Plautius Lateranus (executed AD 65) was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

senator of the first century. Plautius was the son of Quintus Plautius, consul in AD 36. He was nephew to

Aulus Plautius Aulus Plautius was a Roman politician and general of the mid-1st century. He began the Roman conquest of Britain in 43, and became the first governor of the new province, serving from 43 to 46 CE. Career Little is known of Aulus Plautius's e ...

, the man who led the Invasion of Britain in 43 AD, and it was through his good offices that Plautius Lateranus escaped the death penalty in AD 48, after his affair with the emperor Claudius' wife

Messalina Valeria Messalina (; ) was the third wife of Roman emperor Claudius. She was a paternal cousin of Emperor Nero, a second cousin of Emperor Caligula, and a great-grandniece of Emperor Augustus. A powerful and influential woman with a reputatio ...

was discovered. Fortunately, Claudius held Aulus Plautius in high esteem. Though he escaped death, he was removed from his senatorial position, but was later granted re-admittance under

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unti ...

. In AD 65, Plautius Lateranus, who was then consul designatus, was accused of being a participant of the

Pisonian conspiracy The conspiracy of Gaius Calpurnius Piso in AD 65 was a 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, a ...

. Tacitus says that Lateranus joined from no personal grudge against Nero, but out of patriotism alone. His part in the plot was as follows: He was to prostrate himself before Nero, in a pretense of petitioning for financial assistance; then, being both 'resolute and muscular', he was to bring him down and hold him, allowing others of a military nature involved in the plot to kill him. When the plot was exposed, Nero had Plautius executed. Tacitus states that his 'removal' was so hasty that he was not permitted to say goodbye to his children, nor to choose the manner of his death. He was taken to a 'place reserved for slave executions', and died in resolute silence. The man who executed him, Statius Proxumus, was also involved in the plot, but Lateranus did not expose him. Though Tacitus doesn't state the means of execution, Epictetus in his ''Stoic Discourses'' makes it clear that he was beheaded. Epictetus asks his students why they shouldn't accept death; why they should fear dying alone. Why don't they hold out their necks in "the way Lateranus did at Rome, when condemned by Nero to be beheaded? He held out his neck willingly to take the blow–but the blow was deficient, so he recoiled a bit, but then had enough self-command to offer his neck a second time." His home was the Domus Lateranus, later called the

Lateran Palace The Lateran Palace ( la, Palatium Lateranense), formally the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran ( la, Palatium Apostolicum Lateranense), is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main papal residence in southeast Rome. Located on St. ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

.Saint John Lateran

References

65 deaths 1st-century deaths 1st-century Romans Members of the Pisonian conspiracy Lateranus Roman consuls designate Year of birth unknown Lovers of Roman royalty {{AncientRome-bio-stub