Marcia
Encyclopedia
Marcia Aurelia Ceionia Demetrias, better known as Marcia, was the mistress and one of the assassins
of 2nd century AD Roman Emperor
Commodus
from 182–93. Marcia was the daughter of Marcia Aurelius Sabinianus, a freedwoman of the co-emperor Lucius Verus
.
Marcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus
, and subsequently a wife of his servant Eclectus. However, in 182 CE Lucilla
, the sister of Commodus, convinced Marcia to join in a plot with Quadratus to kill Commodus. The plot was discovered and both Lucilla and Quadratus were executed. Marcia managed to escape charges, and after Commodus' wife Bruttia Crispina
was exiled and murdered due to adultery, Commodus chose not to marry again and took Marcia as his concubine.
Marcia was most likely Christian
and persuaded Commodus to adopt a policy in favor of Christians, and kept close relations with Victor, Bishop of Rome
. After Pope Victor I
gave her a list she had asked for including all of the Christians sentenced to mine works in Sardinia
, she convinced Commodus to allow them to return to Rome. Despite the fact that Marcia was not Commodus' legal wife, he treated her like one and was thus greatly influenced by her. The inscription found in Anagnia testifies that the local city council decided to build a monument, commemorating particularly the restoration of baths on her account.
, escorted by the rest of the gladiators. After telling his plan to Marcia the night before, she begged him not to behave so carelessly and bring disgrace to the Roman Empire
. Commodus, upset by Marcia's reaction, then told his plan to Aemilius Laetus
, the Praetorian Prefect
, and Eclectus, his servant. After they, too, tried to dissuade him, he became furious and put their three names on a proscribed list
of people to be executed the next morning, including names of prominent senator
s.
While Commodus was taking a bath, his favorite servant boy Philcommodus (whose name is a symbol of Commodus' fondness for the boy) found the tablet on which the list was written and ran into Marcia while he was holding the tablet. Marcia took it from him, thinking she was protecting a document from potentially being ruined, and in horror saw her name at the top of the list. According to Herodian, she cried out, "Well done, indeed, Commodus. This is fine return for the kindness and affection I have lavished on you and for the drunken insults which I have endured from you all these years. A fuddled drunkard is not going to get the better of a sober woman".
She then gathered Praetorian prefect
Laetus and Eclectus, Commodus' chamberlain, and the three of them decided they had to kill Commodus in order to save their own lives. Usually Marcia would give the emperor his first drink after his bath so he could have the pleasure of drinking from his lover's hand. It was easy, then, for her to mix poison into the wine she gave to Commodus after his bath. After drinking the wine, he became so ill that his vomiting would not cease. The three conspirators were afraid he would expel all the poison, so they ordered Narcissus
, a young athlete, to strangle Commodus for a large reward.
After Commodus was murdered, Marcia and Eclectus were married, but she was soon after killed by Didius Julianus
in 193 CE.
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
of 2nd century AD Roman Emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
Commodus
Commodus
Commodus , was Roman Emperor from 180 to 192. He also ruled as co-emperor with his father Marcus Aurelius from 177 until his father's death in 180. His name changed throughout his reign; see changes of name for earlier and later forms. His accession as emperor was the first time a son had succeeded...
from 182–93. Marcia was the daughter of Marcia Aurelius Sabinianus, a freedwoman of the co-emperor Lucius Verus
Lucius Verus
Lucius Verus , was Roman co-emperor with Marcus Aurelius, from 161 until his death.-Early life and career:Lucius Verus was the first born son to Avidia Plautia and Lucius Aelius Verus Caesar, the first adopted son and heir of Roman Emperor Hadrian . He was born and raised in Rome...
.
Commodus' favorite mistress
Before Marcia was Commodus' mistress, she was the lover and mistress of one of his cousins, SenatorRoman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
Marcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus
Marcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus
Marcus Ummidius Quadratus Annianus was a wealthy Roman Politician and the nephew of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius.Quadratus was the son of Marcus Aurelius’ sister, Annia Cornificia Faustina and the Roman Senator who served as a suffect consul in 146, Gaius Ummidius Quadratus Annianus Verus....
, and subsequently a wife of his servant Eclectus. However, in 182 CE Lucilla
Lucilla
Annia Aurelia Galeria Lucilla or Lucilla was the second daughter and third child of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and Roman Empress Faustina the Younger and an elder sister to future Roman Emperor Commodus....
, the sister of Commodus, convinced Marcia to join in a plot with Quadratus to kill Commodus. The plot was discovered and both Lucilla and Quadratus were executed. Marcia managed to escape charges, and after Commodus' wife Bruttia Crispina
Bruttia Crispina
Bruttia Crispina was the Empress of Rome and wife of Roman Emperor Commodus.Crispina’s mother is unknown and her father was twice consul Gaius Bruttius Praesens. Crispina’s paternal grandparents were consul and senator Caius Bruttius Praesens and rich heiress Laberia Hostilia Crispina, who was the...
was exiled and murdered due to adultery, Commodus chose not to marry again and took Marcia as his concubine.
Marcia was most likely Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
and persuaded Commodus to adopt a policy in favor of Christians, and kept close relations with Victor, Bishop of Rome
Pope Victor I
Pope Saint Victor I was Pope from 189 to 199 .Pope Victor I was the first bishop of Rome born in the Roman Province of Africa: probably he was born in Leptis Magna . He was later canonized...
. After Pope Victor I
Pope Victor I
Pope Saint Victor I was Pope from 189 to 199 .Pope Victor I was the first bishop of Rome born in the Roman Province of Africa: probably he was born in Leptis Magna . He was later canonized...
gave her a list she had asked for including all of the Christians sentenced to mine works in Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
, she convinced Commodus to allow them to return to Rome. Despite the fact that Marcia was not Commodus' legal wife, he treated her like one and was thus greatly influenced by her. The inscription found in Anagnia testifies that the local city council decided to build a monument, commemorating particularly the restoration of baths on her account.
Assassination of Commodus
To celebrate the Roman New Year in 192 CE, Commodus decided he wanted to make an appearance before the Roman people not from the palace in traditional purple robes, but from the gladiator's barracksGladiator
A gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...
, escorted by the rest of the gladiators. After telling his plan to Marcia the night before, she begged him not to behave so carelessly and bring disgrace to the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
. Commodus, upset by Marcia's reaction, then told his plan to Aemilius Laetus
Quintus Aemilius Laetus
Quintus Aemilius Laetus was a prefect of the Roman imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard, from 191 until his death in 193. He acceded to this position upon the deaths of his predecessors Regillus and Julius Julianus, by appointment of emperor Commodus...
, the Praetorian Prefect
Praetorian prefect
Praetorian prefect was the title of a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders becoming the Emperor's chief aides...
, and Eclectus, his servant. After they, too, tried to dissuade him, he became furious and put their three names on a proscribed list
Proscription
Proscription is a term used for the public identification and official condemnation of enemies of the state. It is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a "decree of condemnation to death or banishment" and is a heavily politically charged word, frequently used to refer to state-approved...
of people to be executed the next morning, including names of prominent senator
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
s.
While Commodus was taking a bath, his favorite servant boy Philcommodus (whose name is a symbol of Commodus' fondness for the boy) found the tablet on which the list was written and ran into Marcia while he was holding the tablet. Marcia took it from him, thinking she was protecting a document from potentially being ruined, and in horror saw her name at the top of the list. According to Herodian, she cried out, "Well done, indeed, Commodus. This is fine return for the kindness and affection I have lavished on you and for the drunken insults which I have endured from you all these years. A fuddled drunkard is not going to get the better of a sober woman".
She then gathered Praetorian prefect
Praetorian prefect
Praetorian prefect was the title of a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders becoming the Emperor's chief aides...
Laetus and Eclectus, Commodus' chamberlain, and the three of them decided they had to kill Commodus in order to save their own lives. Usually Marcia would give the emperor his first drink after his bath so he could have the pleasure of drinking from his lover's hand. It was easy, then, for her to mix poison into the wine she gave to Commodus after his bath. After drinking the wine, he became so ill that his vomiting would not cease. The three conspirators were afraid he would expel all the poison, so they ordered Narcissus
Narcissus (murderer)
Narcissus was a Roman athlete, likely a wrestler, from the 2nd century AD. He is best known to history as the assassin of the Roman Emperor Commodus, by whom he was employed as a wrestling partner, and personal trainer in order to train Commodus for his self-indulgent appearances in the Colosseum...
, a young athlete, to strangle Commodus for a large reward.
After Commodus was murdered, Marcia and Eclectus were married, but she was soon after killed by Didius Julianus
Didius Julianus
Didius Julianus , was Roman Emperor for three months during the year 193. He ascended the throne after buying it from the Praetorian Guard, who had assassinated his predecessor Pertinax. This led to the Roman Civil War of 193–197...
in 193 CE.
Primary sources
- Cassius Dio, Roman history, The Loeb classical library; 454-455. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1961/69, p. 73f., 6-7. ISBN 0674990366.
- HerodianHerodianHerodian or Herodianus of Syria was a minor Roman civil servant who wrote a colourful history in Greek titled History of the Empire from the Death of Marcus in eight books covering the years 180 to 238. His work is not entirely reliable although his relatively unbiased account of Elagabalus is...
, The Loeb classical library; 454-455. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, [1969/70, 16.2-3 to 17.9-11. ISBN 0674995015.
Secondary sources
- Champlin, Edward (Summer 1979). Notes on the Heirs of Commodus. The American Journal of Philology 100: 288-306.
- Gage, J. Revue des etudes latines. Paris, France: Societe d'edition "Les belles lettres", 1923.
- Lightman, Marjorie and Benjamin Lightman. Biographical dictionary of ancient Greek and Roman women: notable women from Sappho to Helena. New York: Facts On File, 2000. Page 157.
- Roos, A.G. (1915). Herodian's Method of Composition. The Journal of Roman Studies 5: 191-202.
- Salisbury, Joyce E. Encyclopedia of women in the ancient world. Santa Barbara, California: Abc-Clio, 2001. Pages 205-207.