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Thrasyllus of Mendes (d. c.36 CE), whose full name was Tiberius Claudius Thrasyllus, was an Alexandrian grammarian, editor of Plato and Democritus, and most notably an astrologer. He encountered the Emperor Tiberius, the putative heir to the Emperor Augustus, on the island of Rhodes, whence Tiberius had been exiled. Thrassyllus predicted that Tiberius would soon be recalled to Rome and officially named Augustus' successor, and remained close to him during the intervening years and the years of his reign, receiving the valuable gift of Roman citizenship for himself and his wife Aka, a minor princess of Commagene. The Emperor's daughter-in-law Livilla consulted him during her affair with Tiberius' chief minister Sejanus, and Thrasyllus persuaded the Emperor to leave Rome for Capri while clandestinely supporting Sejanus. Later, Thrasyllus' son-in-law Macro carried out the orders which destroyed Sejanus, whether with Thrasyllus' knowledge is unclear. Thrasyllus remained on Capri with Tiberius advising him on his relationship with the various claimants to the succession, and favouring Caius (later the Emperor Caligula) with whom his daughter Ennia was having a tempestuous affair. By falsely predicting Tiberius' longevity, the astrologer saved the lives of a number of noble Romans suspected falsely of plotting against the Emperor; believing Thrasyllus implicitly, Tiberius was confident that he would outlive any plotters, and so failed to act against them. Thrasyllus predeceased the Emperor, and did not live to see the realization of his prediction that Caius would succeed.
According to the Encyclopaedia Judaica, Thrasyllus wrote that the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt took place in 1690 BC/BCE.
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