Subrius Flavus was a tribune 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 ...

who was heavily implicated in 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 ...

against the Emperor Nero and was executed in 65 CE for his involvement.

Role in the Pisonian Conspiracy

Tribune Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on th ...

and a man of military experience, Flavus enjoyed great significance in the plot. Along several others, including the Centurion Sulpicius Asper, Flavus is described as one of the conspiracy's "leading lights" by Tacitus. He was close to Gaius Calpurnius Piso, the figurehead of the conspiracy. Tacitus observes that Flavus' hatred for Nero arose suddenly while he was watching him perform on stage but failed to attack him in front of the audience because he would not have had a chance to escape. Tacitus also observes that it was rumoured that, after the success of the conspiracy, Flavus intended to murder Piso and give control over the empire to

Seneca the Younger Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (; 65 AD), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and, in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca was born in ...

, a fellow conspirator, because "it mattered not as to the disgrace if a harp-player were removed and a tragic actor succeeded him." For as Nero used to sing to the harp, so did Piso in the dress of a tragedian".

Depiction in Tacitus

Flavus, like

, is presented as a bastion of traditional morality by

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 ...

, as in the above quote, because of his stand against Nero's excesses. The Classicist

Edward Champlin Edward Champlin is a Professor of Classics, Cotsen Professor of Humanities, and former Master of Butler College at Princeton University. He teaches Roman history, Roman law, and Latin literature and has written several books regarding these subje ...

argues that Flavus is one of the few figures in the

Annals Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction between ann ...

whom Tacitus eulogises without reserve.

Execution

Because of his involvement in the conspiracy, Flavus was condemned to death. He was beheaded in two strokes in front of a pre-dug pit near the Castra Praetoria in 65 CE. The execution was entrusted to a tribune, Veianius Niger.

, ''Annals'', 15.67

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Subrius Flavus 1st-century Romans People executed by the Roman Empire 65 deaths Members of the Pisonian conspiracy People executed by decapitation Year of birth unknown