Pompeia ('' fl.'' 1st century BC) was the second or third wife of

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

Biography

Early life

Pompeia's parents were Quintus Pompeius Rufus, a son of a former

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

, and Cornelia, the daughter of the

Roman dictator A Roman dictator was an extraordinary magistrate in the Roman Republic endowed with full authority to resolve some specific problem to which he had been assigned. He received the full powers of the state, subordinating the other magistrates, con ...

Sulla.

Marriage

Caesar married Pompeia in 67 BC,Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth- E.A. (edd),

Oxford Classical Dictionary The ''Oxford Classical Dictionary'' (''OCD'') is generally considered "the best one-volume dictionary on antiquity," an encyclopædic work in English consisting of articles relating to classical antiquity and its civilizations. It was first pub ...

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2003- , 1214. after he had served as quaestor in

Hispania Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hisp ...

, his first wife Cornelia having died in 69 BC. Caesar was the nephew of

Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...

, and Cornelia was the daughter of

Lucius Cornelius Cinna Lucius Cornelius Cinna (died 84 BC) was a four-time consul of the Roman Republic, serving four consecutive terms from 87 to 84 BC, and a member of the ancient Roman Cinna family of the Cornelia gens. Cinna's influence in Rome exacerb ...

so that they were related to both the leaders of the losing '' populares'' side in the civil war of the 80s BC. In 63 BC Caesar was elected to the position of the Pontifex Maximus, the chief priest of the Roman state religion, which came with an official residence on the ''

Via Sacra The Via Sacra (, "''Sacred Street''") was the main street of ancient Rome, leading from the top of the Capitoline Hill, through some of the most important religious sites of the Forum (where it is the widest street), to the Colosseum. The ro ...

''. In 62 BC Pompeia hosted the festival of the

Bona Dea Bona Dea (; 'Good Goddess') was a goddess in ancient Roman religion. She was associated with chastity and fertility in Roman women, healing, and the protection of the state and people of Rome. According to Roman literary sources, she was brought ...

("good goddess"), which no man was permitted to attend, in this house. However a young patrician named

Publius Clodius Pulcher Publius Clodius Pulcher (93–52 BC) was a populist Roman politician and street agitator during the time of the First Triumvirate. One of the most colourful personalities of his era, Clodius was descended from the aristocratic Claudia gens, one ...

managed to gain admittance disguised as a woman, apparently for the purpose of seducing Pompeia. He was caught and prosecuted for

sacrilege Sacrilege is the violation or injurious treatment of a sacred object, site or person. This can take the form of irreverence to sacred persons, places, and things. When the sacrilegious offence is verbal, it is called blasphemy, and when physica ...

. Caesar gave no evidence against Clodius at his trial, and he was acquitted. Nevertheless, Caesar divorced Pompeia, saying that "my wife ought not even to be under suspicion". This gave rise to a

proverb A proverb (from la, proverbium) is a simple and insightful, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and use formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbia ...

, "Caesar's wife must be above suspicion", meaning that if one is romantically involved with a famous or prominent figure, one must avoid attracting negative attention or scrutiny.

Later life

Nothing specific is known about her life after the divorce, but it has been proposed that she may have married

Publius Vatinius Publius Vatinius was a Roman politician during the last decades of the Republic. He served as a Caesarian-allied plebeian tribune in the year 59 – he was the tribune that proposed the law giving Caesar his Gallic command – and later fought on ...

Cultural depictions

Pompeia is depicted in various works of fiction including Robert Harris' ''

Lustrum A lūstrum (, plural lūstra) was a term for a five-year period in Ancient Rome. It is distinct from the homograph ''lustrum'' ( ): a haunt of wild beasts (and figuratively, a den of vice), plural ''lustra'' ( ).Oxford Latin Desk Dictionary (20 ...

'' and

Colleen McCullough Colleen Margaretta McCullough (; married name Robinson, previously Ion-Robinson; 1 June 193729 January 2015) was an Australian author known for her novels, her most well-known being '' The Thorn Birds'' and ''The Ladies of Missalonghi''. Life ...

's ''

Masters of Rome ''Masters of Rome'' is a series of historical novels by Australian author Colleen McCullough, set in ancient Rome during the last days of the old Roman Republic; it primarily chronicles the lives and careers of Gaius Marius, Lucius Cornelius Su ...

'' series, in the ''Masters of Rome'' series the theory that she remarried to Publius is depicted.

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pompeia 1st-century BC Roman women 1st-century BC Romans Wives of Julius Caesar