Cornelia Africana
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Cornelia Scipionis Africana (born circa 190 BC - died 100 BC) was the second daughter of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus, the hero of the Second Punic War, and Aemilia Paulla. She is remembered as the perfect example of a virtuous Roman woman.
Cornelia married Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus when he was already in an advanced age. The union proved to be a happy one and together they had 12 children, very unusual for Roman standards. From these only three survived childhood: Sempronia, married to her cousin Publius Cornelius Scipio Aemilianus, and the brothers Tiberius and Gaius Sempronius Gracchus, who would defy the political institutions of Rome, with their attempts at popular reforms. After her husband's death, she chose to remain a widow, even when the suitor was king Ptolemy VIII of Egypt, and set herself to educate her children. Cornelia always supported Tiberius and Gaius, even when their actions outraged the conservative patrician families in which she was born. After their violent deaths she retired from Rome to a villa in Misenum, but continued to receive guests.
An anecdote, likely invented, demonstrates Cornelia's devotion to and admiration for her sons. When women friends questioned Cornelia about her mode of dress and personal adornment, which was far more simple and understated that was usual for a wealthy Roman woman of her rank and station, Cornelia indicated her two sons and said, "These are my jewels." A large statue on the grounds of the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, entitled "These Are My Jewels," makes allusion to this story. It is surmounted by a figure of Cornelia, personifying the state of Ohio, with arms wide spread, and arrayed before her are the state's "jewels" - military and political leaders who contributed to the Union Cause during the American Civil War.
Rome worshipped her immaculate virtues and when she died at an advanced age, the city voted for a statue in her honour: the first attributed to a non-mythological woman.
See also: Women in Rome - other Cornelias - Scipio-Paullus-Gracchus family tree
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