Editing Livia

{{Short description|Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Livia Drusilla
| title        = Julia [[List of Augustae|Augusta]]
| image        = File:(Toulouse) Livie Musée Saint-Raymond Ra 340.jpg
| alt          = Marble bust of Livia
| caption      = {{nowrap|Bust, {{lang|fr|[[Musée Saint-Raymond]]|italic=no}}}}
| succession   = [[List of Roman and Byzantine empresses|Roman empress]]
| reign        = 16 January 27 BC{{snd}}{{no wrap|19 August AD 14}}
| consort      = yes
| birth_date   = 30 January 59 BC<ref>{{Cite book|last=Barrett|first=Anthony A.|title=Livia: First Lady of Imperial Rome|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2002|isbn=9780300102987|pages=309–310|chapter=Appendix 5: Livia's Birthdate|jstor=j.ctt1nq0jw|chapter-url={{GBurl|94wfJ0-hyaoC|p=309}}}}</ref>
| birth_place  = [[Rome]], Italy, [[Roman Republic]]
| death_date   = AD 29 (aged 87)
| death_place  = Rome, Italy, [[Roman Empire]]
| burial_place = [[Mausoleum of Augustus]]
| spouses      = {{ubl
 | [[Tiberius Claudius Nero (father of Tiberius Caesar)|Tiberius Claudius Nero]] (43–39&nbsp;BC)
 | [[Augustus]] (38&nbsp;BC{{snd}}AD&nbsp;14)}}
| issue        = {{ubl
 | [[Tiberius]]
 | [[Nero Claudius Drusus]]
}}
| dynasty      = [[Julio-Claudian dynasty|Julio-Claudian]]
| father       = [[Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus]]
| mother       = [[Alfidia]]
}}

'''Livia Drusilla''' (30 January 59&nbsp;BC{{snd}}
AD&nbsp;29) was [[List of Roman and Byzantine empresses|Roman empress]] from 27&nbsp;BC to AD&nbsp;14 as the wife of [[Augustus]], the first [[Roman emperor]]. She was known as '''Julia Augusta''' after her formal [[Adoption in ancient Rome|adoption]] into the [[Julia gens|Julia ''gens'']] in AD&nbsp;14.

Livia was the daughter of senator [[Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus]] and his wife [[Alfidia]]. She married [[Tiberius Claudius Nero (father of Tiberius Caesar)|Tiberius Claudius Nero]] around 43&nbsp;BC, and they had two sons, [[Tiberius]] and [[Nero Claudius Drusus|Drusus]]. In 38&nbsp;BC, she divorced Tiberius Claudius Nero and married the political leader Octavian. The Senate granted Octavian the title ''[[Augustus (title)|Augustus]]'' in&nbsp;27 BC, effectively making him emperor. In her role as Roman empress, Livia served as an influential confidant to her husband and was rumored to have been responsible for the deaths of several of his relatives, including his grandson [[Agrippa Postumus]].

After Augustus died in AD&nbsp;14, Tiberius was elevated, and Livia continued to exert political influence as the mother of the emperor until her death in AD&nbsp;29. She was grandmother of the emperor [[Claudius]], great-grandmother of the emperor [[Caligula]], and great-great-grandmother of the emperor [[Nero]]. Livia was [[Roman imperial cult|deified]] by Claudius in AD&nbsp;42, bestowing her the title ''Diva [[List of Augustae|Augusta]]''.

==Birth and first marriage to Tiberius Claudius Nero==
{{Julio-Claudian dynasty
|image=[[File:Livia statue.jpg|220px]]
|caption=A cult statue of Livia represented as [[Ops]], with sheaf of wheat and [[cornucopia]], 1st century
}}
Livia Drusilla was born on 30 January 59 BC as the daughter of [[Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus]] by his wife [[Alfidia]]. The diminutive ''Drusilla'' often found in her name suggests that she was not her father's first daughter.<ref name="ref1">For Livia's portraiture and representations, see: Rolf Winkes, ''Livia, Octavia, Iulia – Porträts und Darstellungen'', Archaeologia Transatlantica XIII, Louvain-la-Neuve and Providence, 1995.</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Roman Women: The Women who influenced the History of Rome|last=Chrystal|first=Paul|publisher=Fonthill Media|year=2017|chapter=5: Livia Drusilla (58 BC–AD 29)}}</ref> She may have had a brother named Gaius Livius Drusus who had two daughters named Livia Pulchra and Livilla.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Miscellanea Greca e Romana|last=Istituto italiana per la storia antica|publisher=University of Wisconsin - Madison|year=1968|location=Rome|pages=352–353|series=Studi pubblicati dall'Istituto italiano per la storia antica|volume=2–3}}</ref><ref>Pinsent, John (1976). ''Liverpool Classical Monthly. Vol. 1–2''. Indiana University. p. 2.</ref> Her father also adopted [[Marcus Livius Drusus Libo]].

