[2] In effect, though not in law, the action cancelled his adoption and virtually assured Tiberius' emplacement as Augustus' sole heir.

[13] That differed greatly from the honours received by his brothers, both of whom were inducted into the Roman Forum by Augustus himself to commemorate their adoptions, given the title Princeps Iuventutis ("Leader of the Youth") and promised the consulship five years in advance, to be held when they reached 19.

Augustus sent Tiberius to crush the revolt with his army, and after a year of delayed results, he sent Germanicus in his capacity as quaestor to assist in bringing the war to a swift end.

He resisted all efforts to improve his behavior, which forced Augustus to "abdicate" him from the Julii in AD 6 and banish him to a villa at Surrentum, near Pompeii.

The ancient historian Velleius Paterculus had this to say of the banishment:[17] Hoc fere tempore Agrippa... mira pravitate animi atque ingenii in praecipitia conversus patris atque eiusdem avi sui animum alienavit sibi, moxque crescentibus in dies vitiis dignum furore suo habuit exitum.

About this time Agrippa... alienated from himself the affection of his father who was also his grandfather, falling into reckless ways by an amazing depravity of attitude and intellect; and soon, as his vices increased daily, he met the end which his madness deserved.

[20] Postumus' sister Julia was banished around the same time (AD 8), and her husband, Lucius Aemilius Paullus, was executed for allegedly plotting a conspiracy against Augustus.

The main ancient sources of information about the period, Tacitus and Cassius Dio, suggest that Augustus left Rome in the company of only one trusted friend, the senator Paullus Fabius Maximus.

While modern historians, including Fox, agree that such stories are highly unlikely, there is evidence that Augustus' journey was historical.

[17] At almost the same time as Augustus' death, Postumus was killed by the centurion Gaius Sallustius Crispus, the great-nephew and adopted son of the historian Sallust.

Tiberius denied any involvement, argued that he had been en route to Illyricum when he was recalled to Rome, and later issued a statement that it was Augustus who had given the order that Agrippa Postumus not survive him.

[28] The impersonation was carried out by the same slave who had set out in AD 14 to ship Postumus away, and the act was met with considerable success among the plebs.

[25] According to the historian Erich S. Gruen, various contemporary sources state that Postumus was a "vulgar young man, brutal and brutish, and of depraved character".

[29] The Roman historian Tacitus defended him, but his praise was slight: "[He was] the young, physically tough, indeed brutish, Agrippa Postumus.

Velleius portrays Postumus as having had a deformed or perverse character, Dio records a propensity to violence ("He had an impetuous temper...")[31] and a devotion to "servile pursuits", and both Tacitus and Suetonius describe him as fierce ("ferox").

Contemporaries were reported to have described Postumus as wild ("trux"), and Suetonius is in agreement with Dio's "servile pursuits" depiction.

[32] Postumus is depicted in many works of art due to his relationship with the leading family of the early Roman Empire.