Skip to main content
PEOPLE AND PERSONALITIES OF ROME

Julia the Elder

Key information:

Official Name: JULIA AUGUSTI FILIA

Birthdate: 39 BCE.

(Cassius Dio, Roman History, 48.34)

Birthplace: Rome, Italy.

Reign: Julia’s father, Augustus, became Rome’s first emperor in 27 BCE when she was eleven years old. 

(Suetonius, Life of Augustus, 17)

Marriages:

Marcellus (25 BCE – 23 BCE)

(Suetonius, Life of Augustus, 63) (Cassius Dio, Roman History, 53.27)

Agrippa (21 BCE – 12 BCE)

(Suetonius, Life of Augustus, 63) (Cassius Dio, Roman History, 54.6)

Tiberius (11 BCE – 2 BCE)

(Suetonius, Life of Tiberius, 7 & 11) (Cassius Dio, Roman History, 54.35)

Children:

Gaius Caesar (son by Agrippa)

Julia the Younger (daughter by Agrippa)

Lucius Caesar (son by Agrippa)

Agrippina the Elder (daughter by Agrippa)

Agrippa Postumus (son by Agrippa)

Unnamed son, died in infancy (by Tiberius)

(Suetonius, Life of Augustus, 64) (Suetonius, Life of Tiberius, 7)

Death: Julia died of starvation while in exile at Rhegium (modern Reggio Calabria) in 14 CE.

(Cassius Dio, Roman History, 57.18)

Head of Julia in the Scuderie del Quirinale Ovid Exhibition, Rome, November 2018
Inscription mentioning Julia on the Gate of Mazeus and Mithridates in Ephesus, June 2019
Inscription dedicated to Julia, from the Sanctuary of Athena at Pirene, British Museum, London, December 2021

Famous facts and dates

39
Julia was Augustus’ only biological child and was born in 39 BCE.
(Suetonius, Life of Augustus, 63)
21
Julia married Agrippa, her father’s best friend and right hand man, in 21 BCE. They had five children together, three of which (Gaius, Lucius, and Postumus) were named heirs of Augustus. However, none of them would go on to become emperor.
(Suetonius, Life of Augustus, 63 & 64) (Cassius Dio, Roman History, 54.6)
2
In 2 BCE, Augustus discovered that Julia had committed adultery with several of Rome’s leading men. As a result, Julia was exiled to the island of Pandataria and several of her lovers were put to death.
(Cassius Dio, Roman History, 55.10)

This content is brought to you by The American Institute for Roman Culture, a 501(C)3 US Non-Profit Organization.

Please support our mission to aid learning and understanding of ancient Rome through free-to-access content by donating today.

SUPPORT US

Cite This Page

Cite this page as: Darius Arya, The American Institute for Roman Culture, “Julia the Elder” Ancient Rome Live. Last modified 10/13/2021. https://ancientromelive.org/julia/

License

Created by The American Institute of Roman Culture, published on 10/13/2021 under the following license: Creative Commons: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms.

Our mission is to engage and inspire everyone with Rome’s cultural heritage through free educational resources. We believe it’s important to investigate the past to encourage curiosity, critical thinking, and lifelong learning. Our content is produced on location, and is deeply contextualized thanks to strong relationships with the caretakers of Rome’s legacy.
Click here to support us with a donation:
DONATE HERE
© The American Institute for Roman Culture | We are a 501(C)3 US Non-profit Organization, EIN 22-3885181 | All Rights Reserved

 

Privacy & Legal Information | Cookie Policy | Terms & Conditions