Thrasyllus of Mendes (; grc-gre, Θράσυλλος ), also known as Thrasyllus of AlexandriaLevick, ''Tiberius: The Politician'', p. 7 and by his Roman name Tiberius Claudius ThrasyllusLevick, ''Tiberius: The Goat '', p. 137 (fl. second half of the 1st century BC and first half of the 1st century – died 36,Holden, ''A History of Horoscopic Astrology'', p. 26), was an Egyptian

grammarian Grammarian may refer to: * Alexandrine grammarians, philologists and textual scholars in Hellenistic Alexandria in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE * Biblical grammarians, scholars who study the Bible and the Hebrew language * Grammarian (Greco-Roman ...

and literary commentator. Thrasyllus was an

astrologer Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...

and a personal friend of the Roman emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

, as mentioned in the '' Annals'' 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 ...

and ''

The Twelve Caesars ''De vita Caesarum'' (Latin; "About the Life of the Caesars"), commonly known as ''The Twelve Caesars'', is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus. The gr ...

'' by

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τ� ...

Background

Thrasyllus was an Egyptian from unknown origins, as his family and ancestors were contemporaries that lived under the rule of the Ptolemaic Kingdom. He originally was either from Mendes or

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

. Thrasyllus is often mentioned in various secondary sources as coming from Alexandria (as mentioned in the '' Oxford Classical Dictionary'') as no primary source confirms his origins.

Tiberius

Thrasyllus encountered

during the period of Tiberius' voluntary exile on the Greek island of

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

, some time between 1 BC and 4 AD. Thrasyllus became the intimate and celebrated servant of Tiberius, and Tiberius developed an interest in

Stoicism Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asserting tha ...

and Astrology from Thrasyllus. He predicted that Tiberius would be recalled to

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 ...

and officially named the successor to Augustus. When Tiberius returned to Rome, Thrasyllus accompanied him and remained close to him. During the reign of the emperor Tiberius, Thrasyllus served as his skilled Court Astrologer both in Rome and, later, in

Capri Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has be ...

. As Tiberius held Thrasyllus in the highest honor, he rewarded him for his friendship by giving Roman citizenship to him and his family. The daughter-in-law of Tiberius, his niece Livilla, reportedly consulted Thrasyllus during her affair with

Sejanus Lucius Aelius Sejanus (c. 20 BC – 18 October AD 31), commonly known as Sejanus (), was a Roman soldier, friend and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Of the Equites class by birth, Sejanus rose to power as prefect of the Praetorian ...

, Tiberius' chief minister. Thrasyllus persuaded Tiberius to leave Rome for Capri while clandestinely supporting Sejanus. The grandson-in-law of Thrasyllus, Naevius Sutorius Macro, carried out orders that destroyed Sejanus, whether with Thrasyllus’ knowledge is unknown. He remained on Capri with Tiberius, advising the Emperor on his relationship with the various claimants to his succession. Thrasyllus was an allyLevick, ''Tiberius: The Politician'', p. 167 who favored Tiberius’ great-nephew

Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germani ...

, who was having an affair with his granddaughter,

Ennia Thrasylla Ennia Thrasylla, (about 15 – 38, ''Ennia'' in Greek el, Έννίας, ''Ennia Thrasylla'' in Greek el, Έννία Θράσυλλα) was a Roman noblewoman who lived in the 1st century AD in the Roman Empire. Family background Ennia was of La ...

. In 36 AD, Thrasyllus is said to have made Tiberius believe he would survive another ten years. With this false prediction, Thrasyllus saved the lives of a number of Roman nobles who would be suspected in falsely plotting against Tiberius. Tiberius, believing in Thrasyllus, was confident that he would outlive any plotters, and so failed to act against them. Thrasyllus predeceased Tiberius, so did not live to see the realization of his prediction that Caligula would succeed Tiberius.

Academic work

Thrasyllus by profession was a grammarian (i.e. literary scholar). He edited the written works of

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

and

Democritus Democritus (; el, Δημόκριτος, ''Dēmókritos'', meaning "chosen of the people"; – ) was an Ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from Abdera, primarily remembered today for his formulation of an atomic theory of the universe. No ...

. According to the ''

Encyclopaedia Judaica The ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' is a 22-volume English-language encyclopedia of the Jewish people, Judaism, and Israel. It covers diverse areas of the Jewish world and civilization, including Jewish history of all eras, culture, holidays, langu ...

'', he wrote that the

Exodus Exodus or the Exodus may refer to: Religion * Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible * The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan Historical events * E ...

of the Israelites from Egypt took place in 1690 BC. The sections include,

Dedumose I Djedhotepre Dedumose I was an Egyptian pharaoh of the Second Intermediate Period. According to egyptologists Kim Ryholt, Darrell Baker, Aidan Dodson and Dyan Hilton, he was a king of the 16th Dynasty. Alternatively, Jürgen von Beckerath, Tho ...

