Mucja — „niewierna” żona Pompejusza
Mucia — the “unfaithul” wife of Cneus Pompeius

Author(s): Agnieszka Dziuba
Subject(s): History
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Summary/Abstract: Mucia was the third wife of Cneus Pompeius (Pompey the Great). The great Roman general and leader of the republicans upon the outbreak of civil war in 49 BC, was altogether married five times.However, only Mucia gave birth to his children (two sons — Cneus and Sextus, and one daughter — Pompeia). It was Pompey’s longest marriage. They finally divorced in 62 BC, and the main cause thereof was, according to the ancient literary sources, the woman’s infidelity. The subject of the present article is the analysis of the all extant literary sources, the authors of which described Mucia’s character features. Analyzing the said descriptions allows to paint a portrait of the woman who over the course of 17 years was the wife of an ambitious politician.When Pompey eventually succeeded and became one of three rulers of the Republic (along with Caesar and Crassus), Mucia had to leave their home and their children. The portrait of this woman is not complete and the opinions concerning her life are not unanimous, since the sources rarely described women outside the context of their fathers, spouses (male companions), and sons. Nevertheless, Mucia was interesting enough to merit an individual portrait (based on the analysis of ancient literature), that of a Roman matron, a proud daughter of the politician, “unfaithful” wife of the politician, and an unhappy mother of the politician.

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