Caesar married Pompeia in 67 BC,[1] after he had served as quaestor in Hispania, his first wife Cornelia having died in 69 BC.
In 63 BC, Caesar was elected to the position of the Pontifex Maximus, the chief priest of the Roman state religion, which came with an official residence on the Via Sacra.[2] In 62 BC, Pompeia hosted there the festival of the Bona Dea ("good goddess"), which no man was permitted to attend. However, a young patrician named Publius Clodius Pulcher managed to gain admittance disguised as a woman, apparently for the purpose of seducing Pompeia. He was caught and prosecuted for sacrilege. Caesar gave no evidence against Clodius at his trial, and he was acquitted. Nevertheless, Caesar divorced Pompeia, saying that "my wife ought not even to be under suspicion".[3] This gave rise to a proverb, "Caesar's wife must be above suspicion", meaning that if one is romantically involved with a famous or prominent figure, one must avoid attracting negative attention or scrutiny.[4][5][6]
Later lifeedit
Nothing specific is known about her life after the divorce, but it has been proposed that she may have married Publius Vatinius.[7]
Cultural depictionsedit
Pompeia is depicted in various works of fiction including Robert Harris' Lustrum and Colleen McCullough's Masters of Rome series, in the Masters of Rome series the theory that she remarried to Publius is depicted.
^Plutarch refers to Pompeia, Cornelia's successor, as Caesar's third wife, implying that Cornelia was his second, implying that Cossutia, to whom he had been betrothed to since childhood, was his first.
^Cicero, Letters to Atticus 1.13; Plutarch, Caesar 9-10; Cassius Dio, Roman History 37.45; Suetonius, Julius 6.2 Archived 2012-05-30 at archive.today
^Caesar, Gaius Julius 2013-11-22 at the Wayback Machine, Historia, KET Distance Learning.
^Like Caesar's wife, a politician should be above suspicion, The Independent, March 23, 2001 [dead link]
^"Caesar's wife must be above suspicion". Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. Farlex, Inc. 2015.
^American Journal of Ancient History. Vol. 1–3. Harvard University. 1976. p. 14.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pompeia Sulla.
January 01, 1970
pompeia, wife, caesar, pompeia, century, second, third, wife, julius, caesar, pompeiapompeia, from, promptuarium, iconum, insigniorumbornromediedromeknown, forthe, second, third, wife, julius, caesarspouse, julius, caesar, divorced, parentsquintus, pompeius, r. Pompeia fl 1st century BC was the second or third i wife of Julius Caesar PompeiaPompeia from Promptuarium Iconum InsigniorumBornRomeDiedRomeKnown forThe second or third wife of Julius CaesarSpouse s Julius Caesar 67 62 BC divorced ParentsQuintus Pompeius Rufus father Cornelia mother Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Early life 1 2 Marriage 1 3 Later life 2 Cultural depictions 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References 6 External linksBiography editEarly life edit Pompeia s parents were Quintus Pompeius Rufus a son of a former consul and Cornelia the daughter of the Roman dictator Sulla Marriage edit Caesar married Pompeia in 67 BC 1 after he had served as quaestor in Hispania his first wife Cornelia having died in 69 BC In 63 BC Caesar was elected to the position of the Pontifex Maximus the chief priest of the Roman state religion which came with an official residence on the Via Sacra 2 In 62 BC Pompeia hosted there the festival of the Bona Dea good goddess which no man was permitted to attend However a young patrician named Publius Clodius Pulcher managed to gain admittance disguised as a woman apparently for the purpose of seducing Pompeia He was caught and prosecuted for sacrilege Caesar gave no evidence against Clodius at his trial and he was acquitted Nevertheless Caesar divorced Pompeia saying that my wife ought not even to be under suspicion 3 This gave rise to a proverb Caesar s wife must be above suspicion meaning that if one is romantically involved with a famous or prominent figure one must avoid attracting negative attention or scrutiny 4 5 6 Later life edit Nothing specific is known about her life after the divorce but it has been proposed that she may have married Publius Vatinius 7 Cultural depictions editPompeia is depicted in various works of fiction including Robert Harris Lustrum and Colleen McCullough s Masters of Rome series in the Masters of Rome series the theory that she remarried to Publius is depicted See also editPompeia gens Caesar s Wife play named after PompeiaNotes edit Plutarch refers to Pompeia Cornelia s successor as Caesar s third wife implying that Cornelia was his second implying that Cossutia to whom he had been betrothed to since childhood was his first References edit Simon Hornblower Antony Spawforth E A edd Oxford Classical Dictionary Oxford University Press 2003 1214 Plutarch Caesar 7 Suetonius Julius 13 Archived 2012 05 30 at archive today 46 Cicero Letters to Atticus 1 13 Plutarch Caesar 9 10 Cassius Dio Roman History 37 45 Suetonius Julius 6 2 Archived 2012 05 30 at archive today Caesar Gaius Julius Archived 2013 11 22 at the Wayback Machine Historia KET Distance Learning Like Caesar s wife a politician should be above suspicion The Independent March 23 2001 dead link Caesar s wife must be above suspicion Farlex Dictionary of Idioms Farlex Inc 2015 American Journal of Ancient History Vol 1 3 Harvard University 1976 p 14 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pompeia Sulla Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Pompeia wife of Caesar amp oldid 1217738475, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
