Livia Drusilla’s Marriage with Octavian and Drusus Maior’s Paternity
Livia Drusilla’s Marriage with Octavian and Drusus Maior’s Paternity

Summary/Abstract: The amnesty granted to the fugitives in the spring of 39 B.C. generated changes not only in the political and social life of Rome, but also within the families of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Octavian Caesar. Livia Drusilla’s divorce, pregnant with the second child, and her hasty marriage with Octavian, who had divorced Scribonia shortly after the birth of Julia Maior, yielded numerous rumours recorded by the ancient historians and intensely debated by the modern ones. If their marriage, criticised and ridiculed at that time, was accepted as legal, no matter the political or sentimental implications, Drusus Maior’s paternity still represents, after 2000 years, a debated subject. The fact that Ti. Claudius Nero recognised the child and accepted him in his house does not constitute an unquestionable element in establishing the filiation. A rejection would have probably meant a reopening of the conflict between Ti. Claudius Nero and Octavian Caesar as well as the tarnishing of Livia Drusilla’s image by the public exposure of the adultery. For Octavian, to recognise Drusus Maior would have meant public scorn and confirmation of the slanderous statements made by Marcus Antonius. Analyzing the information provided by the literary sources, the modern historians have tried to clarify this situation, attempting either to establish Drusus Maior’s date of birth, or to place him close to Octavian on the basis of the character traits apparently inherited along the Julian line. Moreover, another element that allowed the scales to tip in favour of the Julian filiation was his epilepsy, a disease specific to Octavian’s lineage.

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