Gaius Silius (c. AD 13 – 48) 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 nominated as
consul designate for 49 AD, but was executed by the emperor
Claudius for his affair with the 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 ...
.
Biography
The son of
Gaius Silius
Gaius Silius (died AD 24) was a Roman senator who achieved successes as a general over German barbarians following the disaster of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. For this achievement he was appointed consul in AD 13 with Lucius Munatius Pla ...
, Silius was described by the ancient sources as an intelligent, noble and attractive man. He had married the aristocratic
Junia Silana, and had been inducted into the Senate sometime shortly before 47. During this year he demanded in the Senate the enforcement of the
Lex Cincia, forbidding the acceptance of money or gifts in exchange for legal services, in an attempt to bring down his enemy,
Publius Suillius Rufus, who was prosecuting many of Silius'
clients. The Senate agreed with this proposal, but before a formal motion could be put before the people, those intended to be prosecuted under this law, including Suillius Rufus, had successfully appealed to Claudius to amend the law by establishing a maximum fee that could be charged. Silius was then made a consul-designate in 48 (presumably for the following year).
Through the infatuation of the 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 ...
, they had become lovers. Messalina forced him to divorce his wife to marry her, committing bigamy and marrying before witnesses, while Claudius was at
Ostia. Silius was childless and wanted to adopt
Britannicus.
Narcissus exposed their mock marriage and the plot to kill Claudius.
[Smith, pg. 824] The Emperor ordered their executions in 48.
His former wife, whom he divorced in 47, Junia Silana, was a friend of
Agrippina the Younger and the two later became bitter rivals. Likely due to the machinations of Agrippina, she was exiled and later died at
Tarentum in 59.
See also
*
List of Roman consuls designate
This is a list of Roman consuls designate, individuals who were either elected or nominated to the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic, or a high office of the Empire, but who for some reason did not enter office at the beginni ...
*
List of Roman usurpers
The following is a list of usurpers in the Roman Empire. For an overview of the problem and consequences of usurpation, see Roman usurpers. In the Eastern Roman Empire (395–1453), rebellion and usurpation were so notoriously frequent (in the vis ...
References
Sources
* Smith, William, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', Vol III (1849).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Silius, Gaius
1st-century Romans
Roman consuls designate
10s births
48 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Executed ancient Roman people
1st-century executions
People executed by the Roman Empire
Silii
Lovers of Roman royalty
Male lovers of royalty