Corocotta was an Iberian highwayman from today’s Cantabria, who in the first century BCE according to Cassius Dio invaded Roman territories and wreaked havoc. The damage he was doing was so large that Augustus wanted to reward anyone – with a prize of million sesterces – who will help to catch him.
According to Cassius Dio (only this historian mentions Corocotta), Corocotta himself appear before Augustus for the prize. The Emperor, being full of admiration for the courage of the man, gave him a monetary reward.
Historian Peter Michael Swan claims that the purpose of this probably imagined story was to contrast Augustus gentleness with the vindictiveness of Septimius Severus, during whose reign (the turn of the second and third century CE) was creating Cassius Dio. Thomas Grünewald, a scientist, has a similar opinion. Currently, there is a discussion in the academic community whether Corocotta was a bandit or perhaps a leader of the local resistance movement. Cassius Dio uses the Greek word leistes, which means “bandit”.
