Gaius Salvius Liberalis (history)

Gaius Salvius Liberalis (fl. 80s CE) was a Roman aristocrat and general, who held civil office in Britain and a religious office in Rome, Italy.

Biography

Gaius Salvius Liberalis grew up in Italy and moved to Rome, where he became very successful in the position of a senator and lawyer. He then became an Arval Brother, and was later put in command of a legion. Eventually Salvius was sent to Britain as an aide to Agricola, the governor of Britain. A gravestone dedicated to his wife, Vitellia Rufilla, by his son, Gaius Salvius Vitellanius, was found near Rome, which states that he had been consul in his lifetime. He was a distant relative of Quintus who is one of the recurring characters in the Cambridge Latin course.

In Fiction

Gaius Salvius Liberalis appears in books II-V of the Cambridge Latin Course as a conniving and evil man, and the main antagonist, who helps the emperor coordinate the downfall of many people. He is involved in a conspiracy against Tiberius Claudius Cogidubnus and unravels the affair between Paris and the emperor's wife, Domitia. Eventually he is tried for his crimes and exiled for five years.

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