The role of Faustina the Younger in the Principality of Marcus Aurelius

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze the figure of Faustina the Younger, daughter of the Emperor Antoninus Pius and wife of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius. While many ancient writers generally describe her almost as a prostitute, the mass media of her own time (e.g., inscriptions, portraits, coins) tend to emphasize her outstanding prolificacy, a feature which comes to symbolize the wellbeing of the whole empire. In his "Meditations", Marcus Aurelius speaks about her in accordance with the traditional stereotypes employed to qualify the ideal wife, i.e., a woman devoted to the household and to the members of her family (a deferential, affectionate, simple person), but the bestowal of the official title of "mater castrorum" puts into light the relevance of her public role.