musebliss
replied to your post
“Livia Drusilla Was NOT Evil! Hear Me Out.”
Agreed. Seems like the 2 main types of portrayals for powerful women in Antiquity were either the manipulative seductress (Cleopatra, Messalina) or the evil & ambitious murder lady (Livia, Agrippina the Elder)
There DO seem to be only TWO portrayals of women in Ancient History and it makes me sad. But there IS something interesting that I want to write more about and I think I have written about on here somewhere. But to reiterate, there IS a 3rd but rarely used portrayal that is more... ‘damsel in distressed’? This one is used when the historical authors are writing about Titus’ Daughter, Julia Flavia. They seem to not hate her and paint her more like a victim of the situation. Which may seem wrong, but I DO think that it was a more honest portrayal of a woman in her situation. Flavia’s Uncle, Domitian took her for his own and (either before or after, I can’t remember) killed her husband. But it is also interesting to know that Flavia convinced Domitian at one point to not kill his OWN wife, Domitia Longina because she tried to assassinate him. (You go, woman!) Flavia according to Cassius Dio, if I remember right, managed to keep Longina from being executed.
So, in a way, Flavia held some power, but she didn’t ‘use’ it like the others and was in a horrible situation. That’s most likely why the ancient historians don’t hate her, which is SAD. Because Agrippina was in horrible situations and yet the historians then and today still hate her.
I feel like I went on a rant here, but I think that modern historians need to step up their game. Yes, I will say that Livia and Agrippina and many other women did things that weren’t acceptable then AND today, but also, their husbands did things just as bad, if not worse. So, modern historians, treat both genders equal in your like or dislike.
Please.
TTC
