Theodotus of Chios
Encyclopedia
Theodotus of Chios was the rhetoric tutor of the young Egyptian king Ptolemy XIII.
, the second in rank was the commander-in-chief Achillas
and finally in third place was Theodotus. In autumn of 50 BC these three guardians succeeded in securing Ptolemy XIII the participation in the rule of Egypt together with his ambitious older sister Cleopatra VII who in the first year of her accession to the throne (spring of 51 BC) had been able to rule alone. At the end of 49 BC Pothinus and his comrades expelled the Queen from Egypt. So Ptolemy XIII became sole regent but was still under the influence of his three guardians.
The dethroned Queen soon organized her own army by recruiting mercenaries in Palestine. Ptolemy XIII and his advisers were forced to move with their army into position near the Egyptian border fortress Pelusium
, not far from the troops of Cleopatra. At that time (end of July of 48 BC) the Roman triumvir Pompey
– who had lost the decisive Battle of Pharsalus
against Julius Caesar
– appeared at the Egyptian coast near Pelusium and asked the allied Pharaoh for asylum and assistance.
The advisers of Ptolemy XIII officially agreed to the petition of Pompey to gain time. After the departure of the Roman messengers a council of state was held to discuss the next steps. Caesar in his Commentarii de Bello Civili
and the Roman poet Lucan
in his Pharsalia
do not mention the participation of Theodotus in this council but it was his suggestion to murder Pompey that was accepted. With professional skilfulness Theodotus justified his plan: If Pompey was received he would become the ruler of Egypt and Caesar the enemy of the country; if Pompey was rejected he would be discontented because of his refusal and Caesar because he had to continue his pursuit; so the best course was to put Pompey to death, because in this case Caesar would be satisfied and the murdered Roman general would no longer be a danger because a dead man could not bite. The assassination of Pompey was executed by Lucius Septimius at the behest of Achillas.
Only two days later Caesar arrived with a fleet in Alexandria
. According to the Roman historian Livy
and the Greek biographer Plutarch
it was Theodotus who immediately delivered the signet ring and the head of Pompey to Caesar. But the Roman general was allegedly disgusted and wept. Ancient and modern historians have different opinions if the tears of Caesar were honest. The dictator stayed in Egypt and tried to win influence in the political affairs by claiming to decide the Ptolemaic struggle for the throne. He also demanded the payment of a large sum of money that the Ptolemaic government allegedly owed him for the military restoration of Ptolemy XII in 55 BC. This behaviour caused a war between the Roman dictator and the supporters of Ptolemy XIII. Because Caesar’s army was much too small he could only win the war after long and hard fighting.
Pothinus and Achillas were assassinated in the course of the war but Theodotus managed to escape from Egypt. Some years he eked out a miserable existence. He died in Asia in 43 BC or 42 BC when Marcus Junius Brutus
or Gaius Cassius Longinus
put him cruelly to death. The famous Roman rhetorician Quintilian
tells that a discussion with Caesar about the punishment of Theodotus was a subject in rhetoric schools.
Biography
Theodotus of Chios was a trained rhetorician and the tutor of Ptolemy XIII. He was one of the three influential men who led the guardianship for the young Egyptian king after the death of Ptolemy XII (spring of 51 BC). The most powerful of these men was the eunuch and minister PothinusPothinus
Pothinus , a eunuch, was regent for Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Ancient Egypt. He is most remembered for turning Ptolemy against his sister and co-ruler Cleopatra VII, thus starting a civil war, and for having Pompey decapitated and presenting the severed head to Julius...
, the second in rank was the commander-in-chief Achillas
Achillas
Achillas was one of the guardians of the Egyptian king Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator, and commander of the king's troops, when Pompey fled to Egypt in 48 BC...
and finally in third place was Theodotus. In autumn of 50 BC these three guardians succeeded in securing Ptolemy XIII the participation in the rule of Egypt together with his ambitious older sister Cleopatra VII who in the first year of her accession to the throne (spring of 51 BC) had been able to rule alone. At the end of 49 BC Pothinus and his comrades expelled the Queen from Egypt. So Ptolemy XIII became sole regent but was still under the influence of his three guardians.
The dethroned Queen soon organized her own army by recruiting mercenaries in Palestine. Ptolemy XIII and his advisers were forced to move with their army into position near the Egyptian border fortress Pelusium
Pelusium
Pelusium was a city in the eastern extremes of Egypt's Nile Delta, 30 km to the southeast of the modern Port Said. Alternative names include Sena and Per-Amun , Pelousion , Sin , Seyân , and Tell el-Farama...
, not far from the troops of Cleopatra. At that time (end of July of 48 BC) the Roman triumvir Pompey
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
– who had lost the decisive Battle of Pharsalus
Battle of Pharsalus
The Battle of Pharsalus was a decisive battle of Caesar's Civil War. On 9 August 48 BC at Pharsalus in central Greece, Gaius Julius Caesar and his allies formed up opposite the army of the republic under the command of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus...
against Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
– appeared at the Egyptian coast near Pelusium and asked the allied Pharaoh for asylum and assistance.
