Marcus Livius Drusus Libo

Marcus Livius Drusus Libo was an ancient Roman consul of the early Roman Empire. He was the natural son of Lucius Scribonius Libo by an unknown wife[1] and adopted brother of Roman empress Livia. His natural paternal aunt was Scribonia, the second wife of Augustus, as a consequence of which he was a maternal first cousin of Julia Caesaris.

Marcus Livius Drusus Libo
Spouse(s)Medullina (possibly)
ChildrenLivia Scriboniana
Marcus Scribonius Libo Drusus (possibly adopted)
Parent(s)
RelativesLivia Drusilla (adoptive sister)

Biography

He is believed to have been adopted by Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus,[2][3] the father of Livia Drusilla, who was the third wife of Augustus.

However, as a result of his 'L.f.' filiation attested in Book 54 of the Roman History of Cassius Dio,[4] it is believed that his adoption was only testamentary[5] (whereby the adoptee is permitted to use, and therefore carry on, the name of the adoptor).[6]

The career of Marcus Livius Drusus Libo is largely unknown, except that he was ordinary consul in 15 BC with Lucius Calpurnius Piso. Livius Drusus served as an aedile in 28 BC, shortly before the Pantheon in Rome was completed. Historian Pliny the Elder[7] mentions him among those in Rome who hosted the Secular Games during Augustus’ reign. There is also a possibility that he was a member of the Arval Brethren.[8]

Marriage and family

No wife is attested for Marcus Livius Drusus Libo but there has been speculation that he was married to a Pompeia.[9] Livia Medullina Camilla, whom Claudius was intended to marry in AD 8 but who died on the day of their wedding, is assumed to be his granddaughter, based on her name.[10] Her name has led to speculations that she was the daughter of Marcus Furius Camillus and a woman named 'Livia', theorised to be the daughter of Marcus Livius Drusus Libo.[11][12] This speculated woman has been nicknamed Livia Scriboniana by historians.[13][14]

The men Marcus Scribonius Libo Drusus and Lucius Scribonius Libo may also have been his sons or grandsons. Possibly adopted fraternal nephews.[15]

Footnotes
  1. Syme, R. Augustan Aristocracy (1989), pp. 257-8
  2. Syme, R., Augustan Aristocracy (1989), p. 257
  3. Weinrib, E.J., 'The Family Connections of M. Livius Drusus Libo'
  4. Cassius Dio, Roman History 54
  5. Syme, R., Augustan Aristocracy (1989), pp. 257/8
  6. Gardner, J.F., Family and familia in Roman law and life (1998), p. 129
  7. Natural History xxxvi. 15. s. 24
  8. Syme, R., Augustan Aristocracy (1989), p. 46
  9. Smith, William (1876). A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology: By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustr. by numerous engravings on wood. In 3 vols. 1. Walton, Murray. p. 1076.
  10. Suetonius, Life of Claudius 26.1
  11. Syme, R., Augustan Aristocracy (1989), p. 259
  12. Weinrib, E.J., 'The Family Connections of M. Livius Drusus Libo'
  13. Arctos: acta philologica Fennica. Nova series. 20–21. Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Kirjapaino Oy [etc.] 1986. p. 66.
  14. Pettinger, Andrew (2012). The Republic in Danger: Drusus Libo and the Succession of Tiberius. OUP Oxford. p. 230. ISBN 9780199601745.
  15. Pettinger, Andrew (2012). The Republic in Danger: Drusus Libo and the Succession of Tiberius. OUP Oxford. p. 222. ISBN 9780199601745.

References
  • Cassius Dio, Roman History
  • Gardner, J.F.; Family and familia in Roman law and life (Oxford University Press, 1998) ISBN 0-19-815217-5, ISBN 978-0-19-815217-0
  • Syme, Ronald; Augustan Aristocracy (Oxford University Press, 1989). ISBN 0-19-814731-7, ISBN 978-0-19-814731-2
  • Suetonius, Life of Claudius
  • Weinrib, E.J.; 'The Family Connections of M. Livius Drusus Libo', Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, 72 (1968), pp. 247-278.
Political offices
Preceded by
Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus,
and Lucius Tarius Rufus		 Consul of the Roman Empire
15 BC
with Lucius Calpurnius Piso		 Succeeded by
Marcus Licinius Crassus Frugi,
and Gnaeus Cornelius Lentulus Augur
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