Gaius Anicius Cerialis (died 66) 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 who was active during the

Principate The Principate is the name sometimes given to the first period of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the so-called Dominate. ...

. He was suffect consul in the second half of the year 65 as the colleague of Gaius Pomponius Pius. Beyond his consulate, Cerialis appears three times in history. The first time was during the reign of Caligula when he was accused of '' majestas'' against the emperor.

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

provides a confused account. Steven H. Rutledge provides an interpretation that makes sense of Dio: Cerialis and another senator, Sextus Papinius, were tortured, but neither provided any information. The emperor then offered to spare Papinius' life if he were to denounce his fellow conspirators, which he did; Caligula then had both "Cerialis" and the men he named executed. It is likely that by "Cerialis" Dio means Papinius, for Anicius Cerialis is very much alive years later. The year before his election as consul 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 ...

was uncovered.

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 ...

delivered a speech wherein he shared the news and named the conspirators, and their punishments. The Senate then voted for a thanksgiving, and other acts flattering the emperor.

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

recounts other servile acts, which includes an account based on the '' Acta Senatus'' that Cerialis proposed a temple be built as soon as possible at public expense to "the Divine Nero". The last time Cerialis appears in history is also during the reign of

. The year after Cerialis' consulate, in AD 66, Tacitus recounts how a ''

delator Delator (plural: ''delatores'', feminine: ''delatrix'') is Latin for a denouncer, one who indicates to a court another as having committed a punishable deed. Secular Roman law In Roman history, it was properly one who gave notice (''deferre'') t ...

'', or informer, accused Annaeus Mela under the ''lex maiestas''. Faced with certain destruction, Mela made his will and committed suicide. In his will, he accused

Rufrius Crispinus Rufrius Crispinus was an equestrian who lived during the later Julio-Claudian dynasty. Under the Roman Emperor Claudius he was the commander of the Praetorian Guard. In 47, he suppressed a rebellion and was promoted by the Senate to the rank of ...

, a former commander of the

Praetorian guard The Praetorian Guard (Latin: ''cohortēs praetōriae'') was a unit of the Imperial Roman army that served as personal bodyguards and intelligence agents for the Roman emperors. During the Roman Republic, the Praetorian Guard were an escort fo ...

, and Cerialis of ''majestas''. Tacitus states that it was commonly believed Mela named Crispinus because the man had already taken his life; Cerialis was named because Mela wanted him dead. Cerialis soon afterwards committed suicide to avoid prosecution.Tacitus, ''Annales'', XVI.17

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anicius Cerialis, Gaius 1st-century Romans Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome 66 deaths Year of birth unknown Cerialis