Claudia Marcella Major (''PIR²'' C 1102; born some time before 40 BC) was the senior niece of 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 Pri ...

, being the eldest daughter of his sister Octavia the Younger and her first husband Gaius Claudius Marcellus. She became the second wife of Augustus' foremost general

Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (; BC – 12 BC) was a Roman general, statesman, and architect who was a close friend, son-in-law, and lieutenant to the Roman emperor Augustus. He was responsible for the construction of some of the most notable buildi ...

and after that the wife of

Iullus Antonius Iullus Antonius (43–2 BC) was a Roman magnate and poet. A son of Mark Antony and Fulvia, he was spared by the emperor Augustus after the civil wars of the Republic, and was married to the emperor's niece. He was later condemned as one of the lo ...

, the son of

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 autoc ...

Biography

Early life

Marcella belonged to the generation whose childhood was marred by the violence of the civil wars of the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...

. She was likely the first child of her parents, being followed by her brother Marcus Claudius Marcellus and sister

Claudia Marcella Minor Claudia Marcella Minor (''PIR2'' C 1103, born some time before 39 BC) was a niece of the first Roman emperor Augustus. She was the second surviving daughter of the emperor's sister Octavia the Younger and her first husband Gaius Claudius Marcellu ...

. From her mother's second marriage to

she would also gain two half sisters,

Antonia the Elder Antonia the Elder. (born August/September 39 BC) was a niece of the first Roman emperor, Augustus, being the eldest daughter of Octavia the Younger and her second husband, the Triumvir Mark Antony. She married Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus and be ...

and Antonia the Younger.

Marriages

Marcella's first known marriage was to

in 28 BC. She was his second wife. Augustus held Agrippa in the highest place of honor.Plutarch, ''Mark Antony'', 87 Agrippa was a military man loyal to Octavian throughout the civil war. The marriage of Marcella and Agrippa probably occurred because of the strong bond between the two men. Marcella brought Agrippa a tie to an elite republican family and to Augustus himself, for she was Augustus's niece. Although Agrippa was older than Marcella but austere, he appeared to be a good husband to Marcella. Marcella and Agrippa had children, however it is uncertain how many overall and how many of them survived to adulthood. It is likely based on the wording in

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 ...

''Augustus'' that they have children of both sexes. There appears to have been at least one daughter who married

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 tribes l ...

, sometimes retrospectively called Vipsania ''Marcella'', in order to differentiate her from her father's other daughters. They might also have had a second daughter who married a Lepidus. Some people such as John Pollini also believe that they had at least one son together, whom he identifies as a young boy next to Agrippa on the Ara Pacis. In 23 BC the brother of Marcella, Marcus Claudius Marcellus, died and thus widowed Marcella's maternal cousin Julia the Elder. In 21 BC, Agrippa divorced Marcella to marry Julia the daughter of Augustus. After Marcella divorced Agrippa, Octavia Minor received Marcella back in her house. Octavia Minor married Marcella to the future consul

, the second son of

from his third wife Fulvia who was held in high regard by Augustus. Marcella bore Iullus Antonius at least one son named

Lucius Antonius Lucius Antonius is a combination of ''praenomen'' and family name ''( nomen)'' used by ancient Roman men from a plebeian branch of the '' gens Antonia,'' including: * Lucius Antonius (brother of Mark Antony) * Lucius Antonius (grandson of Mark Ant ...

, they likely also had another son who might have died young, named Iullus and a daughter named

Iulla Antonia Iulla Antonia or Antonia Iulla is thought to be a daughter of Roman consul of 10 BCE Iullus Antonius (son of Mark Antony) and Claudia Marcella Major (niece of emperor Augustus). The only direct evidence of her existence that has been found is a fu ...

. Lucius was sent to study in Marseilles (not an official exile) sometime after the disgrace of his father. In 2 BC,

was forced to commit suicide after being found guilty of

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

with Julia the Elder. Prior to 1939, scholars believed that Marcella married another husband after the death of Iullus Antonius, namely the Roman Senator and cousin

Sextus Appuleius Sextus Appuleius is the name of four figures during the 1st century BC and 1st century AD. The first Sextus Appuleius was married to Octavia Major, the elder half-sister of Augustus. The three subsequent figures named Sextus Appuleius are respectiv ...

, the grandson of

Octavia Major Octavia the Elder (died after 29 BC) was the daughter of the Roman governor and senator Gaius Octavius by his first wife, Ancharia. She was the elder half-sister to Octavia the Younger and Roman Emperor Augustus. Biography Early life Octavi ...

—the older half-sister of her mother— but it has in modern times been accepted that this was not the case.Tacitus, ''The Annals of Imperial Rome: Genealogical Tables - Table 1: Family of Tiberius'', p. 431.

Legacy

Marcelliopsis ''Marcelliopsis'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Amaranthaceae. It is within the subfamily of Amaranthoideae. It is native to Angola and Namibia. The genus name of ''Marcelliopsis'' is in honour of Claudia Marcella Major ...

'' is a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

s from Africa, belonging to the family

Amaranthaceae Amaranthaceae is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference to its type genus ''Amaranthus''. It includes the former goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae and contains about 165 genera and 2,040 species, making it ...

that was named after her.

Ancestry

Notes

References

{{Reflist 0s BC deaths 1st-century BC Roman women 1st-century BC Romans Claudii Marcelli Julio-Claudian dynasty