Domitilla the Elder

Flavia Domitilla Major was the wife of the Roman Emperor Vespasian and mother of the emperors Titus and Domitian.[1] She died before her husband became emperor in 69 AD.[2] After her death she is thought to have been deified by the name Diva Domitilla.[2]

Domitilla the Elder
Bust of Flavia Domitilla Maior
DiedBefore 69 AD
SpouseVespasian
IssueTitus
Domitilla the Younger
Domitian
DynastyFlavian (by marriage)
FatherFlavius Liberalis

Life

Flavia Domitilla was born in Sabratha to Italic colonists who had moved there during the reign of Augustus. She was the daughter of Flavius Liberalis, a humble quaestor’s clerk from Ferentium (modern Ferento), a country town in Italy.[lower-alpha 1][5]

Before her marriage, she was in residence with Statilius Capella,[6] an equestrian also from Sabratha. Her role in this relationship is characterized by Suetonius with the term delicata (Dom. 3), which in this context is taken to mean "the favorite of" Statilius and is commonly used to imply a sexual relationship between the two.[5][7] Regardless of the exact circumstances surrounding this relationship, the context suggests that Domitilla filled some servile role within the estate of Statilius.[8] In Suetonius she is described as being of Latin rank (Dom. 3), though in the Epitome de Caesaribus she is designated as a liberta (freedwoman) (Ерit. de Caes. X.1).[9] In a case established by her father, Domitilla's status was raised to that of a freeborn Roman citizen through the approval of the arbiters.[8]

She and Vespasian likely married between the years of 37-39 AD, during the establishment of Vespasian's senatorial career.[10] In addition to the emperors Titus and Domitian, Domitilla and Vespasian also had a daughter by the name Domitilla the Younger.[11]

Death

Both her cause of death and exact date of death are unknown, though Suetonius (Dom. 3) states that both she and her daughter, Domitilla the Younger, passed before Vespasian's acclamation as emperor.[12]

After her death she is often identified with the figure Diva Domitilla, a deified woman of the Flavian dynasty; though there is a debate over whether this title belongs to her or to her daughter.[13] Evidence for her as Diva Domitilla is provided mostly through her representations on the coins issued during the reign of her son, Titus.[13]

Flavian family tree

See also

Notes
  1. The 9th century Arabic translation of Orosius's Adversus paganos named Kitāb Hurūšiyūš claims that Domitilla was the sister of Emperor Nero (born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus),[3] a statement not found in the original text.[4]

References
  1. Suetonius: Divus Vespasianus, 3
  2. Wood, Susan (2010). "Who Was Diva Domitilla? Some Thoughts on the Public Images of the Flavian Women". American Journal of Archaeology. 114 (1): 45–57. ISSN 0002-9114.
  3. Al-Maqrīzī's al-Ḫabar ʿan al-bašar: Vol. V, Section 6: The Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Franks, and Goths. Bibliotheca Maqriziana. Translated by Penelas, Mayte. Brill. 2020. p. 133. ISBN 9789004413245.
  4. Al-Maqrīzī's al-Ḫabar ʿan al-bašar: Vol. V, Section 6: The Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Franks, and Goths. Bibliotheca Maqriziana. Translated by Penelas, Mayte. Brill. 2020. p. 137. ISBN 9789004413245.
  5. "Suetonius • Life of Vespasian". penelope.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
  6. Barrett, Anthony A. (2005). "Vespasian's Wife". Latomus. 64 (2): 385–396. ISSN 0023-8856.
  7. La Monaca, Valeria (2013). "FLAVIA DOMITILLA AS "DELICATA": A NEW INTERPRETATION OF SUETONIUS, VESP. 3". Ancient Society. 43: 191–212. ISSN 0066-1619.
  8. "Suetonius • Life of Vespasian". penelope.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2022-11-07.
  9. Barrett, Anthony A. (2005). "Vespasian's Wife". Latomus. 64 (2): 385–396. ISSN 0023-8856.
  10. La Monaca, Valeria (2013). "FLAVIA DOMITILLA AS "DELICATA": A NEW INTERPRETATION OF SUETONIUS, VESP. 3". Ancient Society. 43: 191–212. ISSN 0066-1619.
  11. Suetonius: Divus Vespasianus, 3
  12. Wood, Susan (2016-01-15). "Public Images of the Flavian Dynasty". A Companion to the Flavian Age of Imperial Rome: 129–147. doi:10.1002/9781118878149.ch7.
  13. Wood, Susan (2010). "Who Was Diva Domitilla? Some Thoughts on the Public Images of the Flavian Women". American Journal of Archaeology. 114 (1): 45–57. ISSN 0002-9114.

Bibliography
  • La Monaca, Valeria (2013). "Flavia Domitilla as delicata: A new interpretation of Suetonius, Vesp. 3". Ancient Society. 43: 191–212. JSTOR 44079974.
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