Marcia Servilia Explained

Marcia Servilia or commonly known as Servilia (40s-66 CE) was the daughter of Roman Senator Barea Soranus.[1] Her father was part of the Stoic Opposition who opposed Nero's tyrannical rule.[2] When he was sentenced to death by Nero in 65 or 66, Servilia was similarly accused and sentenced to death on a charge of consulting sorcerers supposedly to find out her father's fate.[3]

Family

Servilia's father was Quintus Marcius Barea Soranus, a prominent Roman Senator and her mother may have been from the gens Servilia. Servilia's paternal uncle was the Roman Senator Quintus Marcius Barea Sura, who was a friend to the future Roman Emperor Vespasian. Her paternal cousins were Marcia (mother of Ulpia Marciana and of future Roman Emperor Trajan) and Marcia Furnilla (the second wife of the future Roman Emperor Titus). Her paternal grandfather Quintus Marcius Barea Soranus was Suffect Consul in 34 and twice Proconsul of Africa.

Life

Servilia had a loving relationship with her father. She had married the Senator Gaius Annius Pollio, who was accused of treason in 37. In 65 he was exiled on Roman Emperor Nero's orders.[4]

Tacitus describes Servilia as ‘young and imprudent’. The historian states that Servilia was inconsolable about her husband and was worried about her elderly father's fate. In 66, Servilia and her husband Annius Pollio were executed on Nero's orders on the charge of consulting sorcerers ostensibly to find out her father's fate.[5]

See also

Sources

Notes and References

  1. Jones . Brian W. . 1973 . Domitian's Attitude to the Senate . The American Journal of Philology . 94 . 1 . 79–91 . 10.2307/294040 . 294040 . 0002-9475.
  2. Marshall . Anthony J. . 1990 . Women on Trial Before the Roman Senate . Echos du Monde Classique: Classical News and Views . 34 . 3 . 333–366 . 1913-5416.
  3. Foubert . Lien . 2023 . NO 'GREAT' FLAVIAN WOMEN? PROCESSES OF SILENCING IN ANCIENT SOURCES AND (EARLY) MODERN SCHOLARSHIP . Akroterion . en . 68 . 65–83 . 10.7445/68--1058 . 2079-2883. free .
  4. Book: Jones, Brian . The Emperor Domitian . 2002-09-11 . Routledge . 978-1-134-85313-7 . en.
  5. Gillespie . Caitlin C. . 2021 . Daring to Die: Female suicide in the age of nero . Sconfinamenti di genere: Donne coraggiose che vivono nei testi e nelle immagini, 2021, ISBN 979-12-80200-01-3, págs. 87-94 . DiLBeC Books . 87–94 . 979-12-80200-01-3.