Claudia Antonia

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Portrait of Claudia Antonia on a statue from the Domus Romana, Mdina

Claudia Antonia (* probably 29 AD; † 65 AD), also known as Antonia for short, was the eldest daughter of the Roman emperor Claudius from his second marriage to Aelia Paetina .

Life

Claudia Antonia's mother was the adoptive sister of the Praetorian Prefect Lucius Aelius Seianus , who was the most powerful man in Rome under Emperor Tiberius . At the height of his power in 28 he succeeded in marrying his sister into the imperial family, even if Claudius was a rather insignificant prince at the time. Claudia Antonia was probably born the following year. After Seianus' fall in 31, Claudius divorced her mother. Claudia Antonia therefore grew up first with her grandmother Antonia minor and then with her father.

Her first husband, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus , a descendant of the famous Pompey , was almost killed by Caligula as a child because of his nickname Magnus . Claudius rehabilitated him and gave him his daughter as a wife in 41. According to Suetonius , he later had him killed anyway. According to Cassius Dio , he was reported by Messalina under a pretext in 47 and executed by Claudius. Apparently Messalina wanted to strengthen the Julian-Claudian dynasty by marrying her half-brother Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix with her stepdaughter . From this second marriage of Claudia Antonia, however, there was only one son who died as an infant. Cassius Dio emphasized that Claudius would have made a good decision not to let the birth of this child be celebrated in public.

After Nero's murder of her second husband in 62, Claudia Antonia joined the so-called Pisonian conspiracy against Nero. It was planned that Nero should be murdered on April 19, 65 while visiting the circus. After the successful murder of the tyrant, Claudia Antonia and Gaius Calpurnius Piso , the leader of the plot, were to wait at the Cerestempel until they were brought to the Praetorian camp to proclaim Piso the new ruler. Antonia was to accompany him “ to awaken the favor of the people ”. This could be interpreted in such a way that Piso intended to marry Antonia, possibly in order to legitimize his claims by marrying an imperial daughter. However, Piso was married.

But while Piso and numerous co-conspirators found death after the betrayed assassination attempt, Antonia initially seems to have remained undisturbed after the discovery of the conspiracy. It was only when she refused to be Nero's third wife after Poppaea's death in the summer of 65 that Nero accused her of participating in a conspiracy and had her killed.

presentation

Claudia Antonia appeared on some provincial coins together with her half-siblings Claudia Octavia and Britannicus .

literature

Web links

Commons : Claudia Antonia  - Collection of Images

swell

  1. ↑ Cassius Dio 60,5,8 .
  2. ^ Suetonius, Claudius 27 .
  3. ↑ Cassius Dio 61,29,6a .
  4. ↑ Tacitus , Annalen 13, 23, 1.
  5. ^ Cassius Dio 61, 30, 6
  6. ↑ Tacitus Annalen 15, 53, 3 , based on a report by Pliny .
  7. ^ Suetonius Nero 35, 4 .
personal data
SURNAME Claudia Antonia
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Antonia, Claudia
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Daughter of the Roman emperor Claudius
DATE OF BIRTH at 30
DATE OF DEATH 65