Editing Livia (section)

==In literature and popular culture==
===In ancient literature===
[[File:Livia moglie di augusto e madre di tiberio, dupondio, 21-22 dc.JPG|thumb|250px|[[Dupondius]] probably depicting Livia as [[Salus|Salus Augusta]].]]
[[File:Blick auf Miramar und Contovello (BildID 15595391).jpg|thumb|Historical picture in the direction of the vineyards by the sea between Prosecco and [[Barcola]] where the Empress' favorite wine was grown]]

The ancient sources all agree that Livia was Augustus' best confidant and counselor, but the extent of her influence remained disputed due to the numerous attempts by her political enemies to defame her dynasty. According to Suetonius, who had access to imperial records, Augustus would write down lists of items to be discussed with Livia, and then take careful notes of her replies to be consulted again later.<ref>Suetonius. "Life of Augustus"; "Life of Tiberius"; "Life of Claudius," in The Twelve Caesars. Translated by Robert Graves, 1957. Revised by Michael Grant, 1979. NY: Viking Penguin, 1986.</ref>

In Tacitus' ''[[Annals (Tacitus)|Annals]]'', meanwhile, Livia is famously depicted as having great influence, to the extent where she "had the aged Augustus firmly under control—so much so that he exiled his only surviving grandson to the island of Planasia";<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-WFQCgAAQBAJ|title=The Annals|last=Tacitus|date=1 September 2004|publisher=Hackett Publishing|isbn=9781603840156|language=en}}</ref> Tacitus goes on to call her "a real catastrophe to the nation as a mother, and to the house of the Caesars as a stepmother" and "a compliant wife, but an overbearing mother".<ref>Tacitus. Annals of Imperial Rome. Translated by Michael Grant. NY: Viking Penguin, 1987.</ref>

Livia's image appears in ancient visual media such as coins and portraits. Following [[Octavia the Younger]], [[Cleopatra]] and possibly [[Fulvia]], she was the third (or fourth) woman to appear on provincial coins in 16 BC. On official Roman coinage, she was probably portrayed as [[Salus|Salus Augusta]] on the [[dupondius]] of Tiberius.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kleiner |first=Fred S. |date=2020 |title=Review of ''Tracene Harvey, Julia Augusta: images of Rome's first empress on the coins of the Roman Empire. London; New York: Routledge, 2019. 264 p.. ISBN 9781472478689. $112.00.'' |url=https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2020/2020.07.27/ |journal=Bryn Mawr Classical Review}}</ref> Her portrait images can be chronologically identified partially from the progression of her hair designs, which represented more than keeping up with the fashions of the time as her depiction with such contemporary details translated into a political statement of representing the ideal Roman woman. Livia's image evolves with different styles of portraiture that trace her effect on imperial propaganda that helped bridge the gap between her role as wife to the emperor Augustus, to mother of the emperor Tiberius. Becoming more than the "beautiful woman" she is described as in ancient texts, Livia serves as a public image for the idealization of Roman feminine qualities, a motherly figure, and eventually a goddesslike representation that alludes to her virtue. Livia's power in symbolizing the renewal of the Republic with the female virtues ''Pietas'' and ''Concordia'' in public displays had a dramatic effect on the visual representation of future imperial women as ideal, honorable mothers and wives of Rome.<ref>''I Claudia II: Women in Roman art and society''. Edited by Diana E. E. Kleiner and Susan B. Matheson Yale University Art Gallery. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2000.</ref> Livia also restored the temple of the ''Bona Dea.''<ref name="Flory, Marleen B. 1993, pp. 287"/>

Livia is mentioned by [[Pliny the Elder]], who describes the vines of the Pulcino wine ("Vinum Pucinum" - today at best "[[Prosecco]]"). This then special and rare wine from the sunny slopes northeast of [[Barcola]] in the direction of the place Prosecco or [[Duino]] (near the historic place Castellum Pucinum) was according to Pliny the favorite wine of the Empress Livia. She is said to have loved this Vinum Pucinum for its medicinal properties and at the end of her long life (she was 87) she attributed her old age to its consumption and commended it to everyone as an "elixir for a long life".<ref>Pliny "The natural history of Caius Plinius Secundus" (approx. AD 77), third volume, 14th book.</ref><ref>Zeno Saracino, „Pompei in miniatura“: la storia di „Vallicula“ o Barcola", In: Trieste All News, 29 September 2018.</ref><ref>PLIN. Nat. XIV, 6: Iulia Augusta LXXXVI annos vitae Pucino vino rettulit acceptos, non alio usa. Gignitur in sinu Hadriatici maris non procul a Timavo fonte, saxoso colle, maritimo adflatu paucas coquente anforas … nec aliud aptius medicamentis indicatur.</ref>

