Junius Annaeus Gallio (originally Lucius Annaeus Novatus), son of the rhetorician Seneca the Elder and the elder brother of Seneca the Younger, is born at Corduba (Cordova) about the beginning of the Christian era.
He is adopted by Lucius Junius Gallio, a rhetorician of some repute, from whom he takes the name of Junius Gallio.
His brother Seneca, who dedicates to him the treatises De Ira and De Vita Beata, speaks of the charm of his disposition, also alluded to by the poet Statius (Silvae, ii.7, 32).
It is probable that he was banished to Corsica with his brother, and that both returned together to Rome when Agrippina selected Seneca to be tutor to Nero.
Towards the close of the reign of Claudius, Gallio is proconsul of the newly constituted senatorial province of Achaea, but seems to have been compelled by ill-health to resign the post within a few years.
According to the Book of Acts he dismissed the charge brought by the Jews against the Apostle Paul.
(Acts 18:12-17) His behavior on this occasion ("but Gallio cared for none of these things", v. 17) showed his disregard for Jewish sensitivities, and also the impartial attitude of Roman officials towards Christianity in its early days.
Gallio's tenure can be fairly accurately dated to between 51-52 CE or 52-53 CE, therefore the events of Acts 18 can be dated to this period.
This is significant because it is the most accurately known date in the life of Paul.
He survives his brother Seneca, but is subsequently put to death by order of Nero in 65 CE or commits suicide, probably due to the death of his brother.
