Servilia Caepionis
Encyclopedia
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
.
, and was the eldest child of Livia Drusa and Quintus Servilius Caepio the Younger
. Her parents had two other children, Servilia the Younger
and a younger Quintus Servilius Caepio
. Her parents divorced when she was young and her mother married Marcus Porcius Cato
(who was father to Servilia's younger half-brother Cato the Younger
.) Following her parents' divorce both her mother and stepfather died. Servilia and her younger siblings were brought up in the house of their maternal uncle, Marcus Livius Drusus
, who was the tribune. He too, however, died when she was 16.
Prior to 85 BC, she was married to Marcus Junius Brutus the Elder
, who became tribune of the plebs in 83 BC, and was founder of the colony in Capua. They had only one known child, Marcus Junius Brutus
, born around 85 BC. Following the death of Sulla
, who had been dictator in 79 BC but had resigned a year later, the elder Brutus was killed by Pompey after the surrender of Mutina, where he had fought him in 77 BC. Servilia's second marriage was with Decimus Junius Silanus
, with whom she had three daughters; Junia Prima, Junia Secunda
, and Junia Tertia
.
Before 64 BC she became the mistress of Julius Caesar
, and remained so until his death in 44 BC. Caesar was very fond of Servilia and, years later, when he returned to a chaotic Rome after the Gallic Wars
, he presented her with a priceless black pearl. It is also said that she offered him her youngest daughter Junia Tertia
once his interests began to wane. Cicero
wittily referenced this in remarking of a real estate deal: "It's a better bargain than you think, for there is a third (tertia) off." There was also gossip that Junia Tertia was Caesar's daughter, but it is unlikely that both tales could be true at once. It was also rumored that Servilia's son Marcus Junius Brutus
, later one of Caesar's assassins, was Caesar's son but this is unlikely, as Caesar was only fifteen to seventeen years older than Brutus, and patricide
was considered among the worst of crimes.
Scandalously, during a debate in the Senate over the execution or imprisonment of the Catiline
conspirators in 63 BC, someone handed Caesar a letter. Servilia's half-brother, Cato, and Caesar were on opposing sides in the debate. When Cato accused Caesar of corresponding with the conspirators, and demanded the letter be read aloud, he discovered to his horror that it was a love letter written by his half-sister to Caesar.
Servilia may still have had influence over both Cato and her son, Brutus, at that time, but in 49 BC civil war broke out, and Cato left Rome to side with Pompey the Great, despite Servilia's relationship with Caesar. Although Brutus resented Pompey for the death of his father, he went too. In 48 BC Pompey was defeated in the Battle of Pharsalus
. Caesar gave orders to his officers not to harm Brutus if they saw him in battle, probably out of respect for Servilia. In 46 BC Caesar defeated Cato at the battle of Thapsus
, and Cato took his own life.
Following the death of his uncle, although he was given high honour by Caesar, Brutus divorced his first wife Claudia Pulchra and married his cousin Porcia Catonis
, Cato's daughter, in 45 BC. Servilia appears to have deeply resented the marriage as it caused a semi-scandal due to Brutus' unexplained and unreasonable rejection of Claudia Pulchra
. As well as this she was jealous of the affection Brutus had for Porcia and Servilia possibly identified the influence Porcia could have over Brutus. The marriage resulted in a rift between mother and son. It may have been through Porcia's influence that Brutus decided to attack Caesar in 44 BC, in which he and several other senators conspired and assassinated Caesar.
After the assassination of Caesar by her son Brutus (and her son-in-law Cassius), the conspirators met at Servilia's house. Apart from Servilia the only other women in attendance were Porcia and Junia Tertia. Despite this, she herself escaped the purges of the second triumvirate
unscathed. After Brutus's death, she lived out the remainder of her life in relative comfort and affluence under the care of Cicero
's friend Titus Pomponius Atticus
. Her son's ashes were sent to her from Philippi
and she died naturally, as did Junia Tertia. Porcia, on the other hand, died in around 43/42 BC of uncertain causes although a majority of them claim that she committed suicide following Brutus' death.