===In modern literature===
In the popular fictional work ''[[I, Claudius]]'' by [[Robert Graves]]—based on Tacitus' innuendo—Livia is portrayed as a thoroughly [[Niccolò Machiavelli|Machiavellian]], scheming political mastermind.  Determined never to allow republican governance to flower again, as she felt they led to corruption and civil war, and devoted to bringing Tiberius to power and then maintaining him there, she is involved in nearly every death or disgrace in the [[Julio-Claudian dynasty|Julio-Claudian]] family up to the time of her death.  On her deathbed she only fears divine punishment for all she had done, and secures the promise of future deification by her grandson Claudius, an act which, she believes, will guarantee her a blissful afterlife. However, this portrait of her is balanced by her intense devotion to the well-being of the Empire as a whole, and her machinations are justified as a necessarily cruel means to what she firmly considers a noble aspiration: the common good of the Romans, achievable only under strict imperial rule.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2006/sep/02/featuresreviews.guardianreview26|title=Unreliable witness|first=Barry|last=Unsworth|website=[[The Guardian]]|date=2 September 2006|access-date=15 July 2022|language=en-uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/what-makes-a-good-ancient-world-drama/|title=What Makes a Good Ancient World Drama?|first=Juliette|last=Harrisson|website=[[Den of Geek]]|date=4 May 2018|access-date=15 July 2022|language=en-us}}</ref>
In [[John Maddox Roberts]]'s short story "The King of Sacrifices," set in his [[SPQR series]], Livia hires Decius Metellus to investigate the murder of one of [[Julia the Elder]]'s lovers. 
In ''[[Masters of Rome|Antony and Cleopatra]]'' by [[Colleen McCullough]], Livia is portrayed as a cunning and effective advisor to her husband, whom she loves passionately.
Luke Devenish's "Empress of Rome" novels, ''Den of Wolves'' (2008) and ''Nest of Vipers'' (2010), have Livia as a central character in a fictionalized account of her life and times.
Livia plays an important role in two Marcus Corvinus mysteries by David Wishart, ''Ovid'' (1995) and ''Germanicus'' (1997). She is mentioned posthumously in ''Sejanus'' (1998).

===On television and film===
* In the 1968 [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] television series ''[[The Caesars (TV series)|The Caesars]]'', Livia was played by [[Sonia Dresdel]].<ref name="sonia">{{Cite web |url=https://nostalgiacentral.com/television/tv-by-decade/tv-shows-1960s/caesars/ |title=1960's TV Shows - The caesars|website=nostalgiacentral.com |date=14 June 2019}}</ref>
* In the 1976 [[BBC]] television series [[I, Claudius (TV series)|I, Claudius]] based on the book, Livia was played by [[Siân Phillips]].<ref name="sian">{{Cite web|url=https://www.themakeupgallery.info/period/rome/livia/claudiussp.htm|title=themakeupgallery - Greece & Rome - Livia I, Claudius|website=themakeupgallery.info|date=5 December 2005|access-date=3 November 2016|archive-date=3 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161103234255/http://www.themakeupgallery.info/period/rome/livia/claudiussp.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Phillips won a [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts|BAFTA]] for her portrayal of the role.<ref name="wales">{{Cite web |url=https://gov.wales/st-david-awards/si%C3%A2n-phillips |title=Siân Phillips CBE Culture award 2015 winner |website=gov.wales |date=13 September 2017}}</ref>
* In the 2003 television film [[Imperium: Augustus]], (one of a series), Livia was portrayed by [[Charlotte Rampling]].<ref name="charlotte">{{Cite web |url= https://www.alamy.com/charlotte-rampling-imperium-augustus-2003-image485728862.html |title=charlotte Rampling as Livia Drusilla film title Imperium - Augustus 2003 |website=alamy.com |year=2003}}</ref>
* In the 2007 [[HBO]]/BBC television series ''[[Rome (TV series)|Rome]]'', Livia was dramatized by Alice Henley.<ref name="alice">{{Cite web|url= https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/europe-travel/italy/rome/empress-of-rome-the-life-of-livia-by-matthew-dennison-d9p5zjdnfmm|title=Empress of Rome - The Life of Livia by Matthew Dennison|website=[[The Times]]|date=1 May 2010}}</ref>

The 2021 [[Sky Atlantic]] series ''[[Domina (TV series)|Domina]]'' relates the rise of the Roman [[Principate]] with a focus on Livia's role and relationships. She is portrayed as having sworn a [[oath (Roman)|sacred oath]] to [[Marcus Livius Drusus Claudianus|her father]]'s [[Shade (mythology)|shade]] to restore the Republic and to be playing a [[long con]] to that effect in concert with [[Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso (consul 23 BC)|Gn. Calpurnius Piso]]. The child Livia is played by Meadow Nobrega, the adolescent and young adult Livia by [[Nadia Parkes]], and the adult Livia by [[Kasia Smutniak]].<ref name="kasia">{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20210506-the-truth-behind-ancient-romes-most-controversial-woman |title=The truth behind Ancient Rome's most controversial woman |website=bbc.com |date=7 May 2021}}</ref>