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{{Short description|Mistress of Roman Emperor Vespasian}} {{Short description|Mistress of Roman Emperor Vespasian}}
{{About||the Greek mythological woman who was transformed into a man|Caeneus|the genus of mayflies|Caenis (mayfly)}} {{About||the Greek mythological woman who was transformed into a man|Caeneus|the genus of mayflies|Caenis (mayfly)}}
{{more footnotes|date=March 2013}}{{Flavian dynasty}} {{Flavian dynasty}}
'''Antonia Caenis''' or '''Cenide''', (died 74 AD) a former slave and secretary of ] (mother of the emperor ]), was ] ]'s '']''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://feminaeromanae.org/caenis.html|title=Companion: Caenis|website=feminaeromanae.org|language=en|access-date=2019-11-22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Anagnostou-Laoutides|first=Eva|title=Anagnostou-Laoutides, E. and Charles, M.B. 2012. "Vespasian, Caenis and Suetonius," in C. Deroux (ed.), Studies in Latin Literature and Roman History XVI, Bruxelles: Editions Latomus , 530-547.|url=https://www.academia.edu/3526135|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Acton|first=Karen|date=2010-05-12|title=Antonia Caenis and the Flavian Dynasty|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256006244|journal=SSRN Electronic Journal|doi=10.2139/ssrn.1605506}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LV-FPLMeHgoC&q=Caenis+Vespasian+concubine&pg=PA151|title=Women's Life in Greece and Rome: A Source Book in Translation|last1=Lefkowitz|first1=Mary R.|last2=Fant|first2=Maureen B.|date=2005-08-23|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-0-8018-8310-1|language=en}}</ref> '''Antonia Caenis''', (died 75 AD) a former slave and secretary of ] (mother of the emperor ]), was ] ]'s '']''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://feminaeromanae.org/caenis.html|title=Companion: Caenis|website=feminaeromanae.org|language=en|access-date=2019-11-22}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last1=Anagnostou-Laoutides|first1=Eva|last2=Charles|first2=M.B.|year=2012|chapter=Vespasian, Caenis and Suetonius|editor-first= C. |editor-last=Deroux |title=Studies in Latin Literature and Roman History XVI|location=Brussels|publisher=Editions Latomus |pages=530–547|url=https://www.academia.edu/3526135|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Acton|first=Karen|date=2010-05-12|title=Antonia Caenis and the Flavian Dynasty|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/256006244|journal=SSRN Electronic Journal|doi=10.2139/ssrn.1605506}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LV-FPLMeHgoC&q=Caenis+Vespasian+concubine&pg=PA151|title=Women's Life in Greece and Rome: A Source Book in Translation|last1=Lefkowitz|first1=Mary R.|author-link=Mary Lefkowitz |last2=Fant|first2=Maureen B.|date=2005-08-23|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-0-8018-8310-1|language=en}}</ref>


==Life== ==Life==
It could be thought that she had family in ], now in ], based on a trip she took there (Suet. Dom. 12.3). In her 30s Caenis, still possibly a slave, was in an unofficial type of relationship with Vespasian, known as '']'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Contubernales.html|title = LacusCurtius • Roman Law — Contubernium (Smith's Dictionary, 1875)}}</ref> before his marriage. According to ], after the death of Vespasian's wife ], Vespasian and Caenis, now a freedwoman, resumed their relationship; she was his wife "in all but name" until her death in AD 74. It could be thought that she had family in ], now in ], based on a trip she took there (Suet. Dom. 12.3). In her 30s Caenis, still possibly a slave, was in an unofficial type of relationship with Vespasian, known as '']'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/secondary/SMIGRA*/Contubernales.html|title = LacusCurtius • Roman Law — Contubernium (Smith's Dictionary, 1875)}}</ref> before his marriage. According to ], after the death of Vespasian's wife ], Vespasian and Caenis, now a freedwoman, resumed their relationship; she was his wife "in all but name" until her death in AD 75.


