Junia Claudilla (d. AD 34, 36 or 37), Barrett (1989), p. 32 also known as Junia Claudia, was the first wife of the Roman Emperor

Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...

before he came to power.

Biography

Early life

Her father was a distinguished

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

named Marcus Junius Silanus, one of emperor Tiberius closest friends. She was the sister of

Junia Silana Junia Silana (died 59 C.E.) was a Roman patrician. She was the sister of Junia Claudilla, the first wife of Caligula, before he became emperor. Silana was a prominent figure in the power struggles that transpired in the reign of three different em ...

who was a friend of Caligula's sister Julia Agrippina. Maxwell Craven has speculated that her mother may have been a Claudia and a relative of Tiberius. Ronald Syme agrees that Claudilla was likely related to Tiberius, but thinks the descent came from her father. She was likely also closely related to

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 he ...

through the

Claudii Pulchri The gens Claudia (), sometimes written Clodia, was one of the most prominent patrician (ancient Rome), patrician houses at ancient Rome. The gens traced its origin to the earliest days of the Roman Republic. The first of the Claudii to obtain t ...

Marriage

Claudilla was given in marriage to the young prince by his grand-uncle the Emperor Tiberius. Tiberius reasons for arranging the match is unknown. In terms of succession it made no obvious sense as each of Caligula's brothers had been married off to a cousin within the Julio-Claudian family, adding extra prestige to the men, while Claudilla is not known to have had any such ancestry. It seems that Tiberius did not consider the possibility of Caligula remarrying one of his brothers widows. Tiberius may have picked her simply because there were no women of appropriate background for Caligula. It is also possible that Tiberius arranged the match because it would bring Caligula more under his control due to his new father-in-law being a firm supporter of Tiberius. Anthony Barrett on the other hand has argued that the marriage implied favour from Tiberius towards Caligula, since it was impressive compared to those of his sisters. They were married at Antium either in 31 before

Sejanus Lucius Aelius Sejanus (c. 20 BC – 18 October AD 31), commonly known as Sejanus (), was a Roman soldier, friend and confidant of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. Of the Equites class by birth, Sejanus rose to power as prefect of the Praetorian Guar ...

fell from favour or in 33 when the last of Sejanus supporters were ousted (if it was in 33 then it would likely have been between the second half of July and first half of August). Tiberius himself attended the ceremony which would have been a rare appearance for him on the mainland (Tiberius preferred to stay on his island during this period). Claudilla likely accompanied her husband to

Capri Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...

where the political intrigues were in full force during his youth.

Death and legacy

Claudilla died when giving birth to Caligula's first child who did not survive either. The exact date of her death is uncertain but is believed to have been 34, 36, or early 37. The ancient historian Cassius Dio incorrectly states that Caligula divorced her before she died. It is hard to guess what the marriage would have meant to Caligula but he seems to have begun an affair with the woman Ennia Thrasylla, the wife of Naevius Sutorius Macro, only after Claudilla's death. Anthony Barrett has speculated that since Dio and Tacitus claim that Macro introduced his wife to Caligula upon Claudilla's death, that it is possible that Macro was taking advantage of the prince's vulnerable state and intended to gain influence by having his wife console the young man. Ancient sources claim that Caligula ordered her father to commit suicide to deliver her a message, but the veracity of this claim is doubtful. There were no known coins issued of Claudilla, possibly because she died before Caligula became emperor. There have however been falsified coins purported to be of Claudilla found. Roman imperial historian

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; c. AD 69 – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies ...

for unknown reasons almost entirely omits Claudilla from his account of the emperor's life. This may have been done because there was little opportunity to paint Caligula poorly during the period. Seutonius's portrayal of his later three marriages includes mentions of adultery, homosexuality and debauchery. Suetonius even twists Caligula's wife

Milonia ''Milonia'' is a genus of Southeast Asian orb-weaver spiders first described by Tamerlan Thorell in 1890. Species it contains seven species: *''Milonia albula'' O. Pickard-Cambridge, 1899 – Singapore *''Milonia brevipes'' Thorell, 1890 – I ...

's fertility as a flaw. A flat Sardonyx cameo (numbered 578) from the

Marlborough gem The "Marlborough gem" is a carved onyx cameo that depicts an initiation ceremony of Psyche and Eros. It is the most famous engraved gem in the extensive and prominent collection both inherited (through a marriage in 1762) and expanded by George ...

collection is described as depicting Junia Claudia.

Cultural depictions

In the opera ''

Arminio ''Arminio'' ( HWV 36) is an opera composed by George Frideric Handel. The libretto is based on a libretto of the same name by Antonio Salvi, which had been set to music by Alessandro Scarlatti. It is a fictionalisation of events surrounding the G ...

'' by Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber, parts of Claudilla are incorporated with those of the fellow historical woman Thusnelda to create the character "Claudia" who serves as a love interest for "Caligola". Claudilla is mentioned in '' I, Claudius'' and parts of her story are incorporated in the TV series into the character of

Drusilla Drusilla is a female given name deriving from the Roman cognomen Drusilla. History The name has its origin from the Latin cognomen (and later praenomen) ''Drusus'' which itself derived from the Greek ''drosos'' (dew). The diminutive "illa" t ...

, Caligula's sister, who dies while pregnant with Caligula's child. Claudilla appears in

Simon Turney Simon Turney, born in Ripon, UK, is an English historical novelist with releases centered around Antiquity and Roman Times, the Knights Templar, and the early Ottoman Empire, writing often under the pseudonym SJA Turney. Biography Simon worked i ...

's novel ''

'' (2018). In the book Caligula is described to genuinely love her and is heartbroken upon her death. It is stated that the midwife refused to choose between her and the child and ended up losing both of them. She is mentioned by her husband in '' Caligula: The Tyranny of Rome'' as he laments that had she not died along with their son he may have turned out to be a different man. He describes her as beautiful and kind while explaining to the main character Rufus why he wants to save Rufus sons life.

Notes

Citations

References

* Barrett, Anthony A. (1989). ''Caligula: The Corruption of Power''. New Haven: Yale University Press. . * Ferrill, Arther (1991) ''Caligula: Emperor of Rome''. New York: Thames and Hudson. . * Garzetti, Albino (1976) ''From Tiberius to the Antonines: A History of the Roman Empire from AD 12-192''. London: Methuen & Co. LTD. . *

, ''Life of Caligula'' * Tacitus, ''The Annals/Book 6''

External links

* ttp://caligula.okdek.com/index.php?id=suetonius ''Life of Caligula'' by Suetonius (Alexander Thomson translation)* ''The Annals/Book 6'' by Tacitus
- A collection of ancient texts regarding Caligula and the time period in which Junia Claudilla lived
{{DEFAULTSORT:Junia Claudilla 30s deaths Junii Silani 1st-century Roman women Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Deaths in childbirth Wives of Caligula