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Fannia Melanura
Fannia (fl. around 100 AD) was a woman of ancient Rome, notable as the granddaughter of Arria Major. Life Fannia is recorded in the writings of Pliny the Younger as a woman of fortitude and respectability. As with her grandmother, Fannia is described as a political rebel in her own right. She was married to Helvidius Priscus and followed him twice into exile, once by Nero for sympathising with two outcasts (Brutus and Cassius), then by Vespasian for opposing his reign. Eventually, Fannia herself was exiled in 93 AD for instigating the creation and publication of a biographical book about her husband under the rule of Domitian. The execution of Herennius Senecio for his own involvement gives us insight into this "mild" sentence of hers. During the trial of Senecio, he blamed the book on Fannia as she had asked him to write it, a statement that Fannia confirmed. She was asked if, and confirmed that, she had given Senecio her husband's diaries. Pliny writes that "she did not utter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arria
Arria (also Arria Major) was a woman in ancient Rome. Her husband, Caecina Paetus, was ordered by the emperor Claudius to commit suicide for his part in a rebellion but was not capable of forcing himself to do so. Arria wrenched the dagger from him and stabbed herself, then returned it to her husband, telling him that it didn't hurt (''"Paete, non dolet!"''). Her story was recorded in the letters of Pliny the Younger, who obtained his information from Arria's granddaughter, Fannia. Biography Pliny records that Arria's son died at the same time as Caecina Paetus was quite ill. She apparently arranged and planned the child's funeral without her husband even knowing of his death. Every time she visited her husband, Arria told him that the boy was improving. If emotion threatened to get the better of her, she excused herself from the room and would, in Pliny's words, "give herself to sorrow", and then return to her husband with a calm demeanor. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |