Arria the Younger

Roman noblewoman

• Born: c. 21-28
• Birthplace: Rome (now in Italy)
• Died: c. 97-106 c.e.
• Place of death: Rome (now in Italy)

Arria the Younger’s support of her husband, Thrasea, and her son-in-law, Helvidius, both of whom were condemned by Rome, was noted by Pliny the Younger as well as other historians, politicians, and poets.

Early Life

As the daughter of Arria the Elder and Aulus Caecina Paetus, Arria (AHR-ree-uh) the Younger was raised in a household that practiced Stoicism, a philosophy that in its ethical aspect argued that the most important thing was to strive for excellence (virtus in Latin) and in its personal application argued that rationalism should rule over emotionalism. No details are known of Arria the Younger’s early life other than that she had a brother who died young and that sometime before 42 c.e., she married Publius Clodius Thrasea Paetus, a young man who shared the same devotion to Stoicism. What is known of her comes from the writings of the statesman Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (better known as Pliny the Younger) and the historian Cornelius Tacitus. Pliny the Younger expresses his devotion to Fannia, Arria the Younger’s daughter, as well as his admiration for Arria the Younger and Arria the Elder.

Life’s Work

Arria the Younger saw her parents play out their Stoic beliefs in their fierce defense of what they believed was best for the Roman state (through the attempted coup of Emperor Claudius) and in her mother’s determination that an honorable suicide was preferable to a dishonorable and destitute widowhood. Thrasea, Arria the Younger’s husband, came to earn the disapproval of the Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar, better known as Nero (r. 54-68 c.e.). Thrasea had begun his career by working with the then-new emperor, even serving in 56 c.e. as a consul suffectus (an honorary office given to two men toward the end of a year, in contrast to the consul ordinarius, two of whom were appointed at the beginning of the year and therefore, in the Roman system, gave their names to the year).

When Nero began to force the senate into accepting his crimes, Thrasea held true to his beliefs. The historian Cornelius Tacitus states in Ab excessu divi Augusti (c. 116 c.e., also known as Annales; Annals, 1598) that in 59 c.e. Thrasea walked out of the senate rather than listen to a letter sent by Nero detailing why he had executed his mother, Agrippina the Younger. When Nero gave games, the Iuvenalia, to commemorate his first beard, Thrasea did not participate, even though Nero encouraged members of the upper class to perform. Thrasea did, however, sing in games at Patavium, his birthplace, thereby proving that his objection was not to performing but to honoring Nero. Because Thrasea had also alienated a certain Capito Cossutianus, Capito started proceedings against Thrasea for treason against the emperor. He was joined by Marcellus Epirus, who instigated the prosecution of others, including that of Helvidius Priscus, the son-in-law of Arria and Thrasea.

Although Thrasea refused to admit any guilt and sent a letter to Nero asking for the opportunity to defend himself, he was sentenced to death, and Helvidius was sentenced to exile as Thrasea’s supporter. When Arria the Younger learned that her husband was to die, she resolved to follow the example of her mother and die with him, but Thrasea succeeded in persuading her to remain alive to provide support and comfort for their daughter Fannia. Thrasea then retired to a room with Helvidius and the philosopher Demetrius, where Thrasea opened his veins and died.

Arria then accompanied Fannia and Helvidius into exile, where they remained until the death of Nero in 68. They returned to Rome during the reign of the new emperor Galba (r. 68 c.e.), and Helvidius began proceedings against Marcellus Epirus for his false accusations but withdrew his case when it seemed he could not win in the senate. He did, however, continue attempting to prosecute Epirus in other venues, until the new emperor Titus Flavius Vespasianus (r. 69-79 c.e.), better known as Vespasian, exiled him in 75. He was accompanied by Arria and Fannia. Helvidius was executed in exile sometime before 79.

After Vespasian’s death in 79, Arria and Fannia again returned to Rome. While in the city, they again became involved in the political wrangling that had cost Arria her husband. In 93 the new emperor Titus Flavius Domitianus (Domitian, r. 81-96 c.e.) exiled all philosophers and those who sympathized with them. The strength of Arria’s devotion to Stoicism and the continued admiration expressed for her husband, Thrasea, and her son-in-law Helvidius brought Arria and Fannia into the emperor’s displeasure. Further, without Arria’s knowledge, Fannia had provided materials to the writer Herennius Senecio to create a biography of Helvidius Priscus. Arria and Fannia again went into exile but only until Domitian’s death in 96, when they returned to Rome for the last time.

Sometime before 93, Arria and Fannia developed a strong friendship with Pliny the Younger, who appears to have offered them his financial, legal, and emotional support both during their exile and after their final return to Rome. Pliny’s praise for the two women conveys an admiration for their strength and a genuine affection for them. When Fannia became ill in 107, Pliny declared,

That she is ill so pains and tortures me because I seem again to be losing her mother [Arria the Younger], that mother—I can say nothing more praiseworthy—of this so great a woman, a mother whom even as this woman gives and brings her back to us, so she will also take her away with her own death, something that will afflict me equally with a new and a reopened wound.

Significance

Like that of her mother, Arria the Elder, the story of Arria the Younger captured the imagination of historians, politicians, and poets as well as of Pliny the Younger. Arria’s support of her husband was matched by her devotion to her daughter’s family. Arria’s devotion to Stoicism remained strong even at a time when Emperor Domitian forced all philosophers and those who sympathized with them into exile. Her example illuminates the role that some women played in establishing political and philosophical networks among aristocratic families during the early Roman Empire.

Bibliography

Lefkowitz, Mary R., and Maureen B. Fant. Women’s Life in Greece and Rome: A Source Book in Translation. 2d ed. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992. This work offers some of the documentary evidence of Arria the Younger’s life, namely the letters of Pliny the Younger. Includes bibliography and index.

Lightman, Marjorie, and Benjamin Lightman. Biographical Dictionary of Ancient Greek and Roman Women. New York: Checkmark Books, 2000. This work gives details on the lives of a vast number of Greek and Roman women, including Arria the Elder, Arria the Younger, and Fannia. Includes bibliography and index.

Suetonius. The Lives of the Twelve Caesars. Translated by Robert Graves. New York: Welcome Rain, 2001. Suetonius’s accounts of the lives of Vespasian and Domitian include information about the times in which Arria the Elder and Arria the Younger lived.

Tacitus, Cornelius. Complete Works of Tacitus. Edited by Moses Hadas and translated by Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb. New York: Random House, 1942. Tacitus’s historical works cover the periods during which Arria the Elder and Arria the Younger lived.

Treggiari, Susan. Roman Marriage: Iusti Coniuges from the Time of Cicero to the Time of Ulpian. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991. Treggiari explores the nature of marriage and the partnership between men and women like Arria the Younger and Helvidius. Includes bibliography and index.