Appuleia Varilla (flourished 1st century AD) 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 Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
noblewoman and the daughter of
Quinctilla Varilla and
Sextus Appuleius
Sextus Appuleius is the name of four figures during the 1st century BC and 1st century AD. The first Sextus Appuleius was married to Octavia Major, the elder half-sister of Augustus. The three subsequent figures named Sextus Appuleius are respecti ...
. She was a grand-niece of the emperor
Augustus
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
as her father was the son of
Octavia Major.
Biography
Early life
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.
Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...
described her as the grand-niece of
Augustus
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
.
[Tacitus, '']Annales
Annals are a concise form of historical writing which record events chronologically, year by year. The equivalent word in Latin and French is ''annales'', which is used untranslated in English in various contexts.
List of works with titles contai ...
'', II.50 For a long time it was uncertain how exactly she was related to Augustus, with many assuming she was a daughter of
Claudia Marcella Major but 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 Roma ...
reports that an inscription from
Asia
Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
confirms she was the daughter of that consul of 29 BC Sextus Appuleius and a sister of
Publius Quinctilius Varus
Publius Quinctilius Varus (46 BC or before – September AD 9) was a Roman general and politician. Serving under Augustus, who founded the Roman Empire, he is generally remembered for having lost three Roman legions in the Battle of the Teutob ...
.
[Syme, ''The Augustinian Aristocracy'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989), p. 317] She had a brother also named
Sextus Appuleius
Sextus Appuleius is the name of four figures during the 1st century BC and 1st century AD. The first Sextus Appuleius was married to Octavia Major, the elder half-sister of Augustus. The three subsequent figures named Sextus Appuleius are respecti ...
.
Later life
In 17, she was charged by
Tiberius
Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...
with adultery and insulting the
Roman empress
The term Roman empress usually refers to the consorts of the Roman emperors, the rulers of the Roman Empire. The duties, power and influence of empresses varied depending on the time period, contemporary politics and the personalities of their hu ...
(his mother
Livia
Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC
AD 29) was List of Roman and Byzantine empresses, Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal Adoption ...
) and his step-father Augustus. In the trial she was acquitted of treason, but her adultery was punished. She was exiled from Rome and ordered not to come within 200 miles of the city. This punishment by relatives was traditional in this circumstance. Manlius, her lover, was banned from
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and
Africa Province
Africa was a Roman province on the northern coast of the continent of Africa. It was established in 146 BC, following the Roman Republic's conquest of Carthage in the Third Punic War. It roughly comprised the territory of present-day Tunisi ...
.
[
]
See also
* List of Roman women
The list below includes Women in Ancient Rome, Roman women who were notable for their family connections, or their sons or husbands, or their own actions. In the earlier periods, women came to the attention of (later) historians either as poisone ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Appuleia Varilla
Julio-Claudian dynasty
Varilla
1st-century Roman women
1st-century Romans
People acquitted of treason
Ancient Roman exiles