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Women in Antiquity
Fulvia: Playing for Power at the End of the Roman Republic
Fulvia is the first full-length biography in English focused solely on Fulvia, who is best known as the wife of Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony). Born into a less prestigious branch of an aristocratic Roman clan in the last decades of the Roman Republic, Fulvia first rose to prominence as the wife of P. Clodius Pulcher, scion of one of the city's most powerful families and one of its most infamous and scandalous politicians. In the aftermath of his murder, Fulvia refused to shrink from the glare of public scrutiny and helped to prosecute the man responsible.
Later, as the wife of Antonius, she became the most powerful woman in Rome, at one point even taking an active role in the military conflict between Antonius's allies and Octavian, the future emperor Augustus. Her husbands' enemies painted her as domineering, vicious, greedy, and petty. This book peels away the invective to reveal a strong-willed, independent woman who was, by many traditional measures, an immensely successful Roman matron.
Later, as the wife of Antonius, she became the most powerful woman in Rome, at one point even taking an active role in the military conflict between Antonius's allies and Octavian, the future emperor Augustus. Her husbands' enemies painted her as domineering, vicious, greedy, and petty. This book peels away the invective to reveal a strong-willed, independent woman who was, by many traditional measures, an immensely successful Roman matron.
- GenresNonfictionHistory
160 pages, Paperback
Published August 13, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 18, 2021
Following the wife of Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony) at the end of the Roman Republic, this book was succinct, well written, well researched, and easy to read. Though I went in with background knowledge of the period and the person, I definitely learned new things and never had trouble understanding context. Reading this book was like having a cup of tea with an old friend while discussing women in power. The chapters were a good length, and while the writing style was conversational, it worked with the subject matter. As for critiques, I would have liked the earlier part of the book to focus more on Fulvia rather than the dynamic between her husbands and their political allies, though that was corrected later on. I really appreciated how Fuliva wasn't villainized, and that the sources that portray her as a conniving temptress were analyzed for their accuracy. Overall, this was an excellent look at one of the Roman Republic's most powerful women, and I would recommend it for anyone looking for an easy nonfiction book centering on Roman history.
August 29, 2023
This is definitely another niche book, but I definitely enjoyed it. In addition to learning more about Fulvia (and the author notes our sources are limited and biased), I learned a lot more about the role of women at the end of the Roman Republic, and about some of the other key players of the time.
September 12, 2022
A truly enjoyable read. It is wonderful to see that the women of antiquity are finally being given more of a presence and a voice in modern literature with the ever growing series of biographies dedicated to them alone. Fulvia was very much a remarkable woman of antiquity, a legend who's story has too often been twisted by the male authors who carry her down to us and have continued to view her uncritically as a narcessistic and jealous wife who led a futile war and places pins in the mouth of Cicero her great enemy.
Unfortunately the sparse material available means that most of the biography focuses onthe people around Fulvia and who would presumably have had an influence on her or whom she influenced. Yet we still get the impression of a woman with strong political acumen. A woman who, introduced to politics early via her families aristocratic bearing and her early marriage, learned quickly how to act and move in late Rebuplican romes polticial arena. The fact that so much negative commentry has come to us regarding her polticial macinations tells us that male politicians feared her and no doubt begrudingly respected her, evidenced by her childrens later high marriages and her imperial decendants.
It was her marriage to Mark Anthony however which truly brought her into the spotlight. A chaste wife, she bore many offspring and used her influence considerably in the aid of her husbands political career in the dark times of the war against Octavian Caesar, and also co-led the futile and strange Perusian War in the name of her husband along side his brother. Her name on the precense of lead bullets is a facsinating discovery and a likely addmitance of her centrality in leading the conflict though she would gain no thanks for it. Being told of and gradually discarded by her husband in favour of a sister of Octavian and then Cleopatra of Egypt.
Dying in her early thirties, Fulvia's life though short was a remarkable one, setting herself among the most powerful woman of her age and setting the tone for the well educated, politically gifted and ambitious women of the early imperial period. This book gives her the re-evaluation she has long since deserved. It was not only men who made the Roman Empire.
