Liberators' Civil War - Aftermath

Aftermath

Plutarch reports that Antony covered Brutus' body with a purple garment as a sign of respect: they had been friends. He remembered that Brutus had placed as a condition for his joining the plot to assassinate Caesar that the life of Antony should be spared. Many other young Roman aristocrats lost their life in the battle or committed suicide after the defeat, including the son of great orator Hortensius, and Marcus Porcius Cato (the son of Cato the Younger), and Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus (the father of Livia, who became Octavian’s wife). Porcia, Brutus’ wife also killed herself by swallowing a red-hot coal when she received news of the defeat. Some of the nobles who were able to escape negotiated their surrender to Antony and entered his service (among them Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus and Marcus Valerius Messalla Corvinus). Apparently, the nobles did not want to deal with the young and merciless Octavian.

The remains of the Liberators’ army were rounded up and roughly 14,000 men were enrolled into the triumvirs army. Old veterans were discharged back to Italy, but some of the veterans remained in the town of Philippi, which became a Roman colony (Colonia Victrix Philippensium).

Antony remained in the East, while Octavian returned to Italy, with the difficult task of finding the land to settle a large number of veterans. Despite the fact the Sextus Pompeius was controlling Sicily and Domitius Ahenobarbus still commanded the republican fleet, the republican resistance had been definitely crushed at Philippi.