On This Day In Roman History, January 30
Livia Drusilla, the daughter of Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus, is born on January 30, 59 or 58 BCE. She is most famous for her marriage to Octavian, but her earlier life was still filled with interesting political movement and other marriages. Her first marriage was to Tiberius Claudius Nero, who actually fought against Octavian during that civil war. Nero would flee with Livia for three years following the conclusions of the civil war, and eventually return from hiding in Achaea. Upon returning to Rome, Octavian would later say he fell in love with Livia instantly. His actions reflected this and he romantically perused Livia nearly immediately upon meeting her. This was somewhat concerning to contemporaries, and can be viewed the same way today, due to the fact that Octavian was currently married to Scribonia and Livia was currently married to the mentioned Nero. Whether or not Nero was convinced or forced to relinquish his 6-month pregnant wife to Octavian is a matter of debate, but I feel it safe to assume the latter.
Did you know?
Livia is the first non-mythical woman to appear on a Roman provincial coin, doing so while still alive in 16 BCE. A series of these coins allow historians to see the evolution of the "ideal Roman woman" image, portraying the virtues Pietas and Concordia. This would later define other imperial women's image they wished to convey in the form of "honorable mothers and wives of Rome". It is also interesting to note that these series of coins allow us to see the style of woman, both in terms of hair and clothing, for the Roman elite of this time.
Pictured: Livia Drusilla, wife of Emperor August. Made from Basalt, Roman artwork, 31 BCE - via Wikimedia Commons.
Livia's personality and the cult that followed it described her as having "proud and queenly attributes." Dio quotes her as saying:
"Once, when some naked men met her and were to be put to death in consequence, she saved their lives by saying that to a chaste woman such men are in no way different from statues. When someone asked her how she had obtained such a commanding influence over Augustus, she answered that it was by being scrupulously chaste herself, doing gladly whatever pleased him, not meddling with any of his affairs, and, in particular, by pretending neither to hear nor to notice the favourites of his passion."
Opinion
Welcome to my daily opinion! First of all, I am posting this blog on the wrong day (1/31/17), hopefully that doesn't screw up anyone looking for this date via the side-bar. My opinion today is that Livia lives one of the most interesting lives of any recorded Roman woman, period. She lived to the age of 87, which was pretty unheard of for the time. I found it fascinating to explore both the cultural and fashion statements she was making on coins, and what effect this must have had on contemporary woman trying to emulate the elite and powerful. These coins were basically the first glimpse into contemporary woman's fashion for others in the Empire, and it probably had a remarkable effect on woman's hair styles.
Sources
Cocceianus, C. D., & Duckworth, H. T. (1916). A commentary on the fifty-third book of Dio Cassius' Roman history. Toronto: University of Toronto Library.
Fraschetti, A. (2001). Roman women. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Kleiner, D. E., & Matheson, S. B. (2000). I, Claudia II: women in Roman art and society. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Further Reading:
Also on this day:
Special Thanks: Michael Houghan
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