Livia

Livia (Livia Drusilla), b. 58 BC,
in 43 or 42 married Tiberius Claudius Nero, whom she accompanied on his flight after the Perusine War. She bore him Tiberius, the future emperor, and Drusus (the later Drusus Iulius Caesar). In 39, in order to marry Octavian (Augustus), she was divorced though pregnant with her second son. Although she had no further children, she retained Augustus' respect and confidence throughout his life. As consort of the princeps, she became an effective model of old-fashioned propriety, her beauty, dignity, intelligence, and tact fitting her for her high position. She played a role in the Augustan system which was unusually formal and conspicuous for a woman, and on Augustus' death became a principal figure in his cult and (by his will) a member of his family, as Julia Augusta. She was believed to have interceded successfully on behalf of conspirators, but some took...

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