The list below includes Roman women who were notable for their family connections, or their sons or husbands, or their own actions. In the earlier periods, women came to the attention of (later) historians either as poisoners of their husbands (a very few cases), or as wives, daughters, and mothers of great men such as Scipio Africanus. In later periods, women exercised or tried to exercise political power either through their husbands (as did Fulvia and

Livia Drusilla Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC – 28 September AD 29) was a Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Emperor Augustus Caesar. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal adoption into the Julian family in AD 14. Livia was the ...

) or political intrigues (as did Clodia and Servilia), or directly (as did

Agrippina the younger Julia Agrippina (6 November AD 15 – 23 March AD 59), also referred to as Agrippina the Younger, was Roman empress from 49 to 54 AD, the fourth wife and niece of Emperor Claudius. Agrippina was one of the most prominent women in the Julio-Cl ...

and later Roman empresses). Even the

Severan dynasty The Severan dynasty was a Roman imperial dynasty that ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235, during the Roman imperial period. The dynasty was founded by the emperor Septimius Severus (), who rose to power after the Year of the Five Empero ...

from the beginning to the end was completely dominated by four powerful and calculating women.

During the Roman Kingdom

During the Roman Republic

* Valeria, the name of the women of the Valeria gens ** Valeria, first priestess of Fortuna Muliebris in 488 BCDion.Hal. 8.55.4; cf. 8.39-55 Broughton, vol I, 1951 p.19 * Aemilia Tertia (с. 230 – 163 or 162 BC), wife of

Scipio Africanus Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (, , ; 236/235–183 BC) was a Roman general and statesman, most notable as one of the main architects of Rome's victory against Carthage in the Second Punic War. Often regarded as one of the best military com ...

and mother of Cornelia (see below), noted for the unusual freedom given her by her husband, her enjoyment of luxuries, and her influence as role model for elite Roman women after the Second Punic War. Her date of birth, marriage, and death are all unknown. Her husband's birth and death dates are also not known precisely, but approximated. * Cornelia (с. 190s – c. 115 BC), virtually deified by Roman women as a model of feminine virtues and

Stoicism Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asserting that ...

, but never officially deified. The first Roman woman, whose approximate birth year and whose year of death is known, thanks to a law she had passed to allow her granddaughter to inherit. *

Publilia The gens Publilia (), sometimes written Poblilia, was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Members of this gens are first mentioned in the early decades of the Republic. The '' lex Publilia'' passed by Volero Publilius, tribune of the plebs in ...

(1st century BC), the name of a woman of the gens Publilius. She was killed in 154 BC for poisoning her husband, the consul of the preceding year.

During the Classical Roman Empire

* Agrippina the Elder (c. 14 BC – AD 33), wife of

Germanicus Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was an ancient Roman general, known for his campaigns in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicus was born into an influential branch of the pat ...

, granddaughter of

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 ...

, mother of 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 Germanic ...

and

Agrippina the Younger Julia Agrippina (6 November AD 15 – 23 March AD 59), also referred to as Agrippina the Younger, was Roman empress from 49 to 54 AD, the fourth wife and niece of Emperor Claudius. Agrippina was one of the most prominent women in the Julio-Cl ...

(below) *

(1st century), niece and wife of emperor Claudius, mother of 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 unt ...

; held up as a bad example. * Aurelia (1st century BC), mother of Julius Caesar * Antonia the Elder (1st century BC), grandmother of Emperor

* Antonia Minor (1st century BC – 1st century AD), mother of Emperor Claudius and

, favorite niece of

Augustus Caesar 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 Principate ...

, considered a role model for women in the Roman Empire after she refused to remarry and spent the rest of her life raising her children and grandchildren. * Atia, mother of

and Octavia Minor * Claudia Pulchra, wife of

Publius Quinctilius Varus Publius Quinctilius Varus ( Cremona, 46 BC – Teutoburg Forest, AD 9) was a Roman general and politician under the first Roman emperor Augustus. Varus is generally remembered for having lost three Roman legions when ambushed by Germanic tribe ...

Claudia Marcella Claudia Marcella was the name of several women of ancient Rome of the Marcelli branch of the Claudia gens. By the late Republican period girls from this branch were often called "Clodia". A number of Marcellae are believed to have been the daugh ...

