Cornelia (mother of the Gracchi)

thumb|250px|right|Cornelia pushes away Ptolemy's crown, by [[Laurent de La Hyre]]

Cornelia (c. 190s – c. 115 BC) was the second daughter of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, a Roman general prominent in the Second Punic War, and Aemilia Paulla. Although drawing similarities to prototypical examples of virtuous Roman women, such as Lucretia, Cornelia puts herself apart from the rest because of her interest in literature, writing, and her investment in the political careers of her sons. She was the mother of the Gracchi brothers, and the mother-in-law of Scipio Aemilianus.

Biography

Cornelia married Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, grandson of Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus, when he was already in middle age. The union proved to be a happy one, and together they had 12 children, an unusually high number by Roman standards. Six of the children were boys and six were girls. Only three are known to have survived childhood: Sempronia, who married her cousin Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus, and the two Gracchi brothers (Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus), who would defy the political institutions of Rome with their attempts at popular reforms.

Later in her life, Cornelia studied literature, Latin, and Greek. Cornelia took advantage of the Greek scholars she brought to Rome, notably the philosophers Blossius (from Cumae) and Diophanes (from Mytilene), who were to educate young men. She had been taught the importance of receiving an education and came to play an extensive role in her sons' education during the "bygone republican era," resulting in the creation of a "superior breed of Roman political leader." Rome worshipped her virtues, and when she died at an advanced age, the city voted for a statue in her honor.

Role in the political careers of her children

thumb|250px|Cornelia, mother of the [[Gracchi, by Noël Hallé (1779, Musée Fabre)]]

It is important to note that M. I. Finley advances the argument that "the exclusion of women from any direct participation in political or governmental activity" was a normal practice in Ancient Roman society. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to characterize the extent of Cornelia's involvement in the political careers of her children, yet there is important evidence to support the fact that she was, at the very least, engaged.

A common social practice in Rome was extending the political line of a family through dynastic marriages, especially when two families were rising to power at about the same time. The marriage of Sempronia (Cornelia's daughter) to her cousin reaffirmed the continuation of the great Scipio lineage, seeing as though the legacy of Scipio Africanus had to be continued somehow. Scipio Aemilianus saw important growth in his political prestige as a result of this marriage, although not enough to compare to his brothers-in-law and their revolutionary political reforms.

One of the most important aspects of the life of Cornelia is her relationship with her adult sons. Most of the information that we have on her role during this time is what Plutarch wrote in both the Life of Tiberius Gracchus and the Life of Gaius Gracchus. She is portrayed as active during their political careers, especially during Gaius’.

Plutarch writes of how Gaius removed a law that disgraced Marcus Octavius, the tribune whom Tiberius had deposed, because Cornelia asked him to remove it. Plutarch states that the people all approved of this out of respect for her (due to her sons and her father). Plutarch also writes that Cornelia may have helped Gaius undermine the power of the consul Lucius Opimius by hiring foreign harvesters to help provide resistance (which suggests that harvesters were supporters of the Gracchi).

Plutarch also writes that, when one of Gaius's political opponents attacked Cornelia, Gaius retorted:

Cornelia's letter excerpts

thumb|250px|Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi, by [[Joseph-Benoît Suvée (1795, Louvre)]]

The manuscripts of Cornelius Nepos, the earliest Latin biographer (ca. 110-24 BC), include several excerpts from a letter supposedly composed by Cornelia to Gaius (her younger son). If the letters are authentic, they would make Cornelia one of many Roman women whose writings survive to the present day, and they would show how Roman women wielded considerable influence in political families. Additionally, this would make Cornelia the first woman in her own family who wrote and passed down the importance of writing to her posterity. Cicero portrayed his friend Atticus as arguing for the influence of mothers on children's speech by noting that the letters' style appeared to Atticus to show that the Gracchi were heavily influenced by Cornelia's speech more than by her rearing. Later in history, Marcus Fabius Quintilian (ca. 35- ca. 100) would reassert Atticus's view of Cornelia's letters when he said "we have heard that their mother Cornelia had contributed greatly to the eloquence of the Gracchi, a woman whose extremely learned speech also has been handed down to future generations in her letters" (Inst. Orat. 1.1.6).4 Instead, the fragments are likely to have been propaganda circulated by the elite optimate faction of Roman politics, who were opposed to the populist reforms of Cornelia's sons. Today, only the base has survived.

