Antonia Caenis
Caenis († 73 / 74 ) was the private secretary of the younger Antonia and Konkubine of the Roman Emperor Vespasian . It is attested in Suetonius and Cassius Dio .
As a slave to Antonia , sister-in-law of Tiberius and mother of Claudius , Antonia Caenis was responsible for their private correspondence. The historian Cassius Dio reports in his Roman History that Caenis was dictated by her mistress that incriminating document that led to the overthrow of the powerful Praetorian prefect Sejan . When she was then asked to immediately forget what was written, she is said to have replied: “Your instructions, mistress, are in vain; I do not only carry this, but also all the other things you have dictated to me, always in my mind, and it can never be erased. "
Caenis was later released by Antonia and gained considerable influence at the court of the son of her former mistress. She began a relationship with the able Vespasian, who was still married to Flavia Domitilla at the time, and supported his rise under Claudius and Nero . She also proved to be very enterprising, helping her partner with his partner's financial transactions. Vespasian officially took her as a concubine after the death of his wife, a regular marriage was not possible due to the difference in class (Vespasian was a senator, Caenis a freedwoman).
After Vespasian emerged from the turmoil of the four-emperor year 69 as emperor, Caenis appeared next to him in public like a lawful wife. She lived in a prestigious villa on Via Nomentana in Rome and had her own household there, in which she now employed slaves herself. Apparently she treated her servants very well, in any case she is referred to in an inscription as optima patrona ("best mistress"). Caenis made a substantial fortune through her involvement in her partner's financial affairs. It is possible that after her death 73 or 74 on the go Via Nomentana built spas back to a testamentary foundation.
reception
- Lindsey Davis : The Emperor's Companion. Novel . Droemer Knaur, Munich 2001, ISBN 3-426-63108-3 .
- Robert Fabri: The sword of the tribune . Novel. Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag, Reinbek near Hamburg, November 2018, ISBN 9783499275128
literature
- Helmut Castritius : The Flavian Family. Women next to Vespasian, Titus and Domitian . In: Hildegard Temporini-Countess Vitzthum (Hrsg.): Die Kaiserinnen Roms. From Livia to Theodora . CH Beck, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-406-49513-3 , p. 164-186, especially 165-166 .
- Barbara Levick : Vespasian . Routledge, London 1999, ISBN 0-415-16618-7 , pp. 11, 102, 182, 196 .
Remarks
- ^ Suetonius, Vespasian 3 ; Vespasian 21 ; Domitian 12.3 ; Cassius Dio 66.14.
- ↑ Cassius Dio 66,14,2.
- ↑ CIL 6, 12037 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Antonia Caenis |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Caenis |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Roman freedmen, concubines of Vespasians |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1st century BC BC or 1st century |
| DATE OF DEATH | 73 or 74 |