Lollia was an Ancient Roman noblewoman. She was the wife of Roman general
Aulus Gabinius
Aulus Gabinius (by 101 BC – 48 or 47 BC) was a Roman statesman and general. He was an avid supporter of Pompey who likewise supported Gabinius. He was a prominent figure in the latter days of the Roman Republic.
Career
In 67 BC, when trib ...
. She was also a mistress of
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
.
Biography
Lollia was a
Plebeian
In ancient Rome, the plebeians (also called plebs) were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words " commoners". Both classes were hereditary.
Etymology
The precise origins ...
of the
gens ''Lollia''. She may have been a daughter of
Marcus Lollius Palicanus, who was tribune of the plebs in 71 BC. Lollia married Aulus Gabinius and they had the son
Aulus Gabinius Sisenna together. Some time during their marriage she became a mistress of
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
. Lollia does not seem to have suffered any loss of public image or marriage issues because of the affair.
She and her husband are both mentioned in a letter from
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
in which he implies that they both were sexually involved with the revolutionary
Catiline, and that Gabinius might have pimped her out. It’s is important however to remember that Cicero vehemently hated Gabinius
Cultural depictions
Lollia appears in the historical novel ''
Respublica: A Novel of Cicero's Roman Republic'' by
Richard Braccia. In the book it is described by another character that Gabinus won Caesar's trust by letting him have sex with Lollia. The affair is also depicted in the novel ''
Lustrum'' by
Robert Harris.
[Robert Harris; ''Lustrum'': (''Cicero Trilogy 2'') - page: 389]
See also
*
List of Roman gentes
*
Women in Rome
Freeborn women in ancient Rome were Roman citizenship, citizens (''cives''), but could not vote or hold Roman magistrate, political office. Because of their limited public role, women are named less frequently than men by Roman historiography, Ro ...
References
Further reading
*
Pompey the Great: A Political Biography'
* Richard S. Williams
The Role of "Amicitia" in the Career of A. Gabinius(Cos. 58)
*
{{Authority control
Mistresses of Julius Caesar
Lollii
1st-century BC Roman women
1st-century BC Romans