isabelladeste:܀ history meme :: and then some ܀ ladies [5/?] Livia Drusilla (30 January 58 BC– 28 Se

isabelladeste:܀ history meme :: and then some ܀ ladies [5/?] Livia Drusilla (30 January 58 BC– 28 September AD 29) ↳ Empress of Rome The first lady of the Roman Empire through her marriage to Augustus, Livia paved the way for all the women that were to follow by becoming an example of how the wife of the Emperor of Rome should be. Although Augustus refrained from giving her any official titles and it was her grandson Claudius that officially defied her as Augusta, Livia nevertheless managed to slowly and surely create a small power base of influence for herself and for her family. Through Augustus’ promotion of a unified imperial family and one that kept itself relatively modest in appearance and action, Livia helped to enhance her husband’s image through forming her own image as the good wife and mother. As a mother, Livia could access control through the use of her sons (from her first marriage) that she furthered into power. Additionally, her proximity to her husband, a marriage that has been more often than not seen as a close one with Augustus taking advice from his wife, allowed for influence. Whether or not her contemporaries or modern scholars admired or mistrusted her, there is no doubt of Livia’s importance in the foundations of the Empire. Her good public conduct outweighed much of the more malicious comments about her lust for power and supposed manipulation of her husband. She remained first amongst the women in her contemporary and became a model for some of the empresses that would follow the path she began. -- source link

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