Faustina
- The wife of the emperor Antoninus Pius, Capit. Anton. Pius, 1.—
- II The wife of the emperor Antoninus Philosophus, Capit. Anton. Phil. 6.
- —Hence, Faustīnĭānus, a, um, adj., of or pertaining to Faustina: puellae, Capit. Anton. Phil. 26: SCHOLA, for the use of the puellae Faustinianae, Inscr. Or. 1895.
1. Annia Galeria Faustina, commonly distinguished as Faustina Senior, whose descent is given in the genealogical table prefixed to the life of M. Aurelius, married Antoninus Pius, while he was yet in a private station, and, when he became emperor, in A. D. 138, received the title of Augusta. She did not, however, long enjoy her honours, for she died, A. D. 141, in the thirty-seventh year of her age. The profligacy of her life, and the honours with which she was loaded both before and after her decease, have been noticed under Antoninus Pius. The medals bearing her name and effigy exceed, both in number and variety of types, those struck in honour of any other royal personage after death. One of these represents the temple dedicated to her memory in the Via Sacra, which still remains in a very perfect state. (Capitolin. Anton. Pius, 3, 5; Eckhel, vol. vii. p. 37.)
2. Annia Faustina, or Faustina Junior, was the daughter of the elder Fausrina. During the life of Hadrian she was betrothed to the son of Aelius Caesar; but upon the accession of her father, Antoninus Pius, the match was broken off, in consequence of the extreme youth of L. Verus, and it was fixed that she should become the bride of M. Aurelius, although the marriage was not solemnized until A. D. 145 or 146. She died in a village on the skirts of Mount Taurus, in the year A. D. 175, having accompanied ihe emperor to Syria, when he visited the East for the purpose of restoring tranquillity after the rebellion of Avidius Cassius, which is said to have been excited by her intrigues [M. Aurelius; Avidius Cassius]. Her profligacy was so open and infamous, that the good nature or blindness of her husband, who cherished her fondly while alive, and loaded her with honours after her death, appear truly marvellous. (D. C. 71.10, 22, 29, 31; Capitolin. M. Aurel. 6, 19, 26; Eutrop. 8.5; Eckhel, vol. vii. p. 76.)
3.Domitia Faustina, a daughter of M. Aurelius and the younger Faustina. (Eckhel, vol. vii. p. 76.)
4. Annia Faustina, a grand-daughter or great-grand-daughter of M. Aurelius, was the third of the numerous wives of Elagabalus. The marriage, as we infer from medals, took place about A. D. 221, but a divorce must speedily have followed. (D. C. 79.5; Herodian, 5.14; Eckhel, vol. vii. p. 261.)
5. Maxima Faustina, the third wile of Constantius, whom he married at Antioch in A. D. 360, a short period before his death. She gave birth to a posthumous daughter, who received the name of Flavia Maxima Constantia, and was eventually united to the emperor Gratian. We know nothing with regard to the family of this Faustina, but she appears again in history along with her child, as one of the supporters of the rebel Procopius, who made good use of the presence of the youthful princess to inflame the zeal of his soldiers by rekindling their enthusiasm for the glories of the house from which she sprung. (Ducange, Fam. Byz. p. 48, 59; Amm. Marc. 21.6.4, 15.6, 26.7. 10, 9.8.) [W.R]
(1) Annia Galeria, daughter of Annius Verus, prefect of Rome. She married Antoninus Pius before his adoption by Hadrian, and died in the third year of her husband's reign, thirtysix years of age (A.D. 141). She was notorious for her licentiousness, yet her husband appeared blind to her frailties, and after her death even accorded unto her divine honours. Her effigy appears on a large number of medals (Dio Cass. xvii. 30; Capitol. Anton. P. 3).
(2) Annia, or the Younger, daughter of the preceding, married her cousin Marcus Aurelius, and died A.D. 176, in a village of Cappadocia, at the foot of Mount Taurus, on her husband's return from Syria. She is represented by Dio Cassius and Capitolinus as even more profligate in her conduct than her mother; and yet Marcus, in his Meditations (i. 17), extols her obedience, simplicity, and affection. Her daughter Lucilla married Lucius Verus, whom Marcus Aurelius associated with him in the Empire, and her son Commodus succeeded his father as emperor (Capitol. M. Aurel. 6, 19, 26).