Antonia the Elder | |
---|---|
Born | August/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 |
Roman imperial dynasties | ||
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Julio-Claudian dynasty | ||
Chronology | ||
27 BC – AD 14 | ||
AD 14–37 | ||
AD 37–41 | ||
AD 41–54 | ||
AD 54–68 | ||
| ||
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.
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.
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]
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 allegedly her husband Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, so identified in 1903 by Alfred von Domaszewski. [5] However, the only son of Antonia and Ahenobarbus was born in 1 BC, which is after the Ara Pacis was completed and inaugurated. This means the boy on the frieze cannot be the infamous Gnaeus (father of Nero). Sir Ronald Syme has argued the two children are actually a lost elder son Lucius and another unknown sister. [6] [7] In reality, the entire family seems to be another family, probably the family of one of Augustus's other three nieces. We know a lot about the children born and the children that did not survive in the imperial family. Gnaeus was born in 1 BC and had two older sisters. No surviving source mentions older siblings who died in childhood, whereas there are other branches of the imperial family that had exactly one son and one daughter between 21-15 BC.
This article concerns the period 19 BC – 10 BC.
Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus was a general and politician of ancient Rome in the 1st century BC.
Domitia Lepida was a Roman aristocrat, related to the imperial family. She was mother of Valeria Messalina, wife of the Emperor Claudius. Lepida was a beautiful and influential figure. Like her sister, she was also very wealthy. She had holdings in Calabria and owned the praedia Lepidiana.
Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus was a member of the imperial Julio-Claudian dynasty of Ancient Rome. Domitius was the son of Antonia Major. He married Agrippina the Younger and became the father of the emperor Nero.
Domitia was the oldest child of Antonia Major and Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, and the oldest granddaughter to triumvir Mark Antony by Octavia Minor, a great-niece of the Roman Emperor Augustus, first cousin once removed to the Emperor Caligula, first cousin to the Emperor Claudius, maternal aunt to the Empress Valeria Messalina, and paternal aunt to Emperor Nero.
Aemilia Lepida is a Latin feminine given name that was given to the daughters of various Aemilius Lepiduses, men belonging to the Lepidus branch of the Aemilia gens (family) that was founded by the Marcus Aemilius Lepidus who served as consul in 285 BC. The Aemila Lepidas who appear in Roman historians were principally known for their engagements and marriages, with those in the late Republic and early Empire related to the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
Gaius Sallustius Passienus Crispus was a prominent figure in the Roman Empire during the first century. He held the consulship twice, and was stepfather of the future emperor Nero.
Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus was the son of consul Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Aemilia Lepida. His mother was a paternal relative of the triumvir Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. His paternal grandmother was Porcia. Ahenobarbus married Antonia Major and through his son with her he became the grandfather of emperor Nero.
Octavia the Younger was the elder sister of the first Roman emperor, Augustus, the half-sister of Octavia the Elder, and the fourth wife of Mark Antony. She was also the great-grandmother of the Emperor Caligula and Empress Agrippina the Younger, maternal grandmother of the Emperor Claudius, and paternal great-grandmother and maternal great-great-grandmother of the Emperor Nero.
Octavia the Elder was the daughter of the Roman governor and senator Gaius Octavius by his first wife, Ancharia. She was the elder half-sister to Octavia the Younger and Roman Emperor Augustus.
Faustus Cornelius Sulla was a Roman senator who lived during the reign of the emperor Tiberius. He was suffect consul in AD 31 with Sextus Tedius Valerius Catullus as his colleague. Faustus was the son of Sulla Felix, a member of the Arval Brethren who died in AD 21, thus a direct descendant of the dictator Sulla. His mother was Sextia and his brother was Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix.
Lucius Manlius Torquatus was a consul of the Roman Republic in 65 BC, elected after the condemnation of Publius Cornelius Sulla and Publius Autronius Paetus.
Claudia Marcella Minor (PIR2 C 1103, born some time before 39 BC) was a niece of the first Roman emperor Augustus. She was the second surviving daughter of the emperor's sister Octavia the Younger and her first husband Gaius Claudius Marcellus. Marcella had many children by several husbands, and through her son Marcus Valerius Messalla Barbatus she became the grandmother of the empress Messalina.
Marcus Junius Silanus Torquatus was a Roman senator. He was consul in AD 19, with Lucius Norbanus Balbus as his colleague.
The gens Domitia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. The first of the gens to achieve prominence was Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus, consul in 332 BC. His son, Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus Maximus, was consul in 283, and the first plebeian censor. The family produced several distinguished generals, and towards the end of the Republic, the Domitii were looked upon as one of the most illustrious gentes.
Claudia Pulchra (14 BC – AD 26) (PIR2 C 1116) was a Patrician woman of Ancient Rome who lived during the reigns of the Roman emperors Augustus and Tiberius.
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix was a Roman senator of the first century AD. He was a consul ordinarius in AD 33 as the colleague of Galba, the future emperor. Felix was the son of Sulla Felix, a member of the Arval Brethren who died in AD 21, thus a direct descendant of the dictator Sulla. His mother was Sextia and his older brother was Faustus Cornelius Sulla.
Vipsania was an ancient Roman noblewoman of the first century BC. She was married to the politician Publius Quinctilius Varus and was a daughter of Roman general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and his second wife Claudia Marcella Major.
Vipsania was an ancient Roman noblewoman of the first century BC. She was married to the politician Marcus Aemilius Lepidus and was likely the daughter of Roman general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and his second wife Claudia Marcella Major.
Vipsania was an ancient Roman noblewoman of the first century BC. She was married to the orator Quintus Haterius and was likely the daughter of Roman general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and his first wife Pomponia Caecilia Attica.