Agaclytus was a

freedman A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...

of Roman Emperor

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

, said to have had great influence over Aurelius and his co-emperor,

Lucius Verus Lucius Aurelius Verus (; 15 December 130 – 23 January 169) was Roman emperor from 161 until his death in 169, alongside his adoptive brother Marcus Aurelius. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Verus' succession together with Ma ...

. He was given in marriage to the widow of Marcus Aurelius' cousin,

Marcus Annius Libo Marcus Annius Libo was a Roman Senator active in the early second century AD. Life Libo came from the upper ranks of the Roman aristocracy. He was the son of Marcus Annius Verus, consul III in 126, and Rupilia Faustina. Annius Verus was Spanish o ...

by Verus, over the objections of Aurelius, who declined to attend the wedding banquet. It is one of the few—if not only—examples in ancient Rome of a freedman marrying someone from the senatorial class. Agaclytus's son by this marriage, Lucius Aurelius Agaclytus, went on to become the second husband of

Vibia Aurelia Sabina Vibia Aurelia Sabina (170 AD – before 217 AD) was the youngest daughter and child born to Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Roman Empress Faustina the Younger. She was a sister to Roman Empress Lucilla and Roman Emperor Commodus. Her mate ...

, the youngest daughter of Aurelius. The ''

Augustan History The ''Historia Augusta'' (English: ''Augustan History'') is a late Roman collection of biographies, written in Latin, of the Roman emperors, their junior colleagues, designated heirs and usurpers from 117 to 284. Supposedly modeled on the sim ...

'' reports a rumor that a plot against Marcus Aurelius fomented by his wife,

Faustina the Younger Annia Galeria Faustina the Younger ( AD, – 175/176 AD) was Roman empress from 161 to her death as the wife of emperor Marcus Aurelius, cousin marriage, her maternal cousin. Faustina was the youngest child of emperor Antoninus Pius and empress F ...

, was quashed when Agaclytus reported its existence to Aurelius; however, there were numerous rumors of Faustina's misbehavior, and Aurelius vigorously denounced them all as untrue.

References

2nd-century Romans Emperor's slaves and freedmen Nerva–Antonine dynasty Marcus Aurelius Aurelii {{AncientRome-bio-stub

See also

References