The
Emperor Caesarion and his intimate circle had worked hard to consolidate and legitimate his position at the head of the Republic. From his nomination to the consulate at an unconstitutionally young age under the third triumvirate to his ascension to supreme power following
Vipsanian's capture at Nisibis, it had been a long and arduous journey. The now dominant political party, the Caesarians - comprising the extended network of allies, clients and supporters of the Emperor and his immediate associates - had a vested interest in upholding this state of affairs and paving the way for a peaceful transference of power to the Emperor's intended heirs. The present scandal threatened to drive a wedge right through the middle of the Imperial clan: the Emperor and his son
Isidorus on one side, the Emperor's wife and her children on the other. Hardly an ideal situation when the Caesarians expected government to devolve on the Caesars Isidorus and
Tiberius (respectively his son and step-son) as equal, allied partners. Fortunately, the Emperor was eager not to cause undue offence or embarrassment to his wife and step-sons; the latter were likewise eager to reaffirm their loyalty to Caesarion.
Caesarion was nevertheless disconcerted by the murmuring in various quarters against his rule; challenges to his
romanitas and mocking of his Oriental practices. That such challenges included also his son Isidorus only made them worse, jeopardizing as they did the boy's intended role in government at the side of Tiberius, himself injured by the involvement of his sister
Livia Valeria in the brewing scandal.
The lady Livia Valeria stood accused of the murder of her step-sons, of violating the Emperor's sacrosanctness by uttering verbal insults against him and of
maiestas for publishing pamphlets denigrating and attacking the Emperor. She was further accused of adultery with
Aurelius Cotta Maximus,
Quinctilius Varus and a number of freedmen, all of whom were charged as accomplices in her crimes. Her adulteries were dated to her marriage with
Antyllus; her accusers did not dare brand the Emperor's sons cuckolds, though it was certainly implied that her promiscuity had continued into her engagements with the Caesars Ptolemy and Isidorus. To make such an accusation would also prove counter-productive by giving grounds for her to be tried and sentenced in a private family court, which was not what her enemies intended.
The case of Livia Valeria was a complicated one, not only for the illustrious connections whose names she would sully if found guilty. The death of her husband posed one problem, being that it fell to the husband to deal with an adulterous wife in a family court. Caesarion considered exempting Livia Valeria and posthumously charging Antyllus with
lenocinium (pimping), the traditional accusation brought against men who did not punish an adulterous woman, but this would entail branding Livia Valeria guilty of prostitution. The multiplicity of charges was another problem - while
maiestas ought to be judged by a special tribunal, adultery and poisoning were primarily private family ones. Above all Caesarion was mindful of both public and private opinion - he could not abandon his step-daughter to the wolves, nor could he act in a heavy-handed monarchical way.
Once he had decided upon his course of action, the Emperor moved quickly. He began with the recall of the
delator Memmius and the formal acquittal of
Cicero Minor. The judicial inquiry for Cicero's trial had established that Livia Valeria was behind the nicknames, which had then been popularized by various friends, reappearing shortly afterward in derogatory pamphlets publicized throughout Rome.
The Emperor proceeded to publicly convoke a
consilium propinquorum et amicorum, an advisory council of friends and relatives which traditionally informed the head of a family in internal family matters.
Cicero Minor, Crassus Scythicus, Caesar Tiberius, Drusus, Gaius Cato, Fabius Maximus and
Pomponius Atticus were the most notable among them. The Emperor expressed his desire to forgive all injury done him, save that which affected the honor or safety of the Republic. His friends likewise advised that only the publication and dissemination of the derogatory pamphlets be prosecuted; mere name-calling or jesting ought not to be considered a violation of
sacrosanctitas, save where they might encourage or incite injury to the Emperor's person.
Accordingly these friends hurriedly obtained from the Senate a resolution to that effect and further empowering the same
quaestio which had investigated Cicero to see the inquiry to the end. Caesarion's desire to innocent Livia Valeria of the most serious charges no doubt informed the Senate's resolution - as 'mere' women could not aspire to supreme power, they could not commit treason, and as the offensive pamphlets desired and called for revolution, posing not only a breach of
sacrosanctitas but a case of
maiestas, Livia Valeria was promptly acquitted.
Conversely, charges of treason deprived the accused of immunity from the accusations of women, allowing Livia Valeria a valuable opportunity to avail herself publicly of her alleged adulteries. She laid blame at the door of
Aurelius Cotta Maximus, her most notorious would-be lover; her accusation was most easily believed given the traitorous careers of both his father
Messalla Corvinus and brother
Messallinus.
