Claudia Marcella

Claudia Marcella was the name of the two daughters of Octavia Minor, the sister of Roman emperor Augustus, by her first husband, the consul Gaius Claudius Marcellus.^[1] According to the Roman Historian Suetonius, they were known as the The Marcellae sisters and they are also known as the two Marcellae.^[2] The sisters were born in Rome. Between 40 BC-36 BC, they lived with their mother and their stepfather Triumvir Mark Antony in Athens, Greece. After 36 BC they accompanied their mother when she returned to Rome with their siblings. They were raised and educated by their mother, their maternal uncle, Roman emperor Augustus, and their maternal aunt-in-marriage Roman Empress Livia Drusilla.^[3] These two daughters of Octavia Minor and Gaius Claudius Marcellus with their siblings, provide a critical link between the past of the Roman Republic and the new Roman Empire.^[4] The marriages of the sisters and the children born to their unions assured republican family lines into the next generation.^[5]

Claudia Marcella Major

Claudia Marcella Major^[6] (PIR² C 1102; Major Latin for the elder, born 41 BC) also known as Claudia Marcella Maior;^[7] Marcella Maior;^[8] Claudia Marcella the Elder^[9] and Marcella the Elder.^[10]

Marcella belonged to the generation whose childhood was marred by the violence of the civil wars of the Roman Republic.^[11] Her first marriage took place to Marcus Vispanius Agrippa in 28 BC, as he married her as his second wife.^[12] Augustus held Agrippa in first place of honor of his estimation.^[13] Agrippa was a military man loyal to Octavian throughout the civil war.^[14] The marriage of Marcella and Agrippa probably occurred because of the strong bond between the two men.^[15] Marcella brought Agrippa a tie to an elite republican family.^[16] Although Agrippa was older than Marcella but austere, he appeared to be a good husband to Marcella.^[17]

In the marriage of Marcella and Agrippa, they had children,^[18] however it is uncertain whether any of them survived to adulthood. A daughter may have been born to them,^[19] retrospectively called Vipsania Marcella Agrippina, in order to differentiate her from her half-sisters. The existence of Vipsania Marcella can be confirmed from a surviving fragment of papyrus of the oration Augustus delivered at the funeral of Agrippa early in 12 BC.^[20] The papyrus reveals that the general Publius Quinctilius Varus was a son-in-law of Agrippa^[21] and mentions the marriage of Vipsania Marcella to Publius Quinctilius Varus.^[22] In 23 BC the brother of Marcella, Marcus Claudius Marcellus died and Marcella’s paternal cousin Julia the Elder had become widowed from Marcellus’ death.^[23] In 21 BC, Agrippa divorced Marcella to marry Julia the daughter of Augustus.^[24]

After Marcella divorced Agrippa, Octavia Minor received Marcella back to her house.^[25] Octava Minor married Marcella to consul Iullus Antonius, the second son of Mark Antony from his third wife Fulvia^[26] who was held in high regard by Augustus.^[27] Marcella bore Iullus Antonius children:^[28] two sons^[29] and according to inscriptional evidence, a daughter.^[30] The first son Lucius Antonius went into exile after the disgrace of his father. The other son is often referred to as Gaius Antonius and the name of the daughter is Iulla Antonia. In 2 BC, Iullus Antonius was forced to commit suicide after being found guilty of adultery with Julia the Elder.

After the death of Iullus Antonius, Marcella married the Roman Senator and her distant maternal relative, Sextus Appuleius, the grandson of Octavia Major—the older half-sister of her mother.^[31] Marcella bore Appuleius, a daughter called Appuleia Varilla.^[32] After this moment, no more is known on Marcella.

Ancestors of Claudia Marcella Major

4. Marcus Claudius Marcellus

2. Gaius Claudius Marcellus Minor

5. Junia

1. Claudia Marcella Major

24. Gaius Octavius

12. Gaius Octavius

6. Gaius Octavius

3. Octavia Minor

28. Marcus Atius Balbus

14. Marcus Atius

29. Pompeia

7. Atia Balba Caesonia

30. Gaius Julius Caesar

15. Julia Caesaris

31. Aurelia Cotta

Claudia Marcella Minor

Claudia Marcella Minor^[33] (PIR² C 1103, Minor Latin for the younger, born late 40 BC) also known as Marcella Minor,^[34] Claudia Marcella the Younger^[35] and Marcella the Younger. Marcella was born after the death of her father and she grew up part of the first post-Actium generation.^[36]

Marcella first married in 15 BC the consul, censor Lucius Aemilius Lepidus Paullus, also known as Paullus Aemilius Lepidus.^[37]^[38] Paullus was previously widowed by whom he had three children.^[39] The marriage of Marcella and Paullus linked two honored republican houses and tied them closely to the imperial circle.^[40] Before the death of Paullus in c. 14 BC, Marcella bore him a son called Paullus Aemilius Regulus.^[41] Regulus served as a quaestor during the rule of the Roman emperor Tiberius who reigned from 14 until 37.^[42]

Sometime after the death of Paullus, Marcella married the Roman consul of 12 BC, Marcus Valerius Messalla Appianus.^[43] Marcella bore Appianus a daughter called Claudia Pulchra and a son, called Marcus Valerius Messalla Barbatus.^[44] After the birth of her children, Appianus died.^[45]

According to the French Historian Christian Settipani after the death of her second husband, Marcella married the Roman Senator Marcus Valerius Messalla Messallinus.^[46] Marcella bore Messallinus a daughter called Valeria Messalla born ca. 10 BC, who later married the praetor of 17, Lucius Vipstanus Gallus.^[47]

In a tomb near Rome, numerous inscriptions have survived of slaves and freedmen of Marcella.^[48] A columbarium located between the Via Appia and Via Latina in Rome belonged to the family of Marcella.^[49] According to epigraphical evidence, the work on it was completed in 10, when the urns were divided among the shareholders of the company which had built the place.^[50]

Ancestors of Claudia Marcella Minor