Domitia Lucilla (mother of Marcus Aurelius)

Did You Know?

• The tile and brick factory near the Tiber has been partly excavated at Bomarzo, 40 miles north of Rome.
• Her husband's sister Faustina the Elder was a Roman Empress married to Emperor Antoninus Pius.
• Her husband was a nephew to Roman Empress Vibia Sabina.

Descent

Lucilla was the daughter of Domitia Lucilla Maior and the patrician Publius Calvisius Tullus Ruso, who served as consul in 109. Her biological maternal grandfather was Gnaeus Domitius Lucanus, her adoptive maternal grandfather was Gnaeus Domitius Tullus, and her maternal step-grandfather was Lucius Catilius Severus. Through her mother she inherited a great fortune, including a tile and brick factory near Rome that supplied bricks to the Colosseum, Pantheon, and Market of Trajan, and exported across the Mediterranean.

Widowhood

After her husband died in 124, Domitia Lucilla raised their children alone, and her father-in-law later adopted them. The future emperor Didius Julianus was educated in her home, and she helped launch his legal career. Marcus Aurelius eventually inherited the family’s tile and brick factory. In his Meditations, he called her pious and generous, noting her simple lifestyle. She lived her final years with her son in Rome.