Accusation and death
In 66, Anteius was detained in Rome by Nero after having been denounced, along with Publius Ostorius Scapula, by Antistius Sosianus. [4] Because an accusation -- delatio -- would mean the accuser might receive some portion of the property of the accused, this could be quite lucrative in imperial Rome. The grounds for this accusation were that Sosianus said he had discovered that Anteius had set up a yearly pension for the exiled Greek astrologer Pammenes -- at this time, use of astrology could result in a charge of magic and treason against the emperor. [5] As proof, Sosianus produced a letter from Pammenes to Anteius, as well as Pammenes's notes on Anteius's and Nero's future careers, ostensibly requested by Anteius. [6]
The accused quickly became the condemned, without much in the way of a formal trial, if any. Fear of Nero, and of getting swept up in the accusation, was so great that none of Anteius's friends even stepped forward to witness his last will and testament. Finally, the praetorian prefect Tigellinus, did it, warning Anteius not to "procrastinate" with preparations for his death. [5] Tigellinus was himself a noted profiteer from such accusations, and it's likely he himself profited by witnessing the will. [7]
Anteius was already disliked by Nero on account of his intimacy with Nero's hated mother Agrippina, and was forced by Nero to kill himself in 67. [8] Anteius first took poison, which did not work, and after which he cut open his own veins. [5]
This Anteius's cognomen "Rufus" is not recorded in the account of Tacitus, but is ascribed to him by the scholar Edmund Groag based on inscriptions in his Prosopographia Imperii Romani . [1]
(Vipsania) Agrippina the Elder was a prominent member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Augustus' daughter, Julia the Elder. Her brothers Lucius and Gaius Caesar were the adoptive sons of Augustus, and were his heirs until their deaths in AD 2 and 4, respectively. Following their deaths, her second cousin Germanicus was made the adoptive son of Tiberius, Augustus' stepson, as part of the succession scheme in the adoptions of AD 4. As a result of the adoption, Agrippina was wed to Germanicus in order to bring him closer to the Julian family.
Julia Agrippina, also referred to as Agrippina the Younger, was Roman empress from 49 to 54 AD, the fourth wife and niece of Emperor Claudius, and the mother of Nero.
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The Julio-Claudian dynasty comprised the first five Roman emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero.
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The 30s decade ran from January 1, AD 30, to December 31, AD 39.
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Rubellius Plautus was a Roman noble and a political rival of Emperor Nero. Through his mother Julia, he was a relative of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. He was the grandson of Drusus, and the great-grandson of Tiberius and his brother Drusus. Through his great-grandmothers Vipsania Agrippina and Antonia Minor, he was also descended from Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Mark Antony. He was descended from Augustus' sister Octavia Minor, herself a grand-niece of Julius Caesar.
Nero Julius Caesar was the adopted grandson and heir of the Roman Emperor Tiberius, alongside his brother Drusus. Born into the prominent Julio-Claudian dynasty, Nero was the son of Tiberius' general and heir, Germanicus. After the deaths of his father and of Tiberius' son, Drusus the Younger, Nero and his brother Drusus were adopted together by Tiberius in September AD 23. As a result of being heirs of the emperor, he and his brother enjoyed accelerated political careers.
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Vistilia was a Roman matron of the gens Vistilia known by her contemporaries for having seven children by six different husbands; Pliny the Elder was more impressed by the fact most of her pregnancies were remarkably brief. Five of her sons became consuls, her daughter Milonia Caesonia became Roman empress through her marriage to Caligula, and her granddaughter Domitia Longina became empress through her marriage with Domitian. Due to her fertility Vistilia became a byword for prodigious fecundity in antiquity.
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain : Smith, William (1870). "P. Anteius". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology . Vol. 1. p. 183.