Unfortunately the sparse material available means that most of the biography focuses onthe people around Fulvia and who would presumably have had an influence on her or whom she influenced. Yet we still get the impression of a woman with strong political acumen. A woman who, introduced to politics early via her families aristocratic bearing and her early marriage, learned quickly how to act and move in late Rebuplican romes polticial arena. The fact that so much negative commentry has come to us regarding her polticial macinations tells us that male politicians feared her and no doubt begrudingly respected her, evidenced by her childrens later high marriages and her imperial decendants.
It was her marriage to Mark Anthony however which truly brought her into the spotlight. A chaste wife, she bore many offspring and used her influence considerably in the aid of her husbands political career in the dark times of the war against Octavian Caesar, and also co-led the futile and strange Perusian War in the name of her husband along side his brother. Her name on the precense of lead bullets is a facsinating discovery and a likely addmitance of her centrality in leading the conflict though she would gain no thanks for it. Being told of and gradually discarded by her husband in favour of a sister of Octavian and then Cleopatra of Egypt.
Dying in her early thirties, Fulvia's life though short was a remarkable one, setting herself among the most powerful woman of her age and setting the tone for the well educated, politically gifted and ambitious women of the early imperial period. This book gives her the re-evaluation she has long since deserved. It was not only men who made the Roman Empire.
November 19, 2024
Putting my notes here because I know my group members ain't reading them:
Ch.1: The Background
Overview
Daughter of Bambalio/Sempronia
S’s 3rd husband Murena (consul) allowed boost of social prominence
Fitting mother b/c so involved in politics/war that “nothing feminine about her but for her physical form”
Potential affiliation of S w/ Catiliniarian conspirator of same name
Eccentric B w/ cognomen from Greek “to stammer” (political career failure) dressed as stage actor (theme: prejudice against theater)/scattered $ in forum
Last Sempronius to reach consulship was F’s great grandfather
Husband Antonius most powerful man in city (44-41 BC) making her most prominent woman in Rome (masterminded riot in Forum)
Physical form (w/ swollen cheek) small chance of appearing on coinage
Suggestions city in Phyriga named after, but no evidence for renaming city after Roman woman until imperial period
Cicero: “most avaricious of women”, Plutarch: “preferred to rule a ruler and command a commander”
Connection to inscriptions reading from W10
Reveal ways women were involved in social/political landscape despite legal/cultural limitations→held significant positions (ex. priestesses)/made public contributions (ex. funding building projects/dedicating statues) w/ inscriptions way to assert presence in male-dominated society
Women w/ active roles in fam affairs, financial matters/political careers, controlling visitor access to powerful men in household
Women political pawns
Influence meant to be discreet, but Fulvia too visible/public
Ancient and modern writers portray as “antithesis of matronal virtue, a truly wicked woman”
General theme (meta): Focus of amplified scandals rather than historical accounts (but found myself drawn to these flashier bits in my own annotations)
“In husbands…she preferred men cut from the same cloth as she: disreputable, even treacherous men who were willing to undermine Rome’s republic government to advance themselves”
Attractive woman never single for long w/ marriages successful by Roman standards (produced children, especially songs, and lasted until one partner died)
Unusually managed to avoid accusations of sexual impropriety
Speculation of childhood/early based on typical lives of aristocratic girls/1st marriage (telling that must be defined around association w/ men and little known before then)
Raised by nurse/educated w/ morally edifying texts to fashion her into woman capable of raising fam
Birth (less notable event) hypothesized around fact likely in mid-teens during 1st wedding around 60 BC
May have learned self-reliability when fam splintered (likely after father’s death→Murena arranged paternal duty of 1st marriage to close friend Clodius)
Death in mid 30s
