Antoninian Women Flashcards
(27 cards)
Name the 3 Antonines we looked at in this course:
Antoninus Pius
Marcus Aurelius
Commodus
When did Antoninus Pius rule?
138-161 CE
When did Marcus Aurelius rule?
161 - 180 CE
When did Commodus rule?
180 - 193 CE
What are the literary sources for the Antonines and why are they problematic?
Cassius Dio - but missing for Antoninus Pius
Herodian - does not include Antoninus Pius; thinks that Marcus Aurelius is the best emperor ever, so clearly biased and therefore problematic
Historia Augusta (flawed)
Who was Faustina the Elder?
Married Antoninus Pius between 112 and 117, won’t become heir until 128, and when they married he was nobody
What titles were given to Faustina the Elder?
Became Augusta upon his accession in 138, coins indicate concordia which often betrays a lack of concordia in the imperial household (only emperor who did not issue these coins was Trajan?), coins issued to contain something out in the public
What happened when Faustina the Elder died?
Antoninus created the ‘Faustinian girls’ in her honour, well attested in numismatics. Girls of 13 or 14 who were about to marry, would receive state support for their dowry in her name (similar to Livia who granted dowries), this is an official unit set up specifically for this purpose
Why were the Faustinian girls created?
Maybe to distribute her wealth, or to commemorate their marriage in some way? She had lost 3 children, could see this as a way of giving her more children in death…?
Becomes very difficult for subsequent emperors to fund this, so might be correct that it was a way of distributing her wealth in death
Who was Faustina the Younger?
Ca. 125 - 176
Married Marcus Aurelius in 145
Daughter of Antoninus Pius & Faustina the Elder
Why was Faustina the Younger honoured?
Given title of Augusta in 147 on the birth of her first child
12 or 13 children, 7 male, most died young
Known for her fertility and for her family harmony
New hairstyle, new coinage etc. at the birth of each new child
What does the HA say about Faustina the Younger?
Historia Augusta is certain that Commodus is the son of a gladiator, that Faustina must have slept around
Born out of the disbelief that a father like Marcus Aurelius could have a son like Commodus
What does Cassius Dio say about Faustina the Younger?
Dio is claiming that Faustina was inciting Cassius to rebellion as she was afraid for her station if Aurelius died and Commodus was sidelined due to his youth
Common theme in Dio that imperial women were afraid to lose their station and therefore likely to scheme to protect themselves
How did Faustina the Younger die, according to Dio?
Dio writes that she either died from gout or potentially committed suicide to avoid prosecution for her role in Cassius’ rebellion
Was Faustina the Younger involved in the Cassius rebellion?
If she was involved, there were no repercussions for her i.e. exile, death, loss of station from the hand of Marcus Aurelius - why would Marcus deify her, or do any of these things to commemorate her in memory, if she had been involved?
What was unique about Faustina the Younger?
First to be named Mother of the Camp, but other women followed suit
Why might have literary sources attacked Faustina the Younger?
Potential that because Aurelius was so loved in literary sources, that when wishing to attack him, authors focused on the women instead to criticise him through association with them…
What did Marcus Aurelius think of his wife, Faustina the Younger?
Marcus Aurelius’ own works thanks the gods for having such a good wife - “docile”, “unaffective”
Who was Lucilla?
Sister of Commodus. Daughter of Marcus Aurelius (augustus), wife of Lucius Verus (caesar/augustus)
Was Lucilla given the title of Augusta?
Married Lucius Verus in 164 and then became Augusta in order to consolidate his power and give him additional status. Lucius Verus’ death removed her from the role of empress, but she was still augusta
Did Lucilla have power / influence after Verus died?
Verus dies in 169, she is still held on the coinage as someone the dynasty continued through. Aurelius then married her off again not too long later to a friend of his who was twice her age, she is not happy about this, nor is she
Has a daughter by Verus, and a son by this new husband Pomepianus
Why was Lucilla involved in an anti-Commodus conspiracy?
She may have represented an alternative to Commodus, and was therefore the focus of the conspiracy - the men around this are the old circle of Marcus Aurelius, who may have wanted to replace Commodus with a new candidate, perhaps her husband Pompeianus (who leaves and is absent from Rome for the rest of Commodus reign, claims estrangement between him and Lucilla)
What questions are raised by Lucilla’s involvement in the conspiracy?
Was she a danger to Commodus? Or did she get caught up in a ‘false flag’, where Commodus created a conspiracy to get rid of a lot of people…?
Who was Bruttia Crispina?
Wife of Commodus
