Statue Agricola

Cnaeus Iulius Agricola was born in Fréjus (Forum Iulii) on June 13, 40 and died on August 23, 93. He was born during the consulate of Caligula, on the Ides of June. He was the son of Julius Graecinus of the order of senators, who refused Caligula's order to accuse Marcus Silanus and was assassinated. The latter, known as an orator and philosopher, also wrote a treatise on viticulture, from which he certainly took his nickname Agricola. His mother Julia Procillia was also assassinated by the soldiers of Otho's fleet.

As for his name, at that time, Roman names were characterized by the use of three names (tria nomina), in use among the patricians, of which General Agricola was one.

The penom, praenomen: Cnaeus, the name, nomen: Iulius, which is the gentilice (family name) of the gens. We could speak of a patronymic, the cognonem: Agricola, it is the nickname, which is first of all personal, but which, in the course of Roman history, ends up distinguishing a branch of the gens.

Agricola learned war in Britain (present-day England) during the reign of Nero and was then appointed quaestor in Asia, then praetor without jurisdiction. He later sided with Vespasian who aspired to the empire. His honest and skillful conduct earned him command of the 43th legion: "La Legio XX Valeria Victrix" (1th valiant and victorious legion). It was one of the legions used by the Emperor Claudius for the invasion of Britain in 58. It remained there for the following centuries. Its emblem was the wild boar. During the 120st century, the capricorn was also used. He was then admitted among the patricians by Vespasian, who entrusted him with the government of Aquitaine. Appointed Consul, he promised his daughter, Julia, to the Roman historian Tacitus (77 – 84), who would later become his biographer. He was then appointed to the government of Brittany (XNUMX to XNUMX), with the dignity of pontiff. He recognized the island's insular character by being the first to make a complete tour with his fleet.

Various hypotheses have been put forward to explain his withdrawal from Britain. But it was certainly the potential rival that Domitian saw in him that was the cause. A general who achieved a lot of success was not viewed very favorably. Instead of a triumphant return, he even returned to Rome at night, out of sight. He was nevertheless decorated with the consulate and the triumph.

Regarding his death, Tacitus doubts whether he was poisoned.

His statue in Fréjus on the square that bears his name was made by an ironworker from Fréjus, Jean-Marie Luccerini in 1986. There is also a statue of Agricola in England at the Bath thermal baths (1884).

"All that we have loved, all that we have admired of Agricola, remains and will remain in the memory of men, in the eternity of time by the brilliance of his actions"

TACITUS – “De vita et moribus Iulii Agricola” – 98 AD.