Calpurnia | |
|---|---|
 Engraving by Hubertus Quellinus | |
| Born | c. 76 BC |
| Died | |
| Known for | The last wife of Julius Caesar |
| Spouse(s) | Julius Caesar (59–44 BC; his death) |
| Parent |
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Calpurnia was either the third or fourth wife of Julius Caesar, and the one to whom he was married at the time of his assassination. According to contemporary sources, she was a good and faithful wife, in spite of her husband's infidelity; and, forewarned of the attempt on his life, she endeavored in vain to prevent his murder. [1]
Born c. 76 BC, Calpurnia was the daughter of Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, consul in 58 BC. Her half-brother was Lucius Calpurnius Piso, who would become consul in 15 BC. [2]
Calpurnia married Julius Caesar late in 59 BC, during the latter's consulship. [1] [3] [4] [5] She was about seventeen years old, and was likely younger than her stepdaughter, Julia. About this time, Julia married (Pompey) Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, a former protégé of Sulla, who had been consul in 70 BC, and recently become one of Caesar's closest political allies. [lower-roman 1] [4]
Prior to their marriage, Caesar had been married either two or three times. In his childhood, Caesar had been betrothed to Cossutia, the daughter of a wealthy eques, [7] [8] although there is some uncertainty as to whether they were ever formally married. [lower-roman 2] According to Suetonius, he was obliged to break off their engagement when, at the age of sixteen, [lower-roman 3] he was nominated Flamen Dialis, a high-ranking priestly office whose holders had to be married by confarreatio, an ancient and solemn form of marriage that was open only to patricians. [8]
Caesar then married Cornelia, a woman of patrician rank and the daughter of Lucius Cornelius Cinna, at that time the most powerful man in Rome. By all accounts, their marriage was a happy one, and the product of their union was Julia, Caesar's only legitimate child. Following the downfall and death of Cinna and the ruin of his faction, the dictator Sulla commanded Caesar to divorce his rival's daughter, a demand that Caesar refused at great personal risk, for it nearly cost him his life. [8] [9] [10] Cornelia died in 69 or 68 BC, as her husband was preparing to set out for Spain.
On his return, Caesar married Pompeia, a granddaughter of Sulla. Their marriage ended in scandal. In 63 BC, Caesar had been elected Pontifex Maximus, receiving as his official residence a house on the Via Sacra. Here the sacred rites of the Bona Dea, from which all men were excluded, were celebrated in the winter of 62. But an ambitious young nobleman named Publius Claudius Pulcher entered the house disguised as a woman, ostensibly for the purpose of seducing Pompeia. His subsequent discovery shocked the Roman aristocracy, and rumors swirled about Pompeia's fidelity. [5] Caesar felt that he had no choice but to divorce Pompeia, not because he personally believed the rumors, but because the wife of the Pontifex Maximus had to be above suspicion. [lower-roman 4] [11] [12] [13]
Caesar then married Calpurnia. Her contemporaries describe Calpurnia as a humble, often shy woman. [14] By all accounts Calpurnia was a faithful and virtuous wife, and seems to have tolerated Caesar's affairs: [1] he was rumored to have seduced the wives of a number of prominent men, including both of his allies in the First Triumvirate; [15] and he had for some time been intimate with Servilia, a relationship that was an open secret at Rome. [15] It was rumored that Caesar was the father of Servilia's son, Marcus Junius Brutus, [16] although this is improbable on chronological grounds, [lower-roman 5] [17] and that Servilia attempted to interest Caesar in her daughter, Junia Tertia—who according to other rumors, was also Caesar's daughter. [lower-roman 6] [15] Caesar also carried on affairs with the Mauretanian queen, Eunoë, and most famously with Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt, who claimed that he was the father of her son, Ptolemy XV, better known as "Caesarion". [19] [20] No children resulted from Calpurnia's marriage to Caesar.
According to the Roman historians, Caesar's murder was foretold by a number of ill omens, as well as the Etruscan haruspex Spurinna, who warned him of great personal danger either on or by the Ides of March in 44 BC. [21] [22] [23] The night before his assassination, Calpurnia dreamed that Caesar had been wounded, and lay dying in her arms. In the morning, she begged him not to meet the senate, as he had planned, and moved by her distress and entreaties, he resolved not to go. [21] [22] [24] [23] [25] But Decimus Junius Brutus, one of Caesar's closest friends, whom he had recently appointed Praetor Peregrinus, and secretly one of the conspirators against him, came to the house and persuaded Caesar to ignore the omens, and go to the senate. [21] [26] [24] [27]
Following her husband's assassination, there is a story of her rushing out of her house in grief accompanied by several women and slaves. [28] Calpurnia delivered all of Caesar's personal papers, including his will and notes, along with his most precious possessions, to the consul Mark Antony, one of Caesar's most trusted allies, who had not been involved in the conspiracy. [29]
Calpurnia is peculiarly absent in Octavian propaganda, which has been regarded by historians as somewhat mysterious. [30] The only later attestation to her is an inscription by a freedwoman named Anthis which states "She was the wife of Caesar, the great divinity" which puts its dating to at least 42 BC when Caesar was deified. [28] [31]
There has been some speculation that Calpurnia may have stood as a model for the goddess Victory on coins struck by Caesar for his triumph after returning from Spain, but this is not generally accepted. [32] The goddess Venus on the aureus minted by Caesar for his fifth consulship has also been interpreted to have been modeled on Calpurnia. [33]
The Roman tribe Calpurnia was named in her honor. [34]
Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus was a general and politician of ancient Rome in the 1st century BC.
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Porcia, occasionally spelled Portia, especially in 18th-century English literature, was a Roman woman who lived in the 1st century BC. She was the daughter of Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis and his first wife Atilia. She is best known for being the second wife of Marcus Junius Brutus, the most famous of Julius Caesar's assassins, and appears primarily in the letters of Cicero.
Pompeia was the second or third wife of Julius Caesar.
The gens Scribonia was a plebeian family of ancient Rome. Members of this gens first appear in history at the time of the Second Punic War, but the first of the Scribonii to obtain the consulship was Gaius Scribonius Curio in 76 BC.
The gens Pompeia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, first appearing in history during the second century BC, and frequently occupying the highest offices of the Roman state from then until imperial times. The first of the Pompeii to obtain the consulship was Quintus Pompeius in 141 BC, but by far the most illustrious of the gens was Gnaeus Pompeius, surnamed Magnus, a distinguished general under the dictator Sulla, who became a member of the First Triumvirate, together with Caesar and Crassus. After the death of Crassus, the rivalry between Caesar and Pompeius led to the Civil War, one of the defining events of the final years of the Roman Republic.
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Cornelia was the first or second wife of Julius Caesar, and the mother of his only legitimate child, Julia. A daughter of Lucius Cornelius Cinna, Cornelia was related by birth or marriage to many of the most influential figures of the late Republic.
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The gens Caesetia was a minor plebeian family at ancient Rome. It is known from a small number of individuals living during the late Republic.
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; the first who obtained the consulship was Manius Pomponius Matho in 233 BC.
The career of Julius Caesar before his consulship in 59 BC was characterized by military adventurism and political persecution. Julius Caesar was born on 12 July 100 BC into a patrician family, the gens Julia, which claimed descent from Iulus, son of the legendary Trojan prince Aeneas, supposedly the son of the goddess Venus. His father died when he was just 16, leaving Caesar as the head of the household. His family status put him at odds with the Dictator Lucius Cornelius Sulla, who almost had him executed.
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