Claudia Marcella was the name of several women of ancient Rome of the Marcelli branch of the

Claudia gens The gens Claudia (), sometimes written Clodia, was one of the most prominent patrician (ancient Rome), patrician houses at ancient Rome. The gens traced its origin to the earliest days of the Roman Republic. The first of the Claudii to obtain t ...

. By the late Republican period girls from this branch were often called " Clodia". A number of Marcellae are believed to have been the daughters of the consul Gaius Claudius Marcellus * Claudia Marcella, a proposed daughter by an unknown woman, this Marcella might have been the mother 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 ...

* Claudia Marcella Major, (? - ?) oldest surviving daughter by Octavia Minor, married

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. Agrippa is well known for his important military victories, notably the B ...

* Claudia Marcella Minor, (? - ?) youngest surviving daughter by Octavia Minor, grandmother of empress Messalina * Claudia Marcella Ignota Prima, (? - ?) a daughter by Octavia Minor who died in childhood Spyridon Lambros, ''Ἀνέκδοτον ἀπόσπασμα συγγραΦῆς περὶ τοῦ Καισαρείου γένους'', Νέος Ἑλληνομνήμων 1 (1904), p. 148 * Claudia Marcella Ignota Secunda, (? - ?) a daughter by Octavia Minor who died in childhood The two surviving daughters of Octavia (the sister of Roman 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 ...

) by MarcellusLightman, ''A to Z of Ancient Greek and Roman Women'', pp. 204-5 became important in Augustus imperial plans. According to the Roman Historian Suetonius, they were known as "the Marcellae sisters" or "the two Marcellae". The sisters were born in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and lived with their mother and their stepfather Triumvir

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman people, Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the Crisis of the Roman Republic, transformation of the Roman Republic ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. After 36 BC they accompanied their mother when she returned to Rome with their brother and half-sisters. They were raised and educated by their mother, their maternal uncle and their maternal aunt-in-marriage Roman Empress

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 ...

Drusilla. They and their siblings provided a critical link between the past of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

and the new

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

.Lightman, ''A to Z of Ancient Greek and Roman Women'', p. 205 The marriages of the sisters and the children born to their unions assured republican family lines into the next generation.Lightman, ''A to Z of Ancient Greek and Roman Women'', p. 204 A number of other women could have been Marcellae: * Claudia, last wife of

Quintus Lutatius Catulus Quintus Lutatius Catulus (149–87 BC) was a Roman consul, consul of the Roman Republic in 102 BC. His consular colleague was Gaius Marius. During their consulship the Cimbri and Teutons, Teutones marched south again and Cimbrian War, threatened ...

may have been a Marcella if she was she was likely a daughter of

Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbrian War, Cimbric and Jugurthine War, Jugurthine wars, he held the office of Roman consul, consul an unprecedented seven times. Rising from a fami ...

' friend and legate

Marcus Claudius Marcellus Marcus Claudius Marcellus (; 270 – 208 BC) was a Roman general and politician during the 3rd century BC. Five times elected as Roman consul, consul of the Roman Republic (222, 215, 214, 210, and 208 BC). Marcellus gained the most prestigious a ...

. * Clodia, wife of

Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus (or Gallaecus or Callaecus; c. 180113 BC) was a consul of the Roman Republic for the year 138 BC together with Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio. He was an optimate politician and a military commander in Hisp ...

and mother of Decimus Junius Brutus may have been a Marcella. * The wife of

Publius Autronius Paetus Publius Autronius Paetus was a politician of the late Roman Republic who was involved in the conspiracy of Catiline. Career He was elected consul in 66 BC (to serve in 65 BC), alongside Publius Cornelius Sulla, but before they could take office bo ...

may have been a Marcella.Tansey, Patrick. (2016) "A selective prosopographical study of marriage in the Roman elite in the Second and First Centuries B.C.: Revisiting the evidence". p, 9. Department of Ancient History at Macquarie University

References

Sources

;Ancient *

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

, ''Life of Mark Antony'' *

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is ''De vita Caesarum'', common ...

, "Augustus", ''The Twelve Caesars'' *

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'' ( ...

, ''Annales'' ;Modern * Annelise Freisenbruch, ''Caesars' Wives: Sex, Power, and Politics in the Roman Empire'', Simon and Schuster, 2011 * Diana E. E. Kleiner, ''Cleopatra and Rome'', Harvard University Press, 2009 * N. Kokkinos, ''Antonia Augusta: Portrait of a Great Roman Lady'', Psychology Press, 1992 * M. Lightman & B. Lightman, ''A to Z of Ancient Greek and Roman Women'', Infobase Publishing, 2008 * G. Stern, ''Women, Children, and Senators on the Ara Pacis Augustae: A Study of Augustus' Vision of a New World Order in 13 BC'', ProQuest, 2006 * Ronald Syme, ''The Augustan Aristocracy'', Oxford University Press, 1989

External links

Octavia Minor
at Livius.org (last accessed 5 April 2020) {{DEFAULTSORT:Marcella, Claudia Ancient Roman prosopographical lists of women Claudii Marcelli