Quinctillius Varus and
Lollius Paullinus[1] followed her suit and defended themselves by shifting blame onto Cotta. Cotta retaliated by accusing two freedmen of Antyllus,
Pallas and
Chariton, lovers of Livia Valeria and enemies of the Emperor for his destruction of their master. It seemed as if Cotta's ruin was certain, until he obtained the support of his kinsmen Tiberius and Drusus[2]. The praetor
Barbatius Philippicus[3] made a name for himself by his swift conclusion of the trial when his colleague desired to defer judgement to the Emperor. Pallas and Chariton were proscribed and thrown off the Tarpeian Rock while Cotta Maximus, Varus and Paullinus were fined the half of their property and ordered to offer expiation at the Temple of the Divine Julius. The delator Memmius was rewarded with the fourth-part of the confiscated sums; henceforth he would be rich enough to pursue the Senatorial career which had eluded him so far.
Traditional Roman punishment: being thrown off the Tarpeian Rock
The greater charges now dispensed with, the brothers
Scribonius Curio and
Claudius Pulcher pressed again their charges of adultery and murder against Livia Valeria. The Emperor obtained another resolution of the Senate to entrust the investigation and adjudication of the matter to Tiberius, the lady's uterine brother and legal tutor[4]. This resolution was challenged by the family of her late husband; as the present head of the clan, it ought to fall to
Iullus to take his brother's place. Traditional trials were presided over by a judge agreeable to both parties; Curio and Pulcher refused to accept any other judge save Iullus. After some wrangling it was agreed that Livia Valeria would be tried before both Iullus and Tiberius, with the Emperor acting as a neutral third party empowered to give ruling in case of any impasse.
For the trial Iullus returned from Sardinia, where he had gone in honorable exile following his brother's rebellion and demise. He was received well by Caesarion, his one-time step-brother and childhood companion. In the semi-public trial that followed, Livia Valeria was defended by
Marcus Furius Camillus, a friend of Tiberius. Long speeches extolling the ancient pedigrees and exalted birth of the involved parties were issued from both sides, each seeking to establish their party's
gravitas and
nobilitas. On the lady's behalf Camillus stated that the boys
Gaius and
Lucius had been put to death by the freedmen Pallas and Chariton on the orders of their father, producing confessions obtained under torture to that effect. Curio argued that the proscription of Antyllus and the condemnation of his memory had absolved his wife and freedmen of any obligation to his orders; the Senatorial resolution which had given Livia Valeria special leave to remarry[5] and passed his heirs into other
gentes[6] had specifically dealt with the existing patronal ties with Antonian clients. Further investigation revealed that Pallas and Chariton were among freedmen whose patronage had been inherited jointly by Livia Valeria and Iullus. It was unthinkable that freedmen would undertake such risky and unprofitable action without instigation; as Iullus was then on the run, Pallas and Chariton almost certainly acted at Livia Valeria's command.
Desperate attempts by Camillus to procure witnesses or letters blaming Antyllus' eldest son, who had briefly outlived him, failed. Behind-the-scenes negotiations cleared Livia Valeria of the shameful implication of sexual congress with freedmen; Curio also let slip charges of adultery with Cotta and Lollius Paullinus (for their kinship with Tiberius), leaving only Quinctillius Varus to stand charge as her lover and accomplice.
After some deliberation and the consultation of an advisory body of Senators, Iullus and Tiberius pronounced their judgement, in a coordinated show of collaboration and
pietas. For her adultery with Quinctillius Varus she was ordered to offer expiation at the cults of
Pudicitia Plebeia and
Pudicitia Patriciana and suffer exile to Trimerus, an island off the Italian coast. For both her adultery and her involvement in the assassination of her step-sons, her dowry and the rest of her property were forfeited in favor of her step-daughter
Fulvia Antonia, her infant son
Thrax Postumus and Iullus, henceforth the boy's tutor. Iullus also assumed full patronage of all remaining freedmen. The Emperor served her a bill of divorce on behalf of his son Caesar Isidorus and once more made her liable to the traditional impositions on the widows of proscribed men. Varus' refusal to take his own life exposed him to harsher punishment: the forfeiture of his property, flagellation, public display in a procession through the forum and exile to Gaul.
Livia Valeria is escorted away to exile
[1] Husband of Volusia Saturnina, first cousin of Tiberius and Drusus and sister of the consul 4BCE.
[2] Aurelius Cotta Maximus was the grandson of a Claudia nicknamed 'Pala', the biological aunt of Livia Drusilla. He would also have been a maternal relative of Caesarion, whose grandmother was an Aurelia Cotta.
[3] Son of M. Barbatius Philippus/Philippicus, a runaway slave who became the friend in turn of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. He was Antony's quaestor in 40BC and obtained the praetorship during the second triumvirate; when finally recognized by his old master he bought his freedom at great expense.
[4] Roman jurists extended the right of the husband to punish a woman's adultery to her father. In the absence of both a husband and father, a half-brother might suffice.
[5] The widows of proscribed men were prohibited from remarrying.
(for Iullus and his children). A Senatorial resolution retroactively elevating the Fulvii and Sempronii to the patriciate would have been necessary for them to be thus benefited.