List of suicides (BC)
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The following notable people died by suicide before the year 1 AD. This includes suicides effected under duress and excludes deaths by accident or misadventure. People who may or may not have died by their own hand, whose intent to die is disputed, or who are alleged to have been killed, may be included.
Confirmed
A
- Adrastus (c. 550s BC), exiled son of Gordias, king of Phrygia[1]
- Alcetas (320 BC), Hellenic general of Alexander the Great[2]
- Alexander (220 BC), Seleucid satrap of Persis[3]
- Amphicrates of Athens (86 BC), Greek sophist and rhetorician, starved himself[4]
- Andromachus (364 BC), Eleian cavalry general[5]
- Mark Antony (30 BC), Roman politician and general, stabbed with sword[6]
- Archias of Cyprus (between 158 and 154 BC), Ptolemaic governor of Cyprus, hanging[7]
- Titus Pomponius Atticus (32 BC), Roman banker, businessman, editor, author and friend of Cicero, starving himself[8]
B
- Bai Qi (257 BC), Chinese general and commander of the Qin army, cut his throat with a sword[9]
- Gaius Blossius (c. 129 BC), Roman philosopher and adviser to Tiberius Gracchus and Eumenes III[10]
- Brennus (279 BC), Gallic tribal leader and general, stabbed himself[11]
- Marcus Junius Brutus the Younger (42 BC), Roman politician and conspirator to assassinate Julius Caesar, ran into his sword[12]
C
- Calanus (323 BC), Indian gymnosophist and companion of Alexander the Great, self-immolation[13]
- Novius Calavius (314 BC), Campanian nobleman, leader of an anti-Roman insurrection[14]
- Ovius Calavius (314 BC), Campanian nobleman, leader of an anti-Roman insurrection[14]
- Gaius Cassius Longinus (42 BC), Roman politician, general and conspirator to assassinate Julius Caesar, fell on his sword[15]
- Cato the Younger (46 BC), Roman statesman and politician, stabbed with sword[16]
- Censorinus (53 BC), Roman cavalryman and friend of Publius Licinius Crassus, ordered shieldbearer to stab him[17]
- Charmion (30 BC), servant and advisor of Cleopatra[18]
- Charondas (6th century BC), Sicilian-Greek lawgiver, stabbed himself with a dagger[19]
- Cleomenes I (c. 489 BC), King of Sparta, slashed himself from shins to belly[20]
- Cleomenes III (219 BC), King of Sparta[21]
- Cleombrotus of Ambracia (after 399 BC), Greek philosopher, acquaintance of Socrates and Plato[22]
- Cleopatra (30 BC), Queen of Egypt, inducing an asp to bite her[6]
- Marcus Caecilius Cornutus (43 BC), Roman politician and general[23]
- Publius Licinius Crassus (53 BC), Roman general, ordered shieldbearer to stab him[24]
D
- Demosthenes (322 BC), Greek statesman, poison[25]
- Diaeus (146 BC), Greek strategos of the Achaean League, poison[26]
- Dioxippus (after 336 BC), ancient Greek pankratiast and Olympic champion, fell upon his sword[27]
- Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus (42 BC), Roman senator[28]
E
- Empedocles (c. 430 BC), Greek philosopher, leapt into Mount Etna[29][30]
- Eratosthenes (194 BC), Greek polymath and chief librarian at the Library of Alexandria, voluntary starvation[31]
- Eurydice II of Macedon (317 BC), Queen of Macedon, hanging[32]
F
- Gaius Fuficius Fango (40 BC), Roman general and politician[33]
- Quintus Fulvius Flaccus (172 BC), Roman consul, hanging.[34]
- Fusu (210 BC), Chinese prince and heir apparent of the Qin dynasty.[35]
G
- Gaius Gracchus (121 BC), Roman politician, reformer and tribune, ordered a slave to kill him[36]
H
- Hamilcar I of Carthage (480 BC), King of Carthage, self-immolation[37]
- Hampsicora (215 BC), Sardo-Punic political leader, landowner and anti-Roman rebel leader[38]
- Hannibal (ca 182 BC), Carthaginian commander during the Second Punic War, poison[39]
- Himilco (396 BC), Carthaginian general, starving himself[40]
I
