Parthenius (Domitian’s chamberlain)

Domitian’s chamberlain, the courtier in charge of the emperor’s bedchamber. Dio names him first among the conspirators and writes that the emperor favoured him so much that he allowed him to wear a sword. According to Dio, the conspirators would not strike until they had found a successor; several men refused, suspecting a trap, and only Nerva agreed. On September 18, AD 96, the emperor, reassured by the news that the dreaded fifth hour had passed, was on his way to the bath. Suetonius writes that Parthenius stopped him with the news that someone was waiting on an important matter. According to Dio it was he who had earlier removed the blade of the sword from under the emperor’s pillow. Among the assassins was his freedman Maximus. He appears in the Domitian episode, in the chapter “The Fifth Hour”.