Vitrasia Faustina (died 182 or 183) was a noble Roman woman who lived in the 2nd century during the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

Life

Vitrasia was the daughter of

Annia Fundania Faustina Annia Fundania Faustina (died 192) was a noble Roman woman who lived in the Roman Empire during the 2nd century AD. She was the paternal cousin of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and his sister Annia Cornificia Faustina. Life Fundania Faustina was t ...

and the Roman

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 ...

Titus Pomponius Proculus Vitrasius Pollio Titus Pomponius Proculus Vitrasius Pollio (died before 180) was a Roman senator, who held several imperial appointments during the reign of Marcus Aurelius. He was suffect consul in an undetermined '' nundinium'' around 151; he was a consul ''ord ...

, consul II in 176, and her brother was Titus Fundanius Vitrasius Pollio. Through her maternal grandfather,

Marcus Annius Libo Marcus Annius Libo was a Roman Senator active in the early second century AD. Life Libo came from the upper ranks of the Roman aristocracy. He was the son of Marcus Annius Verus, consul III in 126, and Rupilia Faustina. Annius Verus was Spanish o ...

consul in 128, she was a distant relative to the ruling

Nerva–Antonine dynasty The Nerva–Antonine dynasty comprised 7 Roman emperors who ruled from 96 to 192 AD: Nerva (96–98), Trajan (98–117), Hadrian (117–138), Antoninus Pius (138–161), Marcus Aurelius (161–180), Lucius Verus (161–169), and Commodus (180� ...

of the Roman Empire. Vitrasia was born and raised in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Through inheritances Vitrasia became a very wealthy heiress and had moved to

Cales Cales was an ancient city of Campania, in today's ''comune'' of Calvi Risorta in southern Italy, belonging originally to the Aurunci/Ausoni, on the Via Latina. The Romans captured it in 335 BC and established a colony with Latin rights of 2,500 ...

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

. Due to her influence, status and connections, Vitrasia became a public benefactor and a prominent citizen of Cales. Through her wealth, Vitrasia paid for the construction or repair for the civic Temple of

Magna Dea Magna Dea is Latin for " Great Goddess" and can refer to any major goddess worshipped during the Roman Republic or Roman Empire. Magna Dea could be applied to a goddess at the head of a pantheon, such as Juno or Minerva, or a goddess worshipped ...

or the Great Mother. It is uncertain if Vitrasia had ever married or had children. In 182 or 183, she was involved in one of numerous conspiracies against her unstable maternal second cousin the Roman Emperor

Commodus Commodus (; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was a Roman emperor who ruled from 177 to 192. He served jointly with his father Marcus Aurelius from 176 until the latter's death in 180, and thereafter he reigned alone until his assassination. ...

who ruled 180–192. She was executed on the orders of Commodus.

Sources

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 ...

, ''Septimius Severus: the African emperor'', 2nd edition (1999) * Albino Garzetti, ''From Tiberius to the Antonines: a history of the Roman Empire AD 14-192'' (1974) * Eric R. Varner, ''Mutilation and transformation: damnatio memoriae and Roman imperial portraiture'', (2004) * http://www.mjengh.com/femina_habilis_8457.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Faustina, Vitrasia 2nd-century Romans 180s deaths 2nd-century Roman women Executed ancient Roman people People executed by the Roman Empire 2nd-century executions Executed ancient Roman women Year of birth unknown Vitrasii Nerva–Antonine dynasty