Aulus Plautius

Aulus Plautius is a veteran general, husband of Pomponia Graecina, and adoptive father in all but formal status to Lygia, the daughter of a Lygian king held as a Roman hostage. His defining conflict is that the household in which he has loved and protected her cannot withstand the emperor’s claim over her. He submits when Nero orders her transferred to the palace, yet the grief in that obedience and the efforts he makes afterward show how imperial command can override a family bond without erasing it.

Identity and Household

Aulus is introduced as an older man with whitened hair and a fresh, energetic, somewhat eagle-like face. The unexpected arrival of Petronius, a close companion of Nero, alarms him; Petronius quickly explains that he has come to thank Aulus for the care Vinicius received in his home. Aulus welcomes him and says that he, too, feels gratitude, though Petronius does not know its cause. The scene establishes the household’s reciprocal hospitality and Aulus’s composed courtesy, while making clear that his domestic world is exposed to the political circles around the emperor.

The house reflects Aulus’s character. Its atrium is ornamented with marble, painted panels, small bronze figures, and statues of his ancestors; the furnishings suggest abundance without excess. Petronius, whose own home is marked by greater display, finds nothing to criticize. Aulus’s household is thus distinguished not by withdrawal from Roman elite life, but by a measure of restraint and settled dignity that contrasts with the court’s ostentation.

Lygia’s Place in the Family

Aulus and Pomponia have brought Lygia up as their own child, and their son, little Aulus, treats her as a sister. When Vinicius visits, Lygia and the boy are playing ball in the garden, with household slaves assigned to retrieve and return the balls. The ordinary ease of this domestic scene makes the impending separation consequential: Lygia’s place in the family is lived and visible, even though Roman authority defines her as a hostage rather than a daughter.

Aulus’s account of her origins confirms the complexity of that bond. During the conflict involving the Lygians, the Suevi, and the Iazyges, Lygia’s father, the king, was killed. Her mother later died as well. Ursus, who had accompanied the hostages, wished to take the child back to her people, but the road was unsafe. After a report of a Lygian embassy proved false, she remained with the Roman forces; Pomponius took her to Rome and, after his triumph, entrusted the king’s daughter to Pomponia Graecina. This history makes Lygia’s Roman upbringing the result of successive decisions and circumstances, not a change in her descent or political status. Vinicius takes particular satisfaction in learning from Ursus that she is truly of royal birth.

The Imperial Order and Its Cost

Nero’s centurion Hasta arrives with tablets and the emperor’s signet, announcing that Lygia is to be transferred to the guardianship of Caesar and the Senate. The order presents the transfer as a matter of hostage custody: her father gave her to Rome under Claudius as a pledge that the Lygians would not violate the empire’s boundaries, and Nero says he no longer wishes to burden Aulus with her care. Aulus reads the order and recognizes that his position as a soldier leaves him little room to refuse. Though anger and pain briefly mark his face, he calmly tells Hasta to wait in the atrium while he informs his family.

In the oecus, Aulus tells Lygia plainly that she was raised and loved as their daughter, but is not their daughter by birth, and that Caesar now claims the guardianship attached to her hostage status. He concludes that the emperor’s will must be carried out. The words are spoken with an unusual strain in his voice; Pomponia turns pale, while frightened household slaves gather at the doors. Aulus then bids Lygia farewell as the joy and light of their eyes and hurries away so that he will not yield to emotion he considers unworthy of a Roman general. The farewell makes the cost of his discipline explicit: military self-command enables him to obey, but it does not make the parting painless.

Pomponia takes Lygia to a private room and comforts her. Her appeal to Christian faith rejects suicide while affirming the right to defend oneself from evil, even at the cost of suffering or death; she places present separation within a hope of resurrection and divine mercy. This response contrasts with Aulus’s stated obligation to obey the emperor. The spouses share Lygia’s loss, but the crisis brings their distinct commitments into view: his public identity as a Roman commander and her faith’s refusal to treat imperial power as ultimate.

Efforts to Recover Her

After Lygia has been taken to the palace, Aulus tells Pomponia that he will go to Nero, although he expects the visit to be useless, and will also approach Seneca. He recognizes that Seneca’s influence has weakened and that courtiers such as Tigellinus, Petronius, and Vatinius now have greater access to the emperor. Aulus suspects that someone induced Nero to demand the hostage, rather than assuming the emperor knew much about the Lygian people. His response is practical: he will appeal through the remaining channels available to him, even while acknowledging their limits.

The court’s explanation offers a provisional safeguard rather than restoring Aulus’s authority. Petronius says that Nero has left Lygia’s immediate arrangements to him and that the centurion has taken her to Acte, whom Petronius considers a good person; Pomponia has also written to Acte. He expects Lygia to remain in the palace only a few days before being sent to Vinicius. Aulus’s household has therefore lost custody, and her safety depends for the moment on intermediaries at court. The episode underscores the instability of protection when it rests on imperial favor rather than a recognized family right.

Aulus’s earlier reputation gives Petronius reason to think he can speak with him: he respects Aulus and says that, despite disapproval of his way of life, the general has never been an informer. That reputation does not give Aulus power to prevent the transfer. Later, when Lygia is hiding among Christians, she explains why she cannot return to him and Pomponia: Nero had summoned the couple after her escape, suspected that they had helped her, and threatened them. Aulus swore truthfully that they had neither helped her escape nor knew where she was, and Nero believed him before forgetting the matter. The couple’s safety consequently depends on Lygia remaining absent and on their being able to truthfully deny knowledge of her location.

Later Significance

When Vinicius urges Lygia to return to Pomponia, she refuses because renewed contact could expose her adoptive parents to Nero’s anger and cause him to seize her again. Vinicius recognizes that the emperor might take her from Aulus and Pomponia simply to demonstrate that his commands must be obeyed; he also admits that Nero’s earlier interest may have arisen because Lygia’s loss mattered to him. Lygia asks whether Vinicius would want to see her back on the Palatine, and he rejects the implication, acknowledging that he had spoken foolishly. Aulus is therefore present in this later decision through the danger attached to his household: the affection that makes it a refuge also makes it vulnerable to imperial retaliation.

The same household remains a measure of Lygia’s belonging. Ursus recalls that Aulus and Pomponia loved him because of his strength, and that he had served as Lygia’s protector since her childhood. During the persecution, Aulus is named among the Christians known on the Palatine to confess their faith, despite the danger. When Vinicius invites Lygia and the other Christians to seek safety on his estates, she says she would like to return to Pomponia if that is God’s will, but does not treat longing as sufficient reason to endanger those around her. Aulus’s role thus reaches beyond the original separation: his love for Lygia helps define what she has lost, while the threat to his household shapes the choices she makes in hiding.