Where the Old Meets the New and the New Meets the Old: Fulvia, Octavia and Female Auctoritas 44-31 BCE

Bagger, Christian Hjorth

4. term

History, Master

2021

80

This thesis reexamines the political roles of two prominent Roman women during the era of the Triumvirs, the three-man power-sharing regime that followed Caesar’s death: Fulvia (wife of Mark Antony) and Octavia (sister of Young Caesar, the future emperor Augustus). Using a historiographical approach that questions male-centered ancient narratives, it reassesses both women as independent actors with rational agency. Beginning with Fulvia’s marriage to Antony in 47/46 BCE, the thesis suggests she helped plan and stage Caesar’s funeral in 44 BCE, drawing on experience from the public funeral of her first husband, Clodius, years earlier. Fulvia is presented as a skilled strategist; together with Antony they functioned as a political power couple. When Antony was declared a public enemy in 44, Fulvia used traditional forms of female intercession to try to block the vote but failed. With the formation of the Triumvirate in 43, her influence reached new heights. The thesis argues she may have had a role in the proscriptions (state lists of enemies), though later sources may have exaggerated or distorted this. Her political fall came in 41/40 BCE, when she opposed Young Caesar alongside Lucius Antonius, Antony’s brother. Against earlier scholarship that blames her for the Perusine War, the thesis contends she did not start the conflict and was pushed to follow Lucius as their aims diverged. She was central to the propaganda campaign while Lucius fought, again showing her organizational and lobbying skills. Her auctoritas—informal authority and prestige—peaked in 41/40, reaching a level not seen again until the age of empresses. Civil war conditions enabled her to deploy that influence in new ways. After Fulvia’s death, the study turns to Octavia. Stripping away Augustan bias, it challenges her standard image as a dutiful, apolitical matron or pawn. It argues she was as capable as her brother, understood civil war politics, and used her position to protect her family, husband, and brother. In 40 BCE she became a visible symbol of concordia (political harmony) between the Triumvirs through her betrothal and marriage to Antony. In 37 BCE she brokered the Treaty of Tarentum, mediating between the two leaders to renew the Triumvirate and keep the peace, restraining her younger brother’s impatience for war. Her actions served herself, her family, and the res publica (the Roman state). In 35 BCE she received exceptional honors, including protections associated with the tribunes (legal inviolability). Contrary to common views, these honors were not primarily about Antony and were not a trap for him, even though Young Caesar later used Antony’s insults against Octavia to attack him. That year marked her last successful intervention. She never saw Antony again, and he divorced her in 32. Although she might have prevented war had she met both men, circumstances made this impossible. She continued as an adviser to the emperor and is presented here as the last civil war matron. Overall, the thesis shows that Octavia’s influence and auctoritas stemmed from her experience and position between Young Caesar and Antony, which she used to mediate and arbitrate between colleagues and rivals—asserting independent agency in a style distinct from Fulvia’s.

Dette speciale genundersøger de politiske roller hos to fremtrædende kvinder i triumvirtidens Rom – Fulvia (Mark Antonys hustru) og Octavia (søster til den unge Cæsar, den senere Augustus). Med en historiografisk tilgang, der udfordrer mandligt forudindtagne kilder, fortolkes de som selvstændige aktører med rationel handlekraft. Specialet begynder ved Fulvias ægteskab med Antony i 47/46 f.v.t. og foreslår, at hun var med til at planlægge og iscenesætte Cæsars begravelse i 44 f.v.t., med erfaring fra sin første mand Clodius’ store begravelse år tidligere. Fulvia fremstilles som en strategisk begavelse; sammen med Antony fungerede hun som et politisk powerpar. Da Antony i 44 blev erklæret folkefjende, brugte Fulvia traditionelle former for kvindelig forbøn for at bremse afstemningen, men uden held. Med etableringen af triumviratet i 43 nåede hendes indflydelse et hidtil uset niveau. Specialet argumenterer for, at hun kan have haft andel i proskriptionerne (statens lister over forfulgte fjender), men at senere fortællinger kan have overdrevet eller forvredet dette. Hendes fald kom i 41/40 f.v.t., da hun sammen med Lucius Antonius, Antonys bror, gik imod den unge Cæsar. I modsætning til tidligere forskning, der giver hende skylden for Perugia-krigen, hævder specialet, at hun ikke indledte konflikten og blev presset til at følge Lucius, efterhånden som deres mål gled fra hinanden. Hun var central i propagandakrigen og viste igen talent for planlægning og lobbyarbejde, mens Lucius førte felttog. Hendes auctoritas – uformel autoritet og prestige – kulminerede i 41/40 på et niveau, der ikke ses igen før kejserinderne. Borgerkrigens vilkår gjorde det muligt for hende at bruge sin indflydelse på nye måder. Efter Fulvias død rettes blikket mod Octavia. Ved at skrælle den augustæiske bias bort udfordres billedet af hende som pligtopfyldende, apolitisk matrona eller brik i spillet. Specialet fremhæver, at hun var på højde med sin bror, forstod borgerkrigstidens politik og brugte sin position til at beskytte familie, ægtemand og bror. I 40 f.v.t. blev hun et synligt symbol på concordia (politisk harmoni) mellem triumvirerne gennem sin forlovelse og sit ægteskab med Antony. I 37 f.v.t. mæglede hun Traktaten i Tarentum, fornyede triumviratets mandat og sikrede freden ved at dæmpe sin yngre brors trang til krig. Hendes handlinger tjente hende selv, hendes familie og res publica (staten). I 35 f.v.t. modtog hun usædvanlige æresbevisninger, herunder tribunernes ukrænkelighed (retslig beskyttelse). I modsætning til gængse tolkninger var disse hædersbevisninger ikke først og fremmest rettet mod Antony og heller ikke en fælde for ham, selv om den unge Cæsar senere udnyttede Antonys fornærmelser mod Octavia politisk. Samme år lykkedes hendes sidste store indgriben. Hun så aldrig Antony igen, og han skildte sig fra hende i 32. Hun kunne muligvis have afværget krigen, hvis hun havde kunnet mødes med begge mænd, men omstændighederne forhindrede det. Hun fortsatte som rådgiver for kejseren og fremstår her som den sidste borgerkrigsmatrona. Overordnet viser specialet, at Octavias indflydelse og auctoritas udsprang af hendes erfaring og position mellem den unge Cæsar og Antony, som hun brugte til at mægle og forhandle mellem kolleger og rivaler – med en selvstændig handlekraft, der adskiller sig fra Fulvias.

[This apstract has been rewritten with the help of AI based on the project's original abstract]

Fulvia ; Octavia ; Civil War ; Auctoritas ; Rome ; Ancient History

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