Julia Drusilla
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Julia Drusilla (16 September 16 – 10 June 38 AD) was a member of the Roman imperial family, the second daughter and fifth child of
Germanicus Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was a Roman people, Roman general and politician most famously known for his campaigns against Arminius in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicu ...
and
Agrippina the Elder (Vipsania) 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, Aug ...
to survive infancy. She was the favorite sister of Emperor
Caligula Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), also called Gaius and Caligula (), was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Ag ...
, who, after her death, had her deified under the name Diva Drusilla Panthea, and named his daughter Julia Drusilla after her.


Biography


Early life

Drusilla was born in Abitarvium, modern-day
Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...
, Germany. Besides the future emperor she also had two other brothers,
Nero Julius Caesar Nero Julius Caesar (c. AD 6–31) was the adopted grandson and heir of the Roman emperor Tiberius, alongside his brother Drusus. Born into the prominent Julio-Claudian dynasty, Nero was the son of Tiberius' general and heir, Germanicus. After ...
and Drusus Caesar, as well as two sisters, Julia Livilla and the later empress
Agrippina the Younger Julia Agrippina (6 November AD 15 – 23 March AD 59), also referred to as Agrippina the Younger, was Roman empress from AD 49 to 54, the fourth wife and niece of emperor Claudius, and the mother of Nero. Agrippina was one of the most prominent ...
. She was a great-granddaughter 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 ...
and 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 ...
, grand-niece of the Emperor
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 ...
, niece of the Emperor
Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...
, and aunt of the Emperor
Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...
. After the death of her father,
Germanicus Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was a Roman people, Roman general and politician most famously known for his campaigns against Arminius in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicu ...
, she and her siblings were brought back to Rome by their mother and raised with the help of their paternal grandmother,
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 ...
.


Marriages

In 33, Drusilla was married to Lucius Cassius Longinus, a friend of the Emperor
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 ...
.Suetonius, ''The Lives of the Caesars'', "Life of Caligula", 21. She and Cassius are not known to have had any children. After Caligula became emperor in 37, he ordered their divorce and married his sister to his friend Marcus Aemilius Lepidus.Cassius Dio, 59.11.1 During an illness in 37, Caligula changed his will to name Drusilla his heir,Suetonius, ''The Lives of the Caesars'', "Life of Caligula", 24. making her the first woman to be named heir in a Roman imperial will. This was probably an attempt to continue the Julian line through any children she might have, leaving her husband to rule in the meantime. Caligula recovered, however, and in 38, at the age of 21, Drusilla died. Her brother went on to deify her, consecrating her with the title ''Panthea'' (all-goddess) and mourning at her public funeral as though he were a widower.


Reputation

Drusilla was widely reputed to be her brother's favorite, likely affording her great influence over Caligula. The rumors of incest that surrounded Drusilla could be attempts to discredit Caligula's leadership following his death. The most popular source of these rumors comes from
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 ...
, a Roman historian born 28 years after Caligula's death; he wrote that " aligulalived in habitual incest with all his sisters", claiming Caligula and Drusilla had once been caught together by their grandmother, Antonia. Rumors reported the brother and sister were lovers from a young age, with their public relationship deemed
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 ...
uous by various contemporaries. Caligula treated Drusilla as if she were his "legal wife" even while she was married. Drusilla earned a rather poor reputation because of the close bond she shared with Caligula, and was likened to a
prostitute Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-pe ...
by later scholars attempting to discredit Caligula.Wood, "Diva Drusilla Panthea and the Sisters of Caligula", pp. 457–482 Some historians suggest that Caligula was motivated by more than mere lust or love in pursuing intimate relationships with his sisters, instead employing a deliberate pattern for Roman lineage based on the
Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...
monarchs of the
Ptolemaic dynasty The Ptolemaic dynasty (; , ''Ptolemaioi''), also known as the Lagid dynasty (, ''Lagidai''; after Ptolemy I's father, Lagus), was a Macedonian Greek royal house which ruled the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Ancient Egypt during the Hellenistic period. ...
, where marriages between jointly ruling brothers and sisters had become tradition rather than
sex scandal A sex scandal is a public scandal involving allegations or information about possibly immoral sexual activities, often associated with the sexual affairs of film stars, politicians, famous athletes, or others in the public eye. Sex scandals r ...
s. This also has been used to explain why his
despotism In political science, despotism () is a government, form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute Power (social and political), power. Normally, that entity is an individual, the despot (as in an autocracy), but societies whi ...
apparently was more evident to his contemporaries than those of Augustus and Tiberius. One source of rumors surrounding Caligula and Drusilla may be derived from formal Roman dining habits. It was customary in patrician households for the host and hostess of a dinner (typically the husband and wife, as heads of the household) to be seated in positions of honor at banquets in their residence. In the case of a young bachelor being the head of the household, the female position of honor was traditionally filled by his sisters, in rotation: in Caligula's case,
Agrippina the Younger Julia Agrippina (6 November AD 15 – 23 March AD 59), also referred to as Agrippina the Younger, was Roman empress from AD 49 to 54, the fourth wife and niece of emperor Claudius, and the mother of Nero. Agrippina was one of the most prominent ...
, Drusilla, and Julia Livilla would have taken turns sitting in the place of honor. Caligula apparently broke with this tradition and reserved the place of honor exclusively for Drusilla. This could also be understood as Caligula placing Drusilla in a place of public prominence after naming her as heir.


