Pomponia
Encyclopedia
Pomponia is the female name for the gens
Pomponius of Ancient Rome
. This family was one of the oldest families in Rome. Various women bearing this name, of whom five are named below, lived during the Middle and Late Roman Republic
and the Roman Empire
. The oldest known Pomponia was mother of a famous Roman general; the second and third were related to each other. The relationship between these women, if any, is not known. They descended from Pomponius, the first son of Numa Pompilius
, the second King of Rome
.
212 BC) was a Roman woman who lived in the 3rd century BC. She came from a Roman noble family who were of plebs
status, and were prominent knights or equestrians. She was the daughter of the consul Manius Pomponius Matho
, consul in 233 BC http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/2080.html (who appears to have died in 211 BC), and was married possibly around 237 BC to Publius Cornelius Scipio
, second surviving son of the Roman censor Lucius Cornelius Scipio
of a prominent patrician family. Her husband later became a general and statesman during the Second Punic War
and was killed in battle in Hispania in 211 BC. By her marriage, Pomponia was the mother of at least two sons, the famous Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus
Major (236 BC-184 BC/183 BC) and Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus
(fl. 183 BC).
Livy's brief mentions of Pomponia show her to be a devout religious woman, much preoccupied with her household duties.
woman, who flourished in the first century BC and was an only sister to Roman Knight and Cicero
’s friend Titus Pomponius Atticus
. She was an aunt to Titus Servilius Pomponianus, Caecilia Attica
and a great-aunt to Vipsania Agrippina
(first wife to future Roman Emperor
Tiberius
).
Cicero
through his effective mediation was able to marry Pomponia to his younger brother Quintus Tullius Cicero
. Quintus and Pomponia married in 68 BC. Pomponia bore Quintus, a son of the same name.
Quintus and Pomponia had a long unhappy, miserable marriage and they constantly quarrelled. Pomponia was a woman of strong character. Their constant quarrelling really upset Cicero and mentioned this in his letters to Atticus. Cicero would assist his sister-in-law and his brother resolve their problems, however Cicero naturally supported his brother.
When the younger Quintus Tullius Cicero grew up, he tried (and encouraged by his uncles) to reconcile his parents, but this was unsuccessful. Pomponia and the elder Quintus divorced in later 45 BC or early 44 BC.
In December 43 BC, Cicero, Quintus and his son were executed on the orders of Roman
Triumvir Mark Antony
.
Antony (as an act of decency) handed over to Pomponia, Philologus a former slave and treater to Cicero. According to Plutarch
, Pomponia punished Philologus for his treachery with terrible punishments including forcing him to cut off pieces of his flesh, roasting the pieces and then eating them. Pomponia was still alive after 43 BC.
.
Pomponia Caecilia Attica, usually called Caecilia Attica (born 51 BC), was the daughter of Titus Pomponius Atticus
, the first wife of general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
, and mother of Vipsania Agrippina
. She was also the niece of the second Pomponia, sister-in-law of Cicero
.
.
Pomponia Graecina was a Roman woman who lived in the 1st century. She was the wife of Roman General Aulus Plautius
, a distant relative of Julia
(daughter of Julius Caesar Drusus
) and granddaughter of Emperor Tiberius
. Famous speculation associates her with early Christianity in Rome, as in the novel and film Quo Vadis?
.
under the Emperor Caracalla
(reigned 211-217). Caracalla ordered her death, because she violated her vow of chastity.
Pomponia Ummidia was a descendant of the Roman Emperor
Marcus Aurelius and the wife of consul Flavius Antiochianus
. For her sister-in-law Pomponia Gratidia and her niece Pomponia Bassa, see her brother's article Pomponius Bassus (consul 259 & 271)
.
Gens
In ancient Rome, a gens , plural gentes, referred to a family, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same nomen and claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a stirps . The gens was an important social structure at Rome and throughout Italy during the...
Pomponius of Ancient Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. This family was one of the oldest families in Rome. Various women bearing this name, of whom five are named below, lived during the Middle and Late Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
and 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....
. The oldest known Pomponia was mother of a famous Roman general; the second and third were related to each other. The relationship between these women, if any, is not known. They descended from Pomponius, the first son of Numa Pompilius
Numa Pompilius
Numa Pompilius was the legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus. What tales are descended to us about him come from Valerius Antias, an author from the early part of the 1st century BC known through limited mentions of later authors , Dionysius of Halicarnassus circa 60BC-...
, the second King of Rome
King of Rome
The King of Rome was the chief magistrate of the Roman Kingdom. According to legend, the first king of Rome was Romulus, who founded the city in 753 BC upon the Palatine Hill. Seven legendary kings are said to have ruled Rome until 509 BC, when the last king was overthrown. These kings ruled for...
.
