Gaius Julius Callistus
Encyclopedia
Gaius Julius Callistus was a Greek imperial freedman
Freedman
A freedman is a former slave who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves became freedmen either by manumission or emancipation ....

 during the reigns of Roman Emperors Caligula
Caligula
Caligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...

 and Claudius
Claudius
Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...

. Callistus was originally a freedman of Caligula, and was given great authority during his reign, which he used to amass even greater wealth. He often advised Caligula on imperial policy and how to deal with emergent issues such as the abundant conspiracies against the emperor. He used his influence to help his friends, including Domitius Afer
Domitius Afer
Gnaeus Domitius Afer was a Roman orator and advocate, born at Nemausus in Gallia Narbonensis. He flourished in the reigns of Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero....

, whose treason case was dropped at Callistus' behest. However, Callistus was not immune from Caligula's wrath, and when a thwarted assassin named Callistus as a fellow conspirator in the failed plot, Caligula was ready to believe him. It was only pleading that saved Callistus' life.

Ironically, this distrust by Caligula may have caused Callistus to turn on him. He is named by the ancient sources as a prime mover in Caligula's murder (24 January 41) rallying the other freedmen to the cause. When Claudius succeeded Caligula, he pardoned most of the conspirators.

In order to impress the new emperor Claudius, Callistus stated that Caligula had ordered him murder Claudius several times, but he had always refused. Whether or not this was true, Claudius allowed Callistus to stay in the imperial service. Claudius divided the daily maintenance of the empire among various freedmen and Callistus became Secretary of Justice and Law. His job was to oversee the running of the courts and the conduct of trials. He used the position to amass personal wealth, and carried on much the way he had under Caligula, advising the emperor on policy and the like. Callistus persuaded Claudius to hire his friend Scribonius Largus
Scribonius Largus
Scribonius Largus was the court physician to the Roman emperor Claudius.About 47 AD, at the request of Gaius Julius Callistus, the emperor's freedman, he drew up a list of 271 prescriptions , most of them his own, although he acknowledged his indebtedness to his tutors, to friends and to the...

 as a personal physician. After the disgrace and death of Roman Empress Valeria Messalina
Messalina
Valeria Messalina, sometimes spelled Messallina, was a Roman empress as the third wife of the Emperor Claudius. She was also a paternal cousin of the Emperor Nero, second cousin of the Emperor Caligula, and great-grandniece of the Emperor Augustus...

, Callistus is said to have promoted Caligula's former wife Lollia Paulina
Lollia Paulina
Lollia Paulina was a noble Roman woman who lived in the 1st century, and for six months in AD 38 was a Roman Empress as the third wife of the Emperor Caligula.-Life:...

 as a replacement. He would have been acquainted with her from his days in Caligula's court.

Most of the details of Callistus' personal life and ultimate fate are unknown, although he was dead by the end of Claudius' reign. Claudius died by poison on 13 October 54. Callistus supposedly pushed his daughter Nymphidia to become one of Caligula's mistresses. Callistus' grandchild Nymphidius later claimed to be the product of this union, and tried unsuccessfully to gain the principate in the Year of the Four Emperors
Year of the Four Emperors
The Year of the Four Emperors was a year in the history of the Roman Empire, AD 69, in which four emperors ruled in a remarkable succession. These four emperors were Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian....

.
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