Lucius Calpurnius Piso (also known to contemporaries as Lucius Calpurnius Piso the Augur) (died AD 24) was a Roman

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

who was appointed

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

in 1 BC as the colleague of

Cossus Cornelius Lentulus Gaetulicus Cossus Cornelius Lentulus Gaetulicus was a Roman senator and general, who was consul in 1 BC with Lucius Calpurnius Piso the Augur as his colleague. Originally born Cossus Cornelius Lentulus, Gaetulicus was a member of the patrician Lentulus bra ...

. He was also an

augur An augur was a priest and official in the ancient Rome, classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the List of Roman deities, gods by studying events he observed within a predetermined s ...

Life and career

Calpurnius Piso was a member of the

Plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians or plebs were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of the gro ...

'' gens Calpurnia''. He was the son of Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, consul in 23 BC, and the brother of Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, the consul in 7 BC. The influence of his brother enabled him to achieve a rapid consulship. Afterwards Calpurnius Piso was appointed the

proconsul A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a Roman consul, consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority. In the Roman Republic, military ...

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

, possibly around AD 1. He was married to Statilia. In AD 16, after the treason trial and suicide of

Marcus Scribonius Libo Marcus Scribonius Libo Drusus (died 13 September 16) was a Roman accused of treason against the emperor Tiberius. Biography Early life He was likely the son or paternal grandson of Marcus Livius Drusus Libo (adopted brother of empress Livia). It ...

, Calpurnius Piso stated his disgust at the corruption of the judicial system. He declared he would leave Rome and live in self-imposed exile until his death. He was persuaded to remain in Rome by the

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

. In that same year, he attempted to bring legal action against

Urgulania Urgulania (fl. 24 AD), was a prominent noblewoman during the reigns of Augustus and Tiberius, due to her friendship with the empress Livia. She was the mother of the Roman general Marcus Plautius Silvanus (consul in 2 BC), who had distinguished ...

, an intimate friend of the emperor's mother,

Livia Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC AD 29) was List of Roman and Byzantine empresses, Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal Adoption ...

. She refused to appear in court, and took refuge in the palace, while Livia denounced Calpurnius Piso. Tiberius was forced to intervene, and Urgulania was forced to pay a fine. In AD 20, Calpurnius Piso was one of the advocates who defended his brother who faced treason charges, as his brother had been suspected of having killed

Germanicus Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was a Roman people, Roman general and politician most famously known for his campaigns against Arminius in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicu ...

. Then in AD 24, Piso was brought up on charges of ''

maiestas ''Maiestas'' is a genus of insects in the family Cicadellidae, the vast majority of which were formerly placed in the genus ''Recilia''.Webb, M.D.; Viraktamath, C.A. 2009: Annotated check-list, generic key and new species of Old World Deltocepha ...

'', but died before his case could come before a court. An

, Calpurnius Piso was described as having a ferocious and violent temper, and was a man who spoke his mind to Tiberius. He owned the Villa Pisoni in

Baiae Baiae (; ) was an ancient Roman town situated on the northwest shore of the Gulf of Naples and now in the ''comune'' of Bacoli. It was a fashionable resort for centuries in antiquity, particularly towards the end of the Roman Republic, when i ...

.Villa dei Pisoni e Villa a Protiro https://www.ulixes.it/italiano/i_pg01.html?https://www.ulixes.it/italiano/i_pg02bfr16_b.html

References

Sources

* Syme, Ronald, ''The Augustan Aristocracy'' (1986).

Clarendon Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Calpurnius Piso, Lucius 1st-century BC Romans 1st-century Romans 24 deaths Senators of the Roman Empire Imperial Roman consuls Augurs of the Roman Empire Roman governors of Asia Year of birth unknown Calpurnii Pisones

Life and career

See also

References

Sources