Censorship (247 BC) Atticus' first mention in history is his election as censor in 247, alongside
Aulus Atilius Caiatinus, a plebeian with a distinguished career (twice consul in 258 and 254,
dictator in 249). During the third century, the Manlii and the
Atilii were the allies of the great patrician gens
Fabia and members of these three gentes are often found together in the
Fasti. Moreover, one of the consuls of 247 was
Numerius Fabius Buteo.
Friedrich Münzer furthermore suggested that Atticus was married to a Fabia. Atticus' accession to the censorship is exceptional because this magistracy was usually the pinnacle of a career at Rome, in theory reserved to former consuls (only six censors were in this situation between 312 and 31 BC). This election can be explained by the influence of the Fabii, as well as the dearth of available former patrician consuls in the context of the
First Punic War, as experienced commanders were needed on the field and several consuls had died in battle. Caiatinus was likely the most influential of the pair, as Atticus was a younger man. He is additionally recorded as the censor
prior in the Fasti, which means the
Centuriate Assembly elected him before Atticus. The censors completed the 38th
lustrum and registered 241,212 Roman citizens, a sharp decline from the previous census (in 252), which numbered 297,797 citizens. The defeats at
Drepana and
Lilybaeum combined with war attrition took a heavy toll on the Roman citizenry. Finally, the censors drew the
lectio—the list of senators—and named the
princeps senatus. They might have chosen at this occasion
Gnaeus Cornelius Blasio but it is also possible that he was appointed at the next
lectio in 241.
First consulship (244 BC) Atticus was elected consul for the first time in 244 together with Gaius Sempronius Blaesus, a plebeian who had already been consul in 253. Atticus is described by
Cassiodorus—who relied on
Livy for his list of consuls—as the consul
prior.
Marcus Fabius Buteo was consul the previous year with another Atilius—Gaius Bulbus—and might have played a role in the election of Atticus and Blaesius. Nothing is known on their activity as consuls; they possibly served in
Sicily, where most of the operations of the First Punic War took place that year.
Second consulship (241 BC) Atticus was elected consul a second time in 241, alongside the plebeian
Quintus Lutatius Cerco. The latter was the brother of
Gaius Lutatius Catulus who won the
Battle of the Aegate Islands at the end of his consulship, on 10 March 241 (magistrates took office on 1 May at that time). Cassiodorus and
Eutropius (who also relied on Livy) tell that Cerco was the consul
prior and Atticus
posterior, but in the
Fasti Capitolini Atticus was moved to first place. The Augustan pontiff Aulus Manlius Torquatus was thus responsible for the promotion of Atticus in the Fasti, as well as several other members of his family.
Zonaras tells that Catulus made a
first treaty with
Hamilcar after his victory, a few days before the end of his consulship, so he could be the one who ended the war. However, he and
Polybius add that the "people of Rome" rejected the treaty, so his brother Cerco negotiated harsher terms upon Carthage after he entered office. Adam Ziolkowski thinks that "the people" in fact showed its opposition by electing a consul who was against the treaty of Catulus; since Cerco could not have contradicted his brother, it means that the opposition came from Atticus, who wished to continue the war. Nevertheless, Atticus had to give way and accept making peace, but obtained additional clauses in the new treaty. This compromise might still have been considered too lenient towards Carthage by a faction in the senate, hence why Rome took
Sardinia a few years later. Incidentally, Sardinia was conquered by Atticus' nephew
Titus Manlius Torquatus in 235. Cerco's and Atticus' consulship was marked by natural disasters in Rome, which according to
Orosius "almost destroyed the City". He adds that the
Tiber river overflowed and crushed all the buildings located in the plain. This flood was particularly devastating because at this time most buildings were made in wood and clay, which are vulnerable to water. A major fire also ravaged the
Temple of Vesta and most of the area around the
Forum. The
Pontifex Maximus—
Lucius Caecilius Metellus—almost died while trying to save the palladium from the burning temple. Ancient authors tell that the
Faliscans—an Italic people living in Southern
Etruria—revolted in order to take advantage of the situation. The real cause is more probably the expiration of a 50-year treaty concluded in 293. E. S. Staveley even considers that this war was part of a deliberate strategy from Rome to tighten its control of Etruria. He notes that the censors of 241 built the
Via Aurelia which went northwards from Rome to
Pisa and founded colonies in the area.i.|alt= According to Zonaras, Atticus had some difficulties overcoming the Faliscans in his first battle against them, as they defeated his infantry; the cavalry nonetheless saved the situation. He had a better result in the second battle, which ended the campaign after only six days. The consuls seized the Faliscans' horses, slaves, arms, half of their territory and displaced their capital of
Falerii to a defenceless location at
Falerii Novii. Zonaras' account describes Atticus as sole commander, but Cerco and Atticus were both awarded a triumph for the victory, respectively celebrated on 1 and 4 March 240. The two consuls are also named together on a Faliscan bronze breastplate with an inscription saying "captured at Falerii" (as booty). The patron-goddess of Falerii was
Iuno Curritis, whom Atticus brought to Rome by founding a temple dedicated to her on the
Campus Martius (its exact location is still unknown), while Cerco founded the Temple of
Fortuna Publica on the
Quirinal Hill. Both consuls were likely fulfilling a vow to these goddesses that they had made on the battlefield. Several ancient authors tell that Atticus' nephew—
Titus Torquatus—closed the gate of the
Temple of Janus, after his victorious campaign in Sardinia during his consulship of 235. This act symbolically meant that Rome and its neighbours were at peace. It was only the first time that the temple was closed since the reign of
Numa Pompilius—the legendary second
king of Rome—and remained so for eight years; its gates then stayed open until
Augustus closed them again after the
Battle of Actium in 31 BC. However, as Livy says that this event took place "after the First Punic War",
Tim Cornell and Staveley place it in 241, when Atticus was consul as it makes more sense to close the Temple of Janus at the end of a 23-year war than for a small campaign in Sardinia. The consensus nonetheless remains in favour of 235. of
Nero,
circa AD 65, showing the
Temple of Janus with its gates closed.
Princeps Senatus (220–216 BC) Atticus disappears from ancient sources after his second consulship. However, since Atticus was elected censor at a younger age than usual, he probably outlived the other former censors. Therefore, he may have been named
princeps senatus during the
lectio of 220, because before 208, the censors automatically appointed as such the former censor with the most seniority. The princeps senatus was the first senator to speak in the debates and was thus very influential in the
Senate. The suggestion that Atticus was princeps was made by Francis Ryan on the assumption that Atticus was still alive in 220; he adds that he must have died before 216, when
Marcus Fabius Buteo became princeps senatus.
Pliny tells that a former consul named Aulus Torquatus died while eating a cake. It could be Atticus, but Münzer favours the consul of 164, also named Aulus Torquatus. ==
Stemma of the Manlii Torquati ==