Lollia (wife of Aulus Gabinius)

Lollia was an Ancient Roman noblewoman. She was the wife of Roman general Aulus Gabinius. She was also a mistress of Julius Caesar.

Lollia
Born
Died
Known forWife of Aulus Gabinius, mistress of Julius Caesar
SpouseAulus Gabinius
ChildrenAulus Gabinius Sisenna

Biography edit

Lollia was a Plebeian of the gens Lollia.[1] She may have been a daughter of Marcus Lollius Palicanus, who was tribune of the plebs in 71 BC. Lollia married Aulus Gabinius and they had the son Aulus Gabinius Sisenna together.[2] Some time during their marriage she became a mistress of Julius Caesar.[3] Lollia does not seem to have suffered any loss of public image or marriage issues because of the affair.[4]

She and her husband are both mentioned in a letter from Cicero in which he implies that they both were sexually involved with the revolutionary Catiline, and that Gabinius might have pimped her out.[5]

Cultural depictions edit

Lollia appears in the historical novel Respublica: A Novel of Cicero's Roman Republic by Richard Braccia. In the book it is described by another character that Gabinus won Caesar's trust by letting him have sex with Lollia.[6] The affair is also depicted in the novel Lustrum by Robert Harris.[7]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, De Vita Caesarum, Caesar, 50.
  2. ^ Aulus Gabinius Sisenna article at ancient library Archived September 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Prudence J. Jones; Cleopatra: A Sourcebook - page: 49
  4. ^ Susan Treggiari; Servilia and her Family - page: 108
  5. ^ Susan Treggiari; Servilia and her Family - page: 104
  6. ^ Richard Braccia; Respublica: A Novel of Cicero's Roman Republic - page: 452
  7. ^ Robert Harris; Lustrum: (Cicero Trilogy 2) - page: 389

Further reading edit

  • Pompey the Great: A Political Biography
  • Richard S. Williams; The Role of "Amicitia" in the Career of A. Gabinius (Cos. 58)
  • Rawson, Elizabeth (1991). Roman culture and society: collected papers. Clarendon Press.