Livia

Lore & Background

Livia was born on 30 January 59 BC. The diminutive Drusilla in her name suggests she was not her father's first daughter. She married Tiberius Claudius Nero around 43 BC, a patrician fighting on the side of Julius Caesar's assassins against Octavian. Her father died at the Battle of Philippi, though whether by suicide or in combat is debated. Her first child, the future emperor Tiberius, was born in 42 BC. In 40 BC, the family fled Italy to avoid Octavian's recriminations after the siege of Perusia, joining Sextus Pompeius in Sicily before moving to Greece. After a general amnesty, Livia returned to Rome and was personally introduced to Octavian in 39 BC. She was already pregnant with her second son, Drusus the Elder. Legend says Octavian fell immediately in love with her, though he was still married to Scribonia. He divorced Scribonia around the time she gave birth to his only surviving biological child, Julia the Elder—the exact date is debated. When Livia was six months pregnant, Tiberius Claudius Nero was persuaded or forced to divorce her. She gave birth on 14 January; three days later Octavian married her after waiving the traditional waiting period. On the wedding day, an omen occurred: an eagle dropped a white hen with a laurel branch into Livia's lap, interpreted as indicating her fertility. Tiberius Claudius Nero was present at the wedding, giving her away 'just as a father would.'

In Their Own Story

After Mark Antony's suicide following the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, Octavian returned to Rome. On 16 January 27 BC, the Senate bestowed upon him the title Augustus. He rejected monarchical titles, calling himself Princeps Civitatis ('First Citizen of the State'). Livia and Augustus formed the role model for Roman households, living modestly on the Palatine Hill. Livia set the pattern for the noble Roman matrona: she wore neither excessive jewelry nor pretentious costumes, made her husband's clothes herself, and was always faithful. In 35 BC, Octavian gave her the unprecedented honor of ruling her own finances and dedicated a public statue to her. She owned copper mines in Gaul, palm grove estates in Judea, and dozens of papyrus marshes in Egypt. She had her own circle of clients and pushed protégés into political offices, including the grandfathers of later emperors Galba and Otho. Rumor had it that Livia was behind the death of Augustus' nephew Marcellus in 23 BC. After Julia's two elder sons by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa died, the remaining son, Agrippa Postumus, was adopted but later exiled and killed. Tacitus charges that Livia was not altogether innocent of these deaths; Cassius Dio also mentions such rumors. There are also rumors that Livia brought about Augustus' death by poisoning fresh figs, though modern historians view this as unlikely. Augustus' granddaughter Julia the Younger was exiled; Tacitus alleged Livia plotted against her stepdaughter's family and ruined them. Julia died in AD 29 on the island of her exile.

Reader's Guide

Augustus died on 19 August AD 14 and was deified. His will left one third of his property to Livia and two thirds to Tiberius, adopted her into the Julian family, and granted her the honorific title Augusta. She became Julia Augusta. Tacitus and Cassius Dio wrote that rumors persisted that Augustus was poisoned by Livia, but these are mainly dismissed as malicious fabrications. The most famous rumor was that Livia poisoned figs while still on the tree. In Imperial times, a fig variety called the Liviana was cultivated, perhaps referencing her reputed horticultural abilities or this rumor. For some time, Livia and her son Tiberius appeared to get along. Speaking against her became treason in AD 20, and in AD 24 he granted her a theater seat among the Vestal Virgins. Livia exercised unofficial but very real power. Tiberius became resentful of her political status, particularly the idea that she had given him the throne. At the beginning of his reign, he vetoed the title Mater Patriae ('Mother of the Fatherland') that the Senate wished to bestow upon her. Tacitus and Cassius Dio depict an overweening dowager ready to interfere in Tiberius' decisions. Notable instances include the cases of Urgulania, grandmother of Claudius's first wife, who assumed her friendship with Livia placed her above the law; and Munatia Plancina, suspected of murdering Germanicus and saved at Livia's entreaty. A notice from AD 22 records that Julia Augusta dedicated a statue to Augustus in Rome, placing her own name before Tiberius'.

Did You Know?

• Livia was the daughter of senator Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus, who died at the Battle of Philippi—whether by suicide or in combat is uncertain.
• She married Octavian while six months pregnant with her second son, Drusus, and gave birth three days before the wedding.
• On her wedding day to Octavian, an eagle dropped a white hen with a laurel branch into her lap, interpreted as an omen of fertility.
• In 35 BC, Octavian gave Livia the unprecedented honor of ruling her own finances and dedicated a public statue to her.
• She was deified by her grandson Claudius in AD 42, receiving the title Diva Augusta.