Claudia Antonia
Encyclopedia
Claudia Antonia (ca. AD 30–AD 66) was the daughter of the Roman Emperor
Claudius
and his second wife Aelia Paetina
. Antonia was also a great-grandniece of the Emperor Augustus
, great-niece of the Emperor Tiberius
, first cousin of the Emperor Caligula
, half-sister to Claudia Octavia
and Britannicus
, and stepsister and sister-in-law of the Emperor Nero
.
Until 37, she was raised by her paternal grandmother Antonia Minor
(who died that year). From then until 43, she was raised by her father.
In 43, she first married Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, (a descendant from Pompeia, the daughter of triumvir Pompey
), a man of the highest birth. His parents were consul Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi
and Scribonia
. According to Suetonius
he died several years later, because he was stabbed to death while in bed with a favorite boyfriend. Cassius Dio states that the Empress Valeria Messalina (out of her fear, of Pompeius being a rival to Britannicus
) ordered his execution, so that Antonia could marry Messalina's half-brother Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix
.
Faustus Sulla and Antonia married in 47. They had a son who was of little strength. He died before his second birthday. In 58, Faustus Sulla was exiled, and murdered in 62 on the orders of the Emperor Nero
. In 65, Tacitus
records the rumour that Gaius Calpurnius Piso
intended to marry Antonia, as an element of his conspiracy against Nero
.
After the death of the Empress Poppaea Sabina
, Nero's second wife, Nero
asked Antonia to marry him. When Antonia refused, Nero had her charged with an attempt of rebellion and executed her. With her death, passed the last living grandchild of Nero Claudius Drusus
and Antonia Minor
.
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
Claudius
Claudius
Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...
and his second wife Aelia Paetina
Aelia Paetina
Aelia Paetina or Paetina was the second wife of the Roman Emperor Claudius. Her biological father was consul of 4, Sextus Aelius Catus while her mother is unknown. She was born into the family of the Aelii Tuberones, and thus apparently descended from the consul of 11 BC...
. Antonia was also a great-grandniece of the Emperor Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
, great-niece of the Emperor Tiberius
Tiberius
Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
, first cousin of the Emperor Caligula
Caligula
Caligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...
, half-sister to Claudia Octavia
Claudia Octavia
Claudia Octavia was an Empress of Rome. She was a great-niece of the Emperor Tiberius, paternal first cousin of the Emperor Caligula, daughter of the Emperor Claudius, and stepsister and first wife of the Emperor Nero...
and Britannicus
Britannicus
Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus was the son of the Roman emperor Claudius and his third wife Valeria Messalina. He became the heir-designate of the empire at his birth, less than a month into his father's reign. He was still a young boy at the time of his mother's downfall and Claudius'...
, and stepsister and sister-in-law of the Emperor Nero
Nero
Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
.
Until 37, she was raised by her paternal grandmother Antonia Minor
Antonia Minor
Antonia Minor , also known as Antonia the Younger or simply Antonia was the younger of two daughters of Roman politician Mark Antony and Octavia Minor. Tacitus Ann. 4.44.2 and 12.54.2 may have confused the two Antonia sisters...
(who died that year). From then until 43, she was raised by her father.
In 43, she first married Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, (a descendant from Pompeia, the daughter of triumvir Pompey
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
), a man of the highest birth. His parents were consul Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi
Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi
This article is about Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi, the consul that served under the Roman Emperor Tiberius of the 1st century. To see other Romans with this name, see Licinia ....
and Scribonia
Scribonia (daughter of Lucius Scribonius Libo consul 16)
Scribonia Magna , in the modern historical sources she is known as Scribonia Crassi was a Roman noblewoman that lived in the Roman Empire...
. According to Suetonius
Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era....
he died several years later, because he was stabbed to death while in bed with a favorite boyfriend. Cassius Dio states that the Empress Valeria Messalina (out of her fear, of Pompeius being a rival to Britannicus
Britannicus
Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus was the son of the Roman emperor Claudius and his third wife Valeria Messalina. He became the heir-designate of the empire at his birth, less than a month into his father's reign. He was still a young boy at the time of his mother's downfall and Claudius'...
) ordered his execution, so that Antonia could marry Messalina's half-brother Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix
Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix
Faustus Cornelius Sulla Felix was one of the lesser known figures of the Julio-Claudian dynasty of ancient Rome. His grandmother was Antonia Major, the niece of Emperor Augustus by her husband Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus . His mother was Domitia Lepida, a great niece of Emperor Augustus and...
.
Faustus Sulla and Antonia married in 47. They had a son who was of little strength. He died before his second birthday. In 58, Faustus Sulla was exiled, and murdered in 62 on the orders of the Emperor Nero
Nero
Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
. In 65, Tacitus
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
records the rumour that Gaius Calpurnius Piso
Gaius Calpurnius Piso
Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso was a Roman senator in the 1st century. He was the focal figure in the Pisonian Conspiracy of 65 AD, the most famous and wide-ranging plot against the throne of Emperor Nero.-Character and early life:...
intended to marry Antonia, as an element of his conspiracy against Nero
Pisonian conspiracy
The conspiracy of Gaius Calpurnius Piso in AD 65 represented one of the major turning points in the reign of the Roman emperor Nero...
.
After the death of the Empress Poppaea Sabina
Poppaea Sabina
Poppaea Sabina and sometimes referred to as Poppaea Sabina the Younger to differentiate her from her mother of the same name, was a Roman Empress as the second wife of the Emperor Nero. Prior to this she was the wife of the future Emperor Otho...
, Nero's second wife, Nero
Nero
Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
asked Antonia to marry him. When Antonia refused, Nero had her charged with an attempt of rebellion and executed her. With her death, passed the last living grandchild of Nero Claudius Drusus
Nero Claudius Drusus
Nero Claudius Drusus Germanicus , born Decimus Claudius Drusus also called Drusus, Drusus I, Nero Drusus, or Drusus the Elder was a Roman politician and military commander. He was a fully patrician Claudian on his father's side but his maternal grandmother was from a plebeian family...
and Antonia Minor
Antonia Minor
Antonia Minor , also known as Antonia the Younger or simply Antonia was the younger of two daughters of Roman politician Mark Antony and Octavia Minor. Tacitus Ann. 4.44.2 and 12.54.2 may have confused the two Antonia sisters...
.
Ancestry
Biography
(edd.), Prosopographia Imperii Romani saeculi I, II et III, Berlin, 1933 - . (PIR2)- Levick, Barbara, Claudius, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1990.
- Barrett, Anthony A., Agrippina: Sex, Power and Politics in the Early Roman Empire, Yale University Press, New Haven, 1996.
- Griffin, Miriam, Nero. The End of a Dynasty, Batsford, London, 1984
Portraiture
- Poulsen, Vagn, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. Les portraits romains I: République et dynastie julienne, Copenhagen, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, 1962, 111 Nr. 74 Taf. 128 ff.
- Boschung, Dietrich, Überlegungen zum Liciniergrab, JdI 101, 1986, pp. 257-287.