Thrasyllus was a grammarian, literary commentator, and court astrologer who became the personal friend of the Roman emperor Tiberius.
[8] Balbilus had one known sibling, an elder unnamed sister, who married the Eques Lucius Ennius.
[9][10] Through her, Balbilus was the maternal uncle of Ennia Thrasylla[10] who married the Praetorian prefect of the Praetorian Guard Naevius Sutorius Macro and perhaps, Lucius Ennius who was the father of Lucius Ennius Ferox, a Roman soldier who served during the reign of the Roman emperor Vespasian[11] from 69 until 79.
[14][1] When Claudius returned with the Roman Legions from Britain to Rome, Balbilus was awarded a crown of honour.
According to Suetonius, Claudius awarded Balbilus a Hasta Pura and perhaps a corona aurea during the Triumph to celebrate the conquest of Britain in 44.
After Balbilus returned to Rome from the Roman conquest of Britain, he received an important post in Egypt.
During the reign of Nero, Balbilus served as an astrological adviser to him and his mother,[2] Agrippina the Younger.
[5] Seneca the Younger describes him as ‘an excellent man of most rare learning in every branch of studies’.
[1] The identity of the wife of Balbilus is unknown; most probably she was a Greek noblewoman from the aristocracy of the Roman Near East.
[25] As Vespasian thought very highly of him, he dedicated and allowed Ephesians to institute games held in his honour.
Balbilla had lived in Egypt and was an escort to the Roman emperor Hadrian and his wife, Vibia Sabina when they visited the country.
In the inscriptions on the Colossi of Memnon, Balbilla acknowledged and made reference to her royal and aristocratic descent.
In the last two lines of the second epigram, she honours her family including Balbilus: For my parents were noble, and my grandfathers, The wise Balbillus and Antiochus the king.