Antonia caenis biography

          Antonia Caenis, a former slave and secretary of Antonia Minor, was Roman emperor Vespasian's contubernalis.

        1. Antonia Minor died in 37 AD. It indicates, theoretically, that whether Caenis was freed still during her life or based on a legacy, she was probably born in 7.
        2. Antonia Caenis, (died 75 AD) a former slave and secretary of Antonia Minor (mother of the emperor Claudius), was Roman emperor Vespasian's contubernalis.
        3. Antonia Caenis was born as a slave, probably at the imperial court, where she also acquired the education needed to become a scribe and secretary of Antonia.
        4. Caenis, who had been a freedwoman of Antonia, sister-in-law to the emperor Tiberius; she too died before he did.

          5. Antonia Caenis, (died 75 AD) a former slave and secretary of Antonia Minor (mother of the emperor Claudius), was Roman emperor Vespasian's contubernalis.!

          Funerary Inscription for Antonia Caenis CIL 6.12037


          Funerary marble altar, 1st century CE

          Caenis, as intelligent as she was resourceful, spent her entire life avoiding publicity.

          So little is known about her that every scrap of evidence bearing the name Caenis is closely examined (see Ancient Sources below). Of unknown origins, she is thought to have been born toward the end of the principate of Augustus (d.

          14 CE). She was a slave of Antonia the Younger, the daughter of Marc Antony and Augustus' sister Octavia.

          Very little about her and her life is known, she was born a slave perhaps sometime around 7AD, and worked as Antonia the Youngers secretary.

          Trained as a secretary, she figures in an anecdote that the 2nd century CE Roman historian and statesman Dio Cassius repeats about Antonia's role in the downfall of Sejanus, Tiberius' ambitious prefect of the Praetorian Guard. Whether it is an accurate record of Antonia's involvement or not, the story is a flattering portrayal of Caenis as a truthful, discreet and loyal servant.

          Her name, Antonia Caenis, indicates that she was freed either during Antonia's lifetime or