Gaius Calpurnius Piso (Consul)

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Gaius Calpurnius Piso († April 19, 65 ) was a Roman politician, speaker and literary patron from the family of the Calpurnier . He is mainly known for participating in the named after him Pisoni conspiracy against Nero from the year 65, after which he committed suicide.

A considerable inheritance from his mother's side had made him an enormous fortune. He came from the highest nobility and through his father was related to many families of the Roman aristocracy . He was recognized for courtesy, loyalty, sincerity and lack of envy. In addition, he was rhetorical, sang, wrote, played the lyre and declaimed . He was also a good fencer and board player. He was very popular with the people for his generosity; He also supported poets and the needy. He helped members of the plebs to equestrian status . On the other hand, he is also described as reckless and had a tendency to love excessive splendor. Presumably Calpurnius Siculus is referring to him when he speaks of Meliboeus; he is certainly the subject of De laude Pisoni's eulogy . In May 38 he was co-opted into the college of the Arval Brothers.

His private life was disrupted by Caligula , who forced him to separate from his bride Livia Orestilla on his wedding day in AD 38 in order to marry her himself. Only a few days later, the emperor divorced again. Two months or years later, both were banished by Caligula, who accused them of having resumed their relationship. After Claudius came to power in 41 Piso was recalled from exile and held the suffect consulate under Claudius . The year is not known. Nothing further is disclosed about Livia Orestilla, but perhaps she was the wife of whom Tacitus writes that Piso's love for her is well known.

Role in the "Pisonian Conspiracy"

At first, Piso was on friendly terms with Nero due to mutual musical and literary interests. Since the early 1960s, however, a group of very different people with different motivations gathered around Piso, including Nero's advisor Seneca , with the plan to get rid of Nero. The term Pisonian conspiracy is misleading, because Tacitus already wrote that it was not known exactly who was the real originator of the conspiracy. Also, Piso does not seem to have cared so much about Nero's death that he would have been prepared to have the assassination attempt carried out in his villa in Baiae , where Nero often visited him privately, and thereby violate the hospitality law. However, it can also be assumed that he feared that an attack outside Rome would damage his own ambitions. Instead, it was decided to assassinate Nero at the games on the occasion of the Cerialia on April 19, 65 AD, at which the emperor wanted to appear as an artist in front of the entire Roman public, which in the eyes of the conspirators a denigration not only of his office, but also of all traditional customs. Piso was supposed to wait with Claudia Antonia , the daughter of Claudius, at the Ceres Temple and, after the murder had taken place , appear before the Praetorians . Whether he intended to legitimize his claim to the imperial throne by marrying an imperial daughter is questionable. After all, Piso was happily married. After the betrayal of the conspiracy, Piso, contrary to all advice, refrained from calling for an uprising, but expected death at home. Before the recruits sent to arrest him could arrest him, he committed suicide.

It is argued that Piso was just a straw man and that the real masterminds acted in the background. This impression is reinforced by the statement of Subrius Flavius that the state hardly gains in reputation if you chase away a zither player in order to replace him with a tragic actor. Another argument for this is the rumor mentioned by Tacitus that Piso would be killed by Subrius Flavius ​​and the other centurions after the successful takeover and that the state should be placed in Seneca's hands. In any case, after the attack, the conspirators needed a suitable successor for Nero ; Piso seemed to have been suitable for this, at least temporarily, due to its properties described above. However, it is difficult to identify motives for participating in the conspiracy. On the one hand, nothing is reported about the injustice suffered under Nero and, on the other hand, Tacitus denies that Piso's personal ambition formed the starting point for the conspiracy. Perhaps the later co-conspirators simply pushed him to take the lead. Ultimately, however, Piso's reasons for participating remain unknown.

swell

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Tacitus, Annals 15:48.
  2. ↑ Cassius Dio 59.8.7.
  3. ↑ Suetonius, Caligula 25.1.
  4. ↑ Tacitus, Annalen 15,53.
  5. ↑ Tacitus, Annals 15:49.
  6. ↑ Tacitus, Annals 15:52.
  7. ^ Stephan Elbern : Nero. Emperor - Artist - Antichrist. Philipp von Zabern, Mainz 2010, p. 131.
  8. ^ Gerhard Waldherr : Nero. A biography. Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 2005, p. 189.
  9. ↑ Tacitus, Annalen 15:59.
  10. ^ Tacitus, Annalen 15.65.
personal data
SURNAME Calpurnius Piso, Gaius
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Piso, Gaius Calpurnius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Roman politician, speaker and patron of literature
DATE OF BIRTH 1st century BC BC or 1st century
DATE OF DEATH April 19, 65