Life in chaotic period of Roman history (city invaded by troops, assassinations of prominent politicians (including 1st husband), food shortages, pirate scare, riots/gang violence
Rome recently emerged from Sulla’s dictatorship ending in 79
Theme: Accomplishing much in short life (ex. Octavian raising army 19)
Deepening divisions b/w equestrians/senate + optimates (conservatives, senate)/populists and formation of “1st triumvirate” (misnamed alliance b/w Pompey, Crassus, Caesar)
Full spectrum of political belief amongst Fulvia’s husband (careers rarely ideologically driven)
Clodius patrician but advanced legislation for urban poor
Curio optimate but dramatically aligned himself w/ populist Caesar at critical moment in 49 BC
Antonius unlabeled but famously loyal to Caesar
Ch.2: Fulvia Enters the Scene
Union w/ Clodius to help him recover from career-damaging scandal
Caught in women’s clothing at exclusively female ritual Bona Dea for tryst w/ hostess (Caesar’s wife)
Caesar not yet powerful enough to take Clodius to court for charge of adultery
Divorced wife b/c “must be free of suspicion”
Cicero testified not in Interamna as claimed b/c visited that day, Clodius never forgave, but acquitted after lavish bribes
Pattern of thrill-seeking behavior key factor in marrying F
Under normal circumstance, marriage into such a prestigious clan would be beyond F’s reach (but mother’s marriage w/ Murena/exceptional wealth/virginity helped)
Clodius fam centuries of unmatched political dominance
28 consulships, 5 dictatorships, 7 censorships, 6 triumphs, 2 ovations
Cicero disliked but labeled “most noble/distinguished people”
Women also prominent
Sis of Decemvir (infamous for losing whole fleet) so frustrated during traffic remarked bro had lost more in Drepanum so streets less crowded (fined)
Clodia (F’s sis in law) disagreed w/ husband over Clodius (Metellus thwarting political career)
Husband’s mysterious death
Cicero insinuated years later Clodia poisoned him (theme: poison as women’s conspiracy/women’s lives being defined by male writer’s unsubstantiated speculation)
Clodia also lover of Catullus recorded in poems as “Lesbia” (intoxicating but cruel)
Cladius brothers unfettered by complicated political world of late Republic
Appius exceptionally arrogant, Gaius personality unknown, Clodius stylish “pretty boy”
Catullus competed w/ Clodius as one of Clodia’s lovers, suggested incestuous relationship b/w siblings
“In a society w/out libel laws, one could say anything one wanted w/out fear of repercussions” (and then be defined by it in history books)
Clodius joined staff of bro-in-law Lucullus in war against Mithridates, but incited mutiny when saw soldiers unhappy until replaced by Pompey
Managed to escape unpunished from insubordination/had better relationship w/ replacement Marcius
Offended by low offer for ransom after pirate’s capture, revenge decade later as tribune of plebs to annex Cyprus as province of Rome (like Caesar pirate story)
Elected to 1st public office during time when mood in city too volatile to elect consuls
Adopted by man older than him to become tribune of plebs as patrician
Legislation to cement rep as defender of people (grain dolage, restoration of neighborhood communities)
Whipped up popular sentiment against former consul saying CIcero illegally put Cataline’s co-conspirators to death/had him banished (destroyed home/built temple on it so couldn’t be returned)
Fulvia whipped up popular sentiment against Milo/testimony secured conviction
Happy union (rarely apart) w/ 2 kids lasted until murdered by political rival Milo
Clodius/Milo’s parties met on road, led to brawl that injured Clodius before Milo ordered brutally dispatched outside inn
F accused of putting on show of grief (arises from not following proper protocol for aristocratic protocol)
Allowed viewing of Clodius’s unwashed, bloodied body on Forum
Funeral w/ angry remarks>dignified eulogies, impromptu funeral pyre in heart of rome that burned down gov buildings next dor before attacking Milo’s house
Senate issues “Final Decree” giving Pompey power to do whatever necessary to preserve state
Trial gave exaggerated accounts of Milo’s forces/intentions
Prosecution took unusual approach of calling on series of women for testimony, including group of Vestal priestesses
Cicero heckled so badly couldn’t work typical oration (Milo famously joked thankful b/c otherwise couldn’t enjoy seafood in banishment spot Massilia)
Theme: “So where is Fulvia in all of this?”
