Claudia Marcella Major ('' PIR²'' C 1102; born some time before 40 BC) was the senior niece 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 ...

, being the eldest daughter of his sister

Octavia the Younger Octavia the Younger (; 69 BC – 11 BC) was the elder sister of the first Roman emperor, Augustus (known also as Octavian), the half-sister of Octavia the Elder, and the fourth wife of Mark Antony. She was also the great-grandmother of the Emp ...

and her first husband Gaius Claudius Marcellus. She became the second wife of Augustus' foremost general

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 ...

and after that the wife of

Iullus Antonius Iullus Antonius (43–2 BC) was a Roman magnate and poet. A son of Mark Antony and Fulvia, he was spared by the emperor Augustus after the civil wars of the Republic, and was married to the emperor's niece. He was later condemned as one of the lo ...

, the son of

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 ...

Biography

Early life

Marcella belonged to the generation whose childhood was marred by the violence of the civil wars 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 ...

. She was likely the first child of her parents, being followed by her brother

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 ...

and sister Claudia Marcella Minor. From her mother's second marriage to

she would also gain two half sisters,

Antonia the Elder Antonia the Elder (born August/September 39 BC) was a niece of the first Roman emperor, Augustus, being the eldest daughter of Octavia the Younger and her second husband, the Triumvir Mark Antony. She married Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus and bec ...

and

Antonia the Younger 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

Marcella's first known marriage was to

in 28 BC. She was his second wife. Augustus held Agrippa in the highest place of honor.Plutarch, ''Mark Antony'', 87 Agrippa was a military man loyal to

Octavian 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 ...

throughout the civil war. The marriage of Marcella and Agrippa probably occurred because of the strong bond between the two men. Marcella brought Agrippa a tie to an elite republican family and to Augustus himself, for she was Augustus's niece. Although Agrippa was older than Marcella but austere, he appeared to be a good husband to Marcella. Marcella and Agrippa had children, however it is uncertain how many overall and how many of them survived to adulthood. It is likely based on the wording in

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'' that they have children of both sexes. There appears to have been at least one daughter who married

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 ...

, sometimes retrospectively called Vipsania ''Marcella'', in order to differentiate her from her father's other daughters. They might also have had a second daughter who married a Lepidus. Some people such as John Pollini also believe that they had at least one son together, whom he identifies as a young boy next to Agrippa on the

Ara Pacis The (Latin, "Altar of Augustan Peace"; commonly shortened to ) is an altar in Rome dedicated to the Pax Romana. The monument was commissioned by the Roman Senate on July 4, 13 BC to honour the return of Augustus to Rome after three years in Hisp ...

. In 23 BC the brother of Marcella,

, died and thus widowed Marcella's maternal cousin

Julia the Elder Julia the Elder (30 October 39 BC – AD 14), known to her contemporaries as Julia Caesaris filia or Julia Augusti filia (Classical Latin: IVLIA•CAESARIS•FILIA or IVLIA•AVGVSTI•FILIA), was the daughter and only biological child of Augustu ...

. In 21 BC, Agrippa divorced Marcella to marry Julia the daughter of Augustus. After Marcella divorced Agrippa, Octavia Minor received Marcella back in her house. Octavia Minor married Marcella to the future consul

, the second son of

from his third wife

Fulvia Fulvia (; d. 40 BC) was an aristocratic Roman woman who lived during the late Roman Republic. Fulvia's birth into an important political dynasty facilitated her relationships and, later on, marriages to Publius Clodius Pulcher, Gaius Scribo ...

who was held in high regard by Augustus. Marcella bore Iullus Antonius at least one son named Lucius Antonius, they likely also had another son who might have died young, named Iullus and a daughter named Iulla Antonia. Lucius was sent to study in Marseilles (not an official exile) sometime after the disgrace of his father. In 2 BC,

was forced to commit suicide after being found guilty of

adultery Adultery is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal consequences, the concept ...

with Julia the Elder. Prior to 1939, scholars believed that Marcella married another husband after the death of Iullus Antonius, namely the

Roman Senator The Roman Senate () was the highest and Roman constitution, constituting assembly of ancient Rome and its aristocracy. With different powers throughout its existence it lasted from the first days of the Rome, city of Rome (traditionally founded ...

and cousin Sextus Appuleius, the grandson of Octavia Major—the older half-sister of her mother— but it has in modern times been accepted that this was not the case.Tacitus, ''The Annals of Imperial Rome: Genealogical Tables - Table 1: Family of Tiberius'', p. 431.

Legacy

'' Marcelliopsis'' is a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s from Africa, belonging to the family

Amaranthaceae Amaranthaceae ( ) is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference to its type genus '' Amaranthus''. It includes the former goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae and contains about 165 genera and 2,040 species, maki ...

that was named after her.

Ancestry

Notes

References

{{Reflist 1st-century BC births 0s BC deaths 1st-century BC Roman women Claudii Marcelli Julio-Claudian dynasty Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain