Atia of The Julii - Comparison With The Historical Atia Balba Caesonia

Comparison With The Historical Atia Balba Caesonia

Atia Balba Caesonia (born 85 BC) was the second daughter of Julius Caesar's elder sister Julia Caesaris and Marcus Atius Balbus, son of a Senator from Aricia. Atia herself had two sisters, not mentioned in the series, and was a cousin to general Pompey through her father. The real Atia would also have been considered plebeian, not patrician; however, like Caesar's mother Aurelia, this was of little importance during the late Republic when patricians were rather thin in the ground. Octavia and Octavian were both plebeian as well, but like Mark Antony, drew their status from their familial and political ties with Caesar. Officially, as an Atia Balba, Atia would have been considered a member of the Atii Balbi rather than a 'woman of the Julii', which is how she identifies during the series. As the niece of Caesar, however, she would have been considered a Caesarian politically, and would have owed much of her status to her position in Caesar's extended family.

Atia's first husband was Gaius Octavius, a Senator of obscure provincial origins. By him she had a daughter, Octavia Minor (Octavius already had a daughter, Octavia Major, from a previous marriage), and a son, Gaius Octavius (Octavian). After Octavius died in 59 BC, Atia married another Senator, Lucius Marcius Philippus, who was a devoted stepfather to her children. He would have been present throughout the period covered by Rome, however the character in the series is known to be unmarried.

Contrary to Rome's representation, Tacitus describes Atia as a pious, devoted mother and an ideal Roman matron; little other detail is known of her. There is no historical evidence to suggest that she was romantically involved with Mark Antony or in a contemptuous rivalry with Servilia Caepionis (basis for the character Servilia of the Junii), as is dramatized in the series. It is not known what involvement she may have had in the political intrigues of Julius Caesar or Octavian, but she did fear for her son's safety and at some point urged him to renounce his rights as Caesar's heir.

Atia died in the year 43 BC, before the Battle of Philippi in which the legions of Antony and Octavian defeated Brutus and Cassius. In the series, she outlives these events and even lives to see her son become the first Roman Emperor.