Vipsania Agrippina (36 BC-20) was the daughter of
Marcus Vipsanius AgrippaMarcus 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...
from his first wife
Pomponia Caecilia AtticaPomponia 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...
, granddaughter of
CiceroMarcus Tullius Cicero was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. Cicero is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.Cicero is generally perceived to be one of the most versatile minds of ancient Rome...
's friend and knight
Titus Pomponius AtticusTitus 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...
. Her maternal grandmother was a descendant of
Marcus Licinius CrassusMarcus Licinius Crassus was a Roman general and politician who commanded Sulla's decisive victory at Colline gate, suppressed the slave revolt led by Spartacus and entered into a secret pact, known as the First Triumvirate, with Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus and Gaius Julius Caesar...
. By marriage, she was a great-niece to
Quintus Tullius CiceroQuintus Tullius Cicero was the younger brother of the celebrated orator, philosopher and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero. He was born in 102 BC into a family of the equestrian order, as the son of a wealthy landowner in Arpinum, some 100 kilometres south-east of Rome.- Career :His well-to-do...
.
OctavianusGaius Julius Caesar Augustus was the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in AD 14.
[These are the contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian after 45 BC...]
and her father betrothed her to
TiberiusTiberius Julius Caesar Augustus, born Tiberius Claudius Nero , was the second Roman Emperor, from the death of Augustus in AD 14 until his own death in 37. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla...
before her first birthday. In 20 BC or 16 BC she married Tiberius. Their son
Julius Caesar DrususNero Claudius Drusus, later Drusus Julius Caesar , was the only child of Roman Emperor Tiberius and his first wife, Vipsania Agrippina. He was born in 7 October 15 BC or 14 BC with the name Nero Claudius Drusus, and is also known to historians as Drusus II and Drusus Minor...
was born in 13 BC.
Agrippa died in March, 12 BC. He was married to
Julia the ElderJulia the Elder , known to her contemporaries as Julia Caesaris filia or Julia Augusti filia was the daughter and only natural child of Augustus. Augustus subsequently adopted several male members of his close family as sons...
, daughter of Augustus. Augustus forced Tiberius to divorce Vipsania and marry Julia. Tiberius reportedly loved Vipsania and disapproved of Julia. Vipsania was at the time pregnant, and from the shock lost the baby.
Tiberius divorced her against his will in 11 BC (
non sine magno angore animi,
SuetoniusGaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was an equestrian and a historian during the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies of twelve successive Roman rulers, from Julius Caesar until Domitian, entitled De Vita Caesarum...
Vita Tiberii 7), and never ceased to rue his action. On one occasion Tiberius caught sight of Vipsania and followed her with an intent and tearful gaze (Suetonius, ibid.). Precautions were taken to avoid further embarrassing meetings with her.
In 11 BC she married
Gaius Asinius Gallus SaloninusGaius Asinius Gallus Saloninus was an ambitious Roman Senator with family connections to the Julio-Claudian house. Asinius Gallus was consul in 8 BC, and proconsul of Asia in 6 BC/5 BC. He was a friend of Emperor Augustus and opposed Emperor Tiberius. He introduced measures to the senate to...
, a Senator and son of the famous orator
Gaius Asinius PollioGaius Asinius Pollio was a Roman soldier, politician, orator, poet, playwright, literary critic and historian, whose lost contemporary history, provided much of the material for the historians Appian and Plutarch...
. They had at least six sons. Vipsania Agrippina died in 20, a few days after the ovation of her son Drusus, which took place on 28 May.
Tiberius hated Gallus, not least because Gallus claimed that Drusus was his own son. In 30, at Tiberius' instigation, the Senate was to declare Gallus a public enemy (Cassius Dio 58.3). He died in prison in 33, of starvation.
Vipsania and Gallus' known sons were:
- Gaius Asinius Pollio
Gaius Asinius Pollio, son of Gaius Asinius Gallus and Vipsania Agrippina, was a Roman politician.He was consul in AD 23 alongside Gaius Antistius Vetus. We know from his coins he was proconsul of Asia. Through his mother he was the half-brother of the younger Drusus...
- ConsulA consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic and Empire.During the time of ancient Rome as a republic, the consuls were the highest civil and military magistrates, serving as the heads of government for the Republic. An election occurred every year for new consul...
in 23; exiled as an accuser of a conspiracy and later was put to death on orders from Empress Valeria Messalina.
- Marcus Asinius Agrippa
Marcus Asinius Agrippa was Roman consul in 25 AD, and died at the end of the following year, 26 AD. According to Tacitus, he was descended from a family more illustrious than ancient, and did not disgrace it by his mode of life, although he mentions no specifics...
- ConsulA consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic and Empire.During the time of ancient Rome as a republic, the consuls were the highest civil and military magistrates, serving as the heads of government for the Republic. An election occurred every year for new consul...
in 25 and died in the end of 26. TacitusPublius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
(Annals 4.61) describes him as "not unworthy of his ancestors". His son Marcus Asinius Marcellus'Marcus Asinius Marcellus' was Consul in 54 along with Marcus Acilius Aviola at the Emperor Claudius' death. He was the son of Marcus Asinius Agrippa, Consul in 25 who died in 26 and described by Tacitus as "not unworthy of his ancestors"...
was ConsulA consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic and Empire.During the time of ancient Rome as a republic, the consuls were the highest civil and military magistrates, serving as the heads of government for the Republic. An election occurred every year for new consul...
in 54 along with Marcus Acilius Aviola (at the time the Emperor ClaudiusTiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was the fourth Roman Emperor, a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from 24 January AD 41 to his death in AD 54...
died).
- Asinius Saloninus or (Gnaeus Asinius Saloninus) (sometimes wrongly called Salonius), died in 22. Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and a historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman Emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors...
describes him as an ‘eminent’ person. Saloninus was intended to marry one of the granddaughters of Emperor Tiberius (Tacitus, Annals 3.75).
- Servius Asinius Celer. He was consul suffectus in 38. From Emperor Caligula
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , more commonly known by his cognomen Caligula , was the third Roman Emperor, reigning from 16 March 37 until his assassination on 24 January 41...
he purchased a fish at an enormous price. He is mentioned in the satire, by SenecaLucius Annaeus Seneca was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero...
, The Pumpkinification of Claudius, where he is listed among the many people killed by that emperor. His death probably occurred sometime before mid-47. Asinius Celer seems to have had a daughter by the name of Asinia Agrippina, though her existence is obscure.
- Asinius Gallus or (Lucius Asinius Gallus) (sometimes wrongly called Gallo). In 46 he conspired against Claudius
Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was the fourth Roman Emperor, a member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, ruling from 24 January AD 41 to his death in AD 54...
and was forced to go into exile. Cassius Dio (60.27.5) describes him as being "very small and ugly". Later rehabilitated, he became ConsulA consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic and Empire.During the time of ancient Rome as a republic, the consuls were the highest civil and military magistrates, serving as the heads of government for the Republic. An election occurred every year for new consul...
in 62.
- Gnaeus Asinius. His existence is recorded by the townsfolk of Puteoli, whose patron he was. Nothing else is known about him. He may have been identical with Asinius Saloninus or the foregoing Asinius Gallus. Since the Asinius Gallus seems to have been the Lucius Asinius Gallus who became a Consul in 60, by exclusion of parts the Gnaeus Asinius must be the Asinius Saloninus.
A descendant of Vipsania and Gallus,
Pomponia GraecinaPomponia 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...
, became a distinguished lady. Pomponia might have been a
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and the Son of God.The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to...
and lived an unhappy long life. Pomponia married
Aulus PlautiusAulus Plautius was a Roman politician and general of the mid-1st century. He led the Roman conquest of Britain in 43, and became the first governor of the new province, serving from 43 to 47.-Career:...
. Plautius was a general in the conquest of
BritainGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
, which he received as a military ovation.
NeroNero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus , born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, also called Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus, was the fifth and last Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great uncle Claudius to become heir to the throne...
murdered their son, reportedly because
Agrippina the YoungerJulia Agrippina , also known as Agrippina the Younger and Agrippina Minor was a Roman empress...
, mother of Nero, was in love with him and encouraged him to bid for the throne.
Another descendant or otherwise relative, Gaius Asinius Lepidus Praetextatus (210 – after 242), became a
ConsulA consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic and Empire.During the time of ancient Rome as a republic, the consuls were the highest civil and military magistrates, serving as the heads of government for the Republic. An election occurred every year for new consul...
in 242, being the son of Gaius Asinius Lepidus, Suffect
ConsulA consul served in the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic and Empire.During the time of ancient Rome as a republic, the consuls were the highest civil and military magistrates, serving as the heads of government for the Republic. An election occurred every year for new consul...
of
RomeThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
in 222 and wife (Vettia) (b. 190 or 195).
Tacitus states that Vipsania was the only one of Agrippa's children to die without violence.
http://classics.mit.edu/Tacitus/annals.3.iii.html She was one of the most prominent women of her time. Between 21-23,
Julius Caesar DrususNero Claudius Drusus, later Drusus Julius Caesar , was the only child of Roman Emperor Tiberius and his first wife, Vipsania Agrippina. He was born in 7 October 15 BC or 14 BC with the name Nero Claudius Drusus, and is also known to historians as Drusus II and Drusus Minor...
honored her memory with statues, coins and inscriptions.
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