Tiberius Claudius Marcus Appius Atilius Bradua Regillus Atticus, otherwise known as Atticus Bradua was a Roman politician of Athenian and Italian descent who was consul ordinarius in 185 AD.
While the place of birth of Atticus Bradua is not known, he was raised in Greece. As a child, he couldn’t 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 Atticus Bradua learn his letters. According to an inscription, there is a possibility that Atticus Bradua was sent to Sparta by his father to become an ephebe and if so, it left no long-lasting influence on him. The students and freedmen of Herodes Atticus were clamoring for his attention and benefactions. The students and freedmen of his father were jealous of the family of Herodes Atticus, and because of his learning disability they may have slandered him. The parents of Atticus Bradua erected a great outdoor nymphaeum at Olympia, Greece. The monumental fountain features statues and honors members of the ruling imperial family, including members of his family and relatives of his parents. Among the statues is a bust of Atticus Bradua which is on display at the Archaeological Museum of Olympia. Atticus Bradua was about 15 years old when his mother died. His maternal uncle claimed that his father murdered her, which may have caused an irreparable rift between father and son. Herodes Atticus saw Atticus Bradua as a disappointment. Herodes Atticus outlived his family and Atticus Bradua became his only surviving child, but relations between the two continued to deteriorate. When Herodes Atticus died in 177, he left nothing to Atticus Bradua. The Athenians considered Herodes Atticus’s treatment towards Atticus Bradua inhumane.
Wealth, Political Career and Benefactions
After the death of his mother, Atticus Bradua inherited the estate that his mother owned with his father on the Appian Way. Atticus Bradua was considered by others as more competent than Herodes Atticus, probably due to his status and wealth. At some point during the reign of Antoninus Pius, the Emperor promoted Atticus Bradua to Patrician rank. Atticus Bradua served as an ordinary consul in 185 and became an Archon of Athens in 187/188. 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. He contributed a gift to Piraeus which was commemorated and in 209 the Athenian Boule honored Atticus Bradua as Euergetes or Herald. An inscription found on a grey limestone dated after 185 at the Curia at Leptis Magna 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:
