Laureolus
Laureolus (died before AD 41) was a purported runaway slave, highwayman, and bandit leader of the Roman Empire who was noted for his ability to evade authorities.[1][2][3] According to the poet Martial in his Book of Spectacles, Laureolus was captured, crucified, and condemned to damnatio ad bestias.[4]
Laureolus-mime
In or before the first century AD, a Roman mimographer named Catullus[n 1] wrote a play titled Laureolus, based on the historical individual. In its final act, the man playing Laureolus would be swapped out with a criminal, who was then crucified and condemned to beasts before the audience.[6] This play was one of the most popular in Rome until at least the second century.[7]
The earliest known instance of the play took place on the morning of Caligula's assassination in AD 41.[3] Suetonius considered Laureolus to be a bad omen and mentioned a performance in which the man playing Laureolus and several other actors vomited blood, which engulfed the stage.[8]
The Classical Association of the Middle West and South has interpreted the play's longevity as having been a means to discourage insubordination among the Roman population. They also suggested that Laureolus may have had a "stature as a folk hero to the disenfranchised in Roman society".[9]
Notes
- ^ T. P. Wiseman identifies him as being Gaius Valerius Catullus, but this remains speculative.[5]
References
- ^ Harley-McGowan, Felicity (2019). "Crucifixion in Roman Antiquity: The State of the Field". Journal of Early Christian Studies. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
- ^ Rodríguez Valcárcel, José Antonio (26 February 2020). "This Roman emperor believed he was a god. He was assassinated for it". National Geographic. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
- ^ a b van Nispen, Henri (2025). "Caligula's Adhocratic Leadership: An Analysis of the Reign of the Roman Emperor Caligula" (PDF). Radboud Dissertation Series: 218. doi:10.54195/9789465150109. ISBN 978-94-6515-010-9. Retrieved 25 September 2025 – via Radboud University Nijmegen.
- ^ Marcus Valerius Martialis. Book of Spectacles. Retrieved 25 September 2025 – via Technical University of Applied Sciences Augsburg.
- ^ Wiseman 1985, p. 192–193.
- ^ Wiseman 1985, p. 198–199.
- ^ Coleman 2006, p. 83.
- ^ Suetonius. The Life of Caligula. Retrieved 25 September 2025 – via University of Chicago.
- ^ "The Laureolus-Mime" (PDF). Classical Association of the Middle West and South. 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2025.
Cited works
- Coleman, Kathleen M. (2006). Martial: Liber Spectaculorum. New York City: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-814481-4.
- Wiseman, T. P. (1985). Catullus & His World: A Reappraisal (Hardcover ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-26606-8.