Plautia was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

woman of

senatorial 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 e ...

rank whom Classical scholars believe lived in the late first century and early second century AD. No direct evidence of her existence has yet been found.

Ronald Syme Sir Ronald Syme, (11 March 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a New Zealand-born historian and classicist. He was regarded as the greatest historian of ancient Rome since Theodor Mommsen and the most brilliant exponent of the history of the Roman ...

comments about her situation, "Plautia exemplifies a common phenomenon in the history of Imperial Rome; a fragment of knowledge rescued from the waters of oblivion, but a figure of consequence in the social and political history of the time."

History

Edmund Groag Edmund Groag (2 February 1873, in Prerau – 19 August 1945, in Vienna) was an Austrian classical scholar, who specialized in Roman history. From 1892 he studied history and philology at the University of Vienna, receiving his doctorate in 18 ...

first suggested her existence to explain otherwise baffling and contradictory statements about the familial relationships of senators related to the Antonine dynasty, taking her name from Avidia Plautia, daughter of

Gaius Avidius Nigrinus Gaius Avidius Nigrinus (died 118 AD) was a Roman senator who lived between the 1st and 2nd centuries. Nigrinus served as suffect consul for the ''nundinium'' of April to June 110 with Tiberius Julius Aquila Polemaeanus as his colleague. Ancestr ...

, suffect consul in 110. Syme later identified more of her husbands and children, wryly commenting that while "it would be refreshing to discover aspects of social life not revealed in the correspondence of

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

(divorce has no place in his decorous pages)", he admits the alternative to accepting Plautia's existence was to assume "Hadrian, freshly married to

Vibia Sabina Vibia Sabina (13 August 83–136/137) was a Roman Empress, wife and second cousin once removed to the Roman Emperor Hadrian. She was the daughter of Matidia (niece of Roman Emperor Trajan) and suffect consul Lucius Vibius Sabinus. Early life ...

, chose to seduce the wife of Ceionius Commodus." More recently,

Anthony Birley Anthony Richard Birley (8 October 1937 – 19 December 2020) was a British ancient historian, archaeologist and academic. He was the son of Margaret Isabel (Goodlet) and historian and archaeologist Eric Birley. Early life and education Anthony ...

accepted her existence by placing her in his

family tree A family tree, also called a genealogy or a pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. More detailed family trees, used in medicine and social work, are known as genograms. Representations of ...

of the relatives of

Lucius Aelius Caesar Lucius Aelius Caesar (13 January 101 – 1 January 138) was the father of Emperor Lucius Verus. In 136, he was adopted by Hadrian and named heir to the throne. He died before Hadrian and thus never became emperor. After Lucius' death, he was re ...

, where she appears as the daughter of

Lucius Aelius Lamia Plautius Aelianus Lucius Aelius Lamia Plautius Aelianus (c. 4581/96) was a Roman senator. Life He was described by Brian W. Jones as "the most eminent of the consular victims" of Domitian.Jones, ''The Emperor Domitian'' (London: Routledge, 1993), p. 184 Juvena ...

, suffect consul in 80.

Issue

Plautia is believed to have married three different men, by whom she had at least four children:Stemma from Syme, "Antonine Relatives", p. 314 * Lucius Ceionius Commodus, consul in 106 **

, father of the emperor

Lucius Verus Lucius Aurelius Verus (15 December 130 – January/February 169) was Roman emperor from 161 until his death in 169, alongside his adoptive brother Marcus Aurelius. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty. Verus' succession together with ...

; ** A Ceionius, identified as the surmised father of

Marcus Caeionius Silvanus Marcus Caeionius Silvanus was a Roman senator of the second century AD. Life He was the ordinary consul of 156 with Gaius Serius Augurinus as his colleague. However, nothing more is presently known about his career. Based on his ''cognomen'' Si ...

, consul in 156; * Second wife of

, suffect consul in 110, who died in the year 118 ** Avidia Plautia who married

Lucius Titius Epidius Aquilinus Lucius Titius Epidius Aquilinus was a Roman senator of the second century. Life He was ordinary consul in the year 125 as the colleague of Marcus Lollius Paulinus Decimus Valerius Asiaticus Saturninus. He is primarily known from inscriptions. He ...

* Second wife of

Sextus Vettulenus Civica Cerialis Sextus Vettulenus Civica Cerialis was a Roman senator of the early second century. He was ordinary consul in AD 106 as the colleague of Lucius Ceionius Commodus. No further details of his career are attested. Cerialis is considered the son of ...

, consul in 106 **

Marcus Vettulenus Civica Barbarus Marcus Vettulenus Civica Barbarus was a Roman senator of the second century AD. A member of the Patrician class, he held the office of '' consul ordinarius'' in 157 with another patrician, Marcus Metilius Aquillius Regulus, as his colleague. Barba ...

, consul in 157

History

Issue

See also

Notes

References

Further reading