Editing Otho

{{Short description|Roman emperor in AD 69}}
{{other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox royalty
| image        = Statue of the emperor Otho, Ma 1215 (cropped1).jpg
| caption      = Detail of a statue of Otho at the [[Louvre]]<ref>[https://www.photo.rmn.fr/archive/08-537192-2C6NU0TTK683.html Empereur Othon]. ''[[Réunion des Musées Nationaux]]''.</ref><ref>[https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010275371# L'Empereur Othon]. ''Louvre''</ref>
| image_size   = 240px
| succession   = [[Roman emperor]]
| reign        = 15 January – 16 April 69
| predecessor  = [[Galba]]
| successor    = [[Vitellius]]
| birth_name   = Marcus Salvius Otho
| birth_date   = 28 April 32
| birth_place  = [[Ferentium]], [[Roman Italy|Italy]]
| death_date   = 16 April 69 (aged 36)
| death_place  = [[Brescello]]
| burial_place = 
| spouse       = [[Poppaea Sabina]] (forced by [[Nero]] to divorce her)
| issue        = 
| regnal name  = [[Imperator]] Marcus Otho [[Caesar (title)|Caesar]] [[Augustus (title)|Augustus]]{{sfn|Cooley|p=490}}
| father       = [[Lucius Salvius Otho]]
| mother       = [[Albia Terentia]]
}}
{{Year of Four Emperors}}

'''Otho''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|əʊ|θ|əʊ}} {{respell|OH|tho}}; born '''Marcus Salvius Otho'''; 28 April 32 – 16 April 69) was [[Roman emperor]], ruling for three months from 15 January to 16 April 69. He was the second emperor of the [[Year of the Four Emperors]].

A member of a noble [[Etruscan civilization|Etruscan]] family, Otho was initially a friend and courtier of the young emperor [[Nero]] until he was effectively banished to the governorship of the remote province of [[Lusitania]] in 58 following his wife [[Poppaea Sabina]]'s affair with Nero. After a period of moderate rule in the province, he allied himself with [[Galba]], the governor of neighbouring [[Hispania Tarraconensis]], during the revolts of 68. He accompanied Galba on his march to Rome, but revolted and murdered Galba at the start of the next year.

Inheriting the problem of the rebellion of [[Vitellius]], commander of the army in [[Germania Inferior]], Otho led a sizeable force which met Vitellius' army at the [[Battle of Bedriacum]]. After initial fighting resulted in 40,000 casualties, and a retreat of his forces, Otho committed suicide rather than fight on, and Vitellius was proclaimed emperor.

==Early life==
Otho was born on 28 April AD 32. His grandfather [[Marcus Salvius Otho (grandfather of emperor Otho)|Marcus]] had been a senator, and [[Claudius]] granted patrician status to Otho's father [[Lucius Salvius Otho]].{{sfn|Grant|2002|p=188}}{{sfn|Greenhalgh|1975|pp=33–35}} 

Suetonius, in ''The Lives of the Caesars'', comments on Otho's appearance and personal hygiene: 
{{Blockquote|He is said to have been of moderate height, splay-footed and bandy-legged, but almost feminine in his care of his person. He had the hair of his body plucked out, and because of the thinness of his locks wore a wig so carefully fashioned and fitted to his head, that no one suspected it. Moreover, they say that he used to shave every day and smear his face with moist bread, beginning the practice with the appearance of the first down, so as never to have a beard.}}

[[Juvenal]], in a passage in the [[Satire II]] ridiculing male homosexuality, specifically mentions Otho as being vain and effeminate, looking at himself in the mirror before going into battle, and "plaster[ing] his face with dough" in order to look good.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Juvenal {{!}} Roman poet |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Juvenal |access-date=2019-12-02 |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref>

Greenhalgh writes that "he was addicted to luxury and pleasure to a degree remarkable even in a Roman". An aged freedwoman brought him into the company of the emperor [[Nero]]. Otho married the emperor's mistress [[Poppaea Sabina]]; Nero forced Otho to divorce Poppaea so that he himself could marry her. He exiled Otho to the province of [[Lusitania]]{{sfn|Greenhalgh|1975|pp=33–35}} in 58 or 59 by appointing him to be its governor.{{sfn|Grant|2002|p=188}}

Otho proved to be capable as governor of Lusitania, yet he never forgave Nero for marrying Poppaea. He allied himself with [[Galba]], governor of neighboring [[Hispania Tarraconensis]], in the latter's rebellion against Nero in 68.{{sfn|Greenhalgh|1975|pp=33–35}} Nero committed suicide later that year, and Galba was proclaimed emperor by the [[Roman Senate|Senate]]. Otho accompanied the new emperor to Rome in October 68. Before they entered the city, Galba's army fought against a legion that Nero had organized.{{sfn|Donahue|1999}}

==Reign, decline and fall==
===Overthrow of Galba===
[[File:Otone - foto di euthman.jpg|thumb|Bust labelled as Otho in the [[National Archaeological Museum, Florence]].]]
On 1 January 69, the day Galba took the office of consul alongside [[Titus Vinius]], the [[Legio IV Macedonica|fourth]] and [[Legio XVIII|eighteenth]] legions of [[Germania Superior]] refused to swear loyalty to the emperor. They toppled the statues of Galba and demanded that a new emperor be chosen. On the following day, the soldiers of [[Germania inferior]] also refused to swear their loyalty and proclaimed the governor of the province, [[Aulus Vitellius]], as emperor.<ref>[[Tacitus]], ''[[Histories (Tacitus)|Histories]]'' [[wikisource:The_Histories_(Tacitus)/Book_1#57|1.27–57]]. </ref> Galba tried to ensure his authority as emperor was recognized by adopting the nobleman [[Lucius Calpurnius Piso Frugi Licinianus|Piso Licinianus]] as his successor,{{sfn|Greenhalgh|1975|pp=30, 37, 45, 47–54}} an action that gained resentment from Otho.{{sfn|Grant|2002|p=188}} Galba was killed by the praetorians on 15 January, followed shortly by Vinius and Piso. Their heads were placed on poles and Otho was proclaimed emperor.{{sfn|Greenhalgh|1975|pp=30, 37, 45, 47–54}}

[[Nero]]'s statues were again set up, his freedmen and household officers reinstalled, including the young castrated boy [[Sporus]] whom Nero had taken in marriage and Otho also would live intimately with.{{sfn|Smith|1849|pp=897, 2012}}{{sfn|Champlin|2005|pp=147–148}} The populace acclaimed him as "Nero Otho", although Otho did not appear to like the title.<ref>[[Tacitus]], ''[[Histories (Tacitus)|Histories]]'' [[wikisource:The_Histories_(Tacitus)/Book_1#78|1.78]]. </ref> 

At the same time, the fears of the more sober and respectable citizens were relieved by Otho's liberal professions of his intention to govern equitably, and by his judicious clemency towards [[Aulus Marius Celsus]], a consul-designate and devoted adherent of Galba. He assumed the [[Roman consul|consulate]] of the year alongside his brother [[Titianus]], but only until the 1st of March.<ref>[[Tacitus]], ''[[Histories (Tacitus)|Histories]]'' [[wikisource:The_Histories_(Tacitus)/Book_1#57|1.71ff, 77]].</ref>

===War with Vitellius===
{{unref|section|date=January 2022}}
Otho soon realized that it was much easier to overthrow an Emperor than rule as one: according to Suetonius<ref>[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Otho*.html Chapter 7]</ref> Otho once remarked that "Playing the Long Pipes is hardly my trade" (i.e. undertaking something beyond one's ability to do so). Any further development of Otho's policy was checked once he had read through Galba's private correspondence and realized the extent of the revolution in [[Germania]], where several legions had declared for [[Vitellius]], the commander of the legions on the lower [[Rhine River]], and were already advancing upon Italy. After a vain attempt to conciliate Vitellius by the offer of a share in the Empire, Otho, with unexpected vigor, prepared for war. From the much more remote provinces, which had quietly accepted his accession, little help was to be expected, but the legions of [[Dalmatia (Roman province)|Dalmatia]], [[Pannonia]] and [[Moesia]] were eager in his cause, the Praetorian cohorts were a formidable force and an efficient [[Roman Navy|fleet]] gave him the mastery of the Italian seas.

The fleet was at once dispatched to secure [[Liguria]], and on 14 March Otho, undismayed by omens and prophecies, started northwards at the head of his troops in the hopes of preventing the entry of Vitellius' troops into Italy. But for this he was too late, and all that could be done was to throw troops into [[Placentia, Italy|Placentia]] and hold the line of the [[Po river|Po]]. Otho's advanced guard held Placentia against [[Aulus Caecina Alienus]], and compelled him to fall back on [[Cremona]], but the arrival of [[Fabius Valens]] altered the aspect of affairs.

