Tiberius Claudius Novius
Athenian statesman
Tiberius Claudius Novius (Ancient Greek: Τιβέριος Κλαύδιος Νούιος Φιλείνου υἱός, ἐξ Οἴου, romanized: Tiberios Klaudios Nouios Phileinou huios ex Oiou, fl. AD 40s–61) was the leading Athenian statesman in the mid-first century AD, as a result of his wealth and connections to the Emperors Claudius and Nero. He served as hoplite general, the chief Athenian magistrate, an unprecedented eight times and organised a number of festivals and construction projects in honour of Claudius and Nero, including a new stage building in the Theatre of Dionysus and a monumental bronze inscription in honour of Nero on the Parthenon.
Life
Novius' name is of Campanian origin, suggesting that he was descended from the Italian negotiatores, who had taken up residence in the Aegean region, especially on Delos in the 1st century BC. He was the son of one Philinos and it is possible that an Athenian father and grandfather are attested in an inscription from ca. 20 BC.
Novius probably served as the eponymous archon of Athens in the mid-30s AD. He was hoplite general, the chief magistrate of Athens in this period, in AD 40/1, the year of Emperor Claudius' accession, and celebrated the occasion by funding and organising "Sebasta" (Augustan) games in the Emperor's honour (IG II2 3270). He also organised and paid for a statue of the legatus and propraetor (governor) of Achaia and Moesia in that year, Publius Memmius Regulus, whom he names as "his own benefactor" (IG II2 4174). The hoplite general was in charge of Athens' grain supply and Geagan suggests that Regulus' benefaction had been helping Novius secure supplies of Moesian grain for Athens. Within the next year, the Emperor granted him Roman citizenship, along with his praenomen and nomen, Tiberius Claudius, which Novius used thereafter.
In AD 42, Novius was Herald of the Areopagus, became Priest of Delian Apollo, and oversaw the construction of a monument erected by the city of Athens for Emperor Claudius "the saviour and benefactor" (IG II2 3271). Schmalz suggests that this was the rededication of an existing monument next to the north-eastern corner of the Parthenon, originally erected for king Attalus II of Pergamum.
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The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 16, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q115817772. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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