the son of Drusus and Antonia the younger, born 16 B.C., and died 19 A.D., who seems to have inherited all the virtues of his father, and to have been distinguished, in a profligate and selfish age, for strictly honourable conduct, and a kind regard to the feelings of others. He was a particular favourite of Augustus, who caused him to be adopted (4 A.D.) into the family of his uncle Tiberius, and gave him the command of eight legions on the banks of the Rhine (7 A.D.). Here he remained till the death of Augustus (14 A.D.), regulating the affairs of Gaul, and keeping in check the restless and warlike Germans beyond the Rhine. He was engaged in collecting the revenue in Gaul when the news of the emperor's demise reached him, and he does not appear to have hesitated a moment as to the course which his duty called on him to pursue. Though urged by his personal friends, and not ignorant of the strong party which the popular conduct of his family had secured to him, he refused to contest the crown with his uncle Tiberius. On the contrary, he hurried to the armies in Germany to employ his influence in inducing them to submit to the authority of Tiberius, and upon his arrival found that the armies of both the Upper and Lower Rhine had refused to take the oath of allegiance, and wished to proclaim himself emperor. It required all his firmness and prudence to extricate himself from the difficulties in which he found himself involved, and he only succeeded in quelling the sedition by forging an imperial rescript, granting them all that they demanded. The appearance of deputies from the senate caused the sedition again to break out; but he contrived to induce the less violent part of the soldiers to seize the ringleaders and put them to death. (Tacit. Ann. i. 31-35.) He then led his troops against the Marsi and Catti, to give them an opportunity of atoning for their conduct, and laid waste the country inhabited by these tribes. The next year Arminius, who possessed great influence with his countrymen, induced them to revolt. The Cheruscii, one of the most powerful nations of Germany, and all the surrounding tribes, prepared to make an incursion into the Roman territory; but Germanicus, becoming acquainted with their intentions, anticipated them in their movements, and boldly penetrated into their country. Defeating the Bructeri near the spot where Verus and his legions had fallen, he pursued Arminius; but the battle which he fought was doubtful. Next year he determined to save his army from the risks and fatigues of a march through a thickly-wooded and difficult country, by building a fleet and conducting it along the coast. He was successful in this proceeding, and landed his army at the mouth of the river Amisia, Em. He defeated the united forces of the Germans in two battles; but as he was returning to the Rhine he was overtaken by a tempest, and many of his vessels were lost. Tiberius, suspicious of his intentions, and jealous of his popularity, took this opportunity of withdrawing him from the scene of his glory. On his return to Rome he enjoyed the honour of a triumph for all the victories he had gained over the Germans. (Tacit. Ann. i. 51-71; ii. 6-26.)

Germanicus was too formidable a subject and too virtuous a character not to excite unmingled fear in the mind of the suspicious Tiberius; and as the tyrant did not dare to cut him off in presence of the Roman people, he sent him into honourable banishment, by giving him the command of the province of Asia. Thither the emperor had also sent Piso, who was devoted to his interests, and the uncompromising enemy of Germanicus, a person, in short, who would stop at nothing to rid himself of his opponent. At Antioch Germanicus was taken ill, and died after a short illness, the innocent victim of Piso and his master Tiberius. He was deeply regretted by the Roman people, who regarded him as likely to bring back the halcyon days of the Augustan age. It will readily be imagined that he was a patron of literature and the sciences; and he was himself an author, having translated the Phenomena of Aratus, and written epigrams, several of which have been preserved. They have been published in a work entitled Carmina Familiae Cesareae, Coburg, 1715. His life has been written by Beaufort, Leyden, 1741.