She was married around 43 BC<ref>Livia, First Lady of Imperial Rome by [[Anthony A. Barrett]], Yale University Press.</ref> to [[Tiberius Claudius Nero (father of Tiberius Caesar)|Tiberius Claudius Nero]], her cousin of [[Patrician (ancient Rome)|patrician]] status who was fighting with her father on the side of [[Julius Caesar]]'s assassins against Octavian. Her father committed suicide in the [[Battle of Philippi]], along with [[Gaius Cassius Longinus]] and [[Marcus Junius Brutus]], but her husband continued fighting against Octavian, now on behalf of [[Mark Antony]] and his brother [[Lucius Antonius (brother of Mark Antony)|Lucius Antonius]]. Her first child, the future emperor [[Tiberius]], was born in 42 BC. In 40 BC, the family was forced to flee Italy in order to avoid the recriminations of Octavian in the aftermath of the [[Perusine War|siege of Perusia]]. They joined with [[Sextus Pompey|Sextus Pompeius]], a son of [[Pompey|Pompey Magnus]], who opposed the [[Second Triumvirate]] from his base in [[Sicilia (Roman province)|Sicily]]. Later, Livia, her husband Tiberius Nero and their two-year-old son, Tiberius, moved on to [[Greece in the Roman era|Greece]].<ref name="Fraschetti">{{Cite book|last=Fraschetti|first=Augusto|title=Roman Women|publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]]|year=2001|isbn=9780226260945|editor-last=Fraschetti|editor-first=Fraschetti|location=Chicago & London|pages=100–102|translator-last=Lappin|translator-first=Linda|chapter=Livia the Politician|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cYnDNcxd6QwC&pg=100}}</ref>

==Wife to Augustus==
{{multiple image|align=left
|image1=Augusto capite velato 04 - Museo archeologico nazionale delle Marche.jpg
|caption1=Bust of Augustus, [[National Archaeological Museum of the Marche Region]]
|image2=Portrait of Livia, the wife of the emperor Octavian August.jpg
|caption2=Bust of Livia, [[Hermitage Museum]]
}}

After peace was established between the Triumvirate and the followers of Sextus Pompeius, a general amnesty was announced, and Livia returned to Rome, where she was personally introduced to Octavian in 39 BC. At this time, Livia already had a son, the future emperor [[Tiberius]], and was pregnant with the second, [[Nero Claudius Drusus]] (also known as Drusus the Elder). Legend said that Octavian fell immediately in love with her, despite the fact that he was still married to [[Scribonia (wife of Octavian)|Scribonia]].<ref name = Hurley>Hurley, D. (1999). [http://www.roman-emperors.org/livia.htm "Livia (Wife of Augustus)]." Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors.</ref> Octavian divorced Scribonia on 30 October 39 BC, the very day Scribonia gave birth to his only biological child, daughter [[Julia the Elder]].<ref>Cassius Dio [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/home.html Roman History]. 48.34.3. (Vol. VI, Loeb Classical Library edition, 1917. Harvard University Press. Translation by Earnest Cary)</ref> 

Seemingly around that time, when Livia was six months pregnant with her second child, Tiberius Claudius Nero was persuaded or forced by Octavian to divorce Livia. She gave birth on 14 January; three days later Octavian married Livia after waiving the traditional waiting period. On the day of his wedding to Livia, Octavian received a supposed omen of an eagle dropping a white hen with a laurel branch in its mouth into Livia's lap. This omen was interpreted as being an indication toward Livia's fertility, as she had given birth to two sons in her short two years of marriage to Nero.<ref name="Flory, Marleen B. 1993, pp. 287">Flory, Marleen B. “Livia and the History of Public Honorific Statues for Women in Rome.” ''Transactions of the American Philological Association'', vol. 123, [Johns Hopkins University Press, American Philological Association], 1993, pp. 287–308, {{doi|10.2307/284333}}.</ref>  This was ironic because her first pregnancy by Augustus ended in a stillbirth, and she was unable to ever conceive another child.<ref name="Flory, Marleen B. 1993, pp. 287"/> Tiberius Claudius Nero was present at the wedding, giving her in marriage "just as a father would."<ref>Cassius Dio 48.44.1–3</ref> The importance of the patrician Claudii to Octavian's cause, and the political survival of the Claudii Nerones are probably more rational explanations for the tempestuous union. Nevertheless, Livia and Augustus remained married for the next 51 years, despite the fact that they had no children apart from the single stillbirth. She always enjoyed the status of privileged counselor to her husband, petitioning him on the behalf of others and influencing his policies, an unusual role for a Roman wife in a culture dominated by the [[pater familias]].<ref name = Hurley/>
[[File:Livia Drusilla Louvre Ma1233.jpg|thumb|Sculpture of Livia in Egyptian [[basanite]], c. 31 BC, [[Louvre]], Paris]]

