Atticus Bradua

Tiberius Claudius Marcus Appius Atilius Bradua Regillus Atticus, otherwise known as Atticus Bradua (around 145-after 209), was a Roman politician of Athenian and Italian descent who was consul ordinarius in 185 AD.

Ancestry and family Atticus Bradua was born to a wealthy family of consular rank. He was the second son of the consul and sophist Herodes Atticus of Athens and the Roman Aspasia Annia Regilla.

Life While the place of birth of Atticus Bradua is not known, he was raised in Greece. As a child, he could not learn how to read. His father purchased twenty-four slave boys to whom he gave names beginning with the letters of the alphabet to help Bradua learn his letters. According to an inscription, there is a possibility that Bradua was sent to Sparta by his father to become an ephebe (citizen-cadet).

The parents of Bradua erected the great outdoor nymphaeum (a monumental fountain) at Olympia. The monumental fountain features statues of the ruling imperial family, alongside the family of Herodes and Regilla. Among the statues was one of Bradua which is on display at the Archaeological Museum of Olympia.

Bradua was about 15 years old when his mother died. His maternal uncle claimed that his father murdered her. but relations between the two remained poor. When Herodes Atticus died in 177, he left nothing to Atticus Bradua. Sometime after his consulship, he served as proconsul of a Roman province.

Atticus Bradua followed in the footsteps of his parents as a benefactor, but not on such a lavish scale, as his fortune was much smaller than his father's.

An inscription found on a grey limestone dated after 185 at the Curia at Leptis Magna (the capital of the Africa Province) is possibly dedicated to Atticus Bradua. This inscription shows that Atticus Bradua may have served as a proconsul of Africa, could have served as a local patron and may have changed his name to honor the memory of his family, mother and maternal ancestry, and to express discontent with his father. The inscription reads:

To Marcus Atilius Metilius Bradua Caucidius Tertullus Claudius Atticus Vibullius Pollio Gauidius Latiaris Atrius Bassus, proconsul; Decimus Junius Crescens, Decimus Junius Galba, Quintus Calpurnius Capito, Lucius Plautius Octavianus to their patron.