Vipsania Julia Agrippina (19 BC – c. AD 29) nicknamed Julia Minor (

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 ...

: IVLIA•MINOR) and called Julia the Younger by modern historians, was a

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 lett ...

noblewoman of 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=* ...

. She was emperor Augustus' first granddaughter, being the first daughter and second child of

Julia the Elder Julia the Elder (30 October 39 BC – AD 14), known to her contemporaries as Julia Caesaris filia or Julia Augusti filia (Classical Latin: IVLIA•CAESARIS•FILIA or IVLIA•AVGVSTI•FILIA), was the daughter and only biological child of August ...

and her husband

Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (; BC – 12 BC) was a Roman general, statesman, and architect who was a close friend, son-in-law, and lieutenant to the Roman emperor Augustus. He was responsible for the construction of some of the most notable build ...

. Along with her siblings Julia was raised and educated by her maternal grandfather

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 her maternal step-grandmother

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 ...

. Just like her siblings she played an important role in the dynastic plans of Augustus, but much like her mother she was disgraced due to infidelity later on in her life.

Life

About 5 BC or 6 BC, Augustus arranged for her to marry Lucius Aemilius Paullus. Paullus had a family relation to her as her first half-cousin, as both had Scribonia as grandmother: Julia's mother was a daughter of Scribonia by Augustus; Paullus' mother, Cornelia, was a daughter of Scribonia resulting from her earlier marriage to

Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Marcellinus (''c.'' 90 BC – ''c.'' 48 BC) was a Roman statesman and consul of 56 BC. He was married at least twice. His first wife is unknown but his second wife was probably Scribonia, at least twenty years his junior, ...

. Paullus and Julia had a daughter,

Aemilia Lepida Aemilia Lepida is the name of several ancient Roman women belonging to the ''gens Aemilia''. The name was given to daughters of men belonging to the Lepidus branch of the Aemilius family. The first Aemilia Lepida to be mentioned by Roman historian ...

and possibly a son, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus (although the latter may also have been the son to Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. According to Suetonius, she built a large pretentious country house. Augustus disliked large overdone houses and had it demolished. Grotto in Salermo with Julia by Joseph Wright of Derby 1774 photoshopped

Grotto in Salermo with Julia by Joseph Wright of Derby 1774 photoshopped

In 8, according to ancient historians, Julia was exiled for having an affair with Decimus Junius Silanus, a Roman Senator. She was sent to Tremirus, a small Italian island, where she gave birth to a child. Augustus rejected the infant and ordered it to be exposed, or left on a mountainside to die. Silanus went into voluntary exile, but returned under Tiberius' reign. Sometime between 1 and 14, her husband Paullus was executed as a conspirator in a revolt. Modern historians theorize that Julia's exile was not actually for adultery but for involvement in Paullus' revolt.

Livia 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 ...

plotted against her stepdaughter's family and ruined them, according to some. This led to open compassion for the fallen family. In 29 AD, Julia died on the same island where she had been sent in exile twenty years earlier. Due to the adultery that Julia committed, Augustus stated in his will that she would never be buried in Rome. She was survived by a daughter, possibly a son, and by several grandchildren.

Unusual naming

Julia the Younger was not a member of the Julian gens by birth: being the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa made her a ''Vipsania Agrippina'' by birth, although there are no contemporary sources that show that that name was ever used for her. She came to belong to the household of the

as she was raised and instructed by her maternal grandfather Augustus. Further, Augustus adopted

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 ...

as his son (and heir), while Tiberius was remarried to Julia the Elder. Augustus became something of a ''paternal'' grandfather to Julia the Elder's children, too, including Julia the Younger. A ''formal'' adoption "in the family of the Caesars" among the offspring of Agrippa and Julia the Elder is however only recorded regarding Vipsania Julia's brothers Gaius Vipsanius Agrippa—hence Gaius Julius Caesar—and Lucius Vipsanius Agrippa—hence Lucius Julius Caesar.

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 ...

, '' Ann.'' I, 3 Her younger sister

Agrippina the Elder Agrippina "the Elder" (also, in Latin, , "Germanicus's Agrippina"; – AD 33) was a prominent member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (a close supporter of the first Roman emperor, Augustus) a ...

and youngest full brother,

Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa Postumus Marcus Agrippa Postumus (12 BC – AD 14),: "The elder Agrippa died, in the summer of 12 BC, while Julia was pregnant with their fifth child. The boy was very likely born sometime after June 26 of the following year. When his grandfather adopted ...

, were named after their natural father only until Agrippa Postumus was adopted by Augustus as ''Marcus Julius Caesar Agrippa Postumus''. Likewise, her eldest half-sisters,

Vipsania Agrippina Vipsania Agrippina (; 36 BC – 20 AD) was the first wife of the Emperor Tiberius. She was the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Pomponia Caecilia Attica, thus a granddaughter of Titus Pomponius Atticus, the best friend of Cicero. Biogr ...

, Vipsania Attica,

Vipsania Marcella Vipsania Marcella is a name retrospectively given by historians to a possible daughter or daughters of the ancient Roman general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and his second wife Claudia Marcella Major, the eldest niece of emperor Augustus. History I ...

and Vipsania Marcellina, were named after their father. Her younger half-brother, unnamed in contemporary sources, was later sometimes dubbed "

Tiberillus 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 ...

," after his father Tiberius, and died young.

Ancestry

Notes

External links

{{Commons category, Vipsania Julia * The Archeological museum of the

University of Innsbruck The University of Innsbruck (german: Leopold-Franzens-Universität Innsbruck; la, Universitas Leopoldino Franciscea) is a public research university in Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian federal state of Tyrol, founded on October 15, 1669. ...

displays a sculpted head that is presumably Vipsania Julia's
Inv. Nr. I/506 – Image at the university's website
19 BC births 29 deaths Julio-Claudian dynasty 1st-century BC Roman women 1st-century BC Romans 1st-century Roman women Agrippina, Julia Ancient Roman exiles Children of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa

Life

Unusual naming

Ancestry

See also

Notes

External links