After Mark Antony's suicide following the [[Battle of Actium]] in 31 BC, Octavian returned to Rome triumphant; on 16 January 27 BC, the Senate bestowed upon him the honorary title of ''Augustus'' ("honorable" or "revered one"). Augustus rejected monarchical titles, instead choosing to refer to himself as ''Princeps Civitatis'' ("First Citizen of the State") or ''Princeps Senatus'' ("First among the Senate"). He and Livia formed the role model for Roman households. Despite their wealth and power, Augustus' family continued to live modestly in their house on the [[Palatine Hill]]. Livia would set the pattern for the noble Roman ''matrona''. She wore neither excessive jewelry nor pretentious costumes; she took care of the household and her husband (often making his clothes herself), always faithful and dedicated. In 35 BC, Octavian gave Livia the unprecedented honor of ruling her own finances and dedicated a public statue to her. She owned and effectively administered copper mines in Gaul, estates of [[Judean date palm|palm groves]] in [[Herodian kingdom|Judea]], and dozens of [[papyrus]] marshes in [[Roman Egypt|Egypt]]. She had her own circle of clients and pushed many protégés into political offices, including the grandfathers of the later emperors [[Galba]] and [[Otho]].<ref name = Hurley/>

With Augustus being the father of only one daughter (Julia by Scribonia), Livia revealed herself to be an ambitious mother and soon started to push her own sons, Tiberius and Drusus, into power.<ref name = Hurley/> Drusus was a trusted general and married Augustus' favorite niece, [[Antonia Minor]], having three children: the popular general [[Germanicus]], [[Livilla]], and the future emperor [[Claudius]]. Drusus was killed in a riding accident only a few years later, dying in 9 BC.<ref name="Flory, Marleen B. 1993, pp. 287"/> This was also the same year in which Livia was honored by the dedication of the [[Ara Pacis|Ara Pacis Augustae]] as a birthday present.<ref name="Flory, Marleen B. 1993, pp. 287"/> Tiberius married Augustus' daughter Julia in 11 BC and was ultimately adopted as Augustus' heir in AD 4.

Rumor had it that Livia was behind the death of Augustus' nephew [[Marcellus (nephew of Augustus)|Marcellus]] in 23 BC.<ref>Cassius Dio 53.33.4</ref> After Julia's two elder sons by [[Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa]], whom Augustus had adopted as sons and successors, had died, the one remaining son, [[Agrippa Postumus]], was adopted at the same time as Tiberius, but later Agrippa Postumus was sent into exile and finally killed. [[Tacitus]] charges that Livia was not altogether innocent of these deaths<ref>Tacitus [http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/tac/index.htm ''Annals.''] 1.3; 1.6. (The Works of Tacitus tr. by Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb 1864–1877),</ref> and [[Cassius Dio]] also mentions such rumours.<ref>Cassius Dio 53.33.4, 55.10A, 55.32; 57.3.6</ref> There are also rumors mentioned by Tacitus and Cassius Dio that Livia brought about Augustus' death by poisoning fresh figs, although modern historians view this as unlikely.<ref>Tacitus ''Annals'' 1.5</ref><ref>Cassius Dio 55.22.2; 56.30</ref> Augustus' granddaughter was [[Julia the Younger]]. Sometime between AD 1 and 14, her husband [[Lucius Aemilius Paullus (consul 1)|Lucius Aemilius Paullus]] was executed as a conspirator in a revolt.<ref>Suetonius, ''The Lives of Caesars'', Life of Augustus 19</ref> Modern historians theorize that Julia's exile was not actually for adultery but for involvement in Paullus' revolt.<ref>Norwood, Frances, "The Riddle of Ovid's Relegatio" ''Classical Philology'' (1963) p. 154</ref>  Tacitus alleged that Livia had plotted against her stepdaughter's family and ruined them. Julia died in AD 29 on the island to which she had been sent in exile twenty years earlier.<ref>Tacitus, ''Ann.'' IV, 71</ref>

== Reign of Tiberius ==
[[File:KunsthistorischesMuseumCameeLivia.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Sardonyx]] [[Cameo (carving)|cameo]] of Livia with the bust of the Divus Augustus (Vienna)]]
Augustus died on 19 August AD 14, being [[Roman imperial cult|deified]] by the [[Roman senate|senate]] shortly afterward. In his will, he left one third of his property to Livia, and the other two thirds to [[Tiberius]]. In the will, he also adopted her into the [[Julia gens|Julian family]] and granted her the honorific title of ''[[List of Augustae|Augusta]]''. These dispositions permitted Livia to maintain her status and power after her husband's death, under the new name of '''Julia Augusta'''. Tacitus and Cassius Dio wrote that rumours persisted that Augustus was poisoned by Livia, but these are mainly dismissed as malicious fabrications spread by political enemies of the dynasty. The most famous of these rumors was that Livia, unable to poison his food in the kitchens because Augustus insisted on only eating [[ficus carica|figs]] picked fresh from his garden, smeared each fruit with poison while still on the tree to preempt him.<ref>{{cite book| title=Roman History 54.30| author=Cassius Dio}}</ref> In Imperial times, a variety of fig cultivated in Roman gardens was called the ''Liviana'', perhaps because of her reputed horticultural abilities, or as a [[tongue-in-cheek]] reference to this rumor.<ref>{{cite book| title=Confronting the Classics| author=Mary Beard| year=2014| page=131}}</ref>

