Gnaeus Julius Agricola (
June 13, 40–
August 23, 93) was a
Roman general responsible for much of the Roman conquest of
Britain. His biography, the
De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae, was the first published work of his son-in-law, the historian
Tacitus, and is the source for most of what is known about him.
[1]Agricola was born in the colonia of Forum Julii, Gallia Narbonensis (modern southern France). Agricola’s parents were from families of senatorial rank. Both of his grandfathers served as Imperial Governors. His father Julius Graecinus was a praetor and had become a member of the Roman Senate in the year of his birth. Graecinus had become distinguished in his interest for philosophy. Between August 40-January 41, the Roman Emperor Caligula ordered his death because he refused to prosecute the Emperor's second cousin Marcus Junius Silanus Torquatus.[2]
His mother was Julia Procilla. The Roman historian Tacitus describes her as "a lady of singular virtue". Tacitus states that Procilla had a fond affection for her son. Agricola was educated in Massilia (Marseille), and showed what was considered an unhealthy interest in philosophy.
He began his career in Roman public life as a military tribune, serving in Britain under Gaius Suetonius Paulinus from 58 to 62. He was probably attached to the Legio II Augusta, but was chosen to serve on Suetonius's staff[3] and thus almost certainly participated in the suppression of Boudica's uprising in 61.
