Atia of the Julii
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| Rome character | |
| Atia of the Julii | |
|---|---|
| Name | Atia of the Julii |
| Class | Patrician |
| Family | Gaius Octavian (son) Octavia of the Julii (daughter) Gaius Julius Caesar (uncle) |
| Allies | Gaius Julius Caesar Mark Antony Timon(occasionally) |
| Enemies | Servilia of the Junii |
| Appearances | 1-2 "How Titus Pullo Brought Down the Republic" 1-3 "An Owl in a Thornbush" 1-10 "Triumph" 1-11 "The Spoils" 1-12 "Kalends of February" |
| Portrayed by | Polly Walker |
Atia of the Julii is a character from the HBO/BBC2 original television series Rome, played by Polly Walker. She is depicted as a cheerfully amoral manipulator of people and situations, but she seldom does so openly; she is one of the "shadow rulers" of Roman society. Atia is very loosely based on the historical personage of Atia Balba Caesonia who was a Roman matron, and mother of Augustus Caesar.
Personality
Shallow, power-hungry, scheming and ruthless, Atia of the Julii is the ultimate femme fatale. Judging from today's moral standards she has little in the way of redeeming features or ethics, callously murdering, seducing and humiliating her rivals and family to gain what she wants. She could be regarded as a poor mother, as her children's personal defects could perhaps be seen as effects of her amoral and hedonistic example. Her only apparent redeeming feature is her frankness and self-honesty: where many would shirk from their nature in hypocrisy she appears to embrace her fairly corrupt and unethical nature thoroughly enjoying herself where more ethical characters struggle with themselves. She is an incredibly entertaining and exciting character, despite her villainy. She has a fiercely rivalrous enmity with fellow peeress of Rome Servilia of the Junii. Whilst Atia expresses her hatred mainly through frivolous snideness, Servilia seems to take their animosity much more personally. She ritualistically curses Atia, praying for her to be "raped by wild dogs in the street". She seduces Atia's daughter Octavia, and then coaxes Octavia into committing incest with her brother, Octavian. When Atia learns of this, after beating up both Octavia and Octavian for their perversity, she arranges for Servilia to be attacked in the street by hired thugs, beaten, and stripped in public. After the ordeal caused by Atia's retribution, Servilia is subdued, becoming agoraphobic and despondent, and it often appears that Atia has the upper hand in their feud. However, in the final episode of series one, the reinvigorated Servilia takes great pleasure in telling Atia that her son, Brutus, is going to assassinate Julius Caesar minutes before it happens taunting her that she will lose her status and the protection her uncle ensures. Atia is left in turmoil.Character history
Niece of Julius Caesar, Atia of the Julii is snobbish, willful, and cunning. She is also sexually voracious and amoral. In a culture in which women lack formal power, and men leave for months and years on military campaigns, their wives, daughters and mothers have built powerful networks and alliances completely independent of the men's worlds. Atia is among the women who serve as the shadow rulers of Rome.
Atia's first scene in the series sees her partaking in a fertility ritual in which a bull is sacrificed on a platform above her, drenching her in its sacred blood.
In the episode "Egeria", Atia is concerned about her son Octavian and his apparent genophobia and lack of virility and masculinity. She feeds him venison testicles for potency and even hires Titus Pullo to train him as a fighter and to take him to a brothel for his first penetration.
She is presented as a widow, but is by no means resigned to celibacy and spinsterhood. She suggests to her lover, Marc Antony, that if they married his social status would be elevated enough to seize control over Rome in Caesar's absence; however, Antony rejects her aggressively.
When Atia learns her daughter Octavia has seduced her brother, Gaius Octavian, into committing incest Atia launches a violent assault on her daughter, attacking her with a whip. When Octavian intervenes Atia turns her aggression on him. Octavian snatches the whip from her and declares threateningly, "You will NOT strike me anymore!" Atia replies, "Will I not?" and strikes him with a blow to the face.
Comparison with the historical Atia Balba Caesonia
Atia Balba Caesonia was the second daughter of Julius Caesar's elder sister Julia and Marcus Atius Balbus, son of a Senator from Aricia.Her first husband was Gaius Octavius, a Senator of obscure provincial origins. By him she had a daughter, Octavia Minor (Octavius already had a daughter, Octavia Major, from a previous marriage), and a son, Gaius Octavius (Octavian). Tacitus describes her as a devoted mother. After Octavius died in 59 BC, Atia married a Senator, Lucius Marcius Philippus, who was a devoted step-father to her children. He would have been present throughout the period covered by the series (whereas the character in the series is known to be unmarried).
While there doesn't seem to be a great deal of information available about Atia's character, it does not seem likely that there is much - other than the name - of her in the character of Atia of the Julii. Atia Balba Caesonia is described as
a religious and caring matron ... (1)who
... had doubts about her son's legitimacy as Caesar's heir, and attempted to dissuade him from accepting his inheritance. (1)
It is quite difficult to reconcile this description of piety with Atia of the Julii, or to envision her attempting to reject possible political influence and power for her family.
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