Milonia Caesonia (died AD 41) was

Roman empress The term Roman empress usually refers to the consorts of the Roman emperors, the rulers of the Roman Empire. The duties, power and influence of empresses varied depending on the time period, contemporary politics and the personalities of their hu ...

as the fourth and last wife of the Roman emperor

Caligula Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), also called Gaius and Caligula (), was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Ag ...

from their marriage in AD 39 until they were both assassinated in 41.

Life

Early life

The daughter of

Vistilia Vistilia was a Roman matron of the gens Vistilia known by her contemporaries for having seven children by six different husbands; Pliny the Elder was more impressed by the fact most of her pregnancies were remarkably brief. Five of her sons becam ...

, Milonia was born toward the beginning of the first century, but the year is not certain. Her birthday was celebrated between 2 June and 4 June. Caesonius Maximus was believed by Marco Agosti to have been her father. The gens Caesonia was of modest origin, and had only recently come to prominence.

David Wardle David Wardle is the King George V Professor of Classics and Ancient History, as well as a former Acting Dean in the Faculty of Humanities, at the University of Cape Town. Academic career Born 23 December 1959 and educated in Nottingham, UK ...

on the other hand argued that her father was likely a Milonius. Milonia had six half-brothers, five of whom are known, Servius Cornelius Scipio Orfitus (whose son,

Servius Cornelius Scipio Salvidienus Orfitus Servius Cornelius Scipio Salvidienus Orfitus was the name of several Roman men who lived during the early Roman Empire. They were descendants of Orfitus who was adopted by Servius Cornelius Scipio, an otherwise unknown member of the patrician bra ...

, was

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

in AD 51),

Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo ( Peltuinum c. AD 7 – 67) was a popular Roman general, brother-in-law of the emperor Caligula and father-in-law of Domitian. The emperor Nero, highly fearful of Corbulo's reputation, ordered him to commit suicide, which t ...

(consul in 39, and a distinguished general under Claudius and

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...

, was the father of the empress

Domitia Longina Domitia Longina ( 50–55 – 126–130s AD) was a Roman empress and wife to the Roman emperor Domitian. She was the youngest daughter of the general and consul Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo. Domitia divorced her first husband, Lucius Aelius Lami ...

Quintus Pomponius Secundus Quintus Pomponius Secundus was a Roman aristocrat of the first century, and consul ''suffectus'' in AD 41 as the colleague of Gnaeus Sentius Saturninus.Gallivan, "The Fasti for the Reign of Claudius", pp. 407, 424. His brother was the poet and s ...

(consul ''suffectus'' in 41),

Publius Pomponius Secundus Publius Pomponius Secundus was a distinguished statesman and poet in the reigns of Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius. He was suffect consul for the '' nundinium'' of January to June 44, succeeding the ordinary consul Gaius Sallustius Crispus Passi ...

(consul ''suffectus'' in 44) and

Publius Suillius Rufus Publius Suillius Rufus was a Roman senator who was active during the Principate. He was notorious for his prosecutions during the reign of Claudius; and he was the husband of the step-daughter of Ovid. Rufus was suffect consul in the '' nundinium' ...

(consul in 43, and father of

Marcus Suillius Nerullinus Marcus Suillius Nerullinus was a Roman senator, who was active during the Principate. He was consul ''ordinarius'' in the year 50 with Gaius Antistius Vetus as his colleague. Nerullinus was the son of Publius Suillius Rufus, who was suffect co ...

, consul in 50).

Marriages

Milonia was married first to a man of uncertain name, some historians have speculated that he was the Rufus mentioned to be married to a woman named Caesonia who was born on the same date as

Domitian Domitian ( ; ; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman emperor from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavian dynasty. Described as "a r ...

(24 October) in a poem by

Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman and Celtiberian poet born in Bilbilis, Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of '' Epigrams'', pu ...

. Marco Agosti identified him as Instanius (sometimes corrected as Instantius, Insantius, Istantius or Istanius) Rufus, a patron of Martial.

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is ''De vita Caesarum'', common ...

says that when Caligula married her, she was neither beautiful nor young, and was already the mother of three daughters by her first marriage. He describes her as a woman of reckless extravagance and wantonness, whom Caligula nonetheless loved passionately and faithfully.Suetonius, ''The Lives of Twelve Caesars'', "The Life of Caligula", 25. According to

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history of ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

, the two entered into an affair some time before their marriage, either late in AD 39 or early in 40, and the emperor's choice of a bride was an unpopular one.Cassius Dio, ''Roman History'', 23. The

satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Early satirical authors *Aes ...

Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ; 55–128), was a Roman poet. He is the author of the '' Satires'', a collection of satirical poems. The details of Juvenal's life are unclear, but references in his works to people f ...

suggests that Caligula's madness was the result of a love potion administered to him by Milonia. Milonia was pregnant at the time of the marriage, and gave birth to a daughter,

Julia Drusilla Julia Drusilla (16 September 16 – 10 June 38 AD) was a member of the Roman imperial family, the second daughter and fifth child of Germanicus and Agrippina the Elder to survive infancy. She was the favorite sister of Emperor Caligula, who ...

, only one month later (or according to Suetonius, on her wedding day). In the account given by

, the emperor would parade Milonia in front of his troops, and sometimes displayed her naked in front of select friends. In an odd demonstration of affection, he would jokingly threaten to have her tortured or killed. On 24 January, AD 41, Caligula was slain by an assassin. As part of the wider conspiracy, Milonia and her daughter

were murdered just hours after Caligula's demise.

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...

reports that she died bravely: stricken with grief at her husband's death, she willingly offered her neck to the assassin, telling him to kill her without hesitation.Josephus, ''Antiquities of the Jews'', xix. 2. § 4.

Portrayals

Milonia has been portrayed several times on film and television: *1937 –

Leonora Corbett Leonora Corbett (28 June 1908 – 29 July 1960) was an English actress, noted for her charm and elegance in stage roles, and for a number of films made in the 1930s. Life and career Corbett was born in London, the daughter of Richard Ashwin Cor ...

in the uncompleted film '' I, Claudius'' *1966 – Krista Keller in the TV movie ''Caligula'' *1968 –

Barbara Murray Barbara Ann Murray (27 September 1929 – 20 May 2014) was an English actress. Murray was most active in the 1940s and 1950s as a fresh-faced leading lady in many British films such as ''Passport to Pimlico'' (1949) and '' Meet Mr. Lucifer'' (1 ...

in the TV series '' The Caesars'' *1975 – Yvonne Lex in the TV movie ''Caligula'' *1976 –

Freda Dowie Freda Mary Dowie (22 July 1928 – 10 August 2019) was an English actress. Her television credits include: ''Dixon of Dock Green'', ''Doomwatch'', ''Edna, the Inebriate Woman'', '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', '' I, Claudius'', ''The Old Curiosity ...

in the TV series '' I, Claudius'' *1979 –

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (; born Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov; 26 July 1945) is an English actor. With a career spanning over six decades of Helen Mirren on screen and stage, screen and stage, List of awards and nominations received by Helen Mirre ...

in the theatrical film ''

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milonia Caesonia Year of birth unknown 41 deaths 1st-century Roman empresses Murdered ancient Roman empresses 1st-century births Wives of Caligula Milonii