Vitellius' commanders now resolved to bring on a decisive battle, the [[Battle of Bedriacum]], and their designs were assisted by the divided and irresolute counsels which prevailed in Otho's camp. The more experienced officers urged the importance of avoiding a battle until at least the legions from [[Dalmatia]] had arrived. The rashness of the emperor's brother [[Titianus]] and of Proculus, prefect of the Praetorian Guards, added to Otho's feverish impatience, overruled all opposition, and an immediate advance was decided upon.

Otho remained behind with a considerable reserve force at [[Brixellum]] on the southern bank of the Po. When this decision was taken, Otho's army had already crossed the Po and were encamped at [[Bedriacum]] (or Betriacum), a small village on the ''Via Postumia'', on the route by which the legions from Dalmatia would naturally arrive.

Leaving a strong detachment to hold the camp at Bedriacum, the Othonian forces advanced along the ''Via Postumia'' in the direction of Cremona. At a short distance from Cremona they unexpectedly encountered the Vitellian troops. The Othonians, though at a disadvantage, fought desperately, but were eventually forced to fall back in disorder upon their camp at Bedriacum. There on the next day the victorious Vitellians followed them, but only to come to terms at once with their disheartened enemy, and to be welcomed into the camp as friends.

===Death===

Otho was still in command of a formidable force as the Dalmatian legions had reached [[Aquileia]] and the spirit of his soldiers and their officers was unbroken. He was resolved to accept the verdict of the battle that his own impatience had hastened. In a speech, he bade farewell to those about him, declaring: "It is far more just to perish one for all, than many for one",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/63*.html#64-13.2|title=Cassius Dio – Epitome of Book&nbsp;63|website=penelope.uchicago.edu|access-date=29 September 2017}}</ref> and then retiring to rest soundly for some hours. Early in the morning he stabbed himself in the heart with a dagger, which he had concealed under his pillow, and died as his attendants entered the tent.

Otho had reigned three months; his ashes were placed within a modest monument and funeral was celebrated at once as he had wished. A plain tomb was erected in his honour at Brixellum, with the inscription ''Diis Manibus Marci Othonis''. His 91-day reign was the shortest until that of [[Pertinax]], whose reign lasted 87 days in 193 during the [[Year of the Five Emperors]].{{refn|[[Cassius Dio]] [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/e/roman/texts/cassius_dio/63*.html#14 63.15]: "He had lived thirty-seven years, lacking eleven days, and had reigned ninety days". This seems to give 15 April as Otho's date of death, yet "thirty-seven years lacking eleven days" actually gives 16 April.<ref group="n."> According to Dio, [[Augustus]] died after a rule of "forty-four years lacking thirteen days". If we subtract 13 days to 2 September, we have 20 August. The very same chapter precisely dates Augustus' death on "the nineteenth day of August". [[Caligula]] ascended to the throne at "twenty-five years of age, lacking five months and four days". This gives us 27 March; Dio (wrongly) dates Tiberius' death on 26 March. Therefore, Otho died on 16 April, not 17, as the calculation may suggest.</ref> This can be explained by placing Otho's ascension on 16 January. Other historians give similar dates.<ref>[[Josephus]], [[The Jewish War]] [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/2850/2850-h/2850-h.htm IV, 9]: "Three months and two days". 92 days including the end date, just as he did for Claudius' and Nero's dates.</ref><ref>[[Clement of Alexandria]], ''[[Stromata]]'': "Otho, five ['''three'''] months, one day". [91 days]</ref><ref>[[Suetonius]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Otho*.html#11 Otho 11]: "On the ninety-fifth day of his reign". Suetonius probably assumed Otho died on 19 April, the day in which Vitellius was formally installed as emperor.</ref><ref>[[Theophilus of Antioch]], [http://www.logoslibrary.org/theophilus/autolycus/327.html ''To Autolycus'' III.27]. "Otho, 3 months 5 days" [95 days].</ref>}}

