| Pompeia Plotina | |||||
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| Augusta | |||||
.jpg) Bust of Plotina, exhibited in theVatican Museums. | |||||
| Roman empress | |||||
| Tenure | 98 – 117 | ||||
| Born | Tejada la Vieja,Hispania orNemausus,Gaul | ||||
| Died | 121/122 | ||||
| Spouse | Trajan | ||||
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| Dynasty | Nerva–Antonine | ||||
| Father | Lucius Pompeius | ||||
Pompeia Plotina (died 121/122) wasRoman empress from 98 to 117 as the wife ofTrajan. She was renowned for her interest in philosophy, and her virtue, dignity and simplicity. She was particularly devoted to theEpicurean philosophical school inAthens,Greece.[1] She is often viewed as having provided Romans with fairer taxation, improved education, assisted the poor, and created tolerance in Roman society.
Plotina was raised in Tejada la Vieja (Escacena del Campo) in the province ofHispania (modern Spain). She was possibly born in Nemausus (Nîmes) (southern France) during the reign of the Roman EmperorNero (r. 54–68), however she could have been born in the 70s.
She was the daughter of Lucius Pompeius. Another woman from Nemausus named Pompeia L. f. Marullina may have been her relative;[2] historianChristian Settipani proposed that they may have been sisters.[3] Based on her cognomen Plotina her mother may have been named Plotia or similar.[4] In Pompeii an inscription names an Ulpia Plotina,[a] leading to the idea that Pompeia Plotina and Trajan were related. Little is known about Plotina's early life.
Trajan married Plotina before he became emperor, and their marriage was happy; they had no known children.
Upon entering the imperial palace following Trajan's ascension, Plotina is said to have turned to those watching her and carefully announced, "I enter here the kind of woman I would like to be when I depart."[6] She sought to dispel the memories of the domestic strife that had plagued the reign ofDomitian and theJulio-Claudian dynasty. Plotina behaved in the manner of a traditional Roman matron, and she was associated with chaste goddesses such asVesta (the guardian of Rome's sacred fire) andMinerva (goddess of war and wisdom).[7] In 100, Trajan awarded her with the title ofAugusta, but she did not accept the title until 105. Plotina did not appear on coinage until 112.[1]
When the future emperorHadrian and his sister were 10 or 11 years old, they lost their parents. Trajan and the Roman officerPublius Acilius Attianus became the children's guardians. Hadrian was a first cousin-once-removed to Trajan (Trajan's father and Hadrian's paternal grandmother were siblings). Plotina matched Hadrian with his future wifeVibia Sabina.[8]
In 117, Trajan was on his deathbed atSelinus in Cilicia, where he was said to have written a letter in which he personally adopted Hadrian as successor to the Empire. The letter had been signed by the Empress Plotina, and when it arrived in Rome, it was suspect. Rumour named Attianus and Plotina as lovers—the two were very close to their ward Hadrian and the two had been present at Trajan's death—and they were rumoured to have forged Trajan's will to secure Hadrian's succession.[1][9]
Annelise Freisenbruch dismisses this accusation: "Plotina, the silent spouse of the second century, thus joinedLivia,Agrippina the Younger, andDomitia in the gallery of Roman imperial women accused of covering up or conspiring in their husband's deaths." Freisenbruch notes that there are many plausible explanations why Plotina's signature might legitimately be on this declaration: Trajan may have simply been too weak to sign the letter himself. Freisenbruch also notes these kinds of accusations have dogged the spouses of rulers through the centuries.[10]
Along with Attianus andMatidia, the grieving widow Plotina accompanied Trajan's body toSeleucia and his ashes to Rome.[9]
While Plotina was a widow, her best-documented act took place. During the year 121, while the emperor Hadrian was inspecting the provinces, Plotina engaged him in a series of letters to discuss who should be the new head of theEpicurean school of philosophy inAthens. She petitioned for a change in the law, so that Popillius Theotimus, the acting head of the school, could become the official head; in response, Hadrian agreed with her argument, and the relevant letters were preserved in a series of inscriptions. Freisenbruch notes, "In stark contrast to her passive anonymity in the literary record, this inscription from Athens recasts Plotina as a highly educated woman, active on behalf of causes close to her heart and with the kind of access to the emperor once enjoyed by Livia."[11]
Plotina died of illness, and wasdeified. Her ashes joined Trajan's in the base ofTrajan's Column. In 123, Hadrian built abasilica in her honor atNîmes, inProvence.[12]
Nerva–Antonine family tree | |
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| Notes: Except where otherwise noted, the notes below indicate that an individual's parentage is as shown in the above family tree.
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