The advisers of Ptolemy XIII officially agreed to the petition of Pompey to gain time. After the departure of the Roman messengers a council of state was held to discuss the next steps. Caesar in his Commentarii de Bello Civili
Commentarii de Bello Civili
Commentarii de Bello Civili , or Bellum Civile, is an account written by Julius Caesar of his war against Gnaeus Pompeius and the Senate...
and the Roman poet Lucan
Marcus Annaeus Lucanus
Marcus Annaeus Lucanus , better known in English as Lucan, was a Roman poet, born in Corduba , in the Hispania Baetica. Despite his short life, he is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial Latin period...
in his Pharsalia
Pharsalia
The Pharsalia is a Roman epic poem by the poet Lucan, telling of the civil war between Julius Caesar and the forces of the Roman Senate led by Pompey the Great...
do not mention the participation of Theodotus in this council but it was his suggestion to murder Pompey that was accepted. With professional skilfulness Theodotus justified his plan: If Pompey was received he would become the ruler of Egypt and Caesar the enemy of the country; if Pompey was rejected he would be discontented because of his refusal and Caesar because he had to continue his pursuit; so the best course was to put Pompey to death, because in this case Caesar would be satisfied and the murdered Roman general would no longer be a danger because a dead man could not bite. The assassination of Pompey was executed by Lucius Septimius at the behest of Achillas.
Only two days later Caesar arrived with a fleet in Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
. According to the Roman historian Livy
Livy
Titus Livius — known as Livy in English — was a Roman historian who wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people. Ab Urbe Condita Libri, "Chapters from the Foundation of the City," covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome well before the traditional foundation in 753 BC...
and the Greek biographer Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
it was Theodotus who immediately delivered the signet ring and the head of Pompey to Caesar. But the Roman general was allegedly disgusted and wept. Ancient and modern historians have different opinions if the tears of Caesar were honest. The dictator stayed in Egypt and tried to win influence in the political affairs by claiming to decide the Ptolemaic struggle for the throne. He also demanded the payment of a large sum of money that the Ptolemaic government allegedly owed him for the military restoration of Ptolemy XII in 55 BC. This behaviour caused a war between the Roman dictator and the supporters of Ptolemy XIII. Because Caesar’s army was much too small he could only win the war after long and hard fighting.
Pothinus and Achillas were assassinated in the course of the war but Theodotus managed to escape from Egypt. Some years he eked out a miserable existence. He died in Asia in 43 BC or 42 BC when Marcus Junius Brutus
Marcus Junius Brutus
Marcus Junius Brutus , often referred to as Brutus, was a politician of the late Roman Republic. After being adopted by his uncle he used the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, but eventually returned to using his original name...
or Gaius Cassius Longinus
Gaius Cassius Longinus
Gaius Cassius Longinus was a Roman senator, a leading instigator of the plot to kill Julius Caesar, and the brother in-law of Marcus Junius Brutus.-Early life:...
put him cruelly to death. The famous Roman rhetorician Quintilian
Quintilian
Marcus Fabius Quintilianus was a Roman rhetorician from Hispania, widely referred to in medieval schools of rhetoric and in Renaissance writing...
tells that a discussion with Caesar about the punishment of Theodotus was a subject in rhetoric schools.
In media
- Theodotus is one of the characters in George Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's Caesar and CleopatraCaesar and Cleopatra (play)Caesar and Cleopatra, a play written in 1898 by George Bernard Shaw, was first staged in 1901 and first published with Captain Brassbound's Conversion and The Devil's Disciple in his 1901 collection, Three Plays for Puritans. It was first performed at Newcastle-on-Tyne on March 15, 1899...
. He was played by Ernest ThesigerErnest ThesigerErnest Frederic Graham Thesiger CBE was an English stage and film actor. He is best known for his performance as Dr...
in the 1946 film adaptation. - In the episode "Caesarion" of the television series RomeRome (TV series)Rome is a British-American–Italian historical drama television series created by Bruno Heller, John Milius and William J. MacDonald. The show's two seasons premiered in 2005 and 2007, and were later released on DVD. Rome is set in the 1st century BC, during Ancient Rome's transition from Republic...
(2005–07) Theodotus is portrayed by actor David de KeyserDavid de KeyserDavid de Keyser is a British actor. He is the father of Alexei de Keyser, Pia de Keyser and Thomas de Keyser.In the mid-sixties de Keyser worked twice with the writer, actor and director Jane Arden. Their first collaboration, The Logic Game, was the first BBC drama to be shot on film; it was...
. He is decapitated by the Romans and his head is placed on a spike on the outer wall of the pharaoh's palace.