Motivation to skip over sections not discussing her, but most of text b/c of women’s value in Roman society
However, F’s behavior displays real political acumen/fortitude
Ch.3: Life with Curio and Antonius
Brief 2nd marriage to Curio
Same social circle as Claudius/supporter after scandal)
Common for women to remarry after mandatory 10 months mourning
Dowry returned/share of Clodius’s property, still w/ same attractions as before, now added to value as political asset
Curio/Antonius also very close (reputation for indulging in women/wine)
Cicero alleged lovers
Know little about actual life w/ Curio
Marriage produced 1 son, existence only known by reference to death
Neutral in most political affiliations/mixed reviews from peers
Younger Curio defender of senatorial authority/opponent of 1st triumvirate
Caelius refers to him as “our friend Curio” but describes as fickle
Cicero +Curio opposite sides of CW but still friends
Didn’t campaign immediately due to tensions in city, but increased visibility through marriage/father’s funeral games
Notable for construction of wooden theaters on revolving pivots (Rome’s 1st documented amphitheater)
Known for collapsing/killing audience members
Scandalized Pliny compared to Rome’s greatest military disaster (loss at battle of Cannae in 2nd Carthaginian War)
Neutral as alliance b/w P/C broke down, but critically sided w/ Caesar after P’s allies blocked efforts to negotiate peaceful settlement
Declared traitor to Republican cause (to which Pompey defender) after left Rome, but Caesar crossing Rubicon made Rome safe for supporters
Sent to deal w/ forces loyal to Pompey in North Africa, but overconfidence led him into ambush/died
Marriage to 3rd husband Antonius brought most social prominence (as w/ mother)
Gave up mistress Cytheris to please her
Eutrapelus used beautiful slave passed around powerful friends to ensure access to highest echelons of Roman society
Cicero tells story of Antonius revealing end to affair through disguised delivering of love letter/passionate embrace
Paints him as effeminate, but if true, reveals playful side to personality/real tenderness
Brought respectability to 3rd husband Antonius after missteps in career
Strong reputation on battlefield, daring, famously handsome
Strategic choice to name son Iullus to cement Anotnius’s claim as Caesar’s political heir
Lost favor/position as C’s 2nd in command after failed to control Italy while Caesar in east (A/F disappear from historical record during period)
Conspirator detached A from entourage on Ides of March at Brutus’s request to spare life
Ch.4:
Reactions after assassination
Conspirators misjudged: Thought public would see as freeing from tyrant, not stampede/fleeing from city
Antonius believed next victim/escaped w/ fam
Precarious peace w/ compromise to not declare Caesar tyrant or prosecute murderers
Antonius shifted perspective at funeral to focus on tragedy of death rather than fault of assassins
Octavian arrived from studies abroad/challenged Antonius as looked to have self legally recognized as Caesar’s adopted son
Tried to maintain civility, but challenge b/w Antonius’s experience as consul/military hero vs. Octavian’s (“the boy”’s) growing popularity
Assasination left Antonius most powerful man in Rome and Fulvia target of political takedowns
Cicero’s version of events emphasizes A’s unhinged anger in retaliation against complaining soldiers (F’s face splashed w/ blood)
Affairs expected, but flamboyance/treatment as political equals liability for A
Cicero: F “woman luckier for herself than her husbands”, insinuating using sex w/ series of men to improve standing/cheated on husbands/inappropriately involved in business of state
Octavian’s men hurled missiles w/ inscriptions w/ crass comments on F (if not direct order, stil under impression would delight him)
Antonius/Octavian united after Decimus’s death left as only remaining 2 generals
Confirmed pact w/ wedding of Octavian to Fulvia’s daughter Claudia
Triumvirs posted list of names of those to be killed w/ impunity (like Sulla)
Closed city gates, searched homes, offered rewards
No one safe: Lepius proscribed brother/Antonius his uncle
A/O forced way through blockade to face B/C in Macedonia (largest ever seen in Rome), ended in C/B suicide
Fulvia wielding political power
Fulvia added owner of apartment building she wanted to list, handed over property to save life, but killed anyway + head displayed in Forum (allegedly)
Motivated reduction on new taxes on 1400 wealthiest women in Rome w/ Hortensia giving speech so powerful studied for centuries
As Antonius in east to raise $ to pay back promises to troops, tension boiled over in city, and Octavian humiliated Fulvia by divorcing daughter + claiming she was still virgin
While Antonius in East, Fulvia led group of allies in capital
As relations b/w Antonius’s brother Lucius/Octavian devolved into Perusine War, F helped persuade generals to come to aid/raised troops to lift siege of Perusia
Basis of legend strapped on sword/waged war herself
Antonians lost war, but Octavian didn’t dare harm Fulvia
Majority of Perusian citizens killed for harboring Antonian forces/city burned to ground
Octavian sacrificed 300 at altar of now-divine Caesar
Importance to Anotnius underscored by 3,000 person escort as left Italy for Greece
F died as Antonius away, sources portray as petty even in death claiming made illness worth to spite him→scapegoat for Perusine War
Ch.5: After Fulvia’s Death
2 sons died alongside Antonius/Cleopatra
Peace of Brundisium b/c troops against continued warfare
Renewed friendship again reinforced by marriage (Antonius w/ Octavian’s widowed sis Octavia, Senate permission to release form 10 month rule)
Divorced when sent Octavia to Greece w/ reinforcements→pretext for war
Antonius forces lost, Cleopatra death by asp, Antonius stabbed self w/ sword
Unusually, Cleopatra’s kids sent to live w/ Octavia
Ocravian strove to obliterate memory of Antonius through monument destruction, property confiscation, forbidding of name Marcus, day of birth declared ill omened, but ironically increased notoriety
2 sons flourished in reign of Augustus
Cladius (near adult at F’s death) reached praetorship
Highlights of political career recorded on funeral vase
Illus (toddler) close confidant of Augustus/consul w/ well-respected poetry
Committed suicide after being accused of adultery w/ August’s daughter
Tales of cruelty/greed continue in modernity when not overshadowed by more sexualized sis in law Clodia/romantic successor Cleopatra
Driving force of Action in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleeopatra though never once appears on stage (symbolically fitting)
When Cleopattra hears of death, remarks Can Fulvia die?
Ch.1: The Background
Overview
Daughter of Bambalio/Sempronia
S’s 3rd husband Murena (consul) allowed boost of social prominence
Fitting mother b/c so involved in politics/war that “nothing feminine about her but for her physical form”
Potential affiliation of S w/ Catiliniarian conspirator of same name
Eccentric B w/ cognomen from Greek “to stammer” (political career failure) dressed as stage actor (theme: prejudice against theater)/scattered $ in forum
Last Sempronius to reach consulship was F’s great grandfather
Husband Antonius most powerful man in city (44-41 BC) making her most prominent woman in Rome (masterminded riot in Forum)
Physical form (w/ swollen cheek) small chance of appearing on coinage
Suggestions city in Phyriga named after, but no evidence for renaming city after Roman woman until imperial period
Cicero: “most avaricious of women”, Plutarch: “preferred to rule a ruler and command a commander”
Connection to inscriptions reading from W10
Reveal ways women were involved in social/political landscape despite legal/cultural limitations→held significant positions (ex. priestesses)/made public contributions (ex. funding building projects/dedicating statues) w/ inscriptions way to assert presence in male-dominated society
Women w/ active roles in fam affairs, financial matters/political careers, controlling visitor access to powerful men in household
Women political pawns
Influence meant to be discreet, but Fulvia too visible/public
Ancient and modern writers portray as “antithesis of matronal virtue, a truly wicked woman”
General theme (meta): Focus of amplified scandals rather than historical accounts (but found myself drawn to these flashier bits in my own annotations)
“In husbands…she preferred men cut from the same cloth as she: disreputable, even treacherous men who were willing to undermine Rome’s republic government to advance themselves”
Attractive woman never single for long w/ marriages successful by Roman standards (produced children, especially songs, and lasted until one partner died)
Unusually managed to avoid accusations of sexual impropriety
Speculation of childhood/early based on typical lives of aristocratic girls/1st marriage (telling that must be defined around association w/ men and little known before then)
Raised by nurse/educated w/ morally edifying texts to fashion her into woman capable of raising fam
Birth (less notable event) hypothesized around fact likely in mid-teens during 1st wedding around 60 BC
