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Octavia Minor and Antonia Minor

OCTAVIA:

Octavia Minor was born in 69BC, and died in 11BC, also known as Octavia the Younger or simply Octavia, was the sister of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus, and half sister of Octavia Thurina Major. She was one of the most prominent women in Roman history, respected and admired by contemporaries for her loyalty, nobility and humanity and for maintaining traditional Roman feminine virtues. Octavia lived at a time when many succumbed to treachery and intrigue.

Octavia was the only daughter of her father Gaius Octavius's second marriage to Julius Caesar’s niece Atia Balba Caesonia, and so she was full sister of Augustus. She was born in Nola, Italy. Her father, a Roman Governor and Senator died in 59 BC from natural causes. Her mother later remarried to the consul Lucius Marcius Philippus. Much of her childhood she spent travelling with her parents.

Before 54 BC her step-father arranged for her to marry Gaius Claudius Marcellus Minor. Marcellus was a man of consular rank, a man who was worthy of her and was consul in 50 BC. Gaius was a member of the influential Claudian family and descended from Marcus Claudius Marcellus, a famous general in the Second Punic War.

In 54 BC, her great-uncle Caesar is said to have been anxious for her to divorce her husband so that she could marry Pompey who had just lost his wife Julia, Julius Caesar's daughter, and thus Octavia's cousin once removed. However, Pompey apparently declined the proposal and Octavia's husband continued to oppose Julius Caesar including in the crucial year of his consulship 50 BC.
Marcellus, a friend of Marcus Tullius Cicero, was an initial opponent of Julius Caesar when he invaded Italy, but did not take up arms against his wife's great-uncle at the Battle of Pharsalus, and was eventually pardoned by him. In 47 BC he was able to intercede with Caesar for his cousin and namesake, also a former consul, then living in exile. Presumably, Octavia continued to live with her husband from the time of their marriage (she would have been about 15 when they married) to her husband's death when she was about 29.

They had three children: Claudia Marcella Major, Claudia Marcella Minor and Marcus Claudius Marcellus. All three were born in Italy. Marcellus died in May 40 BC.

By a Senatorial decree, Octavia married Mark Antony, in October 40 BC, as his fourth wife, his third wife Fulvia having died shortly before. This marriage had to be approved by the Senate as she was pregnant with her first husband's child and was a political marriage to cement the uneasy alliance between her brother Octavian and Mark Antony, however, Octavia appears to have been a loyal and faithful wife.

Between 40 BC–36 BC, Octavia lived with him in his Athenian mansion. She raised her children by Marcellus; Antony's two sons and their two daughters: Julia Antonia Major and Julia Antonia Minor, who were born there. She travelled with him to various provinces.

The alliance was severely tested by her second husband abandoning her and their children for his former lover Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt. Mark Antony divorced her circa 32 BC, after she had supplied him with men and troops in 35 BC to be used in his eastern campaigns. After Antony's death, she lived quietly, raising her five children, three by her first marriage, and two by her second marriage, and Antony's children by other wives.

After 36 BC, Octavia returned to Rome with the children. On several occasions she acted as a political adviser and negotiator between her husband and brother. With Antony's rejection, divorce and eventual suicide in 30 BC, Octavia became the sole caretaker of the children. She became guardian to Iullus Antonius, Alexander Helios, Cleopatra Selene and Ptolemy Philadelphus, her ex-husband's remaining children. Octavia never remarried.

Augustus had adopted her son Marcus as his heir, but Marcus died of illness in 23 BC. Octavia had opened the Library of Marcellus in his memory, while her brother built a theatre in Rome in his honor. She never recovered from his death, breaking down in tears at a reading by Virgil of a passage from Aeneid Book VI about him, and retired from public life. Her final years were spent hiding in the dark and dressing in mourning.

She died in 11 BC, sometime after her niece Julia the Elder married Tiberius. Her funeral in 11 BC was a public one with her sons-in-law carrying her to the grave. While her brother Augustus delivered the funeral oration and gave her the highest posthumous honors, he also declined many of the honors decreed to her by the senate, for reasons unknown. She was one of the first Roman women to have coins minted in her image.

ANTONIA:

Antonia is one of the most prominent Roman women. She is celebrated for her virtue and beauty. She is the youngest daughter to Octavia Minor and Mark Antony and is also the youngest and favourite niece of her mother’s youngest brother Rome’s first Emperor Caesar Augustus.

She was born in Athens, Greece and after 36 BC was brought to Rome by her mother and her siblings. Antonia never had the chance to know her father, who divorced her mother in 32 BC and committed suicide in 30 BC. She was raised by her mother, her uncle and her aunt Livia Drusilla. Due to inheritances, she owned properties in Italy, Greece and Egypt. She was a wealthy and influential woman who often received people, who were visiting Rome. Antonia had many male friends and they included wealthy Jewish freeman Tiberius Drusus Alexander and Lucius Vitellius, a consul and father of future Emperor Aulus Vitellius.

In 16 BC, she married the Roman general and consul Nero Claudius Drusus. Drusus was the stepson of her uncle Augustus, second son to Livia Drusilla and brother to future Emperor Tiberius. They had several children, only 3 survived. Their children were the famous general Germanicus Caesar, Livilla and the Roman Emperor Claudius. Antonia was the grandmother to Emperor Caligula, Empress Agrippina the Younger and great-grandmother and great aunt to Emperor Nero. Drusus died in June 9 BC in Germany, due to complications from injuries he sustained after falling from a horse. After his death, although pressured by her uncle to remarry, she never did. It was wildly speculated that his death was brought about by his mother, Livia!

Antonia raised her children in Rome and had Tiberius as their guardian. Germanicus died in 19 AD. On the orders of Tiberius and Livia Drusilla was forbidden to go to his funeral. When Livia Drusilla died in June 29, she took care of Caligula, Julia Drusilla, Julia Livilla and later Claudia Antonia, her younger grandchildren.

Germanicus was very popular among the citizens of Rome, who celebrated enthusiastically all his victories. He was also a favourite with Augustus, his grandfather in law, who, for some time, considered him as heir to the Empire. He was married to Agrippina the Elder, daughter of Julia the Elder and Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. He had nine children by Agrippina but only six lived to grown age, they were: Nero Caesar, Drusus Caesar, Caligula, Julia Agrippina, Julia Drusilla and Julia Livilla. In AD 4, he finally decided in favour of Tiberius, his stepson, but compelled him to adopt Germanicus as a son and name him his heir. After the death of Augustus in 14, the Senate appointed Germanicus commander of the forces in Germania. Tiberius was made emperor, but he was highly unpopular and the legions rioted on the news. Refusing to accept this, the rebel soldiers cried for Germanicus as emperor. However, Germanicus refused. Germanicus died in Antioch, Syria in 19 AD, a year after he defeated the kingdoms of Cappadocia and Commagena. His death was surrounded with speculations, and several sources refer to claims that he was poisoned by Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, governor of Syria, under orders of the emperor Tiberius.
Antonia, in 31, exposed a plot by her daughter Livilla and Tiberius’ notorious Praetorian Prefect Sejanus to murder the Emperor Tiberius and Caligula, to seize the throne for themselves. Livilla had poisoned her husband, Drusus the Younger, Tiberius' son in order to remove rivals. Sejanus was murdered on Tiberius’ orders and Livilla was handed over to her mother. Cassius Dio states that Antonia imprisoned Livilla in her room and allowed her to starve to death.

Her only child left after Livilla's death was Claudius. Due to his constant illnesses and physical disabilities, she would constantly put him down. She would say a monster: a man whom nature had not finished but had merely begun or accused anyone of stupidity, would exclaim, he is a bigger fool even than my son Claudius!.

When Tiberius died, Caligula became Emperor in March 37. Caligula awarded her with a senatorial decree, for all the honors, that Livia Drusilla received in her lifetime. She was also offered the title of Augusta, previously only given to Augustus' wife Livia, but rejected it. Six months into his reign, Caligula became seriously ill and never recovered. Antonia would often offer him advice. He once told her, I can treat anyone exactly as I please!. Having enough of Caligula’s anger at her criticisms and his behaviour she committed suicide.

When his grandmother Antonia asked for a private interview, he refused it except in the presence of the prefect Macro, and by such indignities and annoyances he caused her death; although some think that he also gave her poison. After she was dead, he paid her no honour, but viewed her burning pyre from his dining-room.

When Claudius became Emperor, after his nephew’s assassination in 41, he gave his mother the title of Augusta. Her birthday became a public holiday, which had yearly games and public sacrifices held. An image of her was paraded in a carriage.

HELL HATH NO FURY LIKE A WOMAN WHO CRAVES POWER!
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Octavia Minor and Antonia Minor

Chapter 4 of my book.....enjoy!
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