- Iras (30 BC), servant and advisor of Cleopatra[18]
- Silius Italicus (c. 103 AD), Roman consul, orator, author and poet, starvation[41]
J
- Juba I of Numidia (46 BC), King of Numidia, double-suicide by sword with Marcus Petreius[42]
- Judacilius (90 BC), Picentes general and leader, swallowed poison and ordered to be set on fire[43]
L
M
- Mago (344 BC), Carthaginian admiral and general[45]
- Megabocchus (53 BC), Roman cavalryman and friend of Publius Licinius Crassus[17]
- Meng Tian (210 BC), Chinese general, administrator and inventor[35]
- Lucius Cornelius Merula (87 BC), Roman politician, consul and high priest, cut his veins[46]
- Mithridates VI Eupator (63 BC), King of Pontus, ordered an officer to stab him[47]
- Molon (220 BC), Seleucid satrap of Media[3]
O
- Othryades (546 BC), Spartan hoplite, sole survivor of the Battle of the 300 Champions[48]
P
- Pantites (c. 470s BC), Spartan warrior and one of the 300 Spartans sent to the Battle of Thermopylae, hanging[49]
- Marcus Petreius (46 BC), Roman politician and general, double-suicide by sword with Juba I of Numidia[42]
- Phasael (40 BC), prince from the Herodian dynasty of Judea and governor of Jerusalem, hit his head against a great stone[50]
- Phila (287 BC), Macedonian noblewoman, daughter and adviser of Antipater, poison[51]
- Philistus (356 BC), Greek historian and naval commander[52]
- Porcia (42 BC), Roman noblewoman, wife of Marcus Junius Brutus, swallowing burning coal or carbon monoxide poisoning[53]
- Ptolemy (309 BC), Macedonian general, hemlock poisoning[54]
- Ptolemy of Cyprus (58 BC), King of Cyprus and member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, poison[55]
Q
S
- Samson, according to Judges 16:30 in the Hebrew Bible, Samson killed himself and 3000 Philistines by collapsing the temple in Gaza City.[58] Described by some sources as the first suicide attack.[59][60][61]
- King Saul (1012 BC), Jewish king, pierced himself with his sword,[62] to avoid being captured or killed by the Philistines, which some Rabbis claim does not count as suicide.[63]
- Sappho (c. 570 BC), an ancient Greek poet from Lesbos, jumped off the cliff at Leucas over unrequited love for Phaon[64]
- Metellus Scipio (46 BC), Roman consul and military commander, stabbed himself[65]
- Servilia (30 BC), Roman noblewoman and wife of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus Minor, swallowed burning coal[66]
- Shamash-shum-ukin (648 BC), King of Babylon, self-immolation[67]
- Sophonisba (after 203 BC), Carthaginian noblewoman, swallowing poison[68]
V
- Titus Vettius (104 BC), Roman equestrian and leader of a slave revolt[69]
W
X
- Xiang Yu (202 BC), Chinese rebel leader and king of Western Chu, slit his own throat[71]
Z
- Zhang Han (205 BC), Chinese general[72]
- Zhou of Shang (1046 BC), Chinese king of the Shang dynasty, set fire to himself and his palace[73]
Possible or disputed
- Hannibal (183–181 BC),[74] Carthaginian military commander and tactician, possibly poison[75][76]
- Lucretius (c. 55 BC), Roman poet and Epicurean philosopher. The only source of his suicide is Jerome, who is considered by scholars as unreliable and hostile towards Lucretius[77]
- Orgetorix (60 BC), Gallic member of the ruling class of the Helvetii and conspirator. It is uncertain if he died by suicide or was executed.[78]
- Socrates (399 BC), Classical Greek Athenian philosopher, credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, poison (likely hemlock)[79][80][81][82] Because Socrates was forced to poison himself to death as his sentence following his conviction for impiety and corrupting the minds of the youth of Athens, the question of whether this constitutes a genuine suicide is a subject of debate.[83]
See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to People who died by suicide.