May have learned self-reliability when fam splintered (likely after father’s death→Murena arranged paternal duty of 1st marriage to close friend Clodius)
Death in mid 30s
Life in chaotic period of Roman history (city invaded by troops, assassinations of prominent politicians (including 1st husband), food shortages, pirate scare, riots/gang violence
Rome recently emerged from Sulla’s dictatorship ending in 79
Theme: Accomplishing much in short life (ex. Octavian raising army 19)
Deepening divisions b/w equestrians/senate + optimates (conservatives, senate)/populists and formation of “1st triumvirate” (misnamed alliance b/w Pompey, Crassus, Caesar)
Full spectrum of political belief amongst Fulvia’s husband (careers rarely ideologically driven)
Clodius patrician but advanced legislation for urban poor
Curio optimate but dramatically aligned himself w/ populist Caesar at critical moment in 49 BC
Antonius unlabeled but famously loyal to Caesar
Ch.2: Fulvia Enters the Scene
Union w/ Clodius to help him recover from career-damaging scandal
Caught in women’s clothing at exclusively female ritual Bona Dea for tryst w/ hostess (Caesar’s wife)
Caesar not yet powerful enough to take Clodius to court for charge of adultery
Divorced wife b/c “must be free of suspicion”
Cicero testified not in Interamna as claimed b/c visited that day, Clodius never forgave, but acquitted after lavish bribes
Pattern of thrill-seeking behavior key factor in marrying F
Under normal circumstance, marriage into such a prestigious clan would be beyond F’s reach (but mother’s marriage w/ Murena/exceptional wealth/virginity helped)
Clodius fam centuries of unmatched political dominance
28 consulships, 5 dictatorships, 7 censorships, 6 triumphs, 2 ovations
Cicero disliked but labeled “most noble/distinguished people”
Women also prominent
Sis of Decemvir (infamous for losing whole fleet) so frustrated during traffic remarked bro had lost more in Drepanum so streets less crowded (fined)
Clodia (F’s sis in law) disagreed w/ husband over Clodius (Metellus thwarting political career)
Husband’s mysterious death
Cicero insinuated years later Clodia poisoned him (theme: poison as women’s conspiracy/women’s lives being defined by male writer’s unsubstantiated speculation)
Clodia also lover of Catullus recorded in poems as “Lesbia” (intoxicating but cruel)
Cladius brothers unfettered by complicated political world of late Republic
Appius exceptionally arrogant, Gaius personality unknown, Clodius stylish “pretty boy”
Catullus competed w/ Clodius as one of Clodia’s lovers, suggested incestuous relationship b/w siblings
“In a society w/out libel laws, one could say anything one wanted w/out fear of repercussions” (and then be defined by it in history books)
Clodius joined staff of bro-in-law Lucullus in war against Mithridates, but incited mutiny when saw soldiers unhappy until replaced by Pompey
Managed to escape unpunished from insubordination/had better relationship w/ replacement Marcius
Offended by low offer for ransom after pirate’s capture, revenge decade later as tribune of plebs to annex Cyprus as province of Rome (like Caesar pirate story)
Elected to 1st public office during time when mood in city too volatile to elect consuls
Adopted by man older than him to become tribune of plebs as patrician
Legislation to cement rep as defender of people (grain dolage, restoration of neighborhood communities)
Whipped up popular sentiment against former consul saying CIcero illegally put Cataline’s co-conspirators to death/had him banished (destroyed home/built temple on it so couldn’t be returned)
Fulvia whipped up popular sentiment against Milo/testimony secured conviction
Happy union (rarely apart) w/ 2 kids lasted until murdered by political rival Milo
Clodius/Milo’s parties met on road, led to brawl that injured Clodius before Milo ordered brutally dispatched outside inn
F accused of putting on show of grief (arises from not following proper protocol for aristocratic protocol)
Allowed viewing of Clodius’s unwashed, bloodied body on Forum
Funeral w/ angry remarks>dignified eulogies, impromptu funeral pyre in heart of rome that burned down gov buildings next dor before attacking Milo’s house
Senate issues “Final Decree” giving Pompey power to do whatever necessary to preserve state
Trial gave exaggerated accounts of Milo’s forces/intentions
Prosecution took unusual approach of calling on series of women for testimony, including group of Vestal priestesses
Cicero heckled so badly couldn’t work typical oration (Milo famously joked thankful b/c otherwise couldn’t enjoy seafood in banishment spot Massilia)
Theme: “So where is Fulvia in all of this?”
