaestor (treasurer) sometime between 41 and 39 BC, and in that capacity was stationed at a Roman naval base and mint in Zacynthus, one of the Ionian Islands west of the Peloponnese.
In 39 BC, the triumvirs designated him to the office of consul for 32 BC. Sosius then accompanied Antony on an administrative tour of the eastern Roman provinces in 38 BC and was appointed by him governor of Syria and Cilicia. In this new capacity, he subdued the intransigent island city of Aradus in northern Phoenicia, and, at Antony's command, installed Rome's ally Herod as king of the Jews by besieging the incumbent Antigonus at Jerusalem. Upon completion of the siege, Sosius was acclaimed as imperator by his troops.
According to Josephus, Sosius 'humiliated' the captured Antigonus and was only stopped from fully looting the city after Herod interceded with large gifts to him and the troops. Towards the end of 36 BC, Sosius was probably in Sicily assisting the other triumvir, Octavian, in completing the conquest of the island from Sextus Pompeius. Replaced by Antony as governor in 35 BC, Sosius returned to Rome and on 3 September 34 BC celebrated a triumph for his victory in Judaea.
Thereafter, he seems to have remained in the city, looking after Antony's interests while awaiting his own consulship in 32 BC. Probably to further commemorate his triumph, Sosius also began rebuilding the temple of Apollo in the Campus Martius, adding a cedar statue of Apollo which he plundered from Seleucia in Cilicia back when he was governor.
Consulship and civil war
Gaius Sosius assumed the consulship in 32 BC just as the Second Triumvirate, which had ruled Rome for the last decade, was about to legally expire and relations between the triumvirs Antony and Octavian collapsed. Sosius and his colleague in office, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, were both partisans of Antony; they brought from him a despatch seeking the official ratification of land grants in the east for his children with the Egyptian queen Cleopatra, the so-called Donations of Alexandria, as well as a proposal for the triumvirs to resign their dictatorial powers.
The consuls never published the despatch, however, as they apparently feared that the Donations would be unpopular, and Octavian also pressured them to censor any content unfavorable to himself. Instead, upon entering office, Sosius took the lead with a speech to the Senate in which he praised Antony and openly denounced Octavian. He also introduced a formal motion against the latter, but this was promptly vetoed by a tribune of the plebs. In response, Octavian reconvened the Senate with armed men on the outside, denounced Sosius and Antony, and promised to produce evidence that would incriminate the latter.
The consuls and other sympathetic senators fled the city to join Antony and Cleopatra at Ephesus, effectively creating their own makeshift Senate in opposition to the one at Rome. Back in the capital, Sosius, Domitius and Antony were all promptly stripped of office and war was declared on Cleopatra's Egypt. Sosius was one of Antony's chief lieutenants in the ensuing war, and one of few known senators of consular rank to remain loyal as the Antonian cause grew increasingly precarious.
In the summer of 31 BC, Sosius, under cover of fog, routed a squadron of Octavian's fleet led by Lucius Tarius Rufus, but was then driven back by enemy reinforcements under Marcus Agrippa, which cost him the victory and the life of his ally, King Tarcondimotus of Cilicia. He commanded the left wing of Antony's fleet in the defeat at Actium, following which Antony and Cleopatra fled and committed suicide. Sosius survived the defeat and spent time in hiding, but was eventually detected and brought before Octavian, who pardoned him at the intercession of one of his own admirals at Actium, Lucius Arruntius.
Historian Ronald Syme, however, has speculated that Sosius might instead have betrayed Antony's fleet and that 'his [Sosius'] peril and rescue may have been artfully staged' to advertise Octavian's clemency.
Later life
Sosius is not known to have undertaken further military service in his life after Actium. He returned to Rome and completed his reconstruction of the temple of Apollo, which became known as Sosianus after him. According to classicist Michael Grant, Sosius accumulated considerable wealth as a successful financier. Octavian, later renamed the emperor Augustus, fully rehabilitated Sosius and gave him a place in the imperial regime, appointing him one of the priestly quindecimviri sacris faciundis who supervised the Saecular Games in 17 BC.
Sosius only appears again in history as an attendee to the prosecution of a teacher of rhetoric named Corvus, an event dated by Frederick Cramer to AD 6. Gaius Sosius is not known to have had sons, but at least one daughter is attested, Sosia, who married Sextus Nonius Quinctilianus, consul in AD 8. Possibly a second daughter was Sosia Galla, wife of the consul Gaius Silius.
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