Tiberius Claudius Narcissus (1 BC -54 AD) was one of the freedmen who formed the nucleus of the imperial court under the rule of the Roman Emperor Claudius. In historical sources he is described as praepositus ab epistulis (in charge of correspondence).
Apparently he had great influence on the emperor and he amassed a great deal of money. It is said that he could have conspired with Claudio's wife, Messalina, to manipulate him and get a number of people executed, although these accusations are not proven. However, the sources admit that Narciso, having been a former slave of Claudius, was extremely loyal to the emperor, so he was given more responsibilities than others.
In the year 43, during preparations for the Roman conquest of Britain, he addressed the troops during the course of a riot. When they saw that an old slave was placed in the place of its commander the soldiers shouted "Io Saturnalia!" (Saturnalia was a Roman festival in which the slaves and lords exchanged their positions for a day) and ended the riot. It was thanks to his influence that Vespasian, who would later become emperor, was entrusted as legate the command of Legio II Augusta in Germania. When Mesalina married Cayo Silio in the year 48, Narcissus betrayed her to Claudius, and when he saw that the emperor hesitated, he issued the execution order. Narcissus may have feared that the Emperor's son, Briton, harbored a grudge against this episode, and when it was time for the emperor to choose a new wife Narcissus he suggested to Elia Petina, his ex-wife, whom he already knew. Anthony Barrett suggests that Narciso's intention was to give Claudio reason to choose Fausto Cornelio Sila Felix, his daughter's husband with Elia, instead of a hostile British. That would also have given Claudio an adult male heir to allow him to cement his position.
However, Claudius chose Agrippina the Younger to consolidate his position in the Julio-Claudia family and chose Nero to fill the position of adult heir temporarily, until Briton was older. Narcissus allied himself with the British circle to secure his future.
Claudius still trusted Narcissus, and made him appoint a praetor. He was instructed to supervise the construction of the canal to drain Lake Fucino, but Claudio's new wife, Agripina, accused him of misappropriating funds for the project, possibly in reprisal for his support of Britain. According to Tacitus, Narcissus hoped to be able to make Agrippine fall by revealing his love affair with the liberated Pallas, which would also have ended his son Nero's political career. He would have allegedly told Briton his plans before other people, promising to amend all the damage he had done to him. It has been suggested, however, that this detail is an example of the alterations of the facts of Tacitus to make appear to Claudius a passive peronage, handled by his freedmen and relatives.
Suetonius and Dio Casio comment that after reconciling with Briton, Claudius (and not Narcissus) planned to openly end Agrippina. In any case Agrippina suspected Narcissus and had him sent to Campania on the excuse that he would take some thermal baths to improve his health. Possibly it was a way to remove from between as possible obstacle to the murder of Claudius and promotion of Nero. Agrippina ordered the execution of Narcissus a few weeks after the death of Claudius in October 54. Shortly after the death of Claudius, Narcissus returned to Rome and, before being locked up and executed, he burned all the letters of Claudius to prevent that Nero used its content.
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