Pomponia

Last updated

Pomponia is the female name for the Pomponia gens of Ancient Rome. This family was one of the oldest families in Rome. Various women bearing this name lived during the Middle and Late Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. The oldest known Pomponia was mother of a famous Roman general; the second and third were related to each other. The relationship between these women, if any, is not known. They descended from Pomponius, the first son of Numa Pompilius, the second King of Rome.

Contents

Pomponia, mother of Scipio Africanus

Pomponia (fl. 212 BC) was a Roman woman who lived in the 3rd century BC. She came from a Roman noble family who were of plebeian status, and were prominent knights or equestrians. She was the daughter of the consul Manius Pomponius Matho, consul in 233 BC [1] (who appears to have died in 211 BC), and was married possibly around 237 BC to Publius Cornelius Scipio, second surviving son of the Roman censor Lucius Cornelius Scipio of a prominent patrician family. Her husband later became a general and statesman during the Second Punic War and was killed in battle in Hispania in 211 BC. By her marriage, Pomponia was the mother of at least two sons, the famous Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Major (236 BC-184 BC/183 BC) and Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus (fl. 183 BC). Livy's brief mention of Pomponia recounts a legend that Scipio was actually a son of Jove after Pomponia had a sexual union with a snake. [2]

Pomponia, sister of Titus Pomponius Atticus

Pomponia was a Roman woman who lived in the first century BC and was an only sister to Cicero’s friend the Roman Knight Titus Pomponius Atticus. She was an aunt to Caecilia Attica and a great-aunt to Vipsania Agrippina (first wife to future Roman Emperor Tiberius).

Cicero through his effective mediation was able to arrange for Pomponia to marry his younger brother Quintus Tullius Cicero. Quintus and Pomponia married in 68 BC. Pomponia bore Quintus a son of the same name.

Quintus and Pomponia had a long unhappy marriage and they constantly quarrelled. Pomponia was a woman of strong character. Their constant quarrelling greatly upset Cicero and he mentioned this in his letters to Atticus. Cicero tried to assist his sister-in-law and his brother to resolve their problems, but Cicero naturally supported his brother.

When the younger Quintus Tullius Cicero grew up, he tried (encouraged by his uncles) to reconcile his parents, but was unsuccessful. Pomponia and the elder Quintus divorced in later 45 BC or early 44 BC.

In December 43 BC, Cicero, Quintus, and Quintus minor were executed on the orders of Roman Triumvir Mark Antony.

As an act of decency, Antony handed over Philologus, a former slave and traitor to Cicero, to Pomponia. According to Plutarch, Pomponia punished Philologus for his treachery with terrible punishments, which included forcing him to cut off pieces of his own flesh, then roasting and eating them. [3] [4]

Pomponia, mother of Vipsania Agrippina

Pomponia Caecilia Attica, usually called Caecilia Attica (born 51 BC), was the daughter of Titus Pomponius Atticus, the first wife of general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, and mother of Vipsania Agrippina. She was also the niece of the second Pomponia, sister-in-law of Cicero.

Pomponia, wife of Aulus Plautius

Pomponia Graecina was a Roman woman who lived in the 1st century. She was the wife of Roman General Aulus Plautius, a distant relative of Julia Livia (daughter of Drusus Julius Caesar) and granddaughter of Emperor Tiberius. Famous speculation associates her with early Christianity in Rome, as in the novel and film Quo Vadis? .

Pomponia, Vestal Virgin under Caracalla

Pomponia Rufina was a Vestal Virgin under the Emperor Caracalla (reigned 211–217). Caracalla ordered her death, because she violated her vow of chastity. [5]

Pomponia, daughter of Annia Aurelia Faustina

Pomponia Ummidia was the daughter of Annia Aurelia Faustina and a descendant of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and the wife of consul Flavius Antiochianus. For her sister-in-law Pomponia Gratidia and her niece Pomponia Bassa, see her brother's article Pomponius Bassus (consul 259 & 271).

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa</span> Roman general, statesman and architect

Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was a Roman general, statesman, and architect who was a close friend, son-in-law, and lieutenant to the Roman emperor Augustus. He was responsible for the construction of some of the most notable buildings in history, including the original Pantheon, and is well known for his important military victories, notably the Battle of Actium in 31 BC against the forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra.

Agrippina is an ancient Roman cognomen and a feminine given name. People with either the cognomen or the given name include:

Titus Pomponius Atticus was a Roman editor, banker, and patron of letters, best known for his correspondence and close friendship with prominent Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero. Atticus was from a wealthy Roman family of the equestrian class and from the Pomponia gens.