[[File:Livia y Tiberio M.A.N. 01.JPG|thumb|upright|320px|Livia and her son Tiberius, AD 14–19, from [[Paestum]], [[National Archaeological Museum (Madrid)|National Archaeological Museum of Spain]], Madrid]]
For some time, Livia and her son [[Tiberius]], the new emperor, appeared to get along with each other. Speaking against her became treason in AD 20, and in AD 24 he granted his mother a theater seat among the [[Vestal Virgin]]s. Livia exercised unofficial but very real power in Rome. Eventually, Tiberius became resentful of his mother's political status, particularly against the idea that it was she who had given him the throne. At the beginning of his reign Tiberius vetoed the unprecedented title ''Mater Patriae'' ("Mother of the Fatherland") that the Senate wished to bestow upon her, in the same manner in which Augustus had been named ''[[Pater Patriae]]'' ("Father of the Fatherland")<ref name = Hurley/> (Tiberius also consistently refused the title of ''Pater Patriae'' for himself).

[[File:Livia Drusila - Paestum (M.A.N. Madrid) 01.jpg|thumb|140px|Livia Drusilla statue, from [[Paestum]]]]
The historians Tacitus and Cassius Dio depict an overweening, even domineering dowager, ready to interfere in Tiberius’ decisions. The most notable instances were the cases of [[Urgulania]], grandmother of Claudius's first wife [[Plautia Urgulanilla]], who correctly assumed that her friendship with the empress placed her above the law;<ref name = Cassius57.12>Cassius Dio, 57.12</ref><ref>Tacitus, 2.34</ref> and [[Munatia Plancina]], suspected of murdering [[Germanicus]] and saved at Livia's entreaty.<ref>Tacitus, 3.17</ref> (Plancina committed suicide in AD 33 after being accused again of murder after Livia's death.) A notice from AD 22 records that Julia Augusta (Livia) dedicated a statue to Augustus in the center of Rome, placing her own name even before that of Tiberius.

Ancient historians give as a reason for Tiberius' retirement to [[Capri]] his inability to endure his mother any longer.<ref name = Cassius57.12/><ref>Tacitus, 4.57</ref> Until AD 22 there had, according to Tacitus, been "a genuine harmony between mother and son, or a hatred well concealed;"<ref name = Tacitus3.64>Tacitus, 3.6eirca4</ref> Dio tells us that at the time of his accession already Tiberius heartily loathed her.<ref>Cassius Dio, 57.3.3</ref>

==Death and Aftermath==

In AD 22 she had fallen ill, and Tiberius hastened back to Rome in order to be with her.<ref name = Tacitus3.64/> But in AD 29 when she finally fell ill and died, he remained on Capri, pleading pressure of work and sending [[Caligula]] to deliver the funeral oration.<ref>Tacitus, 5.1</ref><ref>Cassius Dio, 58.2</ref><ref name = Suetonius51>Suetonius. [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Tiberius*.html Vita Tiberii]. (The Life of Tiberius) 51.</ref> Suetonius adds the macabre detail that "when she died... after a delay of several days, during which he held out hope of his coming, [she was at last] buried because the condition of the corpse made it necessary...". Divine honors he also vetoed, stating that this was in accord with her own instructions. Later he vetoed all the honors the Senate had granted her after her death and cancelled the fulfillment of her will.<ref name = Suetonius51/>

It was not until 13 years later, in AD 42 during the reign of her grandson [[Claudius]], that all her honors were restored and her deification finally completed. She was named  ''Diva Augusta'' (''The Divine Augusta''), and an elephant-drawn chariot conveyed her image to all public games. A statue of her was set up in the [[Temple of Divus Augustus|Temple of Augustus]] along with her husband's, races were held in her honor, and women were to invoke her name in their sacred oaths.  Her and Augustus' tomb was later sacked at an unknown date.

