Plotina

There was little point in associating Plotina with a goddess of fertility such as Ceres, given her lack of children.15

Caesars’ Wives Annelise Freisenbruch 2010

Of course her services to Philostratus and Philiscus were entirely in keeping with the role of patron that we have already seen performed by other imperial women, such as Octavia, to whom Vitruvius paid tribute for inspiring On Architecture, and Plotina, who helped a candidate of her choosing into the chair of the Epicurean school at Athens.

Caesars’ Wives Annelise Freisenbruch 2010

Plotina was almost thirty years old and had been married to Trajan for at least ten years before he became emperor.

Caesars’ Wives Annelise Freisenbruch 2010

The anonymity of Plotina and Sabina, when viewed in a line-up of suspects that includes Messalina and Agrippina Minor, could be read as an indication that the emperors had now managed to get their relatives to conform to their ideals of quiet domesticity and strict morality.

Caesars’ Wives Annelise Freisenbruch 2010

Plotina was the first woman to be associated with the legend chastity on her coins, and neither Vesta nor Minerva, virgin goddesses both, had previously been affiliated with imperial women.

Caesars’ Wives Annelise Freisenbruch 2010

For Plotina the chance to follow in the footsteps of Domitia was something of a mixed blessing.

Caesars’ Wives Annelise Freisenbruch 2010

Although previous empresses, such as Livia and Plotina, had written and received letters from petitioners to the emperor, there is no sign that any woman had previously been given such a formalized role in the imperial administration.

Caesars’ Wives Annelise Freisenbruch 2010

The emperor went into black mourning clothes for nine days and had the magnificent temple built for his predecessor Trajan rededicated to become the Temple of Divine Trajan and Divine Plotina, in acknowledgment of her consecration as a goddess.

Caesars’ Wives Annelise Freisenbruch 2010

Gossip about the warring couple was still making the rounds, and Plotina thus found herself in a position to provide a refreshing moral contrast.

Caesars’ Wives Annelise Freisenbruch 2010

Like the marriage of Plotina and Trajan, his union with Sabina had remained childless, so he could not deviate from the recent precedent of selecting an artificial son and heir from outside his own family.

Caesars’ Wives Annelise Freisenbruch 2010