Quintus Tullius Cicero was a Roman statesman and military leader, as well as the younger brother of Cicero. He was born into a family of the equestrian order, as the son of a wealthy landowner in Arpinum, some 100 kilometres (62 mi) south-east of Rome.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vipsania Agrippina</span> First wife of Emperor Tiberius (36 BC – 20 AD))

Vipsania Agrippina was the first wife of the Emperor Tiberius. She was the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Pomponia Caecilia Attica, thus a granddaughter of Titus Pomponius Atticus, the best friend of Cicero.

Attica was the daughter of Cicero's Epicurean friend Titus Pomponius Atticus. She was also the first wife of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, close friend of the emperor Augustus.

Pomponia Graecina was a noble Roman woman of the 1st century who was related to the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was the wife of Aulus Plautius, the general who led the Roman conquest of Britain in 43 AD, and was renowned as one of the few people who dared to publicly mourn the death of a kinswoman killed by the Imperial family. It has been speculated that she was an early Christian. She is identified by some as Lucina or Lucy, a saint honoured by the Roman Catholic Church.

GaiusPomponius Graecinus was a Roman politician who was suffect consul in AD 16 as the colleague of Gaius Vibius Rufus. He was probably a novus homo raised to the Senate by Augustus. He was a friend and patron of the poet Ovid, who addressed three letters of his Epistulae ex Ponto to him around AD 10.

Vistilia was a Roman matron of the gens Vistilia known by her contemporaries for having seven children by six different husbands; Pliny the Elder was more impressed by the fact most of her pregnancies were remarkably brief. Five of her sons became consuls, her daughter Milonia Caesonia became Roman empress through her marriage to Caligula, and her granddaughter Domitia Longina became empress through her marriage with Domitian. Due to her fertility Vistilia became a byword for prodigious fecundity in antiquity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sempronia gens</span> Ancient Roman family

The gens Sempronia was one of the most ancient and noble houses of ancient Rome. Although the oldest branch of this gens was patrician, with Aulus Sempronius Atratinus obtaining the consulship in 497 BC, the thirteenth year of the Republic, but from the time of the Samnite Wars onward, most if not all of the Sempronii appearing in history were plebeians. Although the Sempronii were illustrious under the Republic, few of them attained any importance or notice in imperial times.

Manius Pomponius Matho was a Roman general who was elected consul for the year 233 BC with Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus. He was also the maternal grandfather of the general and statesman Scipio Africanus.

Titus Pomponius was a member of the Gens Pomponia and a direct descendant in male line of Pomponius, the first son of Numa Pompilius, the second King of Rome, and came from an old but not strictly noble Roman family of the equestrian class. He was the owner of an excellent library in his house at the Appian Way, lord of a great fortune, partner of many companies of publicans and of important companies of fishing and conserves in Gades, in Hispania, and of great properties in Illyricum.

Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus was a politically active member of the Roman upper class. He was praetor in 74 BC and pontifex from 73 BC until his death. He was consul in 69 BC along with Quintus Hortensius Hortalus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Personal life of Cicero</span> Marcus Tullius Cicero

The personal life of Marcus Tullius Cicero provided the underpinnings of one of the most significant politicians of the Roman Republic. Cicero, a Roman statesman, lawyer, political theorist, philosopher, and Roman constitutionalist, played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. A contemporary of Julius Caesar, Cicero is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caecilia gens</span> Ancient Roman family

The gens Caecilia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are mentioned in history as early as the fifth century BC, but the first of the Caecilii who obtained the consulship was Lucius Caecilius Metellus Denter, in 284 BC. The Caecilii Metelli were one of the most powerful families of the late Republic, from the decades before the First Punic War down to the time of Augustus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pomponia gens</span> Ancient Roman family

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 gens Gellia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome, where they settled after the Second Punic War. The first of the Gellii to obtain the consulship was Lucius Gellius Poplicola, in 72 BC, but the most famous member of this gens is probably the grammarian Aulus Gellius, who flourished during the second century AD.

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 orator Quintus Haterius and was likely the daughter of Roman general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and his first wife Pomponia Caecilia Attica.

References

  1. "Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, page 972 (V. 2)". Archived from the original on 2006-07-20. Retrieved 2007-08-03.
  2. [Liv.xxvi, 19.]
  3. http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/2826.html
  4. Plutarch – Cicero
  5. http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/2826.html