Philippus Ii., M. Ju'lius>
son of the foregoing, was a boy of seven at the accession (A. D. 244) of his father, by whom he was forthwith proclaimed Caesar, and three years afterwards (247) chosen consul, being at the same time admitted to share the purple with the title of Augustus. His second consulship (248) corresponds with the celebration of the secular solemnities, and in the autumn of 249 he was slain, according to Zosimus, at the battle of Verona, or murdered, according to Victor, at Rome by the praetorians, when intelligence arrived of the defeat and death of the emperor. Nothing has been recorded with regard to this youth, who perished at the age of twelve, except that he was of a singularly serious and stern temperament, so that from early childhood he could never be induced to smile, and on perceiving his father indulging in hearty merriment, called forth by some buffoonery at the games, he turned away his head with a marked expression of disgust.
His names and titles were the same with those of the elder Philip, with the addition of
Severus, found upon some Pamphylian coins, and derived, it would seem, from his mother Otacilia Severa.
The appellation
C. Julius Saturninus, assigned to him by Victor, rests upon no oilier authority and is not confirmed by medals or inscriptions. (Aur. Vict.
de Caes. xxviii.
Epil. xxviii.; Zosim. 1.22.)
[
W.R]
