FROM THE MOTHER OF THE GRACCHI TO THE SISTER OF AUGUSTUS: REIMAGINING CORNELIA’S LEGACY IN THE LITERARY AND MATERIAL DEPICTIONS OF OCTAVIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14795/jaha.13.1.2026.1332Keywords:
Cornelia, Octavia, Augustan ideology, Roman womanhood, female representationAbstract
This article examines the figures of Cornelia and Octavia as exempla of Roman motherhood and explores how their memories were reshaped within Augustan ideology to define the ideal of the imperial matron. Through a comparative analysis of literary sources and material culture, it argues that Octavia’s public image was constructed in conscious dialogue with that of Cornelia, whose virtues of chastity, moderation, and maternal devotion were adapted to the new political and moral framework of the early Principate. The Augustan regime redefined women’s public presence: while female visibility was essential for dynastic legitimacy, it was carefully controlled to preserve traditional gender hierarchies. Public statues, architectural patronage, and family iconography made women’s influence visible within acceptable limits, presenting intercession and motherhood as the primary forms of female agency. Octavia’s decline after Marcellus’ death and Livia’s subsequent rise reveal how political necessity dictated the prominence of imperial women and their representation. Later reinterpretations, such as Seneca’s portrayal of Octavia, illustrate how these narratives remained open to ideological reconfiguration. By analysing the shifting portrayals of Cornelia and Octavia, this study highlights the complex relationship between gender, power, and memory in Augustan Rome, suggesting that women’s visibility in public imagery was not merely symbolic but a subtle manifestation of their real, if constrained, influence.
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