Annia Galeria Faustina ( lat. Annia Galeria Faustina ), better known as Faustina the Elder ( lat. Faustina Major ; c. 100 - October or November 141) - the wife of the emperor Antoninus Pius .
| Faustina the Elder | |
|---|---|
| Annia galeria faustina | |
 | |
| Birth | OK. 100 , September 21 |
| Death | 141 |
| Burial place | |
| Rod | Antonins |
| Father | Mark Annius Ver |
| Mother | Rupilia Faustina |
| Spouse | |
| Children | Faustina the Younger, Aurelius Fadilla, Marcus Aurelius Fulv Antonin, Mark Galerius Aurelius Antonin |
Content
Biography
She was the daughter of the consul and prefect Mark Annius Faith and Rupilia Faustina . Her maternal aunt was Vibia Sabina , Adrian's wife.
She married Antonin when he was still a simple citizen, between 110 and 115 years . Three years before her death, she received the title of Augusta as the emperor’s wife.
Character and Appearance
According to the History of Augustus (it is an unreliable pseudo-historical source), Faustina seems to be a woman of a frivolous lifestyle, and, according to rumors, during the period when Antonin Pius was proconsul in Asia, she behaved too freely. [3]
However, Faustina was respected by the people and was famous for its beauty and wisdom. Throughout her life, including before receiving the title of Empress, she helped the poor, organized the education of Roman children, especially girls.
Faustina had an unusual hairstyle, made of pigtails gathered in a bun at the back or at the top of her head. Faustina's hairstyle was very popular with other women, and subsequently, Roman women, imitating the former empress, continued to wear it for two or three generations. [four]
Posthumous veneration
The inscription on her tombstone read:
“To the divine Faustina Augusta, wife of the emperor Caesar Titus Elius Adrian Antoninus Augustus Pius, the great pontiff, endowed with the power of the people's tribune for the 4th time, consul for the 3rd time, father of the fatherland” (LN, 201) [5] .
After death at 36, she was deified. The Senate appointed circus games, a temple and flamingos, silver and gold statues in her honor, her images were exhibited during circus performances. The temple was on the forum, after his death, Antonin found honors there. In the upper part of the colonnade of the facade, on his orders, it was inscribed: "To the Divine Faustine by decree of the Senate." After the death of Antoninus Pius, another line was added from above: “To the divine Antoninus and” (LN, 202). In the Middle Ages, the church of Antonin and Faustina was turned into a church and rebuilt, however, the inscription has survived to our time.
Notes
- ↑ http://www.roman-empire.net/highpoint/high-gallery.html
- ↑ Lubker F. Faustina // The Real Dictionary of Classical Antiquities by Lubker / Ed. F.F. Zelinsky , L.A. Georgievsky , M.S. Kutorg , etc. - St. Petersburg. : Society of Classical Philology and Pedagogy , 1885. - S. 525.
- ↑ History of Augustus , Antoninus Pius III. 7
- ↑ Bergmann & Watson (1999), pp. 10, 16.
- ↑ Elena Fedorova. Imperial Rome in faces