Aulus Cremutius Cordus

Who was Aulus Cremutius Cordus?

Aulus Cremutius Cordus was a Roman historian. There are very few remaining fragments of his work, principally covering the civil war and the reign of Augustus Caesar. In 25 AD he was forced by Sejanus, who was praetorian prefect under Tiberius, to take his life after being accused of maiestas. He had been accused by Satrius Secundus of having eulogized Brutus and spoken of Cassius as the last of the Romans, which was considered an offence under the lex majestatis, and the senate ordered the burning of his writings. Seneca, however, tells us that he most likely incurred Sejanus' displeasure for criticising him, because Sejanus had commissioned a statue of himself. We also know from this source—a letter to Cordus' daughter Marcia—that he starved himself to death. She was also instrumental in saving his work, so that it could be published again under Caligula. Apart from Seneca, he is mentioned by Tacitus, Quintilian, Suetonius and Dio Cassius. Even though Cordus committed suicide, his work survived, prompting Tacitus to deride "the stupidity of people who believe that today's authority can destroy tomorrow's memories."

The trial of the historian Cremutius Cordus took place under the reign of Tiberius in 25 CE. The charge was, according to Tacitus, "a new charge for the first time heard". According to Mary R. McHugh, no one had been charged with maiestas for writing a history.