Cornelia Africana

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Cornelia Africana

Cornelia Scipionis Africana (born ca. 190 BC - died 100 BC) was the second daughter of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus

Scipio Africanus

Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus also known as Scipio Africanus, Scipio the Elder, and Africanus the Elder was a general in the Second Punic War and statesman of the Roman Republic....
, the hero of the Second Punic War

Second Punic War

The Second Punic War lasted from 218 BC to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. It was the second of three major wars between Carthage and the Roman Republic....
, and Aemilia Paulla. She is remembered as a perfect example of a virtuous Roman

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
woman.

Cornelia married Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus or Tiberius Gracchus Major

Tiberius Gracchus Major

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Cornelia Africana'

Start a new discussion about 'Cornelia Africana'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

Cornelia Scipionis Africana (born ca. 190 BC - died 100 BC) was the second daughter of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus

Scipio Africanus

Second Punic War

Ancient Rome

Tiberius Gracchus Major

Tiberius Gracchus major or Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus was a Ancient Rome politician of the 2nd century BC. Tiberius was of Plebs or plebeian status and was a member of the well connected Sempronius , family of ancient Rome....
when he was already in an advanced age. The union proved to be a happy one and together they had 12 children, very unusual for Roman standards. From these only three survived childhood: Sempronia

Sempronia

Sempronia refers either to the female form of the prominent Sempronius family, called the Sempronius , or to the women of that family. The family was said to be one of the wealthiest, well-connected and influential political families during the Roman Republic....
, married to her cousin Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus, and the brothers Tiberius

Tiberius Gracchus

Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus was a Ancient Rome politician of the 2nd century BC and brother of Gaius Gracchus. As a tribune, he caused political turmoil in the Roman Republic by his attempts to legislate agrarian reforms....
and Gaius Gracchus

Gaius Gracchus

Gaius Sempronius Gracchus was a Ancient Rome politician of the 2nd century BC. He was the younger brother of Tiberius Gracchus and, like him, pursued a popular political agenda that ultimately ended in his death....
, who would defy the political institutions of Rome, with their attempts at popular reforms. After her husband's death, she chose to remain a widow, even when the suitor was king Ptolemy VIII Physcon

Ptolemy VIII Physcon

Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II , nicknamed , Ph?skon, Physcon for his obesity, was a king of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt. His complicated career started in 170 BC, when Antiochus IV Epiphanes invaded Egypt, captured his brother Ptolemy VI Philometor and let him continue as a puppet monarch....
, and set herself to educate her children. Later in her life, Cornelia studied Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
and Greek language

Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
and literature. Cornelia always supported Tiberius and Gaius, even when their actions outraged the conservative patrician

Patrician

The term "patrician" originally referred to a group of elitism citizens in ancient Rome, including both their natural and adopted members. In the late Roman empire, the class was broadened to include high council officials, and after the fall of the Western Empire became a term for Byzantine Imperial governors in the West....
families in which she was born. After their violent deaths she retired from Rome to a villa
Roman villa

A Roman villa is a villa that was built or lived in during the Roman republic and the Roman Empire. A villa was originally a Rome country house built for the upper class....
in Misenum

Misenum

Misenum is the site of an ancient port in Campania, in southern Italy. It is located on a cape on the northwest end of the Bay of Naples, at modern Miseno....
, but continued to receive guests.

An anecdote, likely invented, demonstrates Cornelia's devotion to and admiration for her sons. When women friends questioned Cornelia about her mode of dress and personal adornment, which was far more simple and understated than was usual for a wealthy Roman woman of her rank and station, Cornelia indicated her two sons and said, "These are my jewels." A large statue on the grounds of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, entitled "These Are My Jewels," makes allusion to this story. It is surmounted by a figure of Cornelia, personifying the state of Ohio, with arms wide spread, and arrayed before her are the state's "jewels" - military and political leaders who contributed to the Union Cause during the American Civil War.

Rome worshipped her immaculate virtues and when she died at an advanced age, the city voted for a statue in her honour.

Cornelia Africana

See also