Dominae and fashion: the dynastic ambition of Lucilla Augusta
In 176 AD, Marcus Aurelius awarded the title of Imperator to his fifteen-year-old son, Commodus, essentially designating him as his successor and thus ending the principate by adoption that had, until then, characterized the Antonine dynasty.
However, this decision had political consequences within the Domus Augusta itself, as the imperial couple also had a daughter, Annia Aurelia Galeria Lucilla, probably born on March 7, 148 AD.
At the age of sixteen, Lucilla was married to Lucius Verus, who was then emperor alongside Marcus Aurelius in the first diarchy in the history of the empire. The wedding was celebrated in Ephesus, given that Lucius Verus was simultaneously engaged in a campaign against the Parthians, and Lucilla immediately obtained the title of Augusta (which she retained even after the deaths of her husband and father), likely becoming the mother of three children.
However, this decision had political consequences within the Domus Augusta itself, as the imperial couple also had a daughter, Annia Aurelia Galeria Lucilla, probably born on March 7, 148 AD.
At the age of sixteen, Lucilla was married to Lucius Verus, who was then emperor alongside Marcus Aurelius in the first diarchy in the history of the empire. The wedding was celebrated in Ephesus, given that Lucius Verus was simultaneously engaged in a campaign against the Parthians, and Lucilla immediately obtained the title of Augusta (which she retained even after the deaths of her husband and father), likely becoming the mother of three children.
Lucius Verus died in 169 AD, presumably of a stroke, although the Historia Augusta accuses Lucilla of poisoning him out of court jealousy. 
Immediately thereafter, Lucilla was remarried to the general Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus, despite her disappointment and that of her mother, Faustina Minor. Marcus Aurelius had indeed chosen a man loyal to him but who could not aspire to the imperial throne. Lucilla also bore children to Pompeianus, and her prestige still allowed her to aspire to important positions within the dynasty. However, some sources, including Cassius Dio, paint a dissolute and ambitious portrait of her, following a well-established pattern that suggests her demands must have been much higher.
The combination of these factors perhaps led to her being credited with masterminding the conspiracy of 181-182 AD against her brother Commodus, who had become sole emperor two years earlier after the death of Marcus Aurelius.
Immediately thereafter, Lucilla was remarried to the general Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus, despite her disappointment and that of her mother, Faustina Minor. Marcus Aurelius had indeed chosen a man loyal to him but who could not aspire to the imperial throne. Lucilla also bore children to Pompeianus, and her prestige still allowed her to aspire to important positions within the dynasty. However, some sources, including Cassius Dio, paint a dissolute and ambitious portrait of her, following a well-established pattern that suggests her demands must have been much higher.
The combination of these factors perhaps led to her being credited with masterminding the conspiracy of 181-182 AD against her brother Commodus, who had become sole emperor two years earlier after the death of Marcus Aurelius.
In reality, the motives for this conspiracy are not easy to reconstruct, given the many actors involved. Sources generally maintain that it was driven by Lucilla’s desire to put an end to Commodus’s immoral conduct or by her ambition for the throne, combined with jealousy over the growing importance of her sister-in-law, Crispina.
Scholars, however, emphasize the role played by the Senate, dissatisfied both with the hasty peace concluded on the Danubian Limes by the emperor, deemed unfit for his role, and with the choices of his collaborators. Lucilla, for her part, directly implicated her cousin Ummidius Quadratus and her nephew Pompeianus Quintianus, which leads one to consider the widespread participation in this plot, whose purpose, perhaps, was to place Salvius Julianus (son of the jurist of the same name) or one of Lucilla’s sons on the throne, despite their young age. It cannot be ruled out, moreover, that the Senate exploited Lucilla for its own purposes. In any case, when Quadratus failed in his attempt to kill Commodus, he and Quintianus were immediately executed, while it is likely that the failure of the conspiracy itself sparked the emperor’s deep hostility toward the senators. Lucilla, initially exiled to Capri, was executed by 182 AD.
Such an outcome, however, does not erase the prestige she had gained over time as Augusta, daughter, wife, and sister of emperors.
The mintages dedicated to Lucilla are a demonstration of this: once again, the Martellago treasure preserved in the museum offers us an example with the sestertius of Marcus Aurelius (RIC III, no. 1732).
On the reverse, the domina is associated with Concordia, depicted seated on a throne and facing left, holding a patera and a cornucopia, with the legend CONCORDIA SC. As in other cases, the association with this virtue was intended to symbolize the harmony existing within the imperial family, which was consequently reflected in the administration of the state and held up as an example of conduct for Roman society as a whole.
Lucilla’s profile, immortalized on coins and marble busts, bears notable similarities to contemporary portraits of her mother, despite her rounder, softer, girlish features.
Her hairstyle was characterized by a chignon at the nape of the neck: a long-lasting fashion inaugurated in 147 by Faustina Minor herself and subsequently sported by her daughter, as well as by Bruzia Crispina, even after 180.
Lucilla’s profile, immortalized on coins and marble busts, bears notable similarities to contemporary portraits of her mother, despite her rounder, softer, girlish features.
Her hairstyle was characterized by a chignon at the nape of the neck: a long-lasting fashion inaugurated in 147 by Faustina Minor herself and subsequently sported by her daughter, as well as by Bruzia Crispina, even after 180.
Through the variations of Lucilla’s hairstyle in coin portraits, it is possible to distinguish five portrait types which, combined with the legend on the obverse and the figures on the reverse, take on chronological significance.
The obverse of our coin features Lucilla’s simplest hairstyle, with her hair parted in the center and flowing wavy backward . This hair is gathered in a braid that, twisted three times at the nape of the neck, forms a chignon.
This type is similar to the marble bust preserved in the British Museum and dates to between 165 and 167 AD, presumably the period following the birth of her first daughter. The portrait is accompanied by a legend in the form of a dedication: LVCILLAE AVG ANTONINI AVG F, whereas the shortened title (AVG) highlights her position as daughter of the reigning emperor Marcus Aurelius: a factor that was probably intended to underline the importance of her father compared to that of Lucilla’s husband.
The obverse of our coin features Lucilla’s simplest hairstyle, with her hair parted in the center and flowing wavy backward . This hair is gathered in a braid that, twisted three times at the nape of the neck, forms a chignon.
This type is similar to the marble bust preserved in the British Museum and dates to between 165 and 167 AD, presumably the period following the birth of her first daughter. The portrait is accompanied by a legend in the form of a dedication: LVCILLAE AVG ANTONINI AVG F, whereas the shortened title (AVG) highlights her position as daughter of the reigning emperor Marcus Aurelius: a factor that was probably intended to underline the importance of her father compared to that of Lucilla’s husband.
Michele Gatto
Patricia Caprino
Bibliography
BIANCHI A. 1988, Lucilla Augusta: una rilettura delle fonti, in “Miscellanea greca e romana. Studi pubblicati dall’Istituto Italiano per la Storia Antica” 13, pp. 129-144.
CENERINI F. 2014, Dive e donne. Mogli, madri, figlie e sorelle degli imperatori romani da Augusto a Commodo, Imola.
GALIMBERTI A. 2017, Congiure, silenzi e moti popolari durante il regno di Commodo, in A. Gonzales, M.T. Schettino (ed. by), Les sons du pouvoir des autres. Actes du troisième colloque SoPHiA, 27-28 mars 2014, Strasbourg, pp. 41-51.
RIC III = H. Mattingly, E.A. Sydenham, Antoninus Pius to Commodus, London, 1962.
ZANZARRI P. 1997, La Concordia romana: politica e ideologia nella monetazione dalla tarda Repubblica ai Severi, Roma.
