Review
Fulvia was the wife of Publius Clodius, Gaius Scribonius Curio and Mark Antony. She was known for her political ambition and the influence she exerted over her husbands. Sources and historiography have portrayed her as a greedy, arrogant and murderous woman. Fulvia represents, in the late Republican era, the stereotype of the evil matron, the antithesis of the values of the Roman matron.
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Justifications
- She abandoned the tasks that were socially assigned to the matrons of her time and acted as a ruling wife, defending the political and governmental interests of her husbands.
- She gathered eight legions in Italy to fight for the rights of Mark Antony against Octavian, showing her ability to organize military campaigns.
- She was possibly the first non-mythological woman to be depicted on Roman coins.
Biography
Numerous sources, which are contemporary to Fulvia, mention her: Cicero's speeches alluding to her and her husbands, references in the work of Cornelius Nepos, an epigram preserved in Martial's work and inscriptions on the projectiles of the Perusian War. Later authors such as Plutarch, Apianus and Dion also report news about her.
... and he took Fulvia as his wife, who had previously been married to the demagogue Clodius. She was a woman who did not confine her thoughts to simple household chores, such as carding wool, nor did she see herself worthy of taming a simple citizen, but she was destined to marry a ruler whom she wanted to rule and a captain who was willing to be captained... Plutarch (2009). Parallel Lives, Ant.10,5-6, BCG-379 (p. 134).
Fulvia Flacca Bambalia came from a noble family, she was the daughter of M. Fulvius Bambalio and granddaughter, on her mother's side, of C. Sempronius Tuditanus. She was likely born in Tusculum, between 84 BC and 70 BC.
Fulvia was an influential personality in the public and political lifes in Rome, but her career would be boosted, above all, with the death of her first husband, Publius Clodius, assassinated in 52 BC by his political rival, Milo. Widowed, with a son and a daughter, she aroused the crowd's rage publicly, displaying Clodius' corpse and lamenting dramatically over it.
In the year 51 BC, she married another politician, Gaius Scribonius Curio, a promising young man from a consular family, who was killed in Numidia while fighting for Caesar in Africa.
Around the year 46 BC, Fulvia married Mark Antony, consul together with Caesar in 44 BC, with whom she would experience other milestones in her political career. As M. Antonio was away from Rome for a long time, it was Fulvia who, as a trusted person, conducted the government affairs, defended his political and personal interests and administered his patrimony, thus becoming a ruling wife. She defended her husband, displaying her legal knowledge, when some senators, after the defeat at Mutina (Modena), wanted to declare Mark Antony a public enemy.
41 BC marked the increase of her influence in Roman society: Lucius Antonius, brother of Mark Antony, held the consulship, although sources mention Fulvia as the real holder of power, with Lucius being a puppet. On behalf of her husband, she went so far as to confront Octavian and, by manipulating Lucius, she managed to turn the crisis into a military conflict by the end of the year 41. Lucius gathered his troops at Praeneste and fortified the city of Perugia which, after two months of siege, surrendered due to starvation in 40 BC. Fulvia fled from Praeneste to Greece, where she died of an unknown disease, always devoted to her husband's career. Some sources report that she became ill with grief because of the many disdains received from Antony and because of his relationship with Cleopatra.
Fulvia is a historical character that is difficult to know, because the documentation we have of her are partial testimonies and judgments which are full of moral. Whether Fulvia was a woman driven by personal ambition, who used her marriages to achieve status and power, or whether she was the victim of a defamation campaign, still remains a matter of debate and controversy.
Bibliography
-Badía, Félix (2019), «Cinco mujeres de Roma, según Mary Beard», in La Vanguardia, (retrieved on 10/11/2021). <https://www.lavanguardia.com/historiayvida/20191102/471300623632/mujeres-roma-mary-beard-livia.html >
-Dión Cassius, Historia romana, Madrid, BCG-393, p. 80. Translation by Juan Pedro Oliver Segura.
-Elejalde Martins, Oriana (2017), La mujer en las profesiones jurídicas y la vida pública: de Roma a nuestros días. Grado en Derecho, Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad del País Vasco, pp. 5-20.
-López Pérez, Mercedes (2017), «Fulvia Flacca Bambalia, la primera mujer al servicio del poder en Roma, o la creación de un personaje literario», Mujer y poder en la Antigua Roma. Actas del XV Coloquio de la Asociación Interdisciplinar de Estudios Romanos, Madrid, Signifer libros, pp.85-101.
-Plutarco (2009), Vidas paralelas, Ant.10,5-6, BCG-379, pág.134.
-Pomeroy, Sarah B (1987), Diosas, rameras, esposas y esclavas. Mujeres en la Antigüedad Clásica. Madrid, Akal, pp. 178,197; 208-209.
-Rosado Martín, María Concepción (2009), Las mujeres de la nobilitas romana (44-30 a.C.). Máster en Estudios de género y políticas de igualdad. Universidad de Salamanca.
-Sanz, Javier (2017), «Fulvia Bambalia, la mujer que manejó los hilos de Roma y la primera que apareció en una moneda», in Historias de la Historia, (retrieved on 10/11/2021). <https://historiasdelahistoria.com/2017/04/03/fulvia-bambalia-la-mujer-manejo-los-hilos-roma-la-primera-aparecio-una-moneda>
Didactic approach
-Classical culture: Block Classical roots of today's world. History and socio-political evolution; Block Classical roots of today's world. Everyday life.
-Latin 4 ESO: Block The present of Latin civilisation.
-Latin Baccalaureate: Block Ancient Rome.
-History 1 ESO: Block Societies and territories, referring to Rome.
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