Atticus Bradua
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Atticus Bradua was born to a wealthy family of consular rank.[3] He was the second son of the consul and sophist Herodes Atticus of Athens and the Roman Aspasia Annia Regilla.[1] His paternal grandparents were the consular Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes and the wealthy heiress Vibullia Alcia Agrippina,[1][2] while his maternal grandparents were the consul Appius Annius Trebonius Gallus and Atilia Caucidia Tertulla.[1] Through his maternal grandfather, Atticus Bradua was a relative of the empresses Faustina the Elder and Faustina the Younger, the wives of Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius respectively.[4]
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.[5] According to an inscription, there is a possibility that Bradua was sent to Sparta by his father to become an ephebe (citizen-cadet).[6]
The parents of Bradua erected a 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.[7]
Bradua was about 15 years old when his mother died. His maternal uncle claimed that his father murdered her.[6] Herodes Atticus saw Bradua as a disappointment.[6] Herodes Atticus outlived most of his family and Bradua became his only surviving child,[8] but relations between the two remained poor. When Herodes Atticus died in 177, he left nothing to Atticus Bradua.[6] The Athenians considered Herodes Atticus's treatment towards Bradua inhumane.[6]