Salonia

Salonia was a Roman slave, and later freedwoman who lived during the mid-2nd century BC, and who was the second wife of Cato the Elder. She was the young daughter of the slave Salonius who was an under-secretary to Cato the Elder.[1] Following the death of his first wife, Cato began taking solace with a slave girl who secretly visited his bed.[2]

However, his son Marcus Porcius Cato Licinianus and his son's wife disapproved of the relationship, so Cato decided to marry Salonia in order to solve the problem.[3][4] However, when Licinianus found out about it he complained that now his problem was with his father's marriage to Salonia.[5] Cato replied that he loved his son, and for that reason, wished to have more sons like him.[6]

In 154 BC, Salonia gave birth to Marcus Porcius Cato Salonianus[7] who was only five when his father died. Through her son, Salonia was grandmother of Lucius Porcius Cato and Marcus Porcius Cato, the great-grandmother of Cato the Younger, and the great-great-grandmother of Marcus Porcius Cato, who died at the Battle of Philippi and Porcia Catonis, who was married to Marcus Junius Brutus.

Notes
  1. Plutarch, Cato the Elder, 24.2.
  2. Plutarch, Cato the Elder, 24.1.
  3. Plutarch, Cato the Elder, 24.3
  4. Plutarch, Cato the Elder, 24.4.
  5. Plutarch, Cato the Elder, 24.4
  6. Plutarch, Cato the Elder, 24.5
  7. Plutarch, Cato the Elder, 24.6
gollark: You probably broke something. Don't do that.
gollark: [REDACTED - LEVEL Ħ-6 CLEARANCE REQUIRED]
gollark: But the spatial IO stuff was.
gollark: Well, the STORAGE SAFE MODE switch wasn't for that.
gollark: Yep!
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.