Pisonian conspiracy
The conspiracy of Gaius Calpurnius Piso in 65 CE was a major turning point in the reign of the Roman emperor Nero (reign 54–68). The plot reflected the growing discontent among the ruling class of the Roman state with Nero's increasingly despotic leadership, and as a result is a significant event on the road toward his eventual suicide and the chaos of the Year of the Four Emperors which followed.[citation needed]
Plot
The conspiracy was put in jeopardy by a woman named
On the morning that the conspirators' plot was to be carried out
Nero ordered Piso, the philosopher
Named conspirators
At least 41 individuals were accused of being part of the conspiracy. Of the known 41, there were 19 senators, seven equites, 11 soldiers, and four women.
Executed or forced to commit suicide
Piso,[14] Plautius Lateranus,[15] Lucan, Afranius Quintianus,[16] Flavius Scaevinus,[16] Claudius Senecio,[16] Vulcatius Araricus, Julius Augurinus, Munatius Gratus, Marcius Festus, Faenius Rufus,[17] Subrius Flavus,[18] Sulpicius Asper,[19] Maximus Scaurus, Venetus Paulus, Epicharis,[20] Seneca the Younger,[21] Antonia, Marcus Julius Vestinus Atticus.[22]
Exiled or denigrated
Novius Priscus, Annius Pollio, Publius Glitius Gallus, Rufrius Crispinus, Verginius Flavus, Musonius Rufus, Cluvidienus Quietus,[23] Julius Agrippa,[23] Blitius Catulinus,[23] Petronius Pricus,[23] Julius Altinus,[23] Caesennius Maximus, Caedicia (wife of Flavius Scaevinus).[23]
Pardoned or acquitted
Antonius Natalis, Cervarius Proculus, Statius Proximus (but afterwards committed suicide), Gavius Silvanus (also afterwards committed suicide), Acilia Lucana.[23]
Modern fiction
The Polish writer Henryk Sienkiewicz, in his book Quo Vadis used many of the themes, while the setting took place in the time of the plot. In the last scene of the book, one of the plotters, Petronius, committed suicide after having a lavish party.
The novel by Naomi Mitchison, The Blood of the Martyrs (1939), is set in the months leading up to the failure of the conspiracy. It is the topic of John Hersey's epistulary novel, The Conspiracy (1972).
References
Citations
- ^ a b Pagán 2004, p. 73.
- ^ Tacitus, 15.49.
- ^ Pagán 2004, pp. 73–4.
- ^ a b Pagán 2004, p. 74.
- ^ Tacitus, 15.57.
- ^ Pagán 2004, p. 75.
- ^ Pagán 2004, p. 84.
- ^ Pagán 2004, pp. 84–5.
- ^ Bunson 1994, p. 433.
- ^ a b Pagán 2004, p. 85.
- ^ Pagán 2004, p. 86.
- ^ Plutarch, Moralia 505C
- ^ Tacitus, 15.65.
- ^ Tacitus, 15.59.
- ^ Tacitus, 15.60.
- ^ a b c Tacitus, 15.70.
- ^ Tacitus, 15.66.
- ^ Tacitus, 15.67.
- ^ Tacitus, 15.68.
- ^ Tacitus, 15.57.
- ^ Tacitus, 15.60–65.
- ^ Tacitus, 15.69.
- ^ a b c d e f g Tacitus, 15.71.
- Bunson, Matthew (1994). Pisonian Conspiracy. New York: Facts on File. )
- Pagán, Victoria Emma (2004). Conspiracy Narratives in Roman History. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press. ISBN 0-292-70561-1.
- Tacitus (1942). Hadas, Moses (ed.). Annals. The Modern Library of the World's Best Books. Translated by Church, Alfred John; Brodribb, William Jackson. The Modern Library.