Thrasea Paetus

Roman Stoic senator under Nero who was famous for his principled opposition to imperial tyranny — walking out of the Senate rather than vote for measures he found unjust — and who was ultimately condemned by Nero and chose death rather than exile.

Represents Stoic political engagement under tyranny — the question of when the Stoic sage should engage with politics and when withdrawal is more virtuous — and his death parallels Cato's as a demonstration that the Stoic preference for death over dishonor was not merely theoretical.