The women in Julius Caesar’s life: Cornelia, Pompeia, Calpurnia, and Cleopatra

During the early 80s BCE, Caesar married Cornelia, who was a problem due to the political danger posed by her family’s alignment with the Marian faction.

Her father was Lucius Cornelius Cinna, who had served as consul and openly supported Marius against the dictator Sulla.

Ancient sources such as Plutarch suggest that Caesar came under pressure to repudiate her, and though there is no direct order from Sulla preserved in the sources, the danger was clearly a very real concern.

However, the young Caesar refused to abandon her, even when this decision threatened his life and resulted in the loss of his inheritance.

In response, he left Rome and spent a time in hiding, and he avoided political life to keep clear of Sulla’s agents.

This decision earned him respect from allies who valued loyalty and courage. Until her death in 69 BCE, Cornelia remained his faithful wife and gave birth to their only official child, Julia.

Years later, Caesar used Julia’s marriage to Pompey the Great as a way to bind his alliance with the other leading general of the day.

The strength of this personal bond helped sustain the First Triumvirate until Julia’s death in 54 BCE weakened the alliance. 

Following Cornelia’s death, Caesar married Pompeia to strengthen his connections to Rome’s upper class.

Pompeia was probably the granddaughter of Sulla, through his daughter Cornelia and Quintus Pompeius Rufus, a family line often assumed but not fully proven.

During her brief time as his wife, she performed the official duties expected of a patrician woman, including her role in hosting the festival of the Bona Dea in 62 BCE.

When Publius Clodius Pulcher infiltrated the women-only ceremony in disguise to pursue an affair with her, scandal erupted throughout Rome.

Although Pompeia escaped official blame, Caesar divorced her immediately. He said that his wife must be beyond suspicion.

At a time when people's trust in leadership mattered as much as political strategy, Caesar showed that his home could not have doubt or ridicule, regardless of his personal feelings toward her. 

In the first year of his consulship, Caesar married Calpurnia, whose father, Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, who had held the consulship the following year.

As part of his plan to gain steady support for his law proposals and future military commands in the provinces, Caesar selected Calpurnia for the security her family offered rather than for personal reasons.

The Calpurnii Pisones had a long history of public service, which made the connection more respected.

During their marriage, Calpurnia kept a low profile and stayed out of public life.

Ancient writers described her as dutiful and quiet, and these qualities suited the expectations placed upon Roman noblewomen.

On the morning of 15 March 44 BCE, she begged her husband not to attend the Senate meeting, and she claimed that she had dreamt of his death.

Despite her warnings, he left the house and was killed shortly afterwards. Their union produced no children, but left him without a next of kin and forced him to adopt his grand-nephew Octavian instead.

This adoption, included in Caesar’s will, made Octavian the main figure of the Republic’s collapse and the rise of the Principate. 

Amid the civil war in 48 BCE, Cleopatra VII of Egypt invited Caesar into a personal and political alliance that became his most famous romantic relationship.

During his involvement in the Alexandrian War, Cleopatra gained a meeting with him, and she was reportedly hidden inside a bundle of bedding delivered to his quarters, a story which was popularised by Plutarch and often repeated in later accounts.

With Caesar’s support, she overcame her brother Ptolemy XIII and secured her position as Egypt’s ruler.

As their relationship continued, she gave birth to a son named Ptolemy XV, or Caesarion.

In public, Caesar never formally acknowledged Caesarion as his son, although Cleopatra presented him as such and hoped to secure a future for him tied to Rome’s plans for power in Rome.

During her visit to Rome in 46 BCE, she stayed at Caesar’s estate in the region on the far side of the Tiber, likely in Trastevere, though the exact location is uncertain.

Her presence caused anger among senators who saw her influence as dangerous and foreign.

Although Caesar refused to divorce Calpurnia or marry Cleopatra, he continued to support her rule and kept her safe.

There is no evidence that marriage between them was ever formally proposed or considered.

After his assassination, Cleopatra departed from Italy and returned to Alexandria, where she remained queen until her own downfall following the civil wars.

Her later alliance with Mark Antony tied Egypt’s future to Rome and helped bring about the Republic’s final crisis.