Servilia of The Junii - Comparison With Servilia Caepionis

Comparison With Servilia Caepionis

Servilia was the half-sister of Cato, Caesar's most dedicated political opponent in real life and in the series; this relationship to Cato is never noted in Rome. In 63 BC, during the crisis caused by Catiline's conspiracy to overthrow the state, Caesar was passed a note in the Senate. Cato, believing Caesar was sympathetic to Catiline, accused him of corresponding with the conspirators and seized the letter, only to discover, to his great embarrassment, that it was a love letter from Servilia.

Servilia had two husbands, Marcus Junius Brutus, the famous Brutus's father, and Decimus Junius Silanus, to whom she bore three daughters, all called Junia (and none mentioned in the series). Her affair with Caesar continued into the Civil War, and he gave her discounts when auctioning off the estates of defeated enemies. There is no reference in the historical sources to their affair ending, although she was rumoured to have given him her youngest daughter, Junia Tertia, when his interest in her began to wane. Junia Tertia was the wife of Caesar's assassin Cassius, and was also rumoured to be Caesar's natural daughter. Plutarch reports the suspicion that Caesar was also Brutus's biological father, although as he was only fifteen when Brutus was born this is unlikely.

There is no historical evidence to suggest that Servilia and Atia Balba Caesonia (basis for the character Atia of the Julii) were such vicious rivals, or that Servilia and Octavia Minor had a sexual relationship, as is dramatised in the series. There is also no direct evidence that Servilia persuaded her son to assassinate Caesar; a majority of modern historians agree that it was most likely Brutus' wife Porcia Catonis (who is not present in the series) who may have persuaded him to participate in the assassination. Although the rift between Brutus and Servilia a year prior to the assassination is true, it was over his marriage to Porcia rather than her disapproval of his accepting favours from Caesar. However, the conspirators did meet at Servilia's house after the assassination, and she was involved in their discussions on how to proceed. Servilia appears to have had some influence in the Senate: Mark Antony was trying to sideline Cassius by offering him a position as grain commissioner in Sicily, but Servilia promised to get this removed from the Senate's decree. She also objected strongly when Cicero criticised Brutus and Cassius' strategy.

The episode Death Mask depicts Servilia committing suicide; Servilia in fact outlived most of the main characters left alive in the series, and died of natural causes at the country estate of Titus Pomponius Atticus, a close friend of Cicero.

Although the dramatised Servilia expresses great pride in the Junii, Servilia Caepionis would have been considered a member of the Servilii Caepiones, as blood ties were considered to be of greater importance than marital ties in Roman society. Servilia would not have identified herself as being a member of the Junii despite being married to Marcus Junius Brutus and Decimus Junius Silanus