Marcia (concubine of Commodus)

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Marcia Aurelia Ceionia Demetrias († 193 AD) was a concubine of the Roman emperor Commodus .

Life

Youth and ascent to concubine

Marcia was the daughter of Marcus Aurelius Sabinianus and a freedman ; she received her education from the eunuch Hyacinthus, who was enthusiastic about Christianity. At first she was the concubine of Marcus Claudius Ummidius Quadratus , who was executed in 182 after a conspiracy against the emperor. So even though she had been the friend of a powerful enemy of the Commodus, she now became his concubine.

Their position at court was particularly influential through the favor of Commodus; she received homage similar to that of a real empress, but without, as Herodian says exaggeratedly, receiving almost all the privileges and the title of Augusta.

Assassination of Commodus

Marcia was instrumental in the murder of Commodus. He told her that the next morning, New Year's Day, he would not take up his post as consul in the palace in the traditional purple robe, but in the clothes of the gladiators from their barracks. On the other hand, his lover objected that this would amount to a gross degradation of the imperial dignity. The emperor was annoyed, but his plan did not go down any better with Praetorian prefects Quintus Aemilius Laetus and Eclectus either, so he put all three names on a proscription list of people he intended to execute. But this list was found by the young favorite page of the emperor, Philcommodus, and showed it to Marcia, who, according to Herodian, called the monarch a drunkard who was not worth the fact that she had endured his insults for so many years. These three now outlaws forged a plot to get Commodus out of the way. As usual, Marcia served the emperor with poisonous wine after the bath. The well-trained emperor only felt very nauseous and vomited. Before he could suspect her, the extraordinarily strong athlete Narcissus was quickly bribed, who strangled Commodus.

death

The conspirators now designated Pertinax as the successor to Commodus. Marcia chose Eclectus as her husband, who, like her, had previously belonged to the household of Ummidius Quadratus and with whom she is said to have had a relationship since then. But just three months later, when Pertinax was disempowered, Eclectus and soon afterwards also Marcia were eliminated by the new emperor Didius Iulianus .

Position on Christianity

Marcia was very sympathetic to Christianity, probably because of the upbringing by Hyacinthus, or even a Christian herself. Hippolytus adds that she had successfully campaigned with Commodus for the return of the Christians exiled to slave labor in the mines of Sardinia, whose names were on a list brought to her by Pope Victor I ; Callistus, who was initially not released because of various offenses, was pardoned after some hesitation and, much later than Calixt I, even became bishop of Rome.

literature

Remarks

  1. ^ Name in CIL 10, 5918 = Inscriptiones Latinae selectae 406.
  2. ↑ Hippolytus , refutatio omnium haeresium 9,12,12; Epitome de Caesaribus 17.5.
  3. ↑ (excerpts from) Cassius Dio 73,4,6; 73,13,5; Historia Augusta , Commodus 8.6; 11.9; 17.1; Herodian 1,16,4.
  4. ↑ Herodian I, 16.4; on this Stein (see lit.), col. 1604.
  5. ↑ Herodian 1,16,4-1,17,11; (Excerpts from) Cassius Dio 73,22,1; 73,22,4-5; Historia Augusta, Commodus 17.1 f.
  6. ↑ Herodian II, 1.3.
  7. ↑ Herodian 1,17,6.
  8. ↑ Cassius Dio (in Xiphilinos ) 74.16.5; Historia Augusta, Didius Iulianus 6.2.
  9. ↑ Cassius Dio 73,4,7; - the passage indicated does not mean that Marcia was a Christian, but only that she favored Christians - but this note is likely to have been inserted into the text of Cassius Dio by Xiphilinos.
  10. ↑ Hippolytus, refutatio omnium haeresium 9, 12, 10 ff .; Hildegard Temporini-Countess Vitzthum (see lit.), p. 260 f.
personal data
SURNAME Marcia
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Marcia Aurelia Ceionia Demetrias
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Mistress of the Emperor Commodus
DATE OF BIRTH 2nd century
DATE OF DEATH 193