Faustina the elder

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Portrait of Faustina in the Capitoline Museums in Rome, inv. MC 851

Annia Galeria Faustina (* 105 ; † before October 24, 140 ), called to distinguish it from her daughter of the same name Faustina the elder , was the wife of the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius . Faustina was the daughter of the Consul of 126, Marcus Annius Verus . Her mother Rupilia Faustina was the daughter of Emperor Trajan's niece Matidia and half-sister of Hadrian's wife Vibia Sabina . As the richest heiress of Rome, Faustina brought a large fortune to Antoninus at the time of their marriage around the year 110, which, however, he hardly touched. With her husband she had four children, two sons Marcus Galerius Aurelius Antoninus and Marcus Aurelius Fulvius Antoninus as well as the two daughters Aurelia Fadilla and Faustina, the only child who survived their parents. The daughter Faustina was given the addition of younger to distinguish it from her mother of the same name . When Antoninus Pius ascended the throne in 138, she received the title of Augusta . Her personality remains largely in the dark, as some rumors of licentiousness have been circulating about her, but they are inconclusive.

Rome, Temple of Castor and Pollux , seen from the west (on the left the temple of Antoninus Pius and Faustina). Drawing by Giovanni Battista Piranesi , mid-18th century
A denarius with a portrait of the consecrated Faustina

Faustina died before October 24, 140. On this day she was consecrated and honored with a funus censorium (a state funeral) before November 13 . She was buried in Hadrian's mausoleum . After her death, the Senate allowed the minting of numerous coins with her portrait and also provided them with divine attributes. Antoninus had a Faustina temple built above the Roman Forum , which was also dedicated to him after his death. Your commemorating Antoninus also set up a foundation to alimentation a young girl who puellae Faustinianae . After the death of Antoninus, Mark Aurel erected a triumphal column in his and Faustina's honor, of which only the base has survived.

literature

Web links

Commons : Faustina the Elder  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. a b c Antonius Lux (ed.): Great women of world history. A thousand biographies in words and pictures . Sebastian Lux Verlag, Munich 1963, p. 165.