[[File:Gold Aureus of Otho.jpg|thumb|[[Aureus]] of Otho. Legend: {{Smallcaps|{{abbr|imp|IMPERATOR}} {{abbr|m|MARCUS}} otho {{abbr|caes|CAESAR}} {{abbr|aug|AUGUSTUS}} {{abbr|tr p|TRIBUNICIA POSTESTAS}}}}]]
It has been thought that Otho's suicide was committed to steer his country away from the path to civil war and to avoid casualties in his legions. Just as he had come to power, many Romans learned to respect Otho in his death. Few could believe that a renowned former companion of [[Nero]] had chosen such an honourable end. Tacitus wrote that some of the soldiers committed suicide beside his funeral pyre "because they loved their emperor and wished to share his glory".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ourcivilisation.com/smartboard/shop/tacitusc/histries/chap6.htm|title=Otho's Suicide : The Histories [of Ancient Rome] by Tacitus|first=Cornelius|last=Tacitus|website=www.ourcivilisation.com|access-date=29 September 2017}}</ref> Writing during the reign of the Emperor [[Domitian]] (AD 81–96), the Roman poet [[Martial]] expressed his admiration for Otho's choice to spare the empire from civil war through sacrificing himself,

{{bquote|<poem>Although the goddess of civil warfare was still in doubt,
And soft Otho had perhaps still a chance of winning,
He renounced fighting that would have cost much blood,
And with sure hand pierced right through his breast.
By all means let [[Cato the Younger|Cato]] in his life be greater than [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]] himself;
In his death was he greater than Otho?<ref>Martial, Epigrams VI.32, translated by D. R. Shackleton Bailey]</ref></poem>}}

== Cultural references ==

=== In opera ===

* Otho (or Ottone) is a character in ''[[L'incoronazione di Poppea]]'' (''The Coronation of Poppaea''), an Italian [[List of operas by Claudio Monteverdi|opera]] from 1643 by [[Claudio Monteverdi]]. Otho is in love with Poppaea but she spurns him. After learning Nero plans to leave her and marry Poppaea, Empress Ottavia orders Otho to kill Poppaea, which he attempts but finds he cannot carry out. He ends the opera in exile with Drusilla, a lady of the court who loves him. 
* Otho is a principal character also in [[Handel]]'s opera ''[[Agrippina (opera)|Agrippina]]'' of 1709. [[Agrippina the Younger|Agrippina]], Nero's mother, is intent on promoting her son's claim to the throne. Poppaea, the ingenue, is portrayed as the object of desire of [[Claudius]], [[Nero]], and Otho, whose rivalries Agrippina attempts to leverage to her advantage. Once Poppaea sees through Agrippina's deceit, she responds in kind, but only in order to be united with Otho, portrayed as her one true love. 
* Otho (or Ottone) is the title character in [[Antonio Vivaldi|Vivaldi]]'s opera ''[[Ottone in villa]]'' of 1713. Ottone is in love with Cleonilla, who can't resist flirting with two young Romans, Ostilio and Caio. Ostilio is in reality a woman, Tullia, who disguised herself because she's in love with Caio.

=== In literature ===

* Otho is a secondary character in the historical fiction novel ''Daughters of Rome'' by [[Kate Quinn]]. The book depicts the [[Year of the Four Emperors]]. Otho is portrayed as scheming but also charming. His suicide at the end of the portion of the book dedicated to his reign is depicted as a noble sacrifice. 

