Gauis Calpunicus Piso was a Roman senator in the 1st century. He was the focal figure in the Pisonian Conspiracy of 65 A.D., the most famous and wide-ranging plot against the throne of Emperor Nero. The 1st century was that century which lasted from 1 to 100 according the Gregorian calendar. ... The conspiracy of Gaius Calpurnius Piso (65 CE) represented one of the major turning points in the reign of Nero (54-68 CE). ... Headline text Events By place Roman Empire Gaius Calpurnius Piso conspires against Roman emperor Nero. ... For other uses, see Nero (disambiguation). ...

Character and Early Life

Piso was extremely well liked throughout Rome. He inherited from his father (never identified) connection with many distinguished families, and from his mother great wealth. Piso came from the ancient and noble house of Calpurnii^[1] and he distributed his great wealth among many beneficiaries of all Roman social classes. Among a wide range of interests, Piso sang on the tragic stage, wrote poetry, played an expert game of draughts, and owned a villa at Baiae.^[2] Gens Calpurnia was a family in ancient Rome. ... Draughts (drafts or //) (British English) or checkers (American English, sometimes spelled chequers in British English) is a group of abstract strategy board games between two players which involve diagonal moves of uniform pieces and mandatory captures by jumping over the enemys pieces. ... Baiae (Italian: Baia), in the Campania region of Italy on the Bay of Naples, today a frazione of the comune of Bacoli, was for several hundred years a fashionable and luxurious coastal resort, especially towards the end of the period of the Roman Republic. ...

Tall, good-looking, affable, and an excellent orator and advocate in the courts, he might pass for a man of high character, but was not. According to Tacitus, Piso used his eloquence to defend his fellow citizens, was generous and gracious in speech but lacked earnestness and was overly ostentatious, while craving the sensual.^[1] In 40 A.D. Piso was banished from Rome by Emperor Caligula after he took a fancy to Piso’s wife, forced her to leave Piso, and then accused Piso of adultery with her.^[3] Piso would return one year later after Caligula’s assassination. Gaius Cornelius Tacitus Publius (or Gaius) Cornelius Tacitus (c. ... Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (August 31, 12 – January 24, 41), more commonly known by his nickname Caligula, was the third Roman Emperor and a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from 37 to 41. ...

Pisonian Conspiracy and Death

In 41 A.D. Emperor Claudius recalled Piso to Rome and made him suffect consul.^[4] Piso then became a powerful senator during the reign of Emperor Nero and in 65 A.D. led a secret initiative to replace Emperor Nero that became known as the Pisonian Conspiracy. For other persons named Claudius, see Claudius (disambiguation). ... Nickname: Motto: SPQR: Senatus Populusque Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 21 April 753 BC Government  - Mayor Walter Veltroni Area  - City 1,285 km²  (580 sq mi)  - Urban 5... For other uses, see Nero (disambiguation). ... The conspiracy of Gaius Calpurnius Piso (65 CE) represented one of the major turning points in the reign of Nero (54-68 CE). ...

Piso leveraged senatorial anger with Emperor Nero to gain power. Already in 62 A.D., there had been talk among those of senatorial rank, in the nobility, and among equities, that Nero was ruining Rome.^[5] By 65 the city had endured the Great Fire of Rome and the persecution of the Christians, spurring groups of conspirators to come together under the leadership of Piso with the goal of killing Emperor Nero. According to Tacitus, the Great Fire of Rome started on the night of 19 July in the year 64, among the shops clustered around the Circus Maximus. ... Although there have been many persecutions, The Age of Persecution began in A. D. 64 with the persecution of Christians in Rome by Nero and ended in A. D. 313 with Constantines Edict of Milan. ...

On April 19, 65 the freedman Milichus betrayed Piso’s plot to kill the Emperor^[5] and the conspirators were all arrested. In all, 19 were put to death and 13 exiled,^[5] revealing the massive scope of the conspiracy. Piso was ordered to commit suicide and so killed himself. Flavius Scaevinus, senator, member of the Pisonian conspiracy against Nero. ...

Notes

Piso is probably the one referred to by Calpurnius Siculus under the name of Meliboeus, and he is the subject of the panegyric De laude Pisonis. Titus Calpurnius, Roman bucolic poet, surnamed Siculus from his birthplace or from his imitation of the style of the Sicilian Theocritus, most probably flourished during the reign of Nero. ...

Another Roman statesman of the same name was consul in 67 BC along with Manius Acilius Glabrio. Manius Acilius Glabrio, Roman statesman and general, grandson of the famous jurist P. Mucius Scaevola. ...

Another Roman of the same name was a general in the Numantine War, who was succeded by Scipio Aemilianus. The Numantine War[1] (from Bellum Numantinum in Appians Roman History) was the last conflict of the Celtiberian Wars fought by the Romans to subdue those people along the Ebro. ... Storybook illustration depicting Scipio as the reluctant servant of the Senate as he orchestrated the genocide of the Carthaginians. ...

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Bunson, Matthew. "Piso, Gaius Calpurnicus." Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. New York: Facts on File, 1994
2. ^ Rogers, Robert Samuel. "Heirs and Rivals to Nero." Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philogical Association, Vol. 86. 1955, pp. 190-212
3. ^ Hazel, John. "Piso, 1." Who's Who in the Roman World. London: Routledge, 2001.
4. ^ The Cambridge Ancient History. Vol. 5, VII ed. London: Cambridge University Press, 1970-2007.
5. ^ ^{a b c} Bunson, Matthew. "Pisonian Conspiracy." Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire. New York: Facts on File, 1994.

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• Works by Theodor Mommsen at Project Gutenberg The History of Rome, Book IV