Rubellius Plautus

Sergius (?) Rubellius Plautus (* after 33; † 62 ) was a Roman nobleman and competitor of Nero . Through his mother Iulia Livia , a niece of the emperor Claudius , he was closely related to the imperial family. His father was the Senator Gaius Rubellius Blandus .

His father died already 38, his mother 43 was murdered at Messalina's instigation. The prenomen of Rubellius Plautus has not survived; it could have been Sergius , as an inscription on an aqueduct from Rome shows.

When Junia Silana , the widow of Gaius Silius , was prevented from marrying Titus Sextius Africanus by the imperial mother Agrippina in the year 55 , she caused two of her clients, in revenge, to spread the rumor that Agrippina wanted to marry Rubellius Plautus and him, who was just as close was related to Augustus like Nero himself, to make emperor. Agrippina defended herself by appealing to her motherly love, which would never allow anyone other than her own, laboriously built up son to be on the throne. Iunia Silana was banished. Nero did not pursue the matter further.

In the year 60, after Agrippina's murder, a comet appeared in the sky, which led to speculation among the population that a change to the imperial throne was imminent. Other omens convinced the population and the emperor himself that Rubellius Plautus was the one chosen by the gods. Nero wrote him a polite letter in which he asked him to retire to Asia for the sake of the rest in Rome . Plautus complied with this order and moved into exile with his wife Antistia Politta , the daughter of Lucius Antistius Vetus , where, as before in Rome, they lived happily and securely according to the ancient Roman virtues.

After Seneca's retreat in 62, Nero's fear of potential competition increased. He remembered his exiled relatives Plautus and Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix , who in his eyes were just waiting to use the armies stationed in the provinces against him. Plautus' wealth, his lifestyle, which was based on the ancient Roman virtues, and his stoic philosophy made him suspicious. While Sulla was murdered in Massilia within days, Nero's intention had already spread to Asia Minor. Even Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo , the governor of the province of Asia, is rumored to have conspired with Plautus and killed Nero's emissary. Plautus himself did not even follow the advice of his father-in-law to defend himself by force of arms, but calmly awaited death. In Rome, Nero mocked the severed head of Plautus. He declared that he had acted in the interests of the empire and had Plautus and Sulla posthumously expelled from the Senate. Nero left his goods to Octavia , from whom he divorced at the same time.

Antistia mourned her husband in public for years and tried to get to Nero to tell him about the injustice he had suffered. When she learned that her and her father were also threatened with conviction, they released their slaves and committed suicide together with Vetus' mother-in-law Sextia in 66. When Nero found out about her death, he added permission to his death sentence to die without his cooperation. Other friends of Plautus were also executed because they reminded Nero of the murdered relative. What became of Plautus' and Antistia's children is not known.

literature

• Marie-Odile Goulet-Cazé: Plautus (Rubellius). In: Richard Goulet (ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques. Vol. 5, Part 1, CNRS Éditions, Paris 2012, ISBN 978-2-271-07335-8 , pp. 865-866

Remarks

1. ↑ AE 1954, 00070 .
2. ↑ Tacitus, Annals 13: 19-21 .
3. ↑ Tacitus, Annals 14:22 .
4. ↑ Cassius Dio 62:13.
5. ↑ Tacitus, Annals 14: 57-59 .
6. ↑ Tacitus, Annals 16: 10-11 .
7. ↑ Tacitus, Annals 16:23 ; 30 .