References
- ↑ "Herodotus, The Histories, Book 1, chapter 45, section 3". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
- ↑ "The Library of History of Diodorus Siculus". penelope.uchicago.edu. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
- 1 2 "Polybius, Histories, book 5, Defeat and Death of Molon". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
- ↑ "Plutarch • Life of Lucullus". penelope.uchicago.edu. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
- ↑ "Xenophon, Hellenica, Book 7, chapter 4, section 19". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved May 31, 2024.
- 1 2 Florus, Epitome of Roman History, vol. II, p. 21
- ↑ Polybius, Histories, Book 33, Chapter 5. "Suicide of Archias" Archived January 30, 2022, at the Wayback Machine. Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
- ↑ "Cornelius Nepos: Life of Atticus - translation". www.attalus.org. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ↑ Sima Qian (94 BCE). Records of the Grand Historian, Chapter 73: Biographies of Bai Qi and Wang Jian
- ↑ Plutarch, The Life of Tiberius Gracchus 20 Archived May 23, 2024, at the Wayback Machine. 1921. Loeb Classical Library. Retrieved September 20, 2020.
- ↑ Junianus Justinus (1st century BC – 1st century AD). Epitome of Pompeius Trogus' Philippic Histories: Book 24, Verse 8 Archived September 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Translated by Rev. J.S.Watson (1853). Attalus. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
- ↑ Plutarch (2nd century AD). "Life of Brutus", Parallel Lives. chapter 48
- ↑ Arrian, The Anabasis of Alexander VII.3.4 Archived December 7, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. Wikisource. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
- 1 2 Livy, From the Founding of the City IX.26 Archived August 5, 2018, at the Wayback Machine. Wikisource. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
- ↑ Holland, Tom (2003). "Chapter 11 – The Death of the Republic". Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic. London: Little, Brown.
- ↑ "Marcus Porcius Cato" Archived May 2, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved August 4, 2013.
- 1 2 Plutarch (2nd century CE). The Life of Crassus The Parallel Lives, Chapter 26 Archived April 10, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. Loeb Classical Library edition (1916), University of Chicago. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
- 1 2 Plutarch. "Life of Antony." WikiSource. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
- ↑ Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica, Book XII,19 Archived May 8, 2024, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Herodotus (440 BC). The Histories, Book 6, Chapter 75 Archived May 6, 2021, at the Wayback Machine. Perseus Project. Tufts University. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
- ↑ William Smith, Ed., A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Cleo'menes Iii. Archived January 30, 2022, at the Wayback Machine Perseus Project. Tufts University. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
- ↑ Riginos, Alice Swift (1976). Platonica. Columbia Studies. p. 182.
- ↑ "Appian - The Civil Wars". penelope.uchicago.edu. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ↑ Plutarch, Crassus 25.11.
- ↑ "Plutarch, Demosthenes, chapter 29, section 1". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ↑ Malkin, Frederick (1829). History of Greece from the Earliest Times to Its Final Subjection to Rome. Baldwin and Cradock. p. 260.
- ↑ Quintus Curtius Rufus, Histories of Alexander the Great, Book 9, Chapter 7
- ↑ Velleius Paterculus, History of Rome Book 2, Chapter 71. University of Chicago.
- ↑ Diogenes Laërtius, Life of Empedocles, translated by Robert Drew Hicks (1925) viii. 69
- ↑ Horace (19 BC). Ars Poetica, 465–466
- ↑ "Eratosthenes". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
- ↑ Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica, Book 19, 11
- ↑ Appian (1913). "Book 5, Chapter 26". The Civil Wars. Loeb Classical Library – via University of Chicago.
- ↑ Livy, From the Founding of the City, 42.28. Wikisource. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
- 1 2 Kerr, Gordon (2013). "The Second Emperor". A Short History of China. Oldcastle Books. p. 34.