Death and aftermath

Drusilla died on 10 June 38 AD, probably of an illness that was rampant in Rome at the time. Caligula was said never to have left her side throughout her illness and, after she had died, he would not let anyone take away her body. Caligula was badly affected by the loss. He buried his sister with the honors of an Augusta and acted as a grieving widower. He had 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 ...
declare her a
Goddess A goddess is a female deity. In some faiths, a sacred female figure holds a central place in religious prayer and worship. For example, Shaktism (one of the three major Hinduism, Hindu sects), holds that the ultimate deity, the source of all re ...
, as '' Diva Drusilla'', deifying her as a representation of the Roman goddess
Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...
or the Greek goddess
Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...
. Drusilla was consecrated as ''Panthea'', most likely on the anniversary of the birthday 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 ...
. In addition to the other honors she was given after her death by Caligula, he also declared a period of mourning. During this time, it became a capital crime to laugh, bathe, or dine with your parents, spouse, or children. A year later, Caligula named his only known daughter, Julia Drusilla, after his dead sister. Meanwhile, the widowed husband of Drusilla, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, reportedly became a lover to her sisters, Julia Livilla 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 AD 49 to 54, the fourth wife and niece of emperor Claudius, and the mother of Nero. Agrippina was one of the most prominent ...
, in an apparent attempt to gain their support so that he could succeed Caligula. This political conspiracy was discovered during that autumn by Caligula while in
Germania Superior Germania Superior ("Upper Germania") was an imperial province of the Roman Empire. It comprised an area of today's western Switzerland, the French Jura and Alsace regions, and southwestern Germany. Important cities were Besançon ('' Vesont ...
. Lepidus was swiftly executed and Livilla and Agrippina were exiled to the
Pontine Islands The Pontine Islands (, also ; ) are an archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the coast of Lazio region, Italy. The islands were collectively named after the largest island in the group, Ponza. The other islands in the archipelago are Palmarol ...
.


Portrayals

* The narrator of the story in the
Robert Graves Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was an English poet, soldier, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were b ...
novel '' I, Claudius'' states that Drusilla was killed by Caligula, though admitting he does not have firm evidence of this belief. * This theme was embellished considerably in the 1976 BBC television adaptation of ''I, Claudius'', where Drusilla was played by
Beth Morris Bethan "Beth" Morris (19 July 1943 – 1 March 2018) was a Welsh actress. Born in Gorseinon and a lifetime native of Swansea, she was probably best known for her performance as Julia Drusilla in the 1976 BBC adaptation of '' I, Claudius''. ...
. A pregnant Drusilla was subjected to a brutal
Caesarean section Caesarean section, also known as C-section, cesarean, or caesarean delivery, is the Surgery, surgical procedure by which one or more babies are Childbirth, delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen. It is often performed because va ...
by an insane Caligula, who swallows the child off-camera as Chronos did his children. A subsequent shot depicting Caligula and his blood-soaked beard was cut from the episode before broadcast in the United States, but has since been restored in later VHS and DVD releases. * Teresa Ann Savoy played Drusilla in the 1979 motion picture ''Caligula'', which showed a version of Drusilla dying from a fever, followed by a scene of Caligula licking her corpse in mourning, then having intercourse with Drusilla in an act of
necrophilia Necrophilia, also known as necrophilism, necrolagnia, necrocoitus, necrochlesis, and thanatophilia, is sexual attraction or acts involving corpses. It is classified as a paraphilia by the World Health Organization (WHO) in its ''International ...
.


Ancestry


See also

* Julio-Claudian family tree


Notes


References


Further reading

* Edmund Groag, Arthur Stein, Leiva Petersen (edd.), '' Prosopographia Imperii Romani saeculi I, II et III'' (Berlin, 1933), I 664


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drusilla, Julia 1st-century Roman women 1st-century Romans 16 births 38 deaths Burials at the Mausoleum of Augustus Children of Germanicus Deified ancient Roman women Incest Julii Caesares Julio-Claudian dynasty People from Koblenz