![]() ![]() She was the powerful woman behind Augustus an emperor who embodied the role of a secular deity. Livia provided counsel to her husband for his decisions as emperor. While she took advantage of her elite social position, exercising her considerable power and financial influence, she remained a loyal wife to Augustus until he died in 14 AD. Historians describe Livia as a supportive wife, ambitious mother and formidable dowager. Soon after returning to Rome, Livia met Octavian, now Emperor Augustus, who felt an immediate attraction to her. To avoid punishment, Tiberius fled Italy with his family and lived in exile for three years. Tiberius was a political enemy of Julius Caesar and, by extension, Julius’s adopted son Octavian, who became Augustus Caesar following Caesar's assassination. While her first husband died in battle, her second husband, also her cousin, and also named Tiberius Claudius Nero, was alive and still married to her when she met Augustus. Her first son, the future Roman emperor Tiberius, was three years old when she married Augustus. She had two husbands before she met Augustus, when she was pregnant with her second son, Nero Claudius Drusus. Her father was Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus, a Roman statesman and nobleman, and her mother was called Alfidia, about whom very little is known. ![]() Livia Drusilla was born on 30 January 59 BC. After her death, thieves raided her tomb, stealing everything of material or cultural value. She became a state deity and object of worship, much like the deceased members of the Kim dynasty in North Korea today. He commissioned a statue in her likeness to stand next to a statue of Augustus in the Temple of Augustus. Claudius went one step further and deified his grandmother.Īfter deifying his grandmother, Claudius instructed Roman women to invoke her name in their oaths. After death, emperors were often deified and Roman citizens were expected to worship them as gods. Although Rome officially recognized the pantheon of religious deities, the unofficial state religion was political and dynastic. Sergey Sosnovskiy, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commonsįor the remainder of Roman history, Livia Drusilla was a significant and influential figure. Livia’s grandson, emperor Claudius, officially deified his grandmother and gave her the title Diva Augusta (The Divine Augusta). Livia’s son and grandson, both named Tiberius Claudius Nero, and great-grandson, Gaius Caligula, descended directly from her branch of the family tree. It was one of the most important political alliances in Roman history, and its influence endured for hundreds of years after both Livia and Augustus had died. Their marriage began in 38 BC and ended when Augustus died in 14 AD. Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC – 28 September 29 AD) was married to Augustus Caesar, Rome’s first emperor, for 51 years. ![]() Livia Drusilla (59 BC - 29 AD) Empress: 27 BC - 14 AD ![]()
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