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....
, mother of one of Caesar's assassins, 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...
, mother-in-law of another Caesar assassin, Cassius
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:...
, and half-sister of Cato the Younger
Cato the Younger
Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis , commonly known as Cato the Younger to distinguish him from his great-grandfather , was a politician and statesman in the late Roman Republic, and a follower of the Stoic philosophy...
.
Life
Little is known of Servilia's early life. She was a patrician who could trace her line back to Gaius Servilius AhalaGaius Servilius Ahala
Gaius Servilius Structus Ahala was a 5th century BC politician of ancient Rome, considered by many later writers to have been a hero. His fame rested on the contention that he saved Rome from Spurius Maelius in 439 BC by killing him with a dagger concealed under an armpit...
, and was the eldest child of Livia Drusa and Quintus Servilius Caepio the Younger
Quintus Servilius Caepio the Younger
Quintus Servilius Caepio the Younger was a Roman soldier and statesman. He was elected praetor in 91 BC, and fought for Rome during the Marsic Wars of the Italian Rebellion against Rome. His father was Quintus Servilius Caepio the Elder....
. Her parents had two other children, Servilia the Younger
Servilia the younger
Servilia was the younger full sister of Servilia Caepionis and second wife of Lucullus. Lucullus married her on his return from the Third Mithridatic War, after divorcing his first wife Clodia. Servilia bore him a son, but like her sister, she was faithless to her husband. Lucullus, after putting...
and a younger Quintus Servilius Caepio
Quintus Servilius Caepio (son of Q. S. Caepio the Younger)
Quintus Servilius Caepio, was the son of Quintus Servilius Caepio the Younger and Livia Drusa, and the full brother to Servilia Caepionis mother of Caesar's assassin Marcus Junius Brutus....
. Her parents divorced when she was young and her mother married Marcus Porcius Cato
Marcus Porcius Cato
Marcus Porcius Cato may refer to:*Cato the Elder , born Marcus Porcius Priscus and then nicknamed Cato*Marcus Porcius Cato Licinianus , son of Cato the elder by his first wife...
(who was father to Servilia's younger half-brother Cato the Younger
Cato the Younger
Marcus Porcius Cato Uticensis , commonly known as Cato the Younger to distinguish him from his great-grandfather , was a politician and statesman in the late Roman Republic, and a follower of the Stoic philosophy...
.) Following her parents' divorce both her mother and stepfather died. Servilia and her younger siblings were brought up in the house of their maternal uncle, Marcus Livius Drusus
Marcus Livius Drusus (tribune)
The younger Marcus Livius Drusus, son of Marcus Livius Drusus, was tribune of the plebeians in 91 BC. In the manner of Gaius Gracchus, he set out with comprehensive plans, but his aim was to strengthen senatorial rule...
, who was the tribune. He too, however, died when she was 16.
Prior to 85 BC, she was married to Marcus Junius Brutus the Elder
Marcus Junius Brutus the Elder
Marcus Junius Brutus, sometimes referred to by modern historians as Marcus Junius Brutus the Elder to distinguish him from his more famous son, was a tribune of the Roman Republic in 83 BC and the founder of the colony in Capua. He was the first husband to Servilia Caepionis, the elder half-sister...
, who became tribune of the plebs in 83 BC, and was founder of the colony in Capua. They had only one known child, 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...
, born around 85 BC. Following the death of Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix , known commonly as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He had the rare distinction of holding the office of consul twice, as well as that of dictator...
, who had been dictator in 79 BC but had resigned a year later, the elder Brutus was killed by Pompey after the surrender of Mutina, where he had fought him in 77 BC. Servilia's second marriage was with Decimus Junius Silanus
Decimus Junius Silanus (Consul 62 BC)
Decimus Junius M. f. D. n. Silanus was a consul of the Roman Republic. He may have been the son of Marcus Junius Silanus, consul in 109 BC. He was the stepfather of Marcus Junius Brutus, having married Brutus' mother, Servilia.-Political career:...
