The conspiracy of Gaius Calpurnius Piso in AD 65 represented one of the major turning points in the reign of the Roman emperor Nero (54–68). The plot signified the growing discontent among the upper social strata of the Roman state with regards to Nero's increasingly despotic leadership, and as a result is a significant event in the road towards his eventual suicide, and the chaos that followed.
Plot
Gaius Calpurnius Piso, a renowned Roman statesman, literary benefactor, and orator, intended to have Nero assassinated with the goal of having himself declared Emperor of Rome by the imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard. He enlisted the aid of several prominent senators, equestrians, and soldiers with a loosely conceived plan in which Faenius Rufus—joint prefect of the Praetorian Guard with Ofonius Tigellinus—would conduct Piso to the Praetorian Camp for a formal declaration by the Guard. The conspirators were said to have varying motives; some were imperialists and others were pro-republic. According to the ancient historian Tacitus, the ringleaders included Subrius Flavus, a tribune of the Praetorian court, and the centurion Sulpicius Asper, who helped Piso spawn the scheme (Pagán 73).
The conspiracy was almost betrayed by a woman named Epicharis, who divulged parts of the plan to Volusius Proculus, a fleet captain in Campania. When Proculus complained to Epicharis that Nero did not favor him, she revealed the plot without giving him names. Instead of joining the conspiracy as Epicharis thought he would, Proculus instead turned her in. Under torture, she revealed details and names, but she remained loyal to the conspiracy and did not betray it.[1]
Tacitus, the main source concerning the events of the conspiracy, admits to lacking knowledge about how Epicharis originally gained knowledge of the conspiracy. He says in his work Annales: "Meanwhile, as they were delaying and deferring hope and fear, a certain Epicharis provoked and blamed the conspirators; it is uncertain how she became actively informed".[2]
The freedman Milichus later discovered the conspiracy and reported it to Nero's secretary, Epaphroditos, after his wife convinced him to do so (Pagán 85). After the conspiracy was revealed, Nero ordered Piso and its leaders to commit suicide. The philosopher Seneca, the poet Marcus Annaeus Lucanus, and the satirist Petronius were also implicated in the plot and dealt with in a similar fashion. Gaius Stern has identified a relevant, little known passage, Plutarch Moralia 505C, which adds a story not told in Tacitus. A conspirator, in passing a condemned prisoner, urged him to have hope, dropping a comment that indicated all would change soon (because Nero would be dead). Instead of silently taking heart, the prisoner revealed the conversation to Nero, the conspirator was tortured, and the plot was betrayed.
Interestingly, this Piso was the brother of Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus, whom Galba chose to adopt in January AD 69, a move that cost both Galba and Piso their lives and pushed Rome into the upheaval known as the Year of Four Emperors. Clearly, the Piso family still played a frequent role in the court intrigues of Imperial Rome in the second half of the first century. Earlier members of the family enjoyed close ties to Julius, Augustus, and Tiberius. The family came into conflict and grief under Caligula and Claudius. The parents of the Piso brothers were implicated in a charge of treason and forced to commit suicide.
[edit] Members
At least 41 individuals were accused of being part of the conspiracy. Of the known 41, there were 19 Senators, 7 Equites, 11 soldiers and 4 women.
[edit] Executed or forced to commit suicide
Piso,[3] Plautius Lateranus, Lucan,[3] Afranius Quintianus, Flavius Scaevinus, Claudius Senecio,[3] Vulcatius Araricus, Julius Augurinus, Munatius Gratus, Marcius Festus, Faenius Rufus,[3] Subrius Flavus, Sulpicius Asper, Maximus Scaurus, Venetus Paulus, Epicharis, Seneca the Younger,[3] Antonia, Marcus Vestinus Atticus
[edit] Exiled or denigrated
Novius Priscus,[3] Annius Pollio, Glitius Gallus, Rufrius Crispinus, Verginius Flavus, Musanius Rufus, Cluvidienus Quietus, Julius Agrippa, Blitius Catulinus, Petronius Pricus, Julius Altinus, Caesennius Maximus, Caedicia, Pompeius, Cornelius Martialis,[3] Flavius Nepos, Statius Domitius
[edit] Pardoned or acquitted
Antonius Natalis, Cervarius Proculus, Statius Proximus, Gavius Silvanus, Acilia
