Gaius Ofonius Tigellinus (10-69 AD) was the Prefect of the Praetorian Guard under Emperor Nero from 62 to 68 AD, succeeding Sextus Afranius Burrus and preceding Cornelius Laco. He was Nero's right-hand man in many of his brutal and cruel ventures, and, while he survived Galba's seizure of power, he committed suicide when the second in the Year of the Four Emperors, Otho, summoned him to Rome for trial.
Biography[]
Gaius Ofonius Tigellinus was born in Agrigentum, Sicily, Roman Empire in 10 AD to a family of humble Greek origins. He came to Rome in his twenties, coming into contact with the imperial family during his immoral youth, but he was banished from the city by Caligula in 39 AD. In 41 AD, the new emperor Claudius ended his exile, but he was forbidden to enter the Imperial Palace. He came to work as a merchant in Greece before inheriting a fortune and buying land in Apulia and Calabria to breed racehorses. It was through this profession that he gained the acquaintance and favor of Nero, aiding and abetting him in his vices and cruelties. He settled in Rome in 60 AD and became Urban Prefect of the city's three paramilitary Urban Cohorts. On the death of Sextus Afranius Burrus in 62 AD, he became Prefect of the Praetorian Guard, and he became one of Nero's closest and most trusted advisors. In 64 AD, he notoriously arranged orgies in the Basin of Agrippa. That same year, during the Great Fire of Rome, he started a fire at his estate in the Amaelian district of the city to cause a second wave of arson. A year later, after Gaius Calpurnius Piso's failed conspiracy to assassinate Nero, Tigellinus jealously accused the courtier Petronius of complicity, causing Petronius to be arrested at Cumae and commit suicide in captivity. In 67 AD, he accompanied Nero on his tour of Greece, and he had the famous general Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo commit suicide during the trip. In 68 AD, when Nero's downfall appeared imminent, Tigellinus deserted him after claiming to have cancer, and he earned favor under the new emperor, Galba. However, when Otho came to power in January of 69 AD, he was determined to be rid of the unpopular Tigellinus. When Tigellinus was ordered to return to Rome with an armed escort, he was granted permission to shave before leaving, only to cut his own throat with a razor.