=== In film ===

* There have been multiple recorded versions of ''[[L'incoronazione di Poppea]].'' The first was in 1979, a version with the [[Zurich Opera]], and Otho was played by Paul Esswood.<ref>{{Cite web|title=L'incoronazione di Poppea|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0252543/|access-date=September 29, 2021|website=IMDB}}</ref> In the 2008 production Glyndebourne production, Otho is portrayed by Iestyn Davies.<ref>{{Cite web|title=L'incoronazione di Poppea, 07 June 2008|url=https://www.glyndebourne.com/archive_performances/lincoronazione-di-poppea-07-june-2008/|access-date=September 29, 2021|website=Glyndebourne}}</ref> In the 2010 production at the [[Teatro Real]] in Madrid, released on DVD in 2012, Max Emanuel Cencic plays Otho.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mandel|first=Mark|title=MONTEVERDI: L'Incoronazione di Poppea|url=https://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2012/8/Recordings/MONTEVERDI__L_Incoronazione_di_Poppea.html|url-status=dead|access-date=September 29, 2021|website=Opera News|archive-date=29 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210929213357/https://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2012/8/Recordings/MONTEVERDI__L_Incoronazione_di_Poppea.html}}</ref> 
* In the 2013 Polish film ''Imperator'', done entirely in Latin, Otho is a main character and is portrayed by Robert Wrzosek.<ref>{{Cite web|date=February 22, 2019|title="Emperor" – Polish movie about ancient Rome|url=https://imperiumromanum.pl/en/news/emperor-polish-movie-about-ancient-rome/|access-date=September 29, 2021|website=Imperium Romanum}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=n.}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
*{{EB1911|wstitle=Otho, Marcus Salvius|volume=20|pages=365–366}}
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=30Wa-l9B5IoC&pg=PA147 |title=Nero |last=Champlin |first=Edward |publisher=Harvard University Press |pages=147–148 |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-674-01822-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Cooley |year=2012 |first=Alison E. |title=The Cambridge Manual of Latin Epigraphy |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-84026-2 |url={{googlebooks|VlghAwAAQBAJ|plainurl=y}} |author-link=Alison E. Cooley |ref={{sfnref|Cooley}}}}
* {{cite web |last=Donahue |first=John |title=Galba |url=https://www.roman-emperors.org/galba.htm |website=De Imperatoribus Romanis |date=7 August 1999 |access-date=25 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220311020346/https://www.roman-emperors.org/galba.htm |archive-date=11 March 2022 }}
* [https://www.roman-emperors.org/othox.htm Otho (69 A.D.)] in [[De Imperatoribus Romanis]].
* {{cite book |last=Grant |first=Michael |title=The twelve Caesars |date=2002 |location=London |publisher=Phoenix Press |isbn=9781842126370}}
* {{cite book |last=Greenhalgh |first=P. A. L. |title=The Year of the Four Emperors |date=1975 |location=London |publisher=Weidenfeld and Nicolson |isbn=9780297768760 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/yearoffourempero0000gree}}
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2ek_AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA897 |title=Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology |last=Smith |first=William |publisher=C. C. Little and J. Brown; [etc., etc. ] |volume=3 |year=1849 |pages=897, 2012 |lccn=07038839}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Wikisource|Lives/Otho|Life of Otho by Plutarch|Plutarch%27s_Lives_(Clough)/Life_of_Otho}}
{{Commons category|Otho}}

===Primary sources===
*[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Otho*.html Life of Otho] (Suetonius; English translation and Latin original)
*[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Otho*.html Life of Otho] (Plutarch; English translation)
*[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/63*.html Cassius Dio, Book&nbsp;63]
*[[Tacitus]], ''[[Histories (Tacitus)|Histories]]'' (esp. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Tac.+Hist.+1.12 1.12], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Tac.+Hist.+1.21 1.21]–[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Tac.+Hist.+1.90 90])

===Secondary material===
*Biography on [http://www.roman-empire.net/emperors/otho.html ''De Imperatoribus Romanis'']
*[http://www.worldhistoryblog.com/2005/10/otho-by-plutarch.html Otho by Plutarch] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723004116/http://www.worldhistoryblog.com/2005/10/otho-by-plutarch.html |date=23 July 2018 }}
*[[Juvenal]]; [https://web.archive.org/web/20090220184654/http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/booklibrary/books/bibliographie/J/Juvenal/juv-sat2lateng.html Satire II]

{{s-start}}
{{s-off}}
{{s-bef
| before = [[Galba]]
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = [[Roman emperor]]
| years = 69
}}
{{s-aft
| after = [[Vitellius]]
}}
{{s-bef
| before = [[Galba]]
| before2 = [[Titus Vinius]]
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = [[Roman consul]]
| with = [[Lucius Salvius Otho Titianus|L. Salvius Otho Titianus]]
| years = 69 (suffect)
}}
{{s-aft
| after = [[Lucius Verginius Rufus|L. Verginius Rufus]]
| after2 = [[Lucius Pompeius Vopiscus (consul 69)|L. Pompeius Vopiscus]]
| as = suffect consuls
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Plutarch}}
{{Roman emperors}}
{{Pharaohs}}
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[[Category:Otho| ]]
[[Category:1st-century Roman emperors]]
[[Category:32 births]]
[[Category:69 deaths]]
[[Category:Suicides in Ancient Rome]]
[[Category:Heads of state who died by suicide]]
[[Category:Imperial Roman consuls]]
[[Category:Leaders who took power by coup]]
[[Category:People from the Province of Viterbo]]
[[Category:People of the Year of the Four Emperors]]
[[Category:Poppaea Sabina]]
[[Category:Roman consuls who died in office]]
[[Category:Roman governors of Lusitania]]
[[Category:Roman pharaohs]]
[[Category:Salvii]]
[[Category:Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome]]
[[Category:Suicides by sharp instrument in Italy]]
[[Category:Royalty who died by suicide]]