- Pompeia Paulina
Pompeia Paulina was the wife of the statesman, philosopher, and orator Lucius Annaeus Seneca, and she was part of a circle of educated Romans who sought to lead a principled life under the emperor
Nero . Her husband was the emperor's tutor and later became his political adviser and minister. In65 CE Nero demanded that Seneca commit suicide, having accused Seneca of taking part in the Pisonian conspiracy against him. [Aut|W. Smith, art. Paulina or Paullina (3), in Aut|W. Smith (ed.), "A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology", I, Boston, 1867, p. 141.] [ [http://www.romansonline.com/Src_Frame.asp?DocID=Ann_Bk15_60&Lat= Annals by Tacitus Book XV Chapter 60: The conspiracy of Piso. Death of Seneca] ] [ [http://www.romansonline.com/Src_Frame.asp?DocID=Ann_Bk15_61&Lat= Annals by Tacitus Book XV Chapter 61: Death of Seneca] ]Suicide attempt
As Pompeia was wife of Seneca, Nero's tutor, it would be expected that she also wanted to die, and she did plan to kill herself. Seneca cut veins in his arms and legs, and Pompeia also slit her wrists, [ Aut|M. Lightman - B. Lightman, art. Pompeia Paulina, in Aut|M. Lightman - B. Lightman (edd.), "Biographical Dictionary of Ancient Greek and Roman Women: Notable Women from Sappho to Helena", New York, 2000, p. 190.] much to Seneca's dismay, though he didn't entirely disapprove. [ [http://www.romansonline.com/Src_Frame.asp?DocID=Ann_BK15_63 Annals by Tacitus, Book XV Chapter 63: Death of Seneca] ] Upon learning that she was trying to kill herself,
Nero ordered that Pompeia not die, more tosave face than to save her life. He sent several soldiers to ensure that her slaves and freedman bandaged her. Servants then made atourniquet , her arms were wrapped, and she survived. [ [http://www.romansonline.com/Src_Frame.asp?DocID=Ann_BK15_64 Annals by Tacitus Book XV Chapter 64: Death of Seneca] ]After much rethinking, she decided to follow her dead husband's advice and continue with life, and served as caretaker to her husband's ceremony. However, after the suicide attempt, she was said to have been very frail, with an unusually pale face. [Aut|M. Bunson, art. Paulina, Pompeia, in Aut|M. Bunson, "Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire", New York, 1994, p. 316.] She died a few years later never remarrying. She was therefore always known as "Seneca's wife" because of her devotion to her husband. [ [http://www.romansonline.com/Src_Frame.asp?DocID=Ann_BK15_64 Annals by Tacitus Book XV Chapter 64: Death of Seneca] ]
See also
* Pompeia Paulina is one of the 106 famous women described by
Giovanni Boccaccio as biography XCIV. [Brown, Virginia translation of Giovanni Boccaccio’s "Famous Women", pages 196-198; Harvard University Press, 2001; ISBN 0-674-01130-9] [Zaccaria, V., ed., De mulieribus claris (# 94), Studi sul Boccaccio (Milan, 1963)] [Zaccaria, V., ed., De mulieribus claris with Italian translation of biography xciv (Milan, 1967 and 1970)] [Guarino, G. A., Boccaccio, Concerning Famous Women number ninety-four (New Brunswick, N.J., 1963)]References
*
Tacitus , "Annales xv.60-61, 63-64"Footnotes
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