Iulla Antonia or Antonia Iulla is thought to be a daughter of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

consul of 10 BCE

Iullus Antonius Iullus Antonius (43–2 BC) was a Roman magnate and poet. A son of Mark Antony and Fulvia, he was spared by the emperor Augustus after the civil wars of the Republic, and was married to the emperor's niece. He was later condemned as one of the l ...

(son of

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...

) and Claudia Marcella Major (niece of emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

). The only direct evidence of her existence that has been found is a funerary urn.

History

Her mother likely had two daughters, Vipsania Marcella and Vipsania Marcellina from her earlier marriage to Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. She is known to have had at least one full sibling, a brother named

Lucius Lucius ( el, Λούκιος ''Loukios''; ett, Luvcie) is a male given name derived from '' Lucius'' (abbreviated ''L.''), one of the small group of common Latin forenames ('' praenomina'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius derives from ...

, and probably another brother named Iullus who might have died young. The name Iulla is generally presumed to have been her praenomen, but it is not certain, it could have been used as a

cognomen A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became here ...

instead. Historian

Ronald Syme Sir Ronald Syme, (11 March 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. He was regarded as the greatest historian of ancient Rome since Theodor Mommsen and the most brilliant exponent of the history of the Roman ...

notes that she has been used as an example to explain later descendants from Mark Antony among the Roman patricians of Imperial times, mainly that of a Junius Blaesus, this view was supported by G. V. Sumner. There has been some speculation that Iulla was actually Lucius Antonius daughter, but this seems unlikely as he left Rome while young and it is improbable that he had fathered a child already. It is possible that Iulla was allowed to stay in the city because she had already married an important man by the time of their fathers downfall, (as noble Roman women married before their male counterparts), or it is possible that the writing was created before Iullus was disgraced and if so then the epigraph could not be referring to a daughter of Lucius.

Cultural depictions

Iulla may be depicted on the

Ara Pacis The Ara Pacis Augustae (Latin, "Altar of Augustan Peace"; commonly shortened to Ara Pacis) is an altar in Rome dedicated to Pax, the Roman goddess of Peace. The monument was commissioned by the Roman Senate on July 4, 13 BC to honour the return o ...

with her parents. She and her brother Lucius appear in the novel ''

Daughter of the Nile ''Daughter of the Nile'' () is a 1987 film by Taiwanese filmmaker Hou Hsiao-hsien. Background The film's title is a reference to a character in a manga called '' Crest of the Royal Family'' who is hailed as Daughter of the Nile. The film is a s ...

'' by Stephanie Dray.

Notes

References

Citations

Bibliography