Cassius Chaerea (Classical Latin: [ˈkʰae̯rea]) was a Roman soldier and officer who served as a tribune in the army of Germanicus and in the Praetorian Guard under the emperor Caligula, whom he eventually assassinated in AD 41.
According to Tacitus, before Chaerea's service in the Praetorians, he distinguished himself with his bravery and skill in helping to subdue the mutiny on the Germanic frontier immediately after the death of Augustus[1] in AD 14.
[2] Chaerea was also made to use degrading watch-words at night, including "Venus" (slang for a male eunuch) and "Priapus" (a minor god usually depicted with an oversize, erect phallus).
Caligula was despised by many people and Chaerea's plot was one of several that formed around the same time, eventually coalescing into one broad conspiracy involving a number of Praetorians, Senators, and Equestrians.
[citation needed] Cassius Chaerea is portrayed sympathetically in Robert Graves' I, Claudius novels as having had a long and distinguished career in the service of Rome, including being the only surviving officer of the massacre at Teutoburg Forest.