She had a remarkable memory and considerable influence on the emperor's administration, carried out official business on his behalf, and apparently made a lot of money from her position.<ref>()</ref> However, she was treated with disrespect by Vespasian's son ], who refused to greet her as one of the family.<ref>(Suet. Dom. 12.3)</ref> She had a remarkable memory and considerable influence on the emperor's administration, carried out official business on his behalf, and apparently made a lot of money from her position.<ref>()</ref> However, she was treated with disrespect by Vespasian's son ], who refused to greet her as one of the family.<ref>(Suet. Dom. 12.3)</ref>


==Popular culture== ==Popular culture==
]'' 6.12037</ref>]]
The life of Caenis and her love-story with Vespasian is portrayed in ]' novel '']''. The life of Caenis and her love-story with Vespasian are portrayed in ]'s novel '']''.
She is also a character who features regularly in Robert Fabbri's ''Vespasian'' series, where she is depicted as being the long lost grand-niece of the king of the Caenii, a rebelling tribe in Thracia. She is also a character who features regularly in Robert Fabbri's ''Vespasian'' series, in which she is depicted as a long-lost grand-niece of the king of the Caenii, a rebelling tribe in Thracia.

], in his short story "Caenis on Incest", used her as a kind of foil to present what he then thought to have been the underlying reason for the power-related murders chronicled in '']''. The story is included in his compendium "Occupation: Writer", and he admits to having missed the real reason for the murders in the introduction to that anthology. <ref> "Caenis on Incest A.D. 75 (1946)" from "Occupation: Writer" Universal Library, Grosset and Dunlap, 1950</ref>


==See also== ==See also==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Caenis}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Caenis}}
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Latest revision as of 14:49, 22 September 2024

Mistress of Roman Emperor Vespasian For the Greek mythological woman who was transformed into a man, see Caeneus. For the genus of mayflies, see Caenis (mayfly).
Roman imperial dynasties
Flavian dynasty
Chronology
Vespasian 69–79 AD
Titus 79–81 AD
Domitian 81–96 AD
Family
Preceded by
Year of
the Four Emperors		 Followed by
Nerva–Antonine dynasty

Antonia Caenis, (died 75 AD) a former slave and secretary of Antonia Minor (mother of the emperor Claudius), was Roman emperor Vespasian's contubernalis.

Life

It could be thought that she had family in Istria, now in Croatia, based on a trip she took there (Suet. Dom. 12.3). In her 30s Caenis, still possibly a slave, was in an unofficial type of relationship with Vespasian, known as contubernium, before his marriage. According to Suetonius, after the death of Vespasian's wife Flavia Domitilla, Vespasian and Caenis, now a freedwoman, resumed their relationship; she was his wife "in all but name" until her death in AD 75.

She had a remarkable memory and considerable influence on the emperor's administration, carried out official business on his behalf, and apparently made a lot of money from her position. However, she was treated with disrespect by Vespasian's son Domitian, who refused to greet her as one of the family.

Popular culture

Inscription commemorating Caenis, described by the historian Suetonius as the "almost wife" of Vespasian

The life of Caenis and her love-story with Vespasian are portrayed in Lindsey Davis's novel The Course of Honour. She is also a character who features regularly in Robert Fabbri's Vespasian series, in which she is depicted as a long-lost grand-niece of the king of the Caenii, a rebelling tribe in Thracia.

Robert Graves, in his short story "Caenis on Incest", used her as a kind of foil to present what he then thought to have been the underlying reason for the power-related murders chronicled in I, Claudius. The story is included in his compendium "Occupation: Writer", and he admits to having missed the real reason for the murders in the introduction to that anthology.

See also

References

  1. "Companion: Caenis". feminaeromanae.org. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  2. Anagnostou-Laoutides, Eva; Charles, M.B. (2012). "Vespasian, Caenis and Suetonius". In Deroux, C. (ed.). Studies in Latin Literature and Roman History XVI. Brussels: Editions Latomus. pp. 530–547.
  3. Acton, Karen (2010-05-12). "Antonia Caenis and the Flavian Dynasty". SSRN Electronic Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.1605506.
  4. Lefkowitz, Mary R.; Fant, Maureen B. (2005-08-23). Women's Life in Greece and Rome: A Source Book in Translation. JHU Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8310-1.
  5. "LacusCurtius • Roman Law — Contubernium (Smith's Dictionary, 1875)".
  6. (Cassius Dio 66.14)
  7. (Suet. Dom. 12.3)
  8. CIL 6.12037
  9. "Caenis on Incest A.D. 75 (1946)" from "Occupation: Writer" Universal Library, Grosset and Dunlap, 1950

Sources

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