Licinia is the name used by

ancient Roman women Freeborn women in ancient Rome were citizens (''cives''), but could not vote or hold political office. Because of their limited public role, women are named less frequently than men by Roman historians. But while Roman women held no direct politi ...

of the '' gens Licinia''.

Known individuals

Daughter of Gaius Licinius Varus

Licinia (flourished 188 BC–180 BC) was the daughter of Gaius Licinius Varus and the sister of

Publius Licinius Crassus (consul 171 BC) Publius Licinius Crassus (fl. 176 to 171 BC) was Roman consul for the year 171 BC, together with Gaius Cassius Longinus. He was the son of Gaius Licinius Varus, possibly related to the Gaius Licinius Varus who was consul in 236 BC and who was s ...

and Gaius Licinius Crassus (consul 168 BC). She married Publius Mucius Scaevola (consul 175 BC) and bore him at least two sons Publius Mucius Scaevola and

Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus (c. 180 BC – 130 BC) was the natural son of Publius Mucius Scaevola and Licinia, and brother of Publius Mucius Scaevola. He was adopted at an unknown date by Publius Licinius Crassus (consul 171 BC), ...

. The younger son was adopted by her elder brother as his heir. Both sons were well-educated and both became Pontifex Maximus successively.

Wife of Claudius Asellus

Licinia (died 153 BC), a woman killed by her relatives in 153 BC for allegedly murdering her husband Claudius Asellus; another woman similarly accused was Publicia, wife of the consul Lucius Postumius Albinus (consul 154 BC). Both women assigned real estate as bail to the urban

praetor ''Praetor'' ( , ), also ''pretor'', was the title granted by the government of ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected ''magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to disch ...

, but were killed (strangled) by their relatives before coming to trial.

Daughters of Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus

Two daughters of

(consul and Pontifex Maximus) by his wife Claudia, sister of Appius Claudius Pulcher: *Licinia Major (flourished 2nd century BC), was married to Gaius Sulpicius

Galba Galba ( ; born Servius Sulpicius Galba; 24 December 3 BC – 15 January AD 69) was Roman emperor, ruling for 7 months from 8 June AD 68 to 15 January 69. He was the first emperor in the Year of the Four Emperors and assumed the throne follow ...

.Genealogie
/ref> *Licinia Minor (flourished 2nd century BC), also known as Licinia Crassi. A younger daughter, she was the wife of

Gaius Gracchus Gaius Sempronius Gracchus ( – 121 BC) was a reformist Roman politician and soldier who lived during the 2nd century BC. He is most famous for his tribunate for the years 123 and 122 BC, in which he proposed a wide set of laws, i ...

. Her dowry was seized temporarily by the Senate when her husband's property was confiscated, but eventually restored after an appeal to her uncle Publius Mucius Scaevola the Pontifex Maximus.

Daughter of Lucius Licinius Crassus

Two daughters of

Lucius Licinius Crassus Lucius Licinius Crassus (140 – September 91 BC) was a Roman orator and statesman who was a Roman consul and Roman censor, censor and who is also one of the main speakers in Cicero's dramatic dialogue on the art of oratory ''De Oratore'', set jus ...

and his wife Laelia Minor, herself a daughter of

Gaius Laelius Sapiens Gaius Laelius Sapiens (born c. 188 BC), was a Roman statesman, best known for his friendship with the Roman general and statesman Scipio Aemilianus (Scipio the Younger) (d. 129 BC). He was consul of 140 BC, elected with the help of his friend, b ...

(consul in 140 BC). Both sisters and their mother were known for their pure Latin. *Licinia Major the elder daughter of

and his wife Laelia, she was married to Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica, son of the consul of 111 BC and grandson of

Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Serapio (182 or 181 – 132 BC) was a Roman politician. He is most well known for mobilising the mob which killed Tiberius Gracchus, who was at the time attempting to stand for re-election as plebeian tribune ...

, consul in 138 BC and Pontifex Maximus. She had at least two surviving sons, of whom the elder was adopted by her father as his heir Lucius Licinius Crassus Scipio and the younger was adopted by her husband's cousin

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius ( – 63 BC) was a general and statesman of the Roman Republic. His father Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus, Metellus Numidicus was banished from Rome through the machinations of Gaius Marius. He, because ...

, a close friend of dictator

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (, ; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. A great commander and ruthless politician, Sulla used violence to advance his career and his co ...

. This son is known to history as Metellus Scipio (see Caecilius Metellus) - Caesar's ineffectual military and political rival and Pompey's last father-in-law. His daughter was

Cornelia Metella Cornelia Metella ( 73 BCRonald Syme points out that in 74 BC, Cornelia's father was the romantic rival of Cato for Aemilia, Cornelia's mother; their marriage followed soon after and provides the earliest possible date for their daughter's bi ...

. *Licinia Minor the other daughter of

and his wife Laelia. She was married to

Gaius Marius the Younger Gaius Marius "the Younger" ( – 82 BC) was a Roman republican general and politician who became consul in 82 BC with Gnaeus Papirius Carbo. He was the son of the Gaius Marius who was the victor of the Jugurthine and Cimbric wars. ...

, according to both Plutarch and Cicero.

