Cassius Chaerea (11 BCE–41 CE)
Born 11 BCE, died 41 CE.
Cassius Chaerea (Classical Latin: [ˈkʰae̯rea]) was a Roman soldier and officer who served as a tribune in the army of Germanicus and in the Praetorian Guard under the emperor Caligula, whom he eventually assassinated in AD 41. According to Tacitus, before Chaerea's service in the Praetorians, he distinguished himself with his bravery and skill in helping to subdue the mutiny on the Germanic frontier immediately after the death of Augustus in AD 14. Chaerea was disturbed by the increasingly unbalanced Caligula, and was angered at the Emperor's mocking of his voice and of his supposed or real effeminacy. Suetonius reported that whenever Caligula had Chaerea kiss his ring, Caligula would "hold out his hand to kiss, forming and moving it in an obscene fashion". Chaerea was also made to use degrading watch-words at night, including "Venus" (slang for a male eunuch) and "Priapus" (a minor god usually depicted with an oversize, erect phallus). Unable to bear this deliberate provocation any longer, Chaerea planned to assassinate Caligula during the Palatine games held in January 41.
Text from the Wikipedia article Cassius_Chaerea, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.