"Liuia grauis": a Note on Tacitus, "Annales" I,10,5

Abstract

Tacitus' assessment of Livia Drusilla, the wife of Augustus, is negative and in large part fictional. Several recent studies have focussed upon her 'nouercalia odia', and Tacitus' characterisation of her as 'nouerca'. Ambiguities have also been noticed in Tacitus' portrayal, where 'Liuia nouerca' must be set against the role of a 'mater' or 'matrona'. The source of this duality in the portrayal of Livia derives from the complexity of her position in the Roman world. First, Livia stands on a threshold between the traditional male and female worlds in Roman society. Second, by dint of the extraordinary status of her family and 'familia' in the Roman world, her essentially matronal role comes to have broader public and political ramifications. The purpose of this paper is to explore the ambiguity of Livia as presented in Tacitus' famous epigram about her at "Annales" I, 10, 5, with a particular focus on the term 'grauis' and its implications.