person
Gaius Ateius Capito
Capito
also: C. Ateius Capito, Capito, C. Ateio Capitone, C. Capitonis, Capitonem, Capitonis
Gaius Ateius Capito, a close friend of Cicero who is described as having supported him through every vicissitude of fortune, including financially. A consistent admirer of Caesar. He is the beneficiary (heir to half and a third) of the estate of his deceased relative Titus Antistius (quaestor in Macedonia). Cicero writes to L. Munatius Plancus asking him to secure Caesar's recognition of Capito's inheritance (13.29). Not the Augustan-era jurist Gaius Ateius Capito (cos. suff. AD 5), who is a later generation.
Reading notes
- Ad Familiares 13.29 §7 that I was more moderate and more restrained than anyone on that side, was due above all to the authority of Capito
Cicero here deploys C. Ateius Capito as a character witness for his own lukewarm Pompeian allegiance: if even Capito --- a known Caesarian sympathiser --- counselled moderation, Cicero's restraint during the war reflects credit rather than disloyalty.