, with whom she had three daughters; Junia Prima, Junia Secunda
Junia Secunda
Junia referred to by modern historians as Junia Secunda was a Roman woman who lived in the 1st century BC. She was the second daughter of Servilia Caepionis, the lover of Julius Caesar and sister of Cato the Younger, and Decimus Junius Silanus, the elder being Junia Prima and the younger Junia Tertia...
, and Junia Tertia
Junia Tertia
Junia Tertia, or Tertulla, was the third daughter of Servilia Caepionis and her second husband Decimus Junius Silanus, half-sister of Marcus Junius Brutus, and wife of Gaius Cassius Longinus....
.
Before 64 BC she became the mistress 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....
, and remained so until his death in 44 BC. Caesar was very fond of Servilia and, years later, when he returned to a chaotic Rome after the Gallic Wars
Gallic Wars
The Gallic Wars were a series of military campaigns waged by the Roman proconsul Julius Caesar against several Gallic tribes. They lasted from 58 BC to 51 BC. The Gallic Wars culminated in the decisive Battle of Alesia in 52 BC, in which a complete Roman victory resulted in the expansion of the...
, he presented her with a priceless black pearl. It is also said that she offered him her youngest daughter Junia Tertia
Junia Tertia
Junia Tertia, or Tertulla, was the third daughter of Servilia Caepionis and her second husband Decimus Junius Silanus, half-sister of Marcus Junius Brutus, and wife of Gaius Cassius Longinus....
once his interests began to wane. 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...
wittily referenced this in remarking of a real estate deal: "It's a better bargain than you think, for there is a third (tertia) off." There was also gossip that Junia Tertia was Caesar's daughter, but it is unlikely that both tales could be true at once. It was also rumored that Servilia's son 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...
, later one of Caesar's assassins, was Caesar's son but this is unlikely, as Caesar was only fifteen to seventeen years older than Brutus, and patricide
Patricide
Patricide is the act of killing one's father, or a person who kills his or her father. The word patricide derives from the Latin word pater and the Latin suffix -cida...
was considered among the worst of crimes.
Scandalously, during a debate in the Senate over the execution or imprisonment of the Catiline
Catiline
Lucius Sergius Catilina , known in English as Catiline, was a Roman politician of the 1st century BC who is best known for the Catiline conspiracy, an attempt to overthrow the Roman Republic, and in particular the power of the aristocratic Senate.-Family background:Catiline was born in 108 BC to...
conspirators in 63 BC, someone handed Caesar a letter. Servilia's half-brother, Cato, and Caesar were on opposing sides in the debate. When Cato accused Caesar of corresponding with the conspirators, and demanded the letter be read aloud, he discovered to his horror that it was a love letter written by his half-sister to Caesar.
Servilia may still have had influence over both Cato and her son, Brutus, at that time, but in 49 BC civil war broke out, and Cato left Rome to side with Pompey the Great, despite Servilia's relationship with Caesar. Although Brutus resented Pompey for the death of his father, he went too. In 48 BC Pompey was defeated in the Battle of Pharsalus
Battle of Pharsalus
The Battle of Pharsalus was a decisive battle of Caesar's Civil War. On 9 August 48 BC at Pharsalus in central Greece, Gaius Julius Caesar and his allies formed up opposite the army of the republic under the command of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus...
. Caesar gave orders to his officers not to harm Brutus if they saw him in battle, probably out of respect for Servilia. In 46 BC Caesar defeated Cato at the battle of Thapsus
Battle of Thapsus
The Battle of Thapsus took place on April 6, 46 BC near Thapsus . The Republican forces of the Optimates, led by Quintus Caecillius Metellus Scipio, clashed with the veteran forces loyal to Julius Caesar.-Prelude:...
, and Cato took his own life.
Following the death of his uncle, although he was given high honour by Caesar, Brutus divorced his first wife Claudia Pulchra and married his cousin Porcia Catonis
Porcia Catonis
Porcia Catonis, also known simply as Porcia was a Roman woman who lived in the 1st century BC. She was the daughter of Marcus Porcius Cato Uticencis and his first wife Atilia...
