Livia

Lore & Background

Livia was born on 30 January 59 BC. The diminutive Drusilla in her name suggests she was not her father's first daughter. She married Tiberius Claudius Nero around 43 BC, a patrician fighting on the side of Julius Caesar's assassins against Octavian. Her father died at the Battle of Philippi, though whether by suicide or in combat is debated. Her first child, the future emperor Tiberius, was born in 42 BC. In 40 BC, the family fled Italy to avoid Octavian's recriminations after the siege of Perusia, joining Sextus Pompeius in Sicily before moving to Greece. After a general amnesty, Livia returned to Rome and was personally introduced to Octavian in 39 BC. She was already pregnant with her second son, Drusus the Elder. Legend says Octavian fell immediately in love with her, though he was still married to Scribonia. He divorced Scribonia around the time she gave birth to his only surviving biological child, Julia the Elder—the exact date is debated. When Livia was six months pregnant, Tiberius Claudius Nero was persuaded or forced to divorce her. She gave birth on 14 January; three days later Octavian married her after waiving the traditional waiting period. On the wedding day, an omen occurred: an eagle dropped a white hen with a laurel branch into Livia's lap, interpreted as indicating her fertility. Tiberius Claudius Nero was present at the wedding, giving her away 'just as a father would.'

Reader's Guide

Augustus died on 19 August AD 14 and was deified. His will left one third of his property to Livia and two thirds to Tiberius, adopted her into the Julian family, and granted her the honorific title Augusta. She became Julia Augusta. Tacitus and Cassius Dio wrote that rumors persisted that Augustus was poisoned by Livia, but these are mainly dismissed as malicious fabrications. The most famous rumor was that Livia poisoned figs while still on the tree. In Imperial times, a fig variety called the Liviana was cultivated, perhaps referencing her reputed horticultural abilities or this rumor. For some time, Livia and her son Tiberius appeared to get along. Speaking against her became treason in AD 20, and in AD 24 he granted her a theater seat among the Vestal Virgins. Livia exercised unofficial but very real power. Tiberius became resentful of her political status, particularly the idea that she had given him the throne. At the beginning of his reign, he vetoed the title Mater Patriae ('Mother of the Fatherland') that the Senate wished to bestow upon her. Tacitus and Cassius Dio depict an overweening dowager ready to interfere in Tiberius' decisions. Notable instances include the cases of Urgulania, grandmother of Claudius's first wife, who assumed her friendship with Livia placed her above the law; and Munatia Plancina, suspected of murdering Germanicus and saved at Livia's entreaty. A notice from AD 22 records that Julia Augusta dedicated a statue to Augustus in Rome, placing her own name before Tiberius'.

Did You Know?

• Livia was the daughter of senator Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus, who died at the Battle of Philippi—whether by suicide or in combat is uncertain.
• In 35 BC, Octavian gave Livia the unprecedented honor of ruling her own finances and dedicated a public statue to her.
• She was deified by her grandson Claudius in AD 42, receiving the title Diva Augusta.