Gratus

For the saint, see Gratus of Aosta.

Gratus was a Roman soldier and member of the Praetorian Guard who played a part in the accession of Claudius to the imperial throne.

In the immediate aftermath of the assassination of Caligula in AD 41, Claudius fled and hid himself in the palace near a room Suetonius names as the Hermaeum. Anthony Barrett suggests that this may have been the Aula Isiaca, a room in the east wing of the palace decorated with Egyptian motifs. Josephus describes how Gratus discovered him and drew him from his hiding place: