Arria the Younger

Last updated

Arria was a woman in ancient Rome of a prestigious family notable in political affairs -- though often on the bad side of the emperor -- throughout the first century CE.

She was a relative of the poet Persius. Her father, Aulus Caecina Paetus, was ordered by the emperor Claudius to commit suicide for his part in a rebellion, and her mother, also named Arria, was the subject of a notable anecdote about the affair in the letters of Pliny the Younger. Her mother later joined her husband in suicide. [1] [2]

She married Publius Clodius Thrasea Paetus. Together they had a daughter, named Fannia, who married the philosopher and magistrate Helvidius Priscus.

After Thrasea was sentenced to death by the emperor Nero in 67 CE, Arria wanted to follow her mother's example and prepared to die with him, but Thrasea forced her to stay alive to take care of their daughter. [3]

Afterwards, mother and daughter left Rome with Priscus, who had been accused with Thrasea, but banished instead of condemned, though they returned in the year 68 when Nero was replaced with emperor Galba. In the year 75, Priscus was again banished by the emperor Vespasian, and Arria and Fannia again went with him, and again the trio returned after the banishing emperor died.

In 93, the emperor Domitian sentenced Arulenus Rusticus to death for praising Thrasea, and Domitian banished Arria and Fannia once more, ostensibly because they had commissioned a memoir in praise of Helvidius Priscus. Domitian also ordered the execution of the younger Helvidius Priscus, Fannia's stepson. Once more, the women outlived the emperor, and they returned from exile in 96, after Domitian's death. [2] [4]

It is unclear when exactly Arria died, but it was before Fannia.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arria</span> 1st-century Roman woman

Arria was a woman in ancient Rome. Her husband, Caecina Paetus, was ordered by the emperor Claudius to commit suicide for his part in a rebellion but was not capable of forcing himself to do so. Arria wrenched the dagger from him and stabbed herself, then returned it to her husband, telling him that it didn't hurt. Her story was recorded in the letters of Pliny the Younger, who obtained his information from Arria's granddaughter, Fannia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Publius Clodius Thrasea Paetus</span> 1st century AD Roman senator

Publius Clodius Thrasea Paetus, Roman senator, who lived in the 1st century AD. Notable for his principled opposition to the emperor Nero and his interest in Stoicism, he was the husband of Arria, who was the daughter of A. Caecina Paetus and the elder Arria, father-in-law of Helvidius Priscus, and a friend and relative by marriage of the poet Persius. Thrasea was the most prominent member of the political faction known today as the Stoic Opposition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo</span> Roman general (c. AD 7 - 67)

Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo was a popular Roman general, brother-in-law of the emperor Caligula and father-in-law of Domitian. The emperor Nero, highly fearful of Corbulo's reputation, ordered him to commit suicide, which the general carried out faithfully, exclaiming "Axios", meaning "I am worthy", and fell on his own sword.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domitia Longina</span> Wife of the Roman emperor Domitian (c. AD 53/55 – c. 126/130)

Domitia Longina was a Roman empress and wife to the Roman emperor Domitian. She was the youngest daughter of the general and consul Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo. Domitia divorced her first husband, Lucius Aelius Lamia Plautius Aelianus in order to marry Domitian in AD 71. The marriage produced only one son, whose early death is believed to have been the cause of a temporary rift between Domitia and her husband in 83. She became the empress upon Domitian's accession in 81, and remained so until his assassination in 96. She is believed to have died sometime between AD 126 and 130.

Helvidius Priscus, Stoic philosopher and statesman, lived during the reigns of Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius and Vespasian.

When Vespasian sent for Helvidius Priscus and commanded him not to go into the senate, he replied, "It is in your power not to allow me to be a member of the senate, but so long as I am, I must go in." "Well, go in then," says the emperor, "but say nothing." "Do not ask my opinion, and I will be silent." "But I must ask your opinion." "And I must say what I think right." "But if you do, I shall put you to death." "When then did I tell you that I am immortal? You will do your part, and I will do mine: it is your part to kill; it is mine to die, but not in fear: yours to banish me; mine to depart without sorrow." Epictetus, Discourses, 1.2.19–21

Two noblemen, an uncle and nephew, who shared the name Lucius Junius Silanus Torquatus and were descendants of the Roman Emperor Augustus, lived during the 1st century AD.

Titus Avidius Quietus was a Roman senator active during the reigns of the emperors Domitian, Nerva and Trajan. The offices he held included suffect consul in AD 93 and governor of Roman Britain around 98.

The Light Bearer is a 1994 historical novel by Donna Gillespie set in first century Rome, during the reigns of the Emperors Nero and Domitian. The novel centers upon three historical events: the Emperor Domitian’s war with the Germanic Chattian tribe in 83 A.D.; the inauguration of the Colosseum, or Amphitheatrum Flavium; and the assassination of Domitian. In dramatizing the assassination, the author follows the details given by first-century Roman historian Suetonius.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aulus Caecina Paetus</span> 1st century AD Roman senator and consul

Aulus Caecina Paetus was a Roman senator, who was condemned to death for his role in the revolt of Lucius Arruntius Camillus Scribonianus against the emperor Claudius. He was suffect consul in the nundinium of September to December 37 with Gaius Caninius Rebilus as his colleague.

<i>The Roman Actor</i>

The Roman Actor is a Caroline era stage play, a tragedy written by Philip Massinger. It was first performed in 1626, and first published in 1629. A number of critics have agreed with its author, and judged it one of Massinger's best plays.

Fannia was a woman of ancient Rome, notable as the granddaughter of Arria Major and daughter of Arria the Younger.

Quintus Junius Arulenus Rusticus was a Roman Senator and a friend and follower of Thrasea Paetus, and like him an ardent admirer of Stoic philosophy. Arulenus Rusticus attained a suffect consulship in the nundinium of September to December 92 with Gaius Julius Silanus as his colleague. He was one of a group of Stoics who opposed the perceived tyranny and autocratic tendencies of certain emperors, known today as the Stoic Opposition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tacitus</span> Roman historian and senator (c. 56 - c. 120)

Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus, was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars.

Titus Clodius Eprius Marcellus was a Roman senator, twice consul, best known for his prosecution of the Stoic senator Thrasea Paetus and his bitter quarrel with Helvidius Priscus. Eprius was also notorious for his ability to ingratiate himself with the reigning Emperors – especially Nero and Vespasian – and his hostility to any senatorial opposition, but in the last year of Vespasian, in circumstances that remain obscure, he was accused of treason and committed suicide.

Herennius Senecio was among the Stoic Opposition to the emperor Domitian, under whose rule he was executed. He was from Baetica in Roman Spain. He was the author of a laudatory biography of the Stoic martyr Helvidius Priscus.

Cossutianus Capito was a Roman senator and delator, often acting on behalf of the contemporary Roman emperor during the Principate. Tacitus offers a hostile portrait of Capito in his Annales, describing him as a "man stained with much wickedness", and as having "a heart eager for the worst wickedness".

Publius Rufus Anteius was a politician of ancient Rome of the 1st century CE.

The gens Helvidia was a plebeian family at Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned in the final decades of the Republic. A century later, the Helvidii distinguished themselves by what has been called their "earnest, but fruitless, patriotism."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stoic Opposition</span> 1st-century Roman Stoic philosophers opposed to the autocratic rule of certain emperors

The Stoic Opposition is the name given to a group of Stoic philosophers who actively opposed the autocratic rule of certain emperors in the 1st-century, particularly Nero and Domitian. Most prominent among them was Thrasea Paetus, an influential Roman senator executed by Nero. They were held in high regard by the later Stoics Epictetus and Marcus Aurelius. Thrasea, Rubellius Plautus and Barea Soranus were reputedly students of the famous Stoic teacher Musonius Rufus and as all three were executed by Nero they became known collectively as the Stoic martyrs.

Atria Galla was a woman of ancient Rome related to various imperial intrigues by her husband, and reputed as "beautiful but low-born". She was first the wife of Domitius Silus but eventually left him for his friend Gaius Calpurnius Piso, whom she later became the second wife of. She may have been the mother of Piso's son, Calpurnius Piso Galerianus, though he also may have been adopted.

References

  1. Tacitus, Annals 16.34
  2. 1 2 Lightman, Benjamin; Lightman, Marjorie (2008). "Arria". A to Z of Ancient Greek and Roman Women. Facts on File. pp. 41–42. ISBN   9781438107943 . Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  3. Strunk, Tom (2017). History After Liberty: Tacitus on Tyrants, Sycophants, and Republicans. University of Michigan Press. p. 121. ISBN   9780472130207 . Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  4. Davis, Henry (2018). Creating Christianity - A Weapon Of Ancient Rome. Independent Publishing Network. ISBN   9781789265583 . Retrieved 2023-05-02.

PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Smith, William (1870). "Arria (2)". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology . Vol. 1. p. 350.