Her [[Villa of Livia|Villa ad Gallinas Albas]] north of Rome is currently being excavated; its famous frescoes of imaginary garden views may be seen at the [[Museo Nazionale Romano|National Roman Museum]].<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2002/2002-07-18.html|title=Review of: The Villa of Livia Ad Gallinas Albas. A Study in the Augustan Villa and Garden. Archaeologica Transatlantica XX|first=Susann S.|last=Lusnia|date=29 October 2016|journal=Bryn Mawr Classical Review|access-date=29 October 2016}}</ref> One of the most famous statues of Augustus (the [[Augustus of Prima Porta]]) came from the grounds of the villa.

==Personality==
While reporting various unsavory hearsay, the ancient sources generally portray Livia as a woman of proud and queenly attributes, faithful to her imperial husband. Dio records two of her utterances: "Once, when some naked men met her and were to be put to death in consequence, she saved their lives by saying that to a chaste woman such men are in no way different from statues. When someone asked her how she had gained respect from Augustus, she answered that it was by being scrupulously chaste herself, doing gladly whatever pleased him, not meddling with any of his affairs, and, in particular, by pretending neither to hear nor to notice the favourites of his passion."<ref>Cassius Dio, 58.2.5</ref>

With the passage of time, however, some thought that with widowhood a haughtiness and an overt craving for power and the outward trappings of status came increasingly to the fore.{{Citation needed|date=June 2019}} Livia had always been a principal beneficiary of the climate of adulation that Augustus had done so much to create, and which Tiberius despised ("a strong contempt for honours", Tacitus, ''Annals'' 4.37). In AD 24, whenever she attended the theatre, a seat among the Vestals was typically reserved for her (''Annals'' 4.16), but this may have been intended more as an honor for the Vestals than for her (cf. Ovid, ''Tristia'', 4.2.13f, ''Epist. ex Ponto'' 4.13.29f).

Livia played a vital role in the formation of her children Tiberius and Drusus. Attention focuses on her part in the divorce of her first husband, father of Tiberius, in 39/38 BC. Her role in this is unknown, as well as in Tiberius's divorce of [[Vipsania Agrippina]] in 12 BC at Augustus's insistence: whether it was merely neutral or passive, or whether she actively colluded in Caesar's wishes.

==Legacy==
The Roman tribe Livia was named in her honor.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chow |first=John K. |year=1992 |title=Patronage and Power: A Study of Social Networks in Corinth |series=The Library of New Testament Studies 75 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |pages=44 |isbn=9780567111869}}</ref>

==In literature and popular culture==
===In ancient literature===
[[File:Livia moglie di augusto e madre di tiberio, dupondio, 21-22 dc.JPG|thumb|250px|[[Dupondius]] probably depicting Livia as [[Salus|Salus Augusta]].]]
[[File:Blick auf Miramar und Contovello (BildID 15595391).jpg|thumb|Historical picture in the direction of the vineyards by the sea between Prosecco and [[Barcola]] where the Empress' favorite wine was grown]]

The ancient sources all agree that Livia was Augustus' best confidant and counselor, but the extent of her influence remained disputed due to the numerous attempts by her political enemies to defame her dynasty. According to Suetonius, who had access to imperial records, Augustus would write down lists of items to be discussed with Livia, and then take careful notes of her replies to be consulted again later.<ref>Suetonius. "Life of Augustus"; "Life of Tiberius"; "Life of Claudius," in The Twelve Caesars. Translated by Robert Graves, 1957. Revised by Michael Grant, 1979. NY: Viking Penguin, 1986.</ref>

In Tacitus' ''[[Annals (Tacitus)|Annals]]'', meanwhile, Livia is famously depicted as having great influence, to the extent where she "had the aged Augustus firmly under control—so much so that he exiled his only surviving grandson to the island of Planasia";<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-WFQCgAAQBAJ|title=The Annals|last=Tacitus|date=1 September 2004|publisher=Hackett Publishing|isbn=9781603840156|language=en}}</ref> Tacitus goes on to call her "a real catastrophe to the nation as a mother, and to the house of the Caesars as a stepmother" and "a compliant wife, but an overbearing mother".<ref>Tacitus. Annals of Imperial Rome. Translated by Michael Grant. NY: Viking Penguin, 1987.</ref>

