Claudia Livia (

Classical Latin Classical Latin is the form of Literary Latin recognized as a literary standard by writers of the late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. It was used from 75 BC to the 3rd century AD, when it developed into Late Latin. In some later period ...

: CLAVDIA•LIVIA; c. 13 BC – AD 31) was the only daughter of Nero Claudius Drusus and

Antonia Minor Antonia Minor (31 January 36 BC - 1 May 37 AD) was the younger of two surviving daughters of Mark Antony and Octavia Minor. She was a niece of the Emperor Augustus, sister-in-law of the Emperor Tiberius, paternal grandmother of the Emperor Caligu ...

and sister to Roman Emperor

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Drusus and Antonia Minor ...

and general

Germanicus Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was an ancient Roman general, known for his campaigns in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicus was born into an influential branch of the pa ...

, and thus paternal aunt of emperor

Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germani ...

and maternal great-aunt of 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 un ...

, as well as the niece and daughter-in-law of

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

. She was named after her grandmother,

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 ...

' wife

Livia Drusilla Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC – 28 September AD 29) was a Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Emperor Augustus Caesar. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal adoption into the Julian family in AD 14. Livia was the da ...

, and commonly known by her family nickname Livilla ("little Livia"). She was born after Germanicus and before Claudius. She was twice married to the potential successor in the

Julio-Claudian dynasty , native_name_lang=Latin, coat of arms=Great_Cameo_of_France-removebg.png, image_size=260px, caption= The Great Cameo of France depicting emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius and Nero, type= Ancient Roman dynasty, country= Roman Empire, estates=* ...

, first to

' grandson Gaius Caesar (died 4 AD) and later to

' son

Drusus the Younger Drusus Julius Caesar (14 BC – 14 September AD 23), was the son of Emperor Tiberius, and heir to the Roman Empire following the death of his adoptive brother Germanicus in AD 19. He was born at Rome to a prominent branch of the '' gens C ...

(died AD 23). Allegedly, she helped her lover

Sejanus Lucius Aelius Sejanus (c. 20 BC – 18 October AD 31), commonly known as Sejanus (), was a Roman soldier, friend and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Of the Equites class by birth, Sejanus rose to power as prefect of the Praetorian ...

in poisoning her second husband and died shortly after Sejanus fell from power in AD 31.

Marriages

Livilla was married twice, first in 1 BC to Gaius Caesar,

' grandson and potential successor. Thus, Augustus had chosen Livilla as the wife of the future Emperor. This splendid royal marriage probably gave Livilla grand aspirations for her future, perhaps at the expense of the ambition of Augustus' granddaughters, Agrippina the Elder and

Julia the Younger Vipsania Julia Agrippina (19 BC – c. AD 29) nicknamed Julia Minor (Classical Latin: IVLIA•MINOR) and called Julia the Younger by modern historians, was a Roman noblewoman of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was emperor Augustus' first grandda ...

. However, Gaius died in AD 4, cutting short Augustus' and Livilla's plans. In the same year, Livilla married her cousin Drusus Julius Caesar (Drusus the Younger), the son of

. When Tiberius succeeded Augustus as Emperor in AD 14, Livilla again was the wife of a potential successor. Drusus and Livilla had three children, a daughter named Julia Livia in around AD 7 and twin brothers in AD 19: Germanicus Gemellus who died in 23, and Tiberius Gemellus who survived infancy.

Livilla's standing in her family

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

reports that Livilla was a remarkably beautiful woman, despite the fact she was rather ungainly as a child. The ''Senatus Consultum de Cn. Pisone patre'' indicates that she was held in the highest esteem by her uncle and father-in-law,

, and by her grandmother

. According to Tacitus, she felt resentment and jealousy against her sister-in-law Agrippina the Elder, the wife of her brother

, to whom she was unfavourably compared. Indeed, Agrippina fared much better in producing imperial heirs to the household (being the mother of the Emperor

and

Agrippina the Younger Julia Agrippina (6 November AD 15 – 23 March AD 59), also referred to as Agrippina the Younger, was Roman empress from 49 to 54 AD, the fourth wife and niece of Emperor Claudius. Agrippina was one of the most prominent women in the Julio-Clau ...

) and was much more popular.

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τ� ...

reports that she despised her younger brother

; having heard he would one day become Emperor, she deplored publicly such a fate for the Roman people. As with most of the female members of the

, she may also have been very ambitious, in particular for her male offspring.