Wife of Quintus Mucius Scaevola Pontifex

Licinia Crassa (flourished 2nd century BC & 1st century BC), noted for her beauty; the wife firstly of Quintus Mucius Scaevola, a future consul and Pontifex Maximus, who became notorious for her adultery with another consul Quintus Caecilius Metellus Nepos. Metellus Nepos divorced his wife to marry Licinia a week later, after she had been divorced by her husband and thus disgraced in Roman society. The couple later had two sons, both of them consuls. By her first husband, she was also mother of

Mucia Tertia Mucia Tertia ( 79 – 31 BC) was a Roman '' matrona'' who lived in the 1st century BC. She was the daughter of Quintus Mucius Scaevola, the '' pontifex maximus'' and consul in 95 BC. Around 79 BC, Mucia married Pompey, a lead ...

, triumvir

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey ( ) or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman who was prominent in the last decades of the Roman Republic. ...

's third wife.

Daughter of Marcus Licinius Crassus

Licinia (flourished 1st century BC & 1st century) was a daughter of the consul in 14 BC and governor

Marcus Licinius Crassus Marcus Licinius Crassus (; 115–53 BC) was a ancient Rome, Roman general and statesman who played a key role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. He is often called "the richest man in Rome".Wallechinsky, Da ...

and sister of Roman Senator

Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi (flourished 1st century AD) was a Roman nobleman of consular rank who lived during the Roman Empire. Frugi's mother was an unnamed Roman woman, while his father was consul and governor Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi. ...

. She married Lucius Calpurnius Piso who became consul in 27 and was the mother of Gaius Calpurnius Piso, the leader of the Pisonian Conspiracy in 65.

Daughter of Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi

Licinia Magna, daughter of the consul

and Scribonia (a descendant of

).Syme, ''The Roman Revolution'', p.578 She married the Roman Senator Lucius Calpurnius Piso, who served as one of the consuls in 57. Piso was later killed by Roman emperor

Vespasian Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...

as an enemy of the emperor. Licinia and Piso had a daughter called Calpurnia who married Calpurnius Piso Galerianus son of Gaius Calpurnius Piso (co-consul in 41 with

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 ...

).''The Cambridge Ancient History''. Vol. 5, VII ed. London: Cambridge University Press, 1970-2007. Calpurnius Piso Galerianus was executed in 70 for opposing Vespasian. Licinia died at some date between 70 and 80 as her grave altar is dated from this period, which was found on the grounds of Villa Bonaparte near the

Porta Salaria Porta Salaria was a gate in the Aurelian Walls of Rome, Italy. Constructed between 271 AD and 275 AD, it was demolished in 1921. History Porta Salaria was part of the Aurelian Walls built by emperor Aurelian in the 3rd century, including pre ...

. The land may have been part of the family's suburban estates and her grave altar is on display at the

Vatican Museums The Vatican Museums (; ) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of the best-known Roman sculptures and ...

. Licinia may have had another sister called Licinia.

Daughter of Theodosius II

Licinia Eudoxia Licinia Eudoxia (Late Greek, Greek: Λικινία, 422 – c. 493) was a Roman Empress, daughter of Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II. In early childhood she was placed in a political marriage with the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III. ...

(422–462), a Roman Empress, who was only daughter of Eastern Emperor

Theodosius II Theodosius II ( ; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450), called "the Calligraphy, Calligrapher", was Roman emperor from 402 to 450. He was proclaimed ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' as an infant and ruled as the Eastern Empire's sole emperor after the ...

and wife of the Western Emperors

Valentinian III Valentinian III (; 2 July 41916 March 455) was Roman emperor in the Western Roman Empire, West from 425 to 455. Starting in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by civil wars among powerful general ...

and

Petronius Maximus Petronius Maximus (31 May 455) was Roman emperor of the Western Roman Empire, West for two and a half months in 455. A wealthy Roman Senate, senator and a prominent aristocrat, he was instrumental in the murders of the Western Roman ''magister ...

Vestal Virgins

* Licinia, a

Vestal Virgin In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals (, singular ) were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame. The Vestals were unlike any other public priesthood. They were chosen before puberty from several s ...

, condemned in 114 BC or 113 BC by the famous jurist

Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla Lucius Cassius Longinus Ravilla was a Roman politician. He served as consul in 127 BC and censor at the following lustrum in 125 BC. His first recorded office was that of tribune of the plebs in 137 BC. As a tribune of the plebs, h ...

(consul 127 BC) along with Marcia and Aemilia, for unchastity. * Licinia (flourished 1st century BC), a

who was courted by her kinsman triumvir

who wanted her property. This relationship gave rise to rumors. Plutarch says: "And yet when he was further on in years, he was accused of criminal intimacy with Licinia, one of the vestal virgins and Licinia was formally prosecuted by a certain Plotius. Now Licinia was the owner of a pleasant villa in the suburbs which Crassus wished to get at a low price, and it was for this reason that he was forever hovering about the woman and paying his court to her, until he fell under the abominable suspicion. And in a way it was his avarice that absolved him from the charge of corrupting the vestal, and he was acquitted by the judges. But he did not let Licinia go until he had acquired her property." Licinia became a Vestal Virgin in 85 BC and remained a Vestal until 61 B

* Licinia Praetextata, the Chief

who have been the possible daughter of consul, Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi,The Piso Frugi family
/ref> son of consul

and Scribonia (a descendant of

Footnotes

References

Sources

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 ...

- RhetHer_4'47; Cicero: Brut_159;L Ascon_45'c-46'a;L *

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'', ...

Moralia, or Roman Questions, 284'B-C
{{DEFAULTSORT:Licinia Ancient Roman prosopographical lists of women

Licinii The gens Licinia was a celebrated plebeian family at ancient Rome, which appears from the earliest days of the Republic until imperial times, and which eventually obtained the imperial dignity. The first of the gens to obtain the consulship was ...