Faustina I and II - 9780195379419

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Title: Faustina I and II: Imperial Women of the Golden Age

Author: Levick, Barbara

Publisher: Oxford University Press; Publication Date: 2014

Hardcover; ISBN: 9780195379419

Volumes: 1; Pages: 272

List Price in Cloth: $65.00 Our price: $55.99

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The Roman empress Faustina the Elder (c. 97-140) and her daughter Faustina II (c. 130-175) have been subject to criticism from the earliest records, described in turn as fickle, unfaithful, and treasonous. Yet their husbands, the emperors Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius, have reputations as golden as that of the whole Antonine age and seem, by and large, to have thought favorably of them as prolific mothers, loyal spouses, and useful complements to the military and political proceedings of the empire. On the most basic level of lineage and procreation, the two women were naturally important for establishing the Antonine dynasty. Yet, the Faustinae, as they are commonly referred, also proved instrumental in solidifying in Roman minds the image of a nurturing and harmonious empire. Barbara M. Levick's Faustina I and II carefully synthesizes the many competing sources on the Faustinae into one comprehensive study, demonstrating the extent to which women could and did influence both the internal workings and external standing of the imperial dynasty. The book traces Faustina I's formation of her family's heritage amid a new empire through to Faustina II's enhancement of that legacy, focusing especially on the younger Faustina's deep involvement in palace politics and her possible role in the revolt of Avidius Cassius in 175. Through an analysis of everything from textual evidence to portraiture and coin inscriptions, this study ultimately evokes these two women whose exact biographies are not always certain, but whose relevance to their contemporaries and current scholarship is perfectly distinct.Table of ContentsAcknowledgmentsMapsIntroduction1. Sources2. The Empresses and Women's Power3. The Succession to Hadrian4. The Faustinas as Empresses, 138-755. Public and Private in the Dynasty6. The Deified Faustinas: Association, Assimilation, and Consecration7. Faustina's Children and the End of the AntoninesWho's WhoFamily TreesAbbreviationsChronologyGlossaryBibliographyIndexesPersonsPlaces and Peoples (with modern equivalents)General

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