Motivation to skip over sections not discussing her, but most of text b/c of women’s value in Roman society
However, F’s behavior displays real political acumen/fortitude
Ch.3: Life with Curio and Antonius
Brief 2nd marriage to Curio
Same social circle as Claudius/supporter after scandal)
Common for women to remarry after mandatory 10 months mourning
Dowry returned/share of Clodius’s property, still w/ same attractions as before, now added to value as political asset
Curio/Antonius also very close (reputation for indulging in women/wine)
Cicero alleged lovers
Know little about actual life w/ Curio
Marriage produced 1 son, existence only known by reference to death
Neutral in most political affiliations/mixed reviews from peers
Younger Curio defender of senatorial authority/opponent of 1st triumvirate
Caelius refers to him as “our friend Curio” but describes as fickle
Cicero +Curio opposite sides of CW but still friends
Didn’t campaign immediately due to tensions in city, but increased visibility through marriage/father’s funeral games
Notable for construction of wooden theaters on revolving pivots (Rome’s 1st documented amphitheater)
Known for collapsing/killing audience members
Scandalized Pliny compared to Rome’s greatest military disaster (loss at battle of Cannae in 2nd Carthaginian War)
Neutral as alliance b/w P/C broke down, but critically sided w/ Caesar after P’s allies blocked efforts to negotiate peaceful settlement
Declared traitor to Republican cause (to which Pompey defender) after left Rome, but Caesar crossing Rubicon made Rome safe for supporters
Sent to deal w/ forces loyal to Pompey in North Africa, but overconfidence led him into ambush/died
Marriage to 3rd husband Antonius brought most social prominence (as w/ mother)
Gave up mistress Cytheris to please her
Eutrapelus used beautiful slave passed around powerful friends to ensure access to highest echelons of Roman society
Cicero tells story of Antonius revealing end to affair through disguised delivering of love letter/passionate embrace
Paints him as effeminate, but if true, reveals playful side to personality/real tenderness
Brought respectability to 3rd husband Antonius after missteps in career
Strong reputation on battlefield, daring, famously handsome
Strategic choice to name son Iullus to cement Anotnius’s claim as Caesar’s political heir
Lost favor/position as C’s 2nd in command after failed to control Italy while Caesar in east (A/F disappear from historical record during period)
Conspirator detached A from entourage on Ides of March at Brutus’s request to spare life
Ch.4:
Reactions after assassination
Conspirators misjudged: Thought public would see as freeing from tyrant, not stampede/fleeing from city
Antonius believed next victim/escaped w/ fam
Precarious peace w/ compromise to not declare Caesar tyrant or prosecute murderers
Antonius shifted perspective at funeral to focus on tragedy of death rather than fault of assassins
Octavian arrived from studies abroad/challenged Antonius as looked to have self legally recognized as Caesar’s adopted son
Tried to maintain civility, but challenge b/w Antonius’s experience as consul/military hero vs. Octavian’s (“the boy”’s) growing popularity
Assasination left Antonius most powerful man in Rome and Fulvia target of political takedowns
Cicero’s version of events emphasizes A’s unhinged anger in retaliation against complaining soldiers (F’s face splashed w/ blood)
Affairs expected, but flamboyance/treatment as political equals liability for A
Cicero: F “woman luckier for herself than her husbands”, insinuating using sex w/ series of men to improve standing/cheated on husbands/inappropriately involved in business of state
Octavian’s men hurled missiles w/ inscriptions w/ crass comments on F (if not direct order, stil under impression would delight him)
Antonius/Octavian united after Decimus’s death left as only remaining 2 generals
Confirmed pact w/ wedding of Octavian to Fulvia’s daughter Claudia
Triumvirs posted list of names of those to be killed w/ impunity (like Sulla)
Closed city gates, searched homes, offered rewards
No one safe: Lepius proscribed brother/Antonius his uncle
A/O forced way through blockade to face B/C in Macedonia (largest ever seen in Rome), ended in C/B suicide
Fulvia wielding political power
Fulvia added owner of apartment building she wanted to list, handed over property to save life, but killed anyway + head displayed in Forum (allegedly)
Motivated reduction on new taxes on 1400 wealthiest women in Rome w/ Hortensia giving speech so powerful studied for centuries
As Antonius in east to raise $ to pay back promises to troops, tension boiled over in city, and Octavian humiliated Fulvia by divorcing daughter + claiming she was still virgin
While Antonius in East, Fulvia led group of allies in capital
As relations b/w Antonius’s brother Lucius/Octavian devolved into Perusine War, F helped persuade generals to come to aid/raised troops to lift siege of Perusia
Basis of legend strapped on sword/waged war herself
