Naevius Sutorius Macro

Quintus Naevius Cordus Sutorius Macro
Born	21 BC Alba Fucens
Died	38 Rome
Allegiance	Roman Empire
Years of service	31 – 38
Rank	Praetorian prefect
Unit	Praetorian Guard

Quintus Naevius Cordus Sutorius Macro (21 BC - 38 AD) was a prefect of the Praetorian Guard, from 31 until 38, serving under the Roman Emperors Tiberius and Caligula. Upon falling out of favour, he committed suicide.

Life

Macro was born in 21 BC at Alba Fucens, a Roman town at the foot of Monte Velino, situated on a hill just to the north of the Via Valeria.^[1]

Inscriptional evidence from the ruins of this town reveals that, prior to becoming Praetorian prefect, Macro had served as prefect of the vigiles, the Roman fire brigade and night watch. However the date of this appointment and the length of his tenure are unknown.^[2]

Macro was appointed Praetorian prefect by Tiberius after the arrest of Sejanus. According to Tacitus, Macro was active in discrediting Sejanus and in directing the subsequent purge against his family and followers.

As prefect, Macro wielded considerable influence. He furthered his ambitions by befriending Tiberius' grand-nephew Gaius, better known as Caligula, one of the Emperor's prospective heirs. According to Suetonius, Macro gained further favor by turning a blind eye to his wife Eunia's affair with Caligula around the year 34 AD.^[3]

When Tiberius died in the year 37 AD, Macro immediately sided with the new Emperor Caligula. According to Tacitus, Macro even played an active role in bringing about Caligula's rise to power by ordering Tiberius to be killed after it was revealed that reports of his death had been premature: Caligula had begun to take power immediately upon hearing that Tiberius had died of natural causes but without confirming that Tiberius had indeed died. In fact, Tiberius was still alive, and shortly thereafter was heard calling for food. In order to prevent an embarrassing and potentially dangerous situation, should Tiberius have reacted angrily to Caligula's hasty ascension to power, Macro "ordered the old Emperor to be smothered under a huge heap of clothes."^[4]

Macro was confident of rapid promotion for past services. However, Caligula was aware of the potential threat Macro posed and soon removed him from office. According to some sources^[who?], Macro was promised the governorship of Egypt but upon arriving at Ostia with Eunia to take ship, he was instead arrested and stripped of his office in the year 38 AD. Macro and Eunia both committed suicide soon after.

Macro in fiction

In the 1968 ITV Granada-TV production, "The Caesars," the part of Macro was played by Jerome Willis. Macro was played by John Rhys-Davies in the 1976 BBC TV adaptation of Robert Graves's book I, Claudius and by Guido Mannari in Caligula. In the trailer for the fictional remake of Caligula, he was played by Benicio del Toro.

References

1. ^ Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth (ed.) The Oxford Classical Dictionary. Oxford University Press (1996). p. 1458.
2. ^ Sandra J. Bingham. The praetorian guard in the political and social life of Julio-Claudian Rome. Ottawa: National Library of Canada (1997), p. 63.
3. ^ Suetonius, The Lives of Twelve Caesars, Life of Caligula 12
4. ^ Tacitus, Annals VI.50

Government offices
Preceded by Lucius Aelius Sejanus	Praetorian prefect 31-38	Succeeded by Marcus Arrecinus Clemens & Lucius Arruntius Stella

Persondata
Name	Macro, Naevius Sutorius
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth
Place of birth	Alba Fucens
Date of death
Place of death	Rome