, Cato's daughter, in 45 BC. Servilia appears to have deeply resented the marriage as it caused a semi-scandal due to Brutus' unexplained and unreasonable rejection of Claudia Pulchra
Claudia Pulchra
Claudia Pulchra was the name of several women of Roman gens of Claudii during the 1st century BC and 1st century AD. The Latin pulchra is the root of the English word pulchritude .-Wife of Tiberius Gracchus:...
. As well as this she was jealous of the affection Brutus had for Porcia and Servilia possibly identified the influence Porcia could have over Brutus. The marriage resulted in a rift between mother and son. It may have been through Porcia's influence that Brutus decided to attack Caesar in 44 BC, in which he and several other senators conspired and assassinated Caesar.
After the assassination of Caesar by her son Brutus (and her son-in-law Cassius), the conspirators met at Servilia's house. Apart from Servilia the only other women in attendance were Porcia and Junia Tertia. Despite this, she herself escaped the purges of the second triumvirate
Second Triumvirate
The Second Triumvirate is the name historians give to the official political alliance of Octavius , Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Mark Antony, formed on 26 November 43 BC with the enactment of the Lex Titia, the adoption of which marked the end of the Roman Republic...
unscathed. After Brutus's death, she lived out the remainder of her life in relative comfort and affluence under the care of 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...
's friend Titus Pomponius Atticus
Titus Pomponius Atticus
Titus Pomponius Atticus, born Titus Pomponius , came from an old but not strictly noble Roman family of the equestrian class and the Gens Pomponia. He was a celebrated editor, banker, and patron of letters with residences in both Rome and Athens...
. Her son's ashes were sent to her from Philippi
Philippi
Philippi was a city in eastern Macedonia, established by Philip II in 356 BC and abandoned in the 14th century after the Ottoman conquest...
and she died naturally, as did Junia Tertia. Porcia, on the other hand, died in around 43/42 BC of uncertain causes although a majority of them claim that she committed suicide following Brutus' death.
Marriages and issue
- Marcus Junius Brutus the ElderMarcus Junius Brutus the ElderMarcus Junius Brutus, sometimes referred to by modern historians as Marcus Junius Brutus the Elder to distinguish him from his more famous son, was a tribune of the Roman Republic in 83 BC and the founder of the colony in Capua. He was the first husband to Servilia Caepionis, the elder half-sister...
- Marcus Junius BrutusMarcus Junius BrutusMarcus 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...
- Marcus Junius Brutus
- Decimus Junius SilanusDecimus Junius Silanus (Consul 62 BC)Decimus Junius M. f. D. n. Silanus was a consul of the Roman Republic. He may have been the son of Marcus Junius Silanus, consul in 109 BC. He was the stepfather of Marcus Junius Brutus, having married Brutus' mother, Servilia.-Political career:...
, the consul of 62 BC- Marcus Junius SilanusMarcus Junius Silanus (consul 25 BC)Marcus Junius D. f. M. n. Silanus was consul in 25 BC with Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, the emperor Augustus.-Biography:Silanus was a descendant of the noble Roman house of the Junii Silani. He was probably the son of Decimus Junius Silanus, consul in 62 BC, and Servilia Caepionis, and perhaps...
, the consul of 25 BC - Junia Prima
- Junia SecundaJunia SecundaJunia referred to by modern historians as Junia Secunda was a Roman woman who lived in the 1st century BC. She was the second daughter of Servilia Caepionis, the lover of Julius Caesar and sister of Cato the Younger, and Decimus Junius Silanus, the elder being Junia Prima and the younger Junia Tertia...
(married Marcus Aemilius LepidusMarcus Aemilius Lepidus (triumvir)Marcus Aemilius Lepidus , was a Roman patrician who rose to become a member of the Second Triumvirate and Pontifex Maximus. His father, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, had been involved in a rebellion against the Roman Republic.Lepidus was among Julius Caesar's greatest supporters...