Antonians lost war, but Octavian didn’t dare harm Fulvia
Majority of Perusian citizens killed for harboring Antonian forces/city burned to ground
Octavian sacrificed 300 at altar of now-divine Caesar
Importance to Anotnius underscored by 3,000 person escort as left Italy for Greece
F died as Antonius away, sources portray as petty even in death claiming made illness worth to spite him→scapegoat for Perusine War
Ch.5: After Fulvia’s Death
2 sons died alongside Antonius/Cleopatra
Peace of Brundisium b/c troops against continued warfare
Renewed friendship again reinforced by marriage (Antonius w/ Octavian’s widowed sis Octavia, Senate permission to release form 10 month rule)
Divorced when sent Octavia to Greece w/ reinforcements→pretext for war
Antonius forces lost, Cleopatra death by asp, Antonius stabbed self w/ sword
Unusually, Cleopatra’s kids sent to live w/ Octavia
Ocravian strove to obliterate memory of Antonius through monument destruction, property confiscation, forbidding of name Marcus, day of birth declared ill omened, but ironically increased notoriety
2 sons flourished in reign of Augustus
Cladius (near adult at F’s death) reached praetorship
Highlights of political career recorded on funeral vase
Illus (toddler) close confidant of Augustus/consul w/ well-respected poetry
Committed suicide after being accused of adultery w/ August’s daughter
Tales of cruelty/greed continue in modernity when not overshadowed by more sexualized sis in law Clodia/romantic successor Cleopatra
Driving force of Action in Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleeopatra though never once appears on stage (symbolically fitting)
When Cleopattra hears of death, remarks Can Fulvia die?
April 1, 2023
It's surprising that, despite being the darling of many studies of women in the late Republic, this is the first biography of Fulvia in English. Inevitably, it focuses just as much on her husbands and politics of the time as on her, especially when discussing Curio.
I disagreed with Schultz on the exact reason why Fulvia's name appears on sling bullets, and I wished she talked more about Nepos, who is not only a contemporary source for Fulvia, but also the only one to portray her positively. For the most part, however, I found Schultz's analysis very interesting.
Schultz comes to the conclusion that Fulvia was a bold and astute, but otherwise traditional matron not wholly out of place with her time and day- the biggest difference between her and other elite women, she suggests, was Fulvia's public visibility. She is careful to qualify her role in certain events, such as her alleged usurpation of the senate as described in Dio. People who like to see her as a glass-ceiling-shattering girlboss might be disappointed by this, but I found it convincing.
Overall, this is a solid biography. Now I'm just waiting for a book on Octavia.
I disagreed with Schultz on the exact reason why Fulvia's name appears on sling bullets, and I wished she talked more about Nepos, who is not only a contemporary source for Fulvia, but also the only one to portray her positively. For the most part, however, I found Schultz's analysis very interesting.
Schultz comes to the conclusion that Fulvia was a bold and astute, but otherwise traditional matron not wholly out of place with her time and day- the biggest difference between her and other elite women, she suggests, was Fulvia's public visibility. She is careful to qualify her role in certain events, such as her alleged usurpation of the senate as described in Dio. People who like to see her as a glass-ceiling-shattering girlboss might be disappointed by this, but I found it convincing.
Overall, this is a solid biography. Now I'm just waiting for a book on Octavia.
June 15, 2023
Yo lo hubiese titulado "Clodio, Curión y Marco Antonio, y Fulvia como escusa".
Vaya chasco.
Me quedo con las referencias que aporta de novelas que demuestran que inventan las historias de sus personajes. Los ejemplos que pone son una buena prueba de ello aunque algunos se esfuercen tanto por fedenderlos/defenderse como "especialistas" e "historiadores".
Vaya chasco.
Me quedo con las referencias que aporta de novelas que demuestran que inventan las historias de sus personajes. Los ejemplos que pone son una buena prueba de ello aunque algunos se esfuercen tanto por fedenderlos/defenderse como "especialistas" e "historiadores".
January 18, 2026
Fulvia found/manoeuvred herself into the heart of Roman politics during one of its most convulsive periods. She has had a truly terrible reputation ever since. Blamed by all, this book seeks to give her a voice at last.
But it is difficult when all we can rely on are her enemies, even trying to look through these to get at the truth leaves us with a very complicated figure.
But it is difficult when all we can rely on are her enemies, even trying to look through these to get at the truth leaves us with a very complicated figure.
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