- ↑ Appian, Civil Wars, Book Book 1, Chapter 26. University of Chicago.
- ↑ Herodotus (440 BC). The Histories, Book 7, Chapter 167, Section 1. Perseus Project. Tufts University. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
- ↑ Livy, The History of Rome, Book 23: Hannibal at Capua, Chapter 41. Perseus Project. Tufts University. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
- ↑ O'Connell, Robert L. (2010). The Ghosts of Cannae: Hannibal and the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic, Random House (New York) p. 256
- ↑ Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica, Book 14, Chapter 75-Chapter 76. Perseus Project. Tufts University. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
- ↑ Pliny The Younger. "Letter To Caninius Rufus". Pliny the Younger: Letters: Book 3. Translated by J.B.Firth (1900). Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- 1 2 Appian (1913). "Book 2, Chapter 100". The Civil Wars. Loeb Classical Library, University of Chicago. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
- ↑ Appian, The Civil Wars, Book 1, Chapter 48. Loeb Classical Library (1913). University of Chicago. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
- ↑ Dionysius of Halicarnassus. Roman Antiquities, Book IV, 67
- ↑ Plutarch, Parallel Lives, The Life of Timoleon, Book Book 22. University of Chicago.
- ↑ Velleius Paterculus, Roman History, Book 2, Chapter 22. University of Chicago.
- ↑ Appian. Roman History, Third Mithridatic War, § 111-112
- ↑ Herodotus, The Histories Book 1, Chapter 82. Perseus Project. Tufts University. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
- ↑ Herodotus (440 BC). The Histories, Book 7, Chapter 232. Perseus Project. Tufts University. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
- ↑ Titus Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book XIV,13
- ↑ Plutarch, Parallel Lives, The Life of Demetrius, "Chapter 45". Attalus. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
- ↑ Sanders, Lionel Jehuda (2008). The Legend of Dion. Edgar Kent. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-88866-657-4.
- ↑ Church, Alfred J. (2000). "CATO, BRUTUS, AND PORCIA". Roman Life in the Days of Cicero. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- ↑ Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica, Book Book 20, Chapter 27. University of Chicago.
- ↑ Plutarch, The Life of Cato the Younger 36. 1919. Loeb Classical Library. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
- ↑ "The Sad story of Qu Yuan" Archived May 16, 2017, at the Wayback Machine. eBeijing, the Official Website of the Beijing Government (Beijing). Retrieved May 19, 2017.
- ↑ "Qu Yuan (c. 340-278 B.C.): Embracing Sand". The Ethics of Suicide Digital Archive, J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah, Oxford University Press. Retrieved May 19, 2017.
- ↑ Butler, George F. (1994). "New Light on Samson's Darkness: "Samson Agonistes" and Suicide in the Seventeenth Century". CLA Journal. 37 (4): 443–452. ISSN 0007-8549. JSTOR 44329543.
- ↑ Kamal Qubaisi (July 29, 2010). اكتشاف أثري ينسف حكاية تدمير "شمشون" لمعبد فلسطيني بساعديه – زلزال بقوة 8 درجات دك الهيكل قبل 2900 عام [An archaeological discovery debunks the story of Samson destroying a Palestinian temple with his own hands. An 8.0 magnitude earthquake destroyed the temple 2,900 years ago.]. العربية alarabiya.net (in Arabic). Archived from the original on June 28, 2025. منذ مئات السنين ونحن نتواتر حكاية "شمشون الجبار" وصديقته دليلة، وشهرته كخارق للقوة قام بتدمير معبد للفلسطينيين بيديه قبل 2900 عام في غزة القديمة، حيث وقف وصرخ "عليّ وعلى أعدائي يا رب" قبل دفعه لعمودين في الهيكل انهار بانهيارهما وتساقطت حجارته عليه وعلى من كان فيه من أعدائه الفلسطينيين، مسجلا بذلك أول عملية انتحارية في التاريخ. [“Samson the Mighty” … destroyed a Philistine temple with his own hands 2,900 years ago in ancient Gaza, where he stood and cried “Against me and my enemies, O Lord!” before pushing two pillars in the temple, which collapsed and its stones fell on him and his Philistine enemies inside, thus marking the first suicide operation (عملية انتحارية) in history.]
