Antonia the Elder. (born August/September 39 BC) was a niece of the first Roman emperor,

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

, being the eldest daughter of

Octavia the Younger Octavia the Younger ( la, Octavia Minor; c. 66 BC – 11 BC) was the elder sister of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus (known also as Octavian), the half-sister of Octavia the Elder, and the fourth wife of Mark Antony. She was also the great-gra ...

and her second husband, the

Triumvir A triumvirate ( la, triumvirātus) or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs ( la, triumviri). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are ...

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the au ...

. She married Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus and became the paternal grandmother of the emperor

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 unti ...

Biography

Antonia was born in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

, and after 36 BC she, her siblings, and her mother were brought to Rome. She was raised by her mother, her uncle, and her aunt Livia Drusilla. According to

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

, after her father died Augustus allowed her and her younger sister, Antonia Minor, to benefit from their father's estate in Rome. Although little is known of her, Antonia was held in high regard like her sister Antonia Minor, the mother of the emperor Claudius, who was celebrated for her beauty and virtue.

Issue

Around 23 BC Antonia married the consul Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. Three of their children are known for certain: * Domitia the Elder - ancient sources refer to her as Domitia. She married the consul Decimus Haterius Agrippa and bore him a son

Quintus Haterius Antoninus Quintus Haterius Antoninus or known as Antoninus was a Roman senator, who was active during the reign of Claudius and Nero. Life He was suffect consul in the year AD 53 as the colleague of Decimus Junius Silanus Torquatus. Antoninus was the only ...

. Domitia later married

Gaius Sallustius Crispus Passienus Gaius Sallustius Passienus Crispus was a prominent figure in the Roman Empire during the first century. He held the consulship twice, and was stepfather of the future emperor Nero. Background Suetonius reports that Passienus was born at Viselliu ...

, consul suffect in 27, proconsul of Asia and consul in AD 44. * Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus (''PIR²'' D127) - consul in AD 32, he married his cousin Germanicus' daughter Agrippina the Younger in 28. Agrippina and Domitius were the parents of the emperor

. He was accused by Tiberius, but saved by that emperor's death (Suet. ''Nero'' 5) and lived a few years longer under Caligula's reign until he died in AD 40. *

Domitia Lepida Domitia Lepida (c. 5 BC – AD 54) was a Roman aristocrat, related to the imperial family. She was mother of Valeria Messalina, wife of the Emperor Claudius. Lepida was a beautiful and influential figure. Like her sister, she was also very wealt ...

(''PIR²'' D180) - she first married her cousin, the consul

Marcus Valerius Messalla Barbatus Valeria Messalina (; ) was the third wife of Roman emperor Claudius. She was a paternal cousin of Emperor Nero, a second cousin of Emperor Caligula, and a great-grandniece of Emperor Augustus. A powerful and influential woman with a reputation ...

to whom she bore a daughter, the empress Valeria

Messalina Valeria Messalina (; ) was the third wife of Roman emperor Claudius. She was a paternal cousin of Emperor Nero, a second cousin of Emperor Caligula, and a great-grandniece of Emperor Augustus. A powerful and influential woman with a reputatio ...

, third wife of the emperor Claudius. After the death of her first husband, she married

Faustus Cornelius Sulla Lucullus Faustus Cornelius Sulla was a Roman senator who lived during the reign of the emperor Tiberius. He was suffect consul in AD 31 with Sextus Tedius Valerius Catullus as his colleague. Faustus was the son of Sulla Felix, a member of the Arval Breth ...

, suffect consul in AD 31, and gave him a son,

Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix (22 – 62 AD) was one of the lesser known figures of the Julio-Claudian dynasty of Ancient Rome. Life Felix was the son of Domitia Lepida the Younger and the suffect consul of 31, Faustus Cornelius Sulla Lucullus, a ...

(who would become consul in AD 52). At the beginning of Claudius' reign, she married

Appius Junius Silanus __NOTOC__ Appius Junius Silanus (died AD 43), whom Cassius Dio calls Gaius Appius Silanus, was consul in AD 28, with Publius Silius Nerva as his colleague. He was accused of '' majestas'', or treason, in AD 32 along with a number of senators, but ...

, consul in AD 28, who was put to death in AD 42. She outlived her daughter, Messalina. It is also likely that they had another son named Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (born between 20 and 17 BC), and possibly also a third daughter (born around 23 BC). Syme thinks its possible that the daughter may have lived to marry and produce children, but probably died before the reign of Caligula.

Cultural depictions

Many scholars think the

Ara Pacis The Ara Pacis Augustae (Latin, "Altar of Augustan Peace"; commonly shortened to Ara Pacis) is an altar in Rome dedicated to Pax, the Roman goddess of Peace. The monument was commissioned by the Roman Senate on July 4, 13 BC to honour the return o ...

(an altar from the Augustan Era), displays Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and his elder sister. The woman behind Domitia and Domitius is allegedly their mother Antonia Major and the man next to Antonia Major is her husband Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. Ronald Syme has argued the two children are actually the elder son Lucius and another unknown sister.

Notes

References

Sources

* * (edd.), ''Prosopographia Imperii Romani saeculi I, II et III'', Berlin, 1933 - . (''PIR²'')

External links

{{Commons category, Antonia Major 39 BC births 1st-century deaths 1st-century BC Roman women 1st-century BC Romans 1st-century Roman women Antonii Children of Mark Antony Julio-Claudian dynasty