Gaius Silius

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gaius Silius (* around 4; † late autumn 48 ) was a Roman senator and consul- designate , known for his illegitimate marriage to Messalina , the wife of Emperor Claudius .

Origin and family

Gaius Silius was a "man of noble sex, dignified figure and strong mind". His parents were Gaius Silius , Consul of the year 13, and Sosia Galla . His father, a friend of Germanicus , and his mother, a friend of Agrippina , were accused by Tiberius of maiestas in the year 24 ; Silius anticipated the conviction by suicide.

Life

Initially, Gaius Silius (probably in the thirties of the 1st century) married Iunia Silana, who also came from a noble family, but remained childless. In the year 47 Iunia was ousted by Messalina and the marriage divorced.

For the years 47 and 48, Silius was designated consul, but was not appointed consul. In the late autumn of 48 Messalina, through her public marriage to Gaius Silius, intensified the question of who was the emperor of Rome. Without waiting any longer than until Claudius traveled to Ostia for a sacrifice, she celebrated the wedding ceremony in a very formal manner.

Claudius learned of the monstrous story through an advertisement from Narcissus . Meanwhile, Messalina and Silius celebrated a lavish wine festival in Rome. But when she got word of Claudius' return, the party broke off: So they parted, Messalina in the garden of Lucullus, Silius, to hide his fear, to the shops of the forum. The rest of them, scattering this way and that, fell into the hands of the centurions.

Because the Praetorian Prefect Lusius Geta was not trusted, Narcissus was given the Praetorian Guard for one day. The incumbent consul, who later became emperor Aulus Vitellius , was ignorant. When Silius was brought before the tribunal, he tried not defense, not delay, but asked that his death be hastened.

The satirist Juvenal summed up Silius' dilemma as follows:

This good young man, the most beautiful of all patricians, was doomed when Messalina's eye fell on him. [...] She absolutely only wants to marry in legal form. Tell me how you choose. If you don't want to follow, you'll die before evening; if you give in to iniquity, you live an hour longer.

Remarks

  1. ^ Tacitus, Annals 11, 28.
  2. ↑ Tacitus, Annalen 4, 18 f.
  3. ^ Tacitus, Annals 11, 26.
  4. ↑ Tacitus, Annalen 11, 32.
  5. ↑ Tacitus, Annalen 11, 35.
  6. ↑ Juvenal, Satiren 10, 331 ff.
personal data
SURNAME Silius, Gaius
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Roman politician, Messalina's illegitimate husband
DATE OF BIRTH At 4
DATE OF DEATH 48
Place of death Rome