Ava Hill
ahill9@zagmail.gonzaga.edu
Biography
Given her extensive influence on the previously patriarchal norms of early Rome, Livia Drusilla was far more radical for her own good. Daughter of the wealthy Livius Drusis Claudianus and Alfidia Lurco, Livia Drusilla automatically assumed her position as a prime candidate for the upcoming emperors of her time (Deckman 21). Presumably around the age of 15, Livia was noticed for her striking beauty, daunting intelligence, and modesty by Tiberius Claudius Nero.
Figure 1.1: A bust of Livia Drusilla in the prime of her leadership. This bust primarily portrays her wealth and beauty.
She later endured a 3-year marriage alongside a prominent member of the Claudian clan. As a response to her husband’s unethical support of the conservative senate, Livia became exasperated with the continual political turmoil and divorced Nero after boring him with two sons (AHE). Shortly after this divorce, Livia proceeded to wed with Agustus, the initial Emporer of Rome. Tasked with the typical housewife's objectives of placing food and handmade clothing before the emperor, Livia succeeded in building a mutually beneficial relationship between the two (Deckman 22). The only task she could not complete with ease was providing Agustus with an heir. As time passed, Livia was struck with the realization that she sustained the ability to abandon the persona of being subservient and obligant in her role in the political sphere (Purcell 82). She proceeded to influence the decisions of her husband in ways no woman before she had accomplished. By salvaging the lives of imprisoned men and demonstrating her value of familial unity, Livia conveyed her unconventional approach to leadership. Rather than reigning ruthlessly with the power she was awarded, she opted to make “ummoral” decisions to preserve her flourishing community (Deckman 22). Though she portrayed herself as unusually formal to the public eye, suspicions began to rise regarding her outstanding influence in political decisions (OCD). The beginning of her decline was her accusation of orchestrating the premature death of her son, Drusus. The struggle between Julia, Agustus’s previous wife, and Livia began to grow, as the emperor grew gray with age and a spot for a new leader grew closer to becoming vacant. As the conflict grew in severity, Livia was next accused of successfully plotting the deaths of Julia’s sons, Lucius and Tacitus. Though the recorded causes of death, illness, and war-sustained injury, seem to present no relation to Livia, she was assumed to be the perpetrator due to the previous conflict between the two women (Deckman 23). Livia, after fleeing Rome with her deathly-ill husband, later announced that Agustus had died, which raised the discussion surrounding the emperor’s cause of death. Due to the short time gap between the deaths of her son, Lydia’s sons, and now her husband, a rumor surfaced stating that Livia had fed her husband poisonous figs to secure her son, Tiberius’s, role as his successor (AHE). Livia’s death followed 15 years after her husband’s in 29 AD. Her time following Agustus’s demise was spent in extensive discord with her son, now emperor, becoming irritated with her continual influence in Roman politics (OCD). Livia’s persistence to remain involved in politics through both her husband’s and her son’s rule, led to a surplus of conspiracy regarding her motives and intentions, thus leading to her perpetual accusations of engaging in murderous tendencies. Had she forfeited this role and remained a passive empress, or at least been less vocal about her rule, the quality of life for everyone directly associated with her, including herself, would have greatly improved. Despite creating a society where women were credited with important decisions in a realm that had not been previously explored, the grievances that came with this extension of boundaries inflicted years of death, trials, and turmoil upon the bulk of her life.
Figure 1.2: Two scuptures resembling Livia Drusilla (right) and her son, Tiberius (left).