Changing legacy over time

The historical Cornelia remains somewhat elusive. The figure portrayed in Roman literature likely represents more what she signified to Roman writers than an objective account. This significance changed over time as Roman society evolved, in particular the role of women. The problems in interpreting the literature are compounded by the fact only one work allegedly attributed to Cornelia herself survives, and classicists have questioned its authenticity since the nineteenth century. The Cornelia Fragments, detailed above, purport to constitute what remains of a letter written in 124 BC to her son, Gaius, and were preserved later in the manuscripts of Cornelius Nepos, who wrote on the Gracchi. In the letter, Cornelia expresses strong opposition to Gaius’ intentions to stand for the tribunate. She also urges him not to continue the revolutionary policies of his older brother Tiberius Gracchus, which led ultimately to his death. The fragments were likely included in Nepos’ Life of Gaius Gracchus, now lost.

Controversy over the Fragments’ authenticity has focused on the letter’s style and content. While a consensus seems to agree that the fragments do resemble the writing style and language of an educated Roman aristocrat of the late second century BC, several observe Cornelia’s rebuking of Gaius’ policies in the letter seems to conflict what is understood about her positions preserved in other sources. The vehemence with which she addresses Gaius seems to conflict, to some scholars, with what is believed regarding her maternal devotion. Because of these doubts, some scholars hypothesize the Fragments constitute either a later forgery created by someone wishing to separate Cornelia's political ideologies from those of her sons, while others suggest they are a much later fabrication, representing a "rhetorical exercise" wherein the writer attempted to recreate what Cornelia might have said, and the letter was inadvertently included as legitimate source material in Aemilius Probus’ edition of Nepos’ works in the 5th century AD. A majority seems to believe that the Fragments are authentic and represent a private letter written by a highly educated woman, who never intended her stern rebuke to be read by anyone but her son.

With the Fragments being the only primary source material produced by Cornelia that survive, the reconstruction of the historical Cornelia relies mainly on how later Roman writers saw her. This is problematic because Roman depictions of Cornelia clearly change over time. The earliest image of Cornelia, painted largely by Plutarch's views, is of an aristocratic woman, spending much of her time living extravagantly in her family's villa, who because of her family's wealth, opportunities, and interest in education (particularly Greek), receives the best-possible education in Latin and Greek rhetoric. She is somewhat controversial, both for her sons’ political policies and for having developed (and frequently making use of) such strong rhetorical abilities, despite being a woman. These early accounts emphasize her education and abilities but place comparatively much less emphasis on her maternal role.

Over subsequent centuries Cornelia evolved in the eyes of Roman writers, and her memory was adapted to fit their agendas. Her educational achievement and abilities were de-emphasized in favor of her example of "idealized maternity." Her education was incorporated into her role as mother: education in order to pass it on to her sons. She was excised from the political controversy that surrounded her family and transformed into a heroic figure. As historian Emily Hemelrijk concludes, "the Cornelia we know is to a high degree a creation of later times."

Modern representations

thumb|Cornelia, Mother of the Gracchi (1785) by [[Angelica Kauffman]]

An anecdote related by Valerius Maximus in his Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX (IV, 4, incipit) demonstrates Cornelia's devotion to and admiration for her sons. When women friends questioned Cornelia about her mode of dress and personal adornment, which was far more simple and understated than was usual for a wealthy Roman woman of her rank and station, Cornelia indicated her two sons and said, haec ornamenta mea [sunt], i.e., "These are my jewels." Collectively, these men are the subject of her affectionate comment. The statue was first displayed at the World's Columbian Exposition, an event whose own name paid homage to the popular personification of the United States.

Cornelia, as "Cornelia Gracchi," is also gilded on the Heritage Floor of Judy Chicago's iconic feminist artwork, The Dinner Party (1974–1979).

Notes

References

Douma, J. "Cornelia, moeder van de Gracchen, het verraad van de Republiek" (Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi, the Betrayal of the Republic), a historical novel, Arnhem: van Gruting Uitgeverij, 2011.
Plutarch. Gaius Gracchus. Translated by Bernadotte Perrin. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1921. Perseus Digital Library.
Stockton, David. The Gracchi. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1979.
Vivante, Bella (ed.) Women's Roles in Ancient Civilizations. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1999.