Life
L. Calpurnius Piso Frugi was born around 180 BCE into an influential Roman family, although the precise relationship Piso had to other Calpurnii Pisones is unclear, and the options are many. Cornell cautiously suggests that the Calpurnius Piso who was the urban praetor in 211 was his grandfather, and thus his father was L. Calpurnius, a legatus in 198 (citing Livy 32.19.11).
Many of the Calpurnii Pisones were politically successful, and Piso was no exception. He was tribune of the plebs in 149, praetor at some point in the early 130s, consul in 133, and then censor in 120. As his agnomen—Frugi—indicates, he was recognized as a morally upright and “by the book” politician. As a tribune, he passed the lex Calpurnia de repetundis, which established the first permanent court for provincials to recover property stolen by corrupt Roman officials. As consul, he waged war against the rebel slaves in Sicily during the First Servile War, and was known for his strict and severe command. His sense of propriety, though, applied even to himself and his own. When his son was among the officers who were being rewarded for bravery, Piso refused to give him his due gold from the public treasury, thinking it improper for a “magistrate…to pay out from public funds something which would return to his own household” (Val. Max. 4.3.10). He instead rewarded his son from his own expense.
Works
Piso is the author of a historical chronicle of the Rome, though it is uncertain what and how much he wrote. Scholars generally think he wrote a single work, the Annales, and other names attributed to him, such as the Historiae and Commentarii, are instead just descriptions of the Annales.
This work incorporated the year-by-year chronicle of Rome into a prose history—one of the first in this style—from the beginning of the monarchy down through at least 146 BCE, the latest identifiable date from the fragments. Scholars believe he likely continued his work throughout his life, and later echoes of his consulship in 133 perhaps originate from this work as well.
Seven books are mentioned in ancient authors, though more may have existed. The whole of the first book appears to be dedicated to the monarchy, and the events of 158 BCE are found in Book 7.
Further Reading
Cornell, T. J. 2013. Fragments of the Roman Historians. 3 volumes. Oxford University Press.
