Caesar's+Wives

=__The Wives of Julius Caesar - Taylor Freeman__=

Julius Caesar was married three different times. His first marriage was to Cornelia Cinnilla, his second to Pompeia, and his third to Calpurnia Pisonis. He also had 4 children: Julia, Caesarion, Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, and Marcus Junius Brutus. As a child, Caesar was originally betrothed to a girl named Cossutia, who was from a high ranked equestrian family. When Caesar was appointed as High Preist of Jupiter during his teenage years, he was forced to break his engagement with Cossutia and instead marry Cornelia Cinnilla. This happened because the High Priest of Jupiter was an ecclesiastical rank the title holder to have patrician status and marry someone of the same rank.

__[[image:http://images-mediawiki-sites.thefullwiki.org/10/3/3/8/1837406685870335.jpg align="right"]]**Cornelia Cinnilla minor**__
Cornelia Cinnilla was born in 83 BC. She was the daughter of Lucius Cornelius Cinna, a great leader of the Marian Party, who was a political ally of Caesar’s family. When they married, Caesar was 18 and Cornelia was only 13 years old. The dictator, Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix, who was a political enemy of Caesar’s family, attempted to divorce the two. When Caesar refused, Sulla confiscated both of their inheritances. Unfortunately, Cornelia died in 68 BC during childbirth.

__ Julia __
Cornelia gave birth to Caesar’s only child in marriage, Julia, in 82 BC. After Cornelia died, Julia was raised by her grandmother, Aurelia Cotta. Caesar engaged her to Quintus Servilius Caepio, but he broke off this engagement and married her to Pompey in 59 BC. Caesar wanted Pompey to create a strong political alliance with him to form the First Triumvirate. When Julia died in 54 BC, Pompey was devastated and his alliance with Caesar faded rapidly, which resulted in Caesar’s civil war.

__**Pompeia**__
After a decade of being widowed, Caesar remarried to Pompeia. She was the daughter of Quintus Pompeius Rufus, and the marriage was nothing more than a political move. It had reunited the two families who had been enemies during the civil war in Rome. In 62 BC, Pompeia hosted the Bona Dea Festival in their home. This was a religious festival that celebrated fertility and viginity; no men were allowed. During the festival, Aurelia Cotta found Pubilius Clodius disguised as a woman. He was in attendance to seduce Pompeia and after he was caught, he was persecuted for sacrilege. Caesar also divorced Pompeia after this incident.

__** Calpurnia Pisonis **__
Calpurnia Pisonis, born in 75 BC, was Caesar's third and final wife. She was the daughter of Lucius Calpurnius Piso and married Caesar and age 16. When Caesar died in 44 BC, Calpurnia delivered all of his wills and important papers to Mac Antony for him. She was loyal and devoted to Caesar and she did not remarry after his death.

===__Servilia Caepionis__=== 5 years prior to his marriage to Calpurnia, Caesar had been lovers with another woman named Servilia Caepionis. They had continued their love affair during Caesar and Calpurnia’s marriage. This affair was widely acknowledged and Caesar was said to have had much respect and admiration for Servilia. Ironically enough, Servilia was Brutus’ mother, who would eventually assassinate Caesar.

__Bibliography__
Caesar, Calpurnia. // [] .// 25 Jan. 2006.

Ciccone, Karl L. "Julius Caesar's Three Wives." //[].// 11 Apr. 2010.

"[|Pompeia.]" __The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition__. 2008. //Encyclopedia.com.// 12 Apr. 2011 <[|http://www.encyclopedia.com]>.