Gaius Ateius Capito (tribune)

Gaius Ateius Capito was a tribune of the plebs in 55 BC. He is known primarily for his opposition to the war against the Parthians launched by Marcus Licinius Crassus.

Ateius Capito worked with his fellow tribune Publius Aquillius Gallus in opposition to Crassus and Pompeius Magnus during their second joint consulship in 55 BC. In particular, the two tribunes supported Cato in attempting to block the Lex Trebonia, legislation brought by C. Trebonius to give Crassus and Pompeius each an extended five-year proconsular province. Their objections at the assembly, though strenuous, were unsuccessful: Trebonius had Cato arrested, and physical force was used to eject Ateius and Aquillius when they tried to assert their veto power. Ateius at an unspecified time returned to the assembly to show his wounds and gain sympathy, but was greeted by the consuls' bodyguards.

The Lex Trebonia resulted from political arrangements among Crassus, Pompeius, and Julius Caesar — the so-called "First Triumvirate" — that had been negotiated in meetings held March 56 BC at Ravenna and the next month at Luca, both in Caesar's province of Gallia Cisalpina. Pompeius received the Spanish provinces, and Crassus the province of Syria, his eagerness for which was universally interpreted as an intention to wage war against Parthia. In separate legislation, Caesar received an extension of his proconsulship in Gaul. Ateius's support of Cato indicates his optimate sympathies.

...
Wikipedia