Quintus Naevius Cordus Sutorius Macro (21 BC – AD 38) was a

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

of the

Praetorian Guard The Praetorian Guard (Latin language, Latin: ''cohortes praetoriae'') was the imperial guard of the Imperial Roman army that served various roles for the Roman emperor including being a bodyguard unit, counterintelligence, crowd control and ga ...

, from 31 until 38, serving under the Roman Emperors

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Upon falling out of favour, he killed himself.

Biography

Macro was born in 21 BC at

Alba Fucens Alba Fucens was an ancient Italic people, Italic town located at elevation at the base of Monte Velino, approximately north of Avezzano, Abruzzo, central Italy. Its ruins can be found in the ''comune'' of Massa d'Albe. The city is largely vis ...

, a Roman town at the foot of

Monte Velino Monte Velino is a mountain (2,487 m) in the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, central Italy, part of the Abruzzo Apennines. Background Located nearby the boundary with Lazio, between the Fucino plain and the Aterno, Salto and Velino rivers ...

, situated on a hill just to the north of the

Via Valeria The Via Valeria was an ancient Roman roads, Roman road of Italy, the continuation north-eastwards of the Via Tiburtina from Tivoli, Lazio, Tibur. It probably owed its origin to Marcus Valerius Messalla, Roman censor, censor in 154 BC. A second V ...

in Italy. Inscriptional evidence from the ruins of this town reveal that, prior to becoming Praetorian prefect, Macro had served as ''

praefectus vigilum The ''praefectus vigilum'' (, pl.: ''praefecti vigilum'') was, starting with the reign of the Emperor Augustus, the commander of the city guards in Rome (''cohortes vigilum'' or ''vigiles''), whom were responsible for maintaining peace and order ...

'', prefect of the ''

vigiles ''Vigiles'' or more properly the ''Vigiles Urbani'' ("watchmen of the Rome, City") or ''Cohortes Vigilum'' ("Cohort (military unit), cohorts of the watchmen") were the firefighters and police of ancient Rome. History The ''triumviri, triumviri ...

'', the Roman

fire brigade A fire department (North American English) or fire brigade (Commonwealth English), also known as a fire company, fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and ...

and night watch. The date of this appointment and the length of his tenure are unknown.Sandra J. Bingham.
The praetorian guard in the political and social life of Julio-Claudian Rome
''. Ottawa: National Library of Canada (1997), p. 63. Macro was appointed Praetorian prefect by Tiberius after the arrest of

Sejanus Lucius Aelius Sejanus ( – 18 October AD 31), commonly known as Sejanus (), was a Roman soldier and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Of the Equites class by birth, Sejanus rose to power as prefect of the Praetorian Guard, the imperia ...

. According to

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. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

, Macro was active in discrediting Sejanus and in directing the subsequent purge against his family and followers. As prefect, Macro wielded considerable influence. He furthered his ambitions by befriending Tiberius' grand-nephew

, one of the Emperor's prospective heirs. According to

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 ...

, Macro gained further favour by turning a blind eye to his wife

Ennia Thrasylla Ennia Thrasylla (about 15 – 38, ''Ennia'' in Greek , ''Ennia Thrasylla'' in Greek ) was a Roman noblewoman who lived in the 1st century AD in the Roman Empire. Family background Ennia was of Latin, Greek, Armenian and Median descent. She was t ...

's affair with Caligula, around the year 34.Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', Life of Caligul
12
/ref> When Tiberius died in the year 37, Macro sided with the new emperor Caligula. According to Tacitus, Macro even played a role in bringing about Caligula's rise to power, by ordering Tiberius to be killed after it was revealed that reports of his death had been premature: Caligula had begun to take power immediately upon hearing that Tiberius had died of natural causes but without making sure that Tiberius was dead. Tiberius was still alive and, shortly after, was heard calling for food. In order to prevent an embarrassing and potentially dangerous situation, should Tiberius have reacted angrily to Caligula's hasty ascension to power, Macro "ordered the old Emperor to be smothered under a huge heap of clothes."Tacitus, ''Annals'' VI.50 Macro was confident of rapid promotion for past services but Emperor Caligula was aware of the potential threat Macro posed and soon removed him from office. According to some sources, Macro was promised the governorship of Egypt but upon arriving at Ostia with Ennia to take ship, he was instead arrested and stripped of his office. Macro committed suicide soon after. Macro was able to leave enough money to provide an amphitheatre for his home town of

.Barrett, ''Caligula: The Corruption of Power'', p.79

Modern depictions

* In the 1954 film, ''

Demetrius and the Gladiators ''Demetrius and the Gladiators'' is a 1954 American Technicolor/CinemaScope epic biblical drama film directed by Delmer Daves and produced by Frank Ross for 20th Century Fox. A sequel to '' The Robe'' (1953), the screenplay was written by Phi ...

'', he was played by Karl (Killer) Davis * In the 1968 ITV Granada-TV production ''The Caesars'',

Jerome Willis Jerome Barry Willis (23 October 1928 – 11 January 2014) was a British stage and screen actor, with a strong reputation for Shakespearean roles in the theatre. Willis had a leading role in the ITV Network, ITV drama series ''The Sandbaggers'' ...

played the part of Macro. *

John Rhys-Davies John Rhys-Davies (born 5 May 1944) is a Welsh actor known for portraying Gimli (Middle-earth), Gimli in The Lord of the Rings (film series), ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy and Sallah in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise. He has received three ...

played him in the 1976

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

serial '' I, Claudius.'' *

Guido Mannari Guido Mannari (13 December 1944 – 10 August 1988) was an Italian actor of film and television. Life and career Guido was born in Castiglioncello, Province of Livorno into a large family. He had three half-brothers. His father, Giulio Mannari ...

portrays Macro in ''

''. * In

Francesco Vezzoli Francesco Vezzoli (born 1971) is an Italians, Italian artist and filmmaker. Work Vezzoli studied at the Central Saint Martins School of Art in London from 1992 to 1995. In his early works from 1994 to 1996, he reenvisioned twentieth-century master ...

's fake promotional video, ''Trailer for a Remake of Gore Vidal's "Caligula"'', he was played by

Benicio del Toro Benicio Monserrate Rafael del Toro Sánchez (; born February 19, 1967) is a Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican actor. List of awards and nominations received by Benicio del Toro, His accolades include an Academy Awards, Academy Award, a British Academy ...

. * In the 2017 American docu-drama miniseries ''

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

'', Macro is portrayed by Michael Morris in season 3. * In the 2018 book

The Burning Maze ''The Burning Maze'' is an American fantasy novel based on Greek and Roman mythology written by American author Rick Riordan. It was published on May 1, 2018, and is the third book in ''The Trials of Apollo'' series, the second spin-off of the ...

, Macro appears as the owner of military surplus store with

automaton An automaton (; : automata or automatons) is a relatively self-operating machine, or control mechanism designed to automatically follow a sequence of operations, or respond to predetermined instructions. Some automata, such as bellstrikers i ...

employees.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Naevius, Quintus, Cordus Sutorius Macro 21 BC births 38 deaths 1st-century Roman governors of Egypt 1st-century Romans Ancient Roman assassins Suicides in Ancient Rome Joint suicides Quintus, Cordus Sutorius Macro People from the Province of L'Aquila Praetorian prefects Praefecti vigilum Ancient Roman equites