Cassius Chaerea

Who was Cassius Chaerea?

Cassius Chaerea was a centurion in the army of Germanicus and served in the Praetorian Guard under the emperor Caligula, whom he eventually assassinated.

According to Tacitus, before his service in the Praetorians, he distinguished himself with his bravery and skill in helping to subdue the mutiny on the German frontier immediately after the death of Augustus.

Cassius was disturbed by the increasingly unbalanced emperor, and angered at Caligula's mocking of his voice and his supposed or real effeminacy. It is reported that whenever Caligula had Chaerea kiss his ring, Caligula would, according to Suetonius, "hold out his hand to kiss, forming and moving it in an obscene fashion." Cassius was also made to use degrading watch-words at night, including "Venus" and "Priapus".

Unable to bear this any longer, Chaerea planned to assassinate Caligula during the Palatine games held in January. Cassius' plot was one of several that formed around the same time and eventually coalesced into one broad conspiracy including a number of Praetorians, Senators, and Equestrians. On January 24, Cassius struck, and Caligula was killed. At the same time, Caligula's wife Caesonia and daughter Julia Drusilla were murdered, completing the task of destroying the emperor's immediate family. Cassius was sympathetic to his fellow conspirators in the Senate, and wanted the destruction of the principate.