Roman gold coin of Vespasian
Helvidius Priscus was a Roman Stoic philosopher and politician who lived in the 1st century CE. Helvidius was known for his love of republican values and his dislike of emperors.
Suetonius reports that during the reign of Vespasian he regularly referred to the incumbent emperor by name, stressing that he treated him like any other senator. What’s more, Helvidius skipped the imperial title and allowed himself to taunt the ruler.
According to Suetonius, during the reign of Vespasian it was difficult to find someone who was killed unjustly on his orders. Apparently, in the case of Helvidius, at some point he could not stand the Roman’s lack of respect and sentenced him first to exile and finally to death. Apparently, at the last moment he gave up killing Helvidius, but his envoys did not manage to prevent the execution on time.
- Suetonius, Vespasian, 15
