Lucius Vitellius

Family: Vitellius · Role: son; consul; governor of Syria; censor · First appears: Vitellius 2

Lucius Vitellius was one of four sons of Publius Vitellius (elder), alongside Aulus Vitellius, Quintus Vitellius, and Publius Vitellius (younger). He became consul, governor of Syria, and censor; as governor, he secured an interview with Artabanus and brought the Parthian king to worship the Roman standards.

Upon returning from Syria, Lucius initiated the worship of Caligula as a god, while also keeping golden images of Narcissus and Pallas among his household gods. He sought Messalina’s favor by taking off her shoes and wearing one beneath his clothing. When Claudius was away in Britain, the care of the empire was entrusted to Lucius, and during the secular games he publicly praised Claudius by saying, “May you often do the same.”

Lucius and his wife Sextilia had two sons, including Aulus Vitellius, whose advancement was thought to have been aided by his submission to the emperor’s unnatural lust. Lucius lived to see himself and Aulus Vitellius consuls in the same year and throughout that year. He then died of palsy; afterward, the senate honored him with a public funeral and a statue in the Rostra.