Milonia Caesonia

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Milonia Caesonia († January 24, 41 in Rome ) was the fourth wife of the Roman emperor Caligula .

Life

Milonia Caesonia was the older half-sister of Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo . Her niece Domitia Longina married the later Emperor Domitian .

According to Suetonius , Caligula married her although she was neither beautiful nor young and already had three daughters by another man. He describes her as wasteful and vicious, but Caligula loved her very much.

According to Cassius Dio , Caligula began an affair with her in late 39 or early 40. She was pregnant when they married and gave birth to Julia Drusilla only a month later ; Suetonius even claimed the daughter was born on the wedding day herself. The Roman public is said not to have been taken with the wedding.

Juvenal speculated that Caligula went crazy as a result of a love potion Caesonia served him. Suetonius claimed that Caligula had Caesonia perform in front of his troops and even showed them naked to his friends. He would have jokingly threatened to torture or kill her.

After Caligula was stabbed to death during a theatrical performance on January 24, 41, Caesonia and her daughter were also killed. According to Flavius ​​Josephus , she died bravely.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Suetonius, Caligula 25.
  2. ^ A b Cassius Dio 59, 23, 7–8.
  3. ^ Cassius Dio 59, 28, 7.
  4. ↑ Juvenal, Satiren 6, 615-20.
  5. ^ Suetonius, Caligula 33.
  6. ↑ Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 19, 2, 4
personal data
SURNAME Milonia Caesonia
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Caesonia, Milonia
BRIEF DESCRIPTION fourth wife of Caligula
DATE OF BIRTH 1st century BC BC or 1st century
DATE OF DEATH January 24th 41
Place of death Rome