|
By the time Livia, a beautiful woman of a noble descent, married Emperor
Octavian at the young age of 19, she was already the mother of two sons,
Tiberius and Drusus from her previous marriage to her cousin Tiberius Claudius
Nero Octavian so much admired his wife’s intellectual abilities that he always made sure to make notes each time he was going to talk business with her just to avoid saying too little or too much. Livia’s vile craftiness was so notorious that her great grandson Caligula called her “Odysseus in lady’s garb”. Livia Drusilla was just as power hungry, double-faced and crafty as her second husband and this similarity of character guaranteed the stability of their marriage. Eager to forever remain Octavian’s wife, Livia not only encouraged his many flings but even handpicked young beauties he could go out with. Small wonder, that Octavian never looked any further having such an understanding spouse by his side. Such a hard-to-find unity of two soulless people… Tacitus by right called Livia “a mother dangerous to the state and an evil stepmother for the Caesars”. Rumor had it that Livia might have had a hand in the premature deaths of her nephew Marcellus, adopted by Octavian, and grandsons Gaius and Lucius Caesar. Livia also arranged for the removal of Agrippa Postum, Octavian’s last adopted grandson. She also talked the Emperor to adopt her eldest son Tiberius who, following Agrippa Postum’s banishment remained the only heir to the throne. Putting Tiberius on the throne was at the top of his mother’s agenda during her husband’s ebbing years. After Octavian’ demise, Tiberius became Emperor. Livia organized a lavish funeral. In keeping with her late husband’s will she was adopted into the Julian gens and henceforth assumed the name of Julia Augusta Livia. She had now reached the summit of her ambition and at first acted as a joint-ruler with Tiberius exerting strong but unwelcome influence on her son. Tiberius, however, soon became tired of the maternal yoke and his subsequent retirement to Capreae is said to have been caused by his desire to escape from her and prevent rumors about him allegedly listening too much to his mother’s advice which, in fact, he needed and very often acted upon. Enraged by the Senate’s suggestion that he call himself the son of Augustus and Livia, Tiberius did not allow his mother to be called “Mother of the Nation” (Emperor Augustus carried the title of “Father of the Nation”). Tiberius often asked mother to stay away from state matters (Roman law did not allow women to engage in politics) and was exasperated by the news that during a fire outside Vesta’s Temple, Livia, like she often did during her husband’s reign, arrived at the site and urged the populace and the soldiers to work harder. Soon the hostility Tiberius felt towards his mother spilled out into the open… Livia lived in Rome, in the full, enjoyment of the authority she still held and there was nothing her jealous son could do about it. In 27 BC he retired to Capreae. Literally deified in the provinces, Livia died in 29 at the advances
age of 86. Tiberius appears to have received the news with indifference
if not with satisfaction. He absented himself from the funeral and as if
out of modesty, cut short the honors lavished on his late mother by the
Senate. With Livia Drusilla who never hesitated to raise her voice in favor
of those being persecuted and purged now gone, a time of unbridled and
ruthless despotism set in. Julia Augusta was deified by her grandson Claudius
I in A.D. 41.
|
who
were entrusted to the guardianship of Augustus to whom she bore no children.
Driven and cunning, she actively meddled in state affairs while always
managing to look like a pristine and caring matrona fully preoccupied with
her family affairs. Tacitus left the following description of this power-hungry
woman: “To her family values always came first, but she was friendlier
than was customary for a woman of her day and age. She was a doting mother,
an understanding wife and a good help to her husband’s intrigues.”
