Marcus Atius


Marcus Atius Balbus was a 1st-century BC Roman who served as a praetor in 62 BC and became governor of Sardinia. He married Julia, the sister of Julius Caesar, and was the maternal grandfather of Augustus the first Roman Emperor, as well as a cousin of Pompey.

Early life

Balbus was born and raised in Aricia into a political family and was the son and heir of the elder Marcus Atius Balbus. His mother was Pompeia the sister to consul Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, father of Pompey Magnus, a member of the First Triumvirate with Julius Caesar and Marcus Licinius Crassus.
The family of the elder Balbus came from a Roman senatorial family of plebs status from Aricia. "Balbus" in Latin means stammer.

Career

During the consulship of Julius Caesar in 59 BC, Balbus was appointed along with Pompey to a board of commissioners under a Julian Law to divide estates in Campania among the commoners. Cicero stated that Pompey would say as a joke about Balbus, that he was not a person of any importance.

Personal life

He married Julia Minor, the younger of the two sisters of the dictator Gaius Julius Caesar. Julia bore him three daughters and they were:
The younger Balbus died in 51 BC.