"Coniurationes matris et filiae": An Analysis of the Intrigues Attributed to Faustina the Younger and Lucilla

Abstract

This article analyses three political conspiracies led by the Augustae Faustina the Younger and Lucilla. The plots, independently undertaken by mother and daughter, took place at different moments between the years 169 and 182, and were directed against the emperors and their relatives Lucius Verus, Marcus Aurelius, and Commodus. To this end, the study is structured around the accounts of classical authors who recount these episodes, as well as the main contemporary research that examines them. Thus, the introductory section sets out both the foundations and the main conspirational motives of imperial women during the Principate, as well as a critical methodological approach to biases of Roman historiography regarding female participation in political machinations. Likewise, throughout the article, an effort is made to determine whether their alleged involvement corresponds to contexts and intentions considered plausible by the academic community or whether, on the contrary, there are doubts about their veracity. Be that as it may, authors such as Cassius Dio, Herodian, and the biographer of the Historia Augusta employ, regarding mother and daughter, certain literary commonplaces embedded in the perpetuation of a biased and hegemonic discourse on female conduct deemed extra mores within the political sphere.