Livia's image appears in ancient visual media such as coins and portraits. Following [[Octavia the Younger]], [[Cleopatra]] and possibly [[Fulvia]], she was the third (or fourth) woman to appear on provincial coins in 16 BC. On official Roman coinage, she was probably portrayed as [[Salus|Salus Augusta]] on the [[dupondius]] of Tiberius.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kleiner |first=Fred S. |date=2020 |title=Review of ''Tracene Harvey, Julia Augusta: images of Rome's first empress on the coins of the Roman Empire. London; New York: Routledge, 2019. 264 p.. ISBN 9781472478689. $112.00.'' |url=https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2020/2020.07.27/ |journal=Bryn Mawr Classical Review}}</ref> Her portrait images can be chronologically identified partially from the progression of her hair designs, which represented more than keeping up with the fashions of the time as her depiction with such contemporary details translated into a political statement of representing the ideal Roman woman. Livia's image evolves with different styles of portraiture that trace her effect on imperial propaganda that helped bridge the gap between her role as wife to the emperor Augustus, to mother of the emperor Tiberius. Becoming more than the "beautiful woman" she is described as in ancient texts, Livia serves as a public image for the idealization of Roman feminine qualities, a motherly figure, and eventually a goddesslike representation that alludes to her virtue. Livia's power in symbolizing the renewal of the Republic with the female virtues ''Pietas'' and ''Concordia'' in public displays had a dramatic effect on the visual representation of future imperial women as ideal, honorable mothers and wives of Rome.<ref>''I Claudia II: Women in Roman art and society''. Edited by Diana E. E. Kleiner and Susan B. Matheson Yale University Art Gallery. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2000.</ref> Livia also restored the temple of the ''Bona Dea.''<ref name="Flory, Marleen B. 1993, pp. 287"/>

Livia is mentioned by [[Pliny the Elder]], who describes the vines of the Pulcino wine ("Vinum Pucinum" - today at best "[[Prosecco]]"). This then special and rare wine from the sunny slopes northeast of [[Barcola]] in the direction of the place Prosecco or [[Duino]] (near the historic place Castellum Pucinum) was according to Pliny the favorite wine of the Empress Livia. She is said to have loved this Vinum Pucinum for its medicinal properties and at the end of her long life (she was 87) she attributed her old age to its consumption and commended it to everyone as an "elixir for a long life".<ref>Pliny "The natural history of Caius Plinius Secundus" (approx. AD 77), third volume, 14th book.</ref><ref>Zeno Saracino, „Pompei in miniatura“: la storia di „Vallicula“ o Barcola", In: Trieste All News, 29 September 2018.</ref><ref>PLIN. Nat. XIV, 6: Iulia Augusta LXXXVI annos vitae Pucino vino rettulit acceptos, non alio usa. Gignitur in sinu Hadriatici maris non procul a Timavo fonte, saxoso colle, maritimo adflatu paucas coquente anforas … nec aliud aptius medicamentis indicatur.</ref>

===In modern literature===
In the popular fictional work ''[[I, Claudius]]'' by [[Robert Graves]]—based on Tacitus' innuendo—Livia is portrayed as a thoroughly [[Niccolò Machiavelli|Machiavellian]], scheming political mastermind.  Determined never to allow republican governance to flower again, as she felt they led to corruption and civil war, and devoted to bringing Tiberius to power and then maintaining him there, she is involved in nearly every death or disgrace in the [[Julio-Claudian dynasty|Julio-Claudian]] family up to the time of her death.  On her deathbed she only fears divine punishment for all she had done, and secures the promise of future deification by her grandson Claudius, an act which, she believes, will guarantee her a blissful afterlife. However, this portrait of her is balanced by her intense devotion to the well-being of the Empire as a whole, and her machinations are justified as a necessarily cruel means to what she firmly considers a noble aspiration: the common good of the Romans, achievable only under strict imperial rule.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/sep/02/featuresreviews.guardianreview26|title=Unreliable witness|first=Barry|last=Unsworth|website=[[The Guardian]]|date=2 September 2006|access-date=15 July 2022|language=en-uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/what-makes-a-good-ancient-world-drama/|title=What Makes a Good Ancient World Drama?|first=Juliette|last=Harrisson|website=[[Den of Geek]]|date=4 May 2018|access-date=15 July 2022|language=en-us}}</ref>
In [[John Maddox Roberts]]'s short story "The King of Sacrifices," set in his [[SPQR series]], Livia hires Decius Metellus to investigate the murder of one of [[Julia the Elder]]'s lovers. 
In ''[[Masters of Rome|Antony and Cleopatra]]'' by [[Colleen McCullough]], Livia is portrayed as a cunning and effective advisor to her husband, whom she loves passionately.
Luke Devenish's "Empress of Rome" novels, ''Den of Wolves'' (2008) and ''Nest of Vipers'' (2010), have Livia as a central character in a fictionalized account of her life and times.
Livia plays an important role in two Marcus Corvinus mysteries by David Wishart, ''Ovid'' (1995) and ''Germanicus'' (1997). She is mentioned posthumously in ''Sejanus'' (1998).

