It could be thought that she had family in Istria, now in Croatia, based on a trip she took there (Suet. Dom. 12.3). In her 30s Caenis, still possibly a slave, was in an unofficial type of relationship with Vespasian, known as contubernium,[5] before his marriage. According to Suetonius, after the death of Vespasian's wife Flavia Domitilla, Vespasian and Caenis, now a freedwoman, resumed their relationship; she was his wife "in all but name" until her death in AD 74.
She had a remarkable memory and considerable influence on the emperor's administration, carried out official business on his behalf, and apparently made a lot of money from her position.[6] However, she was treated with disrespect by Vespasian's son Domitian, who refused to greet her as one of the family.[7]
Popular cultureedit
Inscription commemorating Caenis, described by the historian Suetonius as the "almost wife" of Vespasian[8]
The life of Caenis and her love-story with Vespasian are portrayed in Lindsey Davis's novel The Course of Honour. She is also a character who features regularly in Robert Fabbri's Vespasian series, in which she is depicted as a long-lost grand-niece of the king of the Caenii, a rebelling tribe in Thracia.
Robert Graves, in his short story "Caenis on Incest", used her as a kind of foil to present what he then thought to have been the underlying reason for the power-related murders chronicled in I, Claudius. The story is included in his compendium "Occupation: Writer", and he admits to having missed the real reason for the murders in the introduction to that anthology. [9]
^Anagnostou-Laoutides, Eva; Charles, M.B. (2012). "Vespasian, Caenis and Suetonius". In Deroux, C. (ed.). Studies in Latin Literature and Roman History XVI. Brussels: Editions Latomus. pp. 530–547.
^Acton, Karen (2010-05-12). "Antonia Caenis and the Flavian Dynasty". SSRN Electronic Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.1605506.
^Lefkowitz, Mary R.; Fant, Maureen B. (2005-08-23). Women's Life in Greece and Rome: A Source Book in Translation. JHU Press. ISBN978-0-8018-8310-1.
^"LacusCurtius • Roman Law — Contubernium (Smith's Dictionary, 1875)".
William Smith (1870), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
January 01, 1970
caenis, greek, mythological, woman, transformed, into, caeneus, genus, mayflies, mayfly, antonia, died, former, slave, secretary, antonia, minor, mother, emperor, claudius, roman, emperor, vespasian, contubernalis, contents, life, popular, culture, also, refer. For the Greek mythological woman who was transformed into a man see Caeneus For the genus of mayflies see Caenis mayfly Antonia Caenis died 74 AD a former slave and secretary of Antonia Minor mother of the emperor Claudius was Roman emperor Vespasian s contubernalis 1 2 3 4 Contents 1 Life 2 Popular culture 3 See also 4 References 5 SourcesLife editIt could be thought that she had family in Istria now in Croatia based on a trip she took there Suet Dom 12 3 In her 30s Caenis still possibly a slave was in an unofficial type of relationship with Vespasian known as contubernium 5 before his marriage According to Suetonius after the death of Vespasian s wife Flavia Domitilla Vespasian and Caenis now a freedwoman resumed their relationship she was his wife in all but name until her death in AD 74 She had a remarkable memory and considerable influence on the emperor s administration carried out official business on his behalf and apparently made a lot of money from her position 6 However she was treated with disrespect by Vespasian s son Domitian who refused to greet her as one of the family 7 Popular culture edit nbsp Inscription commemorating Caenis described by the historian Suetonius as the almost wife of Vespasian 8 The life of Caenis and her love story with Vespasian are portrayed in Lindsey Davis s novel The Course of Honour She is also a character who features regularly in Robert Fabbri s Vespasian series in which she is depicted as a long lost grand niece of the king of the Caenii a rebelling tribe in Thracia Robert Graves in his short story Caenis on Incest used her as a kind of foil to present what he then thought to have been the underlying reason for the power related murders chronicled in I Claudius The story is included in his compendium Occupation Writer and he admits to having missed the real reason for the murders in the introduction to that anthology 9 See also editList of slaves Claudia Acte Galeria Lysistrate Marcia mistress of Commodus References edit Companion Caenis feminaeromanae org Retrieved 2019 11 22 Anagnostou Laoutides Eva Charles M B 2012 Vespasian Caenis and Suetonius In Deroux C ed Studies in Latin Literature and Roman History XVI Brussels Editions Latomus pp 530 547 Acton Karen 2010 05 12 Antonia Caenis and the Flavian Dynasty SSRN Electronic Journal doi 10 2139 ssrn 1605506 Lefkowitz Mary R Fant Maureen B 2005 08 23 Women s Life in Greece and Rome A Source Book in Translation JHU Press ISBN 978 0 8018 8310 1 LacusCurtius Roman Law Contubernium Smith s Dictionary 1875 Cassius Dio 66 14 Suet Dom 12 3 CIL 6 12037 Caenis on Incest A D 75 1946 from Occupation Writer Universal Library Grosset and Dunlap 1950Sources editSuetonius Lives of the Twelve Caesars Vespasian 3 21 Domitian 12 3 Dio Cassius Roman History 66 14 William Smith 1870 Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Caenis amp oldid 1216922467, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