Ipuwer Papyrus The Ipuwer Papyrus (officially Papyrus Leiden I 344 ''recto'') is an ancient Egyptian hieratic papyrus made during the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, and now held in the Dutch National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Netherlands. It contains ...

and Shiphrah. He was the author of an astrological text titled ''Pinax'' or ''Table'', which is lost but has been summarized in later sources, such as: CCAG - Catalogue of the Codices of the Greek astrologers (8/3: 99–101) which borrows the astrological notions found in Nechepso/Petosiris (see article on

Hellenistic astrology Hellenistic astrology is a tradition of horoscopic astrology that was developed and practiced in the late Hellenistic period in and around the Mediterranean Basin region, especially in Egypt. The texts and technical terminology of this tradition ...

) and in

Hermes Trismegistus Hermes Trismegistus (from grc, Ἑρμῆς ὁ Τρισμέγιστος, "Hermes the Thrice-Greatest"; Classical Latin: la, label=none, Mercurius ter Maximus) is a legendary Hellenistic figure that originated as a syncretic combination of ...

, an early pseudepigraphical source of astrology. Pinax was known and cited by the later following astrological writers:

Vettius Valens Vettius Valens (120 – c. 175) was a 2nd-century Hellenistic astrologer, a somewhat younger contemporary of Claudius Ptolemy. Valens' major work is the ''Anthology'' ( la, Anthologia), ten volumes in Greek written roughly within the period 150 t ...

, Porphyry and Hephaistio.

Family and issue

Thrasyllus may have married a member of the royal family of

Commagene Commagene ( grc-gre, Κομμαγηνή) was an ancient Greco-Iranian kingdom ruled by a Hellenized branch of the Iranian Orontid dynasty that had ruled over Armenia. The kingdom was located in and around the ancient city of Samosata, which s ...

(whose name is sometimes given as "Aka"), though this has been questioned recently.Beck, ''Beck on Mithraism: Collected Works With New Essays'', pp. 42-3 He had two known children: * an unnamed daughterLevick, ''Tiberius: The Politician'', pp. 137, 230 who married the Eques Lucius Ennius. She bore Ennius, a daughter called

, who became the wife of Praetorian prefect Naevius Sutorius Macro, and perhaps a son called Lucius Ennius who was the father of Lucius Ennius Ferox, a Roman Soldier who served during the reign of the Roman emperor

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Emp ...

from 69 until 79 * a son called

Tiberius Claudius Balbilus Tiberius Claudius Balbillus Modestus (AD 3-79), more commonly known as Tiberius Claudius Balbilus, was a distinguished Ancient Roman scholar, politician and a court astrologer to the Roman emperors Claudius, Nero, and Vespasian.Holden, ''A History ...

, through whom he had further descendants

In fiction

Thrasyllus is a character in the novel series, written by

Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was a British poet, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celt ...

, '' I, Claudius'' and ''Claudius the God''. Thrasyllus' predictions are always correct, and his prophecies are equally far-reaching. Thrasyllus predicts Jesus of Nazareth's crucifixion and that his religion shall overtake the Roman Pagan Religion. Similarly towards the end of his life it is explained that his final prophecy was misinterpreted by Tiberius. Thrasyllus states that "Tiberius Claudius will be emperor in 10 years," leading Tiberius to brashly criticize and mock Caligula, whereas his prophecy is correct as

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Drusus and Antonia Minor ...

' name is "Tiberius Claudius". In the

TV miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

adaptation of the novels, Thrasyllus was played by Kevin Stoney, who had previously played him in the 1968 ITV series '' The Caesars''. In contrast, Thrasyllus and his descendants are presented as power-hungry charlatans in the novel series ''Romanike''.''The Romanike series'', Codex Regius (2006-2014)

References

Sources

* ''

''
Thrasyllus’ article at ancient library
* F.H. Cramer, ''Astrology in Roman Law and Politics'', American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, PA, 1954 * P. Robinson Coleman-Norton and F. Card Bourne, ''Ancient Roman Statutes'', The Lawbook Exchange Limited, 1961 * B. Levick, ''Tiberius: The Politician'', Routledge, 1999 * M. Zimmerman, G. Schmeling, H. Hofmann, S. Harrison and C. Panayotakis (eds.), ''Ancient Narrative'', Barkhuis, 2002 * R. Beck, ''Beck on Mithraism: Collected Works With New Essay''s, Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2004 * J. H. Holden, ''A History of Horoscopic Astrology'', American Federation of Astrology, 2006 * Royal genealogy of Mithradates III of Commagene at rootsweb * Royal genealogy of Aka II of Commagene at rootsweb * Genealogy of daughter of Tiberius Claudius Thrasyllus and Aka II of Commagene at rootsweb

External links

Article on the life, works, and legacy of Thrasyllus

{{Authority control 1st-century BC Romans 1st-century Romans 36 deaths Ancient Greek astrologers Ancient Greek mathematicians Ancient Egyptian astrologers Commagene people Year of birth unknown Claudii 1st-century BC Egyptian people 1st-century BC mathematicians 1st-century mathematicians