Pomponia

Yesterday, I was reading one of my books on Scipio Africanus. A lot about him is familiair. He is – after all – one of the best documented Scipiones. I think he is even is the most famous. Maybe alongside Scipio Aemilianus. He even had a dinosaur named after him. I found out thanks to the delights of the internet. If you search on "Scipionyx Samniticus", you can find more about this tiny dino.

Fossil specimen, Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano

But just like his daughter Cornelia Minor, some things are not known. Information we modern people would like to know. For instance, his birth date, any information about his childhood or his date of marriage. All unknown. We do know he was married to Aemilia Tertia. We do know that they had four (surviving) children, two boys and two girls. We do know the name, carrier and death of his father, P. Scipio (cos. 218). And from his mother, we know nothing more than her name. I didn't include her in my women-blog. I missed her. Actually, her fate is the fate of so many Roman woman. If you're lucky your name survives, but most women remain anonymous. It is so easy to be forgotten, even if you're the mother of one of the most famous men in the Roman republic.