Galeria Lysistrate or Lysistrata (2nd-century) was the concubina of the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius. [1] [2]
She was originally the slave of Pius's wife, Faustina the Elder and later manumitted. She became the acknowledged companion of Antoninus Pius after the death of Faustina in 138. Emperors often refrained from taking a second wife so as not to complicate issues of inheritance but committed to monogamous concubinage with a woman of markedly lower social status as an alternative to marriage. [3] Lysistrata reportedly had a great deal of influence during the later reign of Pius.
Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius was Roman emperor from AD 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty.
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors and the last emperor of the Pax Romana, an age of relative peace, calm, and stability for the Roman Empire lasting from 27 BC to 180 AD. He served as Roman consul in 140, 145, and 161.
Adoption in ancient Rome was primarily a legal procedure for transferring paternal power (potestas) to ensure succession in the male line within Roman patriarchal society. The Latin word adoptio refers broadly to "adoption", which was of two kinds: the transferral of potestas over a free person from one head of household to another; and adrogatio, when the adoptee had been acting sui iuris as a legal adult but assumed the status of unemancipated son for purposes of inheritance. Adoptio was a longstanding part of Roman family law pertaining to paternal responsibilities such as perpetuating the value of the family estate and ancestral rites (sacra), which were concerns of the Roman property-owning classes and cultural elite. During the Principate, adoption became a way to ensure imperial succession.
Lucius Aelius Caesar was the father of Emperor Lucius Verus. In 136, he was adopted by the reigning emperor Hadrian and named heir to the throne. He died before Hadrian and thus never became emperor. After Lucius' death, he was replaced by Antoninus Pius, who succeeded Hadrian the same year.
Faustina may refer to:
Annia Galeria Faustina the Elder, sometimes referred to as Faustina I or Faustina Major, was a Roman empress and wife of the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius. The emperor Marcus Aurelius was her nephew and later became her adopted son, along with Emperor Lucius Verus. She died early in the principate of Antoninus Pius, but continued to be prominently commemorated as a diva, posthumously playing a prominent symbolic role during his reign.
Annia Galeria Faustina the Younger was Roman empress from 161 to her death as the wife of emperor Marcus Aurelius, her maternal cousin. Faustina was the youngest child of emperor Antoninus Pius and empress Faustina the Elder. She was held in high esteem by soldiers and her husband as Augusta and Mater Castrorum and was given divine honours after her death.
Annia Aurelia Galeria Lucilla or Lucilla was the second daughter of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and Roman empress Faustina the Younger. She was the wife of her father's co-ruler and adoptive brother Lucius Verus and an elder sister to later emperor Commodus. Commodus ordered Lucilla's execution after a failed assassination and coup attempt when she was about 33 years old.
The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina is an ancient Roman temple in Rome, which was later converted into a Roman Catholic church, the Chiesa di San Lorenzo in Miranda or simply "San Lorenzo in Miranda". It is located in the Forum Romanum, on the Via Sacra, opposite the Regia.
The Column of Antoninus Pius is a Roman honorific column in Rome, Italy, devoted in AD 161 to the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius, in the Campus Martius, on the edge of the hill now known as Monte Citorio, and set up by his successors, the co-emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.
Mindia Matidia, also known as Matidia Minor was a Roman imperial noblewoman in the early second century AD. She was related to several ancient Roman Emperors, as a great-niece to Trajan and half-sister to Vibia Sabina, who was the wife of Hadrian. The modern village of Matigge, Italy, is perhaps named after her.
Annia Aurelia Fadilla, most commonly known as Fadilla was one of the daughters born to Marcus Aurelius and his wife Faustina the Younger. She was a sister to Lucilla and Commodus. Fadilla was named in honor of her late maternal aunt Aurelia Fadilla. The cognomen Fadilla, was the cognomen of the mother and a half-sister of Antoninus Pius. Her maternal grandparents were Antoninus Pius and Faustina the Elder and her paternal grandparents were Domitia Lucilla and praetor Marcus Annius Verus.
Annia Galeria Aurelia Faustina was a daughter of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and his wife, Faustina the Younger. Her sister was empress Lucilla and her younger brother was Commodus. Her maternal grandparents were Antoninus Pius and Faustina the Elder, while her paternal grandparents were Domitia Lucilla and the praetor Marcus Annius Verus. She was born and raised in Rome.
Annia Cornificia Faustina Minor was a daughter of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and his wife, Faustina the Younger. She was sister to Lucilla and Commodus. Her maternal grandparents were Antoninus Pius and Faustina the Elder, and her paternal grandparents were Domitia Lucilla and praetor Marcus Annius Verus. She was named in honor of her late paternal aunt Annia Cornificia Faustina.
Appia Annia Regilla, full name Appia Annia Regilla Atilia Caucidia Tertulla, was a wealthy, aristocratic and influential Roman woman, who was a distant relative of several Roman emperors and empresses. She was the wife of the prominent Greek Herodes Atticus.
Avidia was a well-connected noble Roman woman. She is among the lesser known members of the ruling Nerva–Antonine dynasty of the Roman Empire.
Ceionia Fabia was a noble Roman woman and a member of the ruling Nerva–Antonine dynasty of the Roman Empire.
Vibia Aurelia Sabina was the youngest daughter and child born to Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Roman Empress Faustina the Younger. She was a sister to Roman Empress Lucilla and Roman Emperor Commodus. Her maternal grandparents were Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius and Roman Empress Faustina the Elder and her paternal grandparents were Domitia Lucilla and praetor Marcus Annius Verus.
Annia Fundania Faustina was a noble Roman woman who lived in the Roman Empire during the 2nd century AD. She was the paternal cousin of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and his sister Annia Cornificia Faustina.
Concubinatus was a monogamous union, intended to be of some duration but not necessarily permanent, that was socially and to some extent legally recognized as an alternative to marriage in the Roman Empire. Concubinage became a legal concern in response to Augustan moral legislation that criminalized adultery and imposed penalties on some consensual sexual behaviors outside marriage.