{"id":27517,"date":"2023-08-08T15:26:06","date_gmt":"2023-08-08T13:26:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.historyextra.com\/?p=232754"},"modified":"2023-08-08T17:11:40","modified_gmt":"2023-08-08T15:11:40","slug":"fulvia-the-maligned-wife-of-politicians-who-made-herself-the-power-broker-of-ancient-rome","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/rss_feed\/fulvia-the-maligned-wife-of-politicians-who-made-herself-the-power-broker-of-ancient-rome\/","title":{"rendered":"Fulvia: the maligned wife of politicians who made herself the power broker of ancient Rome"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the wife of three successive political heavyweights, Fulvia attained a level of influence that few Roman women could have dreamed of. But, asks Danny Bird, is her legacy as a cruel opportunist (as well as someone willing to mutilate the severed enemy of a fallen enemy) entirely fair? <\/p>

By Danny Bird\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 08 August 2023 at 13:26 PM<\/p>

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After Marcus Tullius Cicero, the great orator and defender of Roman republicanism, was murdered in 43 BC by agents loyal to Mark Antony<\/a>, his killers delivered his severed head and hands to Rome. There, they were displayed on the speaker\u2019s rostrum in the Forum after Antony\u2019s wife, Fulvia, came to gloat over the gruesome spectacle.<\/p>\n

Removing the pins from her hair, she repeatedly stabbed Cicero\u2019s now-still tongue \u2013 symbolically silencing the man whose eloquence had done so much damage to her husband\u2019s standing, as well as her own honour. Or so the story goes\u2026<\/p>\n

Fulvia\u2019s life has become entwined in the story of Rome\u2019s transition to one-man rule. Born to Marcus Fulvius Bambalio and Sempronia during the twilight years of the Roman Republic<\/a>, she was a scion of two of the city\u2019s most respected and wealthiest plebeian families \u2013 part of the general citizenry, as opposed to the privileged patrician class. At a time when politics was a male vocation, Fulvia\u2019s innate political instincts distinguished her as an outlier during some of the Republic\u2019s most climactic events.<\/p>\n

Fulvia\u2019s short-lived marriages #1 and #2<\/h3>\n

Fulvia initially gained prominence through her marriage to Publius Clodius Pulcher, an ambitious demagogue who appealed to the plebeians. When he was killed in 52 BC by associates of his political rival, Titus Annius Milo, Fulvia had his bloodied corpse displayed in the street, whipping up a mob of his supporters and sparking Milo\u2019s exile.<\/p>\n

After the customary 10-month mourning period, Fulvia marred Gaius Scribonius Curio. Having maintained the loyalty of her first husband\u2019s plebeian support base, she soon mobilised it around Curio\u2019s own political aspirations. But it was amid the geopolitical turmoil unleashed by Julius Caesar<\/a>\u2019s crossing of the Rubicon in 49 BC that Curio\u2019s \u2013 and thus Fulvia\u2019s \u2013 fortunes soared as the couple aligned their ambitions with Caesar\u2019s.<\/p>\n