Antoniya
GreeceBiography of Antonia the Younger
Antonia the Younger was the daughter of Mark Antony and Octavia the Younger. She was the niece of Octavian Augustus and the grandmother of Emperor Nero. Antonia was the third child in Mark Antony's family, the first daughter, and his first child with Octavia the Younger, Octavian's sister. The Antonian family belonged to the plebeian class. Antonia was born in Athens in 39 BCE, where Mark Antony and Octavia were residing at the time. In 36 BCE, after the birth of Antonia the Younger, Octavia and her children moved to Rome at the request of Octavian. The girls were raised by their mother, with Octavian and his wife Livia also playing a significant role in their lives.
Marriage and Family
After Mark Antony's death in 31 BCE, Octavian gave the sisters, bypassing other heirs, their father's lands. Around 25 BCE, Antonia was married to Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, consul in 16 BCE, the son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Aemilia Lepida, who came from the plebeian Domitian family. It is believed that the couple had three children: Domitia Lepida the Elder, who was married to Decimus Gaius Agrippa, consul in 22 CE, and Gaius Sallustius Passienus Crispus, suffect consul in 27 CE, proconsul of Asia, and consul in 44 CE.
Legacy
Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, the father of Emperor Nero, was one of their descendants. Domitia Lepida the Younger was married three times, including to Marcus Valerius Messalla Barbatus, with whom she had Messalina.
Antonia's portrait can be seen on the "Ara Pacis" (Altar of Peace), erected in Rome on January 30, 9 BCE. The fourth figure on the right, standing behind two child figures, is Antonia the Younger with her children, Domitia the Elder and Gaius Domitius. Her husband, Lucius Domitius, is also depicted. There is also a theory, based on Suetonius' records, that the couple had not three but five children. The first was the eldest daughter, Domitia, who was born around 23 BCE and is depicted on the "Ara Pacis" at the age of ten. She passed away as a child.
Regarding the date of Antonia's death, there is no definitive answer. According to Tacitus, she was already deceased by the time her husband died in 25 CE. However, Seneca mentions that Antonia died in 32 CE.