===On television and film===
* In the 1968 [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] television series ''[[The Caesars (TV series)|The Caesars]]'', Livia was played by [[Sonia Dresdel]].<ref name="sonia">{{Cite web |url=https://nostalgiacentral.com/television/tv-by-decade/tv-shows-1960s/caesars/ |title=1960's TV Shows - The caesars|website=nostalgiacentral.com |date=14 June 2019}}</ref>
* In the 1976 [[BBC]] television series [[I, Claudius (TV series)|I, Claudius]] based on the book, Livia was played by [[Siân Phillips]].<ref name="sian">{{Cite web|url=https://www.themakeupgallery.info/period/rome/livia/claudiussp.htm|title=themakeupgallery - Greece & Rome - Livia I, Claudius|website=themakeupgallery.info|date=5 December 2005|access-date=3 November 2016|archive-date=3 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161103234255/http://www.themakeupgallery.info/period/rome/livia/claudiussp.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Phillips won a [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts|BAFTA]] for her portrayal of the role.<ref name="wales">{{Cite web |url=https://gov.wales/st-david-awards/si%C3%A2n-phillips |title=Siân Phillips CBE Culture award 2015 winner |website=gov.wales |date=13 September 2017}}</ref>
* In the 2003 television film [[Imperium: Augustus]], (one of a series), Livia was portrayed by [[Charlotte Rampling]].<ref name="charlotte">{{Cite web |url= https://www.alamy.com/charlotte-rampling-imperium-augustus-2003-image485728862.html |title=charlotte Rampling as Livia Drusilla film title Imperium - Augustus 2003 |website=alamy.com |year=2003}}</ref>
* In the 2007 [[HBO]]/BBC television series ''[[Rome (TV series)|Rome]]'', Livia was dramatized by Alice Henley.<ref name="alice">{{Cite web|url= https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/europe-travel/italy/rome/empress-of-rome-the-life-of-livia-by-matthew-dennison-d9p5zjdnfmm|title=Empress of Rome - The Life of Livia by Matthew Dennison|website=[[The Times]]|date=1 May 2010}}</ref>

The 2021 [[Sky Atlantic]] series ''[[Domina (TV series)|Domina]]'' relates the rise of the Roman [[Principate]] with a focus on Livia's role and relationships. She is portrayed as having sworn a [[oath (Roman)|sacred oath]] to [[Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus|her father]]'s [[Shade (mythology)|shade]] to restore the Republic and to be playing a [[long con]] to that effect in concert with [[Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso (consul 23 BC)|Gn. Calpurnius Piso]]. The child Livia is played by Meadow Nobrega, the adolescent and young adult Livia by [[Nadia Parkes]], and the adult Livia by [[Kasia Smutniak]].<ref name="kasia">{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210506-the-truth-behind-ancient-romes-most-controversial-woman |title=The truth behind Ancient Rome's most controversial woman |website=bbc.com |date=7 May 2021}}</ref>

==Descendants==
Her marriage with Augustus produced only one pregnancy, which miscarried. However, through her sons by her first husband, Tiberius and [[Nero Claudius Drusus|Drusus]], she was a direct ancestor of all of the [[Julio-Claudian dynasty|Julio-Claudian]] emperors as well as most of the extended Julio-Claudian imperial family.
:1. [[Tiberius|Tiberius Claudius Nero (Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus)]], 42 BC – AD 37, had two children
::A. [[Drusus Julius Caesar]], 14 BC – AD 23, had three children
:::I. [[Julia Livia]], before AD 14– AD 43, had four children
::::a. [[Rubellius Plautus|Gaius Rubellius Plautus]], 33–62, had several children<ref>Their names are unknown, but it is known that all of them were killed by Nero, thus descent from this line is extinct.</ref>
::::b. Gaius Rubellius Blandus
::::c. Rubellius Drusus
:::II. [[Tiberius Gemellus|Tiberius Julius Caesar Nero (Tiberius Gemellus)]], 19 – 37 or 38, died without issue
:::III. Germanicus Gemellus, 19–23, died young
::B. Tiberillus, died young
:2. [[Nero Claudius Drusus]] 38–9 BC, had three children
::A. [[Germanicus|Germanicus Julius Caesar]], 15 BC – AD 19, had six children
:::I. [[Nero Julius Caesar|Nero Julius Caesar Germanicus]], 6–30/31, died without issue
:::II.  [[Drusus Caesar|Drusus Julius Caesar Germanicus]], 8–33, died without issue
:::III. [[Caligula|Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (Caligula)]], 12–41, had one child
::::a. [[Julia Drusilla (daughter of Caligula)|Julia Drusilla]], 39–41, died young
:::IV. [[Agrippina the Younger|Julia Agrippina (Agrippina the Younger)]], 15–59, had one child
::::a. [[Nero|Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus (Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus)]], 37–68, had one child
:::::i. [[Claudia Augusta]], January–April 63, died young
:::V. [[Julia Drusilla]], 16–38, died without issue
:::VI. [[Julia Livilla]], 18–42, died without issue
::B. [[Livilla|Claudia Livia (Livilla)]], 13 BC – AD 31, had three children
:::I. see children of Drusus Julius Caesar listed above<ref>Drusus Julius Caesar, Tiberius' son, married Livilla, Nero Claudius Drusus' daughter, who was the mother of his three children.</ref>
::C.  [[Claudius|Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus]], 10 BC – AD 54, had four children
:::I. [[Claudius Drusus|Tiberius Claudius Drusus]], died young
:::II. [[Claudia Antonia]], c. 30–66, had one child
::::a. a son, died young
:::III. [[Claudia Octavia]], 39 or 40 – 62, died without issue
:::IV. [[Britannicus|Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus]], 41–55, died without issue