Affair with Sejanus

Possibly even before the birth of the twins, Livilla had an affair with

Lucius Aelius Sejanus Lucius Aelius Sejanus (c. 20 BC – 18 October AD 31), commonly known as Sejanus (), was a Roman soldier, friend and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Of the Equites class by birth, Sejanus rose to power as prefect of the Praetorian ...

, the

praetorian prefect The praetorian prefect ( la, praefectus praetorio, el, ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders be ...

of Tiberius – later on, some (including Tiberius) suspected Sejanus to have fathered the twins. Drusus, heir apparent since the death of

in AD 19, died in AD 23, shortly after striking Sejanus in an argument. According to

, and

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 on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

, Sejanus had poisoned Drusus, not only because he feared the wrath of the future Emperor but also because he had designs on the supreme power, and aimed at removing a potential competitor, with Livilla as his accomplice. If Drusus was indeed poisoned, his death aroused no suspicions at the time. Sejanus now wanted to marry the widowed Livilla. In AD 25 Tiberius rejected such a request but in AD 31 he eventually gave way. In the same year, the Emperor received evidence from

, Livilla's mother and his sister-in-law, that Sejanus planned to overthrow him. Tiberius had Sejanus denounced in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, then had him arrested and dragged off to prison to be put to death. A bloody purge then erupted in Rome with most of Sejanus' family (including his children) and followers sharing his fate.

Accusations and death

Hearing of the death of her children, Sejanus' former wife Apicata committed suicide. Before her death, she addressed a letter to Tiberius, accusing Sejanus and Livilla of having poisoned Drusus. Drusus' cupbearer Lygdus and Livilla's physician Eudemus were questioned and under torture confirmed Apicata's accusation. Livilla died shortly afterwards, either being killed or by suicide. According to

, Tiberius handed Livilla over to her mother,

, who locked her up in a room and starved her to death. Early in AD 32, the Senate proposed "terrible decrees...against her very statues and memory". Posthumously, there were further allegations of adultery with her physician Eudemus and with the senator and poet

Mamercus Aemilius Scaurus Mamercus Aemilius Scaurus (died AD 34) was a Roman rhetorician, poet and senator. Tacitus writes that Scaurus was "a man of distinguished rank and ability as an advocate, but of infamous life." He was suffect consul from July to the end of the y ...

Portraiture

The iconographic identification of Livilla has posed many problems, mainly due to the '' damnatio memoriae'' voted against her by the Senate after her death. Several possibilities have been advanced without widespread acceptance. A portrait type that survives in at least three replicas and which can be referred to as the "Alesia type" may represent Livilla. The replicas show the head of a lady, with a hairstyle clearly from the Tiberian period. The physiognomy is close but not identical to portraits of Antonia Minor, Livilla's mother and some replicas seem to bear the marks of voluntary damage (that one would expect from a ''damnatio memoriae''). For all these reasons, it has been proposed that these portraits are a representation of Livilla. A cameo portrait of a lady with the silhouettes of two infants, has been tentatively identified as Livilla. Although it is possible that the seated woman on the right on the Great Cameo of France represents Livilla, it seems more likely that the female figure seated on the left and holding a roll represents Livilla, depicted there as the widowed wife of

, seen just above her as one of the three heavenly imperial male figures., Leggere un'immagine. Il Grand Camée de France e la successione di Tiberio, storicamente.org (2004-2007).

Cultural depictions

Livilla has been depicted in three television series about the period. In the 1968 British

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

series '' The Caesars'' she was portrayed by Suzan Farmer. In the 1976 BBC TV series adaptation of '' I, Claudius'' she was played by Patricia Quinn. In that program she has an affair with Agrippa Postumus, but Livia persuades her to frame him for rape, leading to his exile. She murders Drusus with the help of Sejanus and also plots with him to murder Tiberius, but her mother finds the evidence and sends it to Tiberius via Claudius. She also believes Livilla is trying to murder her daughter for standing in her way. Livilla is then locked in a room by her mother, who says Livilla won't leave until she is dead. In the 1985 mini-series ''

A.D. The terms (AD) and before Christ (BC) are used to label or number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. The term is Medieval Latin and means 'in the year of the Lord', but is often presented using "our Lord" instead of "the Lord", ...

'' she was played by Susan Sarandon.

References

External links

{{Authority control 10s BC births 31 deaths 1st-century BC Roman women 1st-century BC Romans 1st-century Roman women People executed by starvation Julio-Claudian dynasty Claudii Nerones People executed by the Roman Empire Executed ancient Roman women 1st-century executions Ancient Roman assassins Poisoners Damnatio memoriae 13 BC births People from Lugdunum