- ↑ عليّ وعلى أعدائي يا رب [On me and on my enemies, O Lord]. www.hammurabinewsagency.com. February 18, 2023.
- ↑ عبدالفتاح, منى (August 31, 2016). علي وعلى أعدائي.. أساس السلوك الانتحاري [On me and on my enemies. The basis of suicidal behavior]. makkahnewspaper.com (in Arabic). Saudi Arabia: صحيفة مكة. Archived from the original on August 12, 2025.
- ↑ 1 Samuel 31 (NLT)
- ↑ "Hannibal Directive: IDF's alleged policy to target hostages and halacha". The Jerusalem Post. February 2, 2024.
Some commentators assert that Saul erred by taking his own life and becoming a harmful role model for later generations. Others, however, believe that suicide is not prohibited under such circumstances. Rabbi David Kimchi contended that since Saul's death was inevitable (and prophesied by Samuel), it was preferable for him to prevent the national shame of being killed by his enemies. In the 16th century, Rabbi Shlomo Luria argued that Saul committed suicide to prevent many warriors from dying while trying to free him. Based on these precedents, Rabbi Shlomo Goren posited that captured soldiers may commit suicide rather than submit to captivity, especially if they might be tortured to reveal secrets that could endanger other soldiers or the home front. This position was strongly opposed by Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Neriah, who argued that suicide cannot be endorsed, as Jewish history teaches that Jews must always stay alive.
- ↑ Hallett, Judith P. (1979). "Sappho and her Social Context: Sense and Sensuality". Signs. 4 (3): 447–464. doi:10.1086/493630. JSTOR 3173393. S2CID 143119907.
- ↑ Roller, Matthew (2001). Constructing Autocracy: Aristocrats and Emperors in Julio-Claudian Rome. Princeton University Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-1-4008-2409-0. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ↑ Rollin, Charles (1750). The Roman History, from the Foundation of Rome to the Battle of Actium. Translated from the French. R. Reilly.
- ↑ Johns, C. H. W. (1913). Ancient Babylonia. Cambridge University Press. p. 125. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
- ↑ Livy, From the Founding of the City XXX.15. Wikisource. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
- ↑ Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica, Book 36, Chapter 2, Wikisource. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
- ↑ Durrant, Stephen W. (1995). The Cloudy Mirror: Tension and Conflict in the Writings of Sima Qian. State University of New York Press. p. 77.
- ↑ Kleeman, Terry (2005). The Ancient Chinese World. Oxford University Press. p. 105.
- ↑ "Zhang Han". ChinaKnowledge.de. December 19, 2010. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
- ↑ Wood, Michael (2020). "Chapter 2: The Great War of the Shang". The Story of China - A Portrait of a Civilisation and Its People. Simon & Schuster UK.
- ↑ Cornelius Nepos, Hannibal 13.1
- ↑ Cornelius Nepos, Hannibal 12.5; Juvenal, Satires X.164
- ↑ Pausanias. "Pausanias, Description of Greece, 8.11.11". Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
- ↑ Smith, Martin Ferguson (2001). Lucretius, On the Nature of Things. p. vii. ISBN 978-0-87220-587-1.
- ↑ Caesar, Gaius Julius. Commentarii de Bello Gallico. 1.2
- ↑ Plato. Apology, 24–27.
- ↑ Warren, J (2001). "Socratic suicide". J Hell Stud. 121: 91–106. doi:10.2307/631830. JSTOR 631830. PMID 19681231. S2CID 24221544.
- ↑ Linder, Doug (2002). "The Trial of Socrates". University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
- ↑ "Socrates (Greek philosopher)". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved September 12, 2013.
- ↑ Frey, R.G. (1978). "Did Socrates Commit Suicide?". Philosophy. 53 (203): 106–108. doi:10.1017/S0031819100016375. S2CID 170399183.
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