Aurelia Orestilla, daughter of the very wealthy

Gnaeus Aufidius Orestes Gnaeus Aufidius Orestes (died 1st century BC) was a Roman politician who was elected consul in 71 BC. Biography Originally born into the Orestes branch of the plebeian gens Aurelia, Aufidius Orestes was adopted by the elderly Gnaeus Aufidius, a ...

, was woman of

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

chiefly remembered for her association with the politician

Catiline Lucius Sergius Catilina ( – January 62 BC), known in English as Catiline (), was a Roman politician and soldier best known for instigating the Catilinarian conspiracy, a failed attempt to seize control of the Roman state in 63 BC. ...

, who in 65 BCE attempted to take control of the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate () was the highest and constituting assembly of ancient Rome and its aristocracy. With different powers throughout its existence it lasted from the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in 753 BC) as the Sena ...

in what came to be called the

Catilinarian conspiracy The Catilinarian conspiracy, sometimes Second Catilinarian conspiracy, was an attempted coup d'état by Lucius Sergius Catilina (Catiline) to overthrow the Roman consuls of 63 BC – Marcus Tullius Cicero and Gaius Antonius Hybrida – a ...

. Contemporaneous Roman writers on the opposing side -- chiefly

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

and

Sallust Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (, ; –35 BC), was a historian and politician of the Roman Republic from a plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became a partisan of Julius ...

-- write of her disparagingly as a "beautiful but profligate" woman. Sallust writes that "no good man ever complimented her on anything besides her beauty". An anecdote originally related by these authors but repeated throughout history is that when Catiline proposed marriage, Aurelia objected on the grounds that he had an adult son from a previous marriage. Catiline was said to have killed his son with poison to remove the impediment to that marriage, with the implication being that Catiline killed his son of out of lust for the wanton Aurelia. First-century BCE historian Sallust implies the scheme was Aurelia's idea to begin with. First-century historian

Valerius Maximus Valerius Maximus () was a 1st-century Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes: ' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' or ''Facta et dicta memorabilia''). He worke ...

wrote that Catiline lit his marriage torch for Aurelia from his son's funeral

pyre A pyre (; ), also known as a funeral pyre, is a structure, usually made of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite or execution. As a form of cremation, a body is placed upon or under the pyre, which is then set on fire. In discussi ...

, and describes the situation as having been caused by "wicked

libido In psychology, libido (; ) is psychic drive or energy, usually conceived of as sexual in nature, but sometimes conceived of as including other forms of desire. The term ''libido'' was originally developed by Sigmund Freud, the pioneering origin ...

". This is notable as an attempt to further malign Catiline, as marrying for

lust Lust is an intense desire for something. Lust can take any form such as the lust for sexuality (see libido), money, or power. It can take such mundane forms as the lust for food (see gluttony) as distinct from the need for food or lust for red ...

was considered contemptible in Roman society (whereas marrying for money was not). This anecdote of Aurelia's role in what writers claimed was Catiline's son's murder was used at the time, and for centuries later, to paint both Catiline and Aurelia in an unflattering light (in the same work, Cicero also accuses Catiline of

fratricide Fratricide (; – the assimilated root of 'to kill, cut down') is the act of killing one's own brother. It can either be done directly or via the use of either a hired or an indoctrinated intermediary (an assassin). The victim need not be ...

and

incest Incest ( ) is sexual intercourse, sex between kinship, close relatives, for example a brother, sister, or parent. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by lineag ...

). Almost two millennia later, Aurelia Orestilla continued to be used as a character of the scheming woman, as well as of the wicked

stepmother A stepmother, stepmum or stepmom is a female non-biological parent married to one's preexisting parent. Children from her spouse's previous unions are known as her stepchildren. A stepmother-in-law is a stepmother of one's spouse. Culture Ste ...

, as in for example ''

Catiline His Conspiracy ''Catiline His Conspiracy (1611)'' is a Jacobean tragedy written by Ben Jonson. It is one of the two Roman tragedies that Jonson hoped would cement his dramatic achievement and reputation, the other being '' Sejanus His Fall'' (1603). Backgrou ...

'' by 17th-century dramatist

Ben Jonson Benjamin Jonson ( 11 June 1572 – ) was an English playwright, poet and actor. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence on English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satire, satirical ...

(who uses Sallust as his primary historical source), and the play ''Catilina'' by the 18th century poet

Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon (13 January 1674 – 17 June 1762) was a French poet and tragedian. He is sometimes known as Crébillon or (Crébillon the Tragic) to distinguish him from his son Claude Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon (Crébillon the ...

, and the play of the same name by the 19th century writer

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

, in which Catiline and Aurelia drink from goblets of human blood to seal their bargain. Aurelia Orestilla had herself already been married, as she had a daughter by a previous husband. Her daughter was betrothed to

Quintus Cornificius Quintus Cornificius (died 42 BC) was an ancient Roman of senatorial rank from the ''gens'' Cornificia. He was a general, orator and poet, a friend of Catullus and a correspondent of Cicero. He was also an augur. He wrote a now lost epyllion titl ...

in 49 BCE. Catiline appears to have felt genuine affection for Aurelia. In exile, shortly before his death, the doomed Catiline wrote a letter to his friend

Quintus Lutatius Catulus Capitolinus Quintus Lutatius Catulus Capitolinus (c. 121 – 61 BC) was a politician in the late Roman Republic. His father was the like-named Quintus Lutatius Catulus, consul in 102 BC. He gained the agnomen "Capitolinus" for his defense of the capital in 77 ...

asking him to take care of his wife.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aurelia Orestilla Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain 1st-century BC Roman women Aurelii