==See also==
* [[Julio-Claudian family tree]]
* [[List of Roman and Byzantine empresses]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Library resources box |by=no |onlinebooks=yes |others=yes |about=yes |label=Livia |viaf= |lccn= |lcheading= |wikititle= }}
* {{Cite journal|last=Adler|first=Eric|date=2011|title=Cassius Dio's Livia and the Conspiracy of Cinna Magnus|url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/46704023.pdf|journal=[[Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies]]|volume=51|issue=1|pages=133–154|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610203546/https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/46704023.pdf|archive-date=10 June 2021}}
* {{Cite book|last=Bartman|first=Elizabeth|title=Portraits of Livia: Imaging the Imperial Woman in Augustan Rome|year=1999|publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780521583947}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Barrett|first=Anthony A.|date=2001|title=Tacitus, Livia and the evil stepmother|journal=Rheinisches Museum für Philologie|volume=144|issue=2|pages=171–175|jstor=41234489}}
* {{Cite book|last=Barrett|first=Anthony A.|title=Livia: First Lady of Imperial Rome|publisher=Yale University Press|year=2002|isbn=9780300102987|location=Cambridge|jstor=j.ctt1nq0jw|author-mask=9}}
*{{Cite book|last=Beard|first=Mary|title=Confronting the Classics: Traditions, Adventures and Innovations|publisher=W.W. Norton|year=2013|isbn=9780871407160|location=New York|author-link=Mary Beard (classicist)}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Bertolazzi|first=Riccardo|date=2015|title=Depiction of Livia and Julia Domna by Cassius Dio|journal=Acta Antiqua Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae|volume=55|issue=1–4|pages=413–432|doi=10.1556/068.2015.55.1-4.28|url=http://real.mtak.hu/44353/1/068.2015.55.1-4.28.pdf}}
* {{Cite book|last=Dennison|first=Matthew|title=Livia, Empress of Rome: A Biography|publisher=St. Martin's Press|year=2011|isbn=978-0312658649|location=New York}}
* {{Cite book|last=Minaud|first=Gérard|title=Les vies de 12 femmes d'empereur romain – Devoirs, Intrigues & Voluptés|publisher=L’Harmattan|year=2012|isbn=978-2-336-00291-0|location=Paris|pages=13–38|language=fr|trans-title=The Lives of 12 Roman Emperor's Wives - Duty, Intrigue & Pleasure|chapter=La vie de Livie, femme d’Auguste|trans-chapter=The life of Livia, wife of Augustus}}
* {{Cite book|last=Kunst|first=Christiane|title=Alte Geschichte zwischen Wissenschaft und Politik: Gedenkschrift Karl Christ|publisher=Harrassowitz|year=2009|isbn=978-3-447-05905-3|editor-last=Losemann|editor-first=Volker|series=Philippika: Marburger altertumskundliche Abhandlungen|volume=29|location=Wiesbaden|pages=313–336|language=de|trans-title=Ancient history between science and politics: Gedenkschrift Karl Christ|chapter=Das Liviabild im Wandel|trans-chapter=The image of Livia in flux}}
* {{Cite book|last=Winkes|first=Rolf|title=Livia, Octavia, Iulia: Porträts und Darstellungen|publisher=Brown University|year=1995|series=Archaeologia transatlantica|volume=13|location=Providence & Louvain-la-Neuve|language=de|trans-title=Livia, Octavia, Iulia: portraits and representations|oclc=37599354}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Livia Drusilla}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080420143233/http://www.hermitagerooms.com/exhibitions/Byzantium/livia.asp As goddess and priestess of Demeter]
* [http://ancientrome.ru/art/artworken/result.htm?alt=Livia&pnumber=20 Portraits of Livia]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090423125851/http://www.ciudadpolitica.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=300%3Falt%3DLivia&pnumber=20 Livia: Love and Politics]}} {{In lang|es}}

{{Roman empresses}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Livia| ]]
[[Category:59 BC births]]
[[Category:29 deaths]]
[[Category:Livii Drusi]]
[[Category:Julii Caesares]]
[[Category:Wives of Augustus]]
[[Category:Deified Roman empresses]]
[[Category:1st-century BC Roman women]]
[[Category:1st-century BC Romans]]
[[Category:1st-century Roman empresses]]
[[Category:Augustae]]
[[Category:Burials at the Mausoleum of Augustus]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman adoptees]]
[[Category:Family of Tiberius]]
[[Category:Mothers of Roman emperors]]