Julia Caesaris (wife of Marius)
Encyclopedia
Julia Caesaris was a daughter of Gaius Julius Caesar II
and Marcia (sister of consul Quintus Marcius Rex
). She was a sister of Gaius Julius Caesar III (the father of Julius Caesar
) and Sextus Julius Caesar III.
At about 110 BC she married Gaius Marius
; as a result, she is sometimes referred to as Julia Maria. They had a son, Gaius Marius the Younger
.
According to Plutarch
, it was by marrying her, a patrician woman, that the up-start Marius got the snobbish attention of the senate
and launched his political career. Julia is remembered as a virtuous woman devoted to her husband and their only child. Her reputation alone permitted her to keep her status, even after Sulla
's persecutions against Marius himself and his allies.
Julia Caesaris died in 69 BC and received a devoted funeral eulogy
from her nephew Julius Caesar
.
Gaius Julius Caesar II
Gaius Julius Caesar II, son of Gaius Julius Caesar I, married to Marcia, sister of the consul Quintus Marcius Rex. He was the father of Gaius Julius Caesar III, Sextus Julius Caesar III and Julia Caesaris, wife of Gaius Marius...
and Marcia (sister of consul Quintus Marcius Rex
Quintus Marcius Rex
Quintus Marcius Rex was a member of the Marcii Reges, the family founded by the Roman King Ancus Marcius. His father, praetor in 144 BC, built the Aqua Marcia aqueduct, the longest aqueduct of ancient Rome...
). She was a sister of Gaius Julius Caesar III (the father 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....
) and Sextus Julius Caesar III.
At about 110 BC she married Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius
Gaius Marius was a Roman general and statesman. He was elected consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his dramatic reforms of Roman armies, authorizing recruitment of landless citizens, eliminating the manipular military formations, and reorganizing the...
; as a result, she is sometimes referred to as Julia Maria. They had a son, Gaius Marius the Younger
Gaius Marius the Younger
Gaius Marius Minor, also known in English as Marius the Younger or informally "the younger Marius" , was the adopted son of Gaius Marius, who was seven times consul, and a famous military commander. Appian first describes him as the son of the great Marius, but in a subsequent passage, he is...
.
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...
, it was by marrying her, a patrician woman, that the up-start Marius got the snobbish attention of the senate
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...
and launched his political career. Julia is remembered as a virtuous woman devoted to her husband and their only child. Her reputation alone permitted her to keep her status, even after Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla
Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix , known commonly as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He had the rare distinction of holding the office of consul twice, as well as that of dictator...
's persecutions against Marius himself and his allies.
Julia Caesaris died in 69 BC and received a devoted funeral eulogy
Laudatio Iuliae amitae
The laudatio Iuliae amitae is a well-known funeral oration that Julius Caesar delivered in 68 BC to honor his deceased aunt Julia, the widow of Marius...
from her nephew 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....
.
Sources
- PlutarchPlutarchPlutarch 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...
, Parallel LivesParallel LivesPlutarch's Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans, commonly called Parallel Lives or Plutarch's Lives, is a series of biographies of famous men, arranged in tandem to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings, written in the late 1st century...
, written approx. 75 CE:- "(The Life of) (Caius) MariusGaius MariusGaius Marius was a Roman general and statesman. He was elected consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his dramatic reforms of Roman armies, authorizing recruitment of landless citizens, eliminating the manipular military formations, and reorganizing the...
" - "(The Life of) (Julius) CaesarJulius CaesarGaius 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 Life of) (Caius) Marius