, the future triumvir of the Second TriumvirateSecond TriumvirateThe Second Triumvirate is the name historians give to the official political alliance of Octavius , Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Mark Antony, formed on 26 November 43 BC with the enactment of the Lex Titia, the adoption of which marked the end of the Roman Republic...
) - Junia TertiaJunia TertiaJunia Tertia, or Tertulla, was the third daughter of Servilia Caepionis and her second husband Decimus Junius Silanus, half-sister of Marcus Junius Brutus, and wife of Gaius Cassius Longinus....
(married Gaius Cassius, another prominent assassin of Julius Caesar.)
- Marcus Junius Silanus
In popular culture
- A fictionalised ServiliaServilia of the JuniiServilia of the Junii is a character from the HBO/BBC/RAI original television series, Rome, played by Lindsay Duncan. The mother of Marcus Junius Brutus, lover of the married Julius Caesar and enemy of Atia of the Julii, Servilia is depicted as a sophisticated and regal Roman matron who follows her...
appeared in the 2005 television series RomeRome (TV series)Rome is a British-American–Italian historical drama television series created by Bruno Heller, John Milius and William J. MacDonald. The show's two seasons premiered in 2005 and 2007, and were later released on DVD. Rome is set in the 1st century BC, during Ancient Rome's transition from Republic...
, played by Lindsay DuncanLindsay DuncanLindsay Vere Duncan, CBE is a Scottish stage, television and film actress. On stage she won two Olivier Awards and a Tony Award for her performance in Les Liaisons dangereuses and Private Lives , and she starred in several plays by Harold Pinter. Her most famous roles on television include:...
. - An even more fictionalised Servilia makes an appearance in the 2005 six-part mini series Empire, played by Trudie StylerTrudie StylerTrudie Styler is an English actress and producer. She is the second wife of the musician Sting.-Life and career:Styler was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England. She attended North Bromsgrove High School, where one of her teachers was Clifford T. Ward...
. - A very fictionalized Servilia appears in The Gates of RomeThe Gates of RomeThe Gates Of Rome is the first novel in the Emperor series, written by author Conn Iggulden. The series is historical fiction following the life of Julius Caesar.-Plot introduction:...
, by Conn IgguldenConn IgguldenConn Iggulden is a British author who mainly writes historical fiction. He also co-authored The Dangerous Book for Boys.-Background:...
and the rest of books of the Emperor Series of Novels. - Servilia appears in Colleen McCulloughColleen McCulloughColleen McCullough-Robinson, , is an internationally acclaimed Australian author.-Life:McCullough was born in Wellington, in outback central west New South Wales, in 1937 to James and Laurie McCullough. Her mother was a New Zealander of part-Māori descent. During her childhood, her family moved...
's Masters of RomeMasters of RomeMasters of Rome is a series of historical fiction novels by author Colleen McCullough set in ancient Rome during the last days of the old Roman Republic; it primarily chronicles the lives and careers of Gaius Marius, Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Pompeius Magnus, Gaius Julius Caesar, and the early...
Series.
Sources
- SuetoniusLives of the Twelve CaesarsDe vita Caesarum commonly known as The Twelve Caesars, is a set of twelve biographies of Julius Caesar and the first 11 emperors of the Roman Empire written by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus.The work, written in AD 121 during the reign of the emperor Hadrian, was the most popular work of Suetonius,...
, Julius Caesar 50 - PlutarchPlutarchPlutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
, Cato the Younger, Brutus - AppianAppianAppian of Alexandria was a Roman historian of Greek ethnicity who flourished during the reigns of Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius.He was born ca. 95 in Alexandria. He tells us that, after having filled the chief offices in the province of Egypt, he went to Rome ca. 120, where he practised as...
, Civil Wars - CiceroCiceroMarcus 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...
, Letters F 12.7, A 14.21, A 15.11, A 15.12 - Cornelius NeposCornelius NeposCornelius Nepos was a Roman biographer. He was born at Hostilia, a village in Cisalpine Gaul not far from Verona. His Gallic origin is attested by Ausonius, and Pliny the Elder calls him Padi accola...
, Atticus