Junia Tertia, or Tertulla, (c. 60 BC

60 BC

Year 60 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Metellus and Afranius...

s-22 AD) was the third daughter of Servilia Caepionis

Servilia Caepionis

Servilia Caepionis was the mistress of Julius Caesar, mother of one of Caesar's assassins, Brutus, mother-in-law of another Caesar assassin, Cassius, and half-sister of Cato the Younger.-Life:...

 and her second husband Decimus Junius Silanus

Decimus Junius Silanus

Decimus Junius Silanus may refer to various members of the Roman gens Junia:* Decimus Junius Silanus , who lived in the 2nd century BC, and was an expert in Punic language and literature...

, half-sister of Marcus Junius Brutus

Marcus Junius Brutus

Marcus Junius Brutus , often referred to as Brutus, was a politician of the late Roman Republic. After being adopted by his uncle he used the name Quintus Servilius Caepio Brutus, but eventually returned to using his original name...

, and wife of Gaius Cassius Longinus

Gaius Cassius Longinus

Gaius Cassius Longinus was a Roman senator, a leading instigator of the plot to kill Julius Caesar, and the brother in-law of Marcus Junius Brutus.-Early life:...

.

As the relation of so many controversial figures of the late Roman Republic

Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...

, many rumours swirled around Tertia. She was first said by some to be the natural daughter of Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

, her mother's lover at the time of her birth. Later on it was said that Servilia offered her up to Caesar when his interest in her mother began to wane. This caused Cicero

Cicero

Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...

 to remark, at an auction where Caesar had sold goods to Servilia at reduced prices, that they had been discounted by a third (tertia).

Like her mother, Tertia was allowed to outlive her husband Cassius, unmolested by the triumvirs and 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...

. She survived to an advanced age, dying in the reign 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...

, around 22 AD. She had amassed a great estate in her long widowhood, and left her fortune to many prominent Romans, excepting the emperor himself. Tiberius returned the favor by allowing a large funeral to be held in her honor, but prohibiting the masks of Brutus and Cassius to be displayed in the procession.