Fulvia

Fulvia was born and raised either in Rome or Tusculum. Her date of birth is not known.[4] Fulvia was a member of the Fulvia gens, which hailed from Tusculum. The Fulvii were one of the most distinguished Republican plebeian wealthy families in Rome; various members of the family achieved consulship and became senators, though no member of the Fulvii is on record as a consul after 125 BC.[5] Fulvia was the only child of Marcus Fulvius Bambalio and Sempronia. As a result, Fulvia may have also represented the last of both the Fulvii and the Sempronii families, which meant she was likely an heiress of extreme worth and value.[1] Her father Marcus received the nickname "Bambalio", from the Latin "to stutter", because of his hesitancy in speech. Her maternal grandfather was Sempronius Tuditanus, who was described by Cicero as a madman, who liked to throw his money to the people from the Rostra.[6]

Fulvia from Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum

Her first marriage was to Publius Clodius Pulcher, circa 62 BC. Fulvia and Clodius had two children together, a son also named Publius Clodius Pulcher and a daughter, Claudia. As a couple they went everywhere together.[7][8] Claudia later married the future Emperor Augustus.

In 52 BC, Clodius ran for praetor and political competition with a consular candidate and rival, Titus Annius Milo, escalated to violence. Milo and his gang killed Clodius on January 18 on the Appian Way, the road built by Clodius's ancestors. Fulvia first appears in the record after his death.[9][10] Fulvia and her mother Sempronia were present at the trial of Milo, and Fulvia's was the last testimony given by the prosecution.[11] Milo was exiled for his crime.

While alive, Clodius had control of many gangs, and Fulvia retained the power and status that came with their loyalty. There is some evidence that she may have been involved in organizing the collegia.[12] Even after Clodius' death, however, the Clodian following remained strong because of Fulvia's understanding of her political potential, and Fulvia used this strong political following to avenge his death: she and her mother brought his body to the streets of Rome so the Roman citizens would see his wounds and grow angry towards Milo. [9][13] as a sign that she was to be his avenger.[2] Fulvia would therefore actively invest herself into the political atmosphere that followed the death of her first husband, as a "visible symbol and reminder of his presence."[2][14][15]

With Pompey's seizure of power in Rome, he militarily forced out any remaining supporters of the late Clodius, including captains and tribunes, which actions prompted Fulvia to uphold on her late husband's legacy alone within the city, taking advantage of every opportunity that allowed her to extend her influence and political prestige.

Her widowhood did not last long, as the customary period of mourning for Romans was ten months. Fulvia most likely married her second husband, Gaius Scribonius Curio, soon after his return from Asia and her mourning period had passed.[16] They were married in 52-51 BC, ultimately solidifying him as the legitimate "continuator and heir of Clodius' popularis policies,"[2] though initially an optimate. Like Clodius, Curio was very popular with the plebeians. He was from a less distinguished family than Clodius, being from a new consular family, but he may have had more wealth.[17] He soon became important to Gaius Julius Caesar and Clodian supporters,[18] becoming a trusted and valued political ally to these vitally important individuals because of his marriage to Fulvia and her emphasis on promoting the Clodian legacy. In 50 BC, the year after he married Fulvia, Curio won election as a tribune.

Curio died in 49 BC, killed during the Battle of the Bagradas in North Africa, fighting for Julius Caesar against King Juba I of Numidia.[19] During the civil war, Fulvia was most likely in Rome or nearby, because Caesar's troops had taken over Italy. At the time, she would have had her two children by Clodius and was either pregnant with Curio's son or had delivered him.[20]

Fulvia With the Head of Cicero by Pavel Svedomsky

The vengeance of Fulvia by Francisco Maura Y Montaner, 1888 depicting Fulvia inspecting the severed head of Cicero

After Curio's death in Africa, Fulvia was still an important widow in elite circles and her political interests were well known. Marriage to her would provide an important tie to Clodius and his clientela, and could offer a husband money and political organization. Also, her next husband would become the stepfather to Clodius' children, further linking him to Clodian politics.[21]

As it turned out, Fulvia's third and final marriage was to Mark Antony in 47 or 46 BC.[22] a few years after Curio's death, although Cicero suggested that Fulvia and Antony had had a relationship since 58 BC.[23][24] Cicero wrote about their relationship in his Philippicae as a way of attacking Antony. According to him, while Fulvia and Clodius were married, Antony once left a military post to sneak back into Rome during the night and personally deliver a love letter to Fulvia describing his love for her and saying he had stopped seeing the famous actress Cytheris.[25] Cicero also suggested that Antony had married Fulvia for her money,[26] though at the time of their marriage, Antony was an established politician. He had already been tribune in 49 BC, commanded armies under Caesar and was the Master of the Horse in 47 BC.[27]

Fulvia's marriage to Antony was not one of subordination; rather, they had become a "formidable political force"[2] within the crucial city of Rome. Fulvia played a very influential role in Mark Antony's political career. She was the brains behind many of his policies, such as the decision to give Sicilians Roman citizenship, as well as to confirm Deiotarus in his kingdom), and she was a very persuasive campaigner for her husband. It is also possible that former Clodian policies were continued through him.[21] They had two sons together, Marcus Antonius Antyllus and Iullus Antonius, and throughout their marriage, Fulvia defended Antony from Cicero's attacks, sustained his popularity with his soldiers and hindered Octavian's ascension to power.[28] In fact, Fulvia still retained the support of gangs formerly ruled by her first husband, Clodius. By publicly associating himself with Clodius' children, Antony was able to gather that support and, through Fulvia's influence, to use what was left of Clodius' gangs in his own gang wars against Dolabella and his supporters.[29]

Through the political connections of his wife and his close friendship with Caesar, Antony was found to be the most powerful man in Rome after Caesar's assassination. Therefore, it was only fitting that Fulvia was to be heavily involved in the political aftermath. After Caesar's death, the senate realized his popularity and declared that it would pass all of Caesar's planned laws. Antony had attained possession of Caesar's papers, and with the ability to produce papers in support of any law, Fulvia and Antony made a fortune and gained immense power. She allegedly accompanied Antony to his military camp at Brundisium in 44 BC.[30] Appian wrote that in December 44 and again in 43 BC, while Antony was abroad and Cicero campaigned for Antony to be declared an enemy of the state, Fulvia tried to block such declarations by soliciting support for Antony.[31]

Antony formed the Second Triumvirate with Octavian, the future emperor Augustus, and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus in 43 BC and began to conduct proscriptions. To solidify the political alliance and to advance Clodian interests, Fulvia's daughter Claudia was married to the young Octavian. Appian and Cassius Dio describe Fulvia as being involved in the violent proscriptions that were used to destroy enemies and gain badly needed funds to secure control of Rome.[32][33] Antony pursued his political enemies, especially Cicero, who had openly criticized him for abusing his powers as consul after Caesar's assassination. Although many ancient sources wrote that Fulvia was happy to take revenge against Cicero for Antony's and Clodius' sake, Cassius Dio is the only one who describes the joy with which she pierced the tongue of the dead Cicero with her golden hairpins, as a final revenge against Cicero's power of speech.

• Women in Rome
• List of Roman women

• G. Dareggi, “Sulle tracce di Fulvia, moglie del triumviro M. Antonio”, in G. Bonamente, Augusta Perusia: studi storici e archeologici sull’epoca del bellum Perusinum, Perugia, 2012, 107-115.
• M.-C. Ferriès, F. Delrieux, “Un tournant pour le monnayage provincial romain d’Asie Mineure: les effigies de matrones romaines, Fulvia, Octavia, Livia et Julia (43 a.C.-37 p.C.)”, in L. Cavalier, M.-C. Ferriès and F. Delrieux, Auguste et l’Asie Mineure, Bordeaux, 2017, 357-383.
• F. Rohr Vio, “Dux femina: Fulvia in armi nella polemica politica di età triumvirale”, in T. Lucchelli and F. Rohr Vio, Viri militares: rappresentazione e propaganda tra Repubblica e Principato, Trieste, 2015, 61-89.
• Susanna Roxman, 2007, "Fulvia at Sicyon" (poem), in Imagining Seals, Edinburgh:Dionysia Press.
• C. Schubert, “Homo politicus - femina privata? Fulvia: eine Fallstudie zur späten römischen Republik”, in B. Feichtinger and G. Wöhrle, Gender Studies in den Altertumswissenschaften: Möglichkeiten und Grenzen, Trier, 2002, 65-79
• Celia E. Schultz, Fulvia: playing for power at the end of the Roman republic. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2021. ISBN 9780197601839

• Media related to Fulvia at Wikimedia Commons
• Bust of Fulvia
• Sculpture of Fulvia
• Statue of Fulvia