Livia Drusilla

[Mary The Quene]

Hey, i wanted to share my article about Livia for you guys. Enjoy!

Life of Livia Drusilla

Livia was born in the year 58 BC at 30 January. She was the daughter of Marcus Livius Drufus claudianus (He was a member of the patrcian family Claudii) by his wife Aufidia, Livia not only belonged to the Claudii gens but she also belonged to the Livii gens as her father had been adopted in the Livii family when he was yet a child . The diminutive Drusilla that has been often found in her name probably suggests she had an elder sister. The next time we hear of Livia is that her father married her in 43 BC to Tiberius Claudius Nero, her cousin. Both Livia's father and her husband sided with the assassins of Julius Caesar, Junius Brutus and Cassius Longinus. In the aftermath of the battle of Philippi, Livia's father commited suicide in his tent to prevent capture after the assassins got defeated by Octavian and Mark Antony, however Livia's husband escaped the battle and continued to fight Octavian now in service of Mark Antony.

In 42 BC Livia bore a son named Tiberius who would become emperor in the future. However soon afterwards Livia and her family were forced to flee Rome in order to avoid the repercussions of Octavian who formed a triumvirate with Mark Antony and Aemilius Lepidus. Many of those who were forced to flee from the newly formed triumvirate went to Sicily, home of Sextus Magnus, son of Pompey ''the great''. Despite the emnity he and his host shared for the triumvirs, Livia's husband did not feel welcomed and deceided to travel to Greece with Livia which was then in Mark Antony's sphere of influence. While in Greece, Livia and her son were the guests of Sparta, this city had been once under the protection of the Claudii family and Livia was doubly connected with that family, both by birth and marriage.

Livia and her young son were finally allowed to return to Rome with her husband only somewhere in 39 BC when a general peace had been established between Sextus Pompei and Octavian/Mark Antony on the other side. Before this time we know nothing of Livia's political views and therefore are impossible to guess what they might have been. Her father had committed suicide in the aftermath of the battle of Philippi and her husband had been forced into exile. No doubt she blamed Octavian for her misfortunes and those of her family. After returning to Rome Livia resumed her daily live befitting a woman of her rank as the wife of Tiberius Claudius Nero : looking after her household, supervising the work of her many slaves and caring for her son Tiberius. After such troubled times, this must have seemed a calmer routine and soon afterwards Livia became pregnant again.

Then something extraordinary happened, the cold blooded Octavian, whose previous marriages were purely arranged for political reasons fell madly in love with Livia, after Livia had been personally introduced to Octavian. Octavian was so irresistibly attracted to her that he repudiated his wife the very same day she gave birth to a daughter named Julia. In 38 BC while Livia was still pregnant, octavian asked Tiberius claudius Nero to surrender Livia to him so that he could marry her. Tiberius gave his full consent to the divorce and to Livia's remarriage. Tacitus suggests that Livia herself was not adverse to her new, extremely prestigious marriage. But there was a problem, a mere detail, and yet difficult to solve : Livia was pregnant and according to both law and custom a pregnant woman could not enter into a new marriage untill the child had been born into her legitimate husband's home. Thus livia and Octavian had to wait a while and according to a source Livia was at this stage six months in her pregnancy, thus the couple had to wait three more months to marry. Three months seemed to be to long for Octavian and as a pontifex, he consulted the pontificial college and asked if the marriage could take place inmediately. Once Octavian had obtained the permission from the college, despite the scandal caused by the more conservatives circles, the wedding was celebrated in Rome on September 17, 38 BC. Afterward Livia moved Tiberius claudius' home to the home of her new husband where she gave birth to her second son named Drusus.

Although their marriage has been often described to be a close and happy one, rare in roman society, it was also childless. At one point Livia lost a child by miscarriage and she never became pregnant again. This was unusual for a woman who had given her former husband two sons and thus Livia could be considered fertile. The lack of children, specifically, of sons, to guarantee the continuity of the fathers name did not lead in this case to divorce as was usual in Rome.

In the year of 35 BC Livia, togheter with her sister in law, Octavia, were honored in a way that was exceptional for Roman women. They were granted the authority to act in legal matters without the assistance of a guardian as only Vestal Virgins could do, and were allowed the right to be honored by statues. They were also decreed 'sacrosanctae', a privilege enjoyed by the tribunes of the plebs, which meant that no one could harm them physically or even touch or insult them. These honors placed Livia and Octavia well above all other Roman matrons. Gradually Livia's role in her husband's political dealings became decisive, though always under cover, since she was, afterall, a woman. She is said to be an obliging wife, always collaborating in her husband's intrigues, quite capable of plotting her own conspiracies. Octavian had his own advisors, but for the most important matters he usually consulted Livia.

According to Cassius Dio in the early years of 30 BC a portent occured - offering a good indication of Livia's real power over her husband. A white bird bearing a laurel twig was enfolded by an eagle in its bosom as if to protect it. The eagle took the bird into its care and planted the laurel twig, which grew into a tree, the leaves of which were used thenceforth by the thriumphant. According to Cassius Dio, the portent signified that Livia had enfolded Caesar's powers and that she would dominate him in everything. Significantly, the omen gave pleasure to Livia, while inspiring fear in others. Despite the powers hinted by this omen, Livia participated in Roman politics the only way roman woman could, operating from behind the scenes through the replies to Octavian's notes, influencing men's decisions, and not only her husband's. It would be a bad mistake to think her role was negligible.



