Gaius Julius Callistus (flourished 1st century) was a Greek imperial freedman during the reigns of Roman Emperors Caligula and Claudius. Callistus was originally a freedman of Caligula, and was given great authority during his reign, which he used to amass even greater wealth. He often advised Caligula on imperial policy and how to deal with emergent issues such as the abundant conspiracies against the emperor. He used his influence to help his friends, including
Domitius Afer
Gnaeus Domitius Afer (died 59) was a Roman orator and advocate, born at Nemausus ( Nîmes) in Gallia Narbonensis. He flourished in the reigns of Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero. He was suffect consul in the '' nundinium'' of September to ...
, whose treason case was dropped at Callistus' behest. However, Callistus was not immune from Caligula's wrath, and when a thwarted assassin named Callistus as a fellow conspirator in the failed plot, Caligula was ready to believe him. It was only pleading that saved Callistus' life.
This distrust by Caligula may have caused Callistus to turn on him. He is named by the ancient sources as a prime mover in Caligula's murder (24 January 41) rallying the other freedmen to the cause. When Claudius succeeded Caligula, he pardoned most of the conspirators.
In order to impress the new emperor Claudius, Callistus stated that Caligula had ordered him to murder Claudius several times, but he had always refused. Whether or not this was true, Claudius allowed Callistus to stay in the imperial service. Claudius divided the daily maintenance of the empire among various freedmen and Callistus became Secretary of Justice and Law. His job was to oversee the running of the courts and the conduct of trials. He used the position to amass personal wealth, and carried on much the way he had under Caligula, advising the emperor on policy and the like. Callistus persuaded Claudius to hire his friend
Scribonius Largus
Scribonius Largus (c. 1-c. 50) was the court physician to the Roman emperor Claudius.
About 47 AD, at the request of Gaius Julius Callistus, the emperor's freedman, he drew up a list of 271 prescriptions (''Compositiones''), most of them his own, ...
as a personal physician. After the disgrace and death of Roman Empress Valeria
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 ...
, Callistus is said to have promoted Caligula's former wife
Lollia Paulina
Lollia Paulina, also known as Lollia PaullinaNymphidius Sabinus later claimed to be the product of this union, and tried unsuccessfully to gain the principate in the
Year of the Four Emperors
The Year of the Four Emperors, AD 69, was the first civil war of the Roman Empire, during which four emperors ruled in succession: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian. It is considered an important interval, marking the transition from the ...