Clutorius Priscus (c. 20 BC – AD 21) was a Roman poet. Priscus was paid an honorarium by 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 ...

to produce a

panegyric A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. Etymology The word originated as a compound of gr ...

for his nephew and adopted son

Germanicus Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was an ancient Roman general, known for his campaigns in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicus was born into an influential branch of the pa ...

upon his death in AD 19. Two years later, Tiberius' son

Drusus Julius Caesar Drusus Julius Caesar (14 BC – 14 September AD 23), was the son of Emperor Tiberius, and heir to the Roman Empire following the death of his adoptive brother Germanicus in AD 19. He was born at Rome to a prominent branch of the ''gens Claud ...

fell ill but recovered. During that illness, Priscus prepared another panegyric in the hope of winning another payment. He read it to a small audience of men and women at the home of Publius Petronius in 21 AD. The consul elect

Decimus Haterius Agrippa Decimus may refer to: Romen praenomen * Decimus (praenomen) * Decimus Carfulenus (died 43 BC), Roman statesman * Decimus Haterius Agrippa (died 32 AD), consul in 22 AD * Decimus Junius Brutus (consul 77 BC) * Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus (–43 ...

denounced him and called for him to be tried for a

capital offense Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

. Drusus himself, who had a reputation for excessive cruelty, presided over the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

trial in the absence of the emperor at Capreae. Manius Aemilius Lepidus argued without success that the proposed death sentence was excessively harsh, given that the poem was not dangerous, merely tasteless and degrading. He also contended that a death sentence might lead Priscus to commit suicide, depriving the emperor of the ability to exercise clemency, as he often did. He suggested that Priscus be banished from Rome and have his property confiscated. The Senate supported Agrippa's position. Priscus was sentenced to death and immediately executed. Tiberius wrote a letter to the Senate following the execution of Priscus thanking them for their loyalty but expressing disapproval of their haste. This led to a revision of the law to require an interval of ten days between sentencing and execution.

References

;Primary sources *

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 ...

, ''

Annales Annals are a concise form of historical writing which record events chronologically, year by year. The equivalent word in Latin and French is ''annales'', which is used untranslated in English in various contexts. List of works with titles contai ...

'' III 49–51 *

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

LVII 20.3–4 ;Secondary sources *Francesco M. Petrini, "Considerazioni su Clutorio Prisco e il suo processo (Tac. ann. III 49-51, Cass. Dio LVII 20,3-4)", ''Klio'' 90 (2008). {{DEFAULTSORT:Priscus, Clutorius 20s BC births 21 deaths Roman-era poets 1st-century Roman poets