Mnester (; d. 48 AD) was a

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

actor who flourished during the reigns of Roman Emperors

Caligula Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), also called Gaius and Caligula (), was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Ag ...

(37 to 41 AD) and

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

(41 to 54 AD). Caligula admired Mnester greatly.

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is ''De vita Caesarum'', common ...

writes that "in relation to all those who were aligula'sfavourites, his behavior constituted madness. He used to kiss the pantomime actor Mnester even in the middle of the games. And if, when Mnester was performing, anyone made the slightest noise, he had him dragged from his seat and flogged him himself."Suetonius; Catharine Edwards (translator), ''Lives of the Caesars'' (Oxford World's Classics) (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 164. According to Suetonius, a portent of Caligula's assassination is said to have been Mnester's performance of "the same tragedy which the tragedian Neoptolemus had produced at the games during which King

Philip of Macedon Philip II of Macedon (; 382 BC – October 336 BC) was the king (''basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ancient kingdom, and the fat ...

was killed."Suetonius; Catharine Edwards (translator), ''Lives of the Caesars'' (Oxford World's Classics) (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 166. During the reign of Caligula's successor Claudius, Mnester retained the favour of the imperial court. Mnester was one of the lovers of Poppaea Sabina the Elder (mother of the empress Poppaea), Claudius, and subsequently became the lover of Empress

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 reputation ...

(the wife of Claudius). Messalina had a statue of Mnester cast in bronze.Matthew Bunson, ''Encyclopedia of the Roman empire. Facts on File library of World history'' (Infobase Publishing, 2002, 373. At first he rejected Messalina's advances, but then she persuaded her way in to his heart. Mnester became her lover after Messalina convinced her husband to command Mnester to adhere to Messalina's every wish. After Gaius Silius became Messalina's favourite, Mnester was one of those who was involved in Messalina's plot to assassinate Claudius and make Silius the new emperor. He was executed for his involvement in 48 AD. Mnester's name was on the list of Messalina's adulteries when they were finally revealed, and for fear that Mnester would be executed, this information had been hidden from Claudius. "Claudius probably would have spared the actor, but his freedmen convinced him that Mnester deserved to die with the others." He was portrayed by Nicholas Amer in the 1976 TV series '' I, Claudius'' and by Rick Parets in the 1979 film ''

''.

References

Ancient Roman actors 48 deaths Executed artists Year of birth unknown Male lovers of royalty 1st-century executions Lovers_of_ancient_Roman_royalty {{Italy-stage-actor-stub