Julia Caesaris (sister of Julius Caesar)
Encyclopedia
Julia is the name of two daughters of praetor Gaius Julius Caesar and Aurelia Cotta
Aurelia Cotta
Aurelia Cotta or Aurelia was the mother of Roman dictator Gaius Julius Caesar .-Family:...

, the parents of dictator Gaius Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

. The sisters were born and raised in Rome.

The elder of the two is sometimes named Julia Major (Major Latin for the elder) by historians (but not to be confused with Julia the Elder
Julia the Elder
Julia the Elder , known to her contemporaries as Julia Caesaris filia or Julia Augusti filia was the daughter and only biological child of Augustus, the first emperor of the Roman Empire. Augustus subsequently adopted several male members of his close family as sons...

, daughter of Emperor Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...

). Likewise, the younger of the two sisters of Julius Caesar is sometimes named Julia Minor, (Minor Latin for the younger) but not to be confused with Julia the Younger
Julia the Younger
Julia the Younger or Julilla , Vipsania Julia Agrippina, Iulilla, Julia, Augustus' granddaughter, or Julia Caesaris Minor, was a Roman noblewoman of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was the first daughter and second child of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder...

, Augustus‘ first granddaughter.

First elder sister of Julius Caesar

The elder of the two sisters of Julius Caesar the dictator is only known from a passage in which the biographer Suetonius
Suetonius
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era....

 mentions her two grandsons, Lucius Pinarius
Lucius Pinarius
Lucius Pinarius Scarpus was a Roman that lived in the late Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire.According to Suetonius, Pinarius was a great nephew of dictator Gaius Julius Caesar through one his sisters...

 and Quintus Pedius
Quintus Pedius
Quintus Pedius was a Roman who lived during the late Roman Republic. Pedius was the son of a Marcus or Quintus Pedius and nephew or great nephew of the Roman dictator Julius Caesar....

. If the two men were actually her sons, as has been conjectured, she was married, in what order is uncertain, to a Pinarius, of a very ancient patrician family, and a Pedius. It is not known if it was the elder or the younger of the dictator's sisters who gave evidence against Publius Clodius Pulcher, when impeached for impiety in 61 BC. Nothing else is known about the life of the elder sister.

Second elder sister of Julius Caesar

Julia Caesaris (101 BC-51 BC) was the second sister of Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

. She married Marcus Atius Balbus
Marcus Atius
Marcus Atius Balbus was the son and heir of an elder Marcus Atius Balbus and Pompeia. Pompeia was a sister to consul Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, father of triumvir Pompey. The family of the elder Balbus came from a Roman senatorial family plebs status from Aricia . ‘Balbus’ in Latin means stammer...

, a praetor and commissioner who came from a senatorial family of plebs
Plebs
The plebs was the general body of free land-owning Roman citizens in Ancient Rome. They were distinct from the higher order of the patricians. A member of the plebs was known as a plebeian...

 status. Julia bore Balbus three daughters:
  • Atia Balba Prima - mother of Quintus Pedius
    Quintus Pedius
    Quintus Pedius was a Roman who lived during the late Roman Republic. Pedius was the son of a Marcus or Quintus Pedius and nephew or great nephew of the Roman dictator Julius Caesar....

     who served as a general and consul.
  • Atia Balba Caesonia - mother of Octavia Minor
    Octavia Minor
    Octavia the Younger , also known as Octavia Minor or simply Octavia, was the sister of the first Roman Emperor, Augustus , half-sister of Octavia the Elder, and fourth wife of Mark Antony...

     (fourth wife of triumvir Mark Antony
    Mark Antony
    Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...

    ) and of first Emperor Augustus
    Augustus
    Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...

    .
  • Atia Balba Tertia - mother of Lucius Pinarius
    Lucius Pinarius
    Lucius Pinarius Scarpus was a Roman that lived in the late Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire.According to Suetonius, Pinarius was a great nephew of dictator Gaius Julius Caesar through one his sisters...

    , who was a political supporter of Mark Antony.


Julia and her mother gave the legal courts a detailed and truthful account about the affair between Pompeia (her sister-in-law) and politician Publius Clodius Pulcher
Publius Clodius Pulcher
Publius Clodius Pulcher was a Roman politician known for his popularist tactics...

. Caesar divorced Pompeia over the scandal. Balbus died in 52 BC and Julia died a year later. Julia’s youngest grandson and grandchild then known as Octavian (future Emperor Augustus) at age 12 to her honor delivered her funeral oration at her funeral.

Sources

  • Suetonius
    Suetonius
    Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era....

    - The Twelve Caesars - Caesar and Augustus.
  • http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/1748.html
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK