She lived to be 86 years old. Livia was married to Augustus for over forty years. She had unparalleled access to the emperor, and he regularly took her advice and guidance on issues of administration. Tacitus, Annals, 1. Some Roman historians report that Livia may have played a role in the death of Augustus and his heirs, as she wanted her son Tiberius to inherit the throne. However, it is difficult to determine whether these are facts or simply rumors. Tacitus Annals 1. The first three episodes feature some curious inventions and passages of storytelling , including an elaborate plot involving Livia's former slave, a madam, and the murder of some terrapins.
But for the most part it captures well the spirit of the age, its values, and with some authenticity observe Livia's saffron-coloured wedding apparel the fashions and architecture, too. Especially accurate is the fear of dictatorship and monarchy that rumbles beneath the story. That fear became a reality when, allegedly with Livia's contrivance, Octavian became "Augustus", the first emperor of Rome.
As the series progresses the adult Livia is played by Kasia Smutniak , we are likely to see more of the Livia we are familiar with. She will necessarily be shown immersed in matters of state. In the ancient sources, we read of her making requests for the granting of citizenship to favoured non-Romans, and of her saving the lives of individuals condemned to death. Such was the frequency with which she entered the conventionally male sphere that her own great-grandson, Caligula, called her "Odysseus in a woman's stole".
For Robert Graves, as for the ancient historians, Livia's interest in her husband's work amounted to interference and control: "Everyone knew that Livia kept Augustus in strict order and that, if not actually frightened of her, he was at any rate very careful not to offend her," reports Claudius in I, Claudius.
What new interpretations such as Domina have the power to do is to reframe Livia's involvement in public affairs as evidence of her intelligence and keen political engagement rather than evil meddling. There are good signs that the series will be doing just that. Regardless of what we see on screen, we should take with a large pinch of salt any suggestion that Livia acted to remove rivals to her son Tiberius and hastened Augustus' death when she feared he was favouring his grandson as his successor.
More credible is the theory that Livia helped to persuade Augustus to adopt Tiberius as his son and heir. Since Livia had no surviving children by Augustus, it was down to Tiberius to ensure that her blood flowed through what would become the Julio-Claudian dynasty.
Historically, the relationship between Livia and Tiberius has been characterised as an ugly power struggle, with the historians claiming that the mother longed to be co-ruler, while the son resented her influence. We might instead picture a woman seeking to impart her wisdom and experience to a son who yearns only to do things his own way. No doubt, as the historians relate, Livia held long meetings with Tiberius and offered him advice.
And no doubt, as several sources attest, Tiberius reminded her that she was a mere woman, with no authority to wade into the politics of men. In Domina , Livia states that "the first rule of power is survival".
A woman she may have been, but by the time the first empress passed away in AD 29, at the age of 86, she had shown that there was nothing "mere" about her. Love film and TV? If you would like to comment on this story or anything else you have seen on BBC Culture, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter.
And if you liked this story, sign up for the weekly bbc. Indeed, he only saw her once more after he departed and then briefly. He did not go to her during her final illness, nor did he attend her funeral.
After she died, he forbade the deification proposed for her and disregarded her will. Neither the altar voted her when she was ill in 22 nor a commemorative arch was ever built. Tiberius did not bar all honors, however. She continued to be included in annual prayers, and she received the use of the honorary conveyance, the carpentum.
Although it seems reasonable to assume that Tiberius reacted negatively to the rumors that his mother was a kingmaker and that these rumors would have blossomed as he became progressively a less popular personality, his withholding of excessive honors for her and his self-imposed distance are consistent with what is known of his personality.
Tiberius was more the Republican aristocrat than the emperor. Livia, however, had lived over fifty years as an important, if unofficial, player in the power game and as an empress. It was difficult for her to fade away.
If she tried to influence Tiberius as she had Augustus , resentment and a cooling of affection might reasonably have followed. As time when on, Tiberius took his advice not from his mother but from his praetorian prefect, L. Aelius Sejanus, and as Sejanus' influence rose, Livia's seems to have fallen. Still, there was no sharp division between friendly and unfriendly periods in their relationship and she continued to receive overt marks of respect.
She received a public funeral, although a relatively modest one, and was buried in the Mausoleum of Augustus. Gaius delivered the eulogy. It would be he, her great-grandson, who, when he became emperor, finally paid the bequests that she had provided for in her will and that Tiberius had ignored. When the senate proposed divine honors, Tiberius , consistent with his past practice, forbade them.
Her grandson Claudius would oversee her long-deferred deification in Women were to name diua Augusta in their oaths; she received an elephant-drawn chariot to convey her image to the games; a statue of her was set up in the temple of Augustus ; races were held in her honor. Tacitus' obituary calls her "An imperious mother and an amiable wife, she was a match for the diplomacy of her husband and the dissimulation of her son", [[29]] a concise statement of the reputation that she left behind.
Bibliography: Bartman, E. Portraits of Livia Eck. Das Senatus Consultum de Cn. Pisone Patre. Vestigia Flory, M. Gray-Fow, M. Huntsman, E. Levick, B. Linderski, J. Malcovati, H. Imperatoris Caesaris Augusti operum fragmenta. Perkounig, C. Livia Drusilla?
Vienna, Cologne, Weimar. Ritter, H. Shotter, D. Syme, R. The Roman Revolution. Temporini, H. Berlin, New York. Wiseman, T. Historia Watson, P. The ancient sources for information about her life are three histories, those of Tacitus Annals, books , Velleius Paterculus book 2, , and Cassius Dio books , and the collection of imperial biographies by Suetonius ,primarily those of Augustus and Tiberius.
Occasional references in other authors. The Senatus consultum de Cn. Pisone Patre published by Eck and others provides confirmation of Livia"s influence. Perkounig Dio Also Tac. Ann 5. Her role as advisor and confidante is apparent from letters that Augustus wrote; those that have been preserved are collected by Malcovati. The privileges given Livia in 35 were also bestowed on Augustus' sister Octavia, who was married to Mark Antony at the time.
Flory , Perkounig 70, Vell Pat. Syme Perkounig 65, Tacitus writes only that poisoning was "suspected", Ann. Ritter, Temporini
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