, nieces of

Caesar 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 ...

Domitia Lepida the Elder Domitia (ca. 8 BC-June 59) was the oldest child of Antonia Major and Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, and the oldest granddaughter to triumvir Mark Antony by Octavia Minor, a great-niece of the Roman Emperor Augustus, second cousin and sister-in-la ...

, aunt of Emperor

Domitia Lepida the Younger 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 wealth ...

, sister of the following, Mother of the Empress Valeria Messalina * Domitia Longina, wife of Emperor

Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavi ...

* Domitia Calvilla, mother of Emperor

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...

* Domitia Paulina, Aelia Domitia Paulina, Julia Serviana Paulina, female relatives of Emperor

Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman '' municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispan ...

Julia the Elder Julia the Elder (30 October 39 BC – AD 14), known to her contemporaries as Julia Caesaris filia or Julia Augusti filia (Classical Latin: IVLIA•CAESARIS•FILIA or IVLIA•AVGVSTI•FILIA), was the daughter and only biological child of August ...

, daughter of Augustus *

Julia Livia Julia Livia (7 – 43 AD), was the daughter of Drusus Julius Caesar and Livilla, and granddaughter of the Roman Emperor Tiberius. She was also a first cousin of the emperor Caligula, and niece of the emperor Claudius. Biography Early life Ju ...

(1st century), granddaughter of Emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

(1st century BC), wife of Tiberius Claudius Nero, mother of the Emperor

, and then wife of

. * Livilla (1st century), granddaughter of Livia * Valeria Messalina, Emperor Claudius' wife, notorious for her promiscuity. * Octavia the Younger, sister of

and fourth wife of Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony) * Plautia Urgulanilla, Emperor Claudius' first wife * Scribonia, second wife of

and mother of his only legitimate child (whom she apparently ignored until her exile) * Vipsania Agrippina, first wife of

and the only one he loved *

Vipsania Julia Vipsania Julia Agrippina (19 BC – c. AD 29) nicknamed Julia Minor (Classical Latin: IVLIA•MINOR) and called Julia the Younger by modern historians, was a Roman noblewoman of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was emperor Augustus' first grandda ...

(19 BC – c. AD 29), granddaughter of Augustus * Claudia Metrodora (1st century AD), Greco-Roman public benefactor, lived on Kos. *

Lucilla Annia Aurelia Galeria Lucilla or Lucilla (7 March 148 or 150 – 182) was the second daughter of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Roman Empress Faustina the Younger. She was the wife of her father's co-ruler and adoptive brother Lucius Veru ...

, (2nd century AD) Roman Empress, failed in her coup attempt on brother Commodus. *

Aquilia Severa Julia Aquilia Severa (d. after 222) was the second and fourth wife of Roman emperor Elagabalus. She was the daughter of Quintus Aquilius. The ''praenomen'' of "Julia" was given to her after becoming an empress. Life Severa was a Vestal Virgi ...

(3rd century), Vestal Virgin and wife of

Elagabalus Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus, 204 – 11/12 March 222), better known by his nickname "Elagabalus" (, ), was Roman emperor from 218 to 222, while he was still a teenager. His short reign was conspicuous for s ...

. * Clodia (1st century BC), possibly

Catullus Gaius Valerius Catullus (; 84 - 54 BCE), often referred to simply as Catullus (, ), was a Latin poetry, Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote chiefly in the neoteric style of poetry, focusing on personal life rather than classical h ...

's ''Lesbia'' *

Domitia Decidiana {{short description, 1st century wife of Roman general, Gnaeus Julius Agricola Domitia Decidiana was a Roman woman who lived in the 1st century. She was a well-connected woman of illustrious descent. In 62 she married the Roman general Gnaeus Juliu ...

, wife of Roman General

Gnaeus Julius Agricola Gnaeus Julius Agricola (; 13 June 40 – 23 August 93) was a Roman general and politician responsible for much of the Roman conquest of Britain. Born to a political family of senatorial rank, Agricola began his military career as a military tribun ...

and mother-in-law to historian

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roman Women distinguished

During the Roman Kingdom

During the Roman Republic

During the Classical Roman Empire

See also

References