Mother of Scipio Africanus
Pomponia (fl.Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
212 BC) was a Roman woman who lived in the 3rd century BC. She came from a Roman noble family who were 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, and were prominent knights or equestrians. She was the daughter of the consul Manius Pomponius Matho
Manius Pomponius Matho
Manius Pomponius M.f. M.n. Matho was a Roman consul and general who was elected consul for the year 233 BC with Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosses, later called Cunctator...
, consul in 233 BC http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/2080.html (who appears to have died in 211 BC), and was married possibly around 237 BC to Publius Cornelius Scipio
Publius Cornelius Scipio
Publius Cornelius Scipio was a general and statesman of the Roman Republic.A member of the Corneliagens, Scipio served as consul in 218 BC, the first year of the Second Punic War, and sailed with an army from Pisa to Massilia , with the intention of arresting Hannibal's advance on Italy...
, second surviving son of the Roman censor Lucius Cornelius Scipio
Lucius Cornelius Scipio
Lucius Cornelius Scipio may refer to:*Lucius Cornelius Scipio , praetor in 174 BC.*Lucius Cornelius Scipio *Lucius Cornelius Scipio...
of a prominent patrician family. Her husband later became a general and statesman during the Second Punic War
Second Punic War
The Second Punic War, also referred to as The Hannibalic War and The War Against Hannibal, lasted from 218 to 201 BC and involved combatants in the western and eastern Mediterranean. This was the second major war between Carthage and the Roman Republic, with the participation of the Berbers on...
and was killed in battle in Hispania in 211 BC. By her marriage, Pomponia was the mother of at least two sons, the famous Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus
Scipio Africanus
Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus , also known as Scipio Africanus and Scipio the Elder, was a general in the Second Punic War and statesman of the Roman Republic...
Major (236 BC-184 BC/183 BC) and Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus
Scipio Asiaticus
Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus was a Roman general and statesman. He was the son of Publius Cornelius Scipio and the older brother of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus...
(fl. 183 BC).
Livy's brief mentions of Pomponia show her to be a devout religious woman, much preoccupied with her household duties.
Sister of Titus Pomponius Atticus
Pomponia was a RomanAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
woman, who flourished in the first century BC and was an only sister to Roman Knight and Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
’s friend Titus Pomponius Atticus
Titus Pomponius Atticus
Titus Pomponius Atticus, born Titus Pomponius , came from an old but not strictly noble Roman family of the equestrian class and the Gens Pomponia. He was a celebrated editor, banker, and patron of letters with residences in both Rome and Athens...
. She was an aunt to Titus Servilius Pomponianus, Caecilia Attica
Caecilia Attica
Pomponia Caecilia Attica or Caecilia Pomponia Attica , was the daughter of Cicero's Epicurean friend and eques, knight Titus Pomponius Atticus. Her mother, Caecilia Pilea/Pilia , daughter of Pileus/Pilius, was a maternal granddaughter of Marcus Licinius Crassus, a member of the First Triumvirate...
and a great-aunt to Vipsania Agrippina
Vipsania Agrippina
Not to be confused with Agrippina the Elder, Agrippa's daughter by Julia the Elder.Vipsania Agrippina was the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa from his first wife Pomponia Caecilia Attica, granddaughter of Cicero's friend and knight Titus Pomponius Atticus. Her maternal grandmother was a...
(first wife to future Roman Emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
Tiberius
Tiberius
Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
).
Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
through his effective mediation was able to marry Pomponia to his younger brother Quintus Tullius Cicero
Quintus Tullius Cicero
Quintus Tullius Cicero was the younger brother of the celebrated orator, philosopher and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero. He was born into a family of the equestrian order, as the son of a wealthy landowner in Arpinum, some 100 kilometres south-east of Rome.- Biography :Cicero's well-to-do father...
. Quintus and Pomponia married in 68 BC. Pomponia bore Quintus, a son of the same name.
Quintus and Pomponia had a long unhappy, miserable marriage and they constantly quarrelled. Pomponia was a woman of strong character. Their constant quarrelling really upset Cicero and mentioned this in his letters to Atticus. Cicero would assist his sister-in-law and his brother resolve their problems, however Cicero naturally supported his brother.
When the younger Quintus Tullius Cicero grew up, he tried (and encouraged by his uncles) to reconcile his parents, but this was unsuccessful. Pomponia and the elder Quintus divorced in later 45 BC or early 44 BC.
In December 43 BC, Cicero, Quintus and his son were executed on the orders of Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
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...
.
Antony (as an act of decency) handed over to Pomponia, Philologus a former slave and treater to Cicero. According to Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
, Pomponia punished Philologus for his treachery with terrible punishments including forcing him to cut off pieces of his flesh, roasting the pieces and then eating them. Pomponia was still alive after 43 BC.
