Alus Plautius

Aulus Plautius is a veteran general and Lygia’s foster father, but not her biological father: she was entrusted to Rome as a hostage by the king of the Lygians. His effort to protect her is bounded by the very imperial order that defines her legal status. When Nero claims guardianship and removes her from the Plautius household, Aulus obeys, making the separation a measure both of his discipline and of the powerlessness of personal affection before Caesar.

Identity and Background

Aulus is known to Petronius as a respected commander whose judgment carries weight. Petronius says that Aulus disapproves of his way of life but nevertheless has a certain weakness for him and may respect him more than other courtiers because Petronius has not become an informer. Petronius also recalls that he has objected to Nero’s actions when Seneca and Burrus looked the other way. On that basis, he offers to speak to Aulus for Marcus Vinicius, who hopes to enlist the general’s influence. Petronius does not claim unlimited power over him, but promises to approach him when Aulus returns to the city.

Aulus’s military bearing is evident when Nero’s centurion Hasta arrives with the imperial command. The message identifies Lygia as the daughter of the king of the Lygians, given to Rome as a pledge that her people would respect the empire’s boundaries. It says that, as a hostage, she should be under the guardianship of Caesar and the Senate, and orders Aulus to hand her over. Aulus studies the tablets and signet, then tells Hasta that he will comply. The slight mark of anger and pain on his forehead contrasts with his controlled response: even the veteran whose frown once made legions tremble recognizes that he has no defence against the order.

Lygia and the Plautius Household

Aulus tells Lygia directly that she was raised in his and Pomponia’s house as their own child, and that both love her as a daughter, but that she is a hostage, not their daughter by birth. His explanation turns an intimate family bond into a question of jurisdiction: Nero claims the authority to take her because of the diplomatic status assigned to her by her people and Rome. Aulus’s words are calm, yet his unusual voice and the alarm in the household show how painful the announcement is.

After telling Lygia that Caesar’s will must be fulfilled, Aulus bids her farewell as the joy and light of his eyes, then leaves quickly for the atrium so that he will not be overcome by emotion. His departure does not cancel the affection he has expressed; instead, it shows the conflict between that affection and his conception of a Roman general’s duty. Pomponia takes Lygia to a private room and comforts her, while the household’s slaves watch in fear. The family has to absorb the separation within the ordinary structures of the home, even as imperial power reaches directly into it.

Law, Loyalty, and Imperial Power

Lygia’s position is described through competing claims of guardianship. Aulus has raised her in his home, but Nero asserts that the hostage must belong under Caesar’s and the Senate’s care. The command is carried by a centurion with imperial tablets and a signet, and Aulus treats those instruments as sufficient authority to compel obedience. The episode presents the legal and political claim not as an abstract rule but as a force that can displace a household’s lived family bond without its consent.

The distinction between formal authority and human attachment continues after Lygia reaches the palace. Petronius tells Vinicius that Nero has left the matter to him and that he has arranged for Lygia to be placed in Acte’s care; he also reports that Pomponia wrote to Acte. Aulus himself is not shown arranging this transfer, but the detail clarifies the limited protection available once the imperial order has removed Lygia from his household. Later, Vinicius fears that Aulus has hidden her and considers accusing him of disobedience, even imagining that he could obtain a death sentence against the general. Petronius subsequently explains that Aulus had come to the palace seeking information and believed that Lygia, taken from his house at Nero’s command and at the request of Vinicius and Petronius, would be sent to Vinicius. These misunderstandings make Aulus vulnerable to suspicion from both sides, although his actual actions in the evidence are those of a father grieving and a soldier obeying.

Reputation and Wider Significance

Aulus’s reputation extends beyond the hostage crisis. In a letter to Vinicius, Petronius reports that Nero hesitated over the conflict concerning Armenia and that Aulus was considered for the chief command before Poppaea opposed the possibility. The account connects his standing as a general to palace rivalries: military command may depend not only on ability but also on the preferences and enmities of the court.

The household’s religious differences form another part of Aulus’s setting. Chilo tries to discover the faith shared by Pomponia and Lygia, asking whether Vinicius has seen a token or a sign; Vinicius recalls seeing Lygia draw a fish in the sand. The evidence identifies the sign and the search for the family’s religious allegiance, but does not establish Aulus’s own beliefs. At the moment of Lygia’s removal, Pomponia speaks of a law greater than the household’s traditional rites, while Aulus’s response remains framed by military obedience and Roman authority.

Aulus’s role is therefore not that of a successful rescuer but of a protector whose care cannot prevail against the state’s claim. When Vinicius writes that what has happened has happened by Caesar’s will, and that he and Petronius bow to it, the letter gives the separation a language of submission rather than redress. Aulus’s restraint preserves his public discipline, but the cost is personal: he must let the young woman he raised leave his home because imperial power has converted her hostage status into a command he cannot refuse.