Kokkinos' Antonia Augusta

KOKKINOS' ANTONIA PAGE

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Nikos Kokkinos, Antonia Augusta: Portrait of a Great Roman Lady. London/New York: Routledge, 1992. ISBN 0-415-08029-0. 22.5 x 14.5 cm. xviii +254 pp. frontispiece + 111 illus. (photos, line drawings, maps, plans, tables & family trees). Hardback.

Antonia Augusta

This is the first general book on Antonia Augusta in any language. As the daughter of Mark Antony, mother of Claudius, grandmother of Caligula and great-grandmother of Nero, Antonia is a supremely significant figure in Roman history. The most influential Roman matron of her time - all of her life was spent very close to the seat of power in the new monarchy - her life and career have important bearings on contemporary perceptions of the position of Roman women.

This book examines the way in which the figure of Antonia is reflected and made visible to us through a great variety of archaeological evidence. It demonstrates how materials such as inscriptions, papyri, coins and sculpture, can be used in the study of individual personalities in antiquity. The literary sources are supplemented and corrected so that Antonia’s dramatic life and its bearing on the lives of those close to her, are presented from new perspectives. Important material is thus presented about the position of women in Roman society; the degree of freedom they could exercise in making moral choices; their control of property and their direct influence on public life.

Antonia Augusta has long warranted a full historical and archaeological treatment. This book now provides such a treatment, which at a different level has been described by Professor Fergus Millar as “a significant contribution to the understanding of the early Empire itself”. Fergus Millar has written a three-page foreword to this book.

CONTENTS

List of illustrations

Foreword by Fergus Millar

Preface

Introduction

1. Antonia in History

2. The Inscriptions of Antonia

3. The Papyri of Antonia

4. The Coins and Tokens of Antonia

5. Antonia in Sculpture

6. Antonia and Minor Arts

7. Antonia and Architecture

Conclusion

Registers of Material

Notes

Bibliography:

(A) Abbreviations and Primary Sources

(B) Secondary Sources

Index

Some reviews of Antonia Augusta in academic journals:

Greece and Rome 39 (1992), 241 (by Th. Wiedemann)

L’Antiquité Classique 62 (1993), 253 (by M.-Th. Raepsaet-Charlier)

Echos du Monde Classique/Classical Views 38 (1994), 435-438 (by S. Treggiari)

The Classical Review 44 (1994), 129-130 (by B. Campbell)

Historische Zeitschrift 259 (1994), 770-771 (by D. Kienast)

The Classical World 88 (1994), 144-145 (by T. Watkins)

Bryn Mawr Classical Review 5.3 (1994), 222-225 (by G. Rowe) - this review can be read on the net, please go to: Antonia in Bryn Mawr

Arctos 29 (1995), 212-213 (by Ch. Bruun)

Gnomon 96 (1996), 172-173 (by P. Herz)

Latomus 55 (1996), 230-231 (by M. Cebeillac Gervasoni)

Routledge has proclaimed this book officially ‘out of print’, but copies seem still to be on sale at Amazon on the net ($65 each) - to order go to: Antonia at Amazon