Mother of Vipsania Agrippina
See full article, Caecilia AtticaCaecilia Attica
Pomponia Caecilia Attica or Caecilia Pomponia Attica , was the daughter of Cicero's Epicurean friend and eques, knight Titus Pomponius Atticus. Her mother, Caecilia Pilea/Pilia , daughter of Pileus/Pilius, was a maternal granddaughter of Marcus Licinius Crassus, a member of the First Triumvirate...
.
Pomponia Caecilia Attica, usually called Caecilia Attica (born 51 BC), was the daughter of Titus Pomponius Atticus
Titus Pomponius Atticus
Titus Pomponius Atticus, born Titus Pomponius , came from an old but not strictly noble Roman family of the equestrian class and the Gens Pomponia. He was a celebrated editor, banker, and patron of letters with residences in both Rome and Athens...
, the first wife of general Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was a Roman statesman and general. He was a close friend, son-in-law, lieutenant and defense minister to Octavian, the future Emperor Caesar Augustus...
, and mother of Vipsania Agrippina
Vipsania Agrippina
Not to be confused with Agrippina the Elder, Agrippa's daughter by Julia the Elder.Vipsania Agrippina was the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa from his first wife Pomponia Caecilia Attica, granddaughter of Cicero's friend and knight Titus Pomponius Atticus. Her maternal grandmother was a...
. She was also the niece of the second Pomponia, sister-in-law of Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
.
Wife of Aulus Plautius
See full article, Pomponia GraecinaPomponia Graecina
Pomponia Graecina was a noble Roman woman of the 1st century who was related to the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was the wife of Aulus Plautius, the general who led the Roman conquest of Britain in 43, and was renowned as one of the few people who dared to publicly mourn the death of a kinswoman...
.
Pomponia Graecina was a Roman woman who lived in the 1st century. She was the wife of Roman General Aulus Plautius
Aulus Plautius
Aulus Plautius was a Roman politician and general of the mid-1st century. He began the Roman conquest of Britain in 43, and became the first governor of the new province, serving from 43 to 47.-Career:...
, a distant relative of Julia
Julia (daughter of Drusus the Younger)
Julia Drusi Caesaris Filia was the daughter of Drusus Julius Caesar and Livilla and granddaughter to the Roman Emperor Tiberius.-Chronology:At the time of Emperor Augustus' death in 14 Julia was ill...
(daughter of Julius Caesar Drusus
Julius Caesar Drusus
Nero Claudius Drusus, later Drusus Julius Caesar was the only child of Roman Emperor Tiberius and his first wife, Vipsania Agrippina...
) and granddaughter of Emperor Tiberius
Tiberius
Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
. Famous speculation associates her with early Christianity in Rome, as in the novel and film Quo Vadis?
Quo Vadis (novel)
Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero, commonly known as Quo Vadis, is a historical novel written by Henryk Sienkiewicz in Polish. Quo vadis is Latin for "Where are you going?" and alludes to the apocryphal Acts of Peter, in which Peter flees Rome but on his way meets Jesus and asks him why he...
.
Vestal Virgin under Caracalla
Pomponia Rufina was a Vestal VirginVestal Virgin
In ancient Roman religion, the Vestals or Vestal Virgins , were priestesses of Vesta, goddess of the hearth. The College of the Vestals and its well-being was regarded as fundamental to the continuance and security of Rome, as embodied by their cultivation of the sacred fire that could not be...
under the Emperor Caracalla
Caracalla
Caracalla , was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. The eldest son of Septimius Severus, he ruled jointly with his younger brother Geta until he murdered the latter in 211...
(reigned 211-217). Caracalla ordered her death, because she violated her vow of chastity.
Daughter of Annia Aurelia Faustina
See full article, Pomponia UmmidiaPomponia Ummidia
Pomponia Ummidia was Anatolian Roman noblewoman and was a prominent figure in Rome during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Gallienus, Claudius Gothicus, Quintillus and Aurelian. She lived in the period the Crisis of the Third Century in the Roman Empire.Pomponia Ummidia came from a distinguished...
Pomponia Ummidia was a descendant of the 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...
Marcus Aurelius and the wife of consul Flavius Antiochianus
Flavius Antiochianus
Flavius Antiochianus was a prominent Roman politician during the reigns of the Roman Emperors Gallienus, Claudius Gothicus, Quintillus and Aurelian, in the period referred to as the Crisis of the Third Century in the Roman Empire....
. For her sister-in-law Pomponia Gratidia and her niece Pomponia Bassa, see her brother's article Pomponius Bassus (consul 259 & 271)
Pomponius Bassus (consul 259 & 271)
Pomponius Bassus was a Roman Senator of Anatolian descent who lived in the Roman Empire.Bassus was of Italian Roman, Pontian Greek ancestry, who came from a distinguished senatorial family...
.