Marcus Livius Drusus Libo

Marcus Livius Drusus Libo was the natural son of Lucius Scribonius Libo and an unknown wife.^[1] His natural paternal aunt was Scribonia, the second wife of Augustus, as a consequence of which he was a natural maternal first cousin of Julia Caesaris.

Adoption

He is believed to have been adopted by Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus,^[2][3] the father of Livia Drusilla, who was the third wife of Augustus.

However, as a result of his 'L.f.' filiation attested in Book 54 of the Roman History of Cassius Dio,^[4] it is believed that his adoption was only testmentary^[5] (whereby the adoptee is permitted to use, and therefore carry on, the name of the adoptor).^[6]

Career

The career of Marcus Livius Drusus Libo is largely unknown, except that he was ordinary consul in 15 BC with Lucius Calpurnius Piso. Livius Drusus served as an aedile in 28 BC, shortly before the Pantheon in Rome was completed. Historian Pliny the Elder (H.N. xxxvi. 15. s. 24), mentions him among those in Rome, who hosted the Secular Games, during Augustus’ reign. There is also a possibility that he was a member of the Arval Brethren.^[7]

Marriage and family

No wife is attested for Marcus Livius Drusus Libo. However Livia Medullina Camilla, whom Claudius was intended to marry in AD 8 but who died on the day of their wedding, is assumed to be his daughter, based on her name.^[8] On the other hand, her name has also led to speculations that she was the daughter of Marcus Furius Camillus and a woman named 'Livia', theorised to be the daughter of Marcus Livius Drusus Libo.^[9][10]

Footnotes

References

• Cassius Dio, Roman History
• Gardner, J.F.; Family and familia in Roman law and life (Oxford University Press, 1998) ISBN 0-19-815217-5, ISBN 978-0-19-815217-0
• Syme, Ronald; Augustan Aristocracy (Oxford University Press, 1989). ISBN 0-19-814731-7, ISBN 978-0-19-814731-2
• Suetonius, Life of Claudius
• Weinrib, E.J.; 'The Family Connections of M. Livius Drusus Libo', Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, 72 (1968).