Euodus (freedman)
Euodus (Greek Εὔοδος) was a freedman who oversaw the execution of the Roman Empress Valeria Messalina in the autumn of 48 AD .
After Messalina, the third wife of the emperor Claudius , had entered into a new marriage with Gaius Silius in 48 AD without her husband's knowledge , the freed man Narcissus , who feared for his powerful position, carried out her overthrow. He informed the Princeps , who was in Ostia , about his wife's behavior and led him back to Rome , whereupon several people involved in the affair were sentenced and executed. But when Claudius, who was always indulgent towards his wife, hesitated with the execution of Messalina and wanted to give her a hearing for her justification, Narcissus fabricated an alleged murder order from the emperor and sent a tribune and centurions to kill the empress. Euodus accompanied the troop, taking on the role of supervisor and executor. When they came across Messalina crouching on the ground next to her mother Domitia Lepida in the gardens of Lucullus , she was insulted by Euodus while the tribune was silent, but shortly afterwards, when she proved incapable of suicide, the Empress stabbed to death with a sword .
There are no other details about Euodus. He could be identical with the freedman of the same name of Tiberius , who had significant influence with this emperor in the last year of his life (37 AD).
literature
- Arthur Stein : Euodos 3). In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume VI, 1, Stuttgart 1907, Sp. 1154.
Remarks
- ↑ Tacitus , Annalen 11, 37f.
- ↑ Flavius Josephus , Jüdische Antiquities 18, 205; 18, 211; 18, 213.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Euodus |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Roman freedman |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1st century |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1st century or 2nd century |