Drusus

Drusus, the name of a distinguished family of the gens Livia, and of some members of the Claudian gens. The most conspicuous of the Drusi were (1) M. Livius Drusus, tribune of the people in 122 B.C., the opponent of the democratic policy of his colleague, C. Gracchus. (2) His son of the same name, who, though identified by birth and sympathy with the patricians, renewed some of the most liberal measures of the Gracchi, and advocated the claims of the Italians to Roman citizenship. He was assassinated in 91 B.C., just before the outbreak of the Social War. (3) The most illustrious of the Drusi was Nero Claudius Drusus, commonly called Drusus Senior, the stepson of the Emperor Augustus, and younger brother of the Emperor Tiberius. His campaign against the Rhaeti and other Alpine tribes (15 B.C.) is celebrated by Horace (Odes, iv. 4). Until his death in 9 B.C. he was engaged chiefly in establishing the Roman supremacy in Germany. The 'Fossa Drusiana,' a canal joining the Rhine with the Yssel, and other engineering works were constructed by his direction. For his exploits in Germany, Drusus was rewarded with the title of Germanicus, but care must be taken not to confound him with the celebrated Germanicus (q.v.), his own son.