Pomponia is the female name for the

Pomponia gens The gens Pomponia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Its members appear throughout the history of the Roman Republic, and into imperial times. The first of the gens to achieve prominence was Marcus Pomponius, tribune of the plebs in 449 BC ...

of Ancient

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, ...

. This family was one of the oldest families in Rome. Various women bearing this name lived during the Middle and Late

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

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 ...

. The oldest known Pomponia was mother of a famous Roman general; the second and third were related to each other. The relationship between these women, if any, is not known. They descended from Pomponius, the first son of

Numa Pompilius Numa Pompilius (; 753–672 BC; reigned 715–672 BC) was the Roman mythology, legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus after a one-year interregnum. He was of Sabine origin, and many of Rome's most important religious and political ins ...

, the second

King of Rome The king of Rome () was the ruler of the Roman Kingdom, a legendary period of Roman history that functioned as an elective monarchy. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine H ...

Pomponia, mother of Scipio Africanus

Pomponia (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

212 BC) was a Roman woman who lived in the 3rd century BC. She came from a Roman noble family who were of

plebeian In ancient Rome, the plebeians or plebs were the general body of free Roman citizens who were not patricians, as determined by the census, or in other words "commoners". Both classes were hereditary. Etymology The precise origins of the gro ...

status, and were prominent knights or equestrians. She was the daughter of the consul

Manius Pomponius Matho Manius Pomponius Matho ( 236 – 211 BC) was a Roman general who was elected consul for the year 233 BC with Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus. He was also the maternal grandfather of the general and statesman Scipio Africanus. Career During his c ...

, consul in 233 BC (who appears to have died in 211 BC), and was married possibly around 237 BC to Publius Cornelius Scipio, second surviving son of the Roman censor Lucius Cornelius Scipio of a prominent patrician family. Her husband later became a general and statesman during the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of Punic Wars, three wars fought between Ancient Carthage, Carthage and Roman Republic, Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean Basin, Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For ...

and was killed in battle in Hispania in 211 BC. By her marriage, Pomponia was the mother of at least two sons, the famous Roman general Publius Cornelius

Scipio Africanus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–) was a Roman general and statesman who was one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Ancient Carthage, Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the greatest milit ...

Major (236 BC-184 BC/183 BC) and Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus (fl. 183 BC). Livy's brief mention of Pomponia recounts a legend that Scipio was actually a son of Jove after Pomponia had a sexual union with a snake.

Pomponia, sister of Titus Pomponius Atticus

Pomponia was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

woman who lived in the first century BC and was an only sister to

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 ...

’s friend the Roman Knight

Titus Pomponius Atticus Titus Pomponius Atticus (November 110 BC – 31 March 32 BC; later named Quintus Caecilius Pomponianus Atticus) was a Roman editor, banker, and patron of letters, best known for his correspondence and close friendship with prominent Roman ...

. She was an aunt to

Caecilia Attica Attica (born ca 58–51 BC, perhaps died around 32–29 BC) was the daughter of Cicero's Epicurean friend Titus Pomponius Atticus. She was also the first wife of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, close friend of the emperor Augustus. Early life Attica is ...

and a great-aunt to

Vipsania Agrippina Vipsania Agrippina (; unknown – 20 AD) was the first wife of the Roman emperor, Emperor Tiberius. She was the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Attica (wife of Agrippa), Attica, thus being a granddaughter of Titus Pomponius Atticus, t ...

(first wife to future Roman

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

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 ...

through his effective mediation was able to arrange for Pomponia to marry his younger brother

Quintus Tullius Cicero Quintus Tullius Cicero ( , ; 102 BC – 43 BC) was a Roman statesman and military leader, as well as the younger brother of Marcus Tullius Cicero. He was born into a family of the equestrian order, as the son of a wealthy landowner in Arpinum, so ...

. Quintus and Pomponia married in 68 BC. Pomponia bore Quintus a son of the same name. Quintus and Pomponia had a long unhappy marriage and they constantly quarrelled. Pomponia was a woman of strong character. Their constant quarrelling greatly upset Cicero and he mentioned this in his letters to Atticus. Cicero tried to assist his sister-in-law and his brother to resolve their problems, but Cicero naturally supported his brother. When the younger Quintus Tullius Cicero grew up, he tried (encouraged by his uncles) to reconcile his parents, but was unsuccessful. Pomponia and the elder Quintus divorced in later 45 BC or early 44 BC. In December 43 BC, Cicero, Quintus, and Quintus minor were executed on the orders of

Triumvir In the Roman Republic, or were commissions of three men appointed for specific tasks. There were many tasks that commissions could be established to conduct, such as administer justice, mint coins, support religious tasks, or found colonies. M ...

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 ...

. As an act of decency, Antony handed over Philologus, a former slave and traitor to Cicero, to Pomponia. According to

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'', ...

, Pomponia punished Philologus for his treachery with terrible punishments, which included forcing him to cut off pieces of his own flesh, then roasting and eating them.Plutarc
''Cicero'' 49.3
/ref>

Pomponia, mother of Vipsania Agrippina

Pomponia Caecilia Attica, usually called Caecilia Attica (born 51 BC), was the daughter of

, the first wife of 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 mother of

. She was also the niece of the second Pomponia, sister-in-law of

Pomponia, wife of Aulus Plautius

Pomponia Graecina was a Roman woman who lived in the 1st century. She was the wife of Roman General

Aulus Plautius Aulus Plautius was a Roman politician and general of the mid-1st century. He began the Roman conquest of Britain in 43, and became the first governor of the new province, serving from 43 to 46. Career Little is known of Aulus Plautius's early ...

, a distant relative of

Julia Livia Julia Livia (AD 7–43) was the daughter of Drusus Julius Caesar and Livilla, and granddaughter of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. She was also a first cousin of the emperor Caligula, and niece of the emperor Claudius. Biography Early life Julia wa ...

(daughter of

Drusus Julius Caesar Drusus Julius Caesar (7 October – 14 September AD 23), also called Drusus the Younger, was the son of Emperor Tiberius, and heir to the Roman Empire following the death of his adoptive brother Germanicus in AD 19. He was born at Rome to a ...

) and granddaughter of Emperor

. Famous speculation associates her with early Christianity in Rome, as in the novel and film '' Quo Vadis?''.

Pomponia, Vestal Virgin under Caracalla

Pomponia Rufina was 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 ...

under the Emperor

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname Caracalla (; ), was Roman emperor from 198 to 217 AD, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father and then r ...

(reigned 211–217). Caracalla ordered her death, because she violated her vow of chastity.

Pomponia, daughter of Annia Aurelia Faustina

Pomponia Ummidia was the daughter of Annia Aurelia Faustina and a descendant of the Roman Emperor

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

and the wife of consul

Flavius Antiochianus Flavius Antiochianus (flourished 3rd century) was a prominent Roman politician during the reigns of the emperors Gallienus, Claudius Gothicus, Quintillus and Aurelian, in the period referred to as the Crisis of the Third Century in the Roman Empire ...

. For her sister-in-law Pomponia Gratidia and her niece Pomponia Bassa, see her brother's article Pomponius Bassus (consul 259 & 271).

References

{{Reflist Pomponii Ancient Roman prosopographical lists of women