In some parts of the world, today is Mother’s Day, so Happy Mother’s Day to all of you! In honor of Mother’s Day, we’ll be looking at the lives of some very famous ancient Roman mothers.

To start off with, we should probably begin with Cornelia Africana, who was the mother to the Gracchi Brothers. Over the centuries the ancient Romans exulted her as the ideal woman and mother, but it’s hard to sort out whether her reported qualities were made up or the truth. In the early years of the Republic, Cornelia was presented as a highly educated woman with exceptional skills in rhetoric, but over the centuries her image became more matronly and she was made into an exemplary figure of motherhood.

Another mother besides Cornelia that has a legendary status among the women of ancient Rome is Flavia Iulia Helena Augusta. She is also known as Saint Helena and was the mother of Constantine I. What’s interesting about Helena is that she did not come from a patrician background and some sources even say that she was not officially married to Constantine’s father, Emperor Constantius. Helena did not enjoy the perks of being a consort to an Emperor because Emperor Constantius wanted a wife from a prominent lineage. Therefore she was set aside for political reasons, but remained very close to her son Constantine. When Constantine I became Emperor he gave her the title Augusta, which was a title reserved only for Empresses who were usually from distinguished families. I guess you could say her life is a rags to riches story, because when her son came to power she was treated with respect; being that she was the mother of Constantine. In addition, she is also considered a saint in the Catholic tradition, which is a bit of an honor.

When it comes to a controversial mother figure, Antonia Minor fits the bill. Antonia Minor was the mother of Emperor Claudius. She exposed a plot that was concocted by her daughter Livilla to the Emperor Tiberius. Emperor Tiberius allowed Antonia to set the punishment as she saw fit. Antonia locked her daughter in a room and starved her to death. Antonia was also reported to have distained her son Claudius, who had a physical disability, and several quotes about how she mocked her son as an invalid are attributed to her.

By modern standards we would consider her a horrible mother for verbally abusing Claudius and killing Livilla, but she died as a revered mother by the people of Rome and her birthday became a public holiday. When we list the qualities of what a good mother possesses, we list adjectives like kind, nurturing and loving. However in ancient Rome, a good mother carried out her duty to raise her children to become suitable citizens for the State. Due to the fact that her son Claudius became an emperor, she was regarded as a woman who accomplished her duty as a mother.