The Political Life of Livia
Later, in about 18 B.C., after Rome had been at peace for a long time, the new nobility was not as interested in being leaders in the army or in politics as they were in having luxurious lives. A new set of laws was introduced that required that one should get married and have a family. To emphisize the laws Livia became a model to all women and mothers. By making a model of Livia, who grew up a part of the old nobility and who was shaped to their ways, Augustus was trying to bring back the customs, responsibilities, and simplistic morals of the aristocratic nobility. One way to show young women of the nobility that their job was to follow the husband was to portray this through Livia, who was very successful in executing the role of the first woman of the empire. Another factor in this campaign was Julia who made a point to be the opposite of Livia. Julia was the person who the young women of the nobility looked up to and tried to model themselves after; she was also Livia's main rival. Fortunately for Livia, Julia lost her power when she was charged with adultery.
One of Livia's main goals was to have one of her sons become emperor as the successor to Octavianus. After the death of her first husband she raised and educated her two sons, Tiberius Claudius Nero and Drusus Claudius Nero. Drusus died during a war in which he was fighting and although it has been thought that Livia poisoned him and others to get what she wanted this is not true. Tiberius, whose second wife was Julia, Octavianus' daughter, became emperor due only to Livia's hard work. Although the law required that it was the job of the husband to tell if his wife was committing adultery, Augustus would not allow it and it was not until Livia set forth proof that Julia was exposed and exiled. After this occurrence, Livia still had to help Tiberius gain popularity. Once this happened Tiberius became a very successful emperor, for a while, but if it were not for Livia he might never have prospered as well as he did.
Next Stop: