Antonia the Elder

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Antonia the Elder
Female portrait Musei Capitolini MC922.jpg
Bust believed to be Antonia Major
BornAugust/September 39 BC
Athens, Greece
Spouse Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus
Issue Domitia
Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus
Domitia Lepida Major
Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus
Domitia Lepida Minor
House Julio-Claudian dynasty
Father Mark Antony
Mother Octavia the Younger
Antonia from Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum. The inscription means: "Antonia Major, Emperor Nero's grandmother." Antonia Major.jpg
Antonia from Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum . The inscription means: "Antonia Major, Emperor Nero's grandmother."

Antonia the Elder [lower-alpha 1] (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 became the paternal grandmother of the emperor Nero.

Contents

Biography

Antonia was born in Athens, Greece, and after 36 BC she, her siblings, and her mother were brought to Rome. She was raised by her mother, her uncle, and her aunt Livia Drusilla. According to Cassius Dio, after her father died Augustus allowed her and her younger sister, Antonia Minor, to benefit from their father's estate in Rome. Although little is known of her, Antonia was held in high regard like her sister Antonia Minor, the mother of the emperor Claudius, who was celebrated for her beauty and virtue.

Issue

Around 23 BC Antonia married the consul Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. Three of their children are known for certain:

It is also likely that they had another son named Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (born between 20 and 17 BC), and possibly also a third daughter (born around 23 BC). [2] [3] Syme thinks its possible that the daughter may have lived to marry and produce children, but probably died before the reign of Caligula. [4]

Cultural depictions

Many scholars think the Ara Pacis (an altar from the Augustan Era), displays Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and his elder sister. The woman behind Domitia and Domitius is allegedly their mother Antonia Major and the man next to Antonia Major is her husband Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. Ronald Syme has argued the two children are actually the elder son Lucius and another unknown sister. [5] [6]

Notes

  1. Also known as Antonia Major or Latin: Antonia Maior. [1]

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References

  1. PIR2 A 884.
  2. Syme, Ronald (1989). The Augustan Aristocracy (illustrated and revised ed.). Clarendon Press. pp. 155–156. ISBN   9780198147312.
  3. Syme, Ronald (1989). The Augustan Aristocracy (illustrated and revised ed.). Clarendon Press. p. 167. ISBN   9780198147312.
  4. Syme, Ronald (1989). The Augustan Aristocracy (illustrated and revised ed.). Clarendon Press. p. 164. ISBN   9780198147312.
  5. Syme, Ronald (1989). The Augustan Aristocracy (illustrated and revised ed.). Clarendon Press. p. 166. ISBN   9780198147312.
  6. Pollini, John (1987). The Portraiture of Gaius and Lucius Caesar. Fordham University Press. p. 26. ISBN   9780823211272.

Sources