Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso (consul 7 BC)
Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso | |
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Died | 20 AD |
Cause of death | suicide |
Known for | accused of poisoning Germanicus |
Criminal charges |
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Spouse | Munatia Plancina |
Children | Gnaeus (later changed to Lucius) Calpurnius Piso Marcus Calpurnius Piso. |
Parent |
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Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso (c. 44/43 BC – AD 20) was a Roman statesman during the reigns of
Family
He was a member of the
Piso was married to Munatia Plancina, a woman of noble rank and wealth. By Plancina, Piso had two sons, Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, who after Piso's death had to take the name of Lucius Calpurnius Piso (consul in AD 27),[4] and Marcus Calpurnius Piso.
Career
Piso held several positions under Augustus and Tiberius. Ronald Syme infers that Piso was a military tribune in the Spanish campaigns of 26–25 BC. This accords with his known tenure as triumvir monetalis in 23 BC. Between that office and being appointed quaestor, which enabled him entry into the Roman Senate, Syme infers Piso was married. Syme fills the gap between those events and his consulate with various activities, such as accompanying his friend Claudius Nero in his Alpine campaign.[5] At some date between 5 BC and AD 2 he was admitted to the College of Pontiffs.[6]
In 3 BC he was proconsul of the province of Africa, and of Hispania Tarraconensis in AD 9.[7][unreliable source?][8] According to Tacitus, he was cruel to the people of Spain, but during his trial in AD 20 such claims were discounted as "old and irrelevant".[9]
Though he was given many appointments throughout his career, Piso was known to have a temper. In AD 16, he argued against Tiberius that the
Governorship of Syria
In AD 17, heir designate
In the summer of 19, Germanicus had left to take care of matters in Egypt, and when he returned he found that Piso had ignored his orders to the cities and the legions. Germanicus was furious and ordered Piso's recall to Rome.[10] During the feud, Germanicus fell ill and, though Piso had left the province, Germanicus claimed Piso had poisoned him. Piso received a letter from Germanicus renouncing their friendship (amicitia). On 10 October, Germanicus died from the illness. Upon hearing of Germanicus' death, he returned to resume command of Syria.[12]
Trial
As the death of Germanicus occurred during their feud most people suspected him of having poisoned Germanicus, although this was never proven. The armed attempt by Piso to regain control of Syria immediately after the death of Germanicus only aroused more indignation. This, the rumors of him poisoning Germanicus, and his conduct going back as far as his governorship of Spain were all taken up by the delatores in their accusations against him. It wasn't long before the matter was taken to the Emperor.
Tiberius was forced to order an investigation, and after briefly hearing both sides, decided to defer the case to the
The accusations brought against Piso are numerous, including:[15][16]
- Insubordination
- Corruption
- Abandoning and reentering a province
- Summary justice
- Destroying military discipline
- Misusing the fiscus principis (emperor's money)
- Fomenting civil war
- Violating the divinity of Divus Augustus (sacrilege).
Although the murder of Germanicus was one of the accusations brought against him, he was only actually found guilty of abandoning and reentering Syria without authorisation to wage war, and for violating Germanicus'
In accordance with the
His accomplices, a Visellius Karus and a Sempronius Bassus, were to be declared outlaws for committing treason. Their property was to be sold with profits consigned to the aerarium. It is unclear whether or not their case was handled by a judicial authority, such as a quaestio, or by the senate as well.[15][note 1]
Character
Piso was recorded as a man of violent temper, without an idea of obedience, and natural arrogance who saw himself as superior to the children of Tiberius.[11] Tacitus further alleged that Piso's marriage to Plancina, a woman of noble rank and wealth, only inflamed his ambition.
Seneca, in On Anger, speaks negatively of Piso.[23] A legionary who returned from a foraging mission without his partner and was unable to explain where his friend was. Piso, suspecting murder, accused the legionary and sentenced him to death without offering him time to search for the missing soldier. The centurion at the time was given the order to behead the accused. Fortunately for the legionary, before the centurion could swing the sword, the missing soldier walked into the camp and the execution was stopped. All three men went to Gnaeus Piso to show that the legionary had returned. To this Piso ordered all three men to be beheaded: the first because he lost his friend; the centurion because he failed to obey his orders; and the third for getting lost. Wrath had found a way to think up three crimes where there was none.
Piso in fiction
He was played by John Phillips in the ITV series The Caesars, and by Stratford Johns in the BBC TV serial I, Claudius.
See also
Footnotes
References
- ^ Sherk 1984, p. 160
- ^ Smith 1876, p. 375
- ^ Syme 1986, p. 368
- ^ Tacitus, Annals 3.16
- ^ Syme 1986, p. 369
- ^ Martha W. Hoffman Lewis, The Official Priests of Rome under the Julio-Claudians (Rome: American Academy, 1955), p. 30
- ^ a b [unreliable source?] Dando-Collins 2008, p. 45
- ^ Hornblower, Spawforth & Eidinow 2012, p. 270
- ^ Tacitus, Annals 3.13–14
- ^ a b Lott 2012, pp. 342–343
- ^ a b Tacitus, Annals 2.43
- ^ Lott 2012, p. 267
- ^ Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Tiberius 52
- ^ Tacitus, Annals III.15–16
- ^ a b c Rowe 2002, pp. 9–17
- ^ Senatus Consultum de Pisone (The Senate's decree against Gnaeus Piso senior)
- ^ Rowe 2002, p. 11
- ^ a b Ando, Tuori & Plessis 2016, p. 340
- ^ Tacitus, The Annals 3.15 compare 3.17
- ^ Senatus Consultum de Cn. Pisone patre, lines 109–120
- ^ Tacitus, The Annals 6.26
- ^ Cassius Dio, Roman History 58.22
- Lucius Annaeus Seneca. "Seneca Of Anger". Seneca's Morals of a Happy Life, Benefits, Anger and Clemency. Translated by Roger L'Estrange. pp. 341–342.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- Suetonius, Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Life of Caligula, Latin text with English translation
- Suetonius, Lives of the Twelve Caesars, Life of Tiberius, Latin text with English translation
- Tacitus, Annals, I–III, English translation
- Senatus Consultum de Pisone ("The Senate's decree against Gnaeus Piso senior")
- Seneca the Younger, de Ira I, XVIII, 3–4
Secondary sources
- Ando, Clifford; Tuori, Kaius; Plessis, Paul J. du, eds. (2016), Oxford Handbook of Law and Society, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0198728689
- Dando-Collins, Stephen (2008), Blood of the Caesars: How the Murder of Germanicus Led to the Fall of Rome, Wiley, ]
- Hornblower, Simon; Spawforth, Antony; Eidinow, Esther, eds. (2012), The Oxford Classical Dictionary, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0199545568
- Lott, J. Bert (2012), Death and Dynasty in Early Imperial Rome: Key Sources, with Text, Translation, and Commentary, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0521860444
- Rowe, Greg (2002), Princes and Political Cultures: The New Tiberian Senatorial Decrees, University of Michigan Press, ISBN 0472112309
- Sherk, Robert K. (1984), Rome and the Greek East to the death of Augustus, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0521271233
- Shotter, David (1992), Tiberius Caesar, London: Routledge, ISBN 978-0203625026
- Syme, Ronald (1986), The Augustan Aristocracy, Clarendon Press, ISBN 978-0198147312
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1876). "Piso". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 3. pp. 375–376.
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 21 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 652.
External links
- Calpurnius Piso entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
- Senatus Consultum de Cn. Pisone patre – recently discovered decree of the senate summarizing the results of Piso's trial (in Latin)