Junia Lepida (c. AD 18 - 65) was a
Roman noblewoman who lived in the first century.
Life
She was the second daughter of
Aemilia Lepida and
Marcus Junius Silanus Torquatus, one of the
Junii Silani. Her maternal grandparents were
Julia the Younger, granddaughter of the 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 ...
, and
Lucius Aemilius Paullus,
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 throu ...
in AD 1.
Lepida married
Gaius Cassius Longinus
Gaius Cassius Longinus (c. 86 BC – 3 October 42 BC) was a Roman senator and general best known as a leading instigator of the plot to assassinate Julius Caesar on 15 March 44 BC. He was the brother-in-law of Brutus, another leader of the co ...
(c. 13 BC - AD 69), a person with remarkable ancestral wealth. Cassius was
praefectus urbi
The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, an ...
circa AD 27, consul ''suffectus'' in AD 30,
proconsul
A proconsul was an official of ancient Rome who acted on behalf of a consul. A proconsul was typically a former consul. The term is also used in recent history for officials with delegated authority.
In the Roman Republic, military command, or ...
of
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
in 40 or 41, and
governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of
Syria between about AD 45 and 49. Lepida and Cassius raised Lepida's nephew,
Lucius Junius Silanus Torquatus, whose father was murdered by Empress
Agrippina the Younger. In AD 66, Lepida's husband and nephew were expelled from Rome by Emperor
Nero
Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unti ...
for being a part in
Gaius Calpurnius Piso's conspiracy. Cassius was deported to
Sardinia
Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...
. Lepida was accused by Nero of
black magic
Black magic, also known as dark magic, has traditionally referred to the use of supernatural powers or magic for evil and selfish purposes, specifically the seven magical arts prohibited by canon law, as expounded by Johannes Hartlieb in 14 ...
and incest with her nephew; her subsequent fate is unknown. Cassius was later rehabilitated, and recalled from exile by
Vespasian
Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...
.
Lepida bore Longinus two children: Cassia Longina (born c. AD 35), who married the Roman general
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 ...
, and Cassius Lepidus (born c. AD 55). The latter had a daughter, Cassia Lepida (born c. AD 80), who married
Gaius Julius Alexander Berenicianus (born c. AD 80), consul in AD 116, and proconsul of Asia in AD 132, and had a daughter, Julia Cassia Alexandra, mother of
Avidius Cassius.
See also
*
Junia gens
The gens Junia was one of the most celebrated families of ancient Rome. The gens may originally have been patrician, and was already prominent in the last days of the Roman monarchy. Lucius Junius Brutus was the nephew of Lucius Tarquinius ...
References
{{Reflist
Sources
*
Edmund Groag
Edmund Groag (2 February 1873, in Prerau – 19 August 1945, in Vienna) was an Austrian classical scholar, who specialized in Roman history.
From 1892 he studied history and philology at the University of Vienna, receiving his doctorate in 18 ...
,
Arthur Stein,
Leiva Petersen, ''et alia'' (edd.), ''
Prosopographia Imperii Romani'', Berlin, 1933 - 2016. (''PIR
2'' I 861)
18 births
65 deaths
1st-century Roman women
Julio-Claudian dynasty
Junii Silani
People convicted of witchcraft