Papirius

Family: Roman · Role: centurion · First appears: Histories IV.47-50

Life events

• Lucius Piso executed Papirius after discovering the centurion intended to accuse and assassinate him.(Histories IV.47-50 · 📍 Carthage)
  • With: Lucius Piso Mucianus
  • “He accordingly had the man executed more from indignation against the assassin than in any hope of saving his life”

Histories IV.47-50

• employer: Mucianus (Mucianus sent and commissioned Papirius.) “Meanwhile, Claudius Sagitta, who commanded Petra's Horse, made a good crossing and outstripped the centurion Papirius, who had been sent out by Mucianus and was commissioned, so Sagitta affirmed, to assassinate Piso.”
• enemies with Lucius Piso (Piso had the centurion executed; the centurion is identified earlier as Papirius.) “Piso, however, either at a hint from Sagitta, or from his natural good sense, would not show himself in public or give way to the excitement of the crowd. He examined the centurion, and learnt that his object was to trump up a charge against him and then kill him. He accordingly had the man executed more from indignation against the assassin than in any hope of saving his life;”
• enemies with Clodius Macer (Papirius was identified as one of the murderers of Clodius Macer.) “Meanwhile, Claudius Sagitta, who commanded Petra's Horse, made a good crossing and outstripped the centurion Papirius, who had been sent out by Mucianus and was commissioned, so Sagitta affirmed, to assassinate Piso. Sagitta further stated that Galerianus, Piso's cousin and son-in-law, had already been murdered, and told him that while his one hope lay in taking a bold step, there were two courses open to him: he might either take up arms on the spot, or he might prefer to sail to Gaul and offer to lead the Vitellian armies. This made no impression on Piso. When the centurion whom Mucianus had sent arrived at the gates of Carthage, he kept on shouting all sorts of congratulations to Piso on becoming emperor. The people he met, who were astounded at this unexpected miracle, were instructed to take up the cry. With a crowd's usual credulity, they rushed into the forum calling on Piso to appear, and as they had a passion for flattery and took no interest in the truth, they proceeded to fill the whole place with a confused noise of cheering. Piso, however, either at a hint from Sagitta, or from his natural good sense, would not show himself in public or give way to the excitement of the crowd. He examined the centurion, and learnt that his object was to trump up a charge against him and then kill him. He accordingly had the man executed more from indignation against the assassin than in any hope of saving his life; for he found that the man had been one of the murderers of Clodius Macer, and after staining his hand in the blood of a military officer was now proposing to turn it against a civil governor.”

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Extracted from the original text of Tacitus — The Histories & The Annals (Books I-VI) & Agricola. Made with Rho MD.