After Mark Antony's suicide in the battle of Actium in 31 BC, Octavian had removed all obstacles to his power and henceforth ruled as Emperor, from 27 BC on, under the title of Augustus, now Augustus had the Roman empire firmly under his control. The senate and popular assemblies still existed but it seems unlikely that they would oppose the will of the princeps. Without going to the senate or much less the peoples assembly, but by receiving Augustus's written requests for advice and furnishing him with answers appropriate to her aims, Livia soon became more powerful than any woman had been before. However Augustus and Livia formed the role model for roman households. Despite their wealth and power, Augustus family continued to live modestly in their house on the palantine hill. Livia would set the pattern for the noble roman Matrona. She wore neither excessive jewelry or pretentious clothes, she took care of the household and her husband (making his clothes herself) always faithful and dedicated.

With Augustus being father of only one daughter (Julia the Elder), Livia revealed herself to be an ambitious mother and soon started to push her own sons Tiberius and Drufus into power. Drusus was a general in the Roman army and married Agustus favorite niece Antonia Minor and had three children, the popular general Germanicus, Livila and the future emperor Claudius. Livia's eldest son Tiberius would marry with Augustus daugther Julia the Elder in 11 BC and was later adopted by his stephfather in 4 AD as Augustus's heir.

In 23 BC when the nephew of Augustus died, many accused Livia was behind his death, and later Augustus's granddaughter Julia the Younger had been forced into exile as her husband Paulus plotted a revolt against Augustus, officialy Julia had been exiled because of adultery but modern scholars do not rule out Livia plotted against her and wanted her to be gone because she may have taken part in the planned revolt of Julia's husband paulus. Julia would die on the island were she was forced to exile due to Livia. In 9 BC however Livia had lost her youngest son Drusus who had been born in Augustus home just months after their marriage. Drusus had led the Roman army as far as the Elbe and had fallen ill in lands far away from Rome, in distant Germany. Livia's elder son Tiberius rushed to Drufus and was just in time to hear Drusus's last words. Altough it was winter both Livia and Augustus visited the body of Drusus in Ticinum and from there they accompanied his remains to Rome. Some statues were dedicated to Livia to console her for her loss. The death of Drusus had not diminished Livia's status as fertile and prolific Roman Matron in the public imagination.

Augustus died in 14 AD, according to some rumours coming from Tacitus and Cassius Dio Livia brought death over Augustus by poisoning fresh figs, although this seems to be unlikely. Augustus got deified by the senate shortly afterwards. In his will he left one third of his property to Livia and the other part to Tiberius. In his will he also adopted Livia in the Julian family and granted her the honorrific title of 'Augusta'. These dispositions permitted Livia to maintain her status and power after Augustus' death under the new name of Julia Augusta. Relations between Tiberius and Livia were sometimes far from ideal but it seemed that for a short time after Augustus death that relations had improved. It seems that Livia continued to yield enormous power and in 20 AD speaking up against Livia became treason and in 24 AD Tiberius granted his mother a seat among the vestal virgins. However due Livia's influence, Tiberius eventually became resentful of his mother political status, particulary the idea that it was Livia who had given the throne to Tiberius. Shortly afterwards he vetoed the unprecendented title of Mater patriae (mother of the fatherland) that the senate wanted to bestow upon her.
Some historians give as a reason for Tiberius' retirement his inability to endure Livia any longer.

In 22 AD when Livia fell ill, Tiberius hastened back to Rome in order to be with her but when she finally would die in 29 AD, Tiberius remained on the island of Capri and had send instead Caligula to deliver the final oration. After she died Tiberius would refuse her any titles that the senate wanted to bestow on her and cancelled the fulfillment of her will. It was not untill 13 years later in 42 AD during the reign of Claudius, that all her honors were restored and her deification finally had been completed. She was named Diva Augusta (the divine Augusta) and an elephant-drawn chariot her image to all public games. Furthermore during Claudius reign he build several staues in Livia's honor and several games were held to honor her and her husband Augustus

[Roma_Victrix]

Thank you Julia Domna for once again bringing us a bio on one of Rome's greatest women! Cheers.

[Diocle]

Thanks, for I had long forgotten all about Livia! She's an interesting character, her life is like a novel and also in this case a note of tragic sadness is present which adds life to her beautiful face sculpted in the marble.

[Antiokhos Euergetes]

Very good, it is always important to remember those important Roman woman. The roles they often played Roman society, the machinations behind the scenes or in some cases in full view. Nice work. Julia Maesa next?

[Mary The Quene]

Very good, it is always important to remember those important Roman woman. The roles they often played Roman society, the machinations behind the scenes or in some cases in full view. Nice work. Julia Maesa next?

Probably Agrippina Maior next and after that Agrippina Minor.

[Antiokhos Euergetes]

Looking forward to reading either choice

[Mary The Quene]

Looking forward to reading either choice

Thanks i'll try to write my next article next weekend but it could take longer due to school.


It is sad that Roman women are often overlooked by their male counterparts. Often when we think about Roman history we think about Emperors and generals only, i aim to bring those important women of Rome, who were often very powerful in politics, the attention they deserve.

[Antiokhos Euergetes]

Very true, much of my research of course involves emperors bars not to but i mostly study from the provincial cultural identity and material cultural studies. In both Roman and Hellenistic periods.