Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus (born 161 -?) was a Roman noble of Greek Athenian

Greeks

The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

 and Italian Roman descent who lived in the Roman Empire

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

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Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus was the son born to the Aristocrat Lucius Vibullius Rufus

Lucius Vibullius Rufus (son-in-law of Herodes Atticus)

Lucius Vibullius Rufus, sometimes known as Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus, was a Greek aristocrat who lived in the 2nd century in the Roman Empire....

 and the noblewoman Athenais

Athenais (daughter of Herodes Atticus)

Marcia Annia Claudia Alcia Athenais Gavidia Latiaria , otherwise most commonly known as Athenais was a Roman noblewoman of Greek Athenian and Italian Roman descent who lived in the Roman Empire.-Ancestry and Family:...

 . He had an elder paternal half brother called Lucius Vibullius Claudius Herodes . The parents of Hipparchus were paternal second cousins . The paternal grandfather of Hipparchus was Publius Aelius Vibullius Rufus

Publius Aelius Vibullius Rufus

Publius Aelius Vibullius Rufus was a Greek Aristocrat that lived in the 2nd century in the Roman Empire.Aelius Rufus was a Greek of Athenian descent and was a member of a very wealthy family who were prominent in Athens. He was the son of Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus who served as an Archon of...

 who served as an Archon of Athens

Archon of Athens

This is a list of the eponymous archons of Athens.-Background:The archon was the chief magistrate in many Greek cities, but in Athens there was a council of archons which comprised a form of executive government...

 in 143-144 , while his maternal grandparents were Roman Senator

Roman Senate

The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...

, Sophist

Sophism

Sophism in the modern definition is a specious argument used for deceiving someone. In ancient Greece, sophists were a category of teachers who specialized in using the tools of philosophy and rhetoric for the purpose of teaching aretê — excellence, or virtue — predominantly to young statesmen and...

 Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes or Herodes Atticus

Herodes Atticus

Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus Tiberius Claudius Atticus Herodes, otherwise known as Herodes Atticus was a very distinguished, rich Greek aristocrat who served as a Roman Senator and a Sophist. He is notable as a proponent in the Second Sophistic by Philostratus.-Ancestry and Family:Herodes Atticus...

 and the Roman aristocratic noblewoman Aspasia Annia Regilla

Aspasia Annia Regilla

Aspasia Annia Regilla, full name Appia Annia Regilla Atilia Caucidia Tertulla , was a wealthy, aristocratic and influential Roman woman, who was a distant relative of several Roman Emperors and Roman Empresses. She was the wife of the prominent Greek Herodes Atticus .-Genealogy:Regilla was born...

 . His grandfathers were first cousins as the mother of Herodes Atticus and the father of Publius Aelius Vibullius Rufus were brother and sister . Through his late maternal grandmother, Hipparchus was a relative to the family of the Roman Emperor

Roman Emperor

The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...

 Antoninus Pius

Antoninus Pius

Antoninus Pius , also known as Antoninus, was Roman Emperor from 138 to 161. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty and the Aurelii. He did not possess the sobriquet "Pius" until after his accession to the throne...

 and the Roman Empress Faustina the Elder

Faustina the Elder

Annia Galeria Faustina, more familiarly referred to as Faustina I , was a Roman Empress and wife of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius.-Early life:...

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When Hipparchus was born, Athenais named him in honor of his maternal grandfather and paternal great grandfather. Shortly after his birth Athenais had died . Hipparchus was raised by his father, even perhaps by his maternal grandfather. He was born and raised in Athens

Athens

Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

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According to surviving inscriptions, Lucius Vibullius Hipparchus is the only recorded grandchild of Herodes Atticus and Aspasia Annia Regilla . Apart from Hipparchus, there is a possibility that Herodes Atticus and Aspasia Annia Regilla could have other grandchildren from their other children’s marriages. Not much is known on the life of Hipparchus. He married an unnamed noble woman by whom he had a daughter called Athenais

Athenais (great granddaughter of Herodes Atticus)

Athenais was a Roman noblewoman of Greek Athenian and Italian Roman descent. Athenais lived between the second half of the 2nd century and first half of the 3rd century in the Roman Empire....

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Sources

• Graindor, P., Un milliardaire antique, Ayers Company Publishers, 1979
• Pomeroy, S.B., The murder of Regilla: a case of domestic violence in antiquity, Harvard